Take the Two: Round 9
NRL Round 9 under the microscope
If the beer’s cold and the afternoon’s long enough, we’d be talking footy all day, every day until kickoff on Thursday night. With so much to review each week, let’s break down some of the key plays each week in the NRL.
Gold Coast Titans vs New Zealand Warriors
The Gold Coast Titans unearthed a surprise hero over the weekend, as long-time Intrust Super Cup player Jamal Fogarty proved his first-grade credentials with a dominant second half display against a battling New Zealand Warriors side.
The Warriors started strongly with two quick tries — Roger Tuivasa-Sheck made Justin Holbrook regret putting second rower Beau Fermor at centre this week, while Peta Hiku showed again why wingers love playing outside him with a beautiful offload through the line to put Ken Maumalo over in the corner.
But that’s about as good as it got for the Warriors, who allowed Gold Coast back into the game through some ill discipline and poor execution, and found themselves defending just a two-point lead in the closing stages of the match.
When Ash Taylor stayed down after putting a kick through in the 62nd minute, Titans fans could have been excused for thinking this was going to be another chance gone begging.
Not Fogarty, though.
The 26-year old half showed all the skill and experience of a playmaking veteran, using his kicking game in particular to win the field position battle and give the Titans a chance at an unlikely comeback.
Since Taylor’s HIA substitution, Fogarty forced the Warriors to start every set from within their own 20 meter line.
One perfectly placed fifth-tackle kick forced a knock on from Maumalo in the corner and earned the Titans a fresh attacking set, while his willingness to run the ball on the last and chase the kick back on the inside forced an error from Tuivasa-Sheck a few sets later and led to the match winning try:
If Fogarty doesn’t put the pressure on Tuivasa-Sheck here, the Warriors’ fullback doesn’t fumble the ball and the Titan’s don’t get the chance to win the game.
But he does, and with the clock ticking down and his big-money halves partner on the sidelines, Fogarty puts a deft grubber into the in-goal which New Zealand fail to clean up, and Fermor snags the match winner.
In the last 10 minutes of the game, Fogarty posted two points with a conversion, one line break assist, one try assist, one 40/20 and one forced drop-out, to give the Warriors no chance of holding onto their early lead.
We talked recently about Nathan Cleary’s dominance in closing out tight matches, and while Fogarty mightn’t be quite at that level yet, the signs are promising for Holbrook and his new halfback moving forward.
Cronulla Sharks vs Penrith Panthers
Two of the competition’s best attacking teams went at it on Saturday night and did not disappoint, as the 14 try spectacle gave us far too many highlights to choose from.
But while rookie speedster Charlie Staines’ four-try haul on debut will steal all the headlines, the work of Staines’ inside men on Penrith’s right edge will have earned most of the praise from coach Ivan Cleary in the video sessions this week.
The Panthers crossed for seven right-side tries on the weekend, exposing Cronulla’s new defensive combination of Bryson Goodwin and Nene McDonald to great effect.
What was most impressive was the variety with which Penrith’s right edge attacked, as Nathan Cleary linked beautifully with fullback Dylan Edwards in particular, who displayed some superb touches throughout the game:
When he wasn’t setting them up, Edwards was reaping the rewards of good support play. In this clever short side raid, Apisai Koroisau feigns in-field then goes right to Liam Martin, who on second tackle shows great awareness to shift it through Brent Naden to Staines, who links up with Edwards supporting on the inside:
Naden was at it again in the second half, this time batting back a perfectly weighted Cleary kick to the ever-present Edwards, who gifted Staines his second of the night:
And then Tyrone May reminded us all of his first-grade qualities when he found Staines in the corner with this absolute pearler:
I just couldn’t leave that one out.
Scoring 56 points is impressive enough, but with the points coming through pinpoint kicks, set pieces or ad-lib triple cut-outs, Penrith’s attacking variety was most pleasing of all.
As injuries continue to cruel the top teams, Penrith also seem to be in a fairly healthy position depth wise. The likes of May, Naden, Staines, Matt Burton and Spencer Lenui give coach Cleary a handy list of ready-to-go replacements, based on recent performances.
Ideally, however, the Panthers remain relatively injury free, and the growing combinations between Cleary, Martin and Edwards on Penrith’s right edge should be something to watch out for in the coming weeks.
Liam Martin has developed from a firebrand impact forward into a big-minute second rower with a deft pass to complement his dynamic running game and bruising tackle technique. He looks better with every minute he spends on the field next to Nathan Cleary.
Fullback Dylan Edwards brings a consistent, high work-rate that is the perfect foil to Jahrome Luai’s attacking flair and Cleary’s creative control. Like Clint Gutherson for Parramatta, Edwards is always in the frame supporting back on the inside, and in defence he is safe under the high ball and has excellent positional awareness.
With Luai camped permanently on Penrith’s left edge, expect Edwards to take a leading role in the Panthers’ right side attack this season, sniffing around the ruck for an offload or chiming in out the back of a Cleary-controlled backline shift.
There’s Always Next Week for…
…the Brisbane Broncos.
Finally.
After 113 days of blood, sweat, and yes, tears, the Brisbane Broncos are back in the winners circle following their 26–8 victory over the Canterbury Bulldogs on Saturday.
It didn’t matter how they did it or how pretty it looked — Brisbane needed a win this weekend, and they got it.
While far from perfect, the Broncos showed signs that they are at least heading in the right direction.
We looked at Brisbane’s ill discipline a few weeks back as a possible reason for their run of poor form, and Saturday’s turnaround seems to support this.
Over their previous three games against the Warriors, Titans and Knights, Brisbane have averaged over 28 missed tackles and conceded 12 penalties and/or set restarts per match.
But on Saturday the Broncos missed just 14 tackles and conceded only 8 penalties and/or set restarts, in a sign that their discipline is on the improve.
With the ball in hand, the Broncos looked more purposeful and controlled, albeit against a struggling ‘Dogs side this season.
Fullback Tesi Nui will only improve as his confidence grows, while Brodie Croft and Anthony Milford showed glimpses of their ability to combine effective on both sides of the ruck.
This passage of play was most promising for me, as the Broncos’ halves showed improved composure and control in their good ball sets:
On last tackle, Isaac Luke passes to Croft, who’s right edge of Corey Oates, Herbie Farnsworth and Xavier Coates are pushing up flat and seemingly waiting for a kick in behind.
But Croft goes out the back instead to Nui, who stops on a dime and sends the ball back infield through Luke to Milford on the other edge. Bulldogs’ winger Christian Crichton has come up off his line, and Milf sums it up with a nice grubber into the in-goal.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is out of position for the kick — he had initially moved to his left expecting Croft to kick in behind — and the Broncos earn an easy repeat set.
Nothing flashy. Nothing brilliant.
Just building pressure and capitalising on good field position.
The Broncos still made 17 handling errors and were hardly dominant against a ‘Dogs side that has had its share of excuses this season. A win over Wests Tigers this week would add a little more starch to any claims of a Broncos’ comeback run…
Originally published at https://rlwriters.substack.com.
