"Heads In!" Round 14
Unpacking the scrum each week in the NRL
Head coaches are dropping like flies as the premiership pressure rises to boiling point. Will the off-field changes lead to positive shifts on-field, or is there a pattern we should be wary of?
Whether you’re searching for an edge in the workplace tipping comp, or just desperate to talk some footy, you’ve found the place. Join me as we unpack the scrum that is the NRL each week.
Centre-Field Scrum
What’s centre-frame in the Rugby League lens this week?
Coaching Carousel
Canterbury’s Dean Pay.
New Zealand’s Stephen Kearney.
North Queensland’s Paul Green.
St George Illawarra’s Paul McGregor.
Of the six bottom placed teams heading into Round 14, four of them have fired head coaches since the 2020 season began.
The fifth is Anthony Seibold’s Brisbane Broncos. Enough said.
The sixth - the Gold Coast Titans - made their coaching change over the off season, and we are already seeing the positive effects of Justin Holbrook’s tutelage in the Titans’ performances this year.
For the St George Illawarra Dragons, the sacking of ‘Mary’ McGregor may indeed prove to be the right decision for the club moving forward, but the current form of other teams who have rung mid-season coaching changes does not bode well for Dragons’ fans.
The most interesting detail to observe in the fallout of McGregor’s departure will be how it effects the Dragons’ team selections and on-field performances.
The well publicised selection committee of McGregor, Shane Flanagan and Dean Young is no more, and how that impacts the makeup of the Dragons’ spine in particular will be something to watch out for in the coming weeks.
It’s been generally accepted that St George are strongest with Ben Hunt playing hooker and Cameron McInnes running at lock-forward, while the form of Matt Dufty since his return to first-grade in Round 5 has seen him make the fullback position his own, at least for now.
That leaves Adam Clune, Corey Norman and Tristan Sailor battling it out for two halves spots.
Clune has had a fair start to his NRL career, and has in his favour a strong combination with Dufty, having played plenty of footy together in the junior grades.
Still finding his feet in first grade, Clune has impressed as a tradesman-like, game-managing halfback with a decent short kicking game, although with just four try assists from nine appearances as a primary playmaker, you might’ve hoped to see more from Clune in attack.
After being dropped last week, Norman has been recalled into the side at five-eighth for Friday’s clash with his former club Parramatta.
Also with four try assists to his name in 2020, Norman has none of the excuses of a first-year NRL half still finding his feet, and speculation continues to mount around his future at the club. Brilliant at his best but frustratingly poor at his worst, Norman has again struggled for consistency this season, and is now facing selection pressure from another rookie in Tristan Sailor.
In just 62 minutes of football this year - against top-eight teams the Rabbitohs and Roosters no less - Sailor has two try assists and two forced drop-outs to his name when playing in the halves.
He has shown excellent vision and poise in his brief stints off the bench, making the right decisions and executing under pressure to capitalise on good field position - something both Hunt and Norman have struggled to achieve when paired in the halves together this year.
After putting up this well placed attacking bomb, the Dragons’ win possession and Sailor ends up with the ball again. He sums it up in a split second, threading a grubber kick through the line and 30-odd meters across field on a dime for Jordan Pereira, who just misses out on the grounding but forces a line drop out.
While the sample size is small, there’s been a lot to like in what we’ve seen from Sailor so far this year, and it won’t surprise to see his minutes increase as the season continues, given the changes in the coaches’ box.
How that impacts the makeup of the Dragons’ spine - and their results - for the rest of the season remains to be seen.
Right Scrum-Line
Who is feeling the pressure this week?
Undermanned Manly
There is a feeling that if Manly can somehow limp into the finals series, the return of some established stars - and a little magic from a Mad Scientist - could see the Sea Eagles make a late, if not unlikely, run for premiership glory.
But as injuries and form continue to cruel Des Hasler’s team, the risk of Manly slipping outside the top eight is growing, and fast. Worst case scenario, at the end of Round 14 the Sea Eagles could be two wins outside the eight, and with both the Warriors and Tigers sitting alongside them on 12 points.
Already without key playmakers Tom Trbojevic and Dylan Walker, Manly’s job on Sunday against the Newcastle Knights is set to get even harder without Addin Fonua-Blake and Martin Taupau in the forward pack.
Hasler’s ability to turn fringe first-graders into NRL-quality footballers rivals that of Craig Bellamy down in Melbourne.
