Unpack a scrum of three talking points before every round of the NRL season. In his feature this week, Oscar takes a look at the influence of Jackson Hastings on the Wests Tigers attack.
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.
Centre-Field Scrum – What’s centre frame in the Rugby League lens this week?
How Hastings influences the Tigers attack
We’ve probably talked more about Jackson Hastings than any other individual player this season but he continues to dish up excellent RLW content regardless of where he lines up. (NB – this piece was geared towards Hastings in the #13 jersey but he’ll likely slot back into the halves this week with Luke Brooks injured unless Jock Madden is preferred at halfback. Either way, Hastings’ involvements will still be key.)
His influence was palpable at halfback to begin the season when he posted ridiculous numbers in the receipts column to steer Wests Tigers across the park. His dominance as a ballplayer immediately improved the direction and intent with which Wests used the ball but as defending teams did their homework, Hastings was quickly smothered by the opposition as they sought to take him out of the game. The ball tended to go wherever Hastings was late in the set and it became predictable and often comfortable to defend.
Playing at lock-forward in the last fortnight, however, Hastings’ influence on the Tigers is again at an all-time high. He had 66 touches against the Panthers in Round 18 and another 51 against North Queensland last week, but importantly Hastings isn’t necessarily the one making the play on the last tackle. Instead, he’s using his involvements to create scoring opportunities for Luke Brooks and Adam Doueihi in the halves outside him.
Ballplaying locks are a must-have in today’s game but it’s a role the Tigers have struggled to fill in the past. With a genuine ballplayer slotting in at pivot, however, Wests’ backline shifts are suddenly moving with a whole lot more time and space.
Take this action to open the scoring for Wests against the Cowboys last week:
A clean long pass from dummy-half is key here.
A decoy line from James Tamou holds up North Queensland’s ruck defenders and the pass from Fa’amanu Brown allows Hastings to get at Jeremiah Nanai. Chad Townsend knows that’s a match-up in favour of the Tigers and is dragged in ever so slightly when Hastings slows at the line. That subtle change in tempo from Hastings – and a perfect lead line from Kelma Tuilagi – fools North Queensland into thinking Wests are playing short and by the time Hastings’ pass goes out the back, Brooks’ decision has already been made for him. Peta Hiku and Kyle Feldt have both jammed in which leaves Brent Naden unmarked in the corner to open the scoring courtesy of a lovely Brooks pass.
Having found early on what worked against the Cowboys, Wests smartly went looking there again in good-ball.
The Tigers set with the same shape on their left edge only this time the play-the-ball is closer to the posts and there is no forward decoy pushing up beside the dummy-half. Jake Granville is allowed to fly off his line at Hastings as a result and gets there in time to shut the play down on tackle one. Wests chew up another four tackles by shifting to both edges but importantly they work into position for that same pet play to the left on the last.
The Tigers make two key adjustments to their earlier attempt here to execute the play; 1) the play-the-ball is a few metres wider which opens up the left-hand side of the field for a wide pass from dummy-half and 2) the Tigers have a forward decoy runner pushing up beside the ruck which holds up North Queensland’s ruck defenders.
Coen Hess (circled above) spends half a second worrying about Fonua Pole one-off the ruck which gives Hastings an extra half a second longer to dig into the line, engage Nanai and Townsend and create the overlap. Brooks has Naden and Daine Laurie running in a block shape this time when he takes possession but the effect is the same as with Naden’s opening try. Hiku and Feldt are dragged in and the Tigers capitalise on the space left on the outside – again courtesy of a perfect Brooks pass.
We can’t know for sure, but I’m happy to give Hastings the credit for making these adjustments on the run. He’s always playing a few tackles ahead and his involvements here – while not registered on the stats sheet – were crucial to Wests cracking the second-best defence in the NRL twice and in similar fashion. Hastings knows how to create space for his teammates and he knows the importance of getting to specific areas on the park to attack from, as evident in the lead-up to yet another signature barge-over try from Brown.
Receiving a poor pass from dummy-half, Hastings reacts to what’s in front of him to engage the defence and poke his nose through the line. Some fancy footwork beats Coen Hess which scrambles the Cowboys’ defensive structures by inviting Reece Robson and Jamayne Taunoa-Brown into the tackle. Hastings then generates a quick play-the-ball which allows Brown to play on the front foot and pass Joe Ofahengaue into Tom Dearden and Tom Gilbert on the line. Ofahengaue threatens to push through the tackle which invites Taunoa-Brown into his second consecutive defensive effort this set while Robson, Dearden and Scott Drinkwater all peel to fill the spaces around the ruck.
All the above are signs for Brown to go himself on the following play, which he does.
