The Notepad identifies one key player, stat, trend or talking point for every team, every round of the 2022 NRL season.
Friday
Knights
How real was the Knights attack last week?
Scoring 38 points is always good, but how good depends on the opposition.
Putting 38 points on the Titans isn’t the sort of performance that necessarily triggers the turnaround of a season.
Anthony Milford continuing on with his Round 16 form could be considered turnaround worthy, though.
He was great in Round 16. Where he had perhaps overplayed his hand ever so slightly in recent weeks, Milford created a lot more repeatable actions in attack. He’s known for his extravagance. However, it’s the simplicity at which Milford approached the game last week that the Knights will want to see moving forward.
The build-up to Edrick Lee’s first of five tries is something I’d like to see more of this week.
This tight shape here in the middle is where Milford needs to work early in the set. Regardless of his individual form, he’s somebody defences need to consider when running the ball which opens up opportunities around him. He can play short, as he does here, or look wider depending on what the Knights are trying to do in the set.
Milford is placing the defence down the right side with the intention of looking left on the last. Adam Clune is on the same page and turns Kurt Mann back into the middle on the following tackle.
The defence gets off the line quickly which changes Daniel Saifiti’s line but the shift is set and the Knights go searching for points on 5th tackle.
The long pass from dummy half beats the compressed defence and when Milford sees Patrick Herbert bite on Mitch Barnett’s lead line, the Knights five-eighth sums up the situation and makes a quick and simple pass to Lee out wide.
It’s a well-constructed set that would look even more dangerous with Kalyn Ponga adding an option on the right or slotting into the left shift. Ponga isn’t there this week, but if Milford can continue to apply the finishing touches, the Knights attack may yet improve to finish the 2022 NRL season.
Rabbitohs
Are the Rabbitohs back, or was their big win over the Eels just another glimpse of promise ahead of a poor performance?
I started the season thinking the Rabbitohs can compete for the premiership. By Round 11 I’d changed my mind and lowered their ceiling to maybe Week 2 of the NRL Finals.
One pass against the Eels is enough to change my mind on the Rabbitohs again, though. Latrell Mitchell’s return is obviously a major part of any Bunnies improvement, but Cody Walker’s form is more likely to determine their fortunes in 2022. We know Mitchell is going to have a positive impact on the Rabbitohs attack. Walker, however, isn’t quite so reliable.
This pass though…
That is Walker and the Rabbitohs at their best. We saw this tunnel ball a few times last year as the Rabbitohs left side scored more tries than any team anywhere on the field. If Walker is going to connect on these while also having the quick hands of Mitchell out the back, the Rabbitohs can beat anybody on their day.
Consistency has been an issue so I’m not quite ready to raise their ceiling just yet, but a convincing win over the Knights on Friday will force a re-think.
Saturday
Tigers
I’m out of ideas when it comes to the Tigers…
Brett Kimmorley’s idea is to put their best player in the centres where he is fixed to one side of the field. I thought it might be to do with fitness and mobility as he returns from his ACL injury. However, if it was down to that, I’d imagine the rest of the playing group would be aware.
Instead, the players are calling for Adam Doueihi to play at five-eighth.
“I think his best position is five-eighth. But when he has played at centre, he played (there) a fair bit the year before and he did really well there so he is a runner of the ball and if we can get the ball in his hands as much as possible, getting him running the ball, that’s his biggest threat.” – Luke Brooks
“Honestly, I think Doueihi’s best position is where he wants to play, and that’s in the halves. He was our best half last year, he is so dangerous with the ball. I think playing in that six or seven role he can float wherever he wants. At centre he is held to just one spot and for Doueihi to have an impact on the game, he needs to be everywhere.” – Joe Ofahengaue
First of all, I applaud the honesty in Brooks and Ofahengaue’s responses. Brooks, in particular. They could have fobbed the question off with the usual player speak but offered honest and candid responses of which we want to see more of in rugby league.
Second, they’re exactly right.
We’ve been here before with Doueihi. Just last year they shuffled him out to the centres in the hope of improving the Tigers attack and it didn’t work. Things are a little bit different now. Jackson Hastings is capable of providing Doueihi with much cleaner ball to use in attack. However, he also presents as the perfect partner for Doueihi in the halves…
Doueihi is one of my favourite players to watch in the competition so regardless of where he plays, I’ll be focused on him this week.
Eels
The Eels are conceding too many points.
For every good game or promising period Brad Arthur’s side has produced in 2022, they’ve not been able to sustain it and a lot of that comes down to how many points they’re leaking.
Historically, Parramatta isn’t in the hunt for the premiership. They currently rank 10th in the NRL and have done little to improve on the defensive side of the ball all season.
We mentioned their need to start holding the opposition to fewer than 20 points last week. They went on to concede 30 to the Rabbitohs. So, let’s take a closer look at where things are going wrong.
The wingers are copping most of the blame at the moment and that is fairly typical. They often look like the problem as the last player to be beaten. However, the breakdown often occurs long before a winger jams in or stops their slide. I suspect there is a bit more to it than the Parramatta edges making too many bad decisions.
Sunday
Broncos
Tesi Niu is back to play in his first game since Round 6.
Te Maire Martin locked down the Broncos #1 jersey in his absence but injury has ruled the Kiwi out of this one. Rumours of a possible return to the Warriors add further doubt around his place in the 2022 Broncos. Nonetheless, I’m curious to see Niu at the back in this one.
