NRL Agenda: Kevin Walters is in charge of a well-coached team, proving doubters wrong

Kevin Walters answered his critics in fine fashion to start the season. Here’s why Brisbane are a well-coached team that are full of confidence.

Api Koroisau must start for the battling Tigers. NRL Imagery

From selection calls to a fresh players rivalry that could be about to explode, we run the rule over the big talking points in rugby league.

Cameron Ciraldo has coached his first 80 minutes of NRL and already is facing a halves dilemma.

Neither five-eighth Matt Burton or halfback Kyle Flanagan were near their best in Canterbury’s heavy loss to Manly.

Speaking on The Daily Telegraph’s NRL podcast, Paul Crawley pointed out the masterclass from Sea Eagles halfback Daly Cherry-Evans showed exactly what the Bulldogs have been, and are still missing, a chief playmaker.

Ciraldo has other options in Josh Reynolds, Jake Averillo and even boom rookie Karl Oloapu.

But Ciraldo’s resolve must not weaken on Flanagan. The coach backed the 24-year-old in the pre-season and needs to back him this weekend against Melbourne.

Ciraldo must resist the urge to turn him into the scapegoat if results fail to come. Canterbury were poor in defence and attack, and any blame can’t fall squarely on Flanagan.

EATING MY WORDS ON KEVIN WALTERS

I got it wrong.

Good defensive units are well-coached teams. When well-coached teams show up for each other in defence, like Brisbane did against back-to-back premiers Penrith, they are also showing up for their coach in the box.

Brisbane are a team playing for their coach, Kevin Walters, and they go into Friday night’s Queensland blockbuster against the Cowboys full of confidence.

Last week this column insisted Walters was under the pump, that his two-year extension felt like a smoke screen to silence rumblings he was off with the playing group. First came the bombshells from Selwyn Cobbo and Tyson Gamble questioning Walters’ ability and then Herbie Farnworth back-flipped on a deal to stay at Red Hill to join Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins. Any questions of doubts raised from those incidents were answered in Brisbane’s gallant 13-12 win last Friday.

Kevin Walters CAN coach! Picture: NRL Imagery

WHY IS SHEENS SLEEPING ON KOROISAU?

Api Koroisau must start this weekend against Newcastle. He is the Wests Tigers most important signing, their skipper, a three-time premiership winner, warming the bench at kick-off of the Round 1 clash with Gold Coast. It was a strange move by coach Tim Sheens. Koroisau is the kind of hooker that can control the tempo of a game, that gives the Tigers the best chance at starting the match well. Instead, he was sent on when the side was trailing by 10 points and on the back foot. And when Koroisau did come on he gave their spine more shape in attack. Benching Koroisau worked at Penrith because the Panthers pack had the power game to ‘soften up’ the opposition before injection the wily rake to cause havoc from the ruck against tired legs. There was talk Koroisau was underdone and needed to start from the bench. It could be a similar scenario for Englishman John Bateman, if he is cleared to play on Sunday.

Apisai Koroisau must start against Newcastle. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

SUPERCOACH STAR: REECE ROBSON

One try assist, three tackle busts, 43 tackles and a juicy 74 points in round one. The North Queensland Cowboys hooker is on course to becoming one of SuperCoach’s elite dummy-half options, joining Harry Grant and Damien Cook. When Robson started punching out 80-minute games last season, he consistently scored above 70 points. He has continued that trend into season 2023. With Cowboys’ soft draw in the opening eight rounds, which includes Dolphins, Titans, Newcastle end Warriors twice, Robson is well-placed to keep stacking up the points.

UNDER PRESSURE: ANTHONY GRIFFIN

Who said a round 1 bye was a bad thing” St George Illawarra fans woke up on Monday morning to see two competition points in the bank and the Dragons sitting just outside the eight. Given they’re $4.25 fancies — behind Newcastle ($3.75) and the Dolphins ($4) — for the wooden spoon, it's a leg-up needed by everyone at the Dragons, no one more so than under siege coach Anthony Griffin. After an off-season of off-field scandals and a dismal showing in the trials, only a win against the Gold Coast will ease the pressure off Griffin. It won’t be an easy task, they’ll be coming up against a well-drilled Justin Holbrook-coached side that showed clear improvements in round 1 than the Titans of last year.

Dragons coach Anthony Griffin is under pressure

MARKET MOVER: BRAYDON TRINDALL

Trindall will put himself in the shop front window once again this weekend with Nicho Hynes unlikely to return for Cronulla against Parramatta on Friday. The Sharks halfback not only stepped-up to replace the reigning Dally M player of the year, Trindall showed he has what it takes to be a first choice playmaker. He kicked well, nailing a 40-20 and his pass selection was on point. Trindall is locked up at Cronulla until the end of season 2025, and it’s clear to see why the Sharks moved to secure him, but the 23-year-old is too good to be a depth halfback signing or languishing in reserve grade. He’d be a boost to any number of sides currently looking for a halfback, like the Wests Tigers or could even fit in at the Dragons. .

WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO: FRENEMIES

Leichhardt Oval could be set for fireworks on Sunday. As teammates at Wigan, Jackson Hastings and John Bateman didn’t get along. When it firmed that Bateman would end up at Concord in 2023, Hastings, at least on the face of it, became a sacrificial lamb and was allowed to move on to Newcastle. Now, the duo are set to go face-to-face when the Tigers take on the Knights on Sunday. The root cause of the animosity between the pair has never been spoken about publicly, but the tension between the players became part of the storyline of Bateman’s move to the Wests Tigers — and a new chapter could be written this weekend.

Originally published as NRL Agenda: Kevin Walters is in charge of a well-coached team, proving doubters wrong