NRL Roundtable: The player to own finals, best off-contract star

Vlasnik

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NRL Roundtable: The player to own finals, best off-contract star
NRL PREMIERSHIP

  • August 14, 2019 12:00am
  • by STAFF WRITERS
  • Source: FOX SPORTS

Josh Hodgson is primed for the finals, while Dylan Walker is still off-contract.Source: FOX SPORTS

And which off-contract stars should clubs be looking to snap up?

Fox League journalists Simon Brunsdon, John Dean, Mark St John and Pamela Whaley address this week’s biggest talking points.

Which player will have the biggest influence on the finals?

Brunsdon: Josh Hodgson. The Raiders are a different team with him steering the ship — we saw that when he missed half the 2018 season recovering from a knee injury. He’s just about the most important player to his team in the entire competition. If Canberra is to give the title a crack, they need Hodgson on the park. One player doesn’t win you a grand final but if he’s not there, they can’t do it.




Broncos are finals confident

0:45
Dean: Cameron Smith. How can you go past arguably the game’s most influential player? Smith can dictate play out of dummy half with almost every touch and his endless experience in big games will only benefit Melbourne.



St John: Cameron Smith. The wily 35-year-old might be getting on in years but his influence over a game is as sharp as ever. The Rabbitohs were surging towards a comeback win in Round 21, before the Storm skipper took over. He faked to go one way out of dummyhalf, before holding up the Rabbitohs defence to allow Cameron Munster the time and space to burn the sliding defence with two left foot steps to score under the posts. Smith controls the tempo of every game he plays through his brilliant decision making and pinpoint kicking and passing games. He and every other Storm player who lost last year’s grand final have been plotting revenge since pre-season and Smith will do everything in his power to reverse the result in the first weekend of October.

Whaley: James Tedesco, but Cameron Smith is a close second. At his best the Roosters fullback is an 11/10 and at his worst, about an 8.5. If he is on, not much can be done to stop him except pray his teammates don’t lift to meet his standard.

Do you like the stripping rule and why?

Brunsdon: I love it. The game has become so over-coached and, at times, boring. Clubs like Melbourne and the Roosters would be happy to wrestle and play to structure and suffocate opposition all the way to a grand final. This new strip interpretation has turned the tide just a little, and now the “natural footballers” — as Michael Ennis described them to foxsports.com.au — have a trick up their sleeve which can bring a game to life in an instant. Trent Robinson can complain all he likes but how about telling your players to control the ball when in possession? Or better yet, teach them to perfect the steal, like Canberra has? It’s also not that hard to officiate on, that’s just a lame excuse by people wanting to see it scrapped. The refs had one bad night in the Warriors-Eels game, but overall the new strip rule has been great for the game.




Robinson rips the strip

0:58
Dean: Hell yeah, and I hope they keep it. For one, it puts more onus on the ball carrier, and two, the potential it has to suddenly turn defence into attack only adds more excitement to the game.

St John: Yes I do. The biggest criticism of rugby league from both rusted on and fringe supporters is that it has become too predictable. Four hit ups followed by second man play after second man play and kick on the last can become a bit boring at times. Any rule that creates a contest for the ball is worth persisting with I believe. Scrums are no longer contested, so there is not many ways for the team defending to turn the momentum of the match other than to force a mistake. Where this interpretation can become really exciting is in finals footy when a team in defence has their backs to the wall with time counting down. I don’t think it is in danger of becoming an epidemic as if it was so easy to do then every club would be doing it. Realistically the Raiders are the only team doing it consistently and they average just over one strip a game.

Whaley: I love it. It adds another element of excitement to a set of six that can only end in a kick, error, penalty or points. It makes the game far less predictable and kudos to the teams who have worked out how to exploit it.

Has the game gone ‘soft’?

Brunsdon: Like Graham Annesley pointed out on Monday, I wouldn’t last five minutes in the NRL arena so I won’t be using the word “soft”. Protection of players has come to the forefront over the past decade and largely it’s been effective — think banning the shoulder charge and the punch. But referees and the match review committee are clearly having a tough time implementing the new direction the NRL and Commission are striving for. A few sin-binnings and suspensions of late have been nothing short of mind boggling. Please explain to me how Viliame Kikau can miss two games for what wasn’t even a shoulder charge, yet Sam Burgess remains on the field and misses no games for recklessly wrapping his swinging arm around a bloke’s head? The game isn’t going soft, there’s just a serious disconnect between the lawmakers, the referees, the match review committee, and the judiciary. Players and fans are confused and they need to all get aligned quick or risk losing spectators from the game.

Dean: Did you see Chanel Harris-Tavita’s hit on Tom Trbojevic on the weekend?




Rookie Warrior poleaxes Turbo

0:32
St John: Not at all. Show rugby league to any American football fan and they think NRL players are crazy for doing what they do without any pads or helmets. The game is tougher than ever. Sure there are not as many cheap shots and punch ups are not existent, but anyone who equates toughness with those things doesn’t know what toughness is. The amount of players that play through injuries and bumps and bruises each week and delay surgery until the off-season to help their teams make the finals is mind boggling. Protecting the welfare of players is not going soft. The problem is not the NRL’s position on protecting players from late hits, rather it is their inability to get the whole game aligned to enforce their position. Chris Smith and Luke Garner can feel hard done by that they were sin-binned for late hits in Round 21. So too Viliame Kikau for being suspended for two weeks for his late hit against the Dragons. Every crackdown is going to have growing pains, but if the players, referees, match review committee and judiciary work together to strive for consistency, the player’s welfare and the spectacle of the game will benefit. Giving playmakers more room to move can only help the spectacle of the sport. Not everyone was behind the shoulder charge ban either, but most people agree it has been a necessary development to protect the players from themselves.

