NRL Tackle: Paul Crawley’s likes and dislikes from the first week of pre-season trials
One massive question remains about the Bulldogs in 2022 - and Monday’s trial match left them no closer to answering it. Paul Crawley’s LIKES and DISLIKES from the trials.
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It was only the first week of the NRL trials but …
There sure were some warning signs to come out of the opening weekend. And equally, there were some wonderful moments that set up a highly anticipated countdown to the season ahead.
These are Paul Crawley’s likes and dislikes to come out of week one of the trials.
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DISLIKES
BULLDOGS’ BIG HALVES DILEMMA
For all the talk about Canterbury’s recruitment drive, there is still one massive question that remains unanswered: Who is going to stand up as Matt Burton’s halves partner this year?
And make no mistake, Trent Barrett has a huge decision to make this week when he names his team ahead of next Monday night’s final hitout against Cronulla.
With Burton missing in Monday night’s 16-all draw with Newcastle, it’s fair to say none of the candidates stood out.
Jake Averillo, Brandon Wakeham and Kyle Flanagan all had a go but failed to grab the game by the scruff of the neck.
And whereas you could clearly see Andrew Johns’ fingerprints all over the near full-strength Knights’ attack with Jake Clifford and Adam Clune particularly impressive in the first half, the Dogs just didn’t get it together.
What can’t be underestimated is just how important it is for the Dogs to get off to a good start when the season kicks off.
After opening games against the Cowboys and Broncos, they then take on the top four teams from last year in succession.
In round three it is the Sea Eagles followed by the Storm, Panthers and Rabbitohs. They then have the Broncos again followed by the Roosters and Raiders.
DON’T DARE EXCUSE THIS AS AN ACCIDENT
I’m sick of seeing innocent players taken out of the game by illegal and dangerous play.
Now we have young Parramatta winger Haze Dunster out of action, for how long we don’t yet know.
Dunster was on Sunday night left nursing a knee injury that will require scans to determine the extent of the damage.
What was obvious from the get go is it didn’t look good.
But regardless of what the damage ends up being, there is no excusing the tackle that caused the injury by St George Illawarra’s Tyrell Fuimaono.
No, Dunster’s name doesn’t carry the same weight as a Nathan Cleary or Tom Trbojevic.
But how would we be reacting right now if it was Cleary or Turbo’s season in jeopardy because of a similar unnecessary and ugly incident that left Dunster in awful pain and unable to walk unassisted from the field?
Because in my books it was not an accident.
It was careless tackle bordering on reckless.
I’m certain Fuimaono didn’t set out to intentionally harm Dunster.
But that doesn’t excuse what he did.
Just like Fuimaono would not meant to have taken out Ryan Papenhuyzen last year in a dangerous high shot that forced the Melbourne Storm superstar to miss a large chunk of the season.
You just can’t have it.
And in this instance that is not how you attempt a rugby league tackle. You are supposed to drive with your shoulder. Not dump your weight on one leg and watch your opponent buckle and squeal under the pressure.
There is a reason this tackle is illegal, because it is dangerous.
And I can only wonder how the Dragons might react if a similar incident was to sideline a player like Ben Hunt or Zac Lomax heading into the season.
So is Dunster any less important?
There is also no excuse for fatigue either because it occurred in the opening stanza of the game.
But still some people want to make excuses?
Just as they are concerned about this crackdown we saw on the weekend for high shots that resulted in several other players sin binned.
I congratulate the NRL for their stance.
There is no use complaining.
Just don’t do it.
Get your tackling technique right. Stop whacking blokes in the head.
What people need to understand is that the bloke carrying the ball has no way of protecting himself.
That is why it is the game’s obligation to try and protect him.
TIGER TORMENT
Tim Sheens is one of the modern game’s great football brains.
But I reckon even the cagey four-time premiership winning coach would have walked away concerned about the enormity of the job ahead when he watched the Wests Tigers against Manly on Friday night.
