Recap the latest round of NRL action with the Repeat Set: Talking points, highlights, lowlights and the Play of the Round.
Here’s your Repeat Set for Round 1 of the 2022 NRL season:
- Analysing the first half of Eels v Titans
- Things I Liked
- It was a round to remember for…Relieving penalties
- It was round to forget for…Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
- I can’t stop thinking about…Taumalolo’s minutes
- Play of the Round: Jack Wighton & the Raiders
Analysing the first half of Eels v Titans
The Parramatta Eels and Gold Coast Titans played out a weird and wacky 80 minutes on Sunday afternoon. Following a relatively low scoring six games up to that point, the two teams combined for 48 points by halftime.
Parramatta ran in five tries throughout the first 40 minutes with Sean Russell bagging a hattrick before watching the second half in hospital. Meanwhile, the Titans – without AJ Brimson – did well to keep up with the home side to score four tries of their own. Both teams offered a glimpse into what they want to do with the ball in 2022. However, the new-look game-plans ended up in the bin with the orange peels as the two sides combined for 11 errors in a second half that looked nothing like the first.
It’s difficult to get a good read on either team after Round 1. While 32 points and 28 points look good on paper, the lack of composure and execution in the second half is concerning and it’s not difficult to imagine how Brad Arthur and Justin Holbrook feel about how their team played on the defensive side of the ball.
But it’s the time of year to dismiss anything bad.
“It’s only Round 1.”
“They will come right.”
“They’re a different team when [Player A] returns.”
So, in the spirit of ignoring the bad and focusing on the good, let’s take a look at the positives from the first half and paint a picture of how each team wants to play moving forward.
We’re diving straight into Russell’s third try late in the first half but these two plays from earlier in the match are worth keeping in mind throughout.
This full set is top draw and surely one the Eels have spent the summer training towards. Presented with a seven-tackle set, the Eels get straight into their work by plugging down the left edge. They hit the same side three tackles in a row. Erin Clark is a target and asked to make three tackles in a row while Tino Fa’asuamaleaui makes two and is engaged on a third.
With the middle fatiguing and the Eels into a position to throw a shot, they target the tiring defenders with a four-man shape. Clint Gutherson isn’t ever likely to get the ball here but he is somebody for the defence to consider nonetheless.
Ryan Matterson straightens up with Makahesi Makatoa and Oregon Kaufusi either side of him and Moses a third option out the back. Where the Eels of 2021 would have more than likely looked to go wide at this moment, Matterson turns the ball in and there is Clark, making his fourth tackle in a row.
Side note: Matterson looked great at lock. His skillset is perfect for the position and how it is played right now and he can have a huge influence on the Eels attack as he grows into the role in the coming weeks.
It’s now that the Eels fire a real shot.
Junior Paulo’s gravity holds Sam Lisone at A giving Moses a chance to beat Beau Fermor one-on-one. He pokes his head through but Will Smith does a good job of holding off on Isaiah Papali’i and helps Fermor finish the tackle. Keep an eye out for where Moses is now and where he ends up one tackle later.
Parramatta are back to the middle on 4th tackle. It’s far from a perfect exchange between Reed Mahoney, Matterson and Dylan Brown but the ball ends up where they want it – with Clark and Fa’asuamaleaui back in the tackle.
Jayden Campbell struggled for his numbers at the back a lot in the first half. It’s not unexpected from somebody so inexperienced, but it is an area the Eels were able to capitalise on throughout.
Lisone fills up on the wrong side to start and is forced to swap late in the tackle as Fa’asuamaleaui slowly peels off. Where Campbell perhaps should have been taking the spot at A defender and allowing Lisone to push hard on Clint Gutherson on the inside, Gutherson is instead able to get to the outside of the B defender with relative ease (and thanks to some lovely service from dummy half) which brings Shaun Lane and Toby Sexton into the picture. Those two short balls from earlier in the match are surely going through the minds of the Titans defence, and as Sexton turns in on Lane, Patrick Herbert follows him and shoots out onto Moses.
He’s a second too late and Moses is able to float a ball out to Russell who has been parked on the sideline waiting for his moment.
It’s a well-executed full set, and most importantly for the Eels, it’s patient and to the plan. Too often they went searching for the killer blow when it wasn’t there over the last two seasons. Unfortunately, and it’s an area they might want to focus on when watching Panthers games, they couldn’t stick to it for the full 80 minutes.
As for the Titans, 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.
His control of this set, in particular, stood out.
They’ve just received six again in good ball here and as Smith and Fermor fire a shot on the left, Sexton plots an attacking raid down the right side. It’s great to see the Titans adding some variation to how they’re using Fifita and this play has a lot of potential. It’s taken arguably the best defensive half in the NRL to shut it down.
Going straight back to the left, Sexton takes a long pass, straightens as he catches it and stops the defence from sliding. Fermor is dirty not to receive the pass but it was the best option for Sexton with Mahoney tracking across as cover defence.
It’s simple but executed well under pressure.
Like many others, I’ve circled the Titans spine as a point of possible concern. While one game isn’t enough to feel supremely confident – especially with Brimson not out there – it’s a promising start.
The point for both the Titans and Eels during the week will be to take the positives from the first half and take them into the full 80 minutes in Round 2.
Things I Liked
Kurt Capewell slotting a field goal in his first game for the Brisbane Broncos. The setup for the field goal is one of the worst sets we will see all season right through to the horror pass from dummy half, but it was all forgotten as the ball sailed through the sticks.
The Knights spine linked up really well on Saturday afternoon. Newcastle earned the win through their defence and the 20 points scored is only marginally more than they averaged last season when finishing 15th in attack. However, Jake Clifford and Adam Clune controlled the game well and put together some nice touches with Kalyn Ponga. It won’t be long before we see them nail one resulting in points.
Shaun Johnson back in Warriors colours is something for everybody to get around. He looked right at home in the #7 jersey on Saturday afternoon, and while the Warriors didn’t look particularly good overall, Johnson stood out and did all he could with what he was given. His combination with Eli Katoa could develop into something special. We saw a few instances where he could work well with Reece Walsh in some of the positions Chanel Harris-Tavita was put into throughout the game, too.
Everybody make sure to watch this during the week. We can only dream of this sort of access in the NRL at the moment…
The NRLW keeps producing thrillers. The three-time NRLW champions Brisbane Broncos were pushed to the end by the St. George-Illawarra Dragons in what might be the best game in the history of the competition on Sunday afternoon. Brisbane are the benchmark. Their start to this season suggested they would make it four in a row with relative ease. That no longer feels like the case. The Parramatta Eels will be in the hunt alongside the Dragons, too. Maddie Studdon continued her impressive form in 2022 while Bo Vette-Welsh finished up with a try, two line breaks, seven tackle breaks and 241 running metres in another superb match from the Eels #1.
It was a round to remember for…
We could put the Newcastle Knights in here. The Brisbane Broncos and Canberra Raiders deserve a mention here as well. However, it was a round to remember for those that love a relieving penalty.
