Oscar has pinched Jason’s pen and paper to bring you the NRL Preview Notepad each week in 2024. Here’s everything you need to know heading into NRL Round 2.
Thursday Night Members Preview
It’s a case of watch and learn for South Sydney Rabbitohs fans this week.
SOS: Haumole Edition
I’m jumping over to Jase’s side of the fence this week with the latest installment of Save Our Scrums: The Haumole Edition.
It took the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles just 22 minutes to play towards the best and most repeatable action in their playbook last week:
With Tom Trbojevic demanding attention from the defence and Daly Cherry-Evans disguising the pass perfectly, Olakau’atu is afforded the chance to get one-on-one with his opposite number here.
We can’t underestimate the role Lachlan Crocker plays in this sequence, too.
It’s difficult to see with so many bodies in motion, but Croker’s subtle change of tempo as he darts out from behind the scrum invites Cameron Murray and Koloamatangi to check their positions in the line by just one step (even the camerman is fooled by Croker’s movements here).
That slight turn of the hips is what disconnects Koloamatangi from Cody Walker in the line, creating the space for Olakau’atu to score.
The Sea Eagles now have a variety of genuine avenues to the try line but every player still has a role to play in this evolving attack.
Knights attack ft. KP & KPP
The Newcastle Knights beat themselves in NRL Round 1.
With a 68% completion rate and just 45% of the total possession, Adam O’Brien’s men wasted most of the half-opportunities they created for themselves with the ball.
Jackson Hastings and Tyson Gamble played too sideways last week as they looked for Kalyn Ponga on the edges. Given how well Jack Cogger straightened Penrith’s attack in last year’s Grand Final, the pressure is on the current Knights halves to get the balance right with the ball.
Not coincidentally, Newcastle’s best attacking action in Round 1 came when Gamble played nice and direct:
The Knights made young Ethan Strange a target here and played it perfectly. Ponga’s gravity in that jockey shape pulls Strange sideways and Gamble picks the right pass to send Tyson Frizell through the line.
Ponga will always be heavily involved in the best version of Newcastle’s attack but this is a nice example of how he can disrupt the defence even without taking possession.
In terms of Ponga playing on the ball though, I’m looking out for more of he and Kai Pearce-Paul linking up on the left edge:
This is exactly what Ponga needs in his edge backrowers; someone who can run a genuine line and use some footwork to either win a quick play-the-ball or promote an offload.
Pearce-Paul looked likely in his NRL debut last week to get his arm free in every other carry.
That offload to Ponga will lead to points soon enough.
Melbourne’s defence
Regular readers will know I’m a big Reimis Smith guy.
His move to Melbourne in 2021 coincided with Smith playing out a career year on the right edge as – statistically speaking – the best defensive centre in the NRL.
Injuries have restricted Smith since but he appears to have formed a pleasing defensive combination with Xavier Coates on Melbourne’s left edge to kickoff season 2024:
Some classic Penrith ball movement here suddenly presents Smith and Coates with a four-on-two situation but they respond in perfect unison. Smith pushes in on Dylan Edwards while Coates follows his centre to jam Liam Martin and force the error.
Pairing Coates (who has had some defensive issues in the past) with Smith (who makes great reads from the centres) could prove a winning formula for Craig Bellamy this season.
I’m watching this pair closely in defence again this weekend.
Canberra’s attack
When I pictured how the Canberra Raiders might attack this year, it looked something / exactly like this:
Jamal Fogarty distributing through the middle of the field, forwards breaking tackles or generating second-phase play and Jordan Rapana (or Tom Starling in this instance) lurking around the ruck in support.
In this action, Starling very nearly gets another try-scoring offload away here but holds the pass to play the ball quickly instead.
Newcastle are still retreating when Fogarty picks from dummy-half and just four Knights defenders make up a defensive line between the left upright and the left corner-post:
Smart involvements from the rookies – Morgan Smithies and Ethan Strange – then gets the ball to Albert Hopoate who produces a special offload for Rapana to score in the corner.
Frantic? Yes.
Hard to defend? Even more so.
The panic and fatigue Canberra put into the defensive line is their greatest asset in attack. While unconventional and often unrepeatable, this free-flowing approach complements the Raiders best attacking players.
That being said, there is a repeatable action in here worth highlighting; that little skip-overs and pass from Strange.
Give him a four-on-four and Strange has the feet and hands to create the overlap more often than not.
We’re not used to seeing Canberra work towards a specific scoring action in good-ball but this might be a different look for the Raiders attack in 2024.