Round 7 concluded with an upset of epic proportions as the Eels completely embarrassed the Bulldogs in what can only be described as a typical result for this infuriating season. Elsewhere, the battered Broncos proved that they might be down, but they are not completely out, while the Panthers bounced back with a nail-biting victory over the Dolphins and the Roosters ran down the Knights.
Here’s whose stocks are up and down after Round 7.
Our footy experts cast their eye over the week’s action to find out whose stocks are up — whether it’s a coaching masterstroke or a player having a blinder — and whose are down.
Brisbane Broncos
Stocks up: This was a seriously gritty win. Already missing key players, Brisbane then lost Payne Haas during the first half and Jesse Arthars later in the game, while Kotoni Staggs reportedly played through a torn ligament in his foot. Even so, Adam Reynolds dragged them through it, laying on two tries in three minutes before halftime, then kicking the late penalty goal and field goal that stole the match.
Stocks down: The obvious concern is the toll it took. Haas’ knee issue, Arthars going down and the broader injury picture mean the win came with a cost, even if it was one of Brisbane’s tougher efforts of the season.
– Isaac Issa
Canberra Raiders
Stocks up: The Raiders were back to their best with the ball in hand against the Storm on Friday. Their backs and edge runners found plenty of flimsy Storm defence to take advantage of. They kicked long all night and swarmed the visitors with fast-moving defence. It was a solid step towards the kind of form which saw them take out the minor premiership last season.
Stocks down: The ongoing issues with being unable to put an opposition team away continued to haunt Canberra on Friday night. Despite solid defence for most of the night, they kept letting the Storm back into the game through lapses in their intensity. As we all know, defence wins the big games and they really need to keep working in that area.
– Darren Arthur
Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs
Stocks up: There were patches where Canterbury threatened to make this a proper grind. They struck first through Jacob Kiraz and opened the second half with a Lachlan Galvin try to cut the margin to 18-10, so there were moments where they looked capable of dragging Parramatta into an ugly arm wrestle.
Stocks down: But, they were out-enthused and outplayed after that. Parramatta’s energy was clearly higher, the Bulldogs lost Kiraz to a knee issue, and too many loose moments, including the failed short kick-off that led directly to a Tallyn Da Silva try, left them chasing the game in a 38-20 loss.
– Isaac Issa
Cronulla Sharks
BYE
Dolphins
Stocks up: What a massively improved effort from their forwards – coming off that disaster against Manly where they got absolutely beaten up, they more than held their own against the best pack in the league. The first 20 minutes especially was wave after wave of Penrith attack, and up until Blaize Talagi scored you’d have been pretty pleased with only shipping six points. It’s still a loss, but given how much of a rank outsider they were, it’s something.
Stocks down: Too much of their good play is coming from individual moments of brilliance rather than structure, and they need to demand more from basically everyone other than Herbie Farnworth and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow. The halves aren’t creating enough and there’s still no passing option in the middle of the forwards to keep the ball shifting across the field, and they need to fix that soon.
– Matt Bungard
Gold Coast Titans
Stocks up: There was real fight in the second half. Trailing by 22 at the break and then 24 at one stage, Gold Coast kept swinging, with tries to Sialetili Faeamani, Arama Hau and Kurtis Morrin giving them at least a pulse late.
Stocks down: The bigger issue was the first hour. They were too loose early, couldn’t handle the Warriors’ defensive pressure and kept gifting the hosts momentum, which left them with far too much to do, despite the late rally.
– Isaac Issa
Manly Sea Eagles
Stocks up: Manly continued their unbeaten run under new coach Kieran Foran, beating the Cowboys convincingly in Townsville. The most impressive aspect of this victory was that their defence was able to shut down the dangerous Cowboys attack all night. With the ball the Sea Eagles are always capable of finding points, but they need to continue with their new defensive resolve if they are to carry on and into the finals.
Stocks down: While they proved in Townsville that they can win without him, the departure of Tom Trbojevic with another hamstring injury is a horrible loss. They are obviously a better team with him in the No. 1 jersey. Tolutau Koula filled in admirably in attack and particularly in defence, but the problem is, Koula was killing it at centre, so you weaken that position to cover for Trbojevic.
– Darren Arthur
Melbourne Storm
Stocks up: Harry Grant and Jahrome Hughes stepped up their performance levels, and Cameron Munster had his moments, but it wasn’t enough to break their run of outs which extended to five straight losses. Fullback Sualauvi Faalogo was electric early, until injuring his ankle. He soldiered on, but wasn’t as impactful with the ball.
Stocks down: Remember when the Storm players took pride in their defensive line? It was a while ago, I know, but something drastic has happened to that aspect of their game. They conceded the first two tries, admittedly under enormous pressure, but their efforts were well short of what we’ve come to expect from them. Despite leading at halftime, they were unable to stopping the Raiders’ running game.
– Darren Arthur
Newcastle Knights
Stocks up: With how well Newcastle were going without Dylan Brown and Kalyn Ponga, the big question was how to fit everyone else – the Fletchers Sharpe and Hunt, and Sandon Smith – into the team. Hunt played a little bit of centre at the back end of last year, but few could have seen his return to that position going as well as it did.
