Campo’s Corner: James Maloney and Nathan Cleary might never work in their current state
Have James Maloney and Nathan Cleary ever truly worked together, why the Darius Boyd question is more complex than you might think and this week’s Golden Hombre.
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Nathan Cleary and James Maloney are two players at opposite ends of their careers but both find themselves short of time.
Twelve months after they lead the Blues to a stirring series victory, the two now play as though they’ve never met each other and while Penrith’s problems are myriad the hammer will always fall hardest on Cleary and Maloney, the club’s two most high-profile and important players.
In the loss to Canberra over the weekend Maloney’s frustration manifested, as it often does, with foul play and it’s a real shock he’s not been suspended for his clear chicken wing tackle on John Bateman.
He’s always been a magnet for penalties and missed tackles but for so long the good stuff far outweighed the bad.
It’s hard to say that now. The dangerous running game which has been such a feature of his time at the Warriors, Roosters and Sharks has all but vanished and the judicious passing and kicking simply isn’t coming up. In his long and winding career Maloney’s confidence has always seemed unbreakable – regardless of the stakes, no moment was ever too big, no error so bad it sunk him totally.
Cleary is plagued by similar uncertainty, a stark contrast from the decisive, assured figure we’ve seen in the first three years of his career. On a fundamental level, Maloney and Cleary seem unable to really fit together the way the best halves do, in a full season together they have none of the give and take, the ebb and flow of a truly great halves combination.
If we’re being real, Maloney and Cleary’s combination has never really worked the way it could have. Maloney’s best patch as a Panther came in the early stages of last year when Cleary was sidelined through injury, when he picked up 13 Dally M votes in six matches.
In Origin, Maloney was outstanding as the dominant playmaker with Cleary very much playing a secondary role – of the seven tries the Blues scored in the first two matches of the series, Maloney either threw the final pass or put the kick in for five of them while most of Cleary’s highlights were based on his strong defence.
This made a lot of sense, seeing as Maloney was the experienced man and Cleary the rookie, and results show it worked a treat.
Perhaps in their Origin performances we can find the root of the issue. Cleary and Maloney thrived at the game’s highest level when Maloney was able to act as the dominant playmaker and Cleary took more of a secondary role.
But can this dynamic hold up over a full season? Maloney is not as consistent as he once was and at 32 he doesn’t have many years left. His career has had several peaks, namely the two premiership wins, but it’s fair to say he’s now at a different stage of his career. Cleary is undoubtedly the club’s future but even though he’s still just 21 he will be graded on a different curve due to his early start.
And as impressive as Cleary has been in the embryonic years, how has he developed as a player since then? There’s still plenty of time for him to find his way and grow as a footballer, but this is the first time the mammoth expectations have begun to swamp his production.
The Panthers did finish fifth on the ladder after 26 rounds last year and both halves played good footy in patches, but it never felt like a true combination, rather their individual talent coming to the fore almost in rotating turns.
Penrith have more problems than their ailing halves – there’s a general lack of toughness around the middle of the field and little fluidity or combinations in their backline. Outside of “throw it to Viliame Kikau and hope” there’s not a lot going on once they get inside the attacking 20.
But the slings and arrows are firmly on Maloney and Cleary and won’t stop until they either turn it around or the club starts winning. Maloney is one of just two NSW halves to win an Origin man of the match award since Andrew Johns retired (the other is Greg Bird – use that to win a bet with a mate around Origin time) and of the conveyor belt of Blues halves rolled out since then he is the most accomplished, at both club and representative level.
But, if the mail is to be believed, his Origin career is hanging by a thread and Cleary isn’t that much steadier. Nothing short of disaster will keep Luke Keary out of the team and Cody Walker is less a player than a movement. One of the Panthers may survive, but not both. If he’s dumped Cleary may return one day and nothing can take away the things Maloney has done, but today is not tomorrow or yesterday.
There are two ways Penrith can go – either Cleary and Maloney will finally find the right fit and Penrith starts winning consistently or they won’t and Penrith continue to flounder. If the second of those possibilities comes through there might be some big decisions to be made out west.
CANBERRA FACE THEIR TRUEST TEST
For everything said above about the Panthers, Canberra’s 30-12 victory over the weekend was still impressive precisely because it’s the exact sort of game the Raiders would have dropped in the past.
On the back of a disappointing loss with Jordan Rapana and Joey Leilua out, John Bateman succumbing to injury after the opening 20, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad in the sin bin and Penrith camped on their own line, Canberra were able to repeatedly turn the Panthers away and win on focus, commitment and sheer will, things the 2017-18 Raiders, for the most part, knew very little about.
Jack Wighton’s move to five-eighth, which I was very sceptical about in the pre-season, is working very well and his development week to week is impressive. The short ball he threw to Elliott Whitehead was the kind of classy touch Wighton has lacked at times in his career while his kicking game was again strong.
At 6-2, nonbelievers can’t really point to a soft draw anymore but Canberra have beaten just one of the current top eight sides.
They have the perfect opportunity to take the next step this weekend at the marquee clash of Magic Round against the Roosters.
With no Leilua again and the Roosters on absolute fire it’ll be a tough one to say the least but a credible performance, even in defeat, would be a big step for the Raiders, who have already come so far.
THE DARIUS BOYD DILEMMA
Broncos fans are baying for Darius Boyd’s blood in the way only a fanbase spoiled by success can be and the clock is surely ticking for the ailing skipper.
Anthony Seibold has swung the axe this week, dropping Jamayne Isaako and James Roberts as well as benching Tevita Pangai Junior. However, the wailing hordes demanding blood for Brisbane’s meagre 2-6 will continue their campaign of retribution and with Kodi Nikorima gone only sacrificing Anthony Milford or Boyd will satiate them.
