5 Big Things: Everything we learned in NRL Round 5

Another week in and certain teams continue to rocket up the competition ladder, whilst others continue to falter. With eight more games to wrap our heads around, here are 5 Big Things we learned from Round 5.

No Trbojevic, no worries for Manly

When Tom Trbojevic went down with a knee complaint last week against Canberra, many feared that the Sea Eagles would reel similarly to the beginning of 2021. A 30-6 victory in Newcastle, however, has helped to dispel some of those fears, with Manly now having won five of their past six without their star fullback. Reuben Garrick enjoyed a solid night filling in for Trbojevic, running for a game-high 154 metres with four tackle breaks, whilst Dylan Walker ran for 120 metres and assisted on a pair of four-pointers off the bench. Josh Aloiai led the side up front, running for 152 metres from his 19 carries, whilst Haumole Olakau’atu caused Newcastle headaches all night long on his left edge, running for 130 metres with three tackle breaks, making 33 tackles, and crossing the stripe. With Trbojevic slated for a Round 9 return, the Sea Eagles will have to face the Titans, Sharks, and Rabbitohs before their star is back on the pitch.

Cowboys’ spine conundrum

With fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow sidelined through injury, Scott Drinkwater made his first appearance of the season for North Queensland and showed some life in the side’s golden-point defeat at the hands of the Warriors. Drinkwater, who played in every game for the Cowboys last season, started at the back and finished the game with a game-high 200 run metres from 20 runs, six tackle breaks, a try assist and a try en route to a pair of Dally M points. The Cowboys, however, failed to close out what was a winnable game, dropping their second game of the season by two points or less. After prying Tom Dearden away from Brisbane and securing Chad Townsend on a multi-year deal, Drinkwater appeared to be the odd man out despite a strong 2021, however, it is clear that Drinkwater is one of North Queensland’s 17 best players. Questions surrounding Townsend’s place in the side will continue to surface, particularly if North Queensland’s late game management continues looking as shoddy as it did against the Warriors and Bulldogs.

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Staggs’ big night

After a month of chatter about Kotoni Staggs’ lack of involvement for Brisbane, the 23-year-old put together one of the best displays of his career in his side’s narrow defeat to the Roosters on Friday night. Paul Momirovski had a horror night marking up against Staggs, who finished the game with 196 run metres from 14 runs, 14 tackle breaks, two line breaks and a try. Momirovski, meanwhile, missed nine tackles and made just eight. Staggs’ big outing must have certainly pleased Brisbane’s coaching staff; he scored his first try of the year and cracked triple-digits in the run metres department for the first time in 2022. Whilst they were unable to come away with the win, there were plenty of positives for Brisbane. Not only did Staggs enjoy what they hope is a break-out game but veteran winger Corey Oates managed to bag his first hat-trick since the backend of 2018 and Tesi Niu enjoyed one of his best outings as a fullback, running for 150 metres with 10 tackle breaks and a try assist.

Roosters yet to hit their stride

Despite coming away with a four-point victory over Brisbane to improve to 3-2 on the season, the Roosters still look some margin short of their best football. Their form has hardly been panic stations-worthy but compared to some other top-four hopefuls, they have looked uncharacteristically shaky. Their normally-sturdy edge defence has taken a hit without Brett and Josh Morris on deck and their number-nine situation may not be properly resolved until the arrival of Brandon Smith in 2023. Their attack nor their defence has been at a level that Trent Robinson would be happy with and their forward pack still has some improvements to make. Losses to Newcastle and South Sydney combined with a narrow victory over Brisbane may cause some fans’ trust to wane in a side that many view as premiership heavyweights, but doubting Trent Robinson, particularly with the talent at his disposal, may not be the wisest of moves.

Papenhuyzen’s incredible season

Now tied with Isaah Yeo atop the Dally M leaderboard, Melbourne ace Ryan Papenhuyzen’s hot form continued in his side’s 14-point victory over Canberra in Wagga Wagga on Saturday night. Papenhuyzen snagged his premiership-leading seventh try of the season and kicked all five of his goals as Melbourne won their fourth game of 2022. Papenhuyzen now leads the premiership in points and tries and is second in goals, all whilst averaging 131 run metres. The 23-year-old is arguably the game’s most in-form player and will push for an Origin debut in a few months times and perhaps a World Cup jumper come season’s end.

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