The 2024 NRL regular season is still a few weeks away but there’s plenty for our Premium Members to discuss over a schooner between now and then. Instead of recycling the usual clichéd pre-season rhetoric, Oscar is picking out some genuine NRL talking points until Round 1 kicks off in Las Vegas.
Let’s dive into some 2024 NRL Pre-Season Pub Talk.
Replacing Campbell Graham
News broke last week that South Sydney’s Campbell Graham has undergone sternum surgery on the eve of the 2024 NRL regular season and will be out for up to 4-6 months. Given he battled through the best part of last year with the same injury, it’s a massive blow for Rabbitohs fans and an even greater one for the young centre.
Replacing Graham in this Rabbitohs backline is easier said than done.
Forget for a moment his career-best 16 tries and 21 linebreaks in 2023 and let’s zero in on one very important number; an average 133 running metres per game.
In the context of South Sydney’s back five, Graham’s ability to win contact and bend the line – even when that line is set and looking to jam in defence – is imperative to how the Rabbitohs work out of their own end:
He’s also mobile enough to take advantage of the space when it appears:
A rare few outside backs in the NRL consistently generate post-contact metres like Graham does in these examples.
Usually followed by an equally productive Keaon Koloamatangi carry, the Rabbitohs have found a winning formula in Graham that offsets the relatively poor yardage games of Alex Johnston and Latrell Mitchell (and now young Tyrone Munro).
Having Graham and Jack Wighton in the centres this year afforded South Sydney the luxury of employing two lightweight wingers on either edge. With Graham now sidelined, there could be more changes to come in this Rabbitohs backline…
Isaiah Tass
Injuries create opportunities and it’s Tass who should benefit most from Graham’s unfortunate layoff.
I’m a big Tass guy. Few 39 NRL-gamers play with the consistency and reliability Tass has displayed over two seasons at South Sydney.
He’s not a top-tier centre but Tass is a sound defender who plays with nice timing and spacial awareness in attack.
Note how Tass handles the ball here; he’s a natural right-hand ball carrier which could complement a switch to the right-edge nicely.
He won’t put up Graham numbers in yardage but Tass is a bigger body and a willing ball carrier himself. As far as replacements go, Souths could do much worse than plug Tass in at right centre until Graham returns.
Who partners Tass on the right wing is the more pressing question.
Tyrone Munro
Plenty of people had Munro starting for the Bunnies this year despite questions over his ability to handle the physicality of regular first-grade. With Graham now sidelined, Munro’s path into the NRL becomes that much more difficult.
Listed at 186cm and 85kgs, Munro isn’t a first-grade prospect thanks to his yardage game. The attacking upside is there but he would complete a relatively unproductive back three for the Rabbitohs coming out of their own end.
There is no doubt we’ll see Munro in the NRL this year and he might play well enough to keep his spot from there. With Graham sidelined and a long season ahead though, there may be better options on the wing for Round One.
Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson
At time of writing, I’m leaning towards Thompson to start in Las Vegas next month.
The big winger has managed just nine NRL games over two seasons since returning to the NRL after a five year break. There have been glimpses of his best throughout those games but injuries and fitness have hampered his start in first-grade.
If he can get his body right though, it’s obvious what Thompson can do:
| NSW Cup (2022-23) | NRL (2022-23) | |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 25 | 9 |
| Tries | 30 | 3 |
| Try assists | 4 | 1 |
| Avg run metres | 142.5m | 148.5m |
| Linebreaks | 30 | 6 |
The linebreaks and tries are pleasant reading, but it’s Thompson’s yardage numbers that are most significant in the wake of Graham’s injury. Averaging 140+ metres – at any grade – is a handy output for a winger and to maintain it across 30+ games is no fluke.
Listed at 192cms and 102kgs, it makes sense that Thompson can bend the line in yardage.
The 34 tackle busts he registered across nine NRL games are a point of difference to how Mitchell, and particularly Johnston or Munro, bring the ball out of their own end.
In Thompson, Tass and Jack Wighton, Souths can employ three genuine yardage merchants in the backs – more than enough to replace Graham’s output until he returns.
Like Munro, Thompson is still unproven at NRL level but he started there last year and might be the preferred choice again to kickoff season 2024.
Taane Milne
The third – and admittedly most polarising – option for Jason Demetriou is to plug Taane Milne back in on the right wing.
With 67 NRL games across six years, we know what we’re going to get from Milne at this point. He’s a strong ball carrier who averaged a career-best 149 running metres last season while also coming up with a few too many howlers in defence.
A handy squad player with valuable NRL experience, Milne doesn’t feel any more reliable an option than Munro or Thompson at this stage in their careers.