The winners of the Sunday smash-up in Auckland were undoubtedly Penrith, kicking back and watching next week’s opponents belt each other senseless.
asserted
opponents → kick → other
Even though the Warriors were their own worst enemy in the 12-10 loss to the Knights, succumbing to the pressure of the Eden Park occasion and panicking their way to defeat, Newcastle’s rise from wooden spoon to preliminary final is fabulous.
asserted
rise → succumb → final
Nobody gets juiced on underdoggery like the Knights.
asserted
Nobody → juice → Knights
They are the envy of the Tigers, Dragons, Titans and Eels, who remain stuck in the cellar and who, if they’re smart, will study closely everything the Knights have done this year.
asserted
Knights → remain → everything
It’s difficult to manufacture team spirit, happiness and harmony without winning first, but under Justin Holbrook the Knights have produced the egg without needing the chicken.
asserted
Knights → ’ → chicken
Ref justice for Wahs
Make it make sense!
asserted
it → make → sense
Not that it was the reason the Warriors lost, but the non-penalty call on Newcastle’s Tyson Frizell in the final minute, when he clearly blocked Warriors kick chasers, shows what a rabbit hole the video officiating system has descended into.
asserted
system → lose → hole
Throughout the match, every bunker call turned into a philosophical discussion of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
asserted
angels → turn → pin
To their credit, the bunker officials avoided making absolute howlers.
asserted
officials → avoid → howlers
The absolute howler came when referee Ashley Klein missed Frizell’s infringement, which should have given the Warriors a shot at a penalty goal from right in front and a chance at extra time (in which, the way they were playing, they would surely have lost).
asserted
they → come → which
The Warriors had lost their challenge on a fingertip call a few minutes earlier.
asserted
Warriors → lose → call
So, do we want to eliminate technology and go back to crucial on-field refereeing mistakes like this?
asserted
we → want → this
But the tech-assisted challenge system hasn’t stopped it happening either.
asserted
it → assist → ?
And nobody understands why the bunker can intrude on the game unprompted and correct many referee rulings or take a player out due to a head knock, but not correct a glaring error like this.
asserted
bunker → understand → this
My brain hurts even thinking about it.
asserted
brain → hurt → it
Rugby league is a simple game played by simple people, refereed by an overcomplicated Rube Goldberg machine.
asserted
league → play → machine
When NRL supremo Peter V’landys sits down with his rules officials in the summer, item one has to be unpicking this tangle of wires and knobs.
asserted
item → sit → wires
The end result is what matters, and the end result on Sunday was a shower of bottles and other projectiles raining from the stands onto the referee – just like before we had video technology.
asserted
we → matter → technology
Even in victory, Robbo’s still not happy
asserted
Robbo → ’ → victory
On Saturday, the Roosters’ win over Cronulla echoed their win in the corresponding match two years ago over Manly.
asserted
win → echo → Manly
Then, Jake Trbojevic and Tolu Koula were knocked out in the opening minutes, and it was game over.
asserted
it → knock → minutes
This time, it was an early exit for Cronulla’s Nicho Hynes, whose concussion at least absolves him from the usual blame for another Sharks finals loss.
asserted
concussion → absolve → loss
Two years ago, the Roosters followed their thumping semi-final win with a heavy loss in Melbourne.
asserted
Roosters → follow → Melbourne
The Dolphins in Brisbane may not have the same aura as the Storm of 2024, and the Roosters have a fighting chance this Friday.
uncertain
Roosters → have → chance
But an NRL week wouldn’t be complete without the squeaky wheel of Trent Robinson needing some oil.
asserted
wheel → need → oil
A handsome 46-10 win didn’t quite fill the hole.
asserted
win → fill → hole
“It’s a little bit surprising that this has happened.
asserted
this → ’ → ?
I wouldn’t say it’s happened too often,” Robinson said of his team having two six-day turnarounds during the finals.
asserted
team → say → finals
All power to PVL
The centralisation of rugby league power in the person of Peter V’landys has always seemed as inevitable as the outcome of a democratic election in a one-party state, and so it has come to pass.
asserted
it → seem → state
An ARL Commission director is set to be appointed as a kind of agony aunt for stakeholders when they want to complain about the boss.
asserted
they → set → boss
The position, selected from members of V’landys’ own board, is meant to be an independent “guardrail” on his authority.
asserted
position → select → authority
In case you’re wondering why they would bother, remember that autarchs never win 100 per cent of the vote.
asserted
autarchs → wonder → vote
It’s always 98 per cent or 99 per cent, just so you know it’s not some kind of fait accompli handed down from above.
asserted
it → ’ → accompli
The Aporia
