The Notepad identifies one key player, stat, trend or talking point for every team, every round of the 2021 NRL season.
The pen is at the ready in preparation for Round 2 of the NRL season.
Despite the blowouts last week and the potential for more in this one, every side is worth watching as we begin to forge an idea of how it all might play out between now and Grand Final day. As we saw from the Roosters, Storm, Raiders and Panthers, they’re still top tier teams and expected to be relevant at the pointy end of the season. But which bottom eight teams are the most likely to make the leap? That’s what makes these early rounds so interesting.
Thursday
Parramatta Eels
It couldn’t have looked worse for the Eels to start Round 1. They leaked 16 points in the first half to the worst attacking side in the NRL last season while their own attack embodied everything that went wrong for Parramatta over the second half of 2020.
@JasonNRL bit about Parra playing too sideways last year is looking prescient
— AK #15 (@falconpunch89) March 12, 2021
Unsurprisingly, it all looked a lot better in the second half when playing more direct and around the ruck.
It started with Reed Mahoney’s try.
After yet another unsuccessful shift to the edge, Isaiah Papali’i’s destructive carry to the middle of the field left Patrick Carrigan on the ground, allowing Mahoney to take the space and dive over the line. Simple stuff.
It’s worth repeating Andrew Johns’ quote again here: “The Eels tried to trick-shot their way to victory in the first half against the Broncos. It doesn’t work like that. No matter who you play, you have to build and earn that right.”
They can’t afford to repeat on Thursday night.
Melbourne Storm
Personally, I don’t blame players and coaches for exposing problems in rushed rule changes. It’s their job. But I’m looking out for how Melbourne defend scrums this week.
Most teams look for strong ball-carriers to take the first carry off a scrum. The Warriors, in particular, like to run either Ken Maumalo or Roger Tuivasa-Sheck at the opposition half and force his inside player to join in on the action. Brian To’o’s crabbing run off a scrum set up a destructive Viliame Kikau carry last week too.
Whether or not it came on purpose or not in this one, the six-again call for Justin Olam leaving the line early cost the Storm next to nothing. Campbell Graham’s metres after contact are all that stopped Souths from starting the repeat set from further back than where they started the last.
We’re going to be monitoring these trends for a few weeks yet. It won’t be long before the good teams find ways for the new rules to work for them. The Storm are consistently one of the smartest teams in the NRL, and when the inevitable outrage over teams bending the new rules starts to generate, the defending premiers will no doubt be front and centre.
Friday
New Zealand Warriors
This Kodi Nikorima try last week doesn’t look like much at first, but it’s a beauty.
You don’t always pick up the subtleties of these tries while sitting in the pub watching on a dodgy screen. It’s not until watching it again that I saw Chanel Harris-Tavita’s change in tempo stop Tino Fa’asuamaleaui in his tracks and initiate this try-scoring passage.
The young half sees Fa’asuamaleaui hunched over with his hands on his knees and heads straight for him. With the ball out in front, Harris-Tavita takes three or four quick steps and bang – Fa’asuamaleaui is on his heels and going backwards.
David Fifita does well to cover his inside shoulder and drag Bunty Afoa to the ground. But his diving effort can’t stop Afoa from releasing a pass to Nikorima backing up.
Harris-Tavita has the potential to be special. He’s still only 21-years-old but is adding veteran moves to his bag of tricks already. I’m on the lookout for more of these subtle movements this week.
Newcastle Knights
How good did Jayden Brailey look for the Knights last week?
Kurt Mann put in a good effort at hooker last year, but the Knights are a far more effective and efficient team with the ball when Brailey is providing the service from behind the ruck.
He had the pack moving forward through the middle and has the long pass in his bag to initiate a quick spread across the field. Connor Watson benefited from Brailey’s service when he was able to get on the outside of his defender and put Mitch Barnett through a hole too.
Brailey and Watson are a key pair to Newcastle’s Top 8 hopes. They both started 2021 playing good footy, but consistency has been an issue for this Knights side for a long time. The pair need to impact the game again this week before getting too far ahead of ourselves.
