NRL Notepad: Round 8
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.
Melbourne Storm v Sydney Roosters
Storm
One benefit of Cameron Munster going down is the increased chance of a Cameron Smith masterclass. Love him or hate him, when he’s in one of his moods to dominate, there are few players in rugby league better to watch.
Smith will likely spend a lot more time at first-receiver too. We caught a glimpse of it last week when he played a hand in sending Ryan Papenhuyzen over in the corner.
Smith ambles over to the open side for the two lead runners to isolate Isaiah Papali’i before Jahrome Hughes gets on the outside of Kodi Nikorima. It’s a numbers game from there.
It’s almost exactly the same play Melbourne ran a week earlier, but on this occasion, it’s Munster at the helm and he chooses to hit Felise Kaufusi rather than Ryley Jacks out the back.
We’re looking out for where Smith spends most of his time in this one and whether or not they can go three-from-three the above play.
Roosters
It’s a little difficult to pick too many holes in the Roosters at the moment - they’re that good. But, if there is one area that might be something Trent Robinson works on, it’s their right side defence.
Eight of the 11 tries the Roosters have conceded have come down their right side. But it’s only eight…Just five clubs have allowed fewer tries through that side than the Chooks this season.
It’s not a big issue for the defending premiers, but one to keep an eye on.
Canberra Raiders v St George-Illawarra Dragons
Raiders
The Raiders need more elite Josh Hodgson.
He’s not been brilliant in 2020, but he manufactured one try in Round 7 that suggests he’s starting to see the game the way we all know he can.
Spying Marata Niukore a touch slow to peel, he waves through Hudson Young to hit the gap at A.
One quick play-the-ball turns into another with Hodgson there to scoop it up on the run.
The Eels defensive line responds well, but Hodgson turns it into Iosia Soliola who is able to break the Reed Mahoney tackle and force Reagan Campbell-Gillard to get involved.
Now, Hodgson has five eyes on him as he engages A while Dylan Brown is scrambling to close the gap. The simplest of block plays off the ruck sends Josh Papalii over the line.
You may have noticed a trend developing in this column already. I love watching a good dummy half work a defence, and few do it better than Hodgson when he’s switched on.
Dragons
Matt Dufty continues to make me look like a mug. But I still don’t think this new and improved Dufty is real…
I’m getting there, though.
Dufty threw this ripper last week:
He used his speed to draw the defence before throwing this one too:
He’s never going to be a great kick-returner and metre-eater, but he’s really embraced the increase in ball-playing while Ben Hunt plays at dummy half. It’s good to see.
Parramatta Eels v North Queensland Cowboys
Eels
With Eli Katoa not available for the Warriors at the moment, my left-edge back-rower love affair with Shaun Lane continues.
Already highlighting the value he has to the Parramatta attack in the Repeat Set for Round 7, Lane should see even more action with Dylan Brown now the main man in the halves.
The whole left side deserves our attention.
Brown is really developing nicely and it will be interesting to see how he responds to the added responsibility. I still can’t believe that it’s 2020 and Michael Jennings is a form centre in the NRL. And Maika Sivo, well, he’s Maika Sivo.
Go left in attack, Parra.
Cowboys
At 22-years old and with 26 games of first-grade experience, Jake Clifford is starting to look like a long-term halfback. He was especially good against the Knights last week.
Clifford already looks composed under pressure at a young age. Here, he puts on the gas to evade the kick-pressure, puts in a nice bouncing grubber for Edrick Lee to collect, and tackles the big man himself to force the Knights to travel 92 metres to the goal line.
He later puts in a lovely pre-planned chip-kick in to force a repeat set.
Then, on the stroke of halftime, sends a perfect cross-field kick out to Kyle Feldt to score.
Paul Green will have a tough decision to make when Michael Morgan is fit if Clifford keeps playing this well.
Gold Coast Titans v Cronulla Sutherland Sharks
Titans
Just when the Titans pull off a big win and start to look as though they can at least compete with the top sides in the competition, they cast a gaping hole in their defence on the right edge.
Tyrone Peachey
He’s one of the worst defenders in the NRL. On the rare occasions he produces in attack, it’s soon cancelled out by a poor defensive possession.
The Titans have some good talent. I’ve harped on about Moeaki Fotuaika for 18 months. Ash Taylor and Jamal Fogarty are cooking something up in the halves, too. Keegan Hipgrave has even looked like a first-grade footballer this year.
But the holes can’t be ignored. Peachey is the big one for Saturday, and it has potential to grow if Bryce Cartwright is sent out to play beside him off the bench.
