Five and a Kick: What a winger Nawaqanitawase is
The Roosters’ Magic Round hopes looked like they went up in smoke when in-form playmaker Sandon Smith was knocked senseless within the first seven minutes.
But rookie halfback Hugo Savala, in just his seventh NRL appearance, displayed the poise of a veteran to combine with winger Mark Nawaqanitawase in delivering a 36-26 triumph over the Dolphins on their home patch at Suncorp Stadium.
Nawaqanitawase scored two tremendous tries on the right flank and the former Wallaby could end up a dual international if he continues his rapid improvement in the 13-player code in what was just his eighth outing in the NRL.
Magic Round kicked off with Cronulla kicking clear of Parramatta in controversial circumstances after a contentious Bunker call on a Ronaldo Mulitalo try with the ensuing penalty helping the Sharks seal a 28-18 win.
1. Hugo huge for Roosters
Fresh off leading the Roosters to a commanding win on Anzac Day, Smith was ready to do likewise against the Dolphins but he was ruled out early after his head slammed into the turf when a tackle on Herbie Farnworth went wrong.
As the only established playmaker in the line-up, it left the Roosters staring down the barrel of an almighty task to take down the Dolphins in Brisbane.
However, Savala showed the brashness of youth, seemingly not caring about the gravity of the situation as he organised the team with aplomb while peeling off a series of clever passes and pin-point kicks.
With hooker Connor Watson his makeshift halves partner, Savala and veteran fullback James Tedesco ran amok to unleash the talented backline in an impressive seven-try triumph.
Nawaqanitawase demonstrated his elite athleticism to score the first of his two tries when he sprinted onto a Robert Toia flick pass and after getting pushed over the sideline, contorted his body, changed his grip on the ball and touched down in stunning style.
The nominal home side but visitors from Sydney led 14-8 at half-time before Nawaqanitawase’s second, Victor Radley sealing a rare double and Watson crossing blew the lead out to 32-8.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow sparked a late three-try fightback but Toia became the third Rooster to bag a second try as Trent Robinson’s team held on for their first back-to-back wins of 2025.
Tedesco topped 200 running metres, made two line breaks and created two tries for teammates in a vintage display from the Tricolours captain.
2. Alarm bells for Dolphins
If you look up streaky in the dictionary, it may be accompanied by a picture of the Dolphins.
They started the year with four straight losses and the Wayne Bennett succession hoodoo started getting plenty of air time.
Then they racked up victories over the Titans, Panthers and Storm, and Kristian Woolf was being hailed as the next supercoach. Forget that Bennett old-timer, he’s yesterday’s hero.
And at 28-10 at half-time last week in Canberra, getting back to a 4-4 record was there for the taking.
Mark Nawaqanitawase scores. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
But they botched that chance to lose to the Raiders and they produced an equally dreadful first half against the Roosters on Friday night.
They fumbled sitters, failed to find touch and struggled to match the Roosters’ intensity. Although they only trailed by six at the break, the damage was done and they conceded three tries within the first 10 minutes of the restart to effectively drown out any hope.
At 3-5, their season is not on life support but they can’t expect to qualify for a maiden finals appearance if they cannot be relied upon week to week.
3. Zach bombs the greatest try that wasn’t
The Roosters appeared to have scored a contender for try of the season when Tedesco pounced on a Dolphins fumble from a bomb.
They spun the ball to the right corner then back again with eight straigh desperation passes leading to back-up hooker Zach Dockar-Clay scrambling over the line.
But as they made their way back to their own half for the kick restart, that sinking feeling started massing in the pit of their stomachs when the replay showed that Dockar-Clay did not get the ball down due to his own elbow in the first instance and then he spilt the pill as he was engulfed by two defenders.
It wasn’t a try but it was still a highlight and indicative of the way the Roosters did not care about the many stars they did not have on the field and worried about getting the best out of the players they had on deck.
4. Houdini Hynes shines
The combination of a heart-breaking loss in extra time on Sunday night and a five-day turnaround meant the cards stacked against Cronulla when they kicked off Magic Round.
