There is a lot to cover after every round in the NRL. Throughout the 2024 season, this is a place where I’ll cover what is most important, a few little things I liked from the round, something to keep an eye on in the next one, and a try I particularly enjoyed.
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What you’ll get in this NRL Round 21 Review:
- Variation in Storm attack around halfway
- Eyes up footy
- What changed for the Roosters
- Bulldogs in yardage
- Beware of the second kick
The Tough Carry: Variation in Storm attack around halfway
Tackle 1 is often the toughest carry of the set. It can make or break it. Here, it’s my biggest talking point from the round that was.
Tackles inside the opposition’s 20-metre line:
Parramatta Eels – 43
Melbourne Storm – 1
It’s an incredible statistic when you consider Melbourne won the game 32-14, but not too surprising when you look back on how they cracked Parramatta’s line.
The Storm has had great success attacking down the edges around halfway. It has been a regular part of their attacking plan for a little while now and I covered it after Round 15 as Harry Grant pulled the Eels to pieces in similar parts of the field.
Ryan Papenhuyzen is a key feature of these actions with his speed making him available on both sides of the field. And as we saw on Friday night, he doesn’t always need to touch the ball to have an impact.
Melbourne moved the ball wide shortly before halftime, leading to a line break and Jake Tago sin bin.
Munster does a great job of straightening the attack and engaging the four-man with a lead runner before firing the ball to Papenhuyzen out the back. His hands are excellent here, and good enough to send Will Warbick streaking down the sideline.
They exploited the same area just after halftime with Tago in the bin which led to another linebreak and the only tackle inside Parramatta’s 20-metre line. Eventually, Warbrick crossed over in the corner.
Going back to the well, Jahrome Hughes is the ball player this time and hits Eli Katoa short.
It’s slightly different and only one pass off the ruck, but it starts with a similar shape with two support runners either side of the ball-player.
Shaun Lane tries to stand tall and stay up in the line, but Daejarn Asi is at sixes and sevens with Papenhuyzen out the back. He sways out ever so slightly to cover Papenhuyzen which is all Hughes needs to send Katoa through the gap.
While Lane has held his position for as long as he can, he can’t recover in time to bounce out onto Katoa while Asi is occupied with the threat of Papenhuyzen.
But, really, I highlight those to mention a play that ends up in an error.
It’s a variation of the first example, and it’s a beauty.
Again it’s Munster stepping off his right foot to straighten the attack and engage a particular defender. You can see the man in front of him doesn’t come off the line square, and as he sits on his heels to contain Munster, Lane (four-in) isn’t able to keep sliding.
Instead, Hughes is able to target Lane in the line while Katoa and Papenhuyzen shape up in the same way they did for the earlier line break.
The players are different, but three-man missed Katoa last time. He’s not releasing early for Papenhuyzen out the back this time – that’s for the two outside him to figure out.
However, at the very last moment, Papenhuyzen steps back inside Katoa, who releases a nice pass to his fullback, who is just dragged down by a desperate Lane.
If we’re being picky, Hughes could have taken one more step into Lane. That might have been enough to open up the gap further. Nonetheless, the play is another prime example of the variation the Storm uses at this part of the field.
If we go back to Round 2, we saw the Storm perform similar actions on both sides of the field against the Warriors.
But they both came closer to the line. Around halfway, the Storm are most dangerous and getting better. As Nathan Cleary returns to push the Panthers up a gear, and while the Sydney Roosters pile up points for fun, the Storm continues to refine and improve what works.
Look for more adjustments in the coming weeks. At this time of year, the Storm is not uncommon to tinker with a few more trick shots.
Quick play-the-ball: Eyes Up & Roosters Changes
We’re generating momentum through the middle of the article with a couple of quick carries.
Eyes up footy
Everybody has their own definition of “eyes up footy.”
For some, it simply means running and throwing the ball around to make it look like something creative is happening.
For me, it’s exactly this.
You can see Dylan Brown quite literally with his eyes up, surveying the line and watching Harry Grant retreat late. He’s scanning across the field to take note of the spacings and identify his target in the line.
With a three-on-four overlap, he skips outside the three-man to engage the two-man, forcing Grant Anderson into a decision he ultimately gets wrong. Grant knows he’s late and the Storm are short of numbers and makes a line straight for the corner. The pass is too good, though.
That’s eyes up.
Also, eyes up
This ridiculous 40/20…
What are the Roosters changing?
The Sydney Roosters got the result, but after claiming they’d had a “breakthrough” in how they wanted to attack, not a lot seemed to change.
I had a few ideas on what the new and improved might look like. In summary, I expected them to keep it tighter and play more to the percentages than they typically do. It looked that way early on as the Roosters played one out, waiting for the strong momentum-generating carry to shift the ball. However, they finished up with 14 errors…
They’re not going to beat the best teams in the NRL with 45% of the ball very often.
Setting up for a shot: Bulldogs shifting in yardage
Teams play to points with the following tackle in mind. Here, I’m touching on something to watch next week as we try to keep ahead of things happening on the field.
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs had great success in moving the ball to the edges out of yardage on Saturday. There are a few more highlight reel examples, but this one best shows the process and positioning.
From the kickoff, you can see Ezra Mam come off the line inside the 20-metre tap line in the middle of the field.
It’s a cue the Bulldogs will have schemed for during the week. You can see Reed Mahoney spot it from behind the ruck. Connor Tracey sees the same and swings to the long side.
The key for the Bulldogs is to be in shape and ready across the field. Josh Curran pushed up in support on the previous carry but quickly retreats to offer what ends up being an effective lead inside Mam.
Many teams are deliberate about how tight they defend in yardage. The Canberra Raiders, who the Bulldogs play in Round 22, are one such team.
The Bulldogs are clearly prepared to move the ball. Meanwhile, the Raiders know it’s coming. It will be interesting to see the adjustments – if any – from either team next week.
Try Time: Beware of the second kick
Sometimes, it’s a piece of magic. Other times, it’s a basic move made to look easy. Whatever it is, all great sets end in points, so we’re doing the same here.
Kotoni Staggs gathering a grubber before shaping to kick himself and burning the cover defence deserves a very honourable mention, but there can only be one try here.
We’ve all heard to “beware of the second kick.”
This is why.
As the defence switches off, too many break a major rule in defending on the last play: don’t stop moving.
There is an element of luck involved in it all, but good teams create their own luck, and the Bulldogs have become one of those good teams throughout the second half of the NRL season.