` The FRONT ROW ROUND 17 2020 VOLUME 1 · ISSUE 15 Key Bounce men back A look at who Back rower Mitch could be the Barnett on where the MVPs in the Knights can improve NRL finals ? Re-match But is this Sonny's final fling? INSIDE: NRL ROUND 17 TEAMLISTS, PREVIEWS, HEAD TO HEAD STATS, LADDER, STATS LEADERS CROSSWORD, WORD JUMBLES, NRL ROUND 16 WRAP, MATCH REVIEW, REPORTS, NSWRL TEAMLISTS THE FRONT ROW FORUMS AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST RUGBY LEAGUE DISCUSSION FORUMS forums.leagueunlimited.com THERE IS NO OFF-SEASON 2 | LEAGUEUNLIMITED.COM | THE FRONT ROW | VOL 1 ISSUE 15 What’s inside From the editor THE FRONT ROW - ISSUE 15 Tim Costello From the editor 3 In terms of outcomes - this is shaping as a key weekend Feature: SBW and the re-match 4-5 of results as to the make-up of the NRL top eight. Friday night's clashes - Knights v Sharks, and Souths v Storm - will Feature: Premiership MVPs 6 go a long way to deciding how the bottom half of the eight Feature: Mitch Barnett 7 finish - but if we're fair dinkum, Saturday night's Grand Final re-match is where all eyes are trained. News, Player Birthdays, Word Jumbles, Super League results 8 After sixteen rounds, the teams that met in last year's decider are level on 22 competition points and locked in a fierce Mega Crossword 9 battle for fourth place and that all-important double chance. THE WRAP · Round 16 10-14 A win is vital for both sides with just four rounds remaining. Match reports 10-12 For the Roosters - it's also welcome back to Sonny Bill The scoresheet 12 Williams. Over the page you can read Steve Mascord's story NRL Match Review 13 on SBW's future following his mid-season departure from Toronto Wolfpack. LU Player of the Year standings 13 Premiership Ladder, Stats Leaders 14 Further in, Rick Edgerton looks at who your club's MVP might be this finals series, while Paul Jobber chats to Newcastle GAME DAY · NRL Round 17 15-35 forward Mitch Barnett after Saturday's disappointing loss to LU Team Tips 15 the Warriors. THU Broncos v Panthers 16-17 We hope you enjoy this historic edition of The Front Row! FRI Knights v Sharks 18-19 Rabbitohs v Storm 20-21 SAT Bulldogs v Titans 22-23 Sea Eagles v Tigers 24-25 The FRONT ROW Raiders v Roosters 26-27 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SUN Warriors v Eels 28-29 We’d like to thank RugbyLeagueProject.org for their support and Cowboys v Dragons 30-31 use of various statistics throughout this publication. NSWRL President's Cup Round 8 32 Interested in advertising with The Front Row or LeagueUnlimited. NSWRL Sydney Shield Round 8 32 com, or just want to provide feedback? Contact us by email - NSWRL Women's Premiership Finals Wk 1 33 [email protected] NSWRL Round 7 Results 33 Magazine content originally appears on LeagueUnlimited.com © 2020 NRL Draw 34-35 2020. MANAGERS Steven Williams & Coby Delaney EDITOR Tim Costello CONTRIBUTORS Andrew Ferguson Steve Mascord Adam Huxtable PRINTED IN SYDNEY BY Paul Jobber Sam Bourke Robert Crosby Hamish Parker Twizzle Brennan Andrew Jackson Andrew Carey Rick Edgerton Justin Davies Jason Hosken Josh Robertson Lachy MacCorquodale LEAGUEUNLIMITED.COM | THE FRONT ROW | VOL 1 ISSUE 15 | 3 FEATURE · GRAND FINAL RE-MATCH Sonny's last stand? In the nation's capital, the Raiders and Roosters go head-to-head this week in the second Grand Final re-match, but all eyes are on one man. The real question remains - will SBW play on in 2021? s you are reading this, it’s possible a Over the coming days, the British boards will discuss group of men in England and France are whether to readmit the team that has been mired the deciding whether Sonny Bill Williams’ last two months in controversy after pulling out of glittering career ends when Sydney the restarted season and failing to pay players and ARoosters’ 2020 season does. staff. Just a few hours before this historic first Australian “Look, we let Sonny down - there’s no doubt print edition of The Front Row went to the presses whatsoever,” the veteran Canadian sports in Sydney - with a cover celebrating the return of administrator says. Williams to the NRL just in time for Saturday's grand final rematch against Canberra - we tracked down “He’s a very special athlete and if he wanted to play beleaguered Toronto Wolfpack chief executive Bob there was no way we were going to stop him playing. Hunter. We’re excited for him. I think the club’s excited for him. Hunter had just been involved in a phone hook- up with RFL and Super League officials that will “If