The Notepad identifies one key player, stat, trend or talking point for every team, every round of the 2022 NRL season.
Saturday
Titans
I, for one, am surprised at how comfortable Toby Sexton looked in Round 1.
His talent is clear but the control and composure is something we don’t often see in a 21-year-old halfback. I covered him a little bit on Monday and want to see if he can back it up again:
“The control Sexton took of the side is especially encouraging. He looked like an experienced #7 in how he passed the team around the field and straightened the attack. Like the negatives, we can’t read too much into a single game against a side unwilling to put too much into defence. Still, Sexton looked the part as the Gold Coast’s first-choice halfback.” – Repeat Set: Round 1
How he combines with AJ Brimson will be crucial to the Gold Coast’s finals chances this year. Brimson missed last week but is expected to play on Saturday. However, Jayden Campbell is under an injury cloud at the time of writing which would push Brimson to fullback.
Here’s hoping we see the whole Titans first-choice spine on the field this week.
Warriors
The Warriors have once again decided that Kodi Nikorima isn’t their man to wear the #6 jersey with Chanel Harris-Tavita back in the halves alongside Ash Taylor this week. It’s not ideal, obviously. Shaun Johnson’s return lasted only a week and they’re missing out on four more weeks of developing combinations with the players around him. However, Harris-Tavita and Taylor have a month to get things going.
This one set provides a pretty clear idea of where things went wrong for the Warriors last week.
It’s too side-to-side and all happening without earning the right to look wide.
They’ve just collected a loose carry and settled Addin Fonua-Blake into the middle – good starting point. From there it’s wide on first tackle where Euan Aitken and Kodi Nikorima get tangled up which allows the defence to slide and cover the shift with ease. The path the Warriors take back to the right edge is interesting with Wayde Egan acting as the ball player. However, it’s all a bit premeditated and he does little to stifle the defence in the middle.
Shaun Johnson takes the tackle and it’s out wide again, this time Nikorima and Aitken get it even worse which leaves Rocco Berry with the ball and no other option but to take the tackle. Nikorima does well to pull Andrew McCullough out of the line (perhaps he noticed that earlier in the set) but can’t execute on the pass and the Warriors get through another tackle without troubling the defence.
While this set ended in an ugly try, the process is a huge concern. Every team needs a little bit of luck. The Warriors received some here when the Dragons failed to clean up a Dallin Watene-Zelezniak grubber. However, luck doesn’t get you very high up the NRL ladder.
Sharks
Nicho Hynes is still learning how to function within the attack as the main man. It’s going to take some time for him to get really comfortable but that’s interesting for us. Seeing how he develops and how he intends to play as halfback is something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
It certainly looks as though he’s going to be the more dominant and on-ball half at the Sharks with his 51 touches of the footy outnumbering Matt Moylan’s 40 touches. And its spots like this, that while dangerous, were a little bit clunky in Round 1.
Braden Hamlin-Uele flicks little Tom Starling aside. Blayke Brailey and Hynes notice the man on the ground straight away and play directly at him. The intent to target the slow defender is bang on and Hynes starts to engage the B defender before it cramps up and he’s forced to flick a pass to Dale Finucane. Far from perfect, but on the right track.
Getting rid of the ball on 4th tackle is a positive here, too. He got caught a few times towards the end of sets and leaving Matt Moylan as the only kicking option isn’t ideal.
Eels
I dug into the Eels on Monday so it would be worth looking back at the Repeat Set if you missed it.
To sum it up, their attack in the first half was great. Not just because they scored points, but because they appeared to make changes to what held them back last year and implemented them well from the jump. The second half, however, wasn’t quite so good.
Perhaps the game state, the pressure of a fast finishing Titans side and the fatigue of early-season football had an impact. I’m keeping a close eye on them again this week.
Note: Would love to have had Ryan Matterson here for Round 2. He’s definitely going to be on the list when he returns after a very encouraging performance in the middle last week.
Cowboys
There is a lot to think about when it comes to the Cowboys:
– Dearden + Townsend: The pair didn’t create nearly enough points last week, but unless my eyes are deceiving me, it was more down to a lack of execution than creativity and ability. I don’t think they were that far off.
– Taumalolo’s minutes: Like last week, I’ll have one eye on the Cowboys bench. Taumalolo only played 51 minutes last week and it didn’t feel like nearly enough. He looked good in his second stint – the energy is there. I’m looking for a bump up closer to 60 minutes this week.
– Tom Gilbert: Oscar is on record as Tom Gilbert’s biggest fan. Let me get in there a little bit, too. There is a lot to like about his game regardless of the position he’s playing at the time.
– Mitchell Dunn: Dunn completed more passes than any other Cowboys forward (excluding hookers) with seven in 48 minutes last week. He’s clearly there to move the ball so that’s a focus for me again on Saturday night.
Raiders
Well, well, well…Jack Wighton.
I seem to change my tune on him every year.
2019: I’ve never liked the move to 5/8 for Wighton.
2020: Thinking Jack Wighton wouldn’t be very good at 5/8 is the worst call of my career.
2021: While Jack Wighton was fantastic at five-eighth across 2019 and 2020, he hasn’t developed his game in the slightest in 2021.”
2022: He played one of his best ever games as a five-eighth in Round 1. Active without overplaying his hand and dominant as a ball-runner, it’s exactly what the Raiders want from him every week.
Do it again, Jack.
Sunday
Knights
I’d love to see what the Knights attack looks like with Kalyn Ponga playing well…
Jake Clifford and Adam Clune had the ball singing in Round 1 and the fullback wasn’t particularly effective throughout the match. He did, however, touch the ball 53 times.
