There is a lot on the line this week as four teams battle it out to keep their premiership hopes alive.
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For Daly Cherry-Evans, there is a fairytale swansong that could be the perfect ending to his NRL career. But should what happens in the next fortnight even impact his legacy?
Meanwhile, if the Sharks fail to fire again in the finals could changes be on the horizon?
Plus, the big Warriors weakness the Knights could exploit and clear sign Kalyn Ponga is bought in at Newcastle — and the rest of his teammates have followed.
Read on for the biggest talking points ahead of the NRL semi-finals!
EXPERTS AREN’T BUYING WARRIORS CRITICISM… BUT HALVES MUST MAKE ONE CHANGE
The Warriors made a crucial tactical mistake last week that helped keep the Dolphins in the game and arguably is the reason they ended up coming over the top of them.
They were strong favourites at home to beat the Dolphins and go through to preliminary final in Auckland.
They had 60 per cent of possession and dominated the Dolphins for the first 60 minutes but only had an eight-point lead because they became conservative under finals pressure.
It was because they chose to kick penalty goals, five of them in fact, instead of kicking for touch and going for a try.
Fox League’s Cooper Cronk said it was a mistake.
“I think the five penalties in hindsight were a bit conservative, they probably needed to go for the jugular a little bit more then,” he told foxsports.com.au.
“They are doing something right, that system holds up. But sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit brave.”
Cronk, one of the great halfbacks of the modern era, said the Warriors halves pairing also had to fix one thing up.
He wants Chanel Harris-Tavita and Te Maire Martin to make the Knights pay with their boot, saying they let themselves down against the Dolphins when it came to field position.
The kicking game in high-pressure matches makes a massive difference even if it’s not very noticeable to the casual fan.
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There was a match between Parramatta and Penrith in 2021 which was a slog.
And over the course of the 80 minutes, Mitchell Moses’s long kick was five to 10m longer than Nathan Cleary’s.
It didn’t look like much, but getting an extra 10m advantage in field position each set is a big deal in a tight game.
“There’s one thing they probably need to address this week and that is their kicking game, particularly the long range king game,” Cronk said of the Warriors.
“I thought it was too shallow. It was on average of 10m shorter than what the Dolphins kicked in the second half, and if you do that 10 times, there’s a 100m.
“Herbie Franworth ran 15m to score. That play the ball could have been 35m out if their kicking game was a little bit more elite. Every metre counts in finals.
“The Warriors’ halves need to keep the system, understand it, be a little bit more brave to have some confidence to go for it a little bit more and be more effective with the kicking game.”
As a whole though, Cronk didn’t think drastic changes would be needed or that the Warriors need to reconsider their options in the halves next year should they go out in straight sets.
Sure, Harris-Tavita and Martin aren’t the flashiest options and don’t offer the same game-breaking upside of a Luke Metcalf, but the Warriors didn’t finish in second place on the ladder for no reason.
It was in part due to the way the pair executed Webster’s game plan, while Tanah Boyd obviously also played a role and was on his way to a career-best year before being struck down by injury.
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Fox League commentator Matt Russell doesn’t “buy into” the idea the Warriors halves need to dramatically evolve their game for the finals either.
“I’ve been asked all year by people in New Zealand if they have got the six and seven to win the comp,” Russell told foxsports.com.au.
“I said, ‘Where are you sitting on the ladder?’ Maybe you don’t have a Nathan Cleary. Maybe you don’t have a Sam Walker. But these two halves have been there for the majority of the season and look what’s happened to that team.
“I’d be buying in and investing confidence in those two players and if you go back to when these teams first met this year, they had Tanah Boyd and Luke Hanson and they put 38 points on the Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium.
“Then you go to Mount Smart a few weeks ago, they put 46 points on the Knights. So two scores around the 40-point mark. It suggests to me they’re not lacking creativity.”
WARNING AS SHARKS STAR TO BE ‘TARGETED’
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has no doubt taken note of the way the Roosters played against Penrith on Sunday and it’s understandable that he’d be worried heading into this week’s match.
The Roosters showed the Sharks that they’re prepared to win a finals match by scoring less than three tries.
Will the Sharks have that same mentality, and specifically could they find themselves vulnerable with a target put on the banged-up Braydon Trindall?
Fox League’s Cooper Cronk said the defence may actually start with an unlikely pairing in halves Trindall and Nicho Hynes.
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Trindall returned from a dislocated shoulder last week and clutched at it a number of times after making tackles.
