Official Thomas Hazelton
- Thread starter Thresher
- Start date
Blue_Eyes84
Bull Shark
I think it's time for him to start games.
CrazyMatt
Jaws
Nah, what he’s doing is working, we don’t need to fiddle with it yet.
We're always trying to rush people up aren't we - this guy needs to be in NRL, this guy needs to be the starter.
Starter is a harder role, he will not just face the other teams best fresh middles but fresh players across the park (that little hooker is a lot easier to run over 50 minutes in when he has made 30 tackles than on set 1 of the game).
The defensive workload asked of him at likely a higher pace of play will be greater.
Is he good enough to handle it? He looks like he probably is. But does it diminish his impact? It probably does.
Despite that I think this week I would start either him or Jack to bring Toby off the bench - makes sense to ease Toby in a little and both those two have been in good form off the pine.
But I wouldn't be making him a regular starter. Let the more seasoned guys eat the early crash and bash for now and let Tommy keep steaming off the bench.
Matty C of the Shire
Great White
Not time for it. Needs experience and time. unfortunately it takes time to develop a good prop, they mature around 26 mark.
Sparkles
Jaws
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He'll be in a rehab tank with a MILF before you know it
Capital_Shark
Kitty Master
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Toby tries too hard for it. Nowhere near as bad but like that honey badger ******** from Union a while back.
Bald lad with an ordinary rig having a red hot crack and not making a scene is a lot more relateable.
HaroldBishop
Megalodon
That ****er was so annoying, wasn't funny.
Introducing Tom Hazelton
Big man season has continued over the last few weeks with Cronulla Sharks prop Tom Hazelton scoring two tries in his last two NRL games.Listed at 198cm and 116kgs, Hazelton is in elite company as one of the NRL’s genuine big men.
They’re a dying breed in the modern game but the better teams find a way to make it work. Nelson Asofa-Solomona (200cm, 115kgs), Tom Burgess (196cm, 120kgs) and Taniela Paseka (197cm, 120kgs) are only a few running around in the NRL today who stack up stand side-by-side with Hazelton, but they’re not all used as effectively as the Sharks are using their main big man right now.
Against the Bulldogs in NRL Round 16 and again last week against the Dragons, Cronulla played to a plan in good-ball using Hazelton close to the line.
Canterbury rolled out far too many small bodies (Khaled Rajab, Karl Oloapu, Kurtis Morrin, Kyle Flanagan and Reed Mahoney) for the Sharks to target in Round 16, and target them they did.
No less than six Sharks forwards crossed the line in that game as Cronulla isolated a bigger forward onto a smaller defender on the line and let physics do the rest.
This was too easy:
Both Jase and I complimented Jayden Okunbor’s transition into the backrow a few weeks ago but his defensive deficiencies are starting to show. He’s only got eyes for Matt Moylan sweeping out the back here, leaving poor Mahoney one-on-one with a much bigger man.
Cam McInnes’s involvement on the ball is an important one, too.
His threat as a ball carrier puts Corey Waddell (17) on his heels as McInnes straightens at the line. With Waddell checking McInnes and Okunbor worried about the jockey, Mahoney is left with an impossible task just metres off his own line.
Having found a winning formula, Cronulla went back to the well in NRL Round 18. Instead of picking out smaller bodies in the front-line, this time the target was Tyrell Sloan filling in around the ruck.
Blayke Brailey had the blinkers on for Sloan whenever he moved into the defensive line in good-ball:
Moylan and Nicho Hynes are both lurking out the back of Hazelton here, but they don’t get the attention of Jack De Belin who makes a good read and turns in to help Sloan complete the tackle.
It still ends up a positive involvement for Hazelton though, and he crashed over shortly afterwards playing to the same principle.
Two set-restarts later, and a Sharks settler just wide of the left upright split the Dragons defensive line and invited Sloan to fill in at A-defender on the short side:
Brailey again spots it from behind the ruck and so does Hynes, who sits nice and wide of the ruck on the Sharks left edge.
