THE BIG 5 - NRL Round 3

Brisbane’s third straight loss, the Roosters giving up, the borefest between the Dogs and the Titans, Souths and the swift response to Willie Mason’s strike threat. They fill the five big questions for NRL Round 3

5. Are the Broncos a possibility of missing the finals?

Hasn’t happened since 1991, and they’ve recovered from worse scenarios than this, such as 1999 when the Broncos had one win after round 10. Origin doesn’t seem to affect the side through the middle of the season as much as it used to, so there is not necessarily the same necessity to build up early wins. However if they can’t put away the Roosters on Friday then questions will be more than warranted.

4. Was the Bulldogs/Titans game in the all time top five boring matches?

Quote of the year so far goes to Bulldogs assistant coach Kevin Moore, who dismissed his sides win over the Titans so flippantly. He has a point about the excitement factor, and it can be argued that the Dogs showed more in parts of the hiding against Penrith than yesterday at Telstra. The Bulldogs did enough to win and no more.

The problem in Kevin’s argument is he didn’t see the Roosters and Eagles down the road, which is contender for the most boring game ever. Manly/Canberra was a low game in week one, so yesterdays drudgery at Homebush has a battle to finish in the top five boring matches this year, let alone all time.

3. Did the Roosters give up?

This is becoming a little monotonous. The Roosters get hammered and it’s because they ‘weren’t switched on’, or ‘gave up’. If they are throwing in the towel it’s understandable. They rarely ever look like scoring, so what hope are they to win games? The problem lies with their attack. If you’ve sat through any of their matches, Three tries in three games is almost a kind statistic. Braith Anasta is the only player that looks moderately threatening, while whoever sits in the musical chair halfback spot is overwhelmed. It seems ludicrous that Craig Wing, a grand final winning halfback in 2002, has hardly been given a shot at seven since. It’s not as if he’s dominating out of the ruck these days, so why not see what he’s got at first receiver. If they’re close, they won’t give up.

2. Now can we say Souths are for real?

The critics keep putting out the challenges, and the Bunnies keep knocking them over with verve. Parramatta was supposed to be a step up from the Roosters, the Sharks on a Saturday night at Toyota Park a step up from the Eels. Souths may have stumbled in the second half against Cronulla, but they never looked in danger. A convincing win with sparkling attack and solid defence. 3 and 0 should be evidence enough, but a big crowd on Friday against a team with pedigree in the Bulldogs is the final test. If Souths win that then all questions will be answered thank you very much

1. Was Willie vindicated?

It’s funny how when Willie Mason threatened a strike last Sunday because of the league’s refusal to bump up the salary cap, Willie was portrayed as a greedy footballer, who didn’t know any of the facts because the players association didn’t inform him. Yet a week later, NRL boss David Gallop announces an unplanned rise of $100,000 next year, with a further rise the season after to take the cap to $4.2 million. When Willie went one out, he was pummeled, but when the likes of Lockyer, Johns and Bennett said he had a point, the attitude changed. You can say what you like about Willie, but there is no questioning his braveness.

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