Check-in with the Repeat Set for your Round 1 NRL recap. This week, we investigate the Josh Hodgson experiment, hail Lachlan Ilias as the early breakout player of the year, and get nerdy over pre-field goal play-the-balls.
The Josh Hodgson Experience
Josh Hodgson is one of the best hookers in the NRL when he’s healthy. Of that, there is little doubt. He’s crafty, one of the best at playing forwards onto the ball, and is consistent as any middle forward in defence. He would make most teams in the NRL better by wearing their #9 jersey.
The debate recently, however, is whether or not he will make the Eels better. Is he the right fit for the blue and gold following the departure of Reed Mahoney?
Round 1 didn’t really get us any closer to answering that question. At times, the answer was an unequivocal yes. Mahoney is strong in defence and provides clean service but is still developing his craft around the ruck. Hodgson pushed and pulled the Melbourne Storm defensive line before setting up two nice tries on Thursday night. But by the end of the game, the other Hodgson appeared. The sort that tends to trust what he sees while ignoring the screaming halfback to his outside. It’s difficult to determine how often overcalling his halfback pays off. I’d imagine it’s a lot more than most give him credit. However, it’s fairly obvious when those decisions aren’t for the best.
In the end, we saw most of the Josh Hodgson Experience play out in Round 1.
He played a key role in Parramatta’s first try. It was all very Hodgson-like in the build-up as the Eels pressed the middle to create a numbers advantage on the edge.
The Englishman always has a keen eye for a middle forward getting into the tackle as the third man and peeling back out to the open side. For most teams, that leaves the fullback defending at A on the short side. Having another smaller player in Harry Grant as the A defender is an added boost here, and while J’maine Hopgood doesn’t carry at quite the ferocity other Eels forwards might, you can see where Hodgson is going with this play.
Hopgood’s offload sees Dylan Brown settle in the middle of the field before Hodgson hits the same side. You can see him direct Junior Paulo directly at Tyran Wishart – another opportunity for a big body to run at a smaller defender. Young Tonumaipea sees the threat and jams in to help his smaller teammate and makes enough contact to slow Paulo down while the inside defence recovers, but they can’t reload for the following tackle. Stripped for numbers on the short side, the Storm can’t keep Hodgson and Clint Gutherson from linking up to send Will Penesini over for the opener.
Later, he fills in as a ball player through the middle of the field. Whether Cameron Munster’s tendency to get out in front of the line when defending in this area of the field was part of the scouting report or not, Hodgson changes the tempo of his run across the field, and when he sees Munster only has eyes for Mitchell Moses out the back, plays Paulo into a huge hole to score.
The freakishness of Paulo being able to move like that at 123kg can’t be understated. His footwork and hands don’t make sense for somebody his size.
Hodgson put together some other nice moments. He forced a drop out early and provided some more hints of what could be an incredible partnership with Paulo. We saw the makings of a wraparound with Paulo and other moments where the big prop played a lot wider than he has done in the past. Social media blew up about his questionable left-to-right passes, and while we can argue angles and whether or not they were forward or not until we’re blue in the face, what those passes do show is just how well Hodgson plays the big Eels forwards over the advantage line.
One of those questionable Hodgson decisions came with two minutes to play. With Moses set for a shot at a field goal, Hodgson spun to the short side and handed the ball off to Brown. For a second, you can see Moses through his hands up in frustration.
It looked like the wrong option at the time, but looking back, if you’re a hooker that sees the short side A defender with his hands on his knees and the B defender sat back (and in this case turned in to collect a potential rebound off the post), and you have one of the best short side ball runners in the NRL in your pocket, you’re taking it.
The alternative is a heavily contested field goal attempt after Christian Welch gave two quick middle defenders in Grant and Wishart just enough time to get back to the 10 and apply pressure.
Have I taken the role of Hodgson apologist too far? Maybe…
But I’m not sure he will be getting much of a blast when the team sits down for their game review.
