'Clueless': Dragons left with 'massive headache'

1 year ago 62

The NRL's pre-season situation is successful the books, and The Mole watched each infinitesimal of each match.

Here's The Mole's circular up of the hits and misses from week 2 of the pre-season arsenic we borderline person to circular one.

DRAGONS 24 RABBITOHS 42

Damien Cook and Cody Walker are usually dilatory starters to a caller play - but they threw that wont retired the model against the hapless Dragons successful Mudgee.

The 2 superstars had monolithic games arsenic the Rabbitohs trampled each implicit a unspeakable Dragons outfit.

PLAYER RATINGS: 'Shambolic': Australia sinks to grounds low

Cook laid connected 3 tries, portion Walker scored 2 and the duo were heavy progressive arsenic the Bunnies clinched the Charity Shield.

Most of Souths' large guns fired, with Cam Murray, Thomas Burgess and Campbell Graham besides having their moments successful a good squad performance.

The Dragons showed immoderate combat successful the 2nd fractional with 4 tries, but the crippled was each implicit by halftime with the Rabbitohs holding a commanding 26-0 lead.

Of the young brigade, Izaac Thompson connected the helping was harmless nether precocious shot earlier getting wounded and large guardant Davvy Moale was rewarded for immoderate barging runs with a try.

What tin you accidental astir the Dragons? The Charity Shield is much than your mean proceedings - some teams fielded their apical teams… and the Dragons were clueless.

Fullback shapes arsenic a monolithic headache for manager Anthony Griffin… Tyrell Sloan dropped 2 precocious balls, his assurance intelligibly low, and Cody Ramsey is retired for year.

The youngster who wanted retired of the nine a fewer months agone broke down successful tears aft fulltime - intelligibly letting him spell would person been amended for some parties.

Jayden Sullivan showed immoderate zip disconnected the seat for the Dragons, scoring a astute solo try, and volition astir apt beryllium determination successful the starting broadside for the premiership proper.

KNIGHTS 14 EELS 36

Two trials for the Knights - 2 mediocre losses … and much questions than answers for besieged manager Adam O'Brien.

Kalyn Ponga played the archetypal fractional successful his caller relation astatine five-eighth and did small - but for coming up with a atrocious one-on-one missed tackle connected Mitchell Moses for 1 of the Eels' 7 tries.

The 1 affirmative for the Knights was the show of caller winger Greg Marzhew, who made 2 cleanable busts and scored a determined try.

Bradman Best - a existent onslaught limb - scored a good solo effort and Tyson Frizell was beardown successful patches.

Other than that, determination was small to enthuse astir for Newcastle and they volition request to bash immoderate soul-searching earlier circular one.

The Eels were nonrecreational without being superb but manager Brad Arthur volition person been pleased with however they went astir their business.

Halves Moses and Dylan Brown were strong, Junior Paulo came up with his accustomed quota of clever offloads and Clint Gutherson led the squad good from fullback.

Winger Sean Russell showed he's a archetypal grader with 2 neat tries and immoderate determined runs and much-maligned Jake Arthur came up with a bully effort assistance erstwhile fixed his chance.

ROOSTERS 16 SEA EAGLES 28

Manly's caller manager Anthony Seibold has intelligibly fixed his young squad licence to play what they spot and backmost themselves successful onslaught this season.

Manly were superb successful a demolition occupation connected the Roosters, with the last scoreline nary reflection connected the game.

The Roosters scored each their 16 points successful a 5 infinitesimal burst - Manly wholly dominated the remaining 75 minutes.

The astir pleasing facet for Manly is that it was their young guns that did each the damage.

Haumole Olakau'atu had a dynamic moving and offloading crippled connected the edge, portion Tigers enlistee Kelma Tuilagi was besides punishing.

Hooker Gordon Chan Kum Tong was bully for the 2nd consecutive week and Zac Fulton again stood retired from the bench.

Out wide, the Sea Eagles were awesome, scoring a heap of long-distance tries, with winger Reuben Garrick bagging a chapeau instrumentality and having different disallowed.

Fullback Kaeo Weekes produced a mates of effort assists and centre Tolu Koula was excessively accelerated and beardown for the Roosters defence.

Without halves Sam Walker and Luke Keary, the Roosters were clueless successful onslaught and Trent Robinson has a batch of enactment to bash implicit the adjacent mates of weeks.

Sure the Roosters had immoderate stars missing, but Manly were without their 2 champion players (Turbo and DCE) and their subordinate of the twelvemonth from 2022 (Lachlan Croker) and were inactive acold excessively good.

PANTHERS 12 ST HELENS 13

Is the epoch of Penrith domination successful information of crumbling?

The question has to beryllium asked aft the Panthers - unbackable $1.06 favourites - were out-played and out-enthused by fertile outsiders St Helens successful the World Club Challenge.

The departure of their 2 astir unsafe forwards - Viliame Kikau and Api Koroisau - has near the Panthers looking decidedly vulnerable.

They struggled to marque yardage against the willing, but hardly intimidating, Saints battalion and Ivan Cleary volition request to spell backmost to the drafting committee implicit the adjacent 2 weeks.

The instrumentality of prima fullback Dylan Edwards and back-rower Liam Martin volition help, but the Panthers conscionable don't look arsenic menacing without their 2 guardant stars.

They managed 2 tries against St Helens - some from kicks - and seldom troubled the visitors.

Full marks to Saints, who fewer gave immoderate anticipation of adjacent coming adjacent to triumph successful the lion's den successful Sydney's west.

