There is a lot to cover after every round in the NRL. Throughout the 2024 season, this is a place where I’ll cover what is most important, a few little things I liked from the round, something to keep an eye on in the next one, and a try I particularly enjoyed.
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What you’ll get in this NRL Round 9 Review:
- Shark attack on full display
- Piakua’s carry
- An NRL.com plug
- Simple seven-tackle set starts
- Sua Fa’alogo scoring on his own
The Tough Carry: How the Sharks broke the Dragons down
Tackle 1 is often the toughest carry of the set. It can make or break it. Here, it’s my biggest talking point from the round that was.
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks sit at the top of the NRL ladder after Round 9.
We’ve seen them dominate for periods of a season before. They still have to clear the hurdle of beating Top 8 teams consistently before it stops being mentioned. But as it stands, they’ve conceded the fewest points of all 17 teams and are playing with an attack averaging 27.4 points per game – the second-most in the NRL.
With Braydon Trindall in the side, they played with better balance than last season. Hynes was always the centrepiece of the attack, but Trindall took some of the pressure off and reduced the touches per game of his halfback. Has absence has led to an increase in touches for Hynes. Still, the Sharks attack continues to improve.
The Sharks played to cues especially well last season. But bad teams give you more cues. That’s why they have proven to be so successful against teams towards the bottom of the NRL ladder while struggling to get over those at the top.
We’re not yet sure if the St George Illawarra Dragons are good. They’re exceeding expectations, but we can’t say they’re a good team the Sharks toppled just yet. However, the way in which the Sharks scored their points is encouraging.
In three tries, the Sharks displayed their ability to make the most of targets in the line. They scored another ripper off a tap start and capitalised on a cue in yardage to score under the posts.
Playing to the plan
Tyrell Sloan has improved to start the 2024 NRL season. He’s been a big part of the Dragons’ relatively strong start. But his small frame will always be a target in the line, and Blayke Brailey made sure to expose it.
Hynes does a great job of isolating Tom Hazelton onto Tom Eisenhuth. It’s a strong and possibly scoring play at best. At worst, it’s a momentum play that moves the defensive line.
The Dragons will have had Hynes in their sights all day. He’s who they organise their line for, and they have five down the short side to cover him. But Brailey spies the opportunity with Sloan around the ruck on the line.
Importantly, the Sharks are in shape to play wide on both sides. Francis Molo sits on Oregon Kaufusi’s lead to start with but tries to cheat and leave early, leaving Sloan one-on-one with a big middle forward.
You can see Brailey celebrating the try before Kaufusi is over the line on the wider angle.
Per Stats Insider, the Sharks have scored only 18% of their tries through the middle of the field. They typically play wider and more expansive. They picked Sloan out a few times in this one, though.
Another tap start
We had Nicho Hynes’ try as the try of the round last week after he slipped through the Raiders line with relative ease off a tap start.
The Sharks scored from another tap start in Round 9, and it’s a beauty.
Again, it’s simple. It’s executed to perfection.
The Sharks get the look they want after Jack Williams carts the ball up at the right post. They would have schemed for Sloan to fill in at A on the short side with the Dragons defence using Hynes as an indicator for the Sharks attack.
Ben Hunt is the target in the line. A solid defender for a half, but no match for a rampaging Siosifa Talakai when isolated.
Toby Rudolf runs a lead between the A and B defenders. Teig Wilton does the same between C and D. This is where the try is created as Ben Murdoch-Masila has to honour Hynes as a ball-runner after last week, while Raymond Faitala-Mariner also has eyes for the halfback.
With Talakai sweeping out the back as the Sharks hold three on the edge to the Dragons’ two, Hunt is on an island.
Hunt does a good job of getting above the ball in contact and goes close to holding Talakai up, but this scenario ends up as a try nine times out of ten.
Set starts aren’t mentioned enough in NRL discourse. They’re a great way to profile how a team wants to attack, and the targets in the line and angles used to get there to score this one paints an accurate picture of the Sharks with the ball.
Always ready
The Sharks are always ready to pounce.
