The FRONT ROW ROUND 13 + ORIGIN I 2021 VOLUME 2 · ISSUE 13 CAN NSW BOUNCE BACK? ORIGIN 2021 KICKS OFF! WILL QUEENSLAND RETAIN THEIR TITLE? Old boys ahoy Vics do it tough Barnett keen to make Newcastle Behind the sadness of Victoria losing legends proud, 20 years on rugby league's showpiece event INSIDE: NRL Round 13, State of Origin I program with squad lists, previews & head to head stats, Round 12 reviewed LEAGUEUNLIMITED.COM AUSTRALIA’S LEADING INDEPENDENT RUGBY LEAGUE WEBSITE THERE IS NO OFF-SEASON 2 | LEAGUEUNLIMITED.COM | THE FRONT ROW | VOL 2 ISSUE 13 What’s inside From the editor THE FRONT ROW - VOL 2 ISSUE 13 Tim Costello From the editor 3 The Origin series is finally here. FEATURE State of Origin Victoria 4-5 And it's not without the usual drama - that's for sure. Early this FEATURE Old Boys Day 6-7 week, the NRL made the decision to relocate the match from Melbourne to Townsville as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak in NRL Ladder, Stats Leaders. POTY standings 8 the former. It's been a tough 18 months for those in Victoria, and we have a piece on the pages following that illustrates the GAME DAY · NRL Round 13 & Origin I 9-19 passion for the greatest game of all south of the border and the LU Team Tips 9 heartbreak at losing a showpiece Origin contest. THU St George Illawarra v Brisbane 10-11 Meanwhile, the NRL competition persists. The biggest event of the shortened thirteenth round (eight clubs have byes on FRI Wests Tigers v Penrith 12-13 account of next Wednesday's Origin clash) is Newcastle's clash SAT Melbourne v Gold Coast 14-15 with Parramatta on Sunday, which the home side have declared as their annual 'Old Boys Day'. The match will be celebrating 20 SUN Newcastle v Parramatta 16-17 years since the Knights' big 2001 title win over the Eels. WED Origin I: NSW v QLD 18-19 Another key event coming up this weekend is from the QRL - their Women's Premiership Grand Final is on this weekend. Tune Origin results 1980-2020 20-21 in Sunday on the QRL website to see the Valleys v Burleigh clash. NSWRL Teamlists 22-23 Kickoff is 4:15pm. Knock-On Effect NSW Cup R13 22 One last thing... the crossword's back this week and it's an Origin edition. Happy reading! Jersey Flegg Cup R13 22 Harvey Norman Womens' Premiership R13 22-23 Ron Massey Cup R13 23 Sydney Shield R13 23 The FRONT ROW ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS QRL Teamlists 24-25 Intrust Super Cup R9 24 We’d like to thank RugbyLeagueProject.org for their support and use of various statistics throughout this publication. U21 Hastings Deering Colts R7 25 Magazine content originally appears on LeagueUnlimited.com © 2021 BHP Premiership Women's Grand Final 25 unless otherwise noted. Interested in advertising with The Front Row NRL Round 12 Wrap 26-29 or LeagueUnlimited.com, or just want to provide feedback? Contact us Match Centre: NSWRL & QRL results 30-31 by email [email protected] NRL Match Review & Judiciary - Round 12 31 MANAGERS Steven Williams & Coby Delaney EDITOR Tim Costello UK Watch 32 CONTRIBUTORS Andrew Ferguson The LU Crossword: Origin Edition 33 Paul Jobber Robert Crosby Josh Robertson Andrew Jackson 2021 NRL Draw 34-35 Adam Huxtable Jason Hosken Justin Davies Emile El-Azar Lachy MacCorquodale Sam Bourke Lucy Sparks LEAGUEUNLIMITED.COM | THE FRONT ROW | VOL 2 ISSUE 13 | 3 STATE OF ORIGIN VICTORIA AS ORIGIN MAKES IT'S TOWNSVILLE DEBUT, SPARE A THOUGHT FOR THE FANS SOUTH OF THE BORDER... WORDS: LUCY SPARKS It is tough being an NRL fan in Melbourne. circus arriving. Suddenly the 'other type of footy' is exciting, and becomes the main focus. Yes, there is a fiercely loyal and passionate 90,000 people pour into the home of AFL, group of Storm fans, and scatterings of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, to watch an other club fans down here, but overall entirely different game. NRL is dwarfed by the monolithic AFL club supporter bases. There are huge cross overs Yes, 10 minutes in, chances are you will between the two of course, but in this town, have overheard people saying ‘I just AFL takes the hotseat. It is a rarer sight to don’t understand why they throw the ball see a Melbourne Storm scarf donned on a backwards not forwards’, and constant calls passenger during a work commute, and even of ‘BALLLL’ every time there is a tackle - but seeing #RandomSouthsGuy is just about for Victorians, the opportunity to witness this unheard of. strange and deep rivalry between two other states is not to be missed. When State of Origin comes to town though, this all changes. It is like the carnival or the From Melbourne’s first Origin game in 1990, we have had countless moments of greatness, showing just how spectacular our great game can be to an… almost… foreign audience. Who could forget the brawl in *that* 1995 showdown? Or NSW being controversially denied a try by the video referee at Docklands in 2009? Michael Jennings' heroics in 2015 in front of 91,513 screaming Victorians (ok, there were a few interlopers as well)...? 