Another big weekend of NRL action where some premiership favourites flexed their muscles. There were star performances, work horses giving it their all, and sadly a few big names players going down with injury. But which players were the best of the best you ask? We’ll let the stats do the talking and separate the Wheat/Chaff to present the 2024 NRL Round 3 Player Stats and Team of the Week.
First we have our Team of the Week, which takes some of the key player stats from the weekend and using various scoring methods come up with the best players in their positions from the latest round of the NRL.
Then there’s additional player stats from this weekend and some bite sized points of interest.
We’ve used the stats for each position and picked the best starting 13 players from the most recent round, the stats and points assigned are explained at the end.
On top of the best starting 13, we include the best four interchange players of the week. Seeing who has provided maximum impact from the bench.
Plus we throw in the players we thought were great but the stats did not with Gurgler’s Choice.
2024 NRL Team of the Season…so far
Here is the above but for all rounds.
2024 NRL Round 3 Player Stats
Want to see which players topped the key stats for the latest round of the NRL this weekend?
Want to see which players topped the key stats for the latest round of the NRL this weekend?
2024 NRL Player Stats…so far.
INTERESTING STATS FROM THIS ROUND
This game saw Dylan Edwards pass 300 running metres in a match for the fifth time since 2022.
Ezra Mam is now on top for missed and ineffective tackles. Five eighths in general miss the second most tackles, behind hookers. The onfield position for clarification.
Tom Trbojevic is top for errors made in 2024. Fullbacks top the NRL for most mistakes on average per game – 1.3. For the record props make the fewest errors per game at 0.2.
Cronulla’s Royce Hunt leads the way for Post Contact Metres as a % of All Run Metres at 61%.
80% of Keaon Koloamatangi’s runs featured a tackle break. Pity South Sydney sucked on Friday v Roosters.
Currently every fifth run for Izack Tago ends in a line break.
Valentine Holmes almost ended up with a Full House (no, not that one) of attacking stats in the Cowboys win over the Dragons (no, not that one) of attacking stats. Topping Run Metres, Post Contact Metres, Tackle Breaks and Line Breaks. Sadly he fell short with “only” 1 Line Break Assist and 1 Try Assist.
How the Team of the Week works
Want to know how we come up with the numbers to rank the players, the below table should explain hopefully.
Want more Player Stats? Neeeeed more NRL data and stuff? Why not try our friends at Nothing But Legue for bite sized pieces of NRL Stats and more every day.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 24: Race winner Carlos Sainz of Spain and Ferrari and Second placed Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari celebrate with team members following the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Circuit on March 24, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images)
Can this be true, a non Red Bull win. Do our eyes deceive us? Nope, Carlos Sainz leads home a 1-2 for Ferrari as Max Verstappen retires early with car troubles. Talking of the old 1-2, here is our 2024 Australian F1 Grand Prix Result Summary which covers both races and anything else of interest.
This 2024 Australian Grand Prix Result, Lap by Lap, Review & Summary gives you just enough to catch up with. With just a hint of cynicism, bias, opinion and colour. The perfect bite sized review for those who couldn’t be bothered, or don’t have enough time.
Didn’t see the race live? Don’t have time to watch the whole race? Here’s where we capture the laps where stuff happened. We write these live as we go, sort of like a minute by minute for the football, but marginally more interesting.
Setting the scene – Max Verstappen took pole position again, but the Ferraris seem closer, and McLaren closing the gap to them. Sergio Perez qualified third but was dropped three places for blocking Nico Hulkenberg early in qualifying. Mercedes don’t look great, and Lewis Hamilton missed Q3. Worse than that is Daniel Ricciardo, who is under pressure already in the RB, and ended up second last on the grid. Which became last when Zhou started from pitlane. A pre-race shot of Liam Lawson shows him as impressed with RB as Helmut Marko was with Ricciardo.
GRID (Starting Order) – VER SAI NOR LEC PIA PER RUS TSU STR ALO
Lap 1 – Max Verstappen gets away well enough, as does Carlos Sainz and they remain 1-2 through the first corner. Despite the excitable shouting of David Croft there’s no misbehaving into and out of the first corner. Further around the lap George Russell is in front of Sergio Perez. A few minor changes in the midfield, but it was a first lap of as little action as we’ve ever seen in Melbourne. That will probably change.
ORDER – VER SAI NOR LEC PIA RUS PER STR TSU HAM
Lap 2 – Carlos Sainz takes the lead!!!!! Just seconds after declaring the race is over with Max Verstappen already in front of the race on lap two the Ferrari driver nails the Red Bull into the fast sweepers down the back straight. Word on the street is Max Verstappen made a mistake, which seems unlikely.
Lap 4 – Max Verstappen is on the radio is saying his car is loose. Maybe it’s not used to not being in front. Or maybe that feint plume of smoke coming from the back left wheel has something to do with it. And it is smoking big time as he comes down the back straight and he is slowing!!!! The Red Bull is broken, it does happen. Verstappen enters the pit lane with a burst of brake dust, and his wheel also is on fire. Needless to say his race is over, as is his 43 race run of no retirement.
