Damien Cook can be the spark for South Sydney against Roosters
The lightning-fast Eels-Broncos match serves as a warning to the Sydney Roosters. The new rules mean one South Sydney player in particular, is set to cause havoc, writes MATTY JOHNS.
Opinion
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Off the top of your head Friday night’s clash may appear pretty straightforward.
The Bunnies have had a bludger of a month, controversies, suspensions and so on.
While the Roosters have been eerily quiet, working away in the long grass, aware that in this reduced competition 0 and 2 means they need to get going immediately.
But these derby fixtures can be notoriously fickle and in this case even more so given we’re all not quite sure how big an impact the rule adjustments will have on the game and the style of football that the different teams like to play. Although Thursday night’s belter between Parramatta and Brisbane gave us a little insight.
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I will say this, the emphasis on cleaning out all the skulduggery in the play-the-ball area and the referee’s ability to simply wave six again, is a huge bonus for Souths.
With Greg Inglis no longer there, Cody Walker serving a suspension and Latrell still finding his feet and fitness, Damien Cook will be the epicentre of the South Sydney attack.
Of all the positions in the field, the dummy half is the big winner in the cracking down on the ruck wrestle, or whatever you want to call it.
Only one game of football has been played under the “wave six again” rule, and if the referees use it in the manner of zero tolerance, then the middle defence is going to be placed under enormous pressure.
All teams are going into this round blind, with really no idea of how severe this crackdown on the ruck is going to be.
I guarantee this, all the teams are going to pick up where they left off as far as slowing the play-the-ball and early on they’ll test the referee’s mettle to continually wave six more.
If referees hold their nerve and stay the course, we could see 16 or more tackle sequences — like the Broncos suffered early on against the Eels — this will make big middle defenders more vulnerable than ever before.
So how these rules are exactly implemented and how this match is refereed is going to be a major factor in who benefits and who wins.
Creative No.9s like Josh Hodgson and Cameron Smith will enjoy the faster rucks and loosened middle, but Damien Cook will absolutely love it.
If this rule has the desired effect, Damien Cook’s explosive speed, combined with the immediacy of the position plays, will make him the NRL’s most dangerous attacking player.
The battle of the once premiership winning teammates, Luke Keary and Adam Reynolds is crucial, they’re ability to generate extra possessions through smart kick options will be a big factor in a sped up game.
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And of course the battle of the fullbacks brings enormous interest. If Cook turns out to be the game’s most lethal attacker, he will only be a short-half head in front of James Tedesco. Tedesco keeps finding a way to get better and will be everywhere.
Latrell Mitchell’s fitness levels won’t allow him to be everywhere, but regardless, he’s not really that type of player.
As Trent Robinson knows, Latrell is capable of explosive bursts of brilliance and brutality which swings matches and wins matches.
Most importantly, this match will have a huge viewership.
Many of those viewers will have a mild interest in the sport, some may be watching for the first time.
Let’s hope the contest is as good as we know it can be.
ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD
The rule changes which have been brought in by Project Apollo and Peter V’landys had to be made.
I envisage some early teething problems but long term, the game benefits.
When defence dominates the attack, the game suffers significantly.
Rugby union is the prime example.
In my opinion, the 1995 Rugby World Cup was rugby at its very best, many may disagree but that’s my opinion.
Shortly after that tournament the game went professional and suddenly not only did the players became fitter, faster and stronger, but they employed full-time defensive coaches, many of whom came from rugby league.
This has led to a negative evolution, certainly in this country where the sport has become more and more difficult to watch. This is not a criticism of the players, there’s simply not enough room on the field.
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If at times rugby league’s 13-a-side looks too congested, 15-a-side is claustrophobic.
Rugby in Australia finds itself in a precarious situation, but rugby league shouldn’t be arrogant or complacent.
For the first time the northern hemisphere are acknowledging changes need to be made, and they are using this pause, as we did, to look at their options.
The urgency for change is mainly coming out of England and things such as a summer switch are being discussed.
But one of the big issues being talked about is de-cluttering the field and how they do it.
One expert has even thrown up reducing the number of players on the pitch to 13 … Sound familiar?
The purists have scoffed but the most important thing for rugby is the acknowledgment of where they have evolved to, and the conversation of how they fix it.
It gives further credit to V’landys and Project Apollo for not just recognising where our game was heading, but having the guts to implement possible solutions.