It's fair to say that Round 9 provided the season's biggest upset. The Tigers were the season's largest outsiders yet went to Bathurst and upset one of the competition's all-time great sides.

Elsewhere we saw new premiership favourites emerge as the Bunnies hammered the Broncos in Brisbane. The Sharks also reminded us what they can do with the ball.

Unfortunately, the weather conditions robbed us of some true attacking games but it did allow the big men to leave a lasting impression, especially in the form of David Fifita and David Klemmer.

Below are 20 thoughts from an entertaining, and shocking, round nine:

1. NRL officials are still yet to come out and provide a definitive definition of the dreaded hip drop tackle. They now have a poster tackle in Jeremiah Nanai's effort on Braden Hamlin-Uele. Nanai was lucky to only cop four weeks for his tackle that looked like it could end Hamlin-Uele's season. Luckily the Shark forward is only facing four weeks on the sidelines.

2. Refereeing when there are 30 cameras covering every play is one of the most difficult tasks in the game. That said, how three officials missed the blatant Hudson Young knock-on in golden point on Saturday afternoon against the Dolphins is unforgivable.

3. Sticking with Canberra, it was brilliant to see Jack Wighton put in a man of the match effort despite the immense pressure his recent decision has put him under. The emotion in the post match interview was a raw as it gets. Great stuff.

4. As much as a shock that the Panthers losing to the Tigers was, any thoughts of panic in Penrith are very premature. I've seen some people writing off the back to back defending premiers despite them being the competition's best defensive side. C'mon now. The four point loss was their biggest of the season.

5. On the opposite side of the ball, the Sharks are now the comp's best-attacking side. They've scored more points than the table topping Broncos despite playing a game less. The Sharks, once known for their defense and grinding out games, have been completely transformed under Craig Fitzgibbon. Their defense is still under the microscope mind you.

6. Every year the NFL draft brings forth the "we need a draft" ideas. I absolutely love the theater of the draft but we simply do not have the talent pool to justify it. You'd have to completely re-set the comp for the idea to work and that is ridiculous. It's a fun idea but not plausible.

7. Vision of two children celebrating in the stands with a hug, followed by a third copying Latrell Mitchell's try celebration is the best moment of the season. It also shows just what Mitchell means to the game.

8. The amount of "ball plant" infringements we are seeing must be at an all time high. I dare say coaches will be reminding their players about getting to their feet before putting the ball down to play it.

9. A huge congrats to long suffering Tigers fans who got to celebrate on Saturday night. It has been a horror run. Hopefully the win kick starts a run of victories for the orange and black. I maintain changes need to be made but for now it's time to sit back and enjoy.

10. Nanai will be suspended for the State of Origin opener, not that his form warranted selection regardless, but QLD need not worry. David Fifita is in blistering form and absolutely has to be picked for Origin One. He tore the Sea Eagles to shreds. Teammate Moeaki Fotuaika is very much back in the discussions also.

11. It looks as though the Round One Vegas trip is on for the NRL. Manly and Souths are the teams reportedly confirmed to be headed. I cannot tell you how happy I am that Cronulla are not linked. 24+ hours of flights plus adjusting your body clock twice in a week is not worth hanging out with Wolverine and Gladiator.

12. Bit of a blowup yesterday in reaction to the Corey Waddell sinbin. Waddell held him for three weeks, what was Atkins meant to do? Lomax stood to play the ball while Waddell kept swinging off him. What was Corey thinking?

13. It's great to see Geoff Toovey back at the Sea Eagles. For those who missed the announcement, he has been appointed as a pathways coaching co-ordinator. I'm shocked he never picked up a coaching job but it's now obvious it was Manly or naught for the Sea Eagles' legend.

14. The Storm had the best timed bye of the season, at least thus far. While the Roosters, Dragons and Warriors had to contend with a Tuesday to Sunday turnaround, the Storm sat by the pool and heater with their feet up. Strange week of weather.

15. Reporters have linked Josh Schuster with a move to the Tigers. If I'm Manly I'm letting him walk. The move to five-eighth has not worked and reports of a training incident could not have dropped at a worse time.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - JULY 16: Josh Schuster of the Sea Eagles looks to pass as he is tackled by Tyrell Sloan of the Dragons during the round 18 NRL match between the Manly Sea Eagles and the St George Illawarra Dragons at Cbus Super Stadium, on July 16, 2021, in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

16. With the AFL set to announce a Tasmania-based side it has me wondering, why is there never any talk of a Tassie NRL side? I have no idea of the junior numbers down there but it just dawned on me I've never heard it linked to a spot in the competition.

17. The Eels have 105 offloads through nine rounds (eight games and a bye). The Tigers (same fixture breakdown) are second with 105. In third spot in Brisbane with just 85 across nine games. No doubt what the Eels see as their route to success in attack.

18. The Eels scored seven tries on Friday evening but they blew at least five more. Parra made 13 line breaks but it felt like 20. What a night of attacking footy from the blue and gold! Luckily for Newcastle, their hosts did see a few tries squandered or this could have been 60+.

19. What is going on at the Cowboys? They sit in 15th having conceded more penalties than any other side and also having missed a whopping 338 tackles. That is 27 worse than next worst team, the Dolphins. This side was so disciplined in 2022. That has completely gone out the window.

20. It was brilliant to (finally) see the NRLW fixtures announced. A series of double headers really stand out while I cannot wait to see the girls go round prior to the Sharks clash with Manly at Pointsbet. That said, there are far too many clashes with NRL games. It was never going to be perfect so I can't be too critical. I'm looking forward to the season kicking off in late July.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Dan, Great to see you against that RUGBY LEAGUE OUTLAWS backdrop !
    Can’t wait until tomorrow for this week’s episode on You Tube.

    Love your work, except you never give Tino F a shout out, which is a crying shame given he is second only to Payne Haas (In My Humble But Uncontestable Opinion) !

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