4 | LEAGUEUNLIMITED.COM | THE FRONT ROW | VOL 2 ISSUE 13 It is tough being an NRL fan in Melbourne, back in lockdown, State of Origin has been with 2020 being no exception. The mighty shifted from Melbourne to sunny Townsville, Storm rolled out of town, first up to Southern and whether we face another winter without NSW before heading to the Sunshine Coast. sport in Melbourne seems to be on a knife- The AFL, Super Netball, and Super Rugby all edge. followed suit – hell, it was even impossible to find #RandomSouthsGuy anymore. This sports So on our couches we will be on Wednesday, obsessed city, this sports obsessed state, hoping to see some brilliance from both sides while handling a much greater crisis - and 140 (preferably from Queensland, if you ask me!). days in lockdown - was left to grieve losing a small but significant part of its soul. While it would be superb for New South Wales v Queensland to be a close game, take For an NRL fan, this was indeed a lonely a moment to remember your Victorian NRL experience. So far, 2021 has been brighter. fans doing it tough. Send us a message, send The crowds are back at AAMI Park, and us some love, hell, maybe even find our closest we are seeing some great (and some booze delivery service and send us a beer too, subpar) games of footy. The season opener because right now, it is bloody tough being an between Melbourne and the Rabbitohs NRL fan in Melbourne. (#RandomSouthsGuy sightings were off the charts!) was special, even moreso with the reigning premiers getting a win. However, now as the gentle chill of autumn begins to fade, a familiar darkness is beginning to descend over this unlucky state. We’re LEAGUEUNLIMITED.COM | THE FRONT ROW | VOL 2 ISSUE 13 | 5 LEADING THE CHARGE BARNETT WELCOMES THE CHALLENGE AS KNIGHTS LOOK TO MAKE OLD BOYS PROUD There will be some familiar faces downing a few schooners in the crowd when Newcastle host Parramatta this Sunday. The match will mark the 20th anniversary of the Knights’ memorable premiership triumph in 2001 while it was also double as the club’s annual Old Boys Day fixture. Backrower Mitch Barnett has welcomed the challenge of being one of the leaders “We’ve got to be at our best and it’s definitely with forwards Daniel Saifiti (Origin), David a good challenge and one we’re embracing Klemmer (suspension) and Tyson Frizell because it’s Old Boys Day for us,” he said. (injury) all unavailable. “There’s no better opportunity for us to put a The Knights were impressive in a gritty 18-10 good performance in.” win over Manly last Sunday, but Barnett knows the challenge now is to replicate it. Barnett said it was always special to play in the club’s biggest home fixture of the regular With the exception of round one and two, the season. Novocastrians have rarely backed up a strong performance with another one as evidenced “It’s an awesome feeling to run out there and by their standing on the NRL ladder. to put the same jersey on as those guys – the legends of the club – all who have done it But they do have added motivation this before,” Barnett said. weekend knowing some of the club’s legends are watching on from the stands. “To go out there and make them proud … there’s no greater feeling when you come off 6 | LEAGUEUNLIMITED.COM | THE FRONT ROW | VOL 2 ISSUE 13 WORDS: PAUL JOBBER the field to know you’ve done that, so it’s a big opportunity for us.” Knights’ new signing Jake Clifford has been named in Adam O’Brien’s 21-man squad and while a decision is yet to be made, it would come as a surprise if he didn’t feature in the 17 on game day. “It’s good to meet him; he seems to be a cool, calm, collected bloke so very excited to have him on board that’s for sure,” Barnett said. They know the Eels will be hungry to put an end to an unimpressive fortnight of results. “They’ll feel like they’ve got a real point to prove and the coach will have them up especially after two losses, so they’re a good footy side,” Barnett said.