The Tough Carry: How the Sharks broke the Dragons down
Tackle 1 is often the toughest carry of the set. It can make or break it. Here, it’s my biggest talking point from the round that was.
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks sit at the top of the NRL ladder after Round 9.
We’ve seen them dominate for periods of a season before. They still have to clear the hurdle of beating Top 8 teams consistently before it stops being mentioned. But as it stands, they’ve conceded the fewest points of all 17 teams and are playing with an attack averaging 27.4 points per game – the second-most in the NRL.
With Braydon Trindall in the side, they played with better balance than last season. Hynes was always the centrepiece of the attack, but Trindall took some of the pressure off and reduced the touches per game of his halfback. Has absence has led to an increase in touches for Hynes. Still, the Sharks attack continues to improve.
The Sharks played to cues especially well last season. But bad teams give you more cues. That’s why they have proven to be so successful against teams towards the bottom of the NRL ladder while struggling to get over those at the top.
We’re not yet sure if the St George Illawarra Dragons are good. They’re exceeding expectations, but we can’t say they’re a
good team the Sharks toppled just yet. However, the way in which the Sharks scored their points is encouraging.
In three tries, the Sharks displayed their ability to make the most of targets in the line. They scored another ripper off a tap start and capitalised on a cue in yardage to score under the posts.
Playing to the plan
Tyrell Sloan has improved to start the 2024 NRL season. He’s been a big part of the Dragons’ relatively strong start. But his small frame will always be a target in the line, and Blayke Brailey made sure to expose it.
Hynes does a great job of isolating Tom Hazelton onto Tom Eisenhuth. It’s a strong and possibly scoring play at best. At worst, it’s a momentum play that moves the defensive line.
The Dragons will have had Hynes in their sights all day. He’s who they organise their line for, and they have five down the short side to cover him. But Brailey spies the opportunity with Sloan around the ruck on the line.
Importantly, the Sharks are in shape to play wide on both sides. Francis Molo sits on Oregon Kaufusi’s lead to start with but tries to cheat and leave early, leaving Sloan one-on-one with a big middle forward.
You can see Brailey celebrating the try before Kaufusi is over the line on the
wider angle.
Per
Stats Insider, the Sharks have scored only 18% of their tries through the middle of the field. They typically play wider and more expansive. They picked Sloan out a few times in this one, though.
Another tap start
We had Nicho Hynes’ try as the
try of the round last week after he slipped through the Raiders line with relative ease off a tap start.
The Sharks scored from another tap start in Round 9, and it’s a beauty.
Again, it’s simple. It’s executed to perfection.
The Sharks get the look they want after Jack Williams carts the ball up at the right post. They would have schemed for Sloan to fill in at A on the short side with the Dragons defence using Hynes as an indicator for the Sharks attack.
Ben Hunt is the target in the line. A solid defender for a half, but no match for a rampaging Siosifa Talakai when isolated.
Toby Rudolf runs a lead between the A and B defenders. Teig Wilton does the same between C and D. This is where the try is created as Ben Murdoch-Masila has to honour Hynes as a ball-runner after last week, while Raymond Faitala-Mariner also has eyes for the halfback.
With Talakai sweeping out the back as the Sharks hold three on the edge to the Dragons’ two, Hunt is on an island.
Hunt does a good job of getting above the ball in contact and goes close to holding Talakai up, but this scenario ends up as a try nine times out of ten.
Set starts aren’t mentioned enough in NRL discourse. They’re a great way to profile how a team wants to attack, and the targets in the line and angles used to get there to score this one paints an accurate picture of the Sharks with the ball.
Always ready
The Sharks are always ready to pounce.
They start to generate momentum down the left edge through Sione Katoa and McInnes here. Katoa’s involvement is notable because of how quickly he gets back into position on the edge.
As McInnes leaves a defender on the ground, Brailey takes the cue to jump from the dummy half. There seems to be some confusion as to how the Dragons want to defend these situations, as the marker tracks back, the line moves forward, and the edge fails to get up.
Briton Nikora has flattened up, ready to carry the ball in the direction of the third Dragons defender out of the tackle, but plays to another cue: The triangle in defence. He bounces off his left foot and finds Katoa who has made himself available shortly after a yardage carry.
Sloan scrambles and manages to shut this play down, but there is no stopping the next.
The Dragons have nine players inside the posts down their left edge. They’re stripped out wide, and Hunt takes the Hail Mary option of jamming on Hynes. It’s their best chance of shutting it down. But with Hunt a touch late, Hynes is able to find Tall Tom Hazelton who manages to crash through the scrambling Dragons defence.
Shane Flanagan won’t be happy with that picture. Hunt managed to force Hynes into playing short, sending Hazelton at six Dragons defenders. Still, the linebreak earlier is what makes the Sharks so dangerous. They’re able to strike from anywhere at the slightest sign of weakness.
The Sharks are in fine form and
look better than they did in 2023. With the Storm, Roosters, Panthers, Eels and Broncos to come over the next five rounds, we’re going to learn a lot about their 2024 premiership credentials.
There is a lot to cover after every round in the NRL. Throughout the 2024 season, this is a place where I'll cover what is most important.
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