The Titans right-side defence might be the difference between winning and losing if they compete well in all other areas.
Sharks
There is one play, in particular, that I’m looking for the Sharks to run directly at Peachey.
They ran it in Round 1:
And again in Round 5:
There is no chance Peachey stops Wade Graham from there if they can work to a position to run this play.
New Zealand Warriors v Brisbane Broncos
Warriors
You know what? It might not be such a bad thing that Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is suspended this week.
For Roger, he needs the break. I’ve never seen him lose it with his teammates quite like he did last week.
For the team, not having him out on the field could force a lot more action in attack. Tuivasa-Sheck is one of the best individual attacking players in the NRL - there is no doubting that. But as much as the Warriors might want him to, he can’t do it all on his own.
This play last week goes a long way to highlighting what is wrong with the Warriors attack.
Green has either made a poor decision to go back to the short side over putting a grubber through for a pointing Isaiah Papali’i and instead thrown a panicked past to Tuivasa-Sheck, or, it’s a planned move for Tuivasa-Sheck to kick. Since when has he been known as a handy kicker?
The Warriors attack without Tuivasa-Sheck is of huge interest when assessing the teams potential over the long-term.
Broncos
I covered the Broncos at length earlier in the week and am on the lookout for a change in their approach.
A more simple approach, in particular.
From Anthony Seibold's rigid tactics could be Broncos' Achilles heel:
Seibold needs to turn things around. He must change the way his team approaches the game and rather than talking about how young his players are, talk to the players themselves about how they can overcome the perceived lack of experience.
Wests Tigers v Penrith Panthers
Tigers
Luciano Leilua is coming of age before our eyes.
Playing off the bench in 17 of his 22 appearances for the Dragons in 2019, Luciano has started all seven games in the back row for the Tigers in 2020. He’s getting better every week, too.
Coming off an impressive 166-metre performance in Round 7, we’re looking to Luciano to do it again. In particular, the destructive hard carries he produces through the centre third that resulted in 79 of those 166 metres coming post-contact.
Seeing him go up against this Panthers pack will give us a good idea of where Luciano is at as an improving first-grade player.
Panthers
I asked the big question after Round 7…
…and Jack had the answer in the comments.
“Very”
I mentioned James Fisher-Harris’ ball-playing earlier in the week. It is what has turned him from a very good middle forward into one of the best in the NRL. Now, I’d like to see him drift over to the left side and use Viliame Kikau as his lead runner.
Imagine you’ve got Fisher-Harris and Kikau running at you. Both can either bowl you over, offload out of your tackle, or shift the ball early.
Manly Warringah-Sea Eagles v Newcastle Knights
Sea Eagles
The Sea Eagles need to find a long-term partner for Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves.
Lachlan Croker starts in the position this week after playing the full 80 minutes in Round 7. Handy enough for his 108 running metres, it still feels like a matter of time before Croker is switched out.
For me, Cade Cust is the future. He scored four tries and handed out six try assists in his seven games last season. That’s some effort for a then-20-year-old. Now another year older, with Walker injured and Croker not doing enough to guarantee himself the six jersey at the moment, it’s Cust’s time to shine.
Des only gave Cust 20 minutes off the bench last week. It will be interesting to see if he bumps that up on Sunday.
Knights
Welp, the Knights made me look silly last week.
Appointing them as a sure-fire finals side, the Knights travelled to North Queensland and returned embarrassed by the 32-20 scoreline.
As Oscar mentioned on Monday, “the instant Newcastle managed to build some pressure through possession and field position - albeit courtesy of some Cowboys’ ill-discipline - they made it count. The Knights’ first consecutive completed sets came at the 51-minute mark, where a lucky kick deflection earned Newcastle a fresh attacking set on North Queensland’s line.”
How the Knights respond this week will tell us a lot about them. A week ago, they were talked about as being a different team to those that have struggled to capitalise in recent years. Now, we’re not so sure.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs v South Sydney Rabbitohs
Bulldogs
If Kieran Foran isn’t inspiring something in attack, the Bulldogs don’t have one.
There is no creativity, no risk assessment, and they rank 12th in line engaged runs at 14.3 per game. Instead, the Dogs are dumping it off on the 4th tackle:
Brandon Wakeham needs to have a dig there. Use Josh Jackson to attract Luciano Leilua, but keep the ball and run it.
Try something. Anything!
Rabbitohs
Can he do it?
Can Jaydn Su’A use his 188cm and 100kg frame and impressive footwork to become a good first-grade back rower?
With 116 running metres, three tackle breaks and two offloads, he looked dangerous last week. I’d like to see him do it again before getting too excited, though.