NRL 2021: Every NRL club’s ideal halves pairing for 2022

As the NRL awaits Adam Reynolds’ next move, one club will hit the ground running next season after doing their halves shopping early. We look at how every club is placed for 2022.

Cronulla Sharks star Shaun Johnson

As the NRL’s halves player market heats up, we take a look at every club’s ideal combination for season 2022.

The future of Adam Reynolds is a particularly big talking point, with five clubs chasing his services.

The Dragons have a three-way battle for the right to partner Ben Hunt, while Tom Dearden and Chad Townsend are set to form an all-new pairing at the Cowboys.

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Chad Townsend, Tom Dearden and Adam Reynolds are all hot property.

PANTHERS

6 Jarome Luai

7 Nathan Cleary

No issue here. Will look to re-sign Tyrone May for depth following Matt Burton’s decision to sign with Canterbury but otherwise one of the most stable halves pairing in the competition.

“Their halves are chalk and cheese,” premiership winner Luke Lewis said.

“Luai plays off the cuff and Cleary is a great leader. They will have a lot of success for years to come.”

EELS

6 Dylan Brown

7 Mitchell Moses

Moses has until round 10 to take up his one-year option. The club are discussing adding two years to his deal. Lewis said they must retain Moses.

“They have a good combination,” Lewis said.

“They need to keep Mitch or have a big play up their sleeve to find a controlling half and let Dylan play his natural game.”

SHARKS

6 Shaun Johnson

7 Adam Reynolds

On the look-out for a half and have Johnson and Moylan off-contract. Sharks are prepared to wait to see how Johnson returns. They can land Reynolds if they want to and Lewis has urged them to make a play. “He would be a really good fit at the Sharks,” Lewis said.

Cronulla's Shaun Johnson is on the comeback trail. Picture: Phil Hillyard

ROOSTERS

6 Luke Keary

7 Sam Walker

Roosters officials met with Walker’s management on Thursday and are confident they can lock the boom teen away on a two or three year deal next week. “They could be the best halves pairing in the competition,” Lewis said.

RAIDERS

6 Jack Wighton

7 George Williams

They will enter their third season together next year. Both are technically free agents at the end of next season with Williams off-contract and Wighton having an option in his favour. Have veterans Matt Frawley and Sam Williams off-contract this season.

STORM

6 Cameron Munster

7 Jahrome Hughes

Premiership-winning halves who are locked in long-term after Hughes brushed advances from the Warriors to commit to the Storm until 2024.

Cameron Munster is locked in long-term. Picture: Asanka Brendon - NRL Photos

WARRIORS

6 Kodi Nikorima

7 Chanel Harris-Tavita

The Warriors are confident Nikorima will not only take up his player option but will extend his time at the club. The club has faith in Harris-Tavita as a long-term halves option too. They have stability in the duo.

COWBOYS

6 Tom Dearden

7 Chad Townsend

After signing Townsend on a mega three-year deal, the Cowboys chased down Dearden.

“They can build around Chad,” ex-teammate Lewis said. “They’ve struggled with Michael Morgan being off the field a lot but Chad plays plenty of football. You know what you’ll get each week. He will be the guy who punches out a game plan and executes it.”

RABBITOHS

6 Cody Walker

7 Adam Reynolds

The most high-profile halves contract negotiation has centred around Reynolds. The Rabbitohs have refused to budge on their one-year deal and despite the prolonged talks have indicated they will keep the offer on the table. The Sharks situation has kept Reynolds’ hopes of remaining in Sydney alive.

“I cannot imagine him in another jersey,” Lewis said of Reynolds.

DRAGONS

6 Jayden Sullivan/Junior Amone/Corey Norman

7 Ben Hunt

The Dragons are yet to commence negotiations with Norman who is in the final season of a rich deal. They aren’t opposed to re-signing him for a further season but it will come at a significantly reduced rate. If a rival team comes in to make a big money play, the Dragons won’t match that deal. The have high opinions on youngsters Sullivan and Amone.

Corey Norman’s future is uncertain (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

BULLDOGS

6 Matt Burton

7 Kyle Flanagan

Have their top-line halves locked in for round one next year. The Bulldogs would be licking their lips at watching how Burton has performed for the Panthers in recent weeks. Flanagan has been having a tough time but the club is fully behind their No.7. Back-up Lachie Lewis is unlikely to be retained.

TIGERS

6 Adam Doueihi

7 Luke Brooks

Publicly and privately the Tigers have backed under-fire Brooks. But for how long? Should they continue to whimper they may have no choice but to move him on. Jackson Hastings has signed but will play a bench role or as a ball-playing 13.

“They have to give the Brooks/Doueihi combination some time,” ex-Tiger Braith Anasta said. “They haven’t had much of an opportunity to start the season. I do see that combination working. Hastings is first-grade quality and his kicking game is his strength. A lot depends on the back of the year but at this stage I would give Brooks and Doueihi some time.”

KNIGHTS

6 Jake Clifford

7 Mitchell Pearce

Newcastle are excited by this new-look combination and want to instil some confidence in Clifford. Pearce re-signed for just one year and is going to be on a year-by-year contract from now on. Blake Green will retire while the club is hopeful of retaining utility Kurt Mann.

“Clifford has a lot to prove,” Anasta said.

“He was touted for huge success but hasn’t transitioned into the top grade. You have to give him first crack but there is a bit of pressure on him.”

