WHAT HAPPENED IN ROUND 19 OF THE NRL:
* QUOTE OF THE ROUND: “There’s certainly some blokes who should hold their head in shame for what they dished up tonight.” – Nathan Brown is furious his players didn’t lift for the Beanie for Brain Cancer round which has former Knight Mark Hughes as its ambassador.
* STAT THAT MATTERS: Four games in a nail-biting round 19 finished with winning margins of two points or less for just the second time in more than a decade.
* MAGIC MOMENT: Campbell Graham’s match-winning try for South Sydney three seconds before the hooter was as thrilling a finish as the NRL has thrown up this season and has probably ended St George Illawarra’s final hopes.
* TALKING POINT: Referees are back in the crosshairs. Roosters coach Trent Robinson lashed them for their forward-pass interpretation. The Warriors claimed they were robbed when Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s last pass was called back on what would have been a game-winning try. Elsewhere, confusion reigned over tackle and shoulder charge interpretations.
* MAN OF THE ROUND: Daly Cherry-Evans. Potted the one-pointer to cap an 89th-minute win for Manly over Melbourne in what’s been called the best game of 2019. Will we see them meet again deep in the finals?
* JUDICIARY WATCH: Warriors – Issac Luke (dangerous throw); Brisbane – Tevita Pangai Jnr (careless high tackle); Manly – Jake Trbojevic (dangerous throw); Cronulla – Aaron Woods (contrary conduct); Sydney Roosters – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (dangerous contact); Canterbury – Dylan Napa (dangerous contact), Renouf To’omaga (dangerous contact).
* CASUALTY WARD: Wests Tigers – Michael Chee-Kam (head/neck); Gold Coast – Phillip Sami (head), Dale Copley (leg); Brisbane – Alex Glenn (groin); Warriors – Jazz Tevaga (arm); Melbourne – Christian Welch (head), Jesse Bromwich (sternum); Sydney Roosters – Boyd Cordner (calf), Siosiua Taukeiaho (calf).
* UNDER PRESSURE: Newcastle. From top-four fringe dwellers to sitting outside the eight. That’s what four-straight losses will do, due to a flimsy defence that coach Nathan Brown says he will fix by making player changes.
