Talking points and analysis from Round 20, why Reece Walsh change has to stay, Jarome Luai contract clause

Sydney Roosters playmakers Sam Walker and Daly Cherry-Evans weren’t exactly filling their fans with confidence with the attack they put on against the Storm on Friday night.

In an execution performance that coach Trent Robinson described as ‘poor’, the Roosters looked a pale imitation of their best in the slippery and low-scoring affair.

Former Roosters halves coach Cooper Cronk said the halves performance was a combination of the annual Origin hangover – particularly in the wake of Walkers’ impressive input for Queensland – as well as the absence of James Tedesco.

“It is a concern and I think it shows the importance of Tedesco because Tedesco does a lot of work through the middle of the field as a first receiver and then he’s the link guy that sets up the tries on the edges,” Cronk told Fox League.

“There should have been more cohesion between Walker and Cherry-Evans tonight. With the amount of forward momentum that Naufahu Whyte was delivering, yes they should have. On the other side of the field there was some good defence from the Melbourne Storm. But if you call it as you see they should have scored more points. “

Asked by Fox League host Braith Anasta whether the Roosters looked like the sort of team that could win a premiership on Friday night, Cronk – a two-time premiership winner with the tricolours – offered a mixed assessment.

“It’s really hard to judge what the Roosters did tonight. It’s off the back of Origin… I think they missed Tedesco hugely,” he said. “They are set for September, but that’s not the performance that gives you confidence. I think they had enough field possession to score double the amount of points.”

Michael Ennis remained convinced the Roosters can go deep into September despite the mixed performance against the Storm.

“I think the Roosters can win a premiership,” he declared. “I said the same thing about the Panthers last night, they’ve had seven players in and out of the Origin series – no Tedesco, no Rob Toia – they’ve had minimal reps together,” he said.

“Conditions were tough in Sydney this weekend weather-wise. They were no-where near their best but I still think they can win a competition.”

Robinson was otherwise satisfied with his side’s performance against the Roosters, ruing their at-times poor attacking options, but praising their defence.

“The execution of our attack was poor. I’ll take that out of Origin just with different guys coming in and out in the wet. Of course I would have liked to have better combinations and increase that, because I thought we had enough field position,” he said.

“But there are some really good signs there.”

SHARKS KEEP THEIR FOOT ON THE GAS AMID CONTINUED WINNING STREAK

You could forgive Cronulla for partially taking their foot off the accelerator following a resounding 66-nil dismantling of the Dolphins two weeks ago.

Instead, the in-form side pressed firmly against the firewall with a resilient 20-18 win against the Knights on Friday night.

The Sharks are firmly in the NRL’s top four with the weeks counting down towards the NRL finals, and captain Cam McInnes said the side was eager to avoid complacency after winning seven from their past eight matches.

“We knew coming off the game last week that it’s easy to rest on your laurels but we don’t want to be like that this year. We’ve changed,” he said.

“The grit and toughness that we showed, that’s what we’re about this year.”

Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon is happy with what he’s seeing from the third-placed outfit.

“First half we didn’t quite get going but the way we addressed it and got it back was really good,” was Fitzgibbon’s summary of the match.

For Fox League’s Michael Ennis, it was the Sharks defence that proved the biggest difference on a night where Kalyn Ponga’s stray boot was costly for the visitors, with one conversion from four attempts.

“It was a tough win at home in tough conditions. Some wonderful try saves, one from Mawene Hiroti on Bradman Best in the closing stages of the game, another one from Sione Katoa was absolutely outstanding,” said Ennis.

“It’s a big win for Cronulla. Defensively they’re the second-best team in the comp over the past month, just behind the Roosters.”

Cooper Cronk was impressed at the way the Shark’s backline covered for one another in the big moments, and believes it will hold the side in good stead during some big match-ups in the final games of the regular season.

“It was defence in crucial moments that got them this win. Sione Katoa doesn’t have to do this, he is on the other side of the field in a moment when his team is sort of ahead.

