Unpack a scrum of three talking points before every round of the NRL season. In his feature this week, Oscar surveys Brisbane’s options in attack while Pat Carrigan is on the sidelines.
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 the Broncos adjust without Carrigan
We get our first look at the on-field fallout of Pat Carrigan’s four-week suspension tonight when the Brisbane Broncos take on the Sydney Roosters at the SCG.
Carrigan’s State of Origin heroics caught the eyes of the NRL world but in reality, he has been producing those sorts of performances for Brisbane all season. He gets through a mountain of work in defence, carries the ball well and most importantly has the ballplaying skills to free up Adam Reynolds in attack.
Unlike at South Sydney where Reynolds played primarily at first-receiver, in Broncos colours the veteran halfback is afforded to play a little wider of the ruck thanks to the work of Carrigan at pivot.
We need to give some credit to Tesi Niu’s slick footwork and movement before taking possession here, but it’s an action he and Reynolds were able to put on thanks to Carrigan’s work from first-receiver. Carrigan gets three defenders interested here before shifting to Reynolds in space where the damage had already been done.
On both sides of the ruck, this is a role Carrigan has flourished in this season. In yardage sets, Carrigan is equally effective as a ball-carrier as he is tipping it onto a forward partner in a positive area on the field.
The action here in itself is not difficult, but it’s the little things Carrigan does with his possessions that makes it so effective.
His timing to come onto the ball at speed helps Carrigan to beat the marker defenders and play a little wider of the ruck. The way he catches the ball out in front then tucks it in towards his body fools the Tigers defence into thinking he’s going into contact, and the slowing of his feet at the line helps Carrigan make a good pass to Payne Haas who gets one-on-one with Alex Seyfarth in this instance.
If those little subtleties look or sound familiar, it’s because they are. These are the exact actions that has made Isaah Yeo the premier lock-forward in the game for the past two seasons, and with Carrigan replicating these actions Brisbane have rocketed into fifth on the NRL ladder this year as a result.
Even when he doesn’t touch the ball, Carrigan’s presence around the ruck has begun to attract defenders and create opportunities for the players around him. That’s a quality we usually afford to names like Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic, and while I’m not making that leap just yet there are some recent examples.
The marker defence only has eyes for Carrigan here when the Broncos swing it right, and they all switch off once Reynolds gets the ball and looks wide. The fact that Wests have seen Carrigan take possession in this area multiple times already in this game certainly plays a part, as does Jackson Hastings getting called back for offside as Reynolds takes possession. The little #7 has about half a second to identify all this – Joe Ofahengaue with the blinkers on for Carrigan, Hastings retreating late and Fonua Pole alone in the defensive line in front of him – and capitalises smartly to link with Ezra Mam back behind the ruck.
With Carrigan gone for the next month, I’m very interested to see how the Broncos adjust – particularly in good ball. (NB – check out the Ned’s NRL Punting Podcast this week to hear myself and Jharal Yow-Yeh discuss this further!)
Haas, Corey Jensen, Tom Flegler and Carrigan’s own replacement Kobe Hetherington can all string a pass together but none of them do it with the class of Carrigan.
This is a good example from the same game last week. It’s Hass this time tipping to Carrigan, but the big prop’s leg speed isn’t quite there and his catch and pass does little to engage the Tigers defence, who slide accordingly.
In good ball we’ve seen Haas complete this action with a little more success, and I think we’re going to see a bit more of it on Thursday night particularly with Brisbane’s right edge back to full strength.
The difference between Haas’ involvement here and the earlier example is clear. He digs right into the line and looks like taking the tackle himself before pivoting smoothly off his left foot and firing a pass out the back to his halfback. Reynolds has plenty of time and space to work with thanks to Haas’ involvement here, and he uses every bit of it to sum things up with a lovely grubber for Selwyn Cobbo.
The question I’m looking to answer tonight is whether Brisbane are happy to find a short-term replacement for Carrigan in that first-receiver role (Haas or Hetherington for example) or whether they look to mix things up.
Reynolds played almost exclusively at pivot when at the Rabbitohs and it’s an option the Broncos might explore over the next few weeks. In the cardinal-and-myrtle, Reynolds would take possession at first receiver either side of the ruck and link with Cody Walker who had a licence to roam across the field as he pleases. There’s no doubting Reynolds’ effectiveness in these areas but the question then becomes how does Ezra Mam handle a roaming role in attack?
Mam has had a superb debut season in first-grade. A lot of that comes down to the simple role on that left edge that Kevin Walters has given him in 2022, and it’s a risk to ask him to change things up just five weeks out from finals.
Still, we caught a glimpse of what a roaming Mam might look like last week against the Tigers.
Flegler is the forward pivot in this instance and he does a serviceable job getting the ball to Reynolds one pass wide of the ruck. A decoy forward dropping back under holds the defence up a little more and with a little shimmy to the outside, Reynolds creates the overlap and has Mam pushing up in support down the centre channel. The pair don’t link up in this instance, but there is potential for this to work if Mam’s timing is a little better and Brisbane’s edge players hold their depth.
Taking on the resurgent Roosters this week isn’t the ideal time to start trialling new systems in attack, but Carrigan’s suspension has forced Brisbane’s hand and we get our first look at how they might adjust tonight.
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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.
Nathan Cleary’s suspension – I’m not weighing into the ‘how many weeks should he get’ debate but there’s plenty more to consider regarding Penrith and their footy over the next month. Any side that loses their halfback is going to take a backwards step but losing someone like Cleary who touches the ball more than 60 times a game on average will hit harder than most.
So much of the Panthers’ game plan is built around Cleary’s decision-making and his right foot. With those two key components missing, I think we’re going to see Api Koroisau, Isaah Yeo and Dylan Edwards step up and direct the Panthers’ attack. We all know what Koroisau and Yeo can do with the ball in hand but it’s Edwards who still carries an underrated tag despite his stellar form over the past two seasons, and it’s Edwards who I’m looking to this week.
He plays most of his footy on Penrith’s right edge and I’m expecting him to stick with what he knows while Cleary is missing over the next month. We’re used to seeing the Panthers attack down their left edge but it’s Stephen Crichton and Brian To’o who I think might trouble the scoreboard more often while Cleary is on the sidelines.
Doueihi off the scrum again – I picked him out last week (at $5.10 odds) and he rewarded the faith with a solo try off the scrum against Brisbane in the dying stages.
Aside from deliberately putting yourself offside, I’m not sure how else you are supposed to defend this one. Doueihi’s timing is perfect to take possession right on the ad line which allows him to beat any scrum defenders breaking early. Ezra Mam is positioned too wide to make a real effort on Doueihi when he straightens up but even if he did, it’s a one-on-one situation against a much bigger man running at full speed.
Jase has been a vocal proponent of the scrum for a while now and Doueihi’s ability to turn these chances into points is a repeatable and reliable way for Wests to compete against the top teams. It’s just another reason for the NRL to crackdown on the deliberate offside penalties that have become the norm when defending a scrum on your own line.
Manly’s response – The “Manly 7” will make their return to the squad this week but you’re a brave punter if you’re throwing any money at this game. The media has been ripe with news of a rift in the playing group following the Pride jersey debacle, and while the saying goes ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire’, I’m not ready to write off the Sea Eagles just yet.
