Knights v Sharks: Jayden and Blayke Brailey will face each other in an NRL match for the first time on Friday night.
Jayden and Blayke Brailey will face off in the NRL for the first time on Friday night. The brothers, and their dad, open up about the long-awaited showdown.
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Aside from backyard encounters and plenty of training drills, the Brailey boys have only matched up once before.
Ahead of their long-awaited clash on Friday night, Jayden, Blayke and dad Glenn discuss what it will feel like as the brothers play an NRL match against each other for the first time.
It depends on who you speak to regarding the seriousness of this Oztag competition about seven years ago – the last time the Brailey boys stared down each other on the field. For Jayden it was inconsequential while Blayke, he has not been able to let his brother live it down.
Blayke Brailey was blessed with success. His junior rugby league team beat all in front of them and he was part of national success for Cronulla’s young teams. When there was no age group for Blayke in Oztag, they played up two grades which led to an eventual showdown with Jayden in the grand final. Jayden was 17 and Blayke two years his junior.
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“It’s Oztag, it’s pretty social,” Jayden said.
“I’m sure Blayke has told you that he has won 10 competitions and I haven’t won anything. That was my chance and we got done.
“I’ve never won a grand final in anything. If it was tackle it would’ve been a different story.”
Blayke has reminded Jayden about that game this week. The messages have flown thick and fast between the two in the family WhatsApp group. They spoke on Tuesday night but aren’t sure if they will cross paths until they lock down in potentially the first scrum on the night.
While they both wear the No.9 and have shot to NRL stardom, that is where the similarities between the two end, according to Glenn.
“The difference is Jayden is very structured with his life,” Glenn said. “He has everything in place.
“Blayke is a little bit more laid-back, casual and free-spirited. Jayden was good academically but Blayke is very good creatively. He is a good drawer and painter. He doesn’t play PlayStation where Jayden loves it. They are very left brain and right brain. They’ve always had a healthy competition against each other and we have encouraged it.”
Jayden described it like this – his strengths are generally Blayke’s weaknesses and visa-versa.
Halftime during Origin matches resulted in knee football in the lounge room as the Brailey boys were growing up. An old punching bag in the front yard helped craft their tackling technique and there was a football in every room.
When Jayden made the jump into the top grade in 2017, Blayke watched in awe. Just two years later and they were playing alongside each other in the NRL for the Sharks.
“It’s going to be weird looking across and seeing him in a different jersey,” Blayke said. “I have a few things in mind that I will say to him. He is a bit more of a fiery person compared to me. I’m not too sure if I’ll be able to put him off his game but I’ll be putting in all the tricks
“There are a few things he did at training when he was at Cronulla that I haven’t forgotten and they get under his skin.
“I would love it if he runs at me or I run at him.”
Jayden’s season-ending knee injury prevented the pair from facing off last year. Blayke circled this encounter as soon as the draw was released.
Glenn, who is the Sharks’ development and pathway manager, maintains the family is neutral. Jayden believes because he has supplied the tickets, they have to cheer for him.
“We cannot be prouder of them,” Glenn said. “They are living their dreams and a very privileged life and they understand that.”
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Matty Johns column: How will ‘high roller’ Sam weather the Storm?
One of the last lessons a playmaker learns is to forget about the rearview mirror. Leave your mistakes where they were made, move on, don’t let it impact your confidence and creativity the next time the ball hits your hands.
That’s what impressed me the most about Sam Walker’s game.
The fact that his difficult first half last Saturday night had zero effect on his willingness to call the ball and take some chances when the game was on the line.
In the final 20 minutes he was clearly the best player on the field, that blows me away. You see, for young playmakers, it’s normally the other way around.
In the first 20 minutes they call the ball freely knowing a mistake won’t impact the result too dramatically.
In the final 20, when the game is there to be won or lost, that’s the domain of the more experienced shot caller, the higher level of pressure tends to subdue the younger man, knowing a handling error, a forced pass or misjudged kick can be tomorrow’s headline.
The opening period is the $5 table in Blackjack, the closing minutes the high rollers.
Sam was in the high rollers and he won, that more than any flick, trick or clever step shows that he will have no problems handling all the expectation, he has the temperament.
For a playmaker, that’s every bit as important as skill, vision and awareness, probably more. But on the subject of skill and tactical awareness, he’s certainly not lacking.
The first time I saw Sam play was in the NSW Cup and that afternoon most of his touches were looping long passes and it made me wonder whether the long passes were based on vision or habit.
Young players tend to develop habits from schoolboy football, which they slowly get out of with experience.