ORDER – SAI NOR LEC PIA RUS PER STR TSU HAM ALO
Lap 6 – Someone is not used to losing…..Max Verstappen looks furious as coverage shows him in the pits. He wouldn’t have had much fun driving F1 in the 1980’s where every second race your car broke. I’m sure Christian Horner will get the blame, and maybe he should. No doubt Netflix will be there lapping it up.
Lap 8 – The first pit stops for tyres have begun with Lewis Hamilton’s slightly more interesting than Kevin Magnussen’s. George Russell pits a lap later.
Lap 9 – Nice little battle forming between Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri for 2nd to 4th. A lap later Leclerc and Piastri pit for new tyres and drop to 7th/8th. Meanwhile Carlos “Utah” Sainz is a comfortable 2.6 second up the road.
Lap 11 – The pitstops have allowed a few little moments of sunshine for midfield and below battlers, with Pierre Gasly hassling Nico Hulkenberg for 5th place. This becomes a few places lower as Leclerc and Piastri come barging through.
Lap 15 – Lando Norris and Sergio Perez pit. Perez comes out alongside Lewis Hamilton which gives us a little taste of excitement as they race for a few straights.
Lap 17 – Carlos Sainz pits from the lead and comes out just behind Fernando Alonso. Meanwhile in another part of town, Lewis Hamilton’s car is shown to be cruising. Not as in under control like his Mercedes dominating days but going slow like the car is about to sh!t itself. Which it does officially as Hamilton retires his car. This temporarily brings out the Safety Car which kept Alonso behind Utah Sainz for a bit longer until Alonso pits.
Lap 20 – Sergio Perez is doing his usual thing on a Sunday, and that’s put in one of those good drives through the field after making a mistake in qualifying. It takes a couple of laps but he flies past George Russell with ease. George Russell remarks on the radio that the Red Bull is like a rocket ship. Which is true as Max Verstappen’s went up in smoke like a few rocket launches have done in recent years.
ORDER – SAI LEC PIA NOR ALO PER RUS STR TSU ALB
Lap 29 – The McLaren drivers swap positions as Oscar Piastri hands over third to Lando Norris, whose job now is to harass Ferraris. There’s a win up for grabs for a change, so progress will be interesting. Although Leclerc is just under three seconds up the road and Sainz another seven. A lap or two later and Norris is nearly three seconds ahead of Piastri, so decision is justified.
ORDER – SAI LEC NOR PIA PER ALO RUS STR TSU HUL
Lap 34 – Lando Norris under 1.5 seconds behind Leclerc who has just complained about tyres. And then the Ferrari pits and Piastri didn’t, so a little mix up of strategy works for the neutral who doesn’t care who wins now Max Verstappen is out. Not that we don’t like Verstappen, just a different winner would be good.
Lap 36 – Sergio Perez pits from 5th. He drops to 8th. Which really isn’t that exciting.
Lap 38 – Cameras showing a Kick Sauber pit stop, which means on track action must be low. It does show some kind of nuts or similar rolling away after the stop. Hopefully not the wheel nut. By the way, the Valtteri Bottas car share ads on TV/Internet are well worth a look.
Lap 40 – Oscar Piastri pits, as does Lando Norris a lap later. Piastri puts a good move on Alonso a few laps later. Piastri is quality.
Lap 42 – Carlos Sainz pits from the lead, and this should be the final pit stops for the important people. He returns to the track with plenty of leg room to second placed Leclerc.
ORDER – SAI LEC NOR PIA RUS PER ALO STR TSU HUL
Lap 48 – Looking for things to write about with ten laps to go. Carlos Sainz is over five seconds in front of Leclerc in second and another four back to Norris. Some other notables are Yuki Tsunoda in 9th, Haas drivers 10th and 11th, and Daniel Ricciardo 13th.
Lap 50 – The final semi-important battle of the race appears to be coming from Alonso-Russell where the two are separated by a second.
Lap 55 – Goerge Russell continues to harass Fernando Alonso but Alonso is too crafty. Wondering if George Russell will somehow choke and bin his Mercedes. The answer is yes.
FINAL LAP – As the cars prepare to soak up the glory, coverage switches to a Mercedes across the track and on its side. It’s George Russell who has lost it big time and the car flips on its side at slow speed after getting tangled up with the broken wheel and tethers. This brings out the Virtual Safety Car, which allows Carlos Sainz to cruise to victory for Ferrari ahead of his team mate. A sensational result for Ferrari and neutral fans around the world.
FINAL ORDER (Across the line) – SAI LEC NOR PIA PER ALO STR TSU HUL MAG
Note: Fernando Alonso was handed a 20 second penalty well after the race for dangerous driving causing George Russell’s accident.
FINAL ORDER (Final) – SAI LEC NOR PIA PER STR TSU ALO HUL MAG
Here we go through the field and highlight the very best (Great) of the race, and the plodders, the over-ambitious, the out of luck, and simply hopeless (Grape).
These points get added to our Driver of the Season scores. points for a great nomination, and -5 for the worst or grapest driver in the pack. Then it is +2 /-2 for honourable or dishonourable mentions.
THE GREAT-EST – CARLOS SAINZ
Missed the last race because of his appendix, and watched on as an 18 year old did a super sub job. So a win in Australia is big news for him and F1 fans in general. He did it easy too, staying out in front without trouble after he overtook Verstappen on lap 2.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
FERRARI – A 1-2 and decent job in qualifying means not only best of the rest is available, but maybe even challenging Red Bull.