The club insists he only suffered ‘burners’ and didn’t do any extra damage to the shoulder.
But watch the Roosters edge forwards go after the pair.
“I would imagine looking forward to this game that Nicho and Trindall are going to be targeted by the Roosters back-rowers,” Cronk said.
“I think they’re going to have to be super, defensively. Trindall’s got that busted shoulder so he’s going to be targeted.
“Nicho Hynes is going to be targeted, so maybe it’s not necessarily how many points they can score, the Sharks, maybe it’s about defensively and how well they can defend and stop the Roosters from scoring points.”
On Trindall specifically, the Cowboys weren’t able to target his shoulder as much as they would have liked in last week’s loss to the Sharks, but he might not be so lucky on Saturday if a couple of Roosters stars get the chance to go after him.
Trindall missed the final three games of the regular season with a shoulder injury but returned in the elimination final where he handled himself in defence against the rampaging Heilum Luki.
North Queensland wanted to test him out early and often, but a number of errors and poor discipline meant Trindall only had to make three tackles in the first half.
“We knew he was coming back from a shoulder injury quite early, so it was something we were thinking about,” Cowboys star Tom Dearden said.
“We wanted to do that (test him out) but when we’re making a lot of errors and don’t have enough possession, it’s hard to fully execute that part of it.”
The Cronulla five-eighth finished the contest with nine tackles and two misses, with Trindall suffering a stinger in the dying stages when he put his body on the line to stop Luki.
He now has to contend with Roosters back-rower Siua Wong who is enjoying his best year in the NRL on their lethal right edge.
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But there is a balancing act to going after someone in defence, with the Storm going away from their game plan in the 2018 Grand Final when they sent traffic at Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk who played with a broken scapula.
“I think definitely (it’s something we look at) but obviously it’s a 13 v 13 game, and I think that’s what it’s going to take for us this weekend to create that win is all 17 of us who take that field,” Wong said.
“Obviously it’s something to keep in mind, but we’ve got a game plan that we’ve got set and we’ve just got to follow it.
“For our team, we have a certain style of how we play and I feel like when we follow that we’re at our best.
“But we’ll take our cues. If we see something in the game with Trindall or whoever it may be, we’ll make sure we capitalise on it.”
Right centre Robert Toia will also be a key figure on that edge, with the representative star breaking down how the Roosters like to attack.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a game plan because I think it’s just our footy we play,” he said when asked about going after Trindall.
“Siua just targets the three-in man, and myself as well, I’ll run at the three-man sometimes, too. So I don’t know if it would be a game plan, but if Siua happens to run at him, then I guess (we’ll see what happens).”
— with Martin Gabor, Newswire
THE SIMPLE REALITY FOR UNDER-PRESSURE $1M MAN
Speaking of the Sharks halves, they have been put in the spotlight most weeks this year.
Hynes is easily on more money, but Trindall is the team’s true leader in terms of getting the side around the park.
His worth to the side was illustrated when he spent a month of the sidelines with the shoulder injury.
Not only did the Sharks look completely rudderless, but Hynes lost all his form.
It doesn’t seem like it was a coincidence that Hynes had one of his best games of the season last week when his halves partner returned from injury.
So, can Trindall get the best out of Hynes in this week’s crunch game?
“There’s no doubt that Braydon Trindall adds something to Nicho Hynes,” Cronk said.
“When you’ve got someone that can control the game, be reliable, it just allows others to have less stress and be a bit freer, and I think that’s the Trindall/Hynes combination.
“I don’t care who wears six or seven, as long as it’s a team-first mentality and that halves combination can complement one another.”
Nicho Hynes needs to have a big game this week if the Sharks are a chance of causing an upset.Source: Getty Images
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Trindall was having one of the best seasons of his career before suffering the shoulder injury, so regardless of how he performs this weekend it is hard to see him coming under too much scrutiny — especially when you consider he won’t be at 100 per cent.
Hynes, on the other hand, because of his contract will need to build on last week’s impressive outing against North Queensland.
Hynes opened up on being one of the more “heavily-criticised” players in the NRL earlier this week, telling reporters he “knows it comes with the job” while he adding he thinks at time some of the outside noise is not warranted.
In the pressure cooker that is finals football, however, the spotlight will be stronger than usual especially given Cronulla’s failure to really go to the next level in recent years.
For Broncos legend Gorden Tallis, there is a simple solution to getting all the criticism to go away.
