Round 24 was filled with major revelations, finals blows and massive contract calls for teams across the League.
Season Over For Moses
The killer blow to the Eels finals hopes was finally delivered on Friday night at the Gabba.
Defeated by a ruthless Brisbane Broncos, the Eels recorded one of their worst losses in recent years, going down 54-10. The result relegated the Eels to 10th place and almost removed their positive differential.
The pain wasn’t restricted to the scoreboard. A first half facial injury to Mitch Moses suffered after colliding with Sean Russell was then damaged further when the courageous halfback tried to tackle Herbie Farnworth.
Moses had bravely convinced trainers that he was fine to keep playing, but there was no escaping a fuller examination of his face at half time.
Moses
Mitchell Moses has matured as a player over recent seasons, resulting in a grand final appearance, in addition to representative honours for Lebanon and NSW. His absence will be a huge loss as the Eels close out the 2023 season against the Roosters and Panthers. In the unlikely event of the Eels qualifying for the finals series, Moses might be a chance of returning to the field.
Though the Eels remain that mathematical chance of making the top 8, the hopes of it happening are quite slim. Given the Eels season from hell, I believe Moses would be best served to use this break to reset and recharge for 2024.
Two Titans Will Stay.
Mid-week, the Gold Coast Titans revealed that superstar forward David Fifita, and Club Captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, had both extended at a combined $15M cost to the club.
Fifita has been locked in to 3 more years at the club, whilst Tino took up a 12 million dollar deal to stay on the Gold Coast for the next decade.
Fifita
The signings should be a significant boost in morale for hopeful fans, with exciting times ahead as super coach Des Hasler prepares to take the reins in 2024.
Of course, the 10 year deal offered to Tino should be under the microscope. Signing any player, let alone a prop forward for a full decade is a significant gamble.
The unpredictability of form, injuries and motivation, along with the wear and tear on an older body, leaves a genuine element of insecurity with the deal. We could rightly expect considerable attention on the contract decision as Tino hits his thirties.
TPJ Retires at 27
Bulldogs forward and Origin representative Tevita Pangai Junior has revealed that he intends to walk away from Rugby League at the end of the 2023 season.
External pressure about his rich contract, along with disappointment with his 2023 form, are being touted as factors in his decision to pursue a boxing career.
While playing limited minutes in 2023, Tevita managed to obtain Origin selection and his impact in the Bulldogs round 14 contest with the Roosters was a club highlight.
Tevita Pangai Junior
The walk-out has come as a shock to Bulldogs staff, whilst Dogs fans have every right to be left feeling disappointed and angry. Another exit from a high profile player would continue to pour salt into the wounds of the Canterbury faithful.
The exit of TPJ could yet prove beneficial to the Bulldogs. There will be money freed on the cap, and the departure of any player who lacks the motivation to take the field is surely in the club’s best interests.
Vegas Quartet Revealed
Mid-week, Peter V’landys and the NRL named the four teams to headline the opening round of the 2024 season in Las Vegas. After only 10 teams nominated for selection, the honour of travelling to the United States to further the NRL brand has fallen to the Sea Eagles, Roosters, Broncos and Rabbitohs.
Realistically, the overseas opener is merely a way to expand betting on Australian Rugby League. Furthermore, it will need to be a tight ship in the infamous “sin city” given that there are players across these clubs who have fallen to off field temptations in the past.
The media image from NRL
Another challenging aspect of this idea is the travel involved. A flight to Vegas involving some training time for the round zero game, the travel back home then jumping into the almost immediate preparation for round 2, must have an impact.
Given that Las Vegas is roughly a 20 hour flight from Australia, the teams will require two entire days to travel there and back, with normal recovery processes having to fit around a long flight.
Finally, not all supporters of the selected clubs are on board with the idea. These season openers have the potential to impact and shape the entire campaign of the teams involved, not to mention taking away a home game for two of the clubs.
Pacific Tests
The NRL have also announced a series of post season test matches between Pacific nations; Fiji, Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand. The series will feature both Mens and Womens sides playing matches across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
The series will serve as an opportunity for the nations involved to gain more playing time in preparation for the next RLWC in 2026. The intentions are good but there are some issues.
1. The matches in Australia will only be played at AAMI Park and Queensland Country Bank Stadium. A Sydney game or two would’ve given the large Pasifika population in Sydney’s west the opportunity to show their support. Who can forget their public parades through the streets during the Samoa and Tonga RLWC campaigns!
2. Footy Workloads. This kind of issue saw the players take industrial action against Peter V’landys and the NRL. Adding more matches in the designated off-season drains the players and disrupts the timing and organisation of the preseason. Players need to reset, relax and recharge before the upcoming season. The Mens and Womens World Cups extended the 2022 season and there would have been plenty of stars looking to take a break this year.
Latrell
3. The early start to 2024. The Indigenous All Stars vs Maori game is still expected to be played out in the preseason. Players like Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Latrell Mitchell, and Josh Addo-Carr, will more than likely play in these Pacific tests, and then be expected to be up in the early season feature clash.
4. Nations like Lebanon, Tonga, Italy, and Scotland have notably missed out on the opportunity to build their exciting and growing squads before the next world cup in 2026. While there may be some opportunities for them to play in coming years, 1 test match over two years is nothing compared to the preparation that established nations like Australia and New Zealand are afforded
The whole off-season is looking like a mess for the NRL, and club fans can only hope that their stars emerge unscathed.
Nat
Pangai Jnr probably feels that playing a one man sport might just be easier than all the responsibilities that come with being a marquee and Origin player in a team situation. Apparently he can fight, we’ll see, one or 2 fights may be the same financially as an NRL season. The brain trauma is the real downside.
It just seems so odd to walk away from such a big contract. Something doesn’t add up.