Recap and review NRL action as it happens as Rugby League Writers hand out Round 5 scores and grades for all 16 teams.
While not every game of every round throughout the 2023 NRL season is hyped up as a blockbuster, there is always something to take away from the 80 minutes.
Here, we’re summing up every Round 5 game before digging into the biggest moments of the round on Monday and Tuesday.
Note: The grades are relative. NRL scores don’t always paint an accurate picture of what happened on the field. An A grade for The Dolphins in 2023 will look a lot different to an A for, say, the Penrith Panthers. It’s a moving scale for each team as expectations and goals change throughout the year.
Thursday
Sydney Roosters 28 def. Parramatta Eels 20
Sydney Roosters: B+
We’re yet to see a complete performance from the Roosters but this felt like another step in the right direction. Dominated the ruck for most of the game thanks mostly to the evergreen Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, allowing Brandon Smith, Sam Walker and Luke Keary to play a fast brand of attacking footy. There were plenty of sweeping, wrap-around movements to both edges but Easts arguably looked better when playing direct. When they eventually click, we’re going to see a few more tries around Smith from dummy-half; Walker and Keary are ideal halves to push up around Smith when he picks and runs. They lost James Tedesco after 20 minutes to a HIA and Joseph Suaali’i had his moments filling in at fullback. He’s a terrifying runner of the ball but is still developing a pass – it won’t surprise to see Joey Manu at the back next week with Tedesco sidelined. Leaked two late tries which disguises their dominance for most of the match.
Parramatta Eels: C+
A few late consolation tries softened the blow for Parramatta who were outplayed through the middle of the field for most of the contest. No knock on Wiremu Greig who was everywhere in his opening stint, but the Eels missed Junior Paulo particularly as fatigue set in late in the game. Losing Will Penisini and Bailey Simonsson to the sin-bin in the first half, and Simonsson again for a HIA in the second, didn’t help. Brad Arthur’s forward rotation was thrown out the window as multiple Eels were asked to play big minutes in unfamiliar positions while down a defender. They still threatened in attack despite the disruptions though. Mitch Moses and Clint Gutherson had some joy doubling up down the right edge and Dylan Brown was his usual threat on the left, but needed more support from Waqa Blake and Maika Sivo, at times. Overall, a frustrating loss but not a disastrous one. The Eels are there or thereabouts despite their record and can still build into the season.
Friday
Penrith Panthers 53 def. Canberra Raiders 12
Canberra Raiders: D-
The Canberra Raiders were only down 13-6 at oranges. Three Panthers tries shortly after half time turned what was a close game at the break into a blowout. Ricky Stuart talked about wanting to see his Canberra Raiders lift to another level when Josh Papalii and Joseph Tapine returned to the field. The game was gone by then, though. Canberra completed only one set in the 15 minutes after halftime. The state of the Raiders defence in the second half can best be summed up in one try. With nothing on, Tyrone Peachey jumped out of dummy half, sold the middle defence a dummy, and crashed over far, far too easily. They conceded another through the middle off a scrum for Canberra to bring up 50, too. It has been a rough start to the NRL season for the Raiders and they caught the Panthers at a terrible time. Still, this is a concerning result for the Green Machine.
Penrith Panthers: A-
That’s more like it for the Penrith Panthers… Nathan Cleary and the Panthers staff must have spotted something in the tape during the week. That’s the only way to explain Cleary rolling one in behind the line off his left foot on the 40 metre line on 4th tackle. With Jordan Rapana up in the line and Seb Kris nowhere to be seen, Sunia Turuva opened the scoring. It looked like another early-season Panthers game before they turned the screws to score three quick-fire tries to start the second half. Nathan Cleary played out his best game of the season so far with the ball while the Panthers left edge found their form in this one. Something that never left for Penrith: Defence. Superb again without the ball tonight, the Panthers were rarely tested. Defending a handful of early Raiders attacking sets laid the platform for the attack to pile up points later in the game. The defending premiers are starting look like themselves again.
Melbourne Storm 18 def. South Sydney Rabbitohs 10
South Sydney Rabbitohs: B-
A mixed performance from the Rabbitohs who looked a little flat after an emotional win last week. In saying that, they absorbed some scoreboard pressure smartly to work themselves back into the game after conceding early. Jason Demetriou has talked about his team not trying to win with one big play, and that mentality was on show as Souths embraced the grind. Tom Burgess was a colossus through the middle and helped to bring Cook into the game, and Lachlan Ilias and Cody Walker kicked to the corners, allowing the Rabbitohs to lock in defensively. They scored a lovely try through Cameron Murray in their first attacking raid, but errors killed any other promising actions for most of the match. Continued to create scoring opportunities mainly through Cook, Walker and Latrell Mitchell as they chased down a 12 point lead, but just couldn’t stick the final pass as the siren loomed. Positive signs to create multiple chances in attack but Souths will be disappointed they couldn’t find the winning blow. Ultimately beaten by a superb defensive showing from the Storm.