“He never gives up, tracks the football and it ends up being the play that gives the scoreboard pressure in favour of the Sharks,” Cronk said.

“When the game was in the balance the Sharks defence was the strongest thing for them.”

Cronulla score an eight-day turnaround for their next match against the Sea Eagles in Round 21, where they are set to welcome back Jesse Ramien (illness), Jess Colquhoun (knee) and Toby Rudolf (knee).

Fitzgibbon was also confident enforcer Addin Fonua-Blake would recover in time for Manly after a minor pec strain against the Knights, which took him from the field at one point before he gave the home side a big surge in the final quarter of the match.

“It’s a low grade pec strain but you don’t want to make it a high grade pec strain. I though he shifted energy pretty quick when he came back on,” he said.

The Sharks boast an impressive record at home this year, but with four of the remaining seven games being played outside the Shire, the side will need to improve their away record to remain inside the top four.

WHY NEXT WEEK IS ‘DO OR DIE’ FOR STORM AS FINALS FIRST LOOMS

Craig Bellamy could not have been prouder after his understrength Storm side fell just short of a monumental upset against the Roosters on Friday night.

But the unfortunate reality for the Storm is that every loss is another missed opportunity as the club inches closer to missing the finals for the first time under Bellamy, with the exception of the 2010 salary-cap breach season.

Manly’s surprise loss helped Melbourne’s cause, while it also was handy that the Cowboys lost given they have a far inferior for-and-against to the Dolphins.

But the Storm are up against it in the race for a finals spot, still sitting four points outside of the eight and also without both Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster.

Hughes should be back soon but Munster could miss the entire regular season and while Harry Grant’s class was almost enough against the Roosters, the Storm were crying out for more direction in the halves after being gifted multiple sets on the opposition try-line.

For Michael Ennis, this may end up being a lost season for the Storm and it is hard not to wonder what could have been if they were at full-strength.

However, the typical mark of a Bellamy team in previous seasons has been performing regardless of who is available and at the moment the depth just isn’t there according to Ennis.

“Three of their better players in the run to the grand final last year haven’t featured this year,” Ennis said.

“Eli Katoa, Shawn Blore then you throw in Ryan Papenhuyzen. As good as Fa’alogo has been, Papenhuyzen was so good for them. And then Coates. That Papenhuyzen, Coates, Warbrick back three combination took a lot of pressure off the spine. They created momentum.

“The depth isn’t there at the moment.”

Ennis called next week’s game against South Sydney as “do-or-die”, with the Bulldogs and Manly to come in the following weeks.

It is a crucial stretch for the Storm given those games are against teams just above them on the ladder.

“Their season is in the balance next week,” added former Melbourne premiership-winner Cooper Cronk.

“You beat Souths, you give yourself an opportunity but I have my doubts though. The start of the season crushed their chances big time.

They fought hard and tonight showed they have the character to fight but they just don’t have the class at the moment.”

“They’ve missed Eli Katoa and there are a few others they’ve missed. You take Xavier Coates out for the season; other guys are moving around in other positions.”

“They haven’t found consistency on the edges and their inexperienced players haven’t had the minutes to stop the biggest and best teams.”

HARRY GRANT 2.0 EMERGES IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL

The Canberra Raiders remain a slim chance of making the finals after a dramatic turnaround in recent weeks following an inconsistent start to this year’s campaign.

Winning their past three matches, the Raiders need to clinch at least five victories from their final six games to have any chance of keeping their season alive.

One of the key players behind their resurgence has been rookie dummy-half Owen Pattie, who has taken his game to another level and emerged as one of the NRL’s most promising No.9s.

“He has a little bit of Harry Grant about him,” Fox League analyst Luke Keary said on Saturday afternoon.

“I’ve loved that they’ve held him back a little bit and we’re seeing the best of him.”

The emergence of Pattie has come at a crucial time for the Raiders who have been searching for consistency around the ruck.

