The numbers that matter
The big winners of Round 10
Who'd have thought the Newcastle Knights would be the competition's fifth-highest scorers this deep into a new season?
After struggling to score a try to save their lives last year, they went into Round 1 with a new halves pairing of Fletcher Sharpe and Dylan Brown and came out of it with plenty of confidence after putting 28 past North Queensland in Vegas, but injuries to both players in that game meant it would not be until Round 7 that they were reunited.
The Knights struggled defensively against both Penrith and Easts in Rounds 7 & 8 - no surprises there - but the halves were instrumental in the team piling on 86 points across back-to-back wins.
Wingers Greg Marzhew and Dominic Young have both been models of consistency, sitting second and fourth respectively in the competition for line breaks this season, whilst centre Bradman Best already has ten try assists to his name as he continues to feed Marzhew with all the right passes out left.
There's a lot left to be desired defensively, with the Knights still amongst the worst teams in the competition for missed tackles and errors, but there should be plenty of scoring opportunities to come against Parramatta and Gold Coast as they look to go deeper into the eight.
The big losers of Round 10
For one month, and one month only, it looked as though Michael Maguire had got his Brisbane Broncos together.
They had won five out of six matches in a quickfire period, taking scalps along the way such as the Storm and Bulldogs that seemed impressive at the time, but we have since learned those two sides are well short of finals contention despite their pre-season hype.
Two error-riddled performances against the Roosters and Sea Eagles brought them back down to earth and out of the top-eight with their ill-discipline and lack of work ethic again being questioned.
They have shipped 70 points and racked up 27 errors in the last two weeks, and despite a lengthy absentee list that includes Kotoni Staggs, Payne Haas, Adam Reynolds and Deine Mariner, Maguire wasn't willing to entertain injuries as an excuse, pointing out that an undermanned Broncos side came out flying against the Tigers and Bulldogs only a few weeks ago.
“The boys unfortunately, didn’t give themselves an opportunity with the lack of possession that we had,” Maguire said after the game.
“Then obviously off the back of errors you put fatigue into yourself and then you can’t give yourselves a chance. So, that was the disappointing part.
“Silly fundamental errors cost us ... tonight was one of those nights we’ll have to look pretty deep and make sure we fix it.”
Who scored braces this weekend?
Knights winger Greg Marzhew has been sublime since his return from injury, following up last week's hat-trick against Souths with five tries in the thrashing of the hapless Dragons.
With the Knights and Jets both playing attractive rugby and football, it's a wonderful time to be a Novocastrian at the moment.
Elsewhere, Jamayne Isaako (Dolphins) and all-time top scorer Alex Johnston (Rabbitohs) registered hat-tricks.
There were doubles too for Selwyn Cobbo, Josh Addo-Carr, Dominic Young, Taylan May, Blaize Talagi, Roosters pair Robert Toia and James Tedesco and Will Warbrick and Cameron Munster from the Storm.
Team of the Week
The Round 10 Team of the Week comes courtesy of the best scores from the official NRL.com fantasy game.
Try of the Week
The naughty boys
Suspensions:
Brandon Wakeham (Sea Eagles) - Grade 2 Careless High Tackle - 1-2 matches
Victor Radley (Roosters) - Grade 2 Careless High Tackle - 1-2 matches
High-range fines:
Moeaki Fotuaika (Titans) - Grade 1 Dangerous Contact - $3000 fine (or 2 matches if found guilty at tribunal)
Jesse Colquhoun (Sharks) - Grade 1 Dangerous Contact - $1800-$2500 fine
Thomas Hazelton (Sharks) - Grade 1 Careless High Tackle - $1800-$2500 fine
Preston Riki (Broncos) - Grade 1 Dangerous Contact - $1800-$2500 fine
Thomas Flegler (Dolphins) - Grade 1 Careless High Tackle - $1800-$2500 fine
Corey Horsburgh (Raiders) - Grade 1 Careless High Tackle - $1800-$2500 fine
Low-range fines:
Kai Pearce-Paul (Wests Tigers) - Grade 1 Dangerous Contact - $1000-$1500 fine
Alex Twal (Wests Tigers) - Grade 1 Dangerous Contact - $1000-$1500 fine
Cameron McInnes (Sharks) - Grade 1 Careless High Tackle - $1000-$1500 fine
Scott Drinkwater (Cowboys) - Grade 1 Dangerous Contact - $1000-$1500 fine
Jacob Preston (Bulldogs) - Grade 1 Dangerous Contact - $1000-$1500 fine
Next weekend's fixtures
Another Magic Round is already upon us! All roads lead to Lang Park for the annual festival. The top-eight clashes on Friday night and Saturday afternoon look especially tasty.