Without question, it was the most underwhelming and uninspiring performance of the weekend.
And I know the Tigers had half their top team missing, but so did Manly.
Yet it wasn’t so much the 28-4 scoreline that did it for me, it was more to do with the body language.
Yeah, for a while they showed some resolve in defence.
But while the Tommy Trbojevic-inspired Sea Eagles played with so much enthusiasm and confidence and sheer enjoyment, the Tigers looked strained and nervous, even scared to make mistakes.
I even heard James Tamou talking after the game about how they had set out to keep things simple. You couldn’t help but wonder what their mindset must be.
It was only last week that Benji Marshall was talking up Luke Brooks for this year’s Dally M halfback of the year, it really had me excited to see what changes would come from Sheens’ influence over the summer.
Yet on Friday night Daly Cherry-Evans took Brooks back to school. And it wasn’t just the under fire halfback who looked to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Even more worrying is what comes next, because they now take on the Sydney Roosters this Friday night who will have the majority of their big guns back (and no doubt they’ll be out to make a statement in their final hitout before the season gets underway).
And if the Tigers get lapped again, how will that then set them up for their season kick-off against the might of Melbourne in round one?
I’ve been around long enough to know you don’t write a team off after one poor trial performance.
But what you can’t do is sugar-coat the bleeding obvious, and that is I don’t think anyone would argue it will be a major shock if the Tigers make the finals this year.
CAPTAINCY SHAM
Still on the Tigers, I was embarrassed for Tamou to have to answer questions from the sideline (live on Fox Sports) about whether or not he will remain as captain this year. Seriously, the club have had all summer to get this sorted — yet they leave it to Tamou to try and talk his way out of a predicament he should not have been put in.
COVID CHAOS
The Covid situation that hit Canberra in the hours before kick off (when halfback Sammy Williams and stand-in hooker Matt Frawley were both ruled out) highlights what a lottery this season could ultimately be.
To the NRL’s credit at least they have done all they can to try and ensure it remains a fair playing field.
Not only have they allowed clubs to extend squads to 24 players this year, but all players will continue to undergo RAT tests before every training session, while independent biosecurity liaison officers are also monitoring all testing at every captain’s run, and on game day, to make sure teams don’t try and pull a swifty.
There have been some concerns that clubs may be tempted to try and manipulate the system if a player was to test positive before an important game (by not recording a test result).
But NRL head of football Graham Annesley quickly put that theory to bed when he explained why it was just not a possibility.
“No one can get on the field on match day with a positive test because our people are there supervising the tests,” Annesley said.
LOST DRAGON
Speaking of young talent on show. How in the world did young Tyran Wishart fall through the cracks at St George Illawarra.
The son of Illawarra Steelers legend Rod was always a highly touted teenager, but for some reason he’s now playing in Melbourne where he was outstanding at dummy half when he got his shot against the Warriors on Saturday night.
It again just goes to show what a wonderful recruitment system the Storm have that they can find a kid lost in another system and bring him up to NRL standard like they’re shelling peas.
It was great to see the relief on Kevvie Walters’ face when Jamayne Isaako landed that sideline conversion to level the scores on full-time against Gold Coast.
But while it got the Broncos out of jail for now, don’t be fooled.
They were down 26-8 before running in three late tries after the Titans called it a night.
In reality, the Titans were far more impressive when the two teams had the majority of their best players still out on the field.
And while it is not panic stations for Kevvie, I will want to see a far better defensive effort in this week’s trial against the Cowboys before I start talking the Broncos up as legitimate finals contenders going into the season.
LIKES
DRUG SHAME TO REDEMPTION
Rugby league loves a redemption story and Dylan Phythian is set to provide one at the Newcastle Knights.
The now 26-year-old was released from the club in 2018 after failing his second illicit drugs test.
That came after he missed the entire 2017 season with an ACL knee injury.