Fullback Jack Welsby showed wherefore NRL clubs are keen connected his signature, scoring the opening effort and redeeming 1 with a desperation tackle connected the Panthers' main antheral Nathan Cleary.

Konrad Hurrell - plentifulness of kilos heavier than successful his NRL days with the Warriors and Titans, was a existent fistful and scored a effort from abbreviated scope with a determined run.

Halfback Lewis Dodd was again awesome and up front, Sione Mata'utia, Alex Walmsley and the aged pro James Roby were apical shelf.

BRONCOS 20 COWBOYS 18

Enigmatic young prima Selwyn Cobbo has fixed Broncos manager Kevin Walters a viable enactment for circular 1 with his show successful the Broncos' come-from-behind triumph against the Cowboys.

With Reece Walsh racing the timepiece to beryllium acceptable with a facial fracture, Cobbo stepped into the cardinal fullback spot and was dynamic.

Should Walsh inactive beryllium unavailable for circular 1 successful a fortnight, Coobo looks the goods.

Rival fullback Scott Drinkwater was besides crisp successful a apical prime proceedings successful which some teams completed astatine implicit 80 per cent.

Pat Carrigan led the mode for the Broncos and his work-rate was outstanding.Cowboys inferior Ben Hampton damaged his hamstring portion making a tally and looks acceptable to miss the opening rounds.

The triumph was a large intelligence boost for the Broncos, fixed their mediocre decorativeness to past play and the information that the teams volition conscionable successful circular two.

WARRIORS 6 STORM 24

A emblematic Warriors performance, showing large tone successful the archetypal fractional to pb 6-0 earlier crumbling aft the break, conceding 24 unanswered points.

Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak posted the lone effort of the archetypal fractional with a solo 70 metre bust from a scrum and the Kiwi squad had the Storm intelligibly rattled.

But Craig Bellamy made immoderate adjustments astatine the interruption - and astir apt fired a fewer missiles - and the Storm cruised home. New winger Will Warbrick was arsenic unsafe arsenic anyone connected the tract for the Storm.

A erstwhile Kiwi Olympic sevens metallic medallist successful rugby union, Warbrick bushed 4 defenders for a large effort and has size and velocity to burn.

Joe Chan - a 20-year-old guardant enlistee from Catalans successful France - besides looked bully for the Storm, arsenic did Eli Katoa, who scored a effort against his aged club.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona was crisp for a large antheral truthful aboriginal successful the season, scoring a determined effort and moving with existent purpose.

TIGERS 36 RAIDERS 4

The Tigers needed to marque a connection aft they were AWFUL astatine the Warriors past week - they did that and past immoderate successful a broad triumph implicit a disappointing Raiders outfit.

Danny Levi - successful the premix for the hooking spot for circular 1 with Zac Woolford and Tom Starling - got the Raiders disconnected to a good commencement with a large effort from a Nick Cotric footwear infield but from past on, Canberra showed precise little.

Adam Doueihi was superb for the Tigers astatine five-eighth, mounting up astir of their attacking raids.

It was shades of the Tim Sheens - Benji Marshall operation successful that magical wintertime of 2005, with the Tigers scoring agelong scope tries and showing immoderate razzle dazzle.

Tommy Talau, who missed each of 2022 with a genu injury, looked crisp successful the centres and youngsters Junior Tupou and Shawn Blore each had good touches. Brandon Wakeham, deputising for Luke Brooks astatine halfback, besides gave the coaching unit plentifulness to deliberation astir with a beardown effort.

BULLDOGS 16 SHARKS 36

After a large commencement to the Cameron Ciraldo epoch past week, the Bulldogs came crashing backmost to world against a nonrecreational Sharks outfit.

With Nicho Hynes and Matt Moylan calling the shots, the Sharks were acold to slick for the Doggies.

New signing Viliame Kikau got the Bulldogs disconnected to the close commencement with a effort from a footwear but erstwhile a caput sound brought an aboriginal extremity to his day, overmuch of the aerial went retired of the location team's balloon.

Sharks fullback William Kennedy came up with the play of the time with a large trysaving tackle connected Bulldogs centre Jake Averillo. Back-rower Teig Wilton bagged 2 tries for the Sharks, arsenic did livewire winger Ronaldo Mulitalo arsenic Cronulla racked up the points.

Biggest cheer of the time came erstwhile Josh Reynolds made an affectional instrumentality to Belmore, adjacent though the people was 30-4 astatine the time, helium brought each his enthusiasm and was rewarded with a try.

Hooker Nu Brown besides pushed his spot for inclusion successful the Bulldogs' apical 17 with a trademark effort from dummy half.

DOLPHINS 16 TITANS 40

Trials are usually astir seeing young guns successful action, but for Titans manager Justin Holbrook, the show of 2 aged hands gave him astir pleasance successful the demolition of the Dolphins.

Veteran five-eighth Kieran Foran was superb successful his archetypal crippled successful Titans' colours, having a manus successful 3 tries.

And enigmatic back-rower David Fifita was astatine his dynamic best, swatting defenders disconnected passim his stint connected the field.

Holbrook tin physique a winning squad astir these 2 people players - and the signs were bully connected Sunday night.

Rookie winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira surely appreciated their service, moving successful 4 tries - including the archetypal 3 of the crippled - to unafraid a spot for the commencement of the premiership.

The Dolphins' close borderline defence was a existent problem, perpetually targetted by Foran, and manager Wayne Bennett volition request to plug the leaks implicit the adjacent 2 weeks.

Another interest was that conscionable 1 guardant - Jarrod Wallace - managed to interruption 3 figures successful moving metres.

For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!