A snapshot of round 17 of the NRL where Melbourne and Newcastle stumbled and Brisbane defied a host of big-name absentees.
SNAPSHOT OF ROUND 16 OF THE NRL
MAN OF THE ROUND: Cronulla were without Nicho Hynes and Toby Rudolf but it mattered for little as Jesse Ramien scored a hat-trick of tries in their 28-6 win over Melbourne on Thursday. It was Ramien's third treble in his NRL career and was made all the more impressive by how he continually got over the top of reigning Dally M centre of the year Justin Olam.
QUOTE OF THE ROUND: "I feel sorry for the coaches picking the team each week"- Jackson Hastings on the logjam in the halves battle at the Wests Tigers. Luke Brooks has held onto his role despite his indifferent form after the return of Adam Doueihi.
MAGIC MOMENT: The rise of English winger Dominic Young has been one of the few highlights for Newcastle this year and one play in their 40-28 loss to South Sydney showed why. Young pulled off a last-ditch tackle to prevent Kodi Nikorima from scoring before going up the other end and scoring a try - his eighth for the season.
STAT THAT MATTERS: Adam Reynolds battled through a tough night of knocks to become just the fifth man to kick 900 NRL conversions in Brisbane's defeat of the Dragons.
TALKING POINT: How does Craig Bellamy fix the Melbourne Storm as the finals come into focus? The Storm have now suffered back-to-back losses by 28 points or more for the second time this season. What makes it more difficult for the Storm coach is how depleted the Melbourne backline is due to injury.
CASUALTY WARD: Grant Anderson (Storm) - elbow, Kenny Bromwich (Storm) - ankle, Lachlan Ilias (Rabbitohs) - concussion, Alex Johnston (Rabbitohs) - quad, Ryan Matterson (Eels) - ribs, Ken Maumalo (Tigers) - knee, James Tamou (Tigers) - knee, Cory Paix (Broncos) - concussion, Semi Ravalawa (Dragons) - hamstring.
JUDICIARY WATCH: Brandon Smith (Storm) - contrary conduct, Briton Nikora (Sharks) - dangerous contact, Tariq Sims (Dragons) - dangerous contact
UNDER PRESSURE: The Dragons are walking the top-eight tightrope after a costly loss to Brisbane, where the absence of Dally M contender Ben Hunt was again exposed.
