NRL trials wrap: Slow start for under-pressure Raiders recruit
The pre-season is over and there’s plenty to digest, including Latrell Mitchell’s Rabbitohs debut, why Canberra’s new man will take time and more — check out what we learned from the final NRL trials.
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The pre-season is in the bag and the countdown to round one of the NRL is on.
All 16 NRL clubs were in action over the weekend, headlined by the Charity Shield and Bega’s Battle of the West.
There was plenty to digest, with Latrell Mitchell making his Rabbitohs debut at fullback, a host of young guns putting their hands up and veterans fighting for their spots.
Here’s what we learned in the final weekend of NRL trials.
EELS 22 DREW PANTHERS 22
1. The burden of expectation in season 2020 for both Parramatta and Penrith will be shouldered by the respective halfbacks but Mitchell Moses and Nathan Cleary are up to the task. Eels coach Brad Arthur fired a warning shot to his NRL rivals saying Moses, who scored two brilliant individual tries, was “rusty” in attack. But he praised his try-saving goal line defence. Cleary ran the show with confidence and in positive signs for Penrith’s attack, he combined well with new halves partner Jarome Luai and new hooker Api Koroisau. The lines for a mouthwatering battle for Brad Fittler’s No.7 NSW Blues jersey have been drawn.
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2. Penrith coach Ivan Cleary all but confirmed the Caleb Aekins has cemented the fullback spot for round one’s opener against back-to-back premiers, the Sydney Roosters. Aekins did enough in 60 minutes in Bega to prove to Cleary he has what it takes. The metre eater clocked 116 metres in his stint, the most of any back on the field on Saturday.
3. Both coaches fielded their best possible sides in Bega for a trial match that had an NRL intensity feel about it. But there were still some notable omissions. After sitting out the Wests Tigers trial, Viliame Kikau was again rested by Cleary, who insisted the giant backrower isn’t injured. Kikau, Kurt Capewell and Mitch Kenny are tracking for round one. For the Eels, Waqa Blake and Brad Takaraingi will be available for round one selection.
— Fatima Kdouh
RAIDERS 12 DEF BULLDOGS 10
1. Don’t be surprised if Canberra’s new combinations take some time. With Nick Cotric switching from the left wing, Curtis Scott and George Williams both joining the club and Corey Horsburgh seemingly in the box seat to fill in for John Bateman, the Raiders have replaced their entire right side from last year’s grand final. The quartet won’t learn how to play with one another overnight, and that showed in this one, with each of them struggling to gel with the others.
2. It’s too early to make a judgment on Williams. The English Test halfback is under pressure to perform given Canberra’s success last year and the poor track record of British backs in the NRL in recent decades. Williams was quiet in his unofficial club debut, as the Raiders steered most of their attack down their left through Jack Wighton – as the former Wigan man gets more time with his new teammates, his confidence will grow.
3. The Bulldogs got the better of the Raiders for the opening 60 minutes, when most of the first-string players were on the field. Much like their best wins last year, Canterbury didn’t play pretty but they played tough, and that made all the difference. Dean Pay will have been pleased with the effort from his charges despite the result.
— Nick Campton
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STORM 22 DEF COWBOYS 14
1. No wonder Wests Tigers were so keen to grab Harry Grant — even for just a season. The Melbourne young gun, the subject of a historic “loan” deal which fell through last month, looks more than ready for regular NRL after a superb cameo in Casey. Replacing skipper Cameron Smith after 30 minutes, Grant showed superb awareness to follow Jahrome Hughes and score his first try for Melbourne, then produced a deft grubber kick from out of dummy half to set up a Dale Finucane four-pointer. With regular interchange gun Brandon Smith to miss the start of the season Grant had an excellent opportunity to press his claims for a bench spot and surely has sealed a Round 1 berth.
2. Valentine Holmes continues to improve in his return to rugby league and looks set to spark the Cowboys attack in 2020. Holmes scored his first try in Cowboys colours when he burst on to a nice Michael Morgan kick and his combination with the Cowboys halfback was impressive, especially in the second half. The pair combined to set up Kyle Feldt for a late try, and Holmes also threw a pass in the build-up to Justin O’Neill’s first half four-pointer. Holmes also looks set to take on goalkicking duties for North Queensland. Jake Clifford, a potential contender, played the full 80 minutes but it was Holmes who took all the conversions — although he’ll need to work on his radar after only landing one goal from four attempts.
3. Cooper Johns will have to wait for his NRL debut, with Jahrome Hughes all but locking up the No.7 jersey. Johns, 20, looked set for a surprise shot at pushing for the starting halfback spot when Hughes hobbled from the field early in the match. But his opportunity was short-lived, with Hughes returning to the field shortly afterwards and playing a starring role for Melbourne. He set up Grant’s try with a nice break and then scored himself to ensure he’ll hold off any challenge from Johns … for now.
— Dominic Burke
KNIGHTS 58 DEF ROOSTERS 0
1. The Knights might have to find a way to get Tex Hoy into the first grade side. Hoy is still inexperienced – he was only elevated to the club’s top squad this week – but he’s fast and dangerous and showed his quality with a brilliant, 40-metre solo try in the second half. It’s a name to remember.
2. Daniel Saifiti got all the plaudits in 2019 but he was outshone in this one by his twin brother Jacob. After losing his way a little and battling injury last season, the less-heralded Saifiti put in a good shift and should be well in contention for a bench spot for Round 1. The Knights forwards were strong throughout, with David Klemmer and Mitch Barnett also catching the eye.
3. Sometimes the only thing we can learn is that there is nothing to learn, and that’s the case when it comes to the Roosters. The World Club Challenge meant the defending premiers had just four players with first grade experience, and even though they kept the Knights honest for the opening 20 minutes a heavy Newcastle win was always in the offing.
