NRL 2021: Nick Cotric can be the rock of Trent Barrett’s Bulldogs rebuild
Canterbury raised eyebrows when they paid up to land Nick Cotric — but the former Canberra flyer’s debut showed plenty of hope for the future.
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There was a moment 52 minutes into Canterbury’s season opener against Newcastle that showed exactly why the Bulldogs paid such a pretty penny to land Nick Cotric.
They were bogged down 30 metres out from their own line when Cotric picked up the ball from dummy half and with nothing doing whatsoever, knifed clean through the defense and into the backfield.
There was no clever set up, no well-executed play, just the big fella getting the ball and making something happen.
Nothing came of the break in the end — Cotric tried to draw the fullback and put Jake Averillo away but the pass went to ground.
But on the field and off it, Cotric may prove to be the bedrock on which Trent Barrett’s Bulldogs are built.
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In the last few years, Canterbury’s attack has been the worst in the NRL. In 2020, they managed a mere 14 points a game and scored more than 24 points in just two matches all season.
Cotric’s work in yardage has always been strong, but his best play for Canberra came as a linebreaking, tackle-busting attacking weapon and that’s what Canterbury really need.
The Bulldogs did not have a single player clocked among the 25 fastest footballers last year — Jake Averillo came closest at 33rd when he hit 34.4 km/h in a match against the Titans.
In Cotric, they’ve finally got some speed — he was 22nd fastest in the league last year, at one stage hitting 34.6 km/h — and when Addo-Carr arrives they’ll have the fastest gun in the west.
“He’s a handful Nick, we all know what he can do. He brings a bit of confidence to the group as well, he’s played in a lot of big games,” Trent Barrett said.
“I know what he can do, we all know what he can do, but there’s a lot of things that have to happen first.
“That’s the beauty of having a guy like Nick, he’s such a handful and he can break a tackle one-on-one.
“Our attack will evolve over the course of the year the clearer our combinations become between our spine and our edges.”
Having a weapon like Cotric also eases the pressure on halves Kyle Flanagan and Jake Averillo - with a player like Cotric sometimes there doesn’t need to be a fancy set-up, just early ball ahead of the line with which he can take on the defense.
PAY FOR IT
Canterbury have long been embroiled in a salary cap hell of their own making and former CEO Andrew Hill infamously said 2021 was the first year the club’s fans could expect a marquee signing and a true rebuild.
Cotric was the club’s first big-name acqusition, and it took a fair bit of juice to lure him from Canberra.
True, $650,000 a year is a lot for a centre, but one big signing begets another and getting Cotric helped pave the way for the rest of the club’s big buys — Kyle Flanagan and Corey Allan this year, plus Addo-Carr and Matt Burton for 2022.
“We’ve got something building here, with the players now and the players who are going to come,” Cotric said.
“We’re on the rise here. This is one game and we have to address some issues, but I really think we’re building something special here.”
If the Bulldogs can get the same production out of Cotric as they did in his first game, he’ll be worth the money. And landing Addo-Carr at an estimated $500,000 a season is a steal.
Paying $1.1 million for two Origin-calibre outside backs, while also pairing them with a coach determined to get as much out of them as possible, is a nice bit of business.
Of course, the Bulldogs are not totally out of the woods yet — Dallin Watene-Zelezniak will be on close to $800,000 next year, more than both of the new boys — but steps are being taken in the right direction.
USE WHAT YOU HAVE
Even if Cotric’s signing has already helped pay for itself with the knock-on effect to other transfers, the way he was deployed in the loss to Newcastle showed some promising signs that he’ll be worth the monster deal.
It was an unhappy start for Cotric — he dropped the ball on two of his first three carries — but by full-time he’d found his feet and churned through 147 metres from 12 carries and had two line breaks and eight tackle busts.
It’s the sixth-highest metres total of his career and his best ever return at centre.
Cotric was surprisingly used on the left side of the field and swapped positions with Nick Meaney more than once in an effort to stay as involved as possible — look for that to continue as the season goes on.
“I have to try and get involved as much as I can,” Cotric said.
“Sometimes at centre you don’t get as many yardage carries, you have to just wait for the ball.
“We (him and Meaney) both want to get as much yardage as we can.”
It’s smart tactics from Barrett — there’s no point only driving a $650,000 sports car once a week after all — and Cotric won’t be nailed to the left side of the field either.
With encouragement from Barrett Cotric helped create Watene-Zelezniak’s second try close to full-time with a strong carry and offload on the right side of the field.
The club has been impressed with Cotric’s willingness to learn and take feedback from video sessions over the pre-season and by trusting him to play outside the traditional centre channel, Barrett can spur plenty of improvement in the 22-year old.
“Baz has really brought that along. He’s really onto the details and getting them right and I’ve been working really close with him and Sandy (assistant coach Craig Sandercock),” Cotric said.
“There’s a few times Baz had me going across the other side of the field.
“I really like how he coaches, it’s all about trying to get me involved as much as I can. He wants to let me roam, and Dal as well.”
The Bulldogs attacking structures fell apart as the match went on, but Barrett’s enterprise is worth keeping an eye on.
There is still a 2021 season to be played, but Addo-Carr will likely be given a similar mandate next season — if he’s floating around like Cotric it will give Canterbury two dynamic attacking threats that can strike anytime from anywhere.
It might have cost a lot of money to get them, but in the end it’ll add up to a lot more than 14.4 points a match.
ANALYSIS: SILVER LINING EASY TO FIND FOR BULLDOGS
— Nick Campton
Trent Barrett’s first game as Canterbury coach wasn’t supposed to end with the Bulldogs searching for silver linings, but there’s an easy one to be found in Kyle Flanagan’s club debut.
