The Notepad identifies one key player, stat, trend or talking point for every team, every round of the 2022 NRL season.
Thursday & Friday
– Graham returns
– Panthers middle defence
– Leilua’s efforts
– Warriors in the middle
– Broncos in good ball
– Munster in defence
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Saturday
Eels
Ah, Parramatta.
What is the point in even talking about them before a game? Nobody has any idea whatsoever. Every week is a lottery and last week’s ticket went into the bin early.
They’re frustrating to watch and even my guy Colmac at The Cumberland Throw couldn’t muster the energy or fanaticism to conjure up any positive numbers in his Stats That Matta piece this week.
“There’ll be no pretty maps. No deep dive into the numbers. No statistically outstanding player of the week. There’s really no point. I couldn’t see a game plan. There was zero attack. There was nothing even close to an attacking set and no attempt to build pressure.”
Mitchell Moses returns this week and his direction could be the difference. The Warriors ploughed through the Bulldogs’ middle in Round 22 and the Eels can do the same if they approach this game in the right way.
Bulldogs
They became one of the most entertaining teams in the NRL in recent weeks but let one slip to the Warriors last week. Favourites to win before kickoff, the Dogs never really looked like leaving New Zealand with the two competition points. I expect their attack to bounce back fairly quickly, but the Bulldogs right-edge defence was exposed last week.
Reece Walsh punished them twice by heading straight at Braidon Burns. Kyle Flanagan couldn’t close the space quick enough and Burns isn’t particularly quick laterally. That opened up the space out wide and Ed Kosi finished it off both times.
The Eels score 51% of their tries down the left side of the field. Flanagan and Burns will be tested again on Saturday afternoon.
Sea Eagles
The Sea Eagles have found themselves in strife again this week. Their season is unravelling before our eyes and time has run out to fix it. A chance at playing finals football only three weeks ago, the Sea Eagles are playing for the 2023 NRL season now.
Josh Schuster is the one to consider most. With Kieran Foran confirmed to be leaving and Schuster expected to step straight into the #6 jersey, I’m looking to see if he spots up in the position a little bit more in this one. Run him in some five-eighth shapes and see how he goes.
The 21-year-old hasn’t been banging the door down to take over this year. Poor physically and inconsistent on the field, we need to see Schuster start to produce over the final three weeks of the season.
Sharks
Braden Hamlin-Uele is a quality footballer. He’s not kicked on like many had anticipated over the last 12 months, but he’s coming into form now and has a chance to run out with the starting side for a few weeks.
He’s decent enough in yardage and knows how to sniff out a try. It’s his footwork that stood out last week, though.
I love a wraparound try on the line. Reed Mahoney and Junior Paulo have pulled it off a few times over the last two years. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is an expert and set one up last week. Hamlin-Uele looks like a perfect candidate and his reputation as a try scorer near the line will only help.
I want to see Hamlin-Uele and Blayke Brailey link up on the line in this one.
Oscar earned a late call-up to the NEDS NRL Punting Podcast this week where he started to preview the upcoming NRLW season.
Roosters
I’d love to see a heat map that shows where Joseph Manu spends his time on the field. He’s all over the place for a right-side centre. One of the benefits is his ability to contest the high-ball on last tackle.
He regularly floats in-field during a yardage set. Manu often looks to take a carry on the third tackle whether it be from dummy half or a first-receiver. Further up the field, he holds off until later in the set where he can involve himself on a shift or the 5th-tackle kick as he did here.
There are potential problems, though…
Tigers
The Tigers don’t really have the players to pull this off, but you can see the Cowboys tried to fire the ball wide here.
Manu is roughly where he should be but he doesn’t always get back to the right side of the field. If not for a well-timed Joseph Sua’ali’i tackle, Murray Taulagi and Valentine Holmes have acres of space to get up the field.
It doesn’t sound quite as dangerous with AJ Kepaoa and Ken Maumalo out there but the Tigers are a team with nothing to lose.
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Sunday
Dragons
I never thought the day would come where Cody Ramsey is a late inclusion to the side at fullback and I think “that’s a big in for the Dragons.”
Ineffective in yardage and a decidedly average finisher as a winger, Ramsey has been able to carve out a nice role at fullback. He isn’t about to pile up big running metre numbers and start their sets off with a strong carry. That is still very much a role for the wingers and centres. However, Ramsey’s speed allows him to pop up in a Ryan Papenhuyzen-like fashion. He doesn’t have the instinct or the timing of Papenhuyzen, but Ramsey is able to sweep into positions other fullbacks wouldn’t get to in time.
I like Tyrell Sloan as a prospect, but Ramsey deserves the #1 jersey at the moment.
The yardage around him needs to improve, though. Mat Feagai led the Dragons with 169 running metres last week but Tautau Moga managed only 107 metres. Neither Zac Lomax nor Moses Mbye ran for over 80 metres. I’d like to see Lomax, in particular, involve himself a little bit more in this department.
Oscar highlighted a yardage action from the Broncos involving Kotoni Staggs – not a noted yardage generator. Staggs and Selwyn Cobbo went back to back before Staggs took the third carry out of dummy half to take the Broncos over halfway.
It’s not going to be there every time. Perhaps only two or three times in a match. However, Lomax – and to a lesser extent, Mbye – will help overcome a glaring weakness in their fullbacks game.
Titans
I looked into the Titans spine after Round 22 and what it might look like in 2023. It remains a focus for Round 23. Tanah Boyd’s kicking game, in particular.
Otherwise, it’s David Fifita.