Melbourne Storm: A-
This felt like a more typical Melbourne Storm performance. Rolled their way upfield in yardage thanks to the craft of Harry Grant from dummy-half, who threatened with every touch. Ill-discipline continued to gift Souths cheap field position, masking Melbourne’s dominance in the yardage battle. When they held the ball and earned a crack themselves, the Storm were a little clunky in good-ball but moved the footy well enough to get Will Warbrick one-on-one with Alex Johnston and take a lead into the sheds. Looked comfortable in the grind and waited for Cameron Munster to break the deadlock, which he did early in the second half. With a 12 point lead and 30 minutes to go, the Storm defended their way to fulltime. They minimised their errors and tightened their discipline to limit Souths opportunities in attack. Some spectacular try saving efforts from Nick Meaney, Tui Kamikamica and Grant as the clock wound down capped off a brave win based on completions and defence – the classic Melbourne Storm recipe for success.
Saturday
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 32 draw. Newcastle Knights 32
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles: C+
Manly started the game nicely courtesy of some ill-discipline from Newcastle. Poor defence and cheap turnovers gifted the Sea Eagles a 10 point lead inside 10 minutes, but it also set the tone for the game. Manly followed suit to gift the Knights attacking field position of their own, and the Sea Eagles didn’t defend their errors to quickly give up their early lead. When the game settled into a grind, they looked comfortable shifting the ball in yardage and finding the corners through Daly Cherry-Evans’ boot. Created their share of attacking chances but poor timing and execution made the backline movements in good-ball easy to defend. Tom Trbojevic continues to get on the ball in a distributing role, putting Kelma Tuilagi over and looking likely with every touch – most of Manly’s scoring actions were triggered by their fullback. As fatigue entered the game, Manly looked the better side and slowly regained ascendency to score through Kaeo Weekes and Reuben Garrick as the clock wound down. Manly are profiling like a team who will try to outscore their opponents in 2023, but they won’t be happy with the tries conceded today. Ultimately it proved a mountain too high, as Manly failed to create a genuine shot at field goal in extra time. A draw result feels fair.
Newcastle Knights: B
Very passive in defence to start the game, allowing Tom Trbojevic to offload the ball in yardage and then slipping off multiple tackles to concede first points. It took another try to Christian Tuipulotu before Newcastle clicked into gear, taking advantage of some Manly ill-discipline to quickly even the scores. Jackson Hastings was everywhere as Newcastle set up in good-ball, capitalising on a Haumole Olakau’atu sin bin to put Greg Marzhew over in the left-hand corner and then assisting for a first-half Dom Young double. The Knights looked the smoother of the two sides in attack for most of the game, with Hastings and Lachlan Miller combining nicely on either edge. They couldn’t go with Manly for the full 80 minutes though. Execution fell away and ill-discipline creeped in as the Knights tired, and they barely managed to hold off a fast-finishing Manly outfit. A tough call to deny Bradman Best in the dying stages will hurt for Knights fans, but in the end a draw result is probably fitting.
St George-Illawarra Dragons 38 def. The Dolphins 12
St. George Illawarra Dragons: A
Rebounded from last week’s capitulation to start this game confidently. Absorbed some early scoreboard pressure to drag the game into a grind and win the battle through the middle. Ben Hunt and Jacob Liddle were busy in yardage to target the spaces around the ruck and get St George into attacking field position. From there, some good work from Liddle got them out to an early lead and some desperate and resilient goal line defence helped them maintain it through to the break. They ran away with it in the second half with an 86% completion rate and the lion’s share of attacking territory. Hunt continued to threaten and helped to bring Moses Suli, Tyrell Sloan and Mikaele Ravalawa into the game. Overall, St George won the defensive battle and made the most of their attacking opportunities from there. A compelling win.
The Dolphins: C
More of the same early on for the Dolphins who played out a patient, grinding opening quarter. Made the most of their high completions to score a beauty through Jamayne Isaako, but as fatigue set in so did the ill-discipline. Gave the Dragons too much cheap field position, and some uncharacteristically soft ruck defence conceded barge over tries to Jacob Liddle and Blake Lawrie in the first half. An early injury to Anthony Milford caused a substantial reshuffle in the spine which can explain a disorganised attack, as the Dolphins failed to capitalise on the field position they earned throughout the match. They embraced the grind when the points slowed up in the second half, showing great composure to get through their sets and wait for St George to make an error. The opportunities came but Sean O’Sullivan’s presence was missed as the Dolphins fought to swing the momentum but couldn’t land the knockout punch. Ultimately failed to match St George through the middle and the points started piling up from there. To concede multiple points around the ruck will be a cause of concern for Wayne Bennett in the review.