The Roosters refugee set up all three Bulldogs tries and while a 32-16 defeat the foundation for the Barrett Era the club would have wanted it’s still a damn sight better than 32-0.
Barrett said over the off-season Flanagan played the exact style he wanted from his halfback - dominant, controlling and constantly in the action.
The message was clear from the start and the new coach empowering Flanagan in such a fashion allows the 22-year old to play to his strengths, with the impact plain to see from kick-off.
Flanagan’s two try assists in the first half came in different forms, one with a long pass to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and the second with a short ball to Adam Elliott.
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The Bulldogs attack is still developing after Barrett’s off-season overhaul but the two scores show some of the impact the new coach has had on Flanagan and the long-term upside for the blue and whites.
Both tries had multiple bodies in motion around the football, confusing the defence, and Flanagan had the ball in two hands and shaping to pass as he challenged the defensive line before correctly selecting the right runner.
Barrett will expect more from Flanagan in terms of organising next week - the structure of Canterbury’s attack fell away after the opening quarter and by halftime all the motion and off-ball movement was forgotten.
But even allowing for that there was something to like from Flanagan, who showed he can play outside those structures as well with another cut out pass for Watene-Zelezniak’s second in the final minutes.
This time Flanagan got the ball flat-footed after a Nick Cotric offload and floated a pass straight out to his winger to dot down.
In an attacking sense, Barrett can put the result in Flanagan’s hands - and take the ups and downs that are inevitable when a half-back’s career is still only beginning.
With the benefit of hindsight, it was near impossible for Flanagan to play to those same strengths, or take such a great share in the result, last year at the Roosters.
It would take a lot for any player to take charge over the likes of Luke Keary and James Tedesco, let alone a halfback in his first full year of first grade.
And because those Tricolours are who they are and have done so much when things go right it must be because of them. Therefore when they go wrong it must have been the new guy’s fault.
It’s a simple interpretation of things, and one that is unfair to Flanagan and the Roosters, but that’s life in the big leagues.
At Canterbury, Flanagan is second to nobody. He won his teammates respect with his efforts in pre-season and on the field he is the loudest voice.
Sure, he might not have the galaxy of stars around him - and now, truly, he bears great responsibility for each win and loss - but the trade-off is worth it.
Now Flanagan has time to find his way, the space to win games and lose them and grow in the process..
There’s still pressure, because this is his team and the Bulldogs have had enough of losing, but it’s not off the same intensity.
The tougher moments of his Canterbury debut - like a few kicks that went dead because they were a little heavy, or his incorrect read on Mitch Barnett’s first-half try - are not potential fatal blows to a premiership campaign anymore.
Instead, they are the natural growing pains that come when a halfback is at the start of their NRL journey.
Of course, that doesn’t make the loss vanish into the ether.
The defeat might cause some Bulldogs fans to despair and believe instead of a revolution they’re going to be stuck with the same old story.
But this team is like Flanagan’s career, still a work in progress. Patience, be it in a halfback or an entire side, is the hard way - but the right one.
MATCH REPORT: INJURY CURSE STILL HAUNTS NEWCASTLE
—Matt Encarnacion
Canterbury fans will be hoping there is plenty of fight in their new top dog after the Trent Barrett era got off to a sorry start in Friday’s 32-16 season-opening loss to Newcastle.
Making his return to the coach’s box on Friday, Barrett was given a stark reminder of the enormity of the challenge ahead of him after his new-look side slumped to a five-try defeat in the Hunter.
“They’re disappointed and so they should be, because there was a couple of things in the game that I’m not too happy with,” Barrett said of post-game sheds.
One of last year’s worst defensive teams were opened up too easily in their first showing by an understrength Knights outfit spearheaded by two-try hero Daniel Saifiti.
The NSW State of Origin star celebrated his 100-game milestone in style by rumbling over for close range tries either side of halftime, adding to his 152 metres in carries.
Front-row partner David Klemmer produced a game-high 200 metres, while Newcastle held a backbreaking 16-2 advantage in offloads.
The victory may have come at a cost, however, with Kurt Mann (knee) and centre Bradman Best (leg) failing to finish the sapping contest.
Both sides traded two tries each over the opening half hour, but a rampaging Mitch Barnett four-pointer just before the break gave the hosts all the impetus it needed to keep the visitors at bay.
Kurt injury leaves Knights another Mann down
Mann’s suspected MCL injury is likely to leave coach Adam O’Brien reaching deep into his depth chart next week.
Mann was clutching at his right knee after appearing to clash knees with Kyle Flanagan, staying on for a few more minutes before limping off the field for Connor Watson.
Blake Green is still another month away from a return from his own knee issue, however youngster Phoenix Crossland will be available after serving a one-game ban for his role in a pub fight.
Watson, who came on and assisted on Barnett’s first-half try, is the likely front-runner, although he too also had to overcome an early second-half knock.
Ex-Knights skipper leads from front
Plenty of eyes were on the sacked Newcastle halfback following his tumultuous summer.
But the veteran No.7 put any concerns about his focus to bed with a typically determined effort, producing two try assists and a couple of key defensive plays.
Flanagan makes early point
The ex-Sydney Roosters reject showed why the club was eager to land him on a long-term deal, setting up all three of his team’s tries, while also landing a sideline conversion.
“I thought he was our best player,” Barrett said of Flanagan.
A pre-game downpour was hardly the ideal conditions for halves partner Jake Averillo to shine, but the highly-rated youngster failed to record a single run through the match.
Noises continue to abound that 2022 signing Matt Burton could make an early switch from Penrith, but, until then, Barrett may still have to make-do with the 20-year-old talent.
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