BRONCOS

6 Kotoni Staggs

7 Adam Reynolds

With Tom Dearden gone, they have hinted at Kotoni Staggs being in-line to wear the No. 6 jersey next year. Anthony Milford looks like he will be moved on. Will sign Billy Walters as a back-up half/hooker. Reynolds’ name has been mentioned as has Mitchell Moses. Landing one of them and keeping Staggs would be huge.

SEA EAGLES

6 Josh Schuster

7 Daly Cherry-Evans

Can’t hold back Josh Schuster any longer although his form in the back-row could make it difficult to shift him. Schuster has long been earmarked as the halves partner for Cherry-Evans but has made an easy transition into the back-row. The club has an option to retain Foran but is reluctant to commit to a further season.

Josh Schuster will eventually move into the halves. Picture: Gregg Porteous - NRL Photos

TITANS

6 Jamal Fogarty

7 Adam Reynolds

Gold Coast’s lack of star power in their 6-7-9 is what is holding them back from being a premiership force. They have Fogarty locked in but Ash Taylor’s million-dollar run is over. Reynolds would be a perfect fit but it is understood the club is lukewarm on the idea.

“They lack creativity and points big time,” Anasta said. “A high quality six or seven is their missing link. Heading into Friday’s game their 6-7-9 have no tries scored between them and just three try assists.”

HOW SHARKS BROUGHT JOHNSON BACK FROM BRINK

— David Riccio

Shaun Johnson will join the likes of NBA stars Kevin Durant, the late Kobe Bryant and dual international Sonny Bill Williams by returning from an injury that was once deemed career-ending for an athlete.

Seven months after rupturing his Achilles tendon, Johnson is back for the Sharks against the desperate Bulldogs at Kogarah Oval Saturday afternoon.

Calling on the advice from Australian sport’s leading physiotherapists who have worked with Olympic champions, the Kiwi international has proven he’s ready to return for Cronulla by clocking almost the same acceleration times he achieved as the Sharks’ 2020 player of the year.

The 30-year-old’s comeback is never more timely for the mid-table Sharks and also ahead of the final chapter of Johnson’s glittering career.

Off-contract at Cronulla, Johnson remains unsigned and is back in the shop window as of 5.30pm Saturday afternoon.

His next career move — either at the Sharks or elsewhere — will trigger a flurry of movement within the NRL halves market.

Which is another reason why Johnson’s return is loaded with anticipation and intrigue.

His journey back, after collapsing in agony and being taken from the SCG on a medicab against the Roosters on September 19 last year, has been meticulous and crucially, without hiccup.

“There were times that I thought he would have a setback, but he didn’t,’’ Sharks head of high performance Nathan Pickworth said.

Shaun Johnson is back for the Sharks, seven months after rupturing his achilles tendon. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“He has done really well.

“There’s not much more he can do now, but play.’’

Only 20 years ago, a ruptured achilles tendon was largely considered career-ending for leading athletes.

The largest tendon in the body, its strength is essential for walking, jumping and running.

But with the advance of sports science and key learnings, a full recovery within five to seven months is deemed possible, as proven by world sport’s biggest names who have suffered the injury including Durant, Bryant and Williams.

Closer to home within the NRL, former Broncos fullback Darius Boyd went on to represent Queensland and Australia after suffering a ruptured Achilles, while more recently Newcastle’s Connor Watson has made a successful comeback from the same injury.

In order to return Johnson to the field in peak fashion this afternoon, Pickworth consulted with former head physiotherapist of AFL club Port Adelaide and Super Rugby’s ACT Brumbies, Tim McGrath, as well as veteran AIS physiotherapist Craig Purdam, to enable the playmaker’s smooth recovery.

Purdam went to five consecutive Olympic Games, working with the Boomers basketball team as well as 1984 gold medallist in heptathlon Glynis Nunn and 1988 gold medal 400m hurdle champion Debbie Flintoff-King.

“We spent a lot of time before he (Johnson) started running planning his loading and what days he would run,‘’ Pickworth said.

Shaun Johnson is back in the NRL shop window.

“If you get that right, then you usually go okay.

“The sensitive time for an Achilles is when you’re starting strength training, running and then going to team training.

“You want a tendon as strong as you can.

“We prioritised getting Shaun really strong and he did a good job of that.

“When SJ got nervous about the next change, or had some uncertainty on how he would go with that, it was easy to reference back to show him how strong he was in the gym.”

At his peak, Johnson is one of the most devastating ballrunners in the game.

However, due to the nature of the former Golden Boot winner’s injury, there is a simple assumption that his lethal footwork will be forever hampered.

But Pickworth put that to bed.

“We sat down and looked at his matches in 2020,” Pickworth said.

“We chose 2020 for two reasons; the rule changes were pretty much what they are now and Shaun won our player of the year award.

“So if we could match Shaun‘s rehab to that, we knew it would be a positive outcome.

“Shaun had a goal of returning to a run speed and acceleration within five per cent of his best recorded time.

“He achieved that during his rehab.

“That will only develop further now with game time.”

Contacted by The Daily Telegraph, Boyd spoke with authority about his thoughts on Johnson returning to a standard of consistent matchwinning performances.

“You do worry if you’re going to be the same player when you come back — I had those thoughts,’’ Boyd said.

“But once you have that carry, you get that touch of the footy, you forget about it.

“Even if he lost half a step of pace, he would still be one of the most agile halfbacks in the game.

“He shouldn’t be worried at all.

“There’s plenty of athlete cases to show that you can come back better.

“Johnson has some of his best footy ahead of him, I reckon.”