Whaley: In no way. I think the game’s referees are just confused and probably a little anxious about the attention they’re getting and are reacting accordingly. But ask any player who has been knocked out, concussed, crunched, injured, or folded in half lately if what they’ve endured is ‘soft’. Dare you.




NRL laughs off 'soft' jibe

0:59
Who is the best off-contract coach/player up for grabs?

Brunsdon: Jordan Rapana. He’s one of the best wingers in rugby league and still without a contract beyond October 31. As revealed by foxsports.com.au the Raiders have tabled a two-year deal and want to keep him in the nation’s capital. But clubs like Newcastle and North Queensland should be throwing cash at this bloke because they could seriously use a player of his experience and calibre on the flank.




Is Kalyn Ponga worth $1M?

2:31
Dean: Issac Luke. The veteran hooker might be 32, but he’s still got plenty to offer and there are definitely a few NRL clubs who could use his experience both on and off the field.

St John: Dylan Walker. If you take the off-field turmoil off the table and focus on on-field talent then few players on the market boast the talent and experience of the Manly five-eighth. Walker is still only 24 and already has a premiership, two games for NSW and four Tests for the Kangaroos on his resume. The versatile back can also cover both five-eighth and centre and his playmaking skills have come along in leaps and bounds under Des Hasler in 2019. Walker has the potential to regain his Blues and Kangaroos jerseys in the coming years and if he can keep on the straight and narrow then he would be a shrewd signing for a number of clubs, but Hasler won’t be giving him up without a fight.

Whaley: Geoff Toovey. I’m actually amazed he still doesn’t have a gig. He has a winning percentage of around 55 per cent and got Manly to the finals three out of four years he was in charge of the club. They missed the finals for the first year in a decade under his watch in 2015 and he was replaced by Trent Barrett. I’ve always thought it was harsh he was not given a second chance somewhere to see what he’s made of.

Are the Sharks getting value for money from their big six?

St John: The Sharks are paying half their cap in 2020 to six players in Josh Dugan, Matt Moylan, Aaron Woods, Shaun Johnson, Wade Graham and Andrew Fifita. They are all great players at their best and if everyone could stay on the field that would be the nucleus of a premiership winning side, but all six have had their own injury struggles over recent seasons. Paying big money to star players is necessary to win premierships, but I believe the Sharks have a couple of similar players on big money and it is creating an imbalance in their roster management. Wade Graham is worth every penny and should be the club’s captain after Paul Gallen retires. Fifita and Woods offer similar attributes as do Moylan and Dugan, so having all four on big money might not be the best way to manage the distribution of their salary cap going forward. The emergence of Bronson Xerri means that Dugan is probably on too much money for a winger with a bad history of injuries. Woods is also on too much money to be a bench player. I think the Sharks need to choose between Dugan and Moylan and possibly Woods and Fifita going forward to achieve a better balance on their roster.




Sharks cap crisis... already?

3:17
Brunsdon: Josh Dugan is unfortunately injury prone and has struggled to find his best position in a talented backline. He left the Dragons because he wanted fullback money, and he got fullback money, but he’s not the first-choice fullback and he’s quite an expensive centre who tends to miss games every season. Shaun Johnson can be worth every cent but he obviously hasn’t lived up to the price tag yet. At their best they are all worth the cash individually. But the Sharks may want to rethink exactly what each player is bringing to the team.

Dean: Based on this year, you could make a case for each player as to why the Sharks aren’t getting bang for their buck — and it mainly comes down to injury. Moylan, Woods, Johnson and Graham have all missed large chunks of the season, while Fifita’s also been affected by injury and Dugan has as well at times. There’s no denying the impact of all six when they’re in form, but if the Sharks are looking to free up some space, I’d be looking at moving Woods and Dugan on.

Whaley: Out of the six highest paid players at the club, only Aaron Woods and Josh Dugan are probably overpaid for what they provide to the team. However, If players are overpaid it’s not their fault, it’s a management issue. Players are worth whatever clubs are willing to pay them, and if the Sharks are top heavy on their salary cap the club needs to look at why, and what decisions need to be made to sort it out.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...r/news-story/4a40b3338c29b1c29be3c5599b31e7f2
 

TABOO

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Woods is overpaid? No way! that's groundbreaking journalism! :sweatsmile:
 

Alan79

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It's ok, you didn't miss much
Basically got to the point where they were fellating cam Smith and gave it up. I have bugger all interest in reading these kind of articles this year.
 

Motorhead

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Basically got to the point where they were fellating cam Smith and gave it up. I have bugger all interest in reading these kind of articles this year.
Summed it up nicely. Journo's and commentators lick at Cammy's sack with monotonous regularity. The Johns bros are the worst, id be amazed if Matt Johns hasnt tasted some of Cammy's DNA. FMD they carry on over the bloke.
 

MatstaDogg

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Summed it up nicely. Journo's and commentators lick at Cammy's sack with monotonous regularity. The Johns bros are the worst, id be amazed if Matt Johns hasnt tasted some of Cammy's DNA. FMD they carry on over the bloke.
I don't care if people say he is the "greatest" I still think he is a knob, a grub and a cheat.
 
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