NRL round 10: the Good, the Bad and the Bizarre

By Andrew Pelechaty

Good: Are Cronulla the Real Deal?
The best teams not only win the blockbusters, but games they should win - and win comfortably.
Cronulla travelled to Newcastle and crushed the hopeless Knights, equalling their biggest-ever win.
So, can Cronulla finally earn their maiden premiership? Wins over Melbourne, Brisbane and a close loss to North Queensland suggests they'll give it a mighty crack. They're NSW's best chance to disrupt the Broncos-Cowboys domination.

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Bad: Newcastle's woes
It's been a rough few years for Newcastle; the 2014 Alex McKinnon injury took a massive emotional toll and 2015 wasn't much better. They won four straight, then won just four more to finish last. In 2016, they've managed a solitary win (over Wests Tigers) and a draw (against Canberra). The scary part is they've been losing heavily (48-6 against Souths, 53-0 against Brisbane, 38-0 against Sydney Roosters and 62-0 against Cronulla).
Newcastle will probably have to wear another wooden spoon this year before a hopeful improvement from 2017.

Bizarre: Canberra's implosion
Canberra fans are starved of free-to-air footy. While Brisbane owns Friday Night Football, the Raiders have to settle for Saturday and Sunday afternoon games, taking away the geographical advantage of freezing night games at Bruce.
Canberra finally got a shot on Thursday night against St. George-Illawarra...and they literately threw it away.
In a dour match, Canberra managed to force golden point through Jarrod Croker's historic converted try. Typical of the Green Machine's fighting spirit.
With seconds left in the first golden point period, Jack Wighton retrieved a kick on his own line. Surely he wouldn't do anything silly and cost them the game?

While Canberra were again on the rough end of some contentious calls...

...they only have themselves to blame, with too many silly errors, needless penalties and the final heartbreaking intercept.
Settled in the top four early in the season, Canberra have fallen from the eight. Raiders fans know they're capable of doing so much better, but are constantly frustrated.