Of course it was a prop barging over. Tom Hazelton, all limbs and forehead, angling through the Roosters’ line to silence the doubters. The moment was the high point of Magic Round, the climax of the most-anticipated clash on the weekend when the NRL season’s spotlight shines brightest.
The fullback Will Kennedy’s kiss of Hazelton’s glistening dome marked the occasion: the Sharks are premiership contenders, having proved their worth on the NRL’s big day.
From first light, this was a Saturday of peak rugby league. Of tropes and triumph, on and off the field. Foremost, a brilliant playmaker largely meeting expectations under the microscope of Origin speculation. No, not Latrell Mitchell – he would play later. Instead, it was the man who passed Hazelton the decisive ball.
In a Magic Round beset by the withdrawals of some of rugby league’s stars, the inclusion of Cronulla’s halfback Nicho Hynes and his gammy calf was a boon for the match of the round, and a stadium largely full of neutrals. Hynes has been one of the standouts of this NRL campaign, and a Roosters side starting to roll was a litmus test for Hynes’ Origin claims.
There was an early sign it might be Hynes’ day. A slick move down the Sharks’ right went through the hands of the No 7 twice, taking Cronulla from end to end. Eventually a chip from Jesse Ramien slipped through the hands of the Roosters winger Dom Young and fell to Kennedy for a four-pointer inside the first minute.
Yet between setting up the opener and the sealer, Hynes’ contribution was more mixed. At one point he kicked the ball out of the full, sending the Roosters on their way to a first-half try. Five minutes later, he made amends with a 40/20 that led to a Sharks four-pointer.
Cronulla had done enough without Hynes to overcome Melbourne last week. But the playmaker’s contribution to help see off the in-form Roosters 38-30 – busy, neat, largely controlled and incisive – was a statement New South Origin selectors will find difficult to ignore.
Prior to the Sharks’ display, the rain clouds of recent days had lifted in time for Saturday’s first clash between Newcastle and the Gold Coast. But the red mist descended for the Knights’ halfback Jackson Hastings and Aaron Schoupp, who were both sent to the sin bin in a first-half exchange. It marked a curious trend: the first five Magic Round matches had involved at least one sin bin. Yet all had finished with margins in single digits.
Playing 12 on 12 opened up the field for the Titans’ electric 20-year-old fullback Keano Kini, who turned a Knights grubber into a length-of-the-field try, his first in the NRL. Ten minutes into the second half, Kini’s fortunes turned when he had the ball stripped for a crucial try amid a Knights revival, inspired by a hat-trick from the fullback David Armstrong.
The match was decided on two late decisions that went against the Titans, first a penalty try to Newcastle and then a late four-pointer rubbed off by the bunker. After the Knights clung on 28-24, Des Hasler, the Gold Coast coach, said the second decision was “crazy”, in a press conference in keeping with the sport’s brazen tradition of blow ups.
The third game threw up cause for hope for Souths fans. The surprising cellar-dwellers delivered a competitive first half against North Queensland, and two crucial contributions from Mitchell. The No 1 carried what seemed like half the Cowboys’ line-up over the line for a four-pointer under the posts, then set up Alex Johnston for his 189th career try.
However, as it has done many times before, rugby league crushed the hopes of those same Souths supporters. North Queensland got away in a stop-start affair and, despite finishing strongly, the Rabbitohs couldn’t find a score at the death. The fact the Cowboys got two tries from their winger Braidon Burns – a 27-year-old journeyman who was playing in NSW Cup for Souths until he was signed by the Cowboys just 11 days ago – only added to the pain.
The Cowboys’ coach Todd Payten, who had just seen his team win 28-22 for their first victory in six weeks, just seemed happy to have help. “He’s articulate, good energy around the group and – to play against his former team – it’s strange how things work out,” he said.
But the story of another compelling Magic Round episode was Hazelton, Hynes and the Sharks’ pursuit of even greater heights. Hynes joked afterwards Hazelton was a “cult hero” right now. Off the back of four tries in five games, Cam McInnes, the captain, said “everyone at the club loves him”.
Through his toothless grin, describing the connections in the dressing room, McInnes wasn’t scared to use the l-word again. “We’ve got a long way to go but the love that they have for each other … it’s real, it’s not manufactured, it’s authentic.” Those bonds will be tested again soon: next Saturday presents an appointment with premiers Penrith.
