Rugby League Writers NRL & NRLW Preview Newsletter (Week 1/R8)

The Rugby League Writers NRL & NRLW Preview Newsletter is here to get you ready for the upcoming weekend action.

Walker’s return: Is it too late for the Roosters?

Sam Walker has returned to a better Sydney Roosters team and looks better for it.

The Roosters look better a better team with Sam Walker.

Trent Robinson had his reasons for dropping Walker. There is little doubt he never intended for the young half to be out of the NRL for so long but an injury threw a spanner in the works. In the end, it appears as though his stint in reserve grade was for the best. Perhaps it has all come too late, but Walker has looked good over the last two weeks and you can see what he brings to the team and how it might translate into a deep September run.

It’s a set ending with an error that has me optimistic about the Roosters heading into their clash with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on Saturday night.

It highlights the benefit of being a threat on both sides of the ruck and what the third prominent ball player can do to a defensive line.

From the tap, Lindsay Collins carts the ball up and produces a quick play-the-ball. Just like that, the Roosters have an extra man down the short side attacking three defenders and a peeling tackler.

I’d imagine this set has been scripted up and Brandon Smith doesn’t like what he sees enough to break away from it. Instead, he finds Victor Radley one off the ruck who gets to the middle of the field.

You can see Luke Keary making a late move to the long side here. He’s a bit late and their timing is off in general. However, Keary’s swing has left five defenders down the Rabbitohs left edge for the Roosters to have a significant numbers advantage along their own left edge.

Again, Walker doesn’t like what he sees out wide and turns it back for Egan Butcher to charge at the left post. Falling into shape like the Roosters at their very best, Walker and Keary fan out to the right side. They’re in a position to fire a long shift at a defensive line that has started to compress in the middle.

In recent weeks the defence has only really needed to monitor Keary and James Tedesco. Drew Hutchison and Sandon Smith are serviceable halves but not those that defensive lines track and use as a signal. The Rabbitohs load up their left edge leaving Tedesco with the four-man short side he wants.

It ends with an error, but a good error. The best Roosters teams of recent NRL seasons, including the back-to-back premiers, lead the competition in errors. An error ‘playing footy’ like this one is a lot different from simply dropping the ball in yardage. It’s one coaches will cop given the play it came on.

Tedesco is dangerous in this spot. He’s not the best ball-playing fullback going around, but when he’s able to attack the B defender and create an overlap out wide, Tedesco is in a good position to pull the trigger. He pulls the wrong one here, but the action and intent are encouraging.

This next example doesn’t end well either.

Following a strong Nat Butcher carry at Lachlan Ilias to generate momentum, the Roosters swing the ball wide. There is Keary again on the short side as an option. But through Radley in the middle and Walker on the second layer, Tedesco is able to get to a spot on the field he can dominate.

The Roosters run out of room and end up on the sideline, much like the tap to start the previous example…

Once again the Roosters move off the sideline with a crash ball, but this one is wider. It leaves them with enough room to explore back down the short side with a five-on-four advantage, no less. Jai Arrow knows the Rabbitohs are short on numbers and looks to close down Walker’s time with the ball. He’s relying on his inside defence to track across in cover but with Smith holding up Tallis Duncan at the ruck, a gaping hope opens up for a dropping Siua Wong.

Unfortunately, Walker isn’t able to find his backrower and Tedesco is forced to flick the ball on as the play breaks down.

It’s important to judge the process, though. The Roosters won without looking particularly good, but if you look closely enough, you can see that they aren’t far off.

Is it too little too late?

We will know a lot more on Saturday night. I like their chances, though. The Roosters looked a lot better defensively against the Rabbitohs. Brandon Smith, in particular, played out one of his best games of the 2023 NRL season and his best work came without the ball. If the Chooks can hold up defensively, I like what they have to offer against a Sharks side that has struggled to contain the edges.

Line organisation is crucial against a team that can threaten on both sides. Connor Tracey has performed well with the ball in hand since taking over from Will Kennedy. He’s looked right at home on the end of their sweeps close to the opposition line. However, it’s how he organises his own line in defence that will be a crucial element to the Sharks result in this one. If he gets it wrong, expect the Roosters to make them pay as another game and week of training together helps to iron out the creases of the attack.

I couldn’t rule the Roosters out of playing finals footy when most had a line through them. Now, I can’t rule them out of a win on Saturday and a genuine crack at the premiership.

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Head Noise – What’s living rent free in my head this week?

Kirra Dibb & scrum tries

I’ve not leant into the North Queensland Cowboys much with the feature above but I do want to give Kirra Dibb a wrap.

She’s the most experienced playmaker at the club and is probably being asked to do a little more than what she’s done in previous seasons, but she’s been fair this year. She’s a good runner of the ball and will come up with the special play if given enough chances.

This try from a midfield scrum was mint.

With a tight block shape off her hip, Dibb double-pumps to draw the edge defenders in before looping one over the top. Krystal Blackwell only just gets to the line here and almost certainly wouldn’t have scored without Dibb’s deception on the ball.

Caitlan Johnston ballplaying

For the second week in a row, one of the most destructive front rowers in the NRLW has thrown one of the better try assist passes of the round.

Last week Caitlan Johnston put Yasmin Clydesdale over close to the line and in NRLW Round 7 it was her five-eighth Georgia Roche:

With Clydesdale off her hip, Johnston makes a mockery of the Raiders defence here. No less than four defenders turn in towards the ball which opens up a space for Roche to crash through for her first NRLW try.

Johnston was one of my favourite players in the NRLW and that was before she started throwing these assist passes…

Jocellyn Kelleher & the reverse block

I said after NRLW Round 1 that Jocellyn Kelleher didn’t need to do heaps in this Roosters side despite the number on her back. She’s the halfback in this squad but is doing a wonderful job allowing Tarryn Aiken and Keely Davis to control the Roosters attack while playing a simple role in the halves.

Her main role is to provide the general play kicking, but if she can produce a pass like this every now and then the Roosters will be almost unbeatable:

It’s a reverse-block shape. Usually Olivia Kernick would cut in next to Kelleher while Jess Sergis sweeps out the back, but Easts switch it up here.

Kelleher’s pre-pass movements are crucial – that little step back inside just before she passes is what draws one defender towards the ball, while a convincing overs line from Kernick drags the next defender sideways.

Both those movements creates a hole in the defensive line for Sergis, who flies onto the ball to score the best try across the NRL or NRLW last weekend.