But on Monday night he was named on the extended bench for the trial against the Bulldogs and got some game time in the 16-all draw.
BRONCO BILLY A MUST … FOR NOW
Still on the Broncos, has Billy Walters just made life easier for his old man, or just put a headache on hold?
While it’s fair to say Billy walked away from the weekend ahead of Albert Kelly and Tyson Gamble on points to start the season as Adam Reynolds’ halves partner, it won’t be too long before young Ezra Mam is banging down the door to the NRL.
What an excitement machine this kid looks.
For where the Broncos are right now, young Walters probably did enough to keep his nose his front of the competition leading into the final trial against the Cowboys.
But Mam is the one to watch out for.
DCE’S LOOKS READY FOR A FIGHT
If Manly are to go to the next level this year Daly Cherry-Evans will need another huge season to try and take some more heat off Tom Trbojevic.
And doesn’t the Sea Eagles’ skipper looks ready to step up.
Don’t forget there is a World Cup at the end of the year and DCE is the Kangaroos’ incumbent halfback.
While most would concede Nathan Cleary would have to be a certainty if he is fit to wear the No 7 jumper, Cherry-Evans might be the one bloke on this earth who would argue that point.
XAVIER’S STORM SURGE
How impressive was Xavier Coates for Melbourne. He looks so fit and physical and hungry to impress. Craig Bellamy spoke before the game how Coates had been one of the standouts during pre-season training. It sure showed.
CROKER SHOWS CLASS
There is not a more unassuming player in the game than Canberra’s Mr Likeable captain, Jarrod Croker. But he has showed once again what a wonderful competitor he remains with his outstanding return from revolutionary stem cell knee surgery.
There’s been a lot of talk over the summer about how the veteran could struggle to keep some of the young gun centres coming through at the club at bay this year. Croker put to bed those concerns with a really classy performance.
Good luck to him in his chase to join the NRL’s 300 club this year (Croker is currently on 291 games).
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
There were so many sons of guns on show but the standout in a great crop was Jayden Campbell, again highlighting why Titans coach Justin Holbrook had no choice but to make the tough call to move AJ Brimson to five-eighth this year so Preston’s boy can continue his march to stardom.
REECE IS THE WORD
No wonder Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins are circling Reece Walsh. Not many players in the game can do what this fella is already capable of, as he showed again in the Warriors’ 30-16 win over the Melbourne Storm. It’s almost unbelievable to think he’s still only 19 (with only 16 NRL games in the bag).
A BRAND NEW MG
There was hardly a regular NRL player in action for either team so don’t take too much out of this scoreline.
But how good was it to see a new MG roll off the Panthers’ production line in the big 34-6 win over the baby Sharks?
And what a way for Mavrik Geyer, son of Penrith legend Mark, to kick off his NRL career with a try with his first touch in the top grade.
Playing the same left edge as his dad, Mavrik looks every bit as big and athletic, just a bit more pace.
YOUNG TALENT TIME
We constantly hear coaches and greats (past and present) question if there is enough talent to support further NRL expansion. What the weekend showed again is that there is more than enough talent, what some of these youngsters are lacking is a chance to prove it.
Young Manly rookies Kaeo Weekes, Jamie Humphreys and Tolu Koula gave glimpses of their talent, while train and trial hopeful Raymond Vaega finished with a second half hat-trick. For Canberra, fullback Xavier Savage was fantastic, playmaker Brad Schneider looked the goods, as did young dummy half Adrian Trevilyan (before he copped a head knock). Melbourne’s tear away rookie Jack Howarth was another who looked really strong, Terrell May and Naufahu Whyte for the Roosters. Jacob Gagai at fullback for Souths. Gold Coast rookie Jojo Fifita up against Kotoni Staggs. Ezra Mam.
Don’t get me wrong, not all are NRL ready right now, but they sure made the most of this opportunity.
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Originally published as NRL Tackle: Paul Crawley’s likes and dislikes from the first week of pre-season trials
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