They start to generate momentum down the left edge through Sione Katoa and McInnes here. Katoa’s involvement is notable because of how quickly he gets back into position on the edge.
As McInnes leaves a defender on the ground, Brailey takes the cue to jump from the dummy half. There seems to be some confusion as to how the Dragons want to defend these situations, as the marker tracks back, the line moves forward, and the edge fails to get up.
Briton Nikora has flattened up, ready to carry the ball in the direction of the third Dragons defender out of the tackle, but plays to another cue: The triangle in defence. He bounces off his left foot and finds Katoa who has made himself available shortly after a yardage carry.
Sloan scrambles and manages to shut this play down, but there is no stopping the next.
The Dragons have nine players inside the posts down their left edge. They’re stripped out wide, and Hunt takes the Hail Mary option of jamming on Hynes. It’s their best chance of shutting it down. But with Hunt a touch late, Hynes is able to find Tall Tom Hazelton who manages to crash through the scrambling Dragons defence.
Shane Flanagan won’t be happy with that picture. Hunt managed to force Hynes into playing short, sending Hazelton at six Dragons defenders. Still, the linebreak earlier is what makes the Sharks so dangerous. They’re able to strike from anywhere at the slightest sign of weakness.
The Sharks are in fine form and look better than they did in 2023. With the Storm, Roosters, Panthers, Eels and Broncos to come over the next five rounds, we’re going to learn a lot about their 2024 premiership credentials.
Quick play-the-ball: Piakura’s line & a Storm warning
We’re generating momentum through the middle of the article with a couple of quick carries.
The try is coming
Brendan Piakura hasn’t crossed the line in 2024, but it’s coming if he keeps hitting holes like he has been.
Joey Manu has one eye on Reece Walsh here. When he takes that step out in front of the three-man, Adam Reynolds and Piakura respond.
The movement while the ball is in the air is a lot more difficult than it’s given credit, but Piakura makes it look easy at speed.
It’s only a matter of time before he breaks through to score.
NRL content
I’ve covered the Sharks plenty above. The Melbourne Storm sit just below them on the NRL ladder as one of the most impressive teams to start the season.
I got into the details of their attacking structures for NRL.com earlier in the week.
Every click counts towards more analysis popping up on the mainstream sites, so check it here if you haven’t done so already.
Setting up for a shot: Zero tackle
Teams play to points with the following tackle in mind. Here, I’m touching on something to watch next week as we try to keep ahead of things happening on the field.
Dylan Edwards sent Taylan May 70 metres to score on Thursday night in a try that, unfortunately, sums up many of the problems at the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
A poor kick is backed up by a poor kick chase, and they’re quickly made to pay.
But what it also does is sum up how smart and switched on the Panthers are at all times.
I’ve mentioned attacking from seven tackles a few times over the years, and Penrith showed why. Even if the Rabbitohs had moved quicker back to the 30-metre line, there is often space out wide.
The side of the kick chase travels further up the field. You can see the left edge of the Rabbitohs line is ready when Edwards taps the ball. Unlike the Rabbitohs right edge, May sees the opportunity and pushes up in support where he’s rewarded with a meat pie.
Penrith is constantly ready to take their opportunities when presented.
It’s only a minor detail, but sending the ball to the side of the kick chase can have major rewards. It’s something to keep an eye on when you see the fullback scooting back to take the tap.
Try Time: All you, Sua
Sometimes, it will be a piece of magic. Others, it’s a basic move made to look easy. Whatever it is, all great sets end in points, so we’re doing the same here.
I had to laugh when Sua Fa’alogo said something along the lines of ‘that was all the boys’ when asked about his try on Saturday night.
No, bro.
This was all you…
The Titans mirrored the Storm’s 4/2 split off the scrum. If anything, the Storm have challenged the Titans’ two-man edge to try their best against Fa’alogo with half of the field to work. Reimis Smith isn’t that wide by accident.
His speed proved too much for Harley Smith-Shields before his footwork spun Phil Sami to the ground.
As much as Sua wants to give full credit to the boys, it’s individual brilliance on this occasion.
It will be interesting to see how teams defend this split moving forward.