Repeat Set Round 15
Recap the latest round of NRL action with the Repeat Set.
Here’s your Repeat Set for Round 15:
Seeing the best version of the Bunnies
Escorts
It was a round to remember for…the Brisbane Broncos
It was a round to forget for…the North Queensland Cowboys
Play of the Round: Bulldogs
Graham Annesley’s Briefing Summary
Sizzling Souths Heating Up
Wayne Bennett said South Sydney’s first half on Saturday night was “as good a start as I’ve been involved with.”
Quite the praise from a man coaching his 853rd game over the weekend.
Pulling the defence apart to build a 38-0 halftime lead, the Rabbitohs dominated every aspect of the game as Damien Cook tormented markers out of dummy half, Latrell Mitchell caused havoc on the edges, and the halves worked in concert to direct the team around the park and into try-scoring positions.
It’s the sort of performance - from Cook, in particular - we expected to see from the Rabbitohs more often when the six-again rule was introduced. Their mobile pack worked up the field with Cook pouncing on every opportunity he could to scoot out from behind the ruck. With his team downhill, Mitchell was able to add the touches of class that have him amongst the best players in the game when he’s in form.
Souths asserted their dominance early as they worked away from their favoured left edge to send Steven Marsters over in the right-side corner.
After setting up on the left post, Walker takes possession with Reynolds expected to receive a pass out the back of a block. Instead, Walker throws it across his halfback’s face to Mitchell who, as usual, puts his man into space on the outside thanks to his cool, calm and quick hands.
Six minutes later - after scoring another try in between - Souths run a very similar shape the other way. This time, the setup is on the right post, Reynolds is the ball-player, Walker is attracting attention out the back, and the ball goes to Mitchell who shifts it wide.
As the Sea Eagles began to suck in the big ones, Cook caught fire. He picked up an easy 10 metres as he caught Manly with just one marker while Taniela Paseka was slow to move up at A.
In the following set, Cook sent Mitchell down a path to a quick play-the-ball before darting out of dummy half himself, engaging the marker, and directing Walker straight at Paseka once again.
Again, Cook scoops it up from dummy half, runs at a back-tracking Paseka and forces Curtis Sironen to help his tiring prop. Cook releases Campbell Graham down the sideline with a perfect pass.
We caught another glimpse of Cook and Mitchell working well together around the ruck again later in the half.
Perhaps there is a little bit of flat-track bully about Mitchell’s performance on Saturday. It might be the most active we’ve seen him around the ball since his switch to fullback this season. However, with what he offers out the back of a Souths shift along with his growing combination with Cook around the ruck, we’re starting to see the best out of Mitchell.
We’re seeing the best version of the Bunnies as a result.
But…
Escorts: What are we doing, fellas?
This tweet was from Round 16 last year - over 12 months ago.
Still, escort penalties are coming up multiple times every week. It feels like we get one for every game sometimes. In a game full of grey areas and inconsistent rulings, referees - with help from the touch judge given their usual proximity to the incident - have been tough on escorts for quite a while now.
Last year was bad enough. This year, escort penalties are especially silly given the extra protections around players competing for the ball in the air.
Take your pick on this one:
Braydon Trindall only ever has eyes for Viliame Kikau here. He doesn’t even glance back to see where his fullback might compete for the ball. Perhaps if he had, he’d have noticed William Kennedy well-positioned to take the catch. Ultimately, it was Jesse Ramien called for the escort as he changed his line before stopping in front of Stephen Crichton. Both players gave officials a reason to blow the whistle and the Panthers scored on the resulting set.
“Referees are going to decide a Grand Final one day” is a classic crisis merchant claim. Just know that if an escort penalty proves pivotal on October 25, the warning signs from referees will have been there for two years.
It was a round to remember for…
The Brisbane Broncos.
Hear me out on this one…
The Broncos lost 28-26 to a fairly average Dragons outfit. However, this game could be where the Broncos bottom out. While I was wondering how I would come up with a new way to describe how soft they are defensively as the Dragons scored two easy tries inside five minutes, it’s how the Broncos bounced back from that horrible opening stint that offers hope.
