The NRL Preview Notepad helps you get ready for Round 13 with talking points, players to watch and trends to follow every week.
Thursday Night Members Preview
This week we’re looking into the try-scoring splits for each team heading into Thursday night footy. Despite swapping Moses Suli and Zac Lomax, the tries have continued to come down the right edge for the Dragons. The big change, however, has come in where they’re conceding.
Te Whare on the bench
Let the NRL world rejoice. The big man is back!
Valynce Te Whare is destined to become a cult hero in the competition and kicked off his career with a two-try performance at Magic Round.
Since then he played just the one Queensland Cup game – a relatively quiet one at that.
Named on the bench this week I’m curious to see how Wayne Bennett uses him. Perhaps he takes a ‘throw him in the middle and let him work’ approach?
There is little doubt Te Whare can make a dent in the defensive line through the middle. In short stints, the concerns around his own defence aren’t quite so great packed tightly in the middle of the field with teammates on either side of him. Nonetheless, his being named makes what might otherwise be a bit of an ugly Thursday night footy game worth watching.
Derby & Laybutt Debut
Robert Derby will make his NRL debut for the North Queensland Cowboys this week.
He has been one of the better wingers at Queensland Cup level this year and it’s not a surprise to see him make the jump.
Some numbers:
– 9 games
– 7 tries
– 39 tackle breaks
– 5 line breaks
– 178 running metres per game
– 23 handling errors (most in Hostplus Cup)
Some clips:
Derby isn’t the biggest winger running around but his footwork allows him to split defenders to work up the field in yardage and beat them in the corner.
If nothing else, he’s quick.
Zac Laybutt is also making his NRL debut this week and will likely play inside Derby in the centres.
Some numbers:
– 4 games at fullback
– 1 at five-eighth
– 1 at centre
– 2 tries
– 4 try assists
– 25 tackle breaks
– 2 linebreaks
– 93 running metres per game
Some clips:
Laybutt is a dangerous ball carrier on the edge. Tom Weaver is a good defensive halfback but Laybutt made this look easy in the end.
Skipping off his right foot, tucking the ball in his left hand to fend with his right – nice.
There is a good chance Laybutt sets up Derby’s first NRL try on Friday night, too.
Again you can see Laybutt use his speed to engage the winger before shifting the ball out for his winger to score. Earlier in the same game, we again see the skip off the right foot but this time, he flicks an offload out the back.
The Cowboys are struggling and really need to win this one if they’re to keep within touching distance of the Top8 through the State of Origin period. I’m excited to see Derby and Laybutt link up regardless of the result, though.
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Ponga at the back
Kalyn Ponga, to my surprise, missed out on Queensland selection so he’s running out for the Newcastle Knights in Round 13. Notably, he will be running out in the #1 jersey.
The move seems to have come more as a response to Lachlan Miller’s struggles at the back and is less to do with how Ponga is transitioning into the halves.
That can’t be it for the five-eighth experiment again, can it? Surely not…
I like Ponga at five-eighth. To go over old ground from two weeks ago, he is able to pop up in threatening positions more often wearing #6.
“Instead of taking a tough carry to help drag the Knights out of yardage earlier in the set, Ponga is in a position to make the most of a strong Bradman Best run.”
Having just defused a kick or taken a tough carry as a fullback, Ponga is unlikely to have been in position to capitalise on the big forward plugged down the short side. It’s his absence from these actions that I’ll be looking out for on Sunday.
Sure, there are concerns over Ponga’s defence. You can’t fault his willingness to put his body on the line, though. Attitude is half the battle in defence and Ponga can be a decent defender in the front line if given time. Whether or not he gets it remains to be seen.
Selecting Miller in #14 is strange, too. Assuming the Knights still believe he has a future at fullback, having him play out a full 80 minutes in reserve grade may have served him better. Perhaps he’s there as cover given how often Ponga has needed to leave the field so far this season.
In other Knights fullback news, they’ve also made a fullback change at Cup level with Bailey Hodgson being shifted to the wing in favour of David Armstrong.
Christian Tuipulotu
It’s the time of the NRL season when we scroll down the team lists and spot names we don’t recognise or names in spots we don’t expect.
Christian Tuipulotu at #14 for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles is one of those names in a position I wasn’t expecting to see this week.
He has looked comfortable on the wing throughout his 26 NRL appearances but was pushed out of the side upon Jason Saab’s return. Brad Parker and Tolutau Koula are doing enough in the centres to keep Reuben Garrick from moving one spot in, too.
That leaves Tuipulotu as the odd man out in the backline, but a shift in the backline may not be the plan off the bench this week.
Tuipulotu grew up playing on the edge. Albeit a long time ago and all of his NRL and NSW Cup appearances have come on the wing or at centre since then, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him thrown in closer to the middle at some point this week. He’s a big unit, runs the ball hard and has defended well out wide despite his inexperience.
Whatever role he does play this week, Tuipulotu is one of the best young prospects in the competition and worth keeping an eye on.
What’s doing here?
Nothing makes my eyes roll back in my head quicker* than “we need to get rid of scrums”.
But what is this…?
The Raiders have managed to sneak four players into the front row after Elliott Whitehead stuck his head through as the ball is being fed.
I’m not sure if it’s a one-off or something the Raiders have implemented on purpose, so I’ll be keeping an even closer eye on their scrums that usual.
*References to “the wrestle” is probably in top spot, actually.