SNAPSHOT OF ROUND 14 NRL ACTION
PLAYER OF THE ROUND: James Tedesco. With two tries and an assist in the one-point defeat of Canterbury, the Sydney Roosters captain made an emphatic return to form after his sub-par performance in the State of Origin series opener.
QUOTE OF THE ROUND: "I was prepared to take the risk. That's leadership, not these other muppets, who pretend they know." Ricky Stuart took fresh aim at those who doubted him for resting Jarrod Croker so the veteran centre could play his 300th game at home next week. The call was vindicated as the Raiders held Wests Tigers off for a 20-19 win.
TALKING POINT: Nathan Cleary is at long odds to line up for NSW in the second game of the State of Origin series after going down with a hamstring injury against St George Illawarra on Sunday night. After being picked on the bench in the series opener, Nicho Hynes appears the likeliest man to line up at halfback if Cleary is unavailable but Adam Reynolds and Mitchell Moses are two other options.
MAGIC MOMENT: In his first game back from a knee injury, Brisbane veteran Corey Oates picked up a wayward pass in the back-field and belted down the left wing. The winger's kick deflected into Cronulla fullback Will Kennedy but the ball sat up perfectly for Ezra Mam, who skipped down the remainder of the pitch for a brilliant try. The Broncos never surrendered their lead, sealing a memorable win against their top-four rivals
STATS THAT MATTER: With his hat-trick against Gold Coast, South Sydney flyer Alex Johnston leap-frogged Brett Morris and moved into outright fourth place on the all-time try-scoring leaderboard. With 178 four-pointers to his name, Johnston will surpass third-placed Steve Menzies (180) imminently and possibly Billy Slater (190) by the season's end too.
CASUALTY WARD: Dragons - Jack de Belin (concussion), Panthers - Nathan Cleary (hamstring); Rabbitohs - Jai Arrow (ankle), Cameron Murray (groin); Broncos - Selwyn Cobbo (hip); Bulldogs - Jacob Kiraz (elbow), Reed Mahoney (concussion); Dolphins - Brenko Lee (calf), Jeremy Marshall-King (shoulder), Tom Gilbert (shoulder); Warriors - Rocco Berry (concussion); Sea Eagles - Tom Trbojevic (concussion)
JUDICIARY WATCH: Dolphins - Anthony Milford (dangerous contact), Jarrod Wallace (shoulder charge); Titans - Chris Randall (dangerous contact)
UNDER PRESSURE: Parramatta may need to go to market for a playmaker as the NRL deliberates whether or not to stand Dylan Brown down. The Eels five-eighth was charged with five counts of sexual touching following an alleged incident on Saturday night and after releasing Jake Arthur to join Manly mid-season, the club does not have a third out-and-out half on their books. Losing in-form Brown would be a considerable setback in an already hot-and-cold season for the Eels.
