NRL Notepad: Round 12

The Notepad identifies one key player, stat, trend or talking point for every team, every round of the 2021 NRL season.

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Saturday

Panthers

This game will probably be pretty rubbish.

There is little to get excited about from a competition perspective.

However, it could be a goldmine for Panthers trick shots after they have shown to start chancing their arm in matches they build an early lead.

We’ve already seen Nathan Cleary build up to nailing this pass in Round 9:

While clunky, this left shift has potential but has gone largely unseen since Round 4:

The Panthers won’t lose this game, but they might be able to give us a glimpse of something new as they run up the scoreboard.

Bulldogs

I’m worried for the Bulldogs here. They’re the biggest betting underdog in the NRL since at least 2009 and historians have already crunched the numbers in preparation of what could well be a history-making scoreline.

This game couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Doggies. While they’ve not won either of their two games, the Bulldogs have displayed signs of improvement over the last fortnight. Had winning not been such a foreign concept to this group, they’d have beaten the Raiders in Round 10. The Titans were there to be beaten after the Bulldogs trailed by just four points heading into the final ten minutes.

The improvements and confidence built over those two weeks could be blown away by the Panthers on Saturday afternoon. A moral victory, say, by fewer than 16 points, will be an encouraging win for the Bulldogs in Round 12.

Rabbitohs

It’s in defence that the Rabbitohs need to improve, but I think they will rebuild their confidence by getting back to what they do best and attacking the left edge.

With Cameron Murray returning to provide them with the quick play-the-ball required to swing it back to the left, Cody Walker at five-eighth, Keaon Koloamatangi running outrageously good lines and Latrell Mitchell giving the defence headaches out the back, I’m expecting the Bunnies to go left early and often.

It is still the most fruitful try-scoring avenue in the NRL and one that aligns perfectly with Parramatta’s biggest weakness…

Eels

The Eels right edge was awful in Round 11. Manly will have seen Waqa Blake’s name on the team sheet and trained for his poor defence all week.

They went at him straight away. Working to the right edge following a six-again call, the Sea Eagles dragged the Eels defence over with it.

With shape set out the left in preparation for a shift, Manly target Blake’s inside shoulder and Brad Parker crosses the line with ease (Punt Club fellas, I told you).

It wasn’t the last time Manly worked back to the left with Blake in mind and South Sydney will adopt a similar plan for Saturday. Even if Marata Niukore is asked to step into the centres after being named on the bench, I still expect the Eels right edge to be heavily tested. Niukore has shown the odd sign of slow feet at times and Walker will be looking to catch him out.

Roosters

Like everybody, I’m enjoying seeing how Sam Walker improves week-to-week.

We saw him burst onto the scene with that long and looping pass. Soon after, he produced some fine moments with his running game.

It was all about defence in Round 11. He was left bruised and battered by Tevita Pangai Jr as the big Broncos back rower picked him out in the line and ran straight at him. While he did miss four tackles, Walker kept getting in front and at least acting as a speed bump to give his teammates time to complete the tackle.

This try was talked about as Walker being run over, which he was, but that isn’t what caused the try. He did his job and stopped Pangai Jr from moving forward. It’s the three Roosters players that then failed to complete the tackle that allowed Dale Copley to eventually score.

This week is different. Up against Elliott Whitehead on the Canberra Raiders left edge, Walker is dealing with one of the smartest and most skilful back rowers in the NRL. Elliott will test him with subtleties in his ball playing rather than the brute force he had in front of him last week.

With Jack Wighton back and George Williams gone, the Raiders will be looking left and asking a lot of questions of Walker’s defence.

Raiders

The Canberra Raiders are a car crash of a football club at the moment.

And that is what makes them so interesting this week…

The George Williams stuff is a concern off the field – too many players are publicly unhappy with what is happening at the club right now. I’d imagine a few more are privately stewing away on things too. It could all end in disaster on the field this week as a result.

He’s English and plays in a small market team so it’s no surprise that many footy fans don’t put him up towards the top of the list, but Canberra lost one of the better halfbacks in the NRL. Already short on direction and creativity, they’re now relying on Sam Williams to fill the void for the remainder of the season. Sam Williams can direct the side. He’s not going to pile up try assists throughout the second half of the season, though.

Something needs to change for the Raiders and we should get a pretty good idea of what that is on Saturday. They’ll either make adjustments and improve to put up a good fight in this one, or the playing group will blow over in the wind and make it clear that they aren’t happy with the staff in charge.

It’s all very ugly, but we can’t look away.

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Sunday

Sharks

*Whispers*

I’m still a Sharks believer…

The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks have won just three of eight games so far in 2021 but I’m not ready to put a line through them as a finals side just yet. Not without seeing Shaun Johnson and Matt Moylan paired up in the halves.