LANDO NORRIS – Another very solid weekend for Norris who started third and finished third.
OSCAR PIASTRI– A fourth place finish in his home race equals the record of Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo, and was the maximum he could enjoy. The no-fuss way he let Norris through without complaint will come back to his advantage later in the season and shows a maturity of a driver who is prepared to wait.
YUKI TSUNODA– Stood up against his team mate this weekend. Made it into Q3 while team mate Ricciardo spent most of his Saturday and Sunday towards the bottom of the grid.
HAAS – Double points finish, all the better for being at the track where Gunther Steiner is there doing interviews, including the winner’s wrap up.
THE GRAPE-EST – LOGAN SARGEANT
It a weekend of many grape weekends, it’s hard to go past the only driver not to get to experience a whole weekend. The American, who we routinely cane for being below average was pretty hard done by when his team took his car off him for Saturday and Sunday after teammate Alex Albon rubbished his in Free Practice. Nice to know what the team think of you then.
DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS
DANIEL RICCIARDO – Was given a pre-race serving from Helmut Marko that he hasn’t been fast enough, and next to no chance of that Red Bull drive. He responded with a 18th on the grid (after being docked a time good enough to make Q2). In the process was outqualified by his team mate who then went on to score Championship points, while he was at or towards the back of the field for most of Sunday.
MAX VERSTAPPEN – A car failure on lap three after already having been passed for the lead. Yeah, safe to say a bad weekend for someone who usually wins everything. It’s just a temporary handicap to allow F1 fans to enjoy more of the season, so Verstappen will only win the Championship with three races to go not five.
SERGIO PEREZ – A rare car failure for his teammate left first place and beyond well open for the number two Red Bull driver to have a great result. But Perez turned third on the grid to sixth in qualifying due to a penalty, then finished 5th. Which isn’t bad, in anything other than that Red Bull. Although he looked quite quick in the early-mid stages of the race with some overtakes, he fell back into obscurity.
GEORGE RUSSELL – Ruined a good weekend of beating Lewis Hamilton with an amateurish mistake on the second last lap. Ended up on his side, as his crashed Mercedes had its semi-detached car wheels underneath it.
LEWIS HAMILTON – Off the pace for most of the weekend. Missed Q3 and was lower top ten for a lot of the race. Car eventually packed it in as a small mercy. Think we saw a comment from somewhere that it is his worst start to the season. Probably right.
Was it a good race, loads of action, a tense ending, a surprise result or DNF, or just a big, fat, snooze-fest?
We rate the big race itself, so we know which races to go back and watch in the off season or one to simply remember the winner for the post season quiz nights.
ON TRACK ACTION – 7 / 10
Enough action throughout most of the race to keep you involved, although the first corner was more boring than usual with everyone behaving.
ANY SURPRISES? – 5 / 5
A car failure for Red Bull and it is Max Verstappen. Yeah, would only get more surprising if Daniel Ricciardo won.
SEASON IMPORTANCE – 5 / 5
Again a car failure for Max Verstappen is a big deal. And for F1 fans in general it gives hopes that the Red Bull isn’t going to stroll (not that one) away with the championship/s in 2024.
ENDING 6 / 10
The George Russell v Fernando Alonso battle was interesting enough but probably only worth a 4/10, until on the last lap where Russell binned his car and ended up on side.
OVERALL RATING 23 / 30
Good race for one without rain, and the new Ferrari one-two gives hope for the rest of the season.
2024 F1 Season Power Rankings
Stay tuned for our Power Rankings from the race soon as it is currently being calculated and will be ready on Monday.
Didn’t catch the NRL on Saturday night? Well here to review the games in the quickest possible time is our collection of one minute Match Reviews for Round 3 NRL Super Saturday.
CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN 32 d GOLD COAST 0
Canterbury has destroyed the Titans at Belmore. After two losses to start the season, the Bulldogs made the most of a winnable game, running in six tries (Jacob Preston, Viliame Kikau, Reed Mahoney, Jacob Kiraz, Connor Tracey, Blake Taaffe) to nil.
The Titans sensationally bombed a try in the opening minutes – and it was downhill from there.
It sets up a blockbuster Good Friday clash for Canterbury against the struggling South Sydney next week.
NORTH QUEENSLAND 46 d ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 24
North Queensland has belted the Dragons at Kogarah Oval. The Dragons rushed to an 18-4 lead (tries to Zac Lomax, Tyrell Sloan, Kyle Flanagan), but that was as good as it got for the Red V.
The Cowboys scored 42 straight points in 40 minutes: tries to Murray Taulagi, Sam McIntyre, Griffin Neame, Scott Drinkwater, Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, Tom Dearden, Valentine Holmes, and Chad Townsend. Holmes also kicked seven goals to pass 1,000 career points.
Lomax scored his second try with 10 minutes left (and kicked four goals), but it was far too late.
WESTS TIGERS 32 d CRONULLA-SUTHERLAND 6
The Tigers have opened their account for 2024, beating Cronulla at Leichhardt Oval.
While Thomas Hazelton scored the opening try for the Sharks, the Tigers dominated from there, building on a 18-6 half-time lead.
Jahream Bula scored a double while Apisai Koroisau kicked six goals. It was Benji Marshall’s first win as a stand-alone NRL coach.
