If the beers are cold and the afternoon’s long enough we’d be talking NRL all day, every day until kickoff on Thursday night. With so much to review, let’s break down some of the key actions each week.
Cowboys v Raiders: The Good and the Bad
It was a tale of two halves on Saturday afternoon as the North Queensland Cowboys and Canberra Raiders traded blows in their first hit-out of 2023.
North Queensland blew Canberra off the park in the opening 40 minutes with a near-perfect performance on both sides of the ball. In comparison, the Raiders conceded cheap penalties, unforced errors and consecutive set-restarts to gift the Cowboys a host of early attacking opportunities.
With fresh legs and the lion’s share of possession, North Queensland were invited to showcase all they’d practised over the offseason. They looked slick. Two- and three-pass shifts to both edges put fatigue into the Raiders defence as they were asked to track the ball across-field and make repeat efforts on their own line. The cracks began to show after two forced drop-outs and it wasn’t long before North Queensland stripped Canberra for numbers out wide.
There was a clear plan from the Cowboys to test Corey Harawira-Naera defending in the backrow. Some nice variation down that edge was key to Murray Taulagi crossing in the 15th minute.
Tom Dearden’s willingness to challenge the line early had Canberra’s inside defenders on high-alert and they began sliding hard whenever the five-eighth took possession one-off the ruck.
The Cowboys then began testing those very same defenders by hitting the inside option – often Reuben Cotter – and trying to catch out an over-chasing middle forward.
In this instance Cotter gets at the inside shoulder of Elliott Whitehead and wins a quick play-the-ball as the Raiders scramble. Whitehead does a good job to reload down the short-side into Harawira-Naera’s four-man position here, allowing Canberra to number up and shut things down out wide.
The Cowboys had identified an opportunity there though, and it wasn’t long before they iced it.
A small adjustment in their next attacking set saw North Queensland set up a little wider on the right post. With the extra space afforded them, Townsend, Dearden and Drinkwater combined for a three-pass shift that got Drinkwater at an isolated Harawira-Naera on the left edge.
Harawira-Naera is already beat when his man takes possession here and Drinkwater’s speed – and a nice lead line from Coen Hess – prevents Jamal Fogarty and Matthew Timoko from sliding out. With the overlap created, two more passes sees Taulagi dive over in the corner. Clutch.
The Cowboys wasted no time in going back to the well. Cotter continued churning through the metres in yardage, again targetting Harawira-Naera in this action.
The Raiders backrower completes his tackle but can’t prevent a quick play-the-ball as Dearden picks out two middle-forwards filling up the short side on the following play. He beats both big men with some footwork before finding Robson back behind the ruck for another 15 metres gain.
The Raiders are now scrambling to work onside and a fatigued Harawira-Naera offers no pressure from marker as Townsend kicks in behind the ruck for a flying Drinkwater.
If this wasn’t your Play of the Round then I can’t help you.
As well as testing Harawira-Naera’s positioning on the edge, the Cowboys also challenged fill-in fullback Sebastian Kris in good ball.
Kris was arguably one of Canberra’s better players in Round 1 – a little raw perhaps, but certainly willing in yardage – but he couldn’t contain Robson’s craft from dummy-half when Drinkwater scored his second.
The Cowboys ball movement is smooth as they stretch Canberra’s defensive line before Dearden straightens things up off Cotter’s hip. Kris is asked to get involved in the tackle both here and on the following play when Robson crashes Jamayne Taunoa-Brown towards the posts, and he doesn’t have the time or vision to see what Robson and Drinkwater have cooked up on the last.
Try time.
North Queensland went into the sheds with 21/22 completions and a frankly absurd 82% territorial advantage. In comparison, the Raiders completed just nine sets with the ball in the first half and looked dead in the water until Emre Guler crashed over in the shadows of halftime.
Canberra’s first try came on the back of the Cowboys’ first and only error in the first half, perfectly summing up the tale of this contest. Ill-discipline directly led to all points scored in this game and in the second half it was the Raiders who were much improved to complete 20 of 23 sets and enjoy almost 60% of the ball.
In true Raiders fashion, resilience kept them in the contest long enough for the bounce of the ball to go their way. When it finally did, Tom Starling and Jack Wighton made the most of their luck to cross early in the second half.
With the scores tied up it felt like Canberra might just run away with it. Wighton in particular was threatening to out-effort anybody in front of him as the clock wound down. Ultimately though, the Raiders lacked class and polish in the key moments. Wighton’s ability to win field position with his kick pressure resulted in nothing when the Raiders produced this on 5th tackle of the ensuing set.
In contrast, the Cowboys class shone through when they worked 70-odd metres upfield and into position for Townsend to nail his first field-goal of the season.
“They (Canberra) showed great resilience to win the second half but just didn’t have the class to win the match.” – Round 1: Scores & Team Grades
It’s not always that class outplays effort in the NRL but that was the tale of the tape on Saturday afternoon. For the fans, there are positives to take from this game no matter what colours you wear. The Cowboys were good enough when it really mattered while the Raiders showed a grit and resilience that has them in good stead for the 2023 season.
There’s Always Next Week For…
…the Sydney Roosters
If there was ever a time to say “too good” and take your licks, this is it.
An ambush of Wayne Bennett proportions saw The Dolphins register a huge upset over the Sydney Roosters in Round 1 and there’s not much more we can say. Outplayed and out-enthused, Easts simply had no answer as The Dolphins fought their way to a 28-18 win.
An early HIA assessment for Brandon Smith certainly didn’t help a Roosters outfit working out their combinations for the first time. Jake Turpin will end up a very handy fill-in for Easts this season but a few minutes into Round 1 is not when Trent Robinson would’ve planned or hoped to need his bench hooker.
The Roosters looked clunky and disorganised in attack which is to be expected at this point in the season. The same can’t be said for their efforts without the ball.
If I’m the Warriors, I’m having second thoughts about playing at the line when they meet the Roosters this weekend. Expect Easts to come out firing and tackle away all the bad memories of their Round 1 loss. It’s going to be a physical battle and I’m here for it.
RLW Round 1 Shout Outs
Surprise trends, unlikely heroes or actions you won’t see in the highlight reels but deserve a mention – this one’s for you.
Hooker Watch
By bedtime on Friday night we’d already seen three dummy-halves burrow over the line from close range in as many games.
In all three examples, the team in possession had key playmakers in position for a backline movement – or in Melbourne’s case, a field-goal attempt – only for the rake to spot an opportunity beside the ruck and punish it. It sounds simple enough, but identifying and then executing it while under fatigue – and while your halfback is screaming for the ball – is another thing.
Ball-playing middles have been at the forefront of the best attacking sides in the competition for a few years now – think Isaah Yeo, Cam Murray and Victor Radley – but is this a sign of things to come? My eyes will be fixed on the dummy-half position in Round 2.
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad > Reece Walsh
He mightn’t come with all the bells and whistles of the man he’s replacing, but Nicoll-Klokstad’s defensive efforts on his own line were instrumental to the Warriors opening the 2023 NRL season with a win.
This tackle was one of a few huge defensive plays Nicoll-Klokstad produced as the Warriors held off Newcastle late in the piece on Friday night. His positional play and strength in the tackle are elite and neither are qualities Walsh brings to the fullback position. The same can be said for his 204 running metres from 19 carries.
Nicoll-Klokstad is a fantastic acquistion for the club and I’ve got no doubt he’ll prove a net gain for the Warriors by season’s end – regardless of Walsh’s talent.