The Notepad identifies one key player, stat, trend or talking point for every team, every round of the 2022 NRL season.
It’s Easter Weekend so we all have a little bit more time to sit back, relax and read everything rugby league. So, the full Round 6 Notepad is free this week!
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Thursday
Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are 16th in the NRL in yardage. No team in the competition runs for less than their 1,429 running metres per game.
It’s an alarming stat, but there are more…
Errors are an issue – that will come as no surprise. But offloads? The fact the Raiders generate more second-phase than any other team in the NRL yet they still rank dead last in yardage is surprising to see.
Ricky Stuart will be pleading with his side to be more careful with the football this week. They’re up against a Cowboys outfit that doesn’t have many problems getting up the field for their 1,745 metres per game (3rd in the NRL). I’m not so sure simply holding the ball will translate into significant improvements in yardage, though.
It’s something to keep an eye on this week.
Cowboys
I’m interested to see how Connelly Lemuelu goes off the bench in this one. He has played 20 NRL matches, but this will be his first as a forward. Following 19 games in the centres and one on the wing over the last two seasons, the 23-year-old has spent the summer fighting for a spot in the backrow.
He has featured twice for the Northern Pride in the Hostplus Cup in 2022. Without having seen the game in Round 4, his 38 running metres in 80 minutes is somewhat concerning. The numbers read well in defence. Again, without seeing him play this season and knowing tackle and missed tackle numbers only tell part of the story, 59 tackles for only one miss is encouraging.
Lemuelu has a lot of potential as a centre and winger but I’m yet to see how that translates another spot further in. He’s on my radar in this one.
Friday
Rabbitohs
Damien Cook is starting to find some dangerous form with the ball and Cameron Murray has a lot to do with it. Murray is one of the best ball-playing lock forwards in the NRL. The defence has to consider him as a ball-carrier but know he’s just as likely to tip the ball on or swing it wide. With that, Cook is finding ways to punish the defence if they have too much of a focus on Murray.
You can see Aaron Woods fly out at Murray here before Cook tries to use his lock forward to take a dart himself on the very next tackle.
Later, he exposed the defence as they shot out at Murray. Cook saw the B defender up too quick and ran straight through the hole he left behind. Plenty of hookers will see that play out but not many have the speed to get through the line.
We’re always on the lookout for how Cook moves following a quick play-the-ball or when defenders are left on the ground, but Murray is creating even more opportunities for him now.
Bulldogs
Having spent Monday morning desperately searching for positives in the Bulldogs attack, I’m borderline optimistic for them with the ball this week. I don’t necessarily think it will translate into a lot of points, but unlike previous weeks, they might cause the defensive line a few issues throughout the 80 minutes.
However, they need to engage the line a lot more if they’re to be effective with the ball. A LOT more…
The Bulldogs are last in line engagements according to Fox Sports Lab. I highlighted this shift on Monday, and it’s one that could go a lot different if Flanagan digs a little bit deeper into the line.
Liam Martin as at sixes and sevens in defence; turned in, turned out, and back in again. He’s given slightly too much time on this occasion but can be forced into committing to a decision if Flanagan digs in a little bit deeper.
If we can see the Bulldogs engage the line more in this one, we can start to talk about them finally improving in attack.
Panthers
This won’t come as a surprise to anybody that caught him last year and the first five games to start the 2022 NRL season, but Izack Tago is the goods.
We don’t often see 20-year-old centres look this good.
The step on Braidon Burns. The patience to sum up the situation once in the backfield. The offload that is made to look way, way too easy at that speed with a defender hanging off him.
The Panthers have done it again. They’ve replaced the best young centre in the game with the next best young centre in the game three seasons in a row.
Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show this week.
Broncos
Corey Oates had been quietly putting together a decent start to the 2022 NRL season before Round 5. In and out of the side over the last couple of years and unsure of his position, Oates is back to doing what he does best and eating metres for 161 running metres per game. He picked up 209 metres in Round 2 and has cracked 150+ two other times throughout the opening five rounds.
Adding three tries to his tally in Round 5, is Oatsey back?
Adam Reynolds is starting to pick him out with a few kicks and Oates will back himself in the air against Charlies Staines in this one. With the Broncos likely to struggle for points against one of the best defensive teams in the competition, expect ‘kick it to Oates’ to be a main feature of their game plan in attack.
Saturday
Sea Eagles
I’m curious to see Tolutau Koula this week. Cautious, but curious. His name has been one doing the rounds for a few weeks now but that might have to do with SuperCoach cheapie value more than anything else. Therefore, the expectations will be set somewhat high for the youngster.
I’ve not seen a lot of him aside from a few YouTube highlight videos. There is only so much you can take from quick clips of a footy player and the only thing I can be confident in is that he’s lightning fast.
I want to learn more about the 19-year-old on Saturday evening.
Titans
I mentioned wanting to see David Fifita pass the ball a few more times in the Notepad ahead of Round 5. It wasn’t good, but he gave it a crack…
While the pass is a shocker, the shape is exactly what I wanted to see. Have Corey Thompson on the paint and this shift could have ended a lot differently. I’m asking for the same again this week.
Also, Sam Lisone is on my radar after an impressive performance for the Tweed Seagulls. His ball-playing through the middle was a big part of Tweed’s attack that finished up with 32 points in a dominant victory that started with the big boys. There is a consistent spot in the 17 for Lisone if he wants it and his skill set is exactly what the Titans lack at times.
Storm
I really liked this from Nelson Asofa-Solomona last week. He has a pass in his bag and it’s great to see him taking a bit of control of the Storm pack. You can see him look at the defensive line and tap Josh King on the shoulder telling him to move out a spot. Taking the ball to the line, he passes King onto the opposition halfback for the Storm to pick up a few extra metres in yardage.
