NRL trials takeaways: The Sheens revolution looks to be building
The NRL trials have finished and if we can take away anything from it, it’s that the Wests Tigers’ revolution is looking the goods ahead of the 2023 season.
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Here’s what we learned from the final weekend of NRL trials as we build towards the season kick off on March 2.
START REYNOLDS AHEAD OF FLANNO
The heat is on Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo straight away to fix the Bulldogs attack and it should start with home crowd favourite Josh Reynolds coming in over the top of Kyle Flanagan.
From what we saw at Belmore on Sunday, Canterbury will be in for another long season unless some tough calls are made sooner rather than later.
The Bulldogs looked as flat as pancakes with the ball until Reynolds entered the game.
The other issue for the Dogs is that Parramatta recruit Hayze Perham never looked comfortable at fullback.
Ciraldo should also swallow his pride on this and reinstall Jake Averillo at the back.
DID DOGS OVERSPEND ON CRICHTON?
Stephen Crichton’s shaky performance at the back for Penrith would have set off some alarm bells at Belmore after the Dogs signed him on massive money to be their long-term fullback from next year.
The talk is the Dogs will be paying Crichton well over $800,000-a-season for four years.
That’s huge coin for an untested fullback.
St Helens fullback Jack Welsby played Crichton off the park and the Englishman is 21, a year younger than the Panther.
DRAGONS TO BLAME FOR SLOAN SHOCKER
Anthony Griffin has made a rod for his own back with his tough love development of Tyrell Sloan.
As sad as it was watching the young Dragon burst into tears after his Charity Shield shocker, you just can’t hide from the fact rival teams will feed off that and make Sloan an even bigger target when the fair dinkum comp gets going.
And while Griffin has come out and vowed to support Sloan through it, that is only due to the fact the Dragons don’t have another serious option to play fullback with Cody Ramsey out for the season.
But what if the Dragons had shown Sloan more faith last year instead of sending him back to NSW Cup, would he be in such a vulnerable position now?
WHY COBBO WOULD HAVE BRONCOS SECOND GUESSING
Selwyn Cobbo’s performance wearing the No.1 jumper against the Cowboys makes you wonder if the Broncos even needed to buy back Reece Walsh.
No doubt Walsh is a super talent, but Cobbo is as equally gifted.
And the biggest question for Broncos management will be how much longer can they keep Cobbo happy playing on the wing, now he’s had another taste of fullback.
Would the Broncos have been better off spending that money on a top-shelf dummy-half instead leaving Billy Walters and Cory Paix to duke it out for the No.9 jumper?
HOLBROOK RIGHT CHOICE ON BRIMSON/CAMPBELL DEBATE
As exciting a talent as young Jayden Campbell is, Justin Holbrook has made a potentially career saving call moving AJ Brimson back to fullback.
It allows Kieran Foran to partner young Tanah Boyd in the halves, while Sam Verrills’s performance just again shows what a gun he can be if he stays injury free.
And while rookie winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira stole the show with his four tries, don’t overlook David Fifita charging for the most metres of the forwards with 10 runs for 148m.
BENNETT WASTING TIME WITH MILFORD
Wayne Bennett has always been a sucker for a hard luck story.
But the old super coach is wasting his time trying to resurrect Anthony Milford’s career.
You’d much rather see Bennett give the gun teenager Isaiya Katoa the chance to develop a partnership with Sean O’Sullivan from the get-go, with O’Sullivan very impressive in what was an overall pretty disappointing Dolphins performance.
Milford has had his chances and he’s wasted most of them.
The Dolphins fans deserve a fresh start.
‘HAPPY’ TIGERS CAN MAKE EIGHT
Mitchell Moses’ decision on where he plays next season and beyond just got a whole lot tougher.
Moses has said he wants to play where he can win a premiership, regardless of what each club is prepared to pay.
Going into the weekend that would have had Parramatta clearly in front.
But the way Wests Tigers are building under Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall really looks impressive.
I didn’t think the Tigers had a hope of making the eight this year until I watched Sunday’s demolition of the Raiders.
Even without Api Koroisau and Luke Brooks they look the real deal.
I wrote the previous week after that 48-12 loss to the Warriors how deflating it was.
Even though they were missing their major players in New Zealand, given all the hype we’d had over the summer, it just left you feeling flat.
But this was the total opposite.
Sure, it’s only a trial.
But there was a definite change to the way they play I didn’t expect to see so soon.
They finally look like they’re happy.
HOPGOOD IS EELS’ MISSING LINK
Back on the Eels, former Panther J’maine Hopgood could easily end up one of the buys of the year with his ball playing set to give the Eels’ attack an extra dimension.
Think of the pressure Isaah Yeo takes off the Penrith halves with his passing game.
Hopgood didn’t arrive with the same hype as new hooker Josh Hodgson.
But this young Queenslander could turn out to be the Eels’ missing link.
CLEARY COULD STRUGGLE WITHOUT API
There was certainly no shame in Penrith’s golden point World Club Challenge loss to St Helens.
It was one of the great pre-season games of all time.
But what it did confirm is how big a loss Api Koroisau is going to be in respect to the Panthers’ hopes of a three-peat.
It showed why Nathan Cleary could struggle to get the same sort of time he is accustomed to without Koroisau’s dummy half smarts.
JURY OUT ON PONGA’S SWITCH FOR KNIGHTS
Kalyn Ponga’s switch to five-eighth could turn out a great success, but what we’ve learned after one game is that success won’t happen overnight.
There was some positive and negatives in Ponga’s performance.
But while no one doubts he’s going to have some outstanding moments with the ball, it’s his defence that’s the real worry.
The way Moses found him out just before the break summed it up.
SEIBOLD SHOWS CHANGE CAN BE GOOD
What about the young talent on show for the Sea Eagles.
While a lot of the pre-match focus was on who was missing for the Roosters, don’t forget Manly was without Tom Trbojevic, Daly Cherry-Evans and hooker Lachlan Croker.
That didn’t stop young guns Kaeo Weekes at fullback and Gordon Chan Kum Tong at hooker really making a statement to Anthony Seibold about where they now stand in the pecking order.
And how good was Tolu Koula in the centres, while former Wests Tiger Kelma Tuilagi looks a real weapon on the edge, although I’m still not convinced Josh Schuster’s best position is five-eighth.
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