Match Summary above courtesy of Not Six Again – NRL Fanatics & Banter. For more NRL Banter and Views please follow the link below.
FINAL THOUGHTS
After the Friday and Saturday games it appears the battle for the wooden spoon might be more open that it has been for years. Titans look favourites for now but other teams are putting up their hands. Dragons haven’t done well since flogging the Titans in Round 1. South Sydney are looking like they want a piece of the pie too. Previous front runners for the lower reaches Bulldogs and Wests Tigers, had good wins, so look like they are on the improve. So if the top of the table gets boring the bottom might be where the action is. But the Titans look especially awful. And so do Souths.
Great to see the Wests Tigers winning at a rocking Leichhardt. Suburban rugby league kicks arse, and who wouldn’t begrudge the Wests Tigers and Benji Marshall some success. It will at least get the Fox League writers off their back for a while. Or at least a week.
The Cowboys have started off the season with a 3-0 record, so looks like they are on track to steal back a final slot. But at the expense of who?
Courtesy of nrl.com
BULLDOGS v TITANS
It was the ninth time the Titans have been kept scoreless. Three times on a Saturday with 5-4 split for away games overall.
That’s the seventh time since 1998 that the Bulldogs have kept a side to nil. The first time since they beat the Tigers 38-0 at Redcliffe in 2021.
The Bulldogs win was the first time since they returned to Belmore in 2015 that they have beaten a Queensland team at the ground.
The Titans have lost their last seven games on a Saturday.
The Titans continue to have the worst record on a Saturday in the NRL.
The Titans 1,239 run metres is the second lowest total so far this season. Beaten only by the Bulldogs in Round 1.
DRAGONS v COWBOYS
Dragons are W12 L8 at Kogarah on a Saturday v all opposition.
Dragons have lost their last four home games on a Saturday.
Dragons loss ended a four game winning streak against Queensland sides.
Valentine Holmes almost ended up with a Full House (no, not that one) of attacking stats. Topping Run Metres, Post Contact Metres, Tackle Breaks and Line Breaks. Sadly he fell short with “only” 1 Line Break Assist and 1 Try Assist.
TIGERS v SHARKS
Wests Tigers record at Leichhardt Oval in the NRL era it is W52 L42. On a Saturday it is W13 L11. Against Sydney opposition it is W23 L22. Against Cronulla it is W4 L1 on a Saturday and W6 L4 on any day.
That’s two wins in a row now at home on a Saturday for the Wests Tigers.
2024 Round 3 Panthers v Broncos – PENRITH PANTHERS 34 BRISBANE BRONCOS 12. The one-minute match report, giving you the bare minimum in the bare minimum of time.
Penrith took out the Grand Final replay against Brisbane with a very comfortable win at Penrith Stadium on Thursday night.
Penrith scored all six of their tries before the 50th minute without reply. With doubles to Izack Tago and Brian To’o.
The big moment came early in the game where Taylan May and Reece Walsh were involved in a head clash which saw Reece Walsh not return to the field. Although Selwyn Cobbo did a great job at fullback, his absence out wide in defence was highlighted by the Panthers as they punished Brisbane with wave after wave of attack. Taylan May got put on report for the head clash, with the referee advising that May “got a duty of care to bend to make a tackle and he doesn’t bend.”
Broncos eventually got a couple of tries on the board with two tries around the midway point of the second half, but that threat of making a game of it didn’t continue that run and left Penrith to pick up the two competition points.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It was the kind of performance that was more what we have come to expect from the triple reigning premiers, with Nathan Cleary as majestic as ever.
Izack Tago is one of the form centres this season for so many reasons, and the back trio of Dylan Edwards, Brian To’o and Sunia Turuva are just unbeatable and they give their forwards plenty of breaks with constant and effective hit ups.
Taylan May being put on report for a headache was a joke. We don’t want the NRL to follow in the footsteps in UK Super League. In saying all that Selwyn Cobbo was great at fullback.
The form of Penrith is a worry for the other 16 teams, who were good but looked like more to come.
Broncos were unlucky with injuries for this match, but it’s not as if they have been world beaters this season so far. They only beat Souths last start, but did miss Adam Reynolds and Payne Haas here, plus Reece Walsh early in the game. At least it meant that exciting young gun Xavier Willison got more of a go.
Courtesy of nrl.com
Of the 26 Grand Final rematches since 1999, 13 reigning premiers have now won and 13 have lost the first match after the Grand Final in the next season. Penrith’s record is now W4 L1, and Brisbane are W1 L4.
Since 2019 Penrith has now won 9 of 10 home games v Qld sides. Their only loss was in Round 1 last season v Broncos.
Broncos made fewer errors than the Panthers.
This game saw Dylan Edwards pass 300 running metres in a match for the fifth time since 2022.
Brian To’0 (111) and Dylan Edwards (106) both cleared 100 Post Contact Metres in this match. The third best was Matthew Eisenhuth on 58 metres.
That’s eight line breaks for Izack Tago this season, which four ahead of the next best.
Ezra Mam is now on top for missed and ineffective tackles.
A big weekend ahead of Rugby League action kicks off with no less than a Grand Final replay and follows a weekend of the NRL which saw all the home sides winning. Will they do it again? Talking of home truths, our stat-filled preview of the upcoming weekend of rugby league is on hand to help with our 2024 NRL Round 3 Tips Predictions & Stats Preview.
