Snub that sparked rise of sleeping giant as Flanno exposes NRL farce — Blog with Hoops

BLOG WITH JAMES HOOPER FROM 1.30PM BELOW

There’s no question the feel good stories of the NRL at this point of the season are the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Two famous clubs who haven’t had a lot to celebrate in recent times yet find themselves entrenched in the top eight with ten rounds remaining until the finals.

Watch every game of every round this NRL Telstra Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >

You’ve got to admire the job coach Cameron Ciraldo has done with a Canterbury-Bankstown side who leaked a record number of points last season.

This year the Bulldogs sit second to Penrith in terms of points conceded with an average of 16.7 per game.

With the astute buys of Stephen Crichton, Bronson Xerri, Josh Curran and Jaemon Salmon the Bulldogs have been able to create a style of play to suit the club’s roster.

They’re also finding ways to win with a forward pack which is on the smaller side with the only real star of note being Viliame Kikau.

Given where St George Illawarra are currently sitting it’s incredible to think Shane Flanagan wasn’t simply an automatic first choice as the Red V new head coach.

It took Jason Ryles knocking the gig back for Flanagan to finally convince the Dragons he was the right man for the job with the decision now vindicated by St George Illawarrra posting eight wins and seven losses to date.

Last year the Dragons only managed five wins all season while the Bulldogs finished with seven victories and a points differential of minus 331.

Red V backrower Jadyn Su’a made a huge statement in terms of retaining his Queensland State of Origin jumper as the Dragons scrapped and clawed from a 6-2 halftime deficit to an impressive 26-6 win.

Sure the Dolphins lost a key position player in hooker Jeremy Marshall-King and had to deal with Kurt Donoghoe in the sin bin for 10 minutes but the Dragons still showed a steely resolve to grind out the win.

At the same time as the Bulldogs, Dragons, Dolphins and Cowboys find themselves in the top eight with 10 rounds remaining it’s a different story for last year’s top eight sides the Brisbane Broncos, Newcastle, Canberra and the Warriors.

Those four all featured in September last year but will now need to find a way to go on a run to continue to stay in touch with making the finals.

The fortuitous thing is there’s only a struck match in it with only three competition points separating the Dragons in eighth and the Warriors in 13th.

And as Newcastle and the Warriors showed in round 17 both sides still have enough talent to make every round count in the run home to September.

The Sydney Roosters and the Melbourne Storm appear the only real legitimate title contenders to the Penrith Panthers crown.

But the Roosters are going to need to find a replacement option for strike centre Joey Manu who is set to be sidelined with a broken hand until round 22.

With Joseph Suaalii still suspended and Billy Smith also injured the Chooks depth is about to be fully tested.

The Roosters will also need formulate a plan to beat Penrith come September with the Panthers on a nine-game winning roll against them dating back to 2019.

The Melbourne Storm just continue to defy gravity even without big-name stars Cameron Munster, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Harry Grant to sit four points clear of Penrith on top of the NRL ladder.

What were your likes or dislikes from round 17?

Blog with James Hooper below. Can’t see the blog? CLICK HERE