If we’re being picky, Asofa-Solomona could have got slightly deeper to engage the B defender for a little bit longer. Nonetheless, I’m looking out for more of these plays on Saturday night.
Sharks
I looked into Ryan Papenhuyzen during the week while writing a piece for Stats Insider. I’m sure the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks looked into the Storm fullback too.
One thing they may have noticed is his intentions to get the ball wide out to Xavier Coates when Melbourne shift the ball wide at roughly halfway.
Here, Felise Kaufusi targets the inside shoulder of the three-in defender as Papenhuyzen sweeps out the back. Knowing that Papenhuyzen can skip through the gap if he slides too quickly, the two-in defender holds up on the slide which allows Coates to get on the outside of his man further out.
Addo-Carr is quick enough to hold longer than most and recovers well to drag Coates down, but not before he releases an offload back inside to Papenhuyzen pushing up in support.
And here it is again: Kaufusi as the decoy, Papenhuyzen sweeping, the defence holding up until the pass is made, Coates streaking down the edge and Papenhuyzen popping up again in support.
Ronaldo Mulitalo is a great, physical defender. He won’t have too many problems when making contact head on. How he reads this play and how those inside him react to Papenhuyzen’s speed will be crucial, though.
Perhaps an intercept is on the cards?
Sunday
Roosters
Here is Joseph Manu sweeping around from right centre into first-receiver in the middle of the field before putting in a beautiful grubber for Sitili Tupouniua who really should have scored.
“Joseph Manu at first receiver.”
The Roosters played with James Tedesco in this spot a lot in 2021. They must have said something to Manu to keep him at the club stuck out on the centres and increasing his involvement may have been part of it.
I’m looking out for Manu in this area a little bit more this week.
Warriors
My response: I don’t think he’s changed a whole lot in his game. He does look to be playing wider and a bit faster with the extra space. He has some room to use a bit more of that deception we’ve been talking about for a while now and just looks more confident and sure of what he’s going to do.
I’d say a summer with SJ and developing some cohesion with Walsh on the left side are the ‘new’ things which have allowed him to put skills he already had or was developing into action a lot better this year.
In terms of changes in opinion though, it is probably wins and stats more than anything else. I’ve seen his win percentage used as a mark against him previously which is just silly. He’s not been a big numbers guy but has two try assists and the big-play 40/20’s.
Let’s see if we can add a bit more to this discussion Fonzie started this week. Chanel Harris-Tavita is playing career-best football but comes up against a better defensive team in Round 6. He’s playing better, but I want to dig a bit deeper into why on Sunday afternoon.
Dragons
Cody Ramsey is going to have a very tough time getting himself back into this Dragons side.
Mat Feagai has grossly outperformed Ramsey in yardage.
With 194 running metres in Round 5, Feagai ran for more metres in one game than Ramsey did in all three of his games this season combined (177m). The 19-year-old picked up 149 metres in the first half which is more than Ramsey has ever managed in a full game on the wing.
Adding to the yardage, Feagai is starting to grow in confidence and threw an outrageous offload last week too.
Getting the Dragons up the field is still most important for Feagai, but it’s good to see him growing in confidence and starting to use some of the ball skills he has at his disposal.
Knights
The Knights attack has been bad since Kalyn Ponga returned. Perhaps they overachieved a little bit to start the season. Regardless, they’ve looked worse with Ponga in the side.
There have been a couple of glimpses of promise. Here, Ponga is at dummy half before playing at first receiver following a strong Enari Tuala carry. You can see that it’s a good position for the Knights to be in with Ponga running down hill at a static defensive line.
However, it looks as though Ponga is a little bit too eager to make a big play in this spot. A tip on to Bradman Best to isolate the big centre onto Daly Cherry-Evans ahead of a quick play-the-ball and reload down the short side is one way this play could have been different.
The Knights are clearly trying to involve Ponga in the attack more often and away from the left edge where he dominated to start his career. With Jake Clifford and Adam Clune playing so well to start the year, it has become a bit more of a balancing act than most anticipated.
I searched for positives in the Bulldogs attack for the Repeat Set last week. Perhaps I do the same for the Knights in this one?
Monday
Eels
Reagan Campbell-Gillard played a season-low 43 minutes in Round 4 while running for a season-low 129 running metres. A week later he played a season-high 66 minutes while running for a season-high 241 metres.
He was outstanding to start last week. Incredible. Playing the first 54 minutes of the match straight, Campbell-Gillard laid a platform for his side and the Eels scored four of their five tries with the big prop on the field.
His minutes are interesting at the moment. Against a Tigers side there to be beaten in the middle, it won’t be a surprise to see Brad Arthur keep him out there for a long period again this week, looking to get the points on the board and build a lead.
Tigers
I sold my remaining Luke Brooks shares last week but I’ll have a passing interest in his move to five-eighth. It’s a desperate move from coach Michael Maguire, one he has tried and that has failed already before. Nonetheless, I’ll be keeping an eye on him among others:
– Jackson Hastings looks like he could be a big part in a Tigers rebuild if it ever really gets off the ground. Unlike so many others in the side, he appears to bust his ass on every play every week.
– Starford To’a has struggled for consistency throughout his 22-game NRL career but throws everything into it. Keeping it simple and ticking a few boxes in yardage is all he should need to keep his spot on the wing for a few weeks.
– Daine Laurie is certainly talented but has disappointed to start the year. He needs to find form – fast.
– Kelma Tuilagi played exceptionally well in Round 1 but hasn’t been given the same opportunity in the weeks since. He might see a few extra minutes this week given the makeup of the bench.