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. This week we’re digging into the good and bad of the Titans, how the Tigers have changed things up, Dylan Brown’s running game and a delightful Dolphins try.
– Titans in two plays
– How the Tigers have adjusted in attack
– In-form Dylan Brown
– A ripper scrum try
– Quick State of Origin thoughts
– Who is Ethan Quai-ward?
Titans in two plays
The Gold Coast Titans have lost back-to-back games against teams they should have beaten but remain within touching distance of the Top 8 to be 10th after 12 rounds.
It’s easy to look at their recent form and their incredible ability to blow late leads, in particular, and become frustrated with where they’re at right now. However, it’s important to remember that this team is improving.
The Titans were a major part of the wooden spoon race late last season. They’re not even part of the conversation in this one. Instead, they’re hanging with the finals teams and giving themselves a chance as they work through the little things currently holding them back.
Two plays from Round 12, conveniently based around David Fifita, say a lot about how the Titans are developing, but also what is holding them back.
The first is a superb try in the left corner.
Fifita and the Titans have worked hard on this over the last 18 months. They’re running a block shape with Brian Kelly targeting the inside shoulder of the two-in defender and having Fifita hit the space one wider with the option to run or pass.
Fifita’s running threat is well-documented. You could put two defenders on him in this position and most would still back him to cross the line. However, when you add his new-found pass to the equation, the defence doesn’t know whether to jam or hold. Poor Jacob Kiraz is caught between a rock and a hard place on this one and isn’t able to execute on either option.
Justin Holbrook spoke about individual errors costing the Titans in these spots. They’re doing enough to play themselves into games and, often, into a lead. However, they’ve shown a frustrating inability to hold on to those leads and close out games.
While the lead has gone by this point, the lack of communication, understanding and cohesion is clear.
Fifita does exactly what is required with his dart out of dummy half. The Titans have fired a shot wide in the search of a winner but it hasn’t come off. The next best option is for Fifita to take a carry, win the ruck and provide Tanah Boyd with enough time and space to fire a two-point field goal attempt.
The big back-rower does his job before Kruise Leeming and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui make Boyd’s attempt more difficult than it needed to be and invites the Bulldogs to apply more pressure on the kick.
I always think you can learn a lot about a team in these field goal sets. The best teams work as one to get up the field and in a position to take a shot whether it lands or not. I covered Penrith’s perfect field goal set earlier in the season as an example of a team that knows where to be and when with the game on the line.
The Titans are on the up and have made clear improvements so far this season, but lack the execution late in games to be among the Top 8 teams right now.
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Tigers terrorise Cowboys
*Me at a 30th birthday party checking the score of the Tigers game on Saturday night*
As somebody that has been a little bit more optimistic than most when it comes to the Wests Tigers this season, 66 points is outrageous. I refreshed the page and checked my drink when I saw it the first time.
Having since watched it back, we’re starting to see the adjustments the Tigers are making and how those early-season struggles are being corrected.
Wests scored 11 tries on Saturday night but one stands out as the ‘there it is’ moment.
But first, we go back four weeks to when we highlighted how the Tigers moved sideways in attack and did little to engage the middle defence. As a result, the defensive line could comfortably slide from one player to the next with little concern for their inside shoulder.
You can see in this shift here from the middle of the field that Luke Brooks barely takes a step forward before firing the ball wide. The defence slides as he passes and closes down the shift with ease.
Same again two tackles later…
It was a theme throughout the opening rounds of the 2023 NRL season but is one the Tigers have improved on in recent weeks.
Compare that to Wests’ second try on Saturday night and you can see the difference.
The four-in defender is forced to work hard from the inside which puts pressure on the man out one further. As Brooks digs a little deeper and uses the lead line off his hip to turn the three-in defender, the Tigers now have an extra man.
Roll it back a little bit further and you can see another little change.
The tackle count is the first thing to consider. Where the Tigers moved from one side of the field to the other and tried to go around the defence earlier in the season, they’re using the dominant pack most people predicted would be a force in the NRL this year to compress the middle.
It’s the 4th tackle and Stefano Utoikamanu won the ruck while bringing Heilum Luki into the tackle. From there, Luki is held tight to the ruck with David Klemmer an option short and Brooks has the space to get to his outside and create the overlap out wide.
Thanks to the rest of the competition cannibalising themselves in one of the most unpredictable seasons in recent memory, the Tigers are only six points short of 8th on the ladder.
If they can continue to improve at the rate they are, hold up defensively (currently 9th) and pick up a few close wins they were losing earlier in the year, we can’t rule out a fairytale run towards the finals.
In-form Brown
The Parramatta Eels have been up and down all season.
Dylan Brown’s form has been a bit like that, too.
However, the Kiwi international capped off what has been an impressive last month of football with another top-shelf performance against the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Friday night.
Brown has scored twice in the last four games after failing to cross the line throughout the first eight rounds of the 2023 NRL season. He has dished out four try assists in as many matches, but played a hand in a lot more that aren’t recorded on the stats pages.