Each week we offer up a quick preview glance for each match, throw in a bunch of barely interesting stats, and mix in a pinch of opinion, and you have a rugby league soup with probably more than one could ever need or want.
2024 NRL Round 3 Tips – This Week’s Matches
Here are our tips for the week ahead. How did we get to here? By going through all the visuals and stats below.
Home
v
Away
When
Where
Penrith
v
Brisbane
Thu, 8:00 pm
Penrith Stadium
Warriors
v
Canberra
Fri, 6:00 pm
Christchurch
Roosters
v
South Sydney
Fri, 8:05 pm
Allianz Stadium
Bulldogs
v
Gold Coast
Sat, 3:00 pm
Belmore
St George Illawarra
v
North Qld
Sat, 5:30 pm
Jubilee Oval
Wests Tigers
v
Cronulla
Sat, 7:35 pm
Leichhardt Oval
Parramatta
v
Manly
Sun, 4:05 pm
CommBank Stadium
Newcastle
v
Melbourne
Sun, 6:15 pm
McDonald Jones Stadium
2024 NRL Round 3 Tips – This Week’s Tips
PENRITH by 8
WARRIORS by 4
ROOSTERS by 16
BULLDOGS by 4
NORTH QUEENSLAND by 12
WESTS TIGERS by 2
PARRAMATTA by 4
MELBOURNE by 6
Here we take the best points of interest for each match coming up this weekend and share them with you for no cost. Feel free to share with friends and family.
46% of the teams who win a Round 1 game going back through the last ten seasons have lost their Round 2 fixture.
THU – PEN v BRI – Of the 25 Grand Final rematches since 1999, 13 reigning premiers have lost and 12 have won the first match after the Grand Final in the next season. Penrith’s record is W3 L1, and Brisbane are W1 L3.
THU – PEN v BRI – Penrith have lost two of their last three at home on a Thursday.
THU – PEN v BRI – Since 2019 Penrith has won 8 of 9 home games v Qld sides. Their only loss was in Round 1 last season v Broncos.
THU – PEN v BRI – The Broncos lost just one games away to a Sydney side last season – the Grand Final to Penrith.
FRI – WAR v CAN – Warriors are W3 L4 in Christchurch v various opposition.
FRI – WAR v CAN – Warriors have won eight of their last 10 games on a Friday.
FRI – WAR v CAN – Canberra’s record for all games in New Zealand at any ground is W8 L14. It’s W2 L2 on a Friday.
FRI – WAR v CAN – Canberra are W2 L2 away to Warriors on a Friday. Which is better than their 36% away win % over the Warriors for all games.
FRI – ROO v SOU – Roosters have won all eight clashes v South Sydney at the Sydney Football Stadium on a Friday covering the NRL era.
FRI – ROO v SOU – Overall the Roosters home record v Souths on a Friday is quite good, with a W9 L2 record.
FRI – ROO v SOU – The Roosters home record v all opposition is pretty good too. At the SFS it is seven in a row and W13 L2. At any ground it is W8 L1.
FRI – ROO v SOU – Souths have won just four games of 15 since leading the competition in Round 11 last season.
FRI – ROO v SOU – South Sydney’s last four away games v Sydney clubs average 60.5 total match points.
SAT – BULL v GC – Going back to 2015, the Bulldogs have won only three of 12 matches at Belmore. They have also lost all three games against Queensland sides over that time. And it’s only W1 L5 on a Saturday.
SAT – BULL v GC – The Bulldogs win % v Qld sides since 2022 is 50% vs their overall win % in 2022 and 2023 of 27%. Their win record v Qld sides at home over that period increases, but the only game at Belmore v Qld sides in 2022/3 was a loss.
SAT – BULL v GC – For the last ten seasons from 2014, the Gold Coast Titans have the worst Win% on a Saturday with just 12.5%. The next lowest is coincidentally Bulldogs on 20%. The Titans have lost their last six games on a Saturday.
SAT – BULL v GC –Gold Coast have won four of their last 17 games away on a Saturday from 2021. And 2/8 over that time v Sydney clubs.
SAT – STGI v NQ – St George Illawarra are W13 L6 v Qld opposition at Jubilee / Kogarah. The Dragons are W4 L2 v Cowboys at the same ground. And 1/1 on a Saturday v Cowboys at the ground.
SAT – STGI v NQ – Dragons are W12 L7 at Kogarah on a Saturday v all opposition.
SAT – STGI v NQ – Dragons have lost their last three home games on a Saturday.
SAT – STGI v NQ – Cowboys lost three of their four away games on a Saturday last season. One loss was a 66-18 defeat to the Wests Tigers.
SAT – WT v CRON – Wests Tigers record at Leichhardt Oval in the NRL era it is W51 L42. On a Saturday it is W12 L11. Against Sydney opposition it is W22 L22. Against Cronulla it is W3 L1 on a Saturday and W5 L4 on any day.
SAT – WT v CRON – Wests Tigers have won one of their last seven at home to Sydney sides on a Saturday.
SAT – WT v CRON – Cronulla have won 12 of their last 14 away games v Sydney clubs.
SUN – PAR v MAN – Parramatta have won eight of their last nine home games v Manly and 16 of the 21 overall since 1998.
