What a round of football to end one heck of a week for rugby league news.

Here’s Vossy’s Verdict.

Rabbitohs v Roosters

Everything I have seen in 2017 from the Roosters looks the real deal to me. A big plus has been the contribution of off-season recruits Luke Keary and Michael Gordon. They are putting some valuable points in the bank. What a game next up against Manly. Souths face a tough week with a trip to Townsville.

Round 19

Panthers v Knights

Very disappointing match for the Knights as they took a big step back after a solid first three weeks. But let me heap praise on the Panthers. They are superb entertainment when they get things right. They have a very dangerous right side attack emerging with Te Maire Martin, Dean Whare and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

Broncos v Raiders

Two very good sides turned on a very good match. There shouldn’t be any panic yet at Raiders despite one win from four. Meantime the Broncos will feel they’ve worked three weeks for that one.

Sea Eagles v Bulldogs

Manly … WOW! Bulldogs … ahem … wow. Big question mark over Canterbury given the size of the defeat. Meantime, Sea Eagles confirmed last week’s big win in Townsville was no fluke. I really liked the work of Daly Cherry-Evans and Blake Green. And how can you not feel good for coach Trent Barrett? Nice to see him have some success.

Eels v Sharks

Very good performance from the premiers with plenty of their experienced players showing the way to victory. I’ve seen enough now in their two wins over the Eels and the Raiders to think the Sharks are going to mount a decent defence of their title. Not a fatal loss for Parramatta, but they won’t want to be beaten next week by Canberra and make it three in a row.

Ben Ikin, Nathan Ryan and Ben Glover examine Jason Taylor’s sacking at the Wests Tigers and how it impacts the club and its roster going forward.

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Titans v Cowboys

Highly entertaining match with five tries scored in each half. I’m sure the Cowboys were more relieved than overjoyed at fulltime as it was a match they could have easily ended up on the wrong side of the ledger against a determined Titans. How the Gold Coast actually fought back to lead 12-10 at one stage of the first half was incredible given the Cowboys dominated possession and completed 17 of 17 sets.

Tigers v Storm

I say it every week, but the Storm find a way to win. They were out of sorts against a pumped up Tigers in the first half. Melbourne could barely get out of their own half. I thought it was a bad read of the game from the Tigers to take shots at penalty goals when they had the Storm on the backfoot. Disappointing end to a tumultuous week for the Tigers, after jumping to a 14-0 lead.

Dragons v Warriors

Great disappointment with the late withdrawal of Kieran Foran, and that was obviously a tough setback for the Warriors. However, the Dragons have found a confident and winning brand of football. Their attack is far more direct, and their scramble defence passed the test a number of times against the Warriors. The Dragons are going places. The Warriors season has stalled.

LIKES

Manly: A mighty performance after a mighty effort the previous week against the Cowboys. No short cuts to performances like those.

Gideon Gela-Mosby: One of the best success stories in the NRL. I was thrilled to call his try on debut for the Cowboys against the Titans. I hope they enjoyed it up on Darnley Island!

Jordan Kahu: Always been a fan of Jordan. Looks like the Broncos have done some work on their field goal plays and they picked the right man for the job. Terrific footballer.

Panthers attack: The Knights won’t be the only side the Panthers put 40 points on this season. Next Saturday night against Melbourne will be a beauty.

Sitaleki Akauola: If I had to choose just one hit-up to watch each week, it would be this bloke’s first touch of the ball. He is Penrith’s Mister Kamikaze!

DISLIKES

Face slapping: Time to stamp it out. Automatic two-game ban. No discount in sentence for early pleas. See if that rids the game of this ugly look.

The Bulldogs: Massive pressure on Des Hasler’s side now after such a thumping at the hands of Manly. Thursday night against Brisbane can’t come quick enough.

Play the balls: I’m not seeing any improvement, and it appears the referees are happy to turn a blind eye. I don’t understand that at all. Attention to detail is sadly lacking. Consistent, correct play the balls, on the mark, can’t be that hard to achieve.

NRL coach job security: It’s ruthless. I still can’t get my head around how a bloke can be seen as the right man to coach a side for a complete off-season; win in round one, and then lose all support two weeks later.

Warrington Wolves: If you’ve been watching the Super League on Fox League you’d be wondering this couldn’t possibly be the same club that beat the Broncos in the World Club Series game in February. The Wolves are now 0-6 for the season.

The kick off to round five on Fox League can’t come quick enough.

Twitter: @AndrewVossy