It remains to be seen whether or not Hodgson ends up as a good fit at the Eels. A quick poll on Twitter suggests the majority think it will work out for the best.
Is he a good fit for two halves that demand the ball? Perhaps not. Although, Brown touched the ball 51 times after averaging 48.5 touches per game in 2022. Meanwhile, Moses cleared his 47.8 touches per game from 2022 with 55 on Thursday night. The pair still saw plenty of the football.
Where I’m confident he’s a good fit is with the middle forwards. If the big fellas follow him, Hodgson will put them in damaging positions, and in good ball, over the line.
I’ve spent a lot of time already this NRL season talking about Hodgson, so let me leave it alone for a little while. His influence on the Eels this season will make or break their premiership campaign. With the Sharks, Sea Eagles, Panthers and Roosters to come over the next month, we will have a much better read on Hodgson’s fit after Round 5.
Illias Raising Eye-brows
“Lachlan Ilias, in particular, announced himself as a potential breakout player in 2023. Superb on both sides of the ball, the young halfback’s ball-playing and deception at the line caused havoc to the Sharks left edge defence as the Bunnies flipped the script and piled up points down the right side.” – Round 1 Scores & Team Grades
If Round 1 overreactions are what you’re after, I’ll give you one: This is the season Lachlan Ilias breaks out as a genuine NRL halfback.
He played out the best game of his career to kick off the 2023 season and is striking fear into the rest of the competition in the process. The South Sydney Rabbitohs scored 51% of their tries down the left edge throughout 2021 and 2022. In Round 1, however, the dominated down the right edge thanks to a sweeping Cody Walker and the outstanding line-running of Keaon Koloamatangi, while Ilias provided the halfback play to piece it all together.
Shortly after pulling off a try-saving tackle, Ilias bounced over to score the opener. With Cameron Murray providing the middle service and Koloamatangi pulling Matt Moylan in, Ilias hits the gap and bounces out of a Siosifa Talakai attempted tackle to score.
He’s only credited with one try assist for the night, but Ilias threw the last pass on two tries either side of halftime.
The first is simple early ball to Koloamatangi isolated onto Moylan. In a spot where so many halves would pass up the high-percentage play in front of them for the typical 5th-tackle kick, Ilias made the right play under pressure. The second comes on the back of another Murray pass and Koloamatangi line, but this time, Ilias holds the ball up for long enough to bring Talakai out of the line to put Campbell Graham through it.
A nice touch.
Right. So he hasn’t done anything too impressive here. He bounced out of a tackle and threw two fairly regulation passes for teammates to score on a worryingly fragile Sharks left edge.
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You have to get excited about this try, though. Again it’s on the last tackle. Although, this one looks more like a set play with Latrell Mitchell sweeping. But the shape to kick is where it all comes together. Moylan doesn’t know whether to position himself to trap and scrap, contain Koloamatangi, or slide.
He ends up in no mans land which puts pressure on Talakai outside him who is left to hold on Mitchell. Ronaldo Mulitalo is no hope given what is in front of him.
The Rabbitohs impressed more than any other team in Round 1. Slow starters in the past, they’ve put a focus on starting the 2023 NRL season strong. With the players at their disposal and the cohesion they’re already playing with following minimal turnover during the summer, they’re going to be a benchmark team all year. Ilias, who had his doubters last year, looks set to thrive and take his game to another level.
Dolphins Dreaming
Rugby league is the greatest game in the world.
You might think you know what’s coming, but this is one of the most competitive competitions in world sport. Anything is possible.
Even with the Sydney Roosters profile as a high-risk footy team that doesn’t often start a season particularly well given the common ingredients of an early-season win, few gave The Dolphins a chance in Round 1.
Enter: Wayne Bennett – the Master Coach.
Run hard with the ball. Put your body in front in defence. Complete sets. Stay in the contest.