SUN – PAR v MAN – Parramatta have won eight home games in a row on a Sunday.
SUN – PAR v MAN – Manly have won three of the last four Sunday games between them and the Eels.
SUN – PAR v MAN – Manly have won six away games straight on a Sunday v Sydney teams going back to 2021. Plus 11 of their last 12 on a Sunday v Sydney opposition anywhere.
SUN – NEW v MEL – Melbourne have won five in a row in Newcastle on a Sunday. The Storm have won 10 in a row on a Sunday v Newcastle at any ground.
SUN – NEW v MEL – Newcastle won the only clash between these sides last season, winning 26-18 as part of that late season surge. Prior to that, the Knights had lost 11 straight v the Storm.
SUN – NEW v MEL – Newcastle won all ten games on a Sunday last season.
2024 Round 2 Dolphins v St George Illawarra – DOLPHINS 38 ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS 0. The one-minute match report, giving you the bare minimum in the bare minimum of time.
The Dolphins opened up their winning account for the 2024 NRL with a 38-0 thrashing of St George Illawarra Dragons on the hallowed turf of Kayo Stadium aka Dolphin Oval.
There wasn’t much in the first half, except for a quick burst of two tries in the 5th and 9th minutes. The first try came from nowhere as winger Jack Bostock making a break catching a bomb, and simply offloaded to The Hammer who sped away to his and the crowd’s great delight. It was to put the Dolphins fullback in a good mood for the rest of the afternoon. The second try came from a cross field kick from Kodi Nikorima to Jamayne Isaako when Dragons winger Mikaele Ravalawa decided against jumping for the ball, allowing Isaako to catch and simply place the ball down.
There wasn’t much more from Kodi Nikorima after that as he left the field for an HIA and failed. Hooker Jeremy Marshall-King also left the field for a HIA after his head was on the receiving end of a full blooded downfield kick from Ben Hunt. Hunt showed admirable care for his opponent. But thankfully supercoach Wayne Bennett made a pre game switch to bring in Kurt Donoghoe in place of Kenny Bromwich as the Dolphins were temporarily without a hooker and a five eighth.
St George Illawarra tried their best to break through the Dolphins defense in the first half, and fullback Tyrell Sloan was lively throughout, but the half time score was 12-0 but you felt it was reasonably even going into the break.
Dolphins fans needn’t have worried though, as the Dolphins piled on the tries in the second half at a steady rate. The Hammer grabbed himself a hattrick to give him a confidence boost after an ordinary day out in Round 1. Work horses Jeremy Marshall-King and Mark Nicholls were rewarded with second half tries and new recruit Jake Averillo celebrated his Dolphins debut with a four pointer also.
One moment that shouldn’t be lost among the try scoring was the huge defensive play in the dying minute from Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to stop the Dragons scoring a late consolation try. The fullback’s efforts ensured a clean sheet for the Dolphins for the first time.
FINAL THOUGHT:
It was the kind of performance that was more expected from the Dolphins after their gallant first season, coping with a loss to a key position like Five Eighth. As ever, the players stood up, and the match will give Isiaya Katoa some confidence going forward after being left out in Round 1.
New recruits Herbie Farnworth and Jake Averillo had fine games, and the return of Euan Aitken and Jarrod Wallace provided something missing in Round 1. It always helps to have The Hammer back in fine form too, as does having a charging Josh Kerr. And Wayne Bennett’s decision to pick and stick with Jack Bostock looks like it will have season long benefits for the Dolphins and more.
All told it was a better squad for Round 2 and they played better accordingly. And are turning Kayo Stadium into a mini-fortress.
Courtesy of nrl.com
Sunday’s win over St George Illawarra saw the Dolphins keep their first clean sheet in their existence. Of course this means it is their lowest total points conceded. But even better is the 38 points they scored is also a new record. Talk about a turnaround from Round 1.
The most recent new team to enter in the NRL – Gold Coast Titans also kept a team scoreless in their second season, but it was June not March. Hard to believe the Titans first zero points conceded was against Melbourne.
Josh Kerr was the only forward in the top seven for run metres in the Dolphins v Dragons clash, and he came from the bench.
Dolphins are 3/4 at Kayo Stadium and their only loss was a gallant one against eventual Premier and NRL juggernaut Penrith.
For those who like a wager keep this in mind. The last three Dolphins games at Kayo Stadium have seen exactly 38 total points scored.
St George Illawarra have lost eight in a row on Sunday.
Another big weekend of NRL action it was where the home sides took control. There were star performances, work horses giving it their all, and flying wingers scoring tries that seem to defy nature. But which players were the best of the best you ask? We’ll let the stats do the talking and separate the Wheat/Chaff to present the 2024 NRL Round 2 Player Stats and Team of the Week.
First we have our Team of the Week, which takes some of the key player stats from the weekend and using various scoring methods come up with the best players in their positions from the latest round of the NRL.
Then there’s additional player stats from this weekend and some bite sized points of interest.
We’ve used the stats for each position and picked the best starting 13 players from the most recent round, the stats and points assigned are explained at the end.
On top of the best starting 13, we include the best four interchange players of the week. Seeing who has provided maximum impact from the bench.