— Nick Campton
RABBITOHS 26 DRAGONS 12
1. Latrell Mitchell still has some work to do under the high ball.
While South Sydney’s star recruit has been doing plenty of extras in recent weeks to ready for a hyped switch from centre, his first half fumble of a Corey Norman bomb was a little worrying. Can expect to be tested heavily in the early rounds.
2. St George Illawarra still has some work to do in defence. While the Bunnies brought almost all their big names off at halftime, and the Dragons kept a large chunk of theirs on, the Red V still conceded consecutive tries in a worrying few minutes of play straight after the break.
3. Dragons coach Paul McGregor could get his staff to use coloured paddles on the bench to assist in determining when the side makes a captains challenge in 2020. With the skipper having only seconds to make his call, Dragons sideline staff will hold up a green or red paddle depending on wether they think the onfield call should be challenged.
— Nick Walshaw
TITANS 28 DEF BRONCOS 22
1. Broncos coach Anthony Seibold needs to sort out his middle-forward rotation for round one. Brisbane’s tryline defence was inept in the Titans’ stunning second-half comeback and it was a by-product of a lack of forward mongrel in midfield. Payne Haas was outstanding on Saturday night but he lacked support as he charged through the midfield. With Matt Lodge (knee) and Joe Ofahengaue (suspension) missing for round one and skipper Alex Glenn (hamstring) racing the clock, the Broncos are lacking forward experience. Rhys Kennedy and Jordan Riki both let in soft tries as the Titans ran riot around the rucks.
2. The heat is on for Darius Boyd. Axed as Broncos captain in pre-season, Boyd has been switched to the centres this season and he was disappointing in the 28-22 loss. Titans centre Kallum Watkins burned him to set up a first-half try and then Boyd made a bumbling handling error in the second half. Titans recruit Jesse Arthars has impressed in both trials and will be ready to pounce if Boyd doesn’t offer some strike and consistency in the three-quarters.
3. New Titans coach Justin Holbrook has already instilled a tougher edge to the club. Last year’s Titans outfit would have lost by 40 after falling behind 16-0. But they refused to wilt and showed outstanding patience and commitment to fight their way back. Halfback Ash Taylor is rediscovering his zest for the game, Mitch Rein was dangerous around the rucks and Jai Arrow never took a backward step as he toiled away in midfield. Holbrook will ensure the Titans are not whipping boys this season.
— Peter Badel
WESTS TIGERS 20 WARRIORS 6
1. 1. RTS free to roam: Stephen Kearney said he wants Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to do less work bringing the ball out of his own half to free his captain to do more in attack and that’s what we saw early with the fullback injecting himself at will when in attack. RTS was instrumental in the first try of the game with a lovely pass putting Ken Maumalo through untouched.
2. The Leilua brothers versus Madge’s hairline: Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire is renowned for his love of discipline. The Lord only knows how he is going to survive the Leilua brothers. No play better illustrated the ridiculously sublime and superbly ridiculous that is the Wests Tigers right edge than this chain of events. In the 35th minute of the first half Luciano Leilua busted through two attempted tackles and offloaded to a lurking Benji Marshall who then promoted the ball to a thundering Leilua of the Joey variety. A try looked in the offing before Joey did what Joey does and flicked a hail mary out the back to precisely nobody. It’s exciting, it’s athletic and it’s enough to make Maguire rip what little hair he has left from his scalp. When Joey gets it right though he gets it very, very right. Leilua was more than a handful busting nine tackles, running for 142 metres and was instrumental in both tries scored by his right-side winger David Nofoaluma.
3. Wests Tigers find their metre-eater: Zane Musgrove has impressed many judges through this pre-season and he lost no admirers in the final trial. Musgrove did not see the field until the 22nd minute of play but by half time he had the most running metre of any Wests Tigers forward. The hitups kept coming in the second half and the big man finished with 90 metres from 10 hitups. Fellow big bopper Thomas Mikaele lost no admirers with solid defence in his first stint when the Warriors had much of the ball and then some punishing runs in the second half.
— Robert Sutherland
CRONULLA SHARKS 28 MANLY 16
1. Arguably the biggest question mark hanging over the Sea Eagles has been who will fill the No.9 jersey, without last year’s regulars from Api Koroisau (who has linked with Penrith) and Manase Fainu (stood down). But Des Hasler will be pleased with the performance of recent recruit Danny Levi in that role. The former Knight was Manly’s best in the opening half, scheming out of dummy-half and scoring their opening try with a sneaky run next to the posts. The same can’t be said of Manly’s other playmakers – with Lachlan Croker and Cade Cust steering around a largely impotent attack before youngster Josh Schuster ignited things in the second half.
2. Paul Gallen has retired and that frees up the No.13 jersey for the first time since 2005. And Jack Williams has the chance to fill the boots of the SuperCoach sensation, making several powerhouse runs — including a beauty to steamroll Danny Levi during a 30m burst to set up one of two tries to the lively Connor Tracey. He finished with 130m and the starting lock spot firmly in his grasp.
3. Why on earth are the Sharks letting go of Josh Morris? Salary cap problems aside, the move makes zero football sense. The ultimate professional, Morris finished off a fine try to close the first half and looked dangerous whenever the ball came his way. He also had a stint at fullback – where he could fill in for the injured Matt Moylan in round one – in what is expected to be one of his final appearances for Cronulla before his wish is granted and he’s gift-wrapped to two-time defending premiers the Sydney Roosters.
— Joe Barton
Originally published as NRL trials wrap: Slow start for under-pressure Raiders recruit