Welcome to day three of Magic Round – with three games to close out what has already been an unbelievable weekend.
South Sydney and Penrith cemented their status as NRL favourites with wins yesterday, while the Dolphins landed a shock upset win over Cronulla.
Wests Tigers face St George Illawarra first up at Suncorp on Sunday, with the Sydney Roosters taking on North Queensland and then Parramatta-Gold Coast rounding out the weekend.
WESTS TIGERS SHOCK INJURY BLOW
Wests Tigers have been rocked by a late injury to John Bateman in the warm-up.
Bateman injured his hamstring which has ruled him out of the clash.
“Never easy to lose someone right before kick off,” Fox Sports NRL expert Greg Alexander said, “especially someone of the importance of John Bateman and what he could’ve done for the team this afternoon off their (Wests Tigers) first win of the season last week. Big blow to lose Bateman.
Asu Kepaoa comes into the starting 13, with 18th man Alex Seyfarth moving to the bench.
The Tigers desperately need Bateman back on deck next week when they meet the high-flying South Sydney Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium on Saturday.
TATOLA ON THE VIDEO THAT MADE HIM BREAK DOWN IN THE SHEDS
By Brent Read
Not long before he ripped into the fearsome Melbourne forward pack at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night, Tevita Tatola was in the South Sydney dressing room in tears.
Tatola had endured a challenging week after his father Tevita Senior passed away in sudden circumstances only days before Magic Round and his emotions simmered to the surface as he prepared for the Rabbitohs to take centre stage in Brisbane.
Tatola had been given the chance to take the weekend off by coach Jason Demetriou to deal with his grief. He spoke to his family and decided his father – the man who got him into rugby league and drove him around on weekends – would have wanted him to play.
So he did. Tatola, wearing a black armband and his father’s name on strapping tape on his wrist, pulled himself together and tore into the Storm as South Sydney stamped their premiership credentials.
“It was a bit hard actually,” Tatola said.
“Before warmup I got a bit emotional. I was watching a video back of my dad and I broke down in the sheds. I just wanted to watch it.
“I just wanted to get out there and get the job done. That was the main thing. I talked to my family, my brothers and that. I was umming and ahhing about playing. They helped me to make my decision.
“They said dad would have wanted you to play – just go out there and do your thing. That gave me confidence as well.
“JD (Demetriou) also messaged me during the week and said if you don’t want me to play, it is 100 percent up to you.
“I messaged him straight away and said my dad would want me to play, I am 100 percent in.”
Tatola’s father had battled health issues for years. He had suffered from diabetes which meant he was required to undergo regular dialysis. Still, his passing came as a shock.
“This was a bit unexpected,” Tatola said.
“He went to dialysis in the morning, had his normal session and was all good. He went to the toilet and just collapsed.
“The doctors took him straight to emergency. They brought him back for a little bit and he crashed again. They tried everything they could.
“None of us could say goodbye to him, which is a bit hard.”
Demetriou confirmed he had given Tatloa the opportunity to take the night off.
“I spoke to him earlier in the week about whether he wanted to play or not,” Demetriou said.
“But he wanted to make his dad proud, and he did. The players were awesome the way they supported him.
“It’s one of those things where you can’t pressure a player to play or not to play. It had to be a decision that came from him, and I supported him 100 per cent either way.
“Not only did he make his dad proud, he also gave a bit of light to his family who are doing it tough.”
Tatola will play the rest of this season in honour of his father. Same for the next one and every season after that. Without him, he wouldn’t be where he is today.
“My old man, he was the one who got us into footy and took us literally everywhere to play footy,” Tatola said.
“He was the man that put me in and all my brothers as well. I know he would be watching and he would want me to play. He was definitely out there with me.”
DEMETRIOU DEMANDS MORE FROM ON-FIRE BUNNIES
By Michael Carayannis
South Sydney have conceded the second least amount of points of any side in the competition but coach Jason Demetriou has asked for more from his team.
The Rabbitohs receive plenty of accolades for what they do with the football with their attacking brilliance easily identifiable.
But their defensive efforts this season is what has helped them to five consecutive wins and could push them into premiership heavyweights.
While their attack continues to flow, Demetriou said the biggest improvement in the side will come defensively.
“It’s been a process we’ve been implementing for two years,” Demetriou said. “Not having changes in our squad, trust and believing. If we keep having a defensive mindset we are a tough team to beat.”
The Rabbitohs conceded just a try in each half.
“We need to tighten our discipline up,” Demetriou said. “A lot of pressure on our D in the first half.
“It’s not anything that’s changed. It’s the ability to play with the people you’re comfortable with week in week out. Trust and combination just grows. That’s been the biggest change. Stability in your team.”
Melbourne boss Craig Bellamy echoed Demetriou’s sentiments. The Storm beat the Rabbitohs 18-10 just five weeks ago.
“Souths have been playing great the last two or three weeks,” Bellamy said. “What we came up with wasn’t going to be good enough. I thought one thing they improved on was their defence. It was really strong. We didn’t test them as much as we would’ve liked. We know how they can attack.”
South Sydney captain Cameron Murray pinpointed discipline to his biggest need for improvement.
“Off the back of tonight, a few errors letting them out on their end,” Murray said. “Coach said putting pressure on our defence. We were resilient and weathered the storm well. I don’t think we’ve put a perfect 80 minutes together yet. We will do some video and re-watch the game and improve on.”
Originally published as NRL Magic Round Day 3 2023 start times, live stream, scores, fixtures, how to watch