How Mele Hufanga bagged four
It took a couple games longer than Brisbane Broncos fans would’ve liked, but in NRLW Round 3 we learned what the Mele Hufanga hype is all about.
The North Queensland Cowboys right edge defensive unit had no answers for Hufanga with the ball in hand, but it was the work of her teammates on the inside that should have rival clubs worried in the coming weeks.
Listed at 183cm and 93 kgs, Hufanga is a rugby league handfull.
She demands attention from the defence and is usually a two- or three-man tackle – particularly close to the line.
Over the first two rounds of the 2023 NRLW regular season, the Broncos didn’t consistently work towards Hufanga in good-ball. As combinations and cohesion develops across their lineup though, Brisbane are learning to play towards a plan with the ball.
In NRLW Round 3, that plan was to get the ball to Hufanga.
Whenever the Cowboys defensive line was scrambled or under pressure, the Broncos made a point of working towards Hufanga on the following play.
Her first was too easy.
A half-break through Destiny Brill in yardage had North Queensland back-pedalling towards their own try line. From behind the ruck, Ali Brigginshaw played towards the right post on tackle three, setting things up for a shift to the left:
Playing with momentum, Brisbane already have the numbers advantage for the following play but they still do everything right with their setup shape.
With two middles in tight formation beside the ruck, the Broncos don’t allow North Queensland to slide out and get their numbers right on the edge.
Cowboys backrower Bree Chester is caught inside the right post, leaving just three defenders to cover the space between the right upright and the corner – far too much room for Hufanga here.
A long pass from Brill at dummy-half and another from Gayle Broughton does the rest.
And so the Broncos went back to the well.
It’s an offload from Chelsea Lenarduzzi this time that scrambles the Cowboys defensive line midway through a set.
Broughton is on the spot to collect the pass, immediately making a beeling towards Hufanga on the left edge. She uses her footwork to fold the defensive line in towards the ball before linking nicely with Hayley Maddick on the left edge.
It’s Maddick who provides the final pass for Hufanga, who again capitalises on the momentum created earlier in the set to score.
It was the same for her third try.
As North Queensland began loosening up through the middle, Brigginshaw began pushing over the advantage line and into the spaces around the ruck.
She chews up some easy metres here and importantly disrupts the Cowboys right edge defensive unit. Backrower Chester (12) gravitates towards the ball while two Cowboys middles fill up down the right edge for the following play.
North Queensland can’t reset in time with players in different positions and Broughton coming at them on the next tackle.
Broughton brings Tazmin Gray onto the ball off her hip, turning the three-in defender and creating the overlap out the back. Maddick again creates the extra number to pass Hufanga into – yep, you guessed it – too much space on the edge.
A big left-hand fend keeps Vitalina Niakore away before Hufanga’s power carries two bodies over the line to score.
The Broncos impressed to turn half chances into points by playing towards Hufanga with momentum in sets. She’s impossible to stop one-on-one and Brisbane denied North Queensland any opportunity to get set on the edges and offer numbers in the tackle.
Hufanga’s first three tries came in this fashion; scramble the defensive line, strip the edges and shift quickly to Hufanga in space.
Her fourth try was a little different. It came off a set start and is cleary something the Broncos have practised for during the week.
It’s also a repeatable action that we should be seeing every weekend in the NRLW.
From a penalty tap, the Broncos send Annetta-Claudia Nu’uausala straight for the right post:
Nu’uausala very nearly powers over the line herself, dragging four defenders towards the tackle and setting things up for a shift to the left.
As Nu’uausala plays the ball, two Broncos middles again fall into tight formation beside the ruck. It’s the same setup shape as we saw for Hufanga’s first try, only this time North Queensland are set with the numbers on the edge.
A long pass from dummy-half again gets Broughton wide of the ruck, where she immediately heads towards the corner. The Cowboys right edge start tracking sideways with her, but the ruck defence can’t recover in time.
The threat of Lenarduzzi and Brill in tight formation beside the ruck has dragged the Cowboys middles in-field, and they can’t cover Chester’s inside when Broughton drops Hufanga back underneath.
There’s no way you’re stopping Hufanga one-on-one here.
The ease with which Hufanga found her way to the try line in NRLW Round 3 makes us question why Brisbane didn’t play towards her in the opening two rounds. Now they’ve found a recipe for success down that edge though, we should see Hufanga become the tip of the spear for the Broncos attack in 2023.
The work of Broughton and Brigginshaw in the lead up is crucial.
Brigginshaw has the experience and game management skills to get Brisbane into specific areas on the park, and Broughton has the footwork and ballplaying to bring Hufanga into the game from those areas.
Against a Parramatta Eels right edge next week that has conceded 11 tries in three games so far this NRLW season, Hufanga could find herself in the highlights reel again on Saturday afternoon.
There’s Always Next Week For…
… the Wests Tigers
A stellar start to a maiden NRLW season for the Wests Tigers hit a speed-bump in Round 3 when the Raiders snuck away with a 26-22 win.
The work of Zahara Temara continues to be a standout for Canberra, who are capitalising on her kicking game and ballplaying in attack.
On the flip side, the Tigers – currently playing with the third best defence in the NRLW – did well to threaten with a late comeback but ran out of time following a hattrick to left centre Leianne Tufunga.
The Tigers left edge has now combined for nine tries this season and is becoming a real strength for the new NRLW club. Five-eighth Pauline Piliae-Rasable is improving with every game while Kezie Apps, Tufunga and winger Jakiya Whitfeld are all strong ball carriers and good finishers. Throw in the work of Losana Lutu off the bench and the Tigers have plenty of points in them down the left-hand side of the field.
A failed HIA to fullback Botille Vette-Welsh might’ve been the difference in Wests narrow Round 3 loss, but they’re proving anything but easy beats in their inaugural season in the NRLW.
NRLW Round 3 Shout-Outs
Introducing Georgia Roche
Newcastle’s marquee signing for the 2023 NRLW season was English import Georgia Roche, who played her first game in Knights colours in Round 3.
She didn’t have the busiest debut game, but showed her class with some nice touches in yardage and this clever grubber into the in goal for Yasmin Clydesdale to open the scoring.
That’s a difficult kick to weight correctly, under pressure and with little room to work with.
Her pre-pass movements throughout the game also hint at a capable ballplayer who can generate positive matchups for her forwards in yardage.
We didn’t learn heaps about Roche in NRLW Round 3, but she’s worth keeping an eye on again this week.
Kezie Apps Appreciation Post
At the ripe old age of 32 and in her sixth NRLW season, Apps has still got it.
It looked like she was on a treadmill to start with here, but she quickly got off it to mow down Canberra winger Shakiah Tungai and deny a certain try.
Forget about the unfortunate sinbinning on the end of this passage – that’s a huge play in the context of the game and another vote of confidence for Apps as the leader of this Tigers outfit.
Aiken playing both sides
Last week I picked out Tarryn Aiken sweeping over to the right edge as a second fullback in good-ball sets.
This week she popped up there at first receiver, using her footwork to beat the ruck defence back on the inside and crash over herself.
A week after she missed nine tackles on the way to an upset loss against Canberra, Aiken was back to her best.
With two try assists, one try, 130 running metres, one forced drop-out and 13 tackles for one miss, Aiken reminded us of her qualities in NRLW Round 3.
She played a bit-part role alongside Ali Brigginshaw in Brisbane but is being tasked with much more in Roosters colours this year. Aiken’s got the skillset to be one of the best playmakers in the competition and this roaming role complements her perfectly.