Gold Coast Titans
The Titans played like a team that had read a lot of its own press and turned up expecting it to be easy in Round 1. They came out lethargic and compounding errors only made it more difficult to stay in the game. Oscar highlighted a passage that shows their lack of intent last week when Kevin Proctor released an offload with nobody in support three metres from the try line.
It’s not panic stations by any means. They produced enough half-chances to be encouraged and Justin Holbrook no doubt circled the one-percent areas that could have turned those chances into points throughout the week. Expecting a big improvement against their arch rivals, we should get a better idea of what the real Titans look like on Friday night.
Brisbane Broncos
Eels take the chocolates but I’m left a lot more impressed with the Broncos after that one.
— Jason Oliver (@JasonNRL) March 12, 2021
Turpin & Isaako looked good. Milford already threatening to get back to his best.
Could have been a different result without the injuries.
I really liked what I saw from the Broncos last week. From Anthony Milford, in particular. I wrote more about Milford’s Round 1 performance here, but as far as the Broncos go overall, there is plenty to be encouraged by. They looked like a side that wanted to be out there, for a start. That wasn’t always the case last season.
Brisbane showed some promise with the ball in hand, too. Milford looked more like himself and the pack benefited from a much-improved Jake Turpin behind the ruck. His service – should he stay healthy – will help get the most out of what is still a decent young pack.
However, we saw glimpses of improvement from the Broncos once or twice last season. It doesn’t need to end in victory, but we’re looking for more positive signs in this one on Friday night.
Saturday
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
“This Bulldogs pack has been terribly one-dimensional tonight. Knights are having no trouble defending single players approaching the line without support.” – Me after the Bulldogs Round 1 loss
Fittingly, Rugby League Eye Test confirmed what my eyes saw with the Bulldogs towards the bottom of the NRL in both decoys and supports in Round 1.
Trent Barrett has made some promising signings to improve Canterbury’s attack, but they’re for nothing if the defensive line isn’t challenged through the middle. It’s the little things that make the Roosters, Rabbitohs, Panthers and Storm so good. Their middles work in pairs and force the defensive line into making decisions. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, make things easy by approaching the defensive line one-off the ruck and all by themselves.
They need to improve in their support play through the middle more than anything else this week.
Penrith Panthers
Stephen Crichton kicked more than Jarome Luai last week.
Albeit only two kicks to one, but Luai kicked the ball almost four times a game in 2020 while Crichton only managed ten all season.
Perhaps it’s nothing. Or, maybe it’s yet another point of attack for this dangerous left edge. Having Crichton able to drop it onto his foot with Kikau and Luai flying through on the inside will cause all sorts of trouble for the opposing fullback while forcing the winger to be mindful, giving Brian To’o just a little bit more room to move.
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
The Sea Eagles only scored one try last week, but it was pretty.
Brad Parker isn’t the most dangerous attacking centre in the NRL. His opposite number isn’t losing sleep the night before a big game worrying about how they’re going to contain him. But for all his limitations, Parker runs a great line for a centre. On this occasion, his lead line held Sitili Tupouniua up for long enough for Jack Gosiewski to send Reuben Garrick over in the corner.
Running Gosiewski as the jockey in this shape is an interesting variation on a classic rugby league action and one I’m looking out for again this week.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Latrell Mitchell made a name for himself as the best centre in the NRL before making his move to fullback. The Roosters had great success in getting him in one-on-one situations and allowing Mitchell to use his size, strength and speed to get to the line.
His greatest strength as a fullback so far has been his ball-playing, but is Wayne Bennett now looking to put Mitchell in positions to run the football more often?
South Sydney started this movement a little bit wider of the right post than we usually see. Two players target the inside shoulder of the defence to stall the slide and keep them engaged. That gave Mitchell more room to run the football and he took possession deep enough to get downhill and take on the line at speed.
The defence will be asked to make some tough decisions any time Mitchell receives the ball with his much room to move inside the opposition 20-metre line.
North Queensland Cowboys
Todd Payten is excellent value. Whether you agree with his comments on Jason Taumalolo in his post-match press conference, the honesty is refreshing and his critique is valid.