I wasn’t in the sheds or around training in the build-up to this one, but I’d imagine the plan was just about that simple.
Run hard: 1,771 running metres to 1,373 metres
Put your body in front: 337 tackles at 86.2%
Complete sets: 80%
Stay in the contest: A 28-18 win
The Dolphins played a simple brand that lends itself to good performances early into an NRL season. We did see a handful of issues, though. Their good ball attack looked clunky as Sean O’Sullivan, Isiaya Katoa and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow struggled for cohesion and combination. Scoring points might become an issue in a few weeks.
In the meantime, the Dolphins are set up well to compete. Their pack played in the workmanlike fashion it was expected to, O’Sullivan organised things well in yardage, Katoa looks like the real deal in attack, and Tabuai-Fidow is just getting started as a fullback. Round 2 doesn’t look quite so simple for the Canberra Raiders who will travel to Redcliffe as the Dolphins kick things off in their second home stadium.
Hook this to my veins
It’s a real shame how the Kieran Foran/David Fifita combination came together. Beau Fermor is a huge loss for the Gold Coast Titans. He was a shining light throughout a mostly bleak 2022 NRL season. However, the positive is we will see Foran and Fifita link up a lot more on the left edge.
It’s the combination I wanted for the Titans from the start and it only took 13 minutes to explain why.
Nobody straightens an attack and digs into the line quite like Foran. He’s fearless. Light on his feet and quick for his size, Fifita can hit a gap if he’s presented with one and Foran will find him plenty.
Unfortunately, Foran limped off an hour into the contest which is a huge concern.
“Foran played eight more seasons for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles across two different stints. He played 19+ games in all eight of those seasons. Elsewhere, at the Eels, Warriors and Bulldogs between 2016 and 2020, he never managed more than 17.” – Round 1 Notepad
Little Cotter’s Big Play
Yeah, look. I’m easily impressed.
In a round that featured four field goals and a few more missed attempts, you can get a really good idea of how the made shots come to fruition.
Most teams anticipate a Jason Taumalolo carry in this spot. His ability to keep his feet and drive through contact has helped to set up plenty of field goals in the past. However, Reuben Cotter’s lightning play-the-ball is what set up Chad Townsend’s winner.
The diminutive prop swept around the ruck and ran straight for Danny Levi. By design or not, Levi is always likely to tackle above the ball here. That allows Cotter to bump out of the contact, drop straight to his knees, and get up to play the ball before the defence can set.
In stark contrast to Moses’ potential winner above, Townsend had all the time in the world to slot it.
What a round of footy!
We’re always fizzing for the opener, but I couldn’t get the 8-2 Eels v Bulldogs slugger in 2020 out of my head on Thursday. Round 1 can so often produce poor games, and they’ve been even worse in recent years. However, the 2023 NRL season has kicked off with a bang.
Close games, upsets, young players threatening to break out; I can’t recall a better season-opening round in years. Perhaps it’s only a coincidence that the rules weren’t changed throughout the summer…
Of note via footyindustry.com: “This was the highest attendance aggregate and average for round 1 in ten years and average crowds were up more than 18% on the corresponding round 1 in 2021.”
We already have a few things on the watch list. Hookers found a lot of success burrowing over from close to the line this week. That is something to keep an eye on given the new offside interpretation.
As trends develop in the game, it’s never long before coaches look for ways to expose those trends and force more change. Fullbacks getting on their bike from the short side A spot and flying to the long side is fairly common and a couple of teams looked to turn the ball back and run straight at that gap in Round 1.
It’s still too early to make too many concrete calls on structures and game models, but Round 1 offered a glimpse. The Roosters look likely to keep throwing the ball around. The Wests Tigers are the same. Meanwhile, it’s unlikely the Dolphins sway too far away from their direct style through the middle. Ditto: Knights.
There is a lot to learn in the coming weeks. Here’s hoping the contests remain this tight, too.