“He does get criticised and I think it’s warranted when he’s the $1 million player. He doesn’t like it but no one likes it. If he keeps on winning, there will be no criticism,” Tallis said on ‘NRL 360’.
“That is the easiest way for it to go away.”
It was a similar message from CODE Sports journalist Brent Read, who said Hynes was not alone in coming under scrutiny from the media when he underperforms.
“The criticism came because they were losing and he’s such an integral part of that footy team,” Read said.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or what club you’re at, when you’re losing there will be criticism… Nathan Cleary was criticised during Origin. The best player in the game has copped flak during this season.”
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Both the Roosters and Sharks will run out onto Allianz Stadium on Saturday night feeling the pressure.
Whoever loses will come under huge scrutiny for different reasons.
If the Roosters lose, questions will be asked about Trent Robinson given he’s got a stacked squad which can’t go to the next level and win a comp.
And if Cronulla goes down, well, it’s just the same old Sharks, and Fitzgibbon may hear the dreaded ‘rebuild’ word.
WHY WARRIORS WON’T BE PAYING ANY MIND TO ‘ABSOLUTE IDIOTS’
The Warriors may be heavy favourites for Sunday’s clash against Newcastle, but there is one clear weakness the Knights can exploit — and they proved it down a man.
The Knights had no problems piling on the points in their last game against the Warriors despite losing Jacob Saifiti to a send-off, with both of Newcastles wingers having four linebreaks and running for over 450 metres combined.
Newcastle had plenty of success spreading the ball early and often inside its own half, and it wasn’t a one-off either with the Warriors’ right edge defence looking particularly vulnerable in recent weeks.
The Warriors have conceded 20 linebreaks to opposition left second rowers, centres and wingers over their past four games according to the Fox Sports Lab.
Adam Pompey specifically has been a constant target for opposition teams, playing right centre in the Warriors’ win over South Sydney where he had four linebreak causes while Ali Leiataua has been at fault for six linebreak casuses over the past three games.
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It doesn’t look like Leka Halasima will be back this week from his hamstring injury, which not only takes one of the Warriors’ best attacking weapons out of the game but also leaves them short of reliable defensive options in the centres.
Instead, it will be Pompey and Leiataua who the Warriors will be hoping can shut down Bradman Best and Dane Gagai, who ran riot last week against South Sydney.
Adam Pompey has been at the centre of an ugly online tirade in recent weeks, and his coach Andrew Webster was strong in defending his centre by taking aim at the “absolute idiots”.
“They’re gutless, they’ve got no guts at all and they’re embarrassing,” Webster said earlier this month.
“We left him stranded several times last week against Cody Walker. That’s their supercar.
“They’re idiots, like absolute idiots.”
So there is little doubting Webster will have Pompey’s back and making sure the veteran centre is in the right frame of mind, having previously been relegated to the bench when the Warriors have been at full-strength.
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Fox League’s Matt Russell also had a similar opinion to the Warriors coach, believing that even if Pompey’s defensive lapses may be a concern there is no benefit in singling him out.
“They finished top two for a reason. There’s not a crisis on the edges for the Warriors,” he said.
“Now Leka Halasima probably won’t play. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is a chance to play. So, there might be a little bit of a shuffling around their edges. But I don’t think it’s a massive fix.
“Yes, Adam Pompey wasn’t happy with his game last week. Even Jacob Laban had some issues on the other side of the field. But as Andrew Webster said in his media conference this week, it’s not about Jacob Laban, for example, who has been one of their best players this year. It’s about not having the support around him at that time that he needed.
“So it was a team thing. I don’t think it’s a massive fix. I don’t think it’ll be a focus for Andrew Webster.
“Obviously, there’ll be adjustments and coaching in that area, and I suspect improvement in that area. But it’s not an area where I think Newcastle will go let’s win the game this way, because they’ll have too much to contend with in other areas of the Warriors.”
‘BOLLOCKS’ TRUTH IN DCE’S BID FOR ‘FAIRYTALE’ FAREWELL
Who writes Daly Cherry-Evans’s scripts?
He’ll be hoping he’ll write them himself as the Roosters try and bounce back from a week one finals defeat and get past the Sharks on Saturday night.
It could be a legacy-defining three weeks for the man known as ‘DCE’ ahead of his move to the English Super League.
If he can lead the Roosters to three-straight wins and capture the title without Sam Walker by his side, his legacy in the game grows exponentially.