In Walker’s first two outings I’m convinced it’s not habit, it’s vision, and clever understanding of how the opposition is defending his threat.
Last Saturday night, as the Sharks wingers defended his threat in an outside/in manner, he threw high and long. On another occasion, they sat off him and stepped his way over.
Now we know why coach Trent Robinson hasn’t hesitated in thrusting Sam into the Roosters’ top team without the expertise and experience of Luke Keary, he has special talent and temperament.
Friday night is the biggest challenge for any playmaker, let alone a young man going into just his third NRL game, Melbourne in Melbourne at night.
Night football in Melbourne is a tough proposition for playmakers, the dew makes the football slippery and it doesn’t hit your hands the way ball players most like it. That feeling which allows you to grip it early and rip it long if need be.
That extra half second it takes to get a true grip makes a substantial difference in beating a rushing, organised defence.
And Melbourne Storm don’t discriminate, it doesn’t matter how big you are, how fit you are, how nice a bloke you are or how old you are, they will go after you if they deem your performance vital to an opposition.
And they will really test Walker’s performance on Friday night.
The Storm are the masters of studying tape, an example is how they picked off Nathan Cleary’s long pass in the Grand Final, intercepting it for a try.
There are so many great aspects to this match, the battle of the fullbacks will be monumental,
James Tedesco vs Ryan Papenhuyzen.
The loss of Keary has seen Tedesco step up his first receiver play, I think last week he impinged on his halves slightly but got the balance right in the second half.
Papenhuyzen is on one of the hottest runs of form I’ve seen. In each match this season he’s provided explosions of brilliance, pouring through the centrefield defence.
Tigers fans will be watching this match up with a box of Kleenex close by, given their club had both these players on their books.
As Cher sang so gloriously, “If I could turn back time”.
Melbourne’s game will really begin to step up in the next few weeks with the return of Harry Grant at dummy-half. Grant in the No.9 role allows Brandon Smith to revert to his devastating running role at the middle defence.
That combination of Grant, Smith and Papenhuyzen is a middle defender’s worse nightmare.
This will be a tough, hard-fought yardage game, but I’m going for the Storm by 8-14 points based on the experience and strike they have in the creative positions.
BELLAMY BACKS TEDDY FOR NO.1 GIG
By Nick Smart
It will be the battle of the game’s hottest fullbacks but Storm coach Craig Bellamy believes the fight for the NSW No.1 Origin jersey is already over.
Sydney Roosters star fullback James Tedesco and opposite number Ryan Papenhuyzen will take centre stage when the two great NRL rivals meet at AAMI Park on Friday night.
Both players are in red-hot form, with both players scoring seven tries so far this season.
Papenhuyzen is equal leader of the Dally M after five rounds and scored four tries against the hapless Broncos a fortnight ago.
The Storm superstar is mounting a strong case for the No.1 jersey, but Bellamy said he believed the Blues should at this stage stick with Tedesco.
“I think James has done enough for that NSW team to hang on that jumper,” Bellamy said on Thursday. “At the end of the day I think Paps’ best chance is to be on the bench and I think he’s do a really good job there.
“But Tedesco has been a wonderful player for a long time and he still is without a doubt. He’s looked as much involved in games as he’s ever had this year, so I don’t think anyone is going to drop him out of that NSW side.”
The Roosters’ other big threat on Friday night is teen prodigy Sam Walker, who has burst onto the scene at halfback in the absence of injured star Luke Keary.
Former Shark Mick Ennis this week said he expected Bellamy to “park” man mountain Nelson Asofa-Solomona on the 78kg Walker.
Bellamy said he planned to make the teenager work hard on Friday night.
“Hopefully we can stick someone on him,” he said. “We’ll probably try to get him to make a few tackles. He’s handled everything that has been thrown at him in his first two games, so it’s been a pretty impressive debut from a young kind playing in a key position.”
The showdown on Friday night will be the latest chapter in the incredible rivalry between the two clubs. Since 2017, the two sides have met nine times with Storm winning five of those to the Roosters’ four.
Three of those games have gone to golden point, and the two clubs have won six of the last nine premierships.
“There have been so many close games and a few of them have been extra time,” he said.
“Obviously there’s a very healthy respect there for the Roosters as they’ve been a good side for a long time.
“Taking Luke Keary out of the side is a bit of a blow for them but young Walker is doing a great job there at the moment. He’s only early into his career but last week was quite a performance for a guy just playing his second NRL game.”
Centre Brenko Lee and co-captain Dale Finucane are both again expected to miss.
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