Players like Cade Cust, Taniela Paseka, even Brendan Elliot have been called upon to do a job in recent seasons and risen to the challenge more often than not. But as the injury toll increases and these inexperienced players are put under increased pressure for extended periods, the cracks begin to form.
Last week’s loss to the Warriors highlighted Manly’s lack of big game players in key positions.
Without the attacking nous and presence of Tom Trbojevic or Walker, halfback Daly Cherry-Evans is under enormous pressure from opposition defensive lines as Manly’s chief playmaker.
We’ve already given Cust a wrap this year, and he looked likely again last weekend using his footwork around some tired Warriors forwards. But despite Cherry-Evans and Manly’s backline having the numbers out wide on the following play, Lachlan Croker decided to scoot from dummy half instead:
With both his fellow playmakers now out of position for fifth tackle, Cherry-Evans is rushed by the Warriors defence and can’t get to his kick, resulting in a poor end of set for the Sea Eagles.
Jake Trbojevic looms as the logical foil for Cherry-Evans in attacking sets, and the pair combined beautifully to send Tevita Funa over untouched in the first half:
Trbojevic attracts five Warriors defenders before offloading to Cherry-Evans, who quickly shifts it through the hands to find Funa unmarked.
It won’t be recorded as a try assist, but both lock and halfback can claim credit for this one.
Despite being at risk of becoming far too one-dimensional in attack, Cherry-Evans and Trbojevic combining like this is likely to be at the forefront of Manly’s offence in the coming weeks, as the Sea Eagles fight to stay within reach of the top eight.
Left Scrum-Line
My left-field thought on the NRL this week
Are Specialist Centres Back?
We talked a few weeks back about the rule changes around the ruck, and how the premier ball-players in our competition are finding more space on the edges as a result.
Though you could mount a case for almost all positions on the field, the unlikely winner of the six-again rule might turn out to be the somewhat forgotten centre position.
The days of strike-centre household names are long gone, with few in the modern era nearing the heights of Mal Meninga, Reg Gasnier, his nephew Mark, or Greg Inglis in his junior years; out-an-out centres who were integral to their team’s success on both sides of the ball.
Yet as opposition defensive lines compress in response to increased ruck speeds, attacking centres are being presented with more open space than ever before, and it’s crucial they get it right.
Roosters fans upset about losing Latrell Mitchell over the off-season might have tried to tell you that Joey Manu is the best centre in the game right now, and its getting hard to argue with them.
Having played every minute of the Roosters’ 2020 campaign so far - at both centre, wing and fullback where required - Manu has quickly become one of the defending premiers’ most important players.
Manu’s ability to finish off backline plays by drawing in his opposition winger before releasing his own outside man is second to none, while it is rare to see him make a poor decision in defence.
While he isn’t statistically brilliant (13 games, 5 tries, 7 line breaks), what the numbers don’t express are the timing and influence of Manu’s efforts on both sides of the ball, and often out of his usual centre position.
After defending their line for consecutive sets against Penrith back in Round 1, the Roosters were under immense pressure to take possession and work out of their own end. Standing on his own goal-line, Manu jumps high to catch a pin-point Nathan Cleary kick before racing 55 meters upfield and out of trouble:
Or when the Titans made a break down the Roosters’ left side in Round 12 through Anthony Don, Manu worked all the way from his right centre position to chase down Phillip Sami and hold him up over the line, saving a certain try:
It’s a credit to Trent Robinson that he has developed Manu into a player capable - and willing - to pull off these types of defensive efforts, yet there are some things you just can’t coach and this screamer in Round 7 was one of them:
Filling in at fullback against the Dragons, Manu puts up a fifth tackle bomb with nothing on down the short side, and chases his kick hard.
He out leaps Matt Dufty, Zac Lomax and the 199cm tall Jason Saab to take the ball, spins in the air to keep his balance, before flicking a no-look offload out the back to a waiting Jared Waerea-Hargreaves for a very short-priced Try of the Year.
With Luke Keary and James Tedesco sure to take up plenty of room on opposition’s defensive cheat sheets, Manu shapes as a not-so-secret weapon for the tri-colours as they head into the finals series.
His constant threat down the Roosters’ right edge, as well as his ability to chime in anywhere across the park, is what makes Manu arguably the premier centre in today’s game.
Winning a third straight premiership would go some way to ending that argument.