But with Nicho Hynes conjuring up three tries for teammates and Braydon Trindall living up to his “Tricky” nickname with a momentum-swinging 40/20 kick while they were down to 12 players, the Sharks were too accomplished for the rebuilding Eels.
Will Kennedy highlighted why he is the Dally M leader with two try assists of his own to continue his career-best form in the No.1 jersey.
Hynes speared a pass out wide in just the ninth minute to set up the first try for Kayal Iro, who now wants to be known as KL Iro, not to be confused with The KLF, also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, furthermore known as The Jams.
Nineties techno classics aside, Josh Addo-Carr danced his way down the sideline to level the scores before another Hynes bullet to the edges just before half-time found Briton Nikora storming back against the grain for a 12-6 lead.
Kennedy dabbed a brilliantly small grubber for Sharks winger Sam Stonestreet to cross in the corner for a 10-point advantage in the 49th minute.
Leading into Magic Round, there was plenty of talk about the NRL’s crackdown prompting unnecessary sin-binnings and Sharks forward Jesse Colquhoun needlessly spent 10 minutes cooling his heels.
Unlike his long lost cousin Rory Calhoun, he didn’t have a leg to stand on when referee Grant Atkins marched him for taking out an Eels support player after a Mitchell Moses break, which was doubly dopey because the halfback was not even looking to pass to that teammate.
Trindall gave the Sharks breathing space with his booming kick to trigger another set and Cameron McInnes cashed in to make it 22-6
But the Eels made the most of their advantage with Addo-Carr and Dylan Brown cutting the gap to four while Colquhoun was off before Stonestreet collected his second to ice a 10-point victory that was closer than the final scoreline suggested.
5. Eels heading upstream
Moses has made a world of difference to Parramatta since his return in their last-start win over Wests Tigers.
But even though he put in another five-star performance, he could not carry them to the line.
Eels coach Jason Ryles is banking on the long-term future by rolling out several inexperienced players and a few rookie errors cost the team in the final wash-up.
Young forward Luca Moretti was caught dying on the play in defence late in the first half when Nikora scored and fullback Isaiah Iongi put down a straightforward bomb defusal midway through the second stanza.
With the Knights and Titans stuck in reverse, there’s a fair chance Parra will do enough to avoid living up to their wooden spoon favouritism as long as Moses stays on the park.
“Frustration (with the loss) but I can see where we’re heading. That’s the feeling,” said Ryles.
“The players definitely get confidence when he (Moses) is getting ready in the sheds. There’s no doubt about it.
“Everyone sees the talent that he’s got but what I love about him is that he turns up every day and he competes and he drives standards and he wants to get better every day.”
The Kick: If it’s a penalty, it’s a penalty try
The Bunker had both sides confused when a controversial call on a Ronaldo Mulitalo try attempt ended up in a penalty to the Cronulla winger in the 67th minute of the Magic Round opener.
Mulitalo outleapt opposing winger Bailey Simonsson but lost the ball as he acrobatically tried to reach out for the stripe.
Cronulla challenged the decision and the Bunker ruled that Simonsson had hooked his arm around Mulitalo as he came back to earth, awarding a penalty.
Moses was fuming as the Eels captain argued Simonsson had no choice as the Shark fell on top of him while Fox League expert Shaun Johnson said Cronulla probably should have ended up with a penalty try if the Bunker believed the Parramatta player’s actions were illegal as he tried to touch down.
“He hooks onto the jersey and pulls him in a mid-air tackle, which is a penalty,” was Bunker official Chris Butler’s assessment.
“We are ruling out the possibility of a penalty try as Ronaldo has too much to do to get the ball down.”
Moses cried foul at Atkins: “What’s he meant to do. Where do you want him to go?” but the on-field ref could not answer his plea.
Johnson, who bemoaned “they can’t do this” as it became apparent that Simonsson was going to be pinged, then questioned: “If it’s a penalty for a tackle in the air how is it not a penalty try?”
Like a lot of things in the NRL, only the Bunker knows.
with AAP