The Serve

The Big 5: NRL Round 22

 Ricky Stuart’s spray, the grapple tackle and is Sonny Bill now the most important player in the premiership. These are part of the NRL Big 5 for round 22

5. Will the eight change by the finals?

The Cowboys should be safe so that leaves Brisbane and the Tigers in danger. The Broncos compete so hard, but can they win again? The Bulldogs next week won’t be good for character.

But for Brisbane to exit means someone has to overtake them. The Roosters are probably the second hottest team behind Manly right now, and with a soft draw should win two of their last three, at least. The Tigers? They play Souths in Round 24 and that might be for all the marbles.

4. Did Ricky Stuart deserve a fine for his full time spray on the referee?

Ricky didn’t actually question the integrity of Jason Robinson, so he should be safe. The question is why Ricky did it? He made a point of saying he didn’t want to spoil Cronulla’s special night, but he made a fair mess of it. No one cared that a club reject came back to deliver his side its first win in two months. Shame.

3. Are the Broncos whinging about the grapple tackle?

It does seem to rear its head when Brisbane are the Storms opponents. Although consider Petero Civoniceva is normally a placid, measured character off the field. If he’s complaining about the grapple then there has to be an issue.

2. Can Brian Smith and the Knights players work together?

Thankfully the season is nearly over, so the pain is nearly done. The only question worth considering is can Smith work with Danny Buderus? They seemed to work beautifully together early in the season but whether that can be restored is questionable.

1. Is Sonny Bill the most important player in the competition?

Ever since Terry Lamb left, Canterbury has never relied on one player to be a force. With Mason, O’Meley, Ryan and Maitua they certainly have some artillery, but it’s hard to imagine the Dogs functioning without Sonny Bill. Ask yourself this: If it got to a final, and you had the choice between having all four of those mentioned players but no Sonny Bill, or Sonny Bill only, which way would you go? The fact you have to think about it only speaks volumes of Williams.