This group has crumbled at the slightest sign of chaos all season. They managed to fight back and make a game of it in Round 15, though.
We’ve seen enough of the bad from the Broncos this season. We don’t need to harp on about that too much more here. If they can start stronger and show the resilience and fightback from Round 15 from here on out, the Broncos will finally begin to trend upward.
Michael Ennis highlighted it well in the broadcast when saying the Broncos fall into shape and look good. It’s when the set doesn’t go exactly as it was drawn up on the whiteboard earlier in the week that the Broncos fall to pieces.
This try here went as planned:
The Broncos had run Ben Te'o straight at Corey Norman numerous times in the sets leading up to this one. Norman only has eyes for Te'o as the lead runner. By the time Darius Boyd takes possession out the back, the numbers advantage has already been created and it’s a simple pass to Richie Kennar in the corner.
That’s exactly how they drew it up.
It’s not always going to be that easy. However, to do it after such a poor start is a teeny tiny indication that the worst may be behind the Broncos.
This week, they play the Sydney Roosters…
It was a round to forget for…
If there is one thing the North Queensland Cowboys faithful didn’t want to see in 2020, it’s Jason Taumalolo being helped down the tunnel. He is facing “at least a couple of weeks” on the sideline with a torn calf.
Seeing the back of Taumalolo with two Cowboys staff under his arms capped off a horror Sunday afternoon as the club fell to their eighth consecutive defeat. The 12-0 scoreline flatters the Cowboys in the end too.
While defending 55 tackles inside their own 20 deserves a pat on the back, the Cowboys offered very little in attack themselves. They managed just one line break while averaging 33.3 metres per set to Newcastle’s 43.3 metres.
And to Josh Hannay, Ben Hampton in the halves isn’t it.
We’re Jake Clifford guys here at RLW. Oscar rapped him after Round 8 and I had done the same a week earlier following a promising display against the Knights.
It’s time to get him back into the side.
Play of the Round
The Bulldogs sit at the bottom of the NRL ladder and don’t have a lot to write home about at the moment. Their list is the worst in the competition, and while they’re not the worst-performing team at the moment, it looks as though they will end up holding the wooden spoon at the end of the season.
But this play here is one they can look upon positively when they review their latest loss:
It appears as though they’re going to run a regulation block play and allow Will Hopoate to use his quick hands to create something out wide. However, rather than digging in at Paul Turner’s inside shoulder, Matt Doorey runs an overs line and drags the young half wide. Hopoate fills the gap and Jack Cogger throws a great ball at the line.
Graham Annesley’s Briefing Summary
Despite not being ones to spend a lot of time focused on referees and measuring the impact a single poor decision can have on a game, we want to offer a summary of Graham Annesley’s weekly reviews that doesn’t deliberately mislead or misuse quotes to generate further controversy.
Annesley highlighted the small margin of victory last week but kicked things off by offering a few numbers on margins of victory after 120 games this season. We've had 13 games decided by 31+ points compared with eight at this point last season.
"I don't think there was anything dramatically controversial over the weekend."
That led to a conversation around crusher tackles and the changes introduced ahead of Round 14.
Michael Robertson from the Match Review Committee talked about what the committee looks for in crusher tackles.
He stressed that the way the rule on crushers hasn't changed. Only the penalties have. Robertson then pointed out the three points the committee considered:
They then assess other mitigating circumstances to assess whether or not it was careless. Often misunderstood, careless considers if the defending player has ‘failed in their duty of care’ rather than if the act is caused by a lack of attention.
Gradings then come down to force and the flexion.
There is a lot to go through that can't be adequately described here. I would highly recommend watching the review this week if you want to be properly informed of what qualifies as a crusher tackle, how they're charged and points v weeks.
On players faking injuries: Any players that do use this new ruling to gain an advantage need to, "take a serious look at their motivation and objectives."
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