What we learned from the final weekend of NRL trials
WHO’S hot, who’s not and who’s in serious trouble heading into the 2017 campaign? Get all the best info in our wrap of all the final weekend of pre-season.
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WHO’S hot, who’s not and who’s in serious trouble heading into the 2017 campaign?
Get all the best info in our wrap of all the final weekend of pre-season.
1. PEACHEY ON FIRE: Expect Tyrone Peachey to start the season in the centres.
Peachey was at his elusive best against the Eels, regularly beating defenders with his silky footwork.
Panthers coach Anthony Griffin was highly impressed with his performance, strongly indicating the City Origin representative will commence the season in the centres.
“The other guys have got to get passed him (Tyrone),” Griffin said.
“He finished the year as a great centre for us and his game last week in the All Stars and again tonight, he is in really good form.
“I’m really happy with what he is doing there.”
2. PANTHERS CAN PUSH ON: Believe the hype, Penrith are the real deal.
The Panthers validated their premiership credentials with an impressive display against Parramatta.
Peachey was the star, but the mountain men had solid contributors across the park.
Young five-eighth Te Maire Martin looks set for a huge season coming off a shoulder reconstruction.
Martin combined beautifully with skipper Matt Moylan and halfback Nathan Cleary to give the Panthers plenty of potency around the ruck.
Watch for star recruit James Tamou to settle in just fine at Penrith. Tamou has the size and strength to perfectly complement the Panthers’ skilful pack.
3. PARRA’S OPTIMISM: It’s fair to say Parramatta can finally move on from their scandal-dominated 2016 season with fresh hope for the future. If their trial performance against Penrith was any indication, the Eels will be more than competitive this season.
The Blue and Golds didn’t beat Penrith, but they deserve praise for their effort without star playmaker Corey Norman (hamstring).
Parramatta’s record without Norman is average, but makeshift halves Troy Dargan and Clint Gutherson looked comfortable.
Bevan French was also electrifying from fullback, repeatedly beating defenders while scoring a classy solo try in the second half.
Former Panthers prop Suaia Matagi was another strong contributor for the Eels and looks set for a huge season.
Expect the Eels to push for a finals berth in 2017.
— Matt Logue
1. MUNSTER HAS THE RANGE: Cameron Munster looked comfortable and busy in the halves, combining well with Cooper Cronk in the limited time the two had together and throwing a number of fine passes. His lack of a long-kicking game is a concern but there can be no doubts about his tenacity in defence or his ability to physically handle defending in the frontline.
2. NAS IS NASTY: Nelson Asofa-Solomona missed the final stages of last season through injury but the big Kiwi is a special prospect. He looked threatening with every touch in Hobart, taking on the big Bulldogs forwards with ferocity and aggression and managed to barge his way over for a try in the second half.
3. SLIM SAM STILL HAS IT: Sam Kasiano can still provide an impact despite cutting down on the kg’s during the off season. The ball-playing skills are still there for the big man and his footwork still helps him prise through gaps he would have simply smashed through in the past. If he can play more minutes this season he could produce some of the best football of his career.
— Nick Campton
1. TOMMY TERRIFIC: Who would have thought the Prince of Brookvale Brett Stewart would not be missed when his time was up at Manly? As great a player as Stewart has been for the Eagles, his replacement Tom Trbojevic may turn out to be even better. Trbojevic is a special talent and his performance against a quality Roosters side in Gosford only reinforced that.
2. STRONG SIGNING: The recruitment of Blake Green by Trent Barrett and Bob Fulton will be significant for the Eagles. Not only does he provide a cool head and a strong kicking game to take the heat off play-making partner Dally Cherry-Evans, he allows Dylan Walker to move back to the centres where he has been close to Manly’s best in their two trial wins.
3. SHARP START: Roosters coach Trent Robinson knew what he was doing when he lured Luke Keary to the club from Souths. Keary took the ball to the line and looked really sharp against the Sea Eagles Eagles and working alongside Mitchell Pearce during the season behind a big Roosters pack, is going to be more than a handful for opposition defences.
— Barry Toohey
1. EASE UP: On the surface the scoreline is a shock and the Knights certainly had the better of the Raiders in every aspect, but there’s more to this than meets the eye. Canberra were without Jarrod Croker, Joey Leilua, Jordan Rapana, Edrick Lee and Sia Soliola and pulled all their starters bar Junior Paulo by halftime. Most of the players we’ll see in Round 1 were off by the 20-minute mark. The Knights were good, but this wasn’t the Canberra team we’ll see in the regular season.
2. KNIGHTS IMPROVE: However, Newcastle’s attitude and commitment did impress, especially in the opening minutes when they held their line for several sets in a row while Canberra were on the attack. Brock Lamb was impressive, as was Mitch Barnett, and while the finals are still beyond them we can expect the Knights to be far more competitive this season.
