WHAT HAPPENED IN ROUND 20 OF THE NRL:
* QUOTE OF THE ROUND: “There’s half a dozen better coaches than me. The minor premiership comes into contention, doesn’t it? With what Melbourne has done … Ricky Stuart has done an outstanding job down there at Canberra.” – Manly coach Des Hasler downplays talk he should be NRL coach of the year after his transformation of the Sea Eagles.
* STAT THAT MATTERS: Not a great weekend for the Queensland clubs as Brisbane, North Queensland and Gold Coast lost by a combined total of 126-14. The Broncos were belted 40-4 by Melbourne, Wests Tigers thumped the Cowboys 28-4 and the last-placed Titans were thrashed 58-6 by the Roosters. The chances of a finals series with no Queensland representation look strong.
* MAGIC MOMENT: Having announced 2019 will be the final season of his career, veteran Robbie Farah had the Leichhardt Oval crowd chanting his name after scoring a try in the 17th minute of the Tigers’ on Thursday night win over North Queensland. The hooker later admitted the scenes almost brought him to tears.
* TALKING POINT: Is Sam Burgess threatening his legacy with his ill-discipline? The Englishman, in his first game back from injury, caught Cronulla’s Matt Moylan high in the Sharks’ big win over the Rabbitohs. Burgess was subsequently charged with a grade-two careless high tackle – the 15th charge of his NRL career – and might miss Sunday’s blockbuster against table-topping Melbourne.
* MAN OF THE ROUND: Wade Graham. The NSW representative was everywhere in Cronulla’s 39-24 win over South Sydney. Playing his first game since the State of Origin decider, Graham marked his return from injury with a hand in three tries and ran more than 100 metres.
* JUDICIARY WATCH: South Sydney – Sam Burgess (careless high tackle); Penrith – James Maloney (tripping); Melbourne – Nelson Asofa-Solomona (dangerous contact); Parramatta – Manu Ma’u (high tackle).
* CASUALTY WARD: Brisbane – Andrew McCullough (shoulder); Melbourne – Christian Welch (knee); Knights – Kurt Mann (knee); Penrith – Jarome Luai (eye); Warriors – Karl Lawton (shoulder), Kodi Nikorima (ankle); Titans – Michael Gordon (hamstring); Dragons – Zac Lomax (hamstring).
* UNDER PRESSURE: Newcastle coach Nathan Brown. After a week in which centre Jesse Ramien was granted permission to negotiate with other clubs, the Knights slumped to their fifth loss in a row to fall to 11th after being fourth at the midpoint of the season. Brown says at the moment the Knights aren’t up to finals standard.
