Two down, 23 to go.
The second round of the 2021 NRL season didn’t just provide us with our second set of winners and losers, it raised yet another series of questions.
With each of the league’s 16 teams set to do battle again this weekend, we attempted to answer the major issues facing their playing lists and coaches alike.
Canberra Raiders
How in-depth will Ricky’s review be?
The old adage goes that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but with Cronulla locating and penetrating Canberra’s cracks on Sunday evening, will Ricky Stuart be content to just leave well enough alone?
Having come to understand ‘Sticky’s’ firey personality, one would think not.
Although the Raiders were good enough to claim the two-points at Kogarah, the Sharks bested the Canberrans in metres gained, set distance and kick return metres. Cronulla’s receipts, offloads and tackles made also surpassed those of the Green Machine.
Perhaps the most glaring statistic for Stuart was his side’s ill-discipline that saw the Sharks gifted five penalties.
Stuart would also have been seething on his standard stick of chewing gum when his side let slip at 12-0 half-time lead to narrowly avoid a golden point decider eight minutes from time.
Although the two points are still Stuart’s, had Chad Townsend packed his kicking boots, these aforementioned cracks would have required plaster rather than paper to seal.
