From The Couch 2022: Round 1

From The Couch 2022: Round 1

Jahrome is the Best Seven in Footy: Nathan Cleary gets all the kudos and Daly Cherry-Evans has a reputation and the coin but the best halfback in the NRL is Jahrome Hughes. He has become a truly special player who gets nowhere near the credit he deserves for the Storm success. It is stunning to think he made his debut for the Titans in 2013 alongside Luke Bailey, Ash Harrison and Kevin Gordon. It was not until seven seasons later in 2019 when he established himself in the top grade. Over the last four seasons the Storm are 56-11 when he is on the paddock. He does all the little things right but can break a game open with a scything run. He has not faults in his game and despite playing for a powerhouse is arguably one of the most underrated players in the NRL. 

Bunker Breaks Record for Ineptitude: It didn’t take long for Ashley Klein to put the idiocy of The Bunker front and centre when he disallowed an outstanding Brian To’o try early in the season opener. The justification is that Tom Trbojevic was interfered with. Despite the fact it was broken play and that To’o did not run behind a player and nobody was interfered with, Klein had to leave his mark on the game. Very poor. 

New Rule Gets Tick: There has been almost universal approval about the new rule that sees teams awarded a penalty if an opposition gives away a ruck or offside infringement in the opposition half, a tactic many good teams used to set their defence. 

Quick Cold Takes: The coldest takes almost nobody is interested in hearing: 

• This Selwyn Cobbo excitement seems a bit over the top – he did make six errors including three handling errors, to go with a ruck infringement
• Penrith should not be shortening for the premiership – defending premiers usually start hot before fading 
• The Parramatta pack lacks toughness and desire
• The Roosters Round 1 loss means nothing at all with so many players on the comeback trail

Rabbits Rueing Reynolds Loss: South Sydney likely would not have been able to keep Adam Reynolds. The salary cap is about priorities. It is hard to justify putting Reynolds ahead of Mitchell, Walker or Murray. They must certainly be rueing his departure though even if new coach Jason Demetriou doesn’t want to talk about it. The Rabbitohs looked like a headless chook and Lachlan Ilias did not show a lot against far inferior opposition. The Bunnies may not have Reynolds any more but they need to find a halfback capable of letting Cody Walker do his thing. That thing is not babysitting. 

Turbo Will Be Fine: There have been plenty of takes that 2022 will be significantly tougher for Tom Trbojevic based on how Penrith handled him on Thursday night. Trbojevic will be fine. He will not be playing Penrith every week. No team has the relentless line speed of the Panthers nor the coaching. Trbojevic, by the same token, will not reach the heights of 2021. That does not mean he cannot have a quality year. His 2021 season though was remarkable and he is not reaching those heights. It is not game plans that will stop Trbojevic this year. It is regression that will pull him back and class that will keep him up the top. 

Dally M Disasters: A new weekly addition highlighting some of the Dally M atrocities from the judging panel in 2022.

• David Shillington giving Josh Curran three votes on a team that lost by 12
• Ben Creagh giving all six votes to Bulldogs players despite the Cowboys dominating the first half and Tom Gilbert scoring a try, running for 158m and making 47 tackles

2022 Field Goal Update – 2: You would not have taken 50,000-1 one one of the first two field goal kickers of 2022 being Kurt Capewell but so it was in what was a decisive strike that nobody saw coming. It was truly a unicorn field goal and a wonderful way to start the 2022 season. Matt Moylan delivered the other in a losing effort. 

Fun Fact #1: Courtesy of Get Em Onside, only two of the 16 halves pairing in Round 1 had played together previously. 

Fun Fact #2: Since 2016, Nathan Brown is 32-86-1 as a head coach in the NRL. 

Fun Fact #3: Prior to Newcastle’s win over the Roosters, the last double digit underdog to win outright in Round 1 was the Knights all the way back in 2010 when they beate Canterbury 20-16. 

Fun Fact #4: Three sets of father-son coach-player combinations are set to play this year: The Clearys, Walters and Arthurs. 

Betting Market of the Week: Following the move from Ben Ikin to Braith Anasta as host of NRL 360, based on that trajectory, who will be the next host:

$5.50: Joe Kilroy
$4.00: An Ultimate Warrior impersonator
$3.00: Josef Fritzl
$1.20: Steve Roach

Rumour Mill: The Melbourne Storm are expected to be in the player market with such a large injury toll with Tariq Sims the biggest name to be linked to the club. Ryan Sutton is another who could be headed south. There were supposedly some unhappy campers at the Eels with the selection of Jacob Arthur. Reece Walsh is expected to continue to push hard to get a release from the Warriors to join Redcliffe in 2023. 

The Coaching Crosshairs: The Bulldogs may have left Townsville with the two points but the pressure on Trent Barrett has done little to ease with not only some questionable selections decision but little improvement in terms of style or football IQ. For a so-called attacking genius with a whole heap of new toys, the Bulldogs attack was one-dimensional and lacking in creativity. More concerning was the holdover players making the same bad decisions they made the year prior. A 2-0 start will alleviate the pressure somewhat but with a brutal draw coming he is the clear favourite to be the first coach out. 

Moronic Coaching Decision of the Week: There were plenty of contenders on opening weekend but it is hard to go past Todd Payten. In a game the Cowboys should have won against a poorly coached outfit, Payten put together a game plan that 10yo with Mongolian boy who had never seen a game would have shunned. Jason Taumalolo again played limited minutes as nothing more than the most expensive battering ram in the NRL. Last tackle options were horrific. With the game on the line and only seconds remaining, the Cowboys took two forward hitups. A truly horrific coaching showing. 

Watch It: On the back of the unlikely Kurt Capewell field goal in Brisbane’s 11-4 win over South Sydney, we go back to Nathan Cayless’ famous drop goal against Newcastle. Watch it here