NRL Notepad: Round 13 (Sunday)
From now through to October, I’ll look back at my notes from the prior round and highlight an area of each team to keep a close eye on from your couch.
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Gold Coast Titans v North Queensland Cowboys
Titans
AJ Brimson
Anthony Don
Brian Kelly
Dale Copley
Phillip Sami
Ash Taylor
Jamal Fogarty
You know what? That backline doesn’t look half bad on paper…
Up against one of the worst defensive teams in the NRL this week, we need to see it produce on the field before getting too excited.
Cowboys
After talking last week about how the Cowboys attack in good ball sets and their recent use of Francis Molo as a battering ram, they went and produced this beauty in Round 12:
Per Stats Insider’s ‘Try Scoring Analysis’, only the Broncos have conceded more tries through the middle of the field than the Titans.
I’m on the lookout for something similar again this week.
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks v Parramatta Eels
Sharks
Matt Moylan is back and has been paired with Shaun Johnson in the halves for Sunday.
It might be a tad optimistic given Moylan’s injury history, but we’re watching how these two combine with an eye on the future. The extra ball-playing Moylan can offer when Chad Townsend returns is appealing. We saw it in action way back in Round 7.
He threw a nice ball to Jesse Ramien in that game too:
Moylan’s future in this side is likely at fullback, but he can still work with Shaun Johnson in the coming weeks.
Eels
I’ve loved Junior Paulo’s play this year. He’s worth every penny of the deal many called ‘overs’ when signing the dotted line in 2018. After giving him a wrap in the Repeat Set on Monday, I realised he’s yet to cross the line in 2020. Paulo has scored a try in all seven seasons in the NRL.
It’s only a matter of time before he scores one like this:
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