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1: Where do the Raiders go from here? Losing Williams is a massive blow and things are looking seriously grim in the nation’s capital.
This really is looking like the end of the road for this Canberra Raiders side.
It did always feel like 2019 was going to be their best opportunity to win the premiership, and while they did well to reach another Preliminary Final in 2020, they’ve not been able to build on that effort in 2021.
The place is a shambles and Ricky Stuart is lucky to have friends in the right places at the moment. Most other clubs and almost any other coach would be under massive pressure and filling headlines reporting on the last month he has endured. It has been bad enough on the field, but to have Josh Hodgson give up the captaincy and suggest he may need to start looking elsewhere, the wife of one of Stuart’s best performers in 2020 slam him online, and now George Williams depart the club on an afternoon’s notice, we’re into “he’s lost the dressing room” territory.
How they respond on the field in Round 12 will go a long way to telling us where Stuart and the Raiders playing group are at right now.
Where do they go from here?
They’re now desperate for a quality #7. And not just any quality #7, of which there are few available, but a traditional on-ball #7.
Hodgson is on his way out, Wighton is a ball-runner and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad isn’t the sort of fullback that plugs into attacking shapes as a ball-player or creator. They’re going to struggle for direction and creativity without George Williams and there is little on the market that can be signed to make an instant impact.
It was only last week that I said the Raiders “have enough experience on and off the field to trust that they will put it all together sooner rather than later.”
That is no longer the case.
I don’t think they will put it all together any time soon, and I don’t think they will until much later on.
As usual, Dan at Sportress offers an excellent response to all of this: ‘The gambles that don’t pay off’
2: Eels missing Dylan Brown
Dylan Brown didn’t play his best football before being handed a three-game suspension after Round 9. With just one try assist to his name and the Parramatta Eels right edge struggling to threaten the defensive line, the 20-year-old was clearly still working into his new role on the right side after spending 2020 thriving on the left.
He did, however, take a lot of the pressure off Mitchell Moses. Much-maligned and quick to trigger criticism, Moses played career-best football up to Round 9. It’s no coincidence that he hasn’t quite been able to maintain that level with Brown on the sideline.
The pair worked well together to start the season. While Clint Gutherson played both sides of the ball and acted as the ball-player out the back of shape most of the time, Brown and Moses still found ways to link up. A looping long-ball to change the direction of a set often allowed Brown to get downhill and make a dent in his 100+ running metres per game.
But it might be in defence that Brown’s absence is most obvious. As Jack Snape at ABC puts it: “Parramatta’s Dylan Brown is the standout defensive half in the competition. His teammate Mitch Moses rarely does more than he needs to defensively, but the Eels’ number 6 doesn’t shy away from the dirty work and rarely misses a tackle.”
Eels fans don’t need reminding that all five of Manly’s tries in Round 11 came through their right edge defence either…
Jakob Arthur has proven to be a serviceable backup. The Eels will take some confidence out of this three-week block and know they have a reliable half in reserve grade that can step up and fill the gap when required. However, they’re missing the continuity and cohesion of Brown. Moses and Nathan Brown moved the ball around the field and opened up defensive lines with relative ease across the first nine rounds. They’ve not made things look quite as easy over the last fortnight.
Currently 1-1 without Brown with the Rabbitohs and Knights to come, navigating this period for two wins and two losses can be considered a success.
I’m eager to see the impact Brown has upon his return, and whether or not an extra few weeks ironing out the kinks on his new right side at training improves the Eels attack overall.
3: “The Broncos beating the Storm this week”
Dom Heidke of Wynnum Manly Seagulls reserve grade fame wants to hear even more about his beloved Brisbane Broncos and their huge win over the Sydney Roosters last week.
Oscar covered how they piled up so many points in Take the Two on Monday morning. So, not wanting to go too overboard with Broncos praise having already said they’ve finally bottomed out twice before making me look like a fool the following week, I want to talk State of Origin.
Specifically, Tevita Pangai Jr.
He has been excellent this season. His 119 running metres, 2.6 offloads and 29.2 tackles per game don’t do him justice. Whether he’s doing it in defence against David Fifita or in attack running at poor Sam Walker, Pangai Jr is physically dominating those opposite him.
The 24-year-old is an ideal bench option for Freddy Fittler and the New South Wales Blues. They need a Fifita stopper and Pangai Jr is their man. Fittler doesn’t need to be too worried about seeing a famous Pangai Jr brain-snap cost him victory either. The Broncos back rower has been penalised just two times in 11 games so far in 2021. You’d think Pangai Jr is a prime crackdown target for the NRL, however, he has cleaned up his act and is looking better than ever.
Don’t overthink this, Freddy.
Get Pangai Jr out there for Game 1.
Read These
These articles deserve your clicks, likes, shares and comments:
How NRL coaches hide or guard ‘skinny little’ halves like Sam Walker to keep their defence intact – Jack Snape digs into how the Sydney Roosters hide Sam Walker out wide in the defensive line.
The Sea Eagles’ blueprint badly exposed the Eels… and re-opened painful wounds – George Clarke breaks down Parramatta’s horror right edge defence in Round 11.
This is getting embarrassing – Liam obliterates the NRL’s embarrassing press release which attempted to say the game isn’t faster than it was last year.
Are the Raiders’ second half struggles the worst in the NRL? Round 11 2021 stats and trends – Rugby League Eye Test looks at Canberra’s second half struggles, general play passes and error rates.