The media frenzy has been overblown and risks turning Payten into another cliche machine after matches. But Taumalolo’s response on Saturday night is must-watch television. The Tongan captain has a history of bouncing back after failing to run for over 100 metres the match prior. He ran for 294 metres the last time it happened, and that was without the public bake he copped from his coach.
You don’t want to miss North Queensland’s first set in this one.
St. George-Illawarra Dragons
The Red V faithful must be worried about the first half of their Round 1 loss to the Sharks. Slow starts marred Anthony Griffin’s last season with the Panthers in 2018 and the Dragons would have struggled to contain a reserve grade side with what they dished up to start last week. Fumbling grubbers to concede two tries and almost a third, playing the ball without a dummy half; a Sharks side that many have tipped to miss the Top 8 cruised to an early lead as primary school errors plagued a Dragons side that looked as though they had just met on the bus to the game.
We need to see the Dragons start a lot better this week. Can Corey Norman provide that spark in his first game of the 2021 NRL season?
Sunday
Wests Tigers
“Luciano is developing into one of the best back rowers in the game.” – ✔️
“Joey has been one of the best centres in the game before and can get there again.” – ❌
We talked about the rocks and diamonds these two might dish up in 2021 and they give us a clear idea of what that looks like in Round 1.
Luciano played exceptionally well for his Tigers-high 162 running metres. A constant threat in attack, the 24-year-old broke two tackles, threw three offloads and completed five passes – he averaged just 2.5 passes per game in 2020.
Joey, meanwhile, struggled through for his 80 running metres and offered up some questionable decisions in defence. He’s a threat of doing something silly every time his brother is collected with a strong or slightly high tackle too.
This is encouraging, though. A Luciano fend into Joey standing offload into Luciano head-banging run has the makings of mayhem only the Leilua brothers can produce.
It goes without saying, but Luke Brooks needs to be A LOT better this week. He can be given the benefit of the doubt with Adam Doueihi unavailable for Round 1.
Sydney Roosters
I’m watching where on the field Luke Keary finds himself on Sunday.
Now playing in the #7 jersey and assigned to the right edge, he still looked for opportunities to float down the left side of the field. I still have hope for a blossoming combination with Angus Crighton despite the pair lining up on opposite sides.
Also of note, Keary averaged 44 touches per game last season. He took possession 60 times in Round 1. He hasn’t recorded numbers that high since Round 3 and 4 in 2019 when Cooper Cronk missed the first match and only played half of the second.
Players aren’t fixed to one side of the field any more so it’s no surprise to see Keary spending time down the left edge. How often and on what occasions he does make the switch is worth watching out for, though.
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
How many times did we talk about the Sharks middle defence last season?
John Morris mentioned it as a reason for not naming Andrew Fifita in his 17 in Round 1: “Defence has been a huge focus for us. That was one part of our game that wasn’t up to scratch.”
Then this happened:
Jack Williams – a fringe first-grader keeping Fifita out of the side – offers a poor effort through the middle of the field to concede a try and allow the opposition to entertain the idea of a comeback. The Sharks need to be better defending the middle if they’re to compete better with the Top 8 teams after failing to beat any of them last season.
Canberra Raiders
Oscar nailed it in the season preview: “Rather than spend all season camped on one side, I’ll also be watching for Williams to roam a little more in 2021. Just as we saw Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker link up at first- and second-receiver across the field last year for the Rabbitohs, so too could Williams and Wighton combine in attack for the Raiders.”
George Williams was everywhere in Round 1. He equaled his NRL career-high in receipts with 61 for the match, played both sides of the field and asked regular questions of the West Tigers defence.
Perhaps Josh Hodgson returning to the side helped free Williams up with the English hooker really taking control of the side from behind the ruck? It’s been a criticism before, but Hodgson does take too much control at times. He ignored clear calls from Jack Wighton once or twice over the weekend.
Wighton, meanwhile, wasn’t used all that often overall in the season opener. Hodgson’s influence on the side may yet stifle Wighton’s attacking output. He averaged 102 running metres and 42 touches of the ball in 2020 – significantly more than the 68 metres and 34 touches he collected in Round 1.
This is a very good NRL spine but it may take a few weeks to find the right balance.