“Heads In!” – Round 14 Preview

Unpack a scrum of three talking points before every round of the NRL season. This week: Sea Eagles v Cowboys, a roaming Adam Doueihi and Ash Taylor Cam.

Whether you’re searching for an edge in the workplace tipping comp or just desperate to talk some footy, you’ve found the place. Join me as we unpack the scrum that is the NRL each week.

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Right Scrum-Line – Who’s feeling the pressure this week?

Manly Sea Eagles v North Queensland Cowboys.

It mightn’t be a top four Friday night blockbuster, but the result of this game could have major ramifications later in the season. In stark contrast to how they began the year, both Manly and North Queensland have played themselves into the kind of form that has them in position to jostle for a spot in the bottom half of the eight. That makes the two points even more valuable this week. 

With both teams expected to have key players missing due to Origin, it’s the Cowboys who I think are better equipped to navigate those losses.

If Valentine Holmes is out, expect Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to move to fullback and Justin O’Neill to come into the side. Missing Holmes – who has been one of North Queensland’s best in the last month or so – will hurt, but Tabuai-Fidow is a wonderful talent and O’Neill can do a job. Aside from that, it’s all about Scott Drinkwater and Tom Dearden for me this week. 

The duo seemingly have the rest of the season to make a case for themselves as a halves pairing before the incoming Chad Townsend is given a say on the matter. Dearden doesn’t have to light things up in his first few games, particularly given the way Drinkwater and hooker Reece Robson are playing at the moment. Expect Robson to continue directing traffic around the ruck – he has had a large part to play in the resurgent form of Jordan Maclean, Coen Hess and the like in the way he holds up markers and brings his runners onto the ball. Out wide I’ll be expecting Drinkwater to continue getting his hands on the ball often and pull the strings in good ball. 

That should leave Dearden free to pick his moments to kick and run. 

A miscommunication by South Sydney in the tackle certainly helped Dearden on this occasion, but it’s not the first time we’ve seen him push through contact and break the line on the right edge. Dearden is deceptively strong and has good footwork, and his running game is not something we’ve seen enough of while playing behind a beaten Broncos’ pack. If Jason Taumalolo can earn a quick play-the-ball on Friday night, I’ll be looking for Dearden to get his hands on the ball and run. 

For the Sea Eagles, there are a few more unknowns in Round 14.

Tom Trbojevic is very unlikely to play meaning Rueben Garrick or possibly Dylan Walker will shift to fullback, while Cade Cust provides cover for Daly Cherry-Evans if he is rested too. With all due respect, we’ve seen how Manly have performed without Trbojevic in the past and if Cherry-Evans is missing too, the question will be where do Manly’s points come from?

With crucial playmakers missing (five-eighth turn backrower Josh Schuster is also out) a simple bash-and-crash approach through the middle makes the most sense – until you look at Manly’s bench. Walker (centre/half), Moses Suli (centre), Ben Trbojevic (utility) and Toafofoa Sipley (prop) make up one of the strangest bench combinations in recent memory, and does not lend itself to a ‘truck it up’ game plan. Marty Taupau and Taniela Paseka have been pushing out big minutes lately and it looks like they’ll be asked to do so again in Round 14. 

One significant in for the Sea Eagles this week is Haumole Olakau’atu. The rookie back rower has been near-impossible to stop at times this year on the right edge and he’ll need a big game on Friday night if Manly are without their Origin stars. Against the Broncos in Round 11 we saw Manly shift the ball across the field to move the defence before swinging back the other way and feeding Olakau’atu clean, early ball to great effect. 

This week, I’ll be watching for how Manly can set up for Olakau’atu in attacking field position. If Lachlan Croker, Kieran Foran or even Jake Trbojevic can get the big fella one-on-one short of the try line, I’m backing him in. 

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Centre-Field Scrum – What’s centre-frame in the rugby league lens this week?

Tom Trbojevic is the name on everyone’s lips right now, and for good reason. 

After tearing up the NRL competition for the last month or so in Manly colours, Tommy Turbo tore up Queensland on Wednesday night in the sky blue to further stamp his claim as the best player in the game right now. Most impressive about Tom’s performance for NSW this week was his ability to impact the game while playing out of position at right centre – a situation regular readers will know I’ve covered at length lately in regards to Adam Doueihi at the Wests Tigers. 

While it mightn’t be realistic to expect Trbojevic-level involvements from Doueihi this weekend, I do think Tom’s game on Wednesday night is a blueprint for how Doueihi should be used by Michael Maguire and the Tigers while playing in the centres.