Brown has now scored four tries from seven games in this exact fashion. Taunoa-Brown is fatigued and so concerned about Hastings organising shape on his outside that he forgets about the man with the ball as Brown dives low to score. It’s entering predictable territory but with Hastings disrupting defensive lines and getting Wests to certain areas – or at certain defenders – on the park, Brown’s burrowing technique will continue to be a repeatable scoring action for the Tigers.
This scheming, organising role is one Hastings can play regardless of the number on his back. He’s naturally an ‘on the ball’ player and as far as team balance goes, having Hastings in the middle of the field at the very least means they are no longer one-sided in attack. Playing at lock allows Hastings to get on the ball as often as he likes and set things up for teammates on either edge, as he did for what should have been a match-winning try to Starford To’a.
With 70 metres to travel and just three tackles left in their last possession of the game, Hastings works back behind the ball and in position to orchestrate this left-side movement midway through the set:
A two-pass shift gets Brooks into a positive match-up against Nanai who rushes out to shut things down but can’t get to the ball in time. Quick hands to the edge then sees Asu Kepaoa generate good yardage on his way to the 40-metre line, but the full effect of this shift isn’t apparent until FoxSports gives us a wide shot on the replay:
We haven’t seen North Queensland’s defensive line look like this too often at all throughout 2022.
They have all tracked the ball as Wests shifted to Kepaoa and they are still getting themselves in position when the Tigers play the ball and swing it right. Left-edge backrower Luciano Leilua is just about smack-bang in the middle of the field and has a gaping hole on his inside, which means there are just three Cowboys (including winger Murray Taulagi who has dropped back for the kick) defending half a field on the open side if Wests are good enough to get the ball there.
They are.
Hastings knows the space has already been created out wide so he doesn’t overplay his hand here. He straightens on his run just enough to make Zane Musgrove a short option before shifting it smoothly on to Doueihi who is now one-on-one with Leilua. Dearden is still tracking sideways worried about the shape on his outside which opens up the hole for Doueihi to poke his nose – and his ball carrying arm – through. Laurie is in perfect supporting position on the inside and races away to put To’a over untouched in the right-hand corner as the Tigers faithful cheer.
Hastings’ involvement here is a testament to both his ability and his growth as a player in 2022. Even in the unfamiliar position of lock, Hastings knew exactly what play to put on in the moment and more importantly he knew how to execute it.
How many times have we seen the Tigers chasing points only for Brooks to hoist it up on the last and hope for the best? Instead, with a few minor involvements here Hastings gets his team to the 40-metre line and in position to shift it late in the count.
Wests average just 13.7 points per game to be the worst attacking team in the NRL this season. Since Hastings moved to lock two weeks ago, however, the Tigers have put a combined 42 points on the two best defensive sides in the competition. Of the seven tries Wests have scored since moving Hastings to lock, he’s had a leading role in six of them and the Tigers look an immediately improved attacking outfit.
For the record, Hastings has also made 77 tackles for just four misses in his past two 80-minute games in the middle. He’s without question the Buy of the Season for mine and I’m looking forward to seeing how much the Tigers attack improves with Hastings in the #13 jumper for the remainder of the season.
Head Noise – What’s living rent free in my head this week?
Nothing rattles footy fans (and players) more than when the head noise kicks in. To avoid this as best we can, I’m writing down anything ringing around my head each week and hopefully we can figure a few things out along the way.
– Latrell on the counter
– Tom Dearden & Reece Robson
– Adam Doueihi from the scrum
– Ezra Mam
Latrell on the counter – Trell Mitt has made for some great content since making his return from injury four weeks (and four wins) ago. He’s added polish to South Sydney’s backline movements and his organisational skills in defence are sorely underrated, but what’s stood out to me in the last two weeks, in particular, is Mitchell’s eagerness to turn defence into attack.
Following a Storm error, the Rabbitohs scoop up the loose ball and Mitchell immediately looks to counter. He doesn’t even get the ball here but it’s the third or fourth time I’ve noticed Mitchell explode into frame following an opponent’s mistake in the last month. It won’t be long before Souths turn one of these half-chances into points.
Tom Dearden & Reece Robson – The Cowboys are flushed with attacking talent this season but one combination that’s flying under the radar is the way Dearden and Robson are linking up across the park. If one makes half a break the other is always in the frame and they nearly combined for a lovely little short side shot last weekend.
Dearden looks so good when playing over the ad line around the ruck where his footwork and strength through contact is a constant threat. In this instance, he burns the marker defence with ease and threads the needle to pass back inside to Robson in space. A rare error from the Cowboys hooker spoils a certain linebreak and a probable try for the Cowboys here, but I’m looking out for this shot again before the season is out.
Adam Doueihi from the scrum – Is there a more dangerous player one-off the scrum than Adam Doueihi?
