“Heads In!” Round 3
Unpacking the scrum each week in the NRL
With kickoff only hours away, Rugby League fans are soaking up all the content they can get.
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?
The Good Ol’ Days!
Whether you’re emotionally invested or not, watching the rugby league community react to the rule changes over the break has been entertaining enough. If you’re like me though, watching how the game itself reacts this weekend will be far more interesting.
What will the new six-again penalty look like in 2020? Will the small men of our game really be able to take advantage of this up the middle third of the field? It’s easy to say that the six-again call will benefit the ‘little guy’, because we’ve seen these players use the odd quick tap to catch tired forwards napping before.
But without a clear idea of when and how the six-again penalty will be used, it’s not as simple as that.
“There’s going to be some issues that no one has thought of…”
— Craig Bellamy, NRL360 (25/5)
And not only will the refs have to learn how to implement this new rule on the run, they’ll also have to learn to do it alone.
Will having less eyes on the ruck really mean more wrestling in the tackle? And if so, how much will this really impact the result of a game?
A quick look at average play the ball speeds last year has perennial underachievers the Titans and Warriors sitting near the top of the list. These teams were two of the best at slowing down their opposition in the ruck, yet this didn’t translate into wins.
Maybe there’s more going on behind the scenes to make up these numbers. Or maybe the wrestle isn’t quite the blight on our game that many believe.
Only one thing is for sure; by the time the first 80 minutes are up on Thursday night, we’ll have plenty things, new and old, to complain about.
East vs South
So much focus has been on Latrell Mitchell, both over the offseason and more recently during the season break. A few snappy Instagram posts aside, Latrell’s first real chance to respond to all the speculation will be on Friday night against his former club. Souths fans will be hoping Mitchell gets more involved from fullback than in the first two rounds.
The absence of Cody Walker (suspension) is a huge loss for Souths, who will call upon the services of young Troy Dargan to make his club debut.
With the Roosters winless after two rounds, and the shortened season meaning two points are more valuable than ever, Trent Robinson will be desperate to open his account this week. He will have to do so without the services of Mitch Aubusson, while Siosiua Taukeiaho is also in doubt.
This is a winnable game for both teams, and it would surprise to see a repeat of the 30–6 clinic the Roosters put on in last year’s final series. Expect the Rabbitohs to send plenty of traffic towards Kyle Flanagan, who had his hands full with Villiame Kikau in Round 1.
The kicking game of Adam Reynolds will be crucial to winning the field position battle and applying pressure to the Roosters defence. If Souths can exhaust the Roosters experienced big men by kicking long and chasing well, the points will come late in the game.
While everyone will be talking about Latrell and his opposing number James Tedesco, perhaps the most important individual battle will be between centres Joey Manu and Braidon Burns.
Burns was burnt more than once by Kotoni Staggs in Round 2, and will need to be much better this week against Manu, who is (not-so) quietly mounting his case as the best centre in the game.
Right Scrum-Line
Who is feeling the pressure this week?
Take your pick!
Referees facing added scrutiny with the return to one official?
Coaches trying to make the new rules work for their team?
The NRL trying to tap into a new global market?
Almost every moving part in the NRL this week is feeling the pressure of a season restart in one way or another, but perhaps none more so than Cronulla Sharks coach John Morris.
Signing on in 2019 for his first NRL Head Coaching role, Morris dove right into the deep end. While their 2016 premiership had somewhat repaired the damage done during the 2013 doping scandal, it is fair to say that maintaining the reputation of the Sharks’ establishment was high on Morris’ To-Do list, amidst speculation around the financial stability of the club.
Not to mention managing big personalities like Andrew Fifita and club legend Paul Gallen as a rookie coach, and navigating the injury woes that plagued Cronulla last season. A seventh-place finish would have surely been a pass mark, with hopes that the best is yet to come. Right?
Wrong.
On the eve of the season restart, with the club still chasing its first win of 2020, boom-rookie and fan-favourite Bronson Xerri is suspended for testing positive to illegal, performance-enhancing steroids.
The Sharks have only just released veteran centre Josh Morris to the Roosters, while big money outside backs Matt Moylan and Josh Dugan are coming back from injury. Jesse Ramien returns to the club after 12 months severely out of form, while the current back three of Mulitalo, Katoa and Kennedy have only 32 first grade games between them.
The news of Xerri’s suspension hit the rugby league community hard this week, but John Morris has taken the brunt of it. Replacing the likes of Gallen and workhorse Matt Prior this season was going to be challenging enough.
Can someone check on the coach, please!?
Left Scrum-Line
My left-field thought on the NRL this week
In The Dark of Knight
Newly anointed Knight in shining armour Andrew McCullough has come riding in on his…bronco? …at the eleventh hour, and don’t expect it to take too long before he establishes himself as a crucial piece of the Knights outfit this season.
Jayden Brailey is obviously the future in Newcastle, but acquiring the services of a 260-game veteran in the meantime is shrewd business from all parties involved.
With young, talented outside backs like Kalyn Ponga, Conor Watson and Bradman Best offering firepower across the park, McCullough is just what the Knights need to help steer the ship.
He ticks all the boxes that departed hooker Danny Levi often didn’t; decision making at the ruck and crisp dummy half service.
Look for McCullough to direct the Knights’ powerful forward pack up the middle, while Pearce and Ponga finish off the sets. We might’ve expected McCullough to slot straight into the squad this week against the Panthers, but it is a vote of confidence from Head Coach Adam O’Brien to stick with the troops he’s already got.
The Knights have a good mix of youth and experience to work with, and expectations are understandably high in Newcastle this year. Is McCullough the missing piece of the puzzle?
Round 3, begin!
A couple of mouth-watering matchups will get us back underway this weekend, and Jason NRL and I have covered them, as well as everything else rugby league this week, here.
Broncos v Eels tonight should be highly entertaining, and I can’t wait for Melbourne v Raiders on Saturday.
Good luck to your teams, your tips and your punts!
Glory Glory.
