Paul Keating denied he ever said it but the former Prime Minister reportedly described Australia once as being situated at the arse end of the world.
Never has the Olympic Stadium at Homebush felt further away from the epicentre of the planet than on Thursday night when a few thousand hardy souls turned out for South Sydney’s NRL clash with Melbourne while the focus of the world’s attention was on the Paris Games.
Head back 24 years ago and the same venue was hosting the biggest sporting show on earth but this time around it was a Round 23 fixture featuring a team that had given up on an unlikely finals berth and a Storm outfit still smarting from last weekend’s upset loss to St George Illawarra.
Melbourne remained at the top of the medal tally/competition table with an unconvincing 28-16 victory over the depleted Rabbitohs in their final hit-out before next Thursday’s blockbuster with the Panthers at Penrith which will likely decide the minor premiership.
Table of Contents
1. Storm need the real Munster back
Star five-eighth Cameron Munster is only there games back from a long-term groin injury but he is being carried by halves playmaker Jahrome Hughes.
And that’s OK … for now. But if the Storm harbour any hope of toppling the Panthers next week or doing any damage in the finals, they need the real Munster to stand up.
Munster is a big-game player and this was the opposite of that – an exercise in August drudgery between mismatched line-ups.
If he gets his mojo back, the Storm are undoubtedly the biggest threat to the Panthers but if he remains a shadow of his former self, they won’t have the ammunition to polish off the premiers.
The Storm traded tries early with Souths but after Nelson Asofa-Solomona muscled his way over and Will Warbrick touched down for his second, the contest was as good as over when Ryan Papenhuyzen made it an 18-point margin with more than half the match remaining.
Josh King is tackled by the Rabbitohs. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
Papenhuyzen put the visitors up 26-4 soon after the restart and the Bunnies pegged the lead back by six via rookie Fletcher Myers before Cameron Murray crossed to make it a 10-point margin with as many minutes remaining.
“They look like they’re chasing the big play all the time,” opined premiership-winning hooper Michael Ennis on Fox League commentary in describing their performance as un-Melbourne-like.
2. Wishart full of heart
Tyran Wishart is a dead ringer lookalike for his father Rod and he also inherited his famous father’s game-breaking impact despite playing a totally different position.
“I’ve never seen anyone who looks more like his father. He’s absolutely identical,” so said Andrew Johns on Nine commentary of Tyran’s resemblance to his old NSW and Australian teammate.
Wishart is a nippy five-eighth with a clever passing game, at odds with his dad’s strength of powering the ball up on the wing all the way to the try line.
When he came on after half an hour against the Bunnies to replace Max King as a roving middle, it took just a couple of minutes for him to split the defence and send Ryan Papenhuyzen scooting away to the stripe.
3. Tell Trell see you next year
Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell was a gigantic picture of frustration when his image was shown on the humungous Accor Stadium screen.
He is potentially able to return from his foot injury in the final weeks of the regular season
There’s no point. Shut him down for the summer, including any representative fixtures with the Kangaroos if they think he’s needed.
Mal Meninga is unlikely to be lacking to talent out wide and Mitchell would benefi more than most NRL players from an extended break followed by a long off-season of getting himself as fit as possible in what could be South Sydney’s final realistic shot at a title for the near future due to the ageing nucleus of their squad.
4. Taane goes the full Nelson
Taane Milne already has a Blake Ferguson-like reputation for not being the sharpest tool on or off the field.
You only have to look at his judiciary record and lowlight reel of poor defensive reads which have cost Souths many tries this season.
He showed a lack of commonsense or fear at Accor Stadium when he taunted Storm behemoth after a skirmish in the first half.
Big NASty rag dolled the Rabbitohs journeyman the next time they came face to face on the field.
He then stormed over for a try and spiked the ball so hard into the turf that a welfare check was needed by the independent Bunker doctor to make sure the Steeden was fit to continue.
Milne made amends somewhat just before halftime when he forced the ball loose with a big hit on Asofa-Solomona but by that stage, the damage was done on the scoreboard with Souths down 22-4.
After being sent off for a cheap shot the last time they played Melbourne, he will likely cop a tripping charge and possibly a ban for a bone-headed act in the second half when he took out Papenhuyzen off the ball.
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5. Myers a flyer
South Sydney’s mission in the remaining rounds of the season is to unearth players who can be part of Wayne Bennett’s second stint at the club in 2025 and beyond.
Rookie winger Fletcher Myers showed he has one of those traits that can’t be taught – blistering pace.
The 21-year-old took an intercept from Papenhuyzen midway through the first half to sprint 80-plus metres for the first try of his NRL career in his second match.
With Alex Johnstown’s torn Achilles putting him under a cloud for the start of next season, there’s plenty to motivate Myers in the final month of the season.
He showed top-notch finishing skills in the second half to hold his position on the wing, collect a wonky pass on the half-volley and sprint to the corner.
And he nailed the sideline conversion to boot.
The Kick: No rush to re-sign Ryan
Papenhuyzen’s manager is agitating for an extension and the Storm are adamant they want him to stick around beyond his deal which runs until next season.
But what’s the rush? With speed machine Sua Fa’alogo waiting in the wings and under contract until 2028, they have a readymade replacement to inherit the No.1 jersey.
Fa’alogo was an unused reserve on Thursday night – he is already too good to not be in Melbourne’s first-choice 17.
Storm officials need to do what’s best for the club and no team better epitomises the mantra that no individual is bigger than the collective.
A couple of decades ago the Storm showed a fan favourite in Richard Swain the door even though he was 27 and a Kiwi international. It was a brutal call but the correct one as they had a younger hooker on the books who they thought could turn into something special by the name of Smith. Cameron Smith, that is.
If Papenhuyzen can shake off his cursed injury run to again become one of the best fullbacks in the NRL, then the Storm should see if they can fit the 2020 Clive Churchill Medal winner under their salary cap.
But judging by his good but not great form when he’s been on the field this season, Fa’alogo looks like the better bet for the long term.
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