we’re able to convince him to come back - he’s determine whether his club lives or dies - and still under contract next year - we think it’s better by extension whether the 35-year-old dual code that he plays than doesn’t play. superstar has another year in him. “If we get our house in order, if we get approved to “It was a very preliminary introductory call to the play in Super League, if we get some of the terms potential new owner, a get-to-know-them meeting,” and conditions that we need to survive long-term, Hunter explained. we’d be excited to have Sonny back.” 4 | LEAGUEUNLIMITED.COM | THE FRONT ROW | VOL 1 ISSUE 15 Steve Mascord Contributor Making the situation more intriguing, and perhaps the transaction take place, they expected to retain complicating it, is the fact Williams was given a a future piece of the club or they wanted to be share in the Wolfpack club when he signed a two- compensated or basically bought out”. year deal valued in some reports at $10 million. But Williams was not one of the shareholders to “There are a large number of shareholders, Sonny express that concern, Hunter said. being one of them,” Hunter explained. So, is it true that the great SBW will either don a “We’ve got to get that all figured out as a condition Wolfpack jersey next year or hang up those boots? of sale. Do the existing shareholders continue to own a small piece of the team? “I don’t think coach Brian McDermott has spoken to Sonny about those specifics,” Hunter says. “I mean, “David Argyle owns around 55, 60 percent of we’ve heard that rumour but we’ve not had those the team. When he walks away the new owner is discussions with either Sonny or his agent.” basically buying that for for a dollar. I don’t know what the new owner intends to do with the existing With social distancing and all that in place, it’s hard shareholders.” to measure the “box office” value of anyone. But when the 11 Super League owners discuss whether Hunter admitted that when the consortium behind to forgive the Wolfpack, there’ll be one individual the New York RFL bid wanted to take over the they’ll find hard to ignore. Wolfpack, one of the hurdles was that “a couple of the shareholders raised their concerns that should LEAGUEUNLIMITED.COM | THE FRONT ROW | VOL 1 ISSUE 15 | 5 RICK'S PICKS · MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS Premiership MVPs ith just four rounds of regular season matches remaining in 2020, the whips are well and truly cracking in the race for premiership glory. The top 8 looks just about locked in after Rick Edgerton the Dragons, Tigers and Sea Eagles lost in round 16 to all but Wkiss their season’s goodbye. That leaves the Warriors as the only team Contributor with a realistic chance of forcing their way in. capital. An absolute rock through the middle again for the Raiders this year averaging 159 metres and 33 Over the coming weeks we’ll take a look at some players in different tackles per game, but it’s his rare ability to come up with a big play in a key categories who’ll be key to their club’s premiership chances. This week – moment that makes him the game’s number one prop. Three of his four tries Most Valuable Players. Who is the one man that can’t be missing if their this year have come against top four opposition and who can forget the team is a shot at lifting the trophy? barnstorming effort he produced to drag his team over the line in a prelim final against the Rabbitohs last year? His inspirational run-down and ankle WARRIORS – Roger Tuivasa-Sheck tap of Jamal Fogarty a fortnight ago will go down as one of the highlights It’s quite the remarkable feat that the Warriors still find themselves alive of the season and the very reason the Raiders remain a strong chance of in this premiership race after all they’ve endured this year and the man charging towards the big dance again this year. leading them out each week has been instrumental to the scenario they find themselves in. The gun fullback has again shown the professionalism ROOSTERS – Luke Keary that has been a staple of his career. Leads the league for run metres with an It feels almost criminal to leave arguably the best player in the world – average 222 per game, ensuring his team always gets a great start to their James Tedesco out of this list, but that’s how important Keary is to the tri- sets of six. Scored a double against the Knights last week with the wizardry colours push to be the first team to claim a three-peat since Parramatta in of his feet beating defenders at will.