The NRL Preview Notepad helps you get ready for Round 18 with talking points, players to watch and trends to follow every week.
Thursday Night Members Preview
There is a pretty good chance that the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, a team that has had it’s way with those towards the bottom of the ladder throughout the NRL season, makes relatively easy work of the 17th-placed St George-Illawarra Dragons on Thursday night. Anything can happen in this competition, but the expectations for a thriller are relatively low. So, with that in mind, I’m more focused on an individual battle: Will Kennedy v Tyrell Sloan.
The Little Man
The Bulldogs played with Reed Mahoney, Karl Oloapu, Kyle Flanagan and Khaled Rajab in Round 16. A week later, the Dolphins started with Kodi Nikorima, Isaiya Katoa and Sean O’Sullivan.
All of these players are small in stature but productive in isolation. They’re quick with the ball, dangerous against a fatigued defence and can turn a poor attacking set into a good one with a single action. However, as some teams have found out recently, stacking them all on the field at the same time presents issues in defence.
I’m going over some old ground here but just to recap:
The Sharks made the most of the little men in the defensive line to roll through the Bulldogs, pitching a big forward onto Reed Mahoney to generate a quick play-the-ball before directing their next runner at Karl Oloapu.
The Eels pulled the Dolphins to pieces using two set sequences in two different ways to score four tries. All involved an action around a diminutive half on the edges.
Players are bigger and stronger than ever. That isn’t to say the little man is on the outer, but that rotating them smartly and protecting them in defence where possible is becoming a crucial element of the game plan.
This week, Talatau Amone, Jayden Campbell and Kodi Nikorima have all been named on the bench in Round 18.
For better or worse, Campbell is no stranger to the role. He has been the next man up at the Gold Coast Titans for too long, and with Ben Hunt possibly arriving in 2024, Campbel’s place in the side will become more unclear. With an interim coach and Des Hasler no doubt in his ear to an extent, I’ll be keeping any eye on how he is used this week.
Nikorima performed exceptionally well in the halves for the Dolpins in O’Sullivan’s absence but hasn’t been able to retain his spot. O’Sullivan provides the side with direction and it’s in the best interest of the long-term future of the new club that Katoa plays whenever he can. While Nikorima can spot up at dummy half off the bench, that leaves the Dolphins vulnerable in defence. The answer? Apparently Nikorima is being moved to fullback where he can play his part in attack and be hidden away in defence. That’s another role to keep tabs on over the weekend.
Amone’s role is an interesting one, though.
He has come off the bench for the St George Illawarra Dragons in his last two games. Playing four minutes in his first back in Round 15, Amone spent the last 23 minutes of their Round 17 match on the field. Is that a sign of things to come, or a product of the game getting away from the Red V at the time?
He moved into the halves and Jayden Sullivan to hooker so rotation is one thing for this week.
How Amone is used, and whether or not the Sharks spot him or Sullivan up is another.
Amone made four tackles against the Warriors. Three came in one set as he finished off two tackles before Josh Curran made a line for him one off the ruck.
His fourth came on the following set when Addin Fonua-Blake put Bunty Afoa onto the half.
But look at the clock…
Amone entered the field in the 57th minute but didn’t make a tackle until the 75th. Meanwhile, Sullivan defended in the middle pushing his count up to 24 for the match.
Amone, Sullivan and Hunt are all decent individual defenders so the Sharks are unlikely to have their way with them quite like they did with the Bulldogs. Still, put those three in the defensive line along with Tyrell Sloan while defending the goal line, and there might be a few problems.
The game is always evolving. Bench utilities have been popular recently but it feels as though they’ve only been looked at for what they offer in attack. Opposing teams are taking advantage of the deficiencies they cause in defence. Amone, Sullivan and the Dragons is just one example of a little man rotation I’ll be taking an interest in throughout Round 18.
More good NRL & NRLW reads
The demise of Twitter has made stumbling on good NRL content even more difficult so I think it’s important to share it around where possible. Here are a few things – sometimes not specifically rugby league related but lead me to rugby league thoughts – that I’ve read or listened to recently:
- When skies are Gray: Tazmin back on top of rugby league rollercoaster
- Historic Tonga Schoolboys tour to create NRL pathway
- THE WEEKLY: Scott Drinkwater was the man with the tap hammer
Hastings on the run
Jackson Hastings averaged 135 running metres and about 1,400 touches per game last season. He organised the Wests Tigers attack with his control as an on-ball half, and while they didn’t win many games, they played their best football with Hastings at the forefront.
Following his move to the Newcastle Knights, the 27-year-old is running for almost 50 fewer metres at only 77 metres per game. He told Corey Rosser at NRL.com that he was still getting comfortable following a broken ankle last year but we can expect to see him put his head down more in the coming rounds.
“With Tyson coming back I have run the ball a hell of a lot more the last probably four weeks.
“It’s certainly a part of my game towards the back end of the year that you will see a lot more.
Hastings registered his first line break and try in Round 17; a dummy and dart past a turned-out defender with Dylan Edwards premeditating the pass from A.
We often hear about halves needing to run more or a half say they will, but there is a bit more to it than simply running more. It’s getting to the right spots to run the ball effectively that make the difference.
Hastings knows how to move a defensive line so I’m curious to see where those spots to run are and who he picks out in the line this week. My guess is from close to the line, receiving a pass via a nine-block from dummy half with a lead outside Jayden Okunbor.
Other NRL Notes
- Siua Wong has been named to make his NRL debut. He has played all over the place in reserve grade but looked good doing it. While only 20 years old, I’m backing him in to handle the physicality of first grade well.
- Jack Cogger is playing himself into a bigger role at another club if the opportunity comes knocking any time soon. He’s played well within the Panthers system as the new Sean O’Sullivan. This week is a big test, though. The Storm halves are two of the best in the game and the Storm put more pressure on opposing halves than most.
- Nelson Asofa-Solomona is on the edge again.
- Tanah Boyd will surely have Ben Hunt on his mind this week. He’s finally locked himself into regular NRL football as a halfback but may have to look elsewhere if he wants to continue to do so in 2024.
- Jamal Fogarty’s form has flown under the radar a bit. A lot of the numbers suggest the Raiders shouldn’t be so high on the ladder. Even last week they didn’t play particularly well but played hard enough and with enough effort to jag a win. Fogarty is playing a key role there.
- Daine Laurie is in the halves for this week. He has put up numbers in reserve grade. It’s in defence that the Cowboys will surely test him. He’s never made more than 13 tackles in an NRL match. Expect that to change on Saturday.
- It’s not likely, but it’s hard to ignore the Scott Drinkwater State of Origin chat.
- Tesi Niu is back for the Dolphins this week. Poor defensively in his last outing, it’s without the ball that will be most important for him against the Broncos.
- Victor Radley on the edge.