NRL Analysis: 3 Takeaways from Raiders v Sharks

The Canberra Raiders have done it again…

They don’t make it easy on themselves, and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks didn’t play poorly, but Ricky Stuart’s side found a winner on the siren to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

3 Takeaways

• 1. The Watch List

• 2. The Organised Chaos of the Green Machine

• 3. Sharks Last-Tackle Options

1. The Watch List

I go into every NRL game with a couple of things I’m keeping a close eye on. Sometimes, I’ll throw them up onto the Instagram account, too.

Nicho’s touches: I raised an eyebrow at Mick Ennis claiming Hynes didn’t know how to insert himself into the game with Braydon Trindall taking more control of the team. He looked fine playing second fiddle to start the NRL season. We’d have to see a breakdown of where he touches the ball in this one, but it felt like he took more of his touches at first receiver this week. The Sharks have looked their best, with Hynes and Trindall jumping between the first and second layers of a shift, but they didn’t ask enough questions¹ in good ball. Having the two link up, with Hynes out the back, has been a strong play all season.

Kaeo’s hands: It took less than two minutes for Jamal Fogarty to hang one up for Weekes… He dropped another one before halftime.

Weekes is dangerous with the ball. He’s lightning quick and a threat on kick returns. However, he has to catch the ball first. It’s proving to be an issue, and while Ricky Stuart has put his support behind him, he won’t for long without a significant improvement under the high-ball.

Addin’s footwork: The man is a freak. He’d made 27 tackles by halftime as the Raiders looked to put extra work into him, but Fonua-Blake kept coming. His footwork allows him to split defenders, but even if they manage to make dual contact, he powers through and often stands in the tackle. Fonua-Blake finished with a game-high 211 running metres.

The Raiders took the right approach, bringing him into as many tackles as they could and trying to tire him out. He was out on the wing by the time the Raiders shifted the ball and made their game-defining linebreak.

2. The Organised Chaos of the Green Machine

The Sharks finished the game with more possession, territory, running metres, and tackles inside the opposition 20-metre line. They led for much of the game and looked the dominant side for most of it.

But Ricky’s Raiders are always in the fight. They consistently score outrageous tries, often at the end of games, but it’s not an accident or fluke. It’s a product of their style. Constant movement and pushing up through the middle in support is the chassis to the chaos engine of the Green Machine.

The game-winner on Thursday night is the perfect example.

Jamal Fogarty has the smarts to send the ball to the right spot as he sees Nicho Hynes peeling out of the tackle. By moving the ball left and right throughout the set, the Raiders have done the same to the Sharks’ defensive line. Hynes is a long way from home, and Fogarty sends Hudson Young straight through the vacant spot in the line.

The push through the middle allows the Raiders to generate a second phase as the Sharks try to scramble. At this point, there are plenty of black-and-white jerseys around the ball, but they’re not ready for the Raiders to flip the field.

As Xavier Savage receives the ball, there is a line of green jerseys ready to pounce. Seb Kris is ten metres from the left sideline and ends up taking the ball ten metres from the right sideline to score. The Sharks, on the other hand, have stopped moving.

The bounce is lucky, but the lucky teams put themselves in positions to make the most of it. No team seems to be more fortunate than Canberra.

This is the picture Stuart will love to see; eight Raiders pushing up in support through the middle to three Sharks in the frame.

The Raiders are always looking to push up at the slightest sniff of a second phase. Young’s first try came as a result of him pushing up around the ball and putting himself in position to latch onto a Tom Starling grubber. He runs a lead in the build-up to his second but quickly reloads to receive an offload from Seb Kris.

Constant movement. Pushing up around the ball.

They finished this one with 16 offloads and it has often looked like their most dangerous action with the ball across the first five rounds of the NRL season. While it’s not a game model that feels sustainable, the Raiders are different. If they can sustain the effort and constant movement, they can rely on the ad-lib style to generate points.

3. Sharks Last-Tackle Options

The Sharks last tackle options have been a big watch all season. They have a tendency to move the ball on the 4th tackle and into positions that make it difficult to kick. Nicho Hynes, in particular, finds himself getting caught with the ball and removing himself as an option to kick on the last.

Some of their options on the last left me scratching my head.

With 12 minutes on the clock, a two-point lead and on the front foot, the Sharks decided to run the ball and turn the ball over 20 metres from the line. Pinning the Raiders in their own end and continuing to take advantage of what was a considerable territory advantage at the time felt like the better play.

With six minutes on the clock, they passed Trindall into a shortside on the left side of the ruck - not a comfortable place as a right-foot kicker.

Hynes ran it on the 4th with three minutes to play. It’s not the worst option, but it removes one on the last when attacking the line. It allows the defence to stack Trindall’s side, which is exactly what Weekes did as he ushered his forwards to the open side while plugging himself in down the short side. It’s ultimately an easy defensive possession² for the Raiders before they went on to score the winner.

I don’t often buy into blindly pointing towards a “lack of organisation” from the halves when things aren’t going right, but the Sharks do appear to lose direction at times. We’re only four games into the new-look halves influence. It will take time to iron out. Last plays are where I’ll be looking for that improvement first.

1  Craig Fitzgibbon highlighted his side’s failure to “ask enough questions” and needing a “reset” as the reason he opted to take the two with the scores level.

2  Running on the last in this game state is the right move, but you want to get to the corner. Allow the defence to load up and win the first two tackles as the attacking team tries to find the middle of the field.