The numbers that matter
The big winners of Round 15
South Sydney and The Dolphins made the most of the second Origin split round, scoring 48 points against Brisbane and the Sydney Roosters respectively.
In hindsight, the Rabbitohs were going to be hard to beat after the emotional pre-game ceremony, with former Rabbitoh and Bronco Jai Arrow ringing the Legacy Bell.
Souths paid further tribute with a special all-white jersey featuring Arrow’s name on the back. With his four tries, veteran back Alex Johnston moved closer to the potential of winning the Ken Irvine Medal after claiming the man's all-time record in the same season.
While Souths are still in eighth as a result, the tightness of the ladder means they’re also two points from fourth place.
In their fourth season, the Dolphins moved a step closer to their first finals appearance. They’ve won six straight and scored 30+ points in five straight games. More importantly, they won another game without their Origin players (also beating Canberra before Origin 1), dominating a Roosters side missing seven Origin players.
Despite being in the top four, Tom Gilbert emphasised that the Dolphins must keep going, stressing that he and his teammates must "not get bored of" the winning feeling. Tevita Naufahu put those words into practice with an excellent covering tackle on Cody Ramsey: the Redcliffe-based side led 42-4 with 15 minutes left and the job was done.
But Naufahu ran from the opposite wing to run down Ramsey and prevent the try. Naufahu also kicked for Brad Schneider’s try and scored one himself in the final minutes.
The big losers of Round 15
While Canberra Raiders have fallen from the highs of last season’s minor premiership, they still had a chance to push for a finals spot with winnable games against Parramatta, St George Illawarra, Canterbury-Bankstown, and the Wests Tigers ahead. Instead, their finals hopes are now all but over after losing to Parramatta.
They had plenty of support, with Raiders fans turning up to CommBank Stadium wanting redemption after the loss to the Roosters last weekend.
The Raiders had 32 tackles inside Parramatta’s 20 in the first half but trailed 9-0 at the break (a sign that their attack is too predictable, despite having speedy backs in Kaeo Weekes and Xavier Savage), and a second-half rally wasn’t enough.
Ricky Stuart admitted there "are some parts of our game we've got to fix", so it'll be interesting to see what lineup he backs to do so against the Storm next Sunday. Will Ricky makes some changes or stick with the status quo?
Who scored braces this week?
It was a huge weekend for the incoming PNG Chiefs franchise after Players 001 and 002 led the way for the try scoring this round.
Alex Johnston closed in on the Ken Irvine Medal with four tries in the rout of the Broncos, whilst Jarome Luai scored a hat-trick in Wests' nailbiting win over Gold Coast.
Team of the Week
As always, our Team of the Week comes courtesy of player scores from the official NRL.com fantasy game. It comes as no surprise to see plenty of Dolphins names in there given their eight tries against Easts were shared amongst eight different players.
Try of the Week
The naughty boys
These were the sanctions handed down over the weekend and what is on offer if a player accepts a guilty plea or is found guilty on review.
Potential suspensions:
Alex Seyfarth (Wests Tigers) - Dangerous contact - $3000 fine or 2 matches
Patrick Herbert (Wests Tigers) - Dangerous contact - $3000 fine or 2 matches
Corey Horsburgh (Raiders) - High tackle - $3000 fine or 2 matches
Other fines:
Cameron McInnes (Sharks) - High tackle - $1800 or $2500
Jarome Luai (Wests Tigers) - High tackle - $1000 or $1500
Eddie Ieremia-Toeava (Warriors) - High tackle - $1000 or $1500
Ronaldo Mulitalo (Sharks) - High tackle - $1000 or $1500
Kurt Donoghoe (Dolphins) - High tackle - $1000 or $1500
Next weekend's fixtures
