The New Zealand Warriors welcome Ben Murdoch-Masila to the squad for the 2021 NRL season but which jersey he will where is still unknown.
Ben Murdoch-Masila is back in the NRL.
The hulking Tongan international has been a player many have hoped would one day return since leaving for the Super League in 2014, and now, he’s preparing to tackle 2021 with the New Zealand Warriors.
Excitement is building across the Tasman. Whether they’ve seen him play recently or not, YouTube is littered with his hulking carries and massive shots on defence. A three-minute montage is enough to get anybody buzzing about what he might offer the side. But where Murdoch-Masila makes that impact is still being hashed out by Warriors coach, Nathan Brown.
Brown recently noted that Murdoch-Masila has been training “a lot more on the edge” but also mentioned “he can play in the middle.”
Debates are now raging over where he should be named in Round 1 as a result of the uncertainty.
The loudest argument for playing Murdoch-Masila on the edge surrounds the Warriors using him how Tonga did against Australia in 2019. Faded memories suggest he hit holes, got on the outside of his defender and caused general havoc down the right edge. In reality, he was dropped off back into the middle for six of the 10 runs he completed. He cleaned up two loose balls, took a settler in the middle off a scrum and only took possession in shape inside the opposition 20-metre line once in his 71 minutes.
Murdoch-Masila defended well; Boyd Cordner certainly knew who stood opposite him that day. However, the Warriors recruit didn’t dominate the game as a ball-runner on the edge but more as a crash-ball yardage man.
That isn’t to say Murdoch-Masila can’t or won’t succeed on the edge, though.
If nothing else, he is a strong ball-carrier. The Warrington Wolves – like Tonga did against the Kangaroo’s – regularly dropped him off back inside to run riot.
He scored three tries for the Wolves in 2020. Two came when coming back against the angle on the inside and using his size and strength to break the line:
The third came closer to the line but in similar fashion:
Murdoch-Masila can have an impact further out. His line and reputation as a destructive ball-carrier is enough to force the three-man in and onto his heels, opening the space out wide in this one:
The prospects of a Murdoch-Masila, Eli Katoa and Jack Murchie edge rotation is appealing too.
Katoa is one of the best young prospects the Warriors have blooded in years. With a lot of Viliame Kikau to his game, the 21-year-old will only get better as he enters just his third full year of playing rugby league. Murchie looked like a different player after getting himself fit towards the end of last season, too. With Katoa’s size and speed, Murchie’s hole-running and Murdoch-Masila’s tackle-breaking ability, the Warriors can vary their attack on the edge.
But Bailey Sironen needs to be part of the discussion around edge players. Depending on what Brown decides to do with Tohu Harris and Jazz Tevaga, the former occupies one edge for 80 minutes if he isn’t playing lock. With the depth the Warriors have on the edges, the squad might be better balanced with Murdoch-Masila moving into the middle.
Murdoch-Masila’s size and footwork are what what make him so on the edge.
Those threats can have a similar impact in the middle while also creating opportunities out wide.
He can shovel the ball on and ball-play well enough to hold up a defence. It’s an area former lock/edge turned middle forward, James Fisher-Harris, has improved in to become one of the best props in the NRL. It’s a large reason why the Panthers had so much success attacking the edges in 2020.
Fisher-Harris holding up the line here creates room for Nathan Cleary and Kikau to link up out wide:
Imagine Katoa in for Kikau and Murdoch-Masila for Fisher-Harris in this one:
Oh boy, good luck stopping that. Especially with the improvements Chanel Harris-Tavita started to make toward the back-end of last season in changing his tempo when working across the field .
Addin Founa-Blake is one of the club’s biggest signings in recent years. He’s the elite middle forward the Warriors have lacked for so long. Run him in pairs through the middle with Murdoch-Masila keeping attention of the defence and Fonua-Blake’s late footwork at the line becomes even more effective. Likewise, Murdoch-Masila when he carries the ball.
Whether it be on the edge or in the middle, off the bench or as a starter, the soon-to-be 30-year-old will play a major role in the Warriors throughout 2021. He’s the sort of player long-time Warriors fans think of when reminiscing about the good ol’ days: big, fast and skilful for his size.
Where Murdoch-Masila starts in 2021 appears to be locked in, but where he’s most effective remains to be seen.