Daly Cherry-Evans has a chance to lead the Roosters to the titleSource: Getty Images
CODE Sports reporter Dave Riccio said the stage is set for the 376-game veteran to end his career in the same fashion as Cooper Cronk by leading the Roosters to a 16th title.
“This is the moment Daly Cherry-Evans was brought to the Roosters for and probably even more so now that Sam Walker isn’t there,” Riccio said.
“It just places all the responsibility on DCE’s shoulders. If he can get past this game against Cronulla and to a prelim, that fairy-tale story is now really becoming a fairy-tale.
“He was booed, sneered at by Manly fans at the time of that contract bungle of leaving the club at 15 seasons. It was drama galore… he emerges out of that, leaves the club and sits 80 minutes away from the grand final.
“It quickly emerges as the fairy-tale story of the year… but it’s on him and the fact Sam Walker is not there makes it even more prevalent.”
Fox League’s Matt Russell doesn’t feel there’s any extra pressure on the veteran’s shoulders.
He’s won a comp at Manly to go with two World Cup wins for Australia and six State of Origin series for Queensland.
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Russell argued DCE’s legacy was already set even if he doesn’t lead the Roosters to the promised land.
“Does this year affect the legacy of Daly Cherry-Evans? I say bollocks to that. This bloke has been in the league for so long, done so much. If they go heavy loss, heavy loss, does that really affect the legacy of DCE? He will be remembered as one of the game’s greats, no matter what happens at the back end of this season,” Russell said.
“Yes, there might be the cherry on top of this magnificent career if he wins a premiership at the Roosters, something he did at Manly in 2011. But don’t tell me that his legacy relies on the next few weeks.
“His legacy is one of great durability, fantastic standard of play, longevity in the game and a fantastic contributor to rugby league, no matter what happens.”
THE ‘HUGE SIGN’ PONGA IS BOUGHT IN… AND SO ARE KNIGHTS
Kalyn Ponga’s ability as a footballer has never been questioned.
From the moment he made his debut at the Cowboys in 2016 he’s proved himself to be one of the most talented players of his generation.
He’s starred at State of Origin level and won the Dally M Medal in 2023 as the game’s best player.
But the off-field noise about his attitude and future has never quite gone away.
“Through age has come maturity. Unfortunately for Kalyn we always go back to the strawberry thickshake comment when (Nathan) Brown was sacked,” Fox League journalist Paul Crawley said on NRL 360 this week.
Crawley was referring to the 2019 sacking of Brown when Ponga said he ‘wasn’t too sad’ when hearing the news because he was at lunch having a ‘nice strawberry thickshake’.
When Knights coach Justin Holbrook arrived at the club in the pre-season Ponga retained the captaincy – something he didn’t do when he got to St Helens before leading them to a title under James Roby who he insisted had to be the captain of the team.
“He’s really developed into a great leader and a lot of it has been this year under Justin Holbrook,” Crawley said.
“I remember sitting at this desk talking last year about the Knights and the fact the club had lost its DNA… whatever Holbrook has been able to do to generate this input and buy-in from the guys has been amazing.”
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Holbrook’s influence on Ponga was there for all to see in April when he committed to the club until the end of 2030 on a deal worth a reported $1.4m a season.
Ponga didn’t have to do that at that point in time.
He could’ve waited longer, but the re-signing quashed rumours that he might leave the Knights for the Roosters or even the NRL itself to have a crack at playing for the All Blacks.
“There was no greater sign of his maturation and belief in Holbrook than halfway through this season because like it or not, we sat here on the desk for the last two years discussing Kalyn Ponga’s future,” CODE Sports journalist Dave Riccio said.
“Within three months of Justin Holbrook being there, Kalyn puts his flag in the ground and says, ‘I’m here and I’m staying’… it was a huge sign of belief in the coach and I reckon that filters down straight through the playing group. That gives them confidence and belief that the leader is sticking around.”
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Fox League commentator Matt Russell said Ponga’s actions off the field under Holbrook and his commitment to the Knights long-term have given his teammates belief.
“It wasn’t that long ago that there were all sorts of questions being asked. Is Kalyn going to stay at Newcastle? Does he want to get out? Well, as soon as Justin Holbrook arrives seemingly he’s inked an extension, he’s invested and he said ‘I’m here long-term’,” Russell said.
“That flows into the other players, he looks settled, he looks happy, and as a commentator, you can’t help but be excited when you look down from your commentary position and see Kalyn Ponga in the opposition or on the field for Newcastle.”