It also comes after he spent the opening months of the season honing his craft in NSW Cup before being recalled to the first-grade line-up with coach Ricky Stuart taking a patient approach with the young hooker.

That patience has now paid off with Pattie producing stellar back-to-back showings against the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs.

“I think Ricky has done a magnificent job with him,” Balmain Tigers icon Steve Roach added.

“Obviously, he knows the talent he’s got but he needed to be able to play 80 minutes, so he needed to be able to play more minutes.

“He got out of reserve-grade, comes in and makes an impact. All of sudden…he’s awesome.

“I really like his service out of dummy-half and he’s going to be there for a long time.”

Ethan Strange added, “Sando and Pattie are getting more and more games and they’re killing it. I thought they were both outstanding today so put it down to those two.”

With Pattie thriving in the starting role alongside the halves’ combination of Strange and Ethan Sanders, the trio have helped the Raiders rediscover the style of football that helped them claim the minor premiership in 2025.

“It was a fantastic performance in the first-half, they were just everywhere. They keep their season alive,” Keary continued.

“It looks like the Canberra Raiders side that we came to know the season before. They’ve been inconsistent this year.

“Ricky said he’s been searching for a switch and they’ve found it.

“For me, if Kaeo Weekes, Ethan Strange, Ethan Sanders can get that combination with Owen Pattie now they are a chance (for the finals).”

However, they will have to do it without star representative back-rower Hudson Young, who sustained a season-ending Achilles injury.

A massive blow for the Green Machine on both ends of the field, Young’s absence opens up the door for either Corey Horsburgh, Matty Nicholson or Morgan Smithies to step into the starting side.

Meanwhile, Simi Sasagi – who has recently been playing in the centres – is another option to shift into the starting forward pack.

“It’s shattering for Hudson but also shattering for the Raiders. I think Hudson Young is eight points for the Raiders,” Cooper Cronk said on Fox League’s Super Saturday post-match show.

“He saves tries, he scores tries and they’re going to miss one of their best players with five wins from six games to finish the season to get into the finals.

“It just got a lot harder with no Hudson Young.”

HAVE SOUTHS FOUND THEIR LONG-TERM NO.7?

Wayne Bennett may not have been in the mood for too much praise after his side’s 10-point loss to Canberra on Saturday, but recent interviews have failed to hide the soft spot appears to have for up-and-coming half Ashton Ward, who this week agreed to another two seasons at the Burrow.

And Ward showed why throughout the match in the nation’s capital, with a composure that a 22-year-old halfback perhaps should not be showing at this stage of his career.

“You’d expect that play from a more experienced player,” Tigers’ legend Steve Roach remarked in commentary after the primary school teacher took the space on offer close to the line to post first points for Souths, capitalising with a show-and-go and breaking the line.

He then dug into the line to draw the defence and set up the two tries, early in the second half, which put the Rabbitohs back in the contest. He was also four from four, converting with the boot.

Speaking to Fox League prior to the clash, Bennett described him as his ‘type of player’.

“He tries really hard, he does his best. He’s not a big guy, but he’s courageous,” Bennett said.

“He’s been very good around the players, they all really like him. (He is getting the players) to do what he wants them to do, and the players have the confidence in him and respect him enough to do that.”

Without him, the Raiders may well have run away with a match which finished 34-24, harpooning the for-and-against critical for teams like Souths in the bottom half of the eight.

His performance even earned the praise of one of the best number sevens to lace up a boot, the opposing coach Ricky Stuart, adding further merit to Souths’ recruitment decision.

“That young half Ward, he did a really good job tonight,” Stuart said post-match. “He ignited a lot of their attack.”

Despite the loss, Ward may have arrived as the Rabbitohs number seven from which they can build the team of the future.

And who knows?

The super coach may have uncovered another little bloke to work wonders at halfback for him, like a certain player from Ipswich that helped him to four titles.

But for nothing else, the affection he has for Ashton as a player is quite similar.

— David Gavin (NCA NewsWire)

Wayne quizzed on finals after defeat | 03:21