Plus we throw in the players we thought were great but the stats did not with Gurgler’s Choice. And this week Xavier Coates made the squad for that try only.
2024 NRL Round 2 Team of the Season…so far
2024 NRL Round 2 Player Stats
Want to see which players topped the key stats for the latest round of the NRL this weekend?
Want to see which players topped the key stats for the latest round of the NRL this weekend?
2024 NRL Player Stats…so far.
INTERESTING STATS FROM THIS ROUND
Izack Tago’s six line breaks in the game v Parramatta is a single match/player record for our stats going back to 2022. He had a 40% strike rate too for Runs made vs Line Breaks.
Combining Penalties / Ruck Infringements / Missed Tackles and Errors – Phoenix Crossland is currently well clear at the top followed by Briton Nikora.
Josh Curran currently leads the most minutes by an interchange players this season with 123 minutes played. Nat Butcher and Kurt Man are the other players over 100 minutes.
Dylan Edwards may have topped the Run Metres for Round 2 with 262 metres (15,453 according to Andrew Adbo) but that’s not even in the Panthers fullback’s top ten for the past two-and-a-bit seasons.
Melbourne Storm were dead last for Post Contact Metres this weekend.
How the Team of the Week works
Want to know how we come up with the numbers to rank the players, the below table should explain hopefully.
Want more Player Stats? Neeeeed more NRL data and stuff? Why not try our friends at Nothing But Legue for bite sized pieces of NRL Stats and more every day.
Want more NRL information than just the draw, results or the current ladder? Then you are in the right place and the right time with the home of Stats and Stuff via our 2024 NRL Round 2 Stats Summary for the weekend that was.
Each week we compile and keep up to date a wide range of stats from the latest weekend of NRL action plus the best 2024 NRL Season Stats to help you to the top of the tipping competition, land a few responsible winners or even make your Supercoach team better. And now with a match by match summary full of all the stats you need and/or want.
2024 NRL Round 2 Stats Summary
NRL Round 2 Stats Summary – Points of Interest
HOME WINS A PLENTY
You may not have noticed, but Round 2 saw all the home teams win. When did this last happen you may ask? Well in 2017, but that was for one of those four-game rounds. The last weekend where a full round of eight games saw the home side win all the matches was Round 26 in 2014.
UNDERDOGS SPOIL THE SUNDAY
It was a good weekend for the favourites too, with six of the eight winners being favourites before the first game kick off on Thursday. It was six for six after Saturday’s game, but Manly and Dolphins ruined the party for FB’s aka Favourite backers.
NEWCASTLE AWAY BLUES IN QUEENSLAND
It was close, and needed extra time, but ultimately Newcastle lost again in Queensland as the away team against Queensland opposition. That’s now 20 games in a row when playing away to a Queensland side in Queensland. Their last win was in 2015.
DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR DOLPHINS
Sunday’s win over St George Illawarra saw the Dolphins keep their first clean sheet in their existence. Of course this means it is their lowest total points conceded. But even better is the 38 points they scored is also a new record. Talk about a turnaround from Round 1.
The most recent new team to enter in the NRL – Gold Coast Titans also kept a team scoreless in their second season, but it was June not March. Hard to believe the Titans first zero points conceded was against Melbourne.
ROUND 1 WINNERS STRIKE RATE
Before the weekend we pointed out that over the last ten seasons 46% of the Round 1 winners lost the next weekend. So how did that go for 2024?
So in 2024 three of the Round 1 winners failed to back it up, but all three of those losers were playing away.
Interestingly, of the five teams who doubled up the win in Round 2, just one played at home in Round 1.
BEST OF NRL ROUND 2 STATS QUICK HITS
Broncos win over South Sydney was just their second from their last 12 home games at Suncorp Stadium on a Thursday night.
Cronulla have now won seven in a row on a Friday. Bulldogs have now lost 14 of their last 15 games on a Friday.
Penrith have won 21 of their last 23 home games on a Friday going back to 2020. Their only two losses came against Parramatta.
Wests Tigers lost all six games last season away to non Sydney teams. So add another for 2024 so far.
Melbourne have won 15 straight v Warriors. And the last ten at home.
Since 2019 Manly have won 14/17 games on a Sunday v Sydney opposition.
St George Illawarra have now lost eight in a row on Sunday.
The last team to keep the Dragons pointless were the Warriors in May 2020 on the Central Coast.
NRL Round 2 Stats Summary
Some weekly stats and additional interesting visuals for the weekend that was.
NRL Round 2 Stats Summary – H2H Match by Match Summary
All eight games with all the stats you could ever want or need.
An emerging tennis star has been criticised for an “blatantly arrogant” press conference after an easy win.
Playing in the Cleveland Open, 25-year-old Gold Coast-born Nick Toymac beat qualifier Peter Henderson 6-0 6-0 in the opening round.
But rather than stay humble and focus on the rest of the tournament, Toymac rubbed it into his opponent’s face.
“I’ll be honest, that was the easiest professional match I’ve ever played!” said Toymac. “I was out there for an hour and barely broke a sweat. Old mate couldn’t handle my lightning serves and his serves were so slow I could have skulled 10 beers and still returned it for an ace.”
Toymac even questioned Henderson’s future in the game.
“Seriously, Henderson should quit tennis in shame. That’s how badly I embarrassed him. There’s much easier sports he can try – maybe golf or lawn bowls would be more his speed?”
