Roosters’ Pearce not giving Maroons nightmares
OPINION: Queensland coach Kevin Walters doesn’t seem the type to revel in the misfortune of others.
But that good nature must’ve been sorely tested on Sunday as Walters watched Mitchell Pearce gift the Warriors victory over the Roosters.
Pearce appears the popular choice to play halfback for New South Wales against Queensland this year. He’s played 15 State of Origin games before, winning just four of those and losing every series he’s taken part in, yet retains the confidence of many vocal and influential rugby league figures in Sydney.
Sunday’s match at Mt Smart Stadium will probably be remembered for the last-gasp goal kicked by Shaun Johnson to seal victory for the Warriors. But it was a game the Roosters lost, rather than the Warriors won.
Pearce’s inability to create in the Warriors’ red-zone was best summed up by his two failed fieldgoal attempts. The first came almost 12 minutes from fulltime, indicating he’d run out of ideas a long way out.
If he’s the guy New South Wales are pinning their hopes on, then Walters might not have much to worry about.
On the flipside
The Warriors’ million-dollar man was hardly stellar.
If the club really have gone into seven figures to re-sign Johnson, then they’re entitled to expect more than he produced on Sunday. Or has produced for much of his career.
There’s talk the Roosters were among the other teams chasing his signature, with an eye to turning Johnson from a halfback into a fullback. These are the same Roosters who’ll have James Tedesco playing fullback next year and have the exciting Latrell Mitchell in the mix as well.
Johnson played with unusual, and commendable, toughness in the recent loss to the Storm. But the Warriors are committing a lot of cash to a guy who can be as much a weakness as a strength.
He had Pearce to thank for saving his blushes this time around.
Hats off to...
Manly had also-ran written all over them at the start of the season. St George-illawarra too, while we’re on the subject.
Gareth Widdop’s injuryenforced absence is going to hurt the Dragons in the coming weeks, but they continue to try and weren’t completely disgraced by Sunday’s 34-22 loss to the Storm.
Manly, meanwhile, looked fantastic in beating Souths 46-8. Like the Dragons, they’re a side that is more than the sum of its parts.
The same can’t be said for Penrith, who sit second-last after their 32-18 loss to Brisbane, and probably Canberra too. The Raiders lost 16-10 to a terrificallygutsy Bulldogs side and are not justifying the hype they regularly attract.
Just on the subject of hype, get ready to hear Jarryd Hayne’s praises sung a lot in the next wee while.
Let’s hope...
The rep round isn’t a fizzer. The Anzac test between New Zealand and Australia is billed as the high point, but last year’s fell pretty flat. On the back of very limited preparation, neither team strung much together as the Kangaroos won 16-0. The Kiwis’ performance was particularly subdued.
All up there are seven games: Junior Kiwis v Junior Kangaroos, Kiwi Ferns v Jillaroos, Kiwis v Kangaroos, Papua New Guinea v Cook Islands, Tonga v Fiji, Samoa v England and City v Country.