Here’s one:
What made this try so nice is the work Brown did in the minutes leading up. Unfortunately, NRL.com isn’t doing me any favours with their full-game replay page not returning a response so I can’t go back to clip Brown’s actions. But if you get the chance to watch it back, you’ll see how he trained the defence for his show-and-go.
Throwing similar shapes at the Rabbitohs in the sets leading up, Brown put Lachlan Ilias on his heels this time. That allows Brown, after getting to the outside of the forward in front of him, to push through the contact of the Ilias tackle and release the offload that leads to points.
It’s no secret that Brown is at his best when running the football. But despite the demands, simply running the ball with little thought behind it doesn’t always translate into dangerous actions. Brown got the balance and planning right here and is doing so at a time the Eels can start to climb the NRL ladder.
A ripper scrum try
There are few things I enjoy more in the NRL than a perfectly executed try off a scrum.
The Dolphins delivered a banger on Saturday night.
Most teams prefer to split the defence and pack the scrum in the middle of the field in good ball.
Most teams don’t have the speed of Kodi Nikorima and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow.
It’s the gap between Felise Kaufusi and Brenko Lee that does it. As Nikorima takes the ball behind Kaufusi’s lead, he makes Cameron Munster his target and has the speed to get to him before the inside defence can even think about tracking across. With Tabuai-Fidow starting in the middle of the field before completing his pass just inside the numbers, the Dolphins manage to find Jamayne Isaako in the corner without a defender in sight.
Lovely.
Quick State of Origin Thoughts
Ponga dropped: Kalyn Ponga hasn’t been in his best form since moving up into five-eighth, but he’s not had a lot of opportunity to get there either. Nonetheless, I’m surprised to see him dropped for Game 1. Reece Walsh is fantastic and can light up an attack. He typically needs to be running downhill behind a dominant pack, though. Given the arm-wrestle nature of Origin and the likelihood that a lot of this game is played between the two 20-metre lines, I liked the idea of Ponga at fullback. He offers more in kick returns at the very least, is experienced at the level and has developed cohesion with the expected spine. There is a world where Walsh produces a match-winning moment on the night, but I’m surprised by the selection given how safe Billy Slater could have played it with Ponga at the back.
Luai & Hynes in: It sounds as though Freddy Fittler will continue with Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai in the halves. I had Nicho Hynes down as my five-eighth, though. While he plays on the ball for the Sharks, he has proven more than capable of playing a pass wider and on the second level of a shift. Hynes has to be in there and by retaining Luai, Fittler’s middle rotation might suffer.
Pangai Jr. on debut: With Jake Trbojevic pulling out the New South Wales Blues lose one of their hardest-working and most reliable middle forwards. In response, Fittler is bringing in one of the most unpredictable players in the NRL. Classic Freddy.
Fifita recalled: His numbers might suggest otherwise but David Fifita is playing out the best season of his NRL career. He has to be in there.
Graham misses out: It’s not a surprise to see Campbell Graham miss out on selection. Edging out Tom Trbojevic regardless of their current form was always unlikely. We always see the ‘snubbed’ articles published shortly after teams are named with those articles just a list of names that weren’t really much of a chance. This is one of the biggest snubs I can recall in recent years, though.
Cook misses out: Fittler couldn’t have gone too far wrong whether he selected Api Koroisau or Damien Cook. As it turns out, he’s gone with Koroisau but has an excellent second option if it doesn’t work out in Game 1. Where it could go wrong is in the middle rotation. By retaining Luai and selecting Hynes, Fittler effectively gave up the option to run with two genuine hookers.
No Gagai: Dane Gagai has played a lot worse at club level and still be selected for Queensland.
Who is Ethan Quai-Ward?
Fox Sports is reporting Ethan Quai-Ward will join the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs effective immediately. Phill Gould is said to have poached him as Quai-Ward caught his eye playing for the Souths Logan Magpies in the Hostplus Cup.
So, who is Ethan Quai-Ward?
One of the extra benefits of covering the Queensland Cup is catching a regular glimpse of the players on the cusp of NRL selection. The competition is littered with talent that just needs to be seen for the ‘there isn’t enough talent’ crowd to go quiet.
Gould seems to have seen enough from the 23-year-old centre
Quai-Ward has played eight games for the Magpies this season. He’s without a try but has handed out three try assists, broken 27 tackles and averages a whopping 180 running metres per game.
The first thing that stands out about him is his size.
QRL.com has him listed at 190cm and 96kg but he looks bigger. He’s big for a centre regardless and has the footwork to boot. His adjustment with the ball in the air, left foot step at the line and scheming run across the field led to points in Round 9.
The best comparison I have for him in attack right now is Isaiah Tass. Both are big units on the edge with sneaky-good footwork at the line. Neither are huge highlight reel players but make up for that with their work in yardage. Interestingly, Tass played alongside Quai-Ward at the Magpies in 2021.
The Bulldogs are light at centre and don’t carry a lot of size at the position. In Quai-Ward they’ve signed a decent prospect different to the rest on the roster and one that could see NRL action this year if it is all signed off.