By CASEY O’CONNOR
Origin I is done and dusted and while Maroons supporters bask warmly in the glow of a win, the Blue Baggers have been left to once again ponder what might have been.
NRL clubs, meanwhile, have dealt with the Origin fallout and the NRL table now sees three teams – Dragons, Broncos and Cowboys – on equal points at the top of the table.
In the premiership betting stakes the Roosters continue to firm as favourites.
Brisbane and the Sea Eagles go head-to-head at Suncorp on Friday to get round 13 underway.
Brisbane is in a purple patch of form and looks to have weathered the Origin storm well.
Bennett chose to rest Hodges and Thaiday post Origin and with the depth in their ranks the Broncos were able to come away from Canberra with two important points in the bag.
The Broncos showed plenty of composure in the second half denying their opponents points late in the game.
The Broncos’ halves combination might be small in stature but they stood tall when it counted as their combinations begin to really click.
Manly fans could find nothing to smile about after the Cowboys conjured a home win. NQ handed the Sea Eagles plenty of chances with an uncharacteristically poor completion rate.
Manly fans have had to endure some heartbreakingly close results recently and while they have caused more than a few upsets against Brisbane it is unlikely we will see their next win coming at Suncorp.
The Tigers are coming off a bye and go back to Leichardt Oval for their Friday night clash with the Titans.
The Gold Coast went within a whisker of upsetting the current Premiers last weekend.
The Titans had their chances but were made to pay for a rising error rate in the second half.
The Tigers have had a week to recover from their arm-wrestle with the Cowboys in round 11.
Aaron Woods, who was outstanding in Origin, returns however Captain Robbie Farah is sidelined with a shoulder injury.
A Titans win here would be no real surprise but I am giving the Tigers the nod by a narrow margin.
On Saturday the action heats up as the Knights host the Raiders at Hunter Stadium; the Bunnies host the Warriors and on Saturday night the Panthers host Melbourne.
The Knights are coming off a tough game in New Zealand where they surprised many with a gutsy performance falling short by just two points.
Newcastle is already missing a clutch of their senior players and Tyrone Roberts looks likely to join them after leaving the field with a leg injury.
Akuila Uate and Dane Gagai are proving a handful for defenders.
The Raiders played well but to no avail going with a loss against Brisbane in round 12.
Their performance was far superior to that of their coach who stormed out of the post-game press conference.
If they are to stay in the hunt the Raiders must improve their execution at the back end of sets with or without the ball.
They might just put a smile back on Sticky’s face here with a win over the home team.
In will be a tough game when the Warriors and Bunnies go head to head at ANZ.
The Bunnies got away with a scrappy win last weekend.
Despite not playing their best football, the Souths continue to find a way to win.
Greg Inglis should be cleared to play after being knocked out in last weekend’s game.
The Warriors’ win against the Knights was not pretty but there were positive signs for their faithful.
While there is still room for improvement, the Warriors are looking more cohesive. Greater consistency is still required if they are to climb the ladder.
In a close encounter I think the Bunnies will get the points.
Penrith hosts Melbourne in a Saturday night clash at Pepper Stadium after suffering an upset loss to the Eels in round 12.
Penrith fans were excited to see most of their wounded back on the paddock last weekend only to have star playmaker Matt Moylan suffer a knee injury.
Jamie Soward was felled by a very late shot from Eels forward Pauli Pauli and is unlikely to be available this weekend.
The injury to Soward was a turning point in that game as a gallant Panthers failed to claw back the Eels lead.
There was a storm brewing following the Melbourne Roosters game.
Coach Craig Bellamy labelled the performance of his team on Monday as soft.
He was highly critical of his side after the Roosters blew it off the park in a four try to nil thrashing.
It was Melbourne’s worst performance this season.
There is sure to be plenty of tough love this week for the Melbourne players and I expect them to fire here.
Without Moyland and possibly Soward the Panthers will be up against it despite the home ground advantage.
The Sharks host the Roosters at Remond is on Sunday. If the Roosters reproduce the form they showed on Monday night the result will not be pretty.
Poor discipline cost the Sharks dearly against the Dragons who dismantled their attack.
The Roosters were clinical against an out of sorts Melbourne on Monday night and showed why they are current favourites for the premiership.
This looks a tough day out for the Sharks.
My game of the round is the Sunday clash between the Dogs and the Dragons at ANZ.
The Dogs had a bye in round 12 after their win against Canberra.
The Dragons were superb against the Sharks and now sit at the top of the NRL table. Mary McGregor has weaved some magic around the Dragons and they continue to defy their early season critics.
At their last outing the Dogs blew a 26 nil lead against Canberra in what was an unusual game.
The Dogs will have all their main men back on deck for this game.
You get the sense that both sides at some point will be declared the winner but the Dragons might have the firepower to get home in what is a game not to be missed.
Monday night the Cowboys travel to Pirtek Stadium trying to make it 10 wins on the trot.
NQ conjured up a get out of jail performance against Manly but not before surviving a major scare in an error-riddled performance.
Despite their high error rate the Cowboys managed to get the job done in what was a real team effort.
Eels halfback Chris Sandow bounced back from being relegated to NSW Cup two weeks ago with a man of the match performance in the Eels’ upset win over Penrith.
The Eels clung on grimly to a half time lead as their discipline fell apart in the second half.
Fortunately they had done enough early to get over the line.
Parra cannot afford that same lack of discipline against the Cowboys who are sure to be back to their best.
It is difficult for any side to rack up 10 wins on the trot but the Cowboys should continue their winning run here.
Casey’s Selections
Broncos
Tigers
Raiders
Rabbitohs
Storm
Roosters
Dragons
Cowboys
2015 Telstra Premiership Ladder
Pos Team P F A Pts
1 Dragons 11 196 126 18
2 Broncos 12 253 204 18
3 Cowboys 12 252 225 18
4 Storm 11 204 162 16
5 Roosters 11 250 145 14
6 Rabbitohs 12 232 216 14
7 Warriors 11 236 231 14
8 Panthers 11 190 200 12
9 Bulldogs 11 223 256 12
10 Raiders 12 275 281 10
11 Tigers 11 191 215 10
12 Knights 12 208 246 10
13 Titans 11 232 278 10
14 Sharks 11 185 232 10
15 Eels 12 226 278 8
16 Sea Eagles 11 162 220 8