Stocks down: Last week it was a slow start that betrayed the Knights, and this week it was the opposite. They were massive outsiders going into Sunday’s game but raced out to a big halftime lead. It felt like they barely touched the ball in the second half and despite some nice defensive scrambles, the levy eventually broke. They needed someone to create SOMETHING just to flip field position or break the Roosters’ stranglehold on the game, but it never came.
– Matt Bungard
New Zealand Warriors
Stocks up: This was a strong response, even if it got shakier than it should have. The Warriors led 22-0 at halftime, pushed it out to 28-4 in the second half and looked in complete control, with their defence setting the tone and their middle laying the platform. Erin Clark’s try straight after Tino Fa’asuamaleaui spilled the ball summed up their ruthlessness in the key moments.
Stocks down: The finish took some gloss off it. After building what should have been an unassailable lead, they leaked three late tries and allowed the Titans back to within eight, turning a dominant afternoon into a nervy close.
– Isaac Issa
North Queensland Cowboys
Stocks up: Not a lot of positives out of their loss to the Sea Eagles. They did manage to keep the visitors under 50 points, so I guess there is that. It was a complete turn-around in form from the home side.
Stocks down: The Cowboys looked completely flat on a warm Autumn night in Townsville. It was as if they had not yet recovered from their fierce contest last weekend against the Broncos. They struggled to put anything together as errors littered their play and their forwards lacked punch against the more aggressive Sea Eagles pack. It was a disappointing effort in front of a decent Thursday night home crowd.
– Darren Arthur
Parramatta Eels
Stocks up: This was one of Parramatta’s best responses of the season. A week after conceding 50, they bounced back to beat the Bulldogs 38-20, with Ronald Volkman sparking them early, Joash Papalii finishing a clever kick-chase try, and Mitch Moses’ kicking game creating constant stress. More than anything, they played with far greater intent and emotion.
Stocks down: The only downside was that the injuries kept coming, with Ronald Volkman leaving for an HIA and hooker Ryley Smith suffering a sternum injury, so even a statement win didn’t come cleanly.
– Isaac Issa
Penrith Panthers
Stocks up: Well I guess if you were a Panthers fan who was bored with winning too easily in the first half, they gave you a thriller instead. But in all seriousness, it was another moment for the always-expanding Nathan Cleary highlight reel, hitting the field goal in extra time to win a see-sawing affair. Penrith haven’t looked quite as invincible in the past couple of weeks, but they’re still the team to beat.
Stocks down: This is now two weeks in a row where they’ve leaked a lot of points. Obviously that first month of the season where they conceded one try in three games wasn’t sustainable, but in the second half of this game they could barely contain the Dolphins, and were very lucky to come away with a win.
– Matt Bungard
St George Illawarra Dragons
Stocks up: They actually got a pretty good showing out of some of their middle forwards; Toby Couchman and Hamish Stewart were very good again, and Loko Pasifiki Tonga came off the bench and gave them some powerful carries. The thrust they provided allowed Damien Cook to turn the clock back a little bit, and if Jacob Liddle hadn’t been injured in warm ups then perhaps they could have benefitted from the platform laid by these young forwards a bit more.
Stocks down: There’s not much that these poor fans haven’t already endured during other games earlier in the year, but the rugby league gods felt extra spiteful this week. Matt Dufty, who Dragons fans watched for years, played his first NRL game in four years and of course, scored against his old team. The nightmare season continues.
– Matt Bungard
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Stocks up: Latrell Mitchell bounced back from a few errors last week to be the difference maker in this one, and it was a big endorsement of his move to centre being permanent that they opted to leave him there and bring in former Dragon Matt Dufty, who ran for over 300 metres and scored a try. Instant vindication and something that will definitely be better for Souths in both the short and long run.
Stocks down: It was a pretty routine win for Souths, but it was still concerning that for all their early dominance and field position, they actually trailed after half an hour. The second half kind of meandered to the finish line after the Bunnies got back in front, but Wayne Bennett won’t be happy about the defence in the middle of the field for both Dragons tries.
– Matt Bungard
Sydney Roosters
Stocks up: James Tedesco was the best player on the field and anyone who thought this might be the year where he finally took a step backwards is already looking pretty silly. It was a huge call to drop him from the Origin picture in 2024 and it would be just as big a statement to bring him back less than two years later, but how can you not when you see his game-breaking ability in matches like this?
Stocks down: For the second week running, this team looked completely different in the two halves of football. Their lacklustre opening 40 was best summed up by Mark Nawaqanitawase stepping on the sideline during what should have been a simple finish, but once again the Roosters only really turning up for a half of football didn’t cost them.
– Matt Bungard
Wests Tigers
Stocks up: Even in defeat, there was enough to show the Tigers’ rise is real. They dominated possession and field position for long stretches, completed 19 of 22 sets in the first half and looked the more controlled side for much of the night, with Jahream Bula and Api Koroisau central to their best moments.
Stocks down: But, this was the sort of game good sides learn to close out, and they didn’t. They controlled the contest statistically, yet Adam Reynolds’ experience flipped it before halftime and then again late, with the Tigers unable to turn territorial dominance into a result in a 21-20 loss.
– Isaac Issa