Dropping Milford still seems improbable, as meagre as his returns have been, but either dropping or moving Boyd is just as weighty a decision.
If Seibold moves away from Boyd as Brisbane’s fullback it’s a clear sign the club is all but done with him – even though Wayne Bennett shifted the veteran to the centres for a few weeks last season Boyd’s skill set at this point of his career is ill-suited to either centre or wing. It is unlikely he can be a five-eighth, centre or winger – either Boyd is Brisbane’s fullback or he is nothing and if he is dropped he might never come back.
With Isaako, the heir apparent, quietly enduring a wretched season of his own the axe will not fall on Boyd just yet but if it does it will be Seibold’s biggest decision as Broncos coach, even more so than moving on from Nikorima.
Turning away from Boyd, perhaps not a Broncos legend but certainly an important figure in the club’s history, would be a powerful symbolic gesture in moving Brisbane away from what they were under Wayne Bennett. It would also be a ruthless call on the club captain, the kind of hard decision Seibold has never had to make in his brief first grade career.
Much like the Panthers, time is running out for Seibold to make something of his first season with Brisbane. This is a club and a fanbase who do not accept the idea of a rebuilding season – Broncos fans talk about the Ivan Henjack and Anthony Griffin years like they were the siege of Stalingrad and the club still qualified for the finals four times in six years and made two preliminary finals.
Seibold’s defence of the loss to South Sydney was rightfully panned. He needs wins, or at the very least he needs to show he’s willing to accept that whatever’s going on right now isn’t working.
Moving on from Boyd may well be the right call but as bad as he’s going right now it’s still a tough call. It’s ludicrous to think Seibold is under pressure eight games into a five-year deal but he needs some relief any way he can get it.
SCOREPOCALYPSE
And now, to celebrate Latrell Mitchell scoring 26 points in a match, here’s some other guys who scored a lot of points in a single game and some things I know about them.
Frank Burge – The newly minted Immortal holds the record for most points in a match by a forward after his eight try, four goal effort in a 41-0 over University in 1920. The eight tries is also a premiership record for a single match, so it was a huge day for all the Glebe fans out there.
Graham Eadie – One of the game’s greatest ever goalkickers, Eadie knocked over 14 goals in Manly’s 70-7 win over Penrith in 1973 for 28 points. It’s the premiership record for most points scored in a single match without scoring a try and was just the third time in premiership history a team scored more than 70 points in a match.
Terry Campese – The Raiders five-eighth scored 36 points in a 74-12 win over Penrith in 2008 from four tries and 10 goals in what was a formative day for myself as a young man. Campese could have scored 38 and equalled Mal Meninga’s club record, which would have been the second highest total of any player in a single match but gave the easy kick to rookie halfback Marc Herbert because Terry Campese is just the best.
Terry Lamb – Lamb was a kicker on and off through his long career but took up the sand bucket in 1986 and scored all 26 points for Canterbury in a 26-16 win over Wests that season, the highest total for a player who scored all of his team’s points in a single match.
Ryan Girdler – The early 2000s were heady days for the Blues and it never got any better than the dawn of the millennium when Ryan Girdler scored a truly irresponsible amount in New South Wales’ biggest ever win. Count ‘em – three tries, ten goals, 30 points in a 56-16 massacre. The Penrith man levelled Dally Messenger’s old interstate record, set in 1911, and any time you can match one of The Master’s records you know you’ve had a good day.
The Golden Hombre
Is there anything more thrilling than when a big man gets into the clear and attempts an ill-advised dummy, or perhaps a chip kick?
Is there anything greater than when a large lad decides the time has come for him to show the world the ball skills he knows lurk deep within?
Is there anything that lifts the spirit more than a hefty fellow crashing across the stripe for his second NRL try in his 179th first grade match?
I say no, and to honour these big fellas each and every week of the year, which many have dubbed #BigManSeason, we hand out The Golden Hombre, named after Todd Payten, the biggest halfback God ever created.
Braden Hamlin-Uele crashing over for the first try of his NRL career was terrific. James Tamou running 40m to score an unlikely try was inspiring.
But there’s only one winner this week and let’s be honest, it will take some beating for the overall Golden Hombre, which will be handed out at the end of the season. Hell, John Asiata might overtake Payten as the largest halfback in history because the Cowboys man actually plays in the halves sometimes.
You’ve already seen it, but let’s go through it again anyway. Asiata gets the ball 40m out, not much on. He surveys the opposition for weakness, like a lion eyeing gazelle on the Savannah. There are 13 minutes to go and North Queensland lead 16-14, not a solid lead at the best of times.
With the deft touch of a painter, Asiata kicks in behind Anthony Don. It’s a left footer if you don’t mind
Ben Hampton is first to the kick and throws a pass inside to the big man, the hefty unit, the large lad, the one and only John Asiata who canters the final 15m to score untouched. It’s the third try of his career in his 101st NRL match and quite possibly the greatest moment in the history of the North Queensland Cowboys.
Men cheer, women swoon, children dance in the streets. The people have a new hero. I will name my first son after John Asiata.
A Guy You Should Know
Hudson Young made his NRL debut for Canberra against Newcastle in Round 3 and earns his first start this weekend as an injury replacement for John Bateman.
The 20-year old has acquitted himself well and got major minutes for the first time in the win over Penrith where he impressed with his mobility and strength.
With Bateman set for at least five weeks on the sidelines it could be the making of Young, who surpassed Jack Murchie in the pecking order after a terrific pre-season and has a set of Warwick Farms that are the size of ordinary people’s legs.
Originally published as Campo’s Corner: James Maloney and Nathan Cleary might never work in their current state
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