Why the Roosters are the NRL’s most perplexing team

2 weeks ago 22

If there’s 1 squad I haven’t been capable to get a due work connected this season, it’s the Roosters. Are they rubric heavyweights? Top-four material? Just marque the finals? Or miss them altogether? Honestly, it could beryllium immoderate of those.

Before a shot was kicked this year, I thought they were a top-four team. But determination are a fewer questions they inactive haven’t answered due to the fact that things haven’t truly clicked yet.

Considering they’ve some been astatine the nine for a portion now, it sounds unusual to say, but I’m inactive not convinced the Luke Keary and Sam Walker operation successful the halves works.

I watched Keary and Walker intimately astatine the commencement of the twelvemonth and determination was a lucifer against the Sea Eagles successful which they looked to person excessively galore targets successful the antiaircraft line. Keary was connected 1 side, Walker connected the different and Sandon Smith spent clip successful the middle. Manly teed up connected them and Haumole Olakau’atu, successful particular, had a tract time connected the edges.

James Tedesco returning from an 11-day concussion stand-down is simply a large boost against the Storm connected Thursday night. It besides means Joey goes backmost to the centres, and helium was phenomenal past week against the Knights.

I liked the mode the Roosters attacked Newcastle: simple, almighty and done the middle, making Brandon Smith a focal point. It worked truly well.

The Roosters person won 3 of their archetypal six games this year.

But you can’t instrumentality the aforesaid benignant against Melbourne. They volition suffocate you. Against the Storm, you person to determination the ball, adjacent much truthful erstwhile you’re down your ain end, to marque metres.

I’ve been impressed with the Storm truthful far. They’ve surely changed their style, due to the fact that successful erstwhile years they enactment truthful overmuch accent connected defence. Craig Bellamy wouldn’t person been blessed with that 34-32 triumph implicit the Broncos, contempt immoderate scintillating attacking play.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona’s instrumentality adds truthful overmuch to that team. I cognize determination has been a batch of speech astir his fitness, but if helium reads this column, helium looks successful good fettle to me. He’s excessively large for maine to prime a combat with anyway!

They conscionable request their squad doing each their jobs. If they do, they’ve got the champion spine successful the competition.

I reckon the Storm volition enactment much accent connected their defence successful this 1 and mightiness squeak location successful a adjacent game.

Joey’s tip: Storm by 2
First try-scorer: Xavier Coates
Man of the match: Harry Grant

Golden green

If Ricky Stuart takes the Raiders heavy into the finals this year, it volition beryllium his top accomplishment arsenic a coach.

When Jack Wighton left, I thought they would beryllium successful the bottommost four. But I reckon they had a seminal infinitesimal erstwhile Jamal Fogarty returned to pre-season grooming and thought, “right, this is my squad now”.

The Raiders person amazed galore with their accelerated commencement to the season.

Their forwards are truly grinding successful the mediate of the park, and erstwhile you person young endowment coming done to spell with the likes of Joseph Tapine and Josh Papali’i, it’s a beauteous imposing pack. Englishman Morgan Smithies has been a sensational buy, too.

They’re specified a well-balanced team, they look blessed and are playing for each other, and with teen Ethan Strange looking each spot a 10-year NRL player, Canberra person a immense accidental of playing finals shot nether Stuart.

Kalyn the key

I astir had 2 tense breakdowns watching the Knights past week: one, erstwhile Kalyn Ponga kicked disconnected and grabbed astatine his groin oregon hep flexor, and past towards the extremity of the crippled erstwhile they blew the past 2 plays.

Kalyn is beyond a superstar. He and Reece Walsh look astatine a antithetic velocity to everyone other connected the field. But what they don’t speech astir is his toughness.

To travel backmost from each of those concussions and virtually being told to retire, helium conscionable plays his mean game.

None of america knew successful that archetypal fractional it was a hep pointer injury, which was a effect of his desperation to halt Daniel Tupou.

Without Kalyn connected those sweeping plays and acceptable structure, Newcastle deficiency existent punch.

For the Knights to marque a tally for the semis, they request Kalyn fit. That’s stating the implicit obvious. But against a Bulldogs squad showing a spot much fight, a spot much class, you tin spot Canterbury are showing the way.

If Kalyn doesn’t play, I can’t spot them beating the Dogs.

In a antithetic league

Before I decorativeness this week, I indispensable springiness immense kudos to the NRL, its players, coaches and everyone progressive successful the crippled due to the fact that the modular of play successful the archetypal six rounds has been phenomenal.

There was 1 blowout past weekend, but the remainder were each choky affairs. It’s compelling viewing. We person truthful galore tv and vigor shows dedicated to the game, and involvement is astatine an all-time high.

Let’s anticipation it continues agelong into the season.