Brisbane Broncos 46 def. Wests Tigers 12
Brisbane Broncos: A
Another round, another two points for the Broncos, who were more than a class above in this one. Tore through a passive Tigers defence to chew up post-contact metres and generate plenty of second phase play. Three early tries were triggered by late offloads from Pat Carrigan and Payne Haas as Brisbane dominated the ruck and played with speed in attack. With the Tigers constantly retreating, Reece Walsh was afforded every chance to run and he took it with both hands. Playing over the ad-line, Walsh passed, kicked and ran his way through a helpless Tigers defence on either edge. The myriad of attacking options across Brisbane’s lineup were the beneficiary of Walsh’s involvements in good-ball. Herbie Farnworth and Kurt Capewell crossed on the left before Jordan Riki and Kotoni Staggs both scored doubles on the right. A completely dominant performance from a team who deserves to be outright premiership leaders.
Wests Tigers: D
If the alarm bells weren’t already ringing, they are now. Ran with intent in their opening sets but that spark quickly disappeared as Brisbane ran riot through the ruck area. The Tigers middle defence was poor to concede late offloads and give up cheap metres, allowing the Broncos to roll downfield and onto Wests try line. They didn’t have the answers to an expansive Broncos attack from there. There was a positive response from Wests to begin the second half when Isaiah Papali’i scored off an attacking kick, but their inability to match Brisbane through the middle saw the Broncos quickly regain ascendency. The problems in the Tigers attack remains – Jake Simpkin’s barge over try was the only other scoring action Wests produced – but until they can learn to defend their errors and find a way to stay in the yardage battle, the attacking deficiencies won’t matter.
Sunday
New Zealand Warriors 32 def. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 30
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks: C
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks were gifted early opportunities to pile up points and took them with both hands. This is a side that makes it look easy when rolling up the field. They compress the middle through their massive pack as the backline swings into action on the edges. However, as the Warriors played themselves into the game and started to ask some tough questions, the Sharks didn’t have the answers. Costly errors gave the Warriors too many chances. A lack of control and execution of what should have been a simple game plan in the second half cost them a 20-point lead and two competition points. Just as it looked as though they Sharks would start to pull away, they let the Warriors back in. As good as the Sharks looked while running rampant in the first half, the ease at which they fell with their backs against the wall in the second will be a worry for Craig Fitzgibbon.
New Zealand Warriors: A+
Andrew Voss made repeated comments about the old Warriors not being able to come back from 20 points down. In recent years, the floodgates open and the idea of a comeback is short lived if it ever lives at all. This team is different. This team plays with a resilience perhaps never seen out of the Kiwi club. At least not for five consecutive weeks to start a season. Andrew Webster will still be unhappy with the start. Giving up so many points so early will cost the Warriors two competition points sooner rather than later. Today, though, they sit 2nd on the NRL ladder thanks to one of the greatest comebacks in the clubs history. Club legend, Shaun Johnson, played a pivotal role in passing and kicking his team around the field. Johnson mentioned there being a lot of things to work on but this is an 80 minutes to celebrate as they fly home back across the ditch.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 15 def. North Queensland Cowboys 14
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs: B-
Despite the wet weather, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs showed a willingness to send the ball wide and search for metres on the edges. The risk of a knock-on or being dragged into touch didn’t dissuade them. They have a new style of play in attack – wet or dry – and trust it to produce the goods. It produced late as the Bulldogs chased a winner. They worked up the field through Josh Addo-Carr on the edge to spend much of the last five minutes attacking the Cowboys line. With the final play in regulation, the Bulldogs looked to their edge again for Addo-Carr to dot down in the corner and force Golden Point. As expected, the Bulldogs looked wide with the game on the line, and it again paid dividends to set up Matt Burton to kick the winner as the clock struck 00:00. It wasn’t a polished display from Cameron Ciraldo’s side, but it’s the results that matter for a rebuilding club. They will take a lot out of this win and develop more trust in the process. There is a lot of potential in the Bulldogs attack, enough to make up for a few question marks in defence.
North Queensland Cowboys: C-
You’d think that the wet conditions would play into the North Queensland Cowboys hands. Their best footy over the last 12 months has come after getting into the grind early and earning the right to win it late. Unlike the Bulldogs who looked to move the ball early and often, the Cowboys kept it tight. The played for field position and waited for attacking opportunities to arise. However, the Bulldogs limited those opportunities. North Queensland spent only 13 tackles attacking inside the opposition 20-metre line; not enough against a Bulldogs side that can score from anywhere on the field. The Cowboys are without key players and defended well throughout, but this feels like one that got away.