Tennis journalists have slammed Toymac’s press conference.
“While Toymac captured the public’s imagination when he made the Australian Open semis a couple of years ago, he’s done nothing since then: he’s only won a couple of minor tour titles but hasn’t gone past the quarters in a grand slam tournament,” wrote tennis journalist Gideon Lalor
“He’s a daring, arrogant player, but that dare and arrogance can backfire. Toymac’s disrespect to opponents and blatantly arrogant press conference means the elite players will be targeting him, wanting to knock some humility on him. And watch the Australian public turn on a player they once loved. If he doesn’t fix his attitude, Toymac will be another of those talented players who didn’t make the most of their ability,” added another tennis journalist Geoff Collins.
Henderson responded to Toymac’s criticisms via Twitter.
“Sorry Nick, but I’m won’t be changing sports. I find golf boring and while I’ve played a few barefoot bowls games, I lose interest quickly, so I guess I’m stuck with tennis. The humbling loss was actually a good thing. I’ve not only studied the game to see where I went wrong, but I also learnt how not to behave when I eventually start winning games. You often learn more from a bad loss than a big win.”
Toymac is yet to respond to the criticism, but posted a cryptic Instagram post with the words, “Haters can’t stand me coz [sic] they won’t put in the work to be me!”
The F1 circus heads down under to a Grand Prix which always seems exciting. Talking of exciting, our 2024 Australian F1 Grand Prix Preview is hardly that but will do as a quick look at the upcoming big weekend.
The Gurgler’s 2024 Australian F1 Grand Prix Preview brings some thoughts on the race itself, a few bold predictions here and there, a more than a few barely interesting stats.
Essentially a quick summary of what a casual F1 fan needs in the shortest possible time for your convenience.
By AEPA Racing – https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/3/31/20210403204531%21Albert_Lake_Park_Street_Circuit_in_Melbourne%2C_Australia.svg, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=112596677
The track map looks like a reasonably lame rocking horse, which we guess given the horsepower on offer over the weekend is relevant.
2024 Australian F1 Grand Prix Preview – Race Rating
The Gurgler does like to use some obscure drivers in our Race previews and report, so who better to use than Teo Fabi to determine a race rating system.
So before each race we give a rating out of ten for four key category that are loosely based on each letter of Teo Fabi’s surname. Don’t know who Teo Fabi is, you should.
FAST? 7/10 – It’s fast enough for a park circuit, an extra point or two for the sweeping back straight section now they removed the annoying chicane.
ACTION? 9/10 – It is a track where stuff usually happens. Mostly in the past it was because it was the first race of the season and drivers had yet to get up to speed, but since Albert Park was bumped from the first race there’s still plenty of action. Look at last year’s race which was a 10/10 for action.
BIG HISTORY? – 7/10 Excluding Covid the Australian Grand Prix has been on the Calendar since 1985. Some big moments in modern F1 history have been at the Australian Grand Prix. Nigel Mansell’s tyre blowout, Schumacher v Hill crash in 1994, and some wild multi car crashes.
INCLEMENT WEATHER? – 8/10 Although the Weather Channel says only a 15% chance for rain on the Sunday, it is Melbourne, a city where there can be four seasons in one day. So anything is possible on any day.
RACE RATING 78% – As Murray Walker said “anything can happen in Formula One, and it usually does”. That and “That’s Mansell!!!!”.
2024 Australian F1 Grand Prix Preview – Stats
Want to know if your favourite driver for this weekend is a master of the track or the track is a master of them? Here then are some barely interesting facts and stats.
Nico Hulkenberg has finished the Australian Grand Prix seventh five times in his last six races here.
Daniel Ricciardo has DNF’d here four times in nine races.
Lewis Hamilton has only qualified lower than fifth once.
David Coulthard’s win in 2003 from 11th on the grid is the lowest grid slot to win the Australian Grand Prix.
The most popular Grid slot to finish combination is 20th place on the grid to DNF, followed by 17th on the grid to DNF.
Logan Sargeant is the only current driver not to score a point in the Australian Grand Prix.
DRIVER GRID POSITION vs RACE RESULT – CURRENT DRIVERS
TEAM GRID POSITION vs RACE RESULT
HISTORIC DRIVER RESULTS
99 = a DNF. Grid position 20 is overstated as that was also used for cars starting in pitlane.
HISTORIC TEAM RESULTS
GRID POSITION INTO RACE RESULT
99 = a DNF. Grid position 20 is overstated as that was also used for cars starting in pitlane.
Lando Norris to Win from Pole position.
This Australian Grand Prix to be Christian Horner’s last GPO in charge of Red Bull.
One Ferrari to be wiped out on the first lap.
Daniel Ricciardo to qualify in top ten and finish sixth. Yuki Tsunoda to be unhappy with that result.
Neither Alpine to finish.
Logan Sargeant will end up in a gravel trap twice over the weekend.
Lance Stroll won’t finish the GP.
2024 Australian F1 Grand Prix Preview – Stats Extra
We had a thought whilst doing our stats…the Australian Grand Prix feels like it has plenty of retirements. And it does. In fact the most of the current tracks. Even more than Monaco.
99 = a DNF. Grid position 20 is overstated as that was also used for cars starting in pitlane.