3. COTRIC OR TURNER?: The race to replace Jarrod Croker is still on — Turner started the match at left centre but did not impress while Cotric, who began on the left wing before moving to the centres later, had several dynamic touches despite a lack of opportunity. The Englishman is our tip to get the nod but Cotric is certain to play first grade at some stage this season.
— Nick Campton
1. LACK OF DEPTH: The Titans are facing a serious problem with their squad before the season starts. The Gold Coast have to find more quality depth to be a factor in 2017. They now have Jarryd Hayne, Konrad Hurrell, Kevin Proctor, Dan Sarginson, Nathan Peats, Ryan Simpkins and Pat Politoni battling injuries and do not have the cattle to replace them.
2. TIME IS MONEY: Kane Elgey and Ashley Taylor need time and patience before they are a dominant halves duo for the Titans. The young guns are extremely talented but have only played one game together. They will be inconsistent in 2017, but need to be shown some faith to reach their potential.
3. RTS IS BACK: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is back in a big way for the Warriors. RTS was sensational in his second game back from a knee reconstruction. If he fires along with Shaun Johnson, Issac Luke and Kieran Foran this year the Warriors could go a long way.
— Travis Meyn
1. TEDDY TERRIFIC: The sight of a fit and firing James Tedesco will give Wests Tigers fans a realistic reason to believe.
The fullback looked the goods every time he got his hands on the ball, and admitted he could not have been happier with the way he organised the defensive lines.
2. YOUNG GUN: Moses Suli is giving Tigers coach Jason Taylor some serious selection headaches.
The 18-year-old started the trial on the left wing, and was a handful each time he steamed on to the ball.
Jordan Rankin and Justin Hunt are also vying for the left wing spot, but neither are as physically intimidating as Suli.
He also hit it off with left centre Jamal Idris.
3. COWBOYS QUANDARY: Will Kalyn Ponga get a starting gig with North Queensland in round one?
An ankle injury to Antonio Winterstein means Cowboys coach Paul Green must decide if the Newcastle-bound youngster starts on the left wing.
The Cowboys were basically at full strength, but did look sloppy. Lachlan Coote in particular had a tough night and will be hoping trial form is just that.
— Christian Nicolussi
1. HOOKER PICTURE STILL UNCLEAR: Robbie Farah scored his first four-pointer in Rabbitohs colours but Damien Cook was the man of the hour after setting up the try of the day with a dart through the centre and a ripping banana kick for Braidon Burns in the second half. Having to choose between two in-form players is a good headache for Michael Maguire to have but it’s a decision that seems certain to shape Souths’ fortunes this season.
2. DRAGONS ATTACK SPLUTTERS: St George Illawarra struggling to score points is nothing new and the mishaps of the attack will give Paul McGregor little confidence in his potential halfback replacements for the injured Drew Hutchison. Josh McCrone was typically erratic and while Jai Field looked likely he still seems too slight to handle the physical rigours of the NRL at this stage.
3. BURNS, BABY, BURNS: The talk all summer from Redfern has been just how impressive Braidon Burns has been in the pre-season and the former Penrith man showed why in this match with a double on the right wing. Alex Johnston will take that spot once Greg Inglis returns but Burns would not look out of place in the big time by any means.
— Nick Campton
WARRINGTON WOLVES 27 d BRONCOS 18
1 SLOPPY SIGNS: Brisbane need to get back to basics and find their discipline before the season proper. While the match against Warrington was just a trial as part of the World Club Series, there were far too many uncharacteristic errors from the Broncos. It hurt them badly. They can’t let those mistakes happen against the Sharks in Round 1 and certainly not against the Cowboys in the following week.
2 RIGHT STUFF: The right side combination between James Roberts and David Mead could prove to be lethal with a bit more time. While they made errors in both defence and attack, they showed plenty of spark when it was most needed. Both scored a try each and gave glimpses to the potential they held for the season ahead. If they can clean up those small errors, particularly in defence, they will be unstoppable.
3 HIT AND MISS: Ben Hunt’s work with Daniel Merrett in the pre-season is yet to pay off. The half-back’s kicking game against Warrington was still hit and miss, something he admitted was an issue after Brisbane’s trial win over Cronulla earlier this month. Two of Hunt’s kicks were charged down by Warrington while others failed to hit their mark. He still has just over a week to work on it before the season opener against the Sharks on March 2.
— Rikki-Lee Arnold
Meanwhile, Korbin Sims has put his hand up for a Broncos starting jersey after rounding out his impressive pre-season with another strong performance.
Sims played nearly 50 minutes in the middle for the second-string Broncos in Saturday night’s 44-4 trial win against Wynnum-Manly at Kougari Oval.
The trial also saw utility Kodi Nikorima make a promising return to the game.
For a full wrap of the game here’s five things we learned from Wigan’s upset victory.
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