Recap the latest round of the 2023 NRL season with the Repeat Set as we break down some of the best plays from the weekend.
– How the Storm broke through the Eels short side
– McInnes breaks two records
– Mahoney, Kikau and the usual end-of-season Bulldogs
– A Te Whare try
How the Storm broke through the Eels short side
The Melbourne Storm haven’t quite been at their best this season. It hasn’t felt like they’ve come anywhere near the peak of their potential. In fact, Cameron Munster sprayed his side for a lack of effort in the little things this season heading into Round 22.
I expected a significant improvement from the Storm and we got just that as they thumped the Parramatta Eels 46-16 on Friday night. With the little things sorted and at the front of their mind, the Storm laid a platform for the tactical details to dominate.
A lot of those details revolved around Clint Gutherson.
His effort is never questioned. Gutherson has an ability to put himself in positions many other fullbacks simply wouldn’t whether it be with the ball or without it. In attack, he’s constantly hovering around the ruck, spying opportunities in the line or available for an offload. In defence, he’s constantly tracking across the field in cover. It’s not often you see the Eels concede in the corner and Gutherson isn’t in the frame.
However, the Storm managed to nullify Gutherson’s role in defence and even used his desperation to constantly move against him.
Melbourne played for a 6:4 split throughout the match scoring three tries along the way. The first comes with Gutherson filling in the line on the short side and some superb work from Harry Grant and Jahrome Hughes to score.
Marion Seve’s quick scoot out of dummy half brings Brendan Hands and left edge backrower, Bryce Cartwright, into the tackle.
Cartwright’s involvement is important as, to make up for his back rower being left on the ground in the tackle and not flipping Junior Paulo from the openside to the short side, it Gutherson brings himself into the line. He’s never quite steady at A and does have a tendency to over-chase from this spot.
Grant’s work out of dummy half pulls the marker to the left of the ruck before he passes across to Hughes who wrong-foots Gutherson to break into the backfield and score under the posts.
It’s not the last time Melbourne would play to the space just outside of the right post and attack four Eels defenders on the short side.
Gutherson plays a key part in the Eels defence in general. Given his work rate, he’s able to install himself in the line to add the extra number and thicken up the Eels line before peeling out the back in cover when the ball moves past him or towards the opposite edge to where he starts.
Around the 30-metre line, Gutherson will put himself behind the ruck or slightly down the short side, ready to plug the spot at A if the peeling third defender can’t reload in time. Closer to the line, it looks as though he sets the long side numbers first while preparing to fill up at the short side A spot if required.
The Storm scored twice by bringing Gutherson into the tackle just outside the right post, pitching four attackers on four defenders.
While Parramatta may have had the numbers right, without more inside pressure on Hughes, the Storm halfback is able to engage the four-in defender and send big Eli Katoa straight at Daejarn Asi. It’s a matchup Katoa will win more often than not.
Tepai Moeroa’s quick play-the-ball (he scrambled the line before Josh King’s try, too) is crucial. Gutherson and the Eels defence can’t set themselves with the fullback, J’Maine Hopgood and Joey Lussick all looking to fill the same spot around the ruck on the long side of the defence.
They played to the same scenario in the second half, too.
Christian Welch is able to release and offload to extend the play, allowing Tyran Wishart to get to that spot just outside the right post.
Keep an eye here on Seve and Katoa; they are in a typical shape for a backrower and centre to start. But as they see Gutherson stuck in the tackle and with Hughes getting around to the short side, Seve and Katoa fall into shape.
Where Hughes previously played short to run Katoa at Asi, he this time plays out the back. Bailey Simonsson is all too aware of the threat Katoa plays to Asi and the Eels centre jams in, his winger follows, and Seve’s quick hands feed Will Warbrick on the wing.
Beautiful rugby league.
As is so often the case, Melbourne played their best game as the pointy end of the season approaches. At their very best, they’ve always been able to nullify the best traits of the opposition and they did just that on Friday night.
McInnes breaks two records
You’ll have seen by now that Cameron McInnes set a new record for most tackles in an 80-minute NRL match with 81 on Saturday night. The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks lock tackled anything that moved to break Elijah Taylor’s record of 77 tackles in a match set back in 2015.
Perhaps more impressive as the relatively unknown record McInnes’ broke in the process:
The Sharks played with only 40% possession with McInnes’ 14 runs even more incredible when you consider his workload in defence and the fact only Nicho Hynes (17) and Jesse Ramien (18) recorded more runs throughout the 80 minutes.
He’s not played his best football this year. McInnes looked his most dangerous in 2022 when used as a catalyst to shifting the ball. He provided a quick play-the-ball which scattered the defence and allowed the Sharks to play with what the defence gave them. This year, however, he’s not had quite the same impact whether it be due to form or by design. Still, he’s proven here that at the very least he can act as a workhorse middle forward on both sides of the ball.
Mahoney, Kikau and the usual end-of-season Bulldogs
It’s the time of year when it all clicks for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
They’ve developed an incredible knack for starting an NRL season by grossly underperforming expectations before stringing together some encouraging form towards the back end, raising the expectations for the following season.
While it’s only one 23-22 win over the Dolphins, the Bulldogs displayed the sort of signs in attack that suggest they might catch a few teams napping throughout their last four games of the year.
Remaining NRL Draw: Bye, @ Knights, @ Raiders, Sea Eagles, @ Titans
Viliame Kikau’s return provided the Bulldogs attack with a massive boost. The big Fijian finished up with a try, 68 running metres on seven carries, five tackle breaks and two offloads. They aren’t numbers that jump off the page as season-saving, but they’re solid across 61 minutes playing in his first game since Round 4.
Perhaps more notable is what he did for those around him. Reed Mahoney, in particular.
Mahoney developed from a hard-working tackle bot to a genuine attacking threat throughout the 2021 and 2022 NRL seasons. With only seven try assists in his first 56 career games, he handed out 20 in 45 games across the two breakout seasons for the Parramatta Eels.
This year, however, the 25-year-old hasn’t offered enough with the ball to make up for his struggles in defence.
We may have caught a sign of things to come, though.
Mahoney plays a short crash ball to the middle leaving five Dolphins defenders spread across half the field. He’s directing another lead runner to the right side in response to the split, but you can see the moment he spots the opportunity down the left side.
Kikau + Kodi Nikorima = try time.
While he’s not going to rip through teams like a Harry Grant or Api Koroisau, Mahoney is very good at spotting mismatches on the line. He developed a nice partnership with Junior Paulo at the Eels and we might just see him do the same with Kikau across the remaining rounds of the NRL season.
It’s not always going to come so easy, but this is another encouraging action.
Kikau’s development as a ballplayer started at the Penrith Panthers with shapes like this:
A simple block with Kikau as the lead, and given how much he has improved in tipping the pass on, he doesn’t even need to touch the ball to threaten the defence.
It’s also another tick for Toby Sexton. The expectations of him have grown a little bit larger than they perhaps should be, but this is what he can offer the Bulldogs: A straight line at the defence, digging deep before releasing the pass.
Mahoney, Kikau, Sexton and, as usual, Matt Burton, all produced nice moments with the ball for the Bulldogs. Their defence is an obvious issue and the major hurdle they need to clear if finals football is to be on the cards any time soon. Still, piling up a few points will help to end yet another disappointing NRL season on a relative high.
A Te Whare’s try
You can allow yourself to forget about Valynce Te Whare’s defensive struggles in first grade when he’s doing things like this:
While he’s let a few tries in throughout the NRL season, his unique combination of size and speed on the edges allows him to score tries from situations others simply couldn’t.