A long pass from Brailey to Hynes stretches the Dragons defence and invites the B-defender (Blake Lawrie) to fly off his line and get at Hynes before he skips across-field.
He was never skipping across-field here, though:
Lawrie does his best to shut Hynes down but he leaves a huge hole back on his inside where Sloan is filling in. Hynes disguises the pass nicely to send the 116kg Hazelton at a flat-footed, 84kg Sloan.
Try time.
I first noticed Hazelton back in NRL Round 9 when the Sharks played to him on the edges in yardage, getting him one-on-one with a defending half.
Not only did those actions lead to positive yardage gains, but they also appeared to offer an offload option:
The way Hazelton stays high in the tackle and keeps his arms free suggests he’s got an offload about him. He’s thrown just one in his 10 NRL games so far but it won’t be long before he has a linebreak or try assist to his name.
Credit must go to Craig Fitzgibbon and his management of Hazelton at this point in his career. He’s getting Hazelton on the field at the right times and playing to his strengths in both yardage and good-ball.
In an ideal world, you don’t want Hazelton playing 25+ minutes right now and defending for most of them. He’s a wrecking ball and an impact player who’s best suited to short, attacking stints at this stage, but he’s showing all the attributes of a long-term NRL front-rower in the future.
Heads In! NRL Round 19: Introducing Tom Hazelton + Bye Round Notes & RLW R19 Percentage Play - Rugby League Writers
Big man season has continued over the last few weeks with Cronulla prop Tom Hazelton scoring two tries in his last two NRL games.
rugbyleaguewriters.com
HaroldBishop
Megalodon
Nice to meet you, Tom.
stormshark
Jaws
good write up, and the Nut has got a good offload in him.
Sevshark
Great White
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Introducing Tom Hazelton
Big man season has continued over the last few weeks with Cronulla Sharks prop Tom Hazelton scoring two tries in his last two NRL games.
Listed at 198cm and 116kgs, Hazelton is in elite company as one of the NRL’s genuine big men.
They’re a dying breed in the modern game but the better teams find a way to make it work. Nelson Asofa-Solomona (200cm, 115kgs), Tom Burgess (196cm, 120kgs) and Taniela Paseka (197cm, 120kgs) are only a few running around in the NRL today who stack up stand side-by-side with Hazelton, but they’re not all used as effectively as the Sharks are using their main big man right now.
Against the Bulldogs in NRL Round 16 and again last week against the Dragons, Cronulla played to a plan in good-ball using Hazelton close to the line.
Canterbury rolled out far too many small bodies (Khaled Rajab, Karl Oloapu, Kurtis Morrin, Kyle Flanagan and Reed Mahoney) for the Sharks to target in Round 16, and target them they did.
No less than six Sharks forwards crossed the line in that game as Cronulla isolated a bigger forward onto a smaller defender on the line and let physics do the rest.
This was too easy:
Both Jase and I complimented Jayden Okunbor’s transition into the backrow a few weeks ago but his defensive deficiencies are starting to show. He’s only got eyes for Matt Moylan sweeping out the back here, leaving poor Mahoney one-on-one with a much bigger man.
Cam McInnes’s involvement on the ball is an important one, too.
His threat as a ball carrier puts Corey Waddell (17) on his heels as McInnes straightens at the line. With Waddell checking McInnes and Okunbor worried about the jockey, Mahoney is left with an impossible task just metres off his own line.
Having found a winning formula, Cronulla went back to the well in NRL Round 18. Instead of picking out smaller bodies in the front-line, this time the target was Tyrell Sloan filling in around the ruck.
Blayke Brailey had the blinkers on for Sloan whenever he moved into the defensive line in good-ball:
Moylan and Nicho Hynes are both lurking out the back of Hazelton here, but they don’t get the attention of Jack De Belin who makes a good read and turns in to help Sloan complete the tackle.
It still ends up a positive involvement for Hazelton though, and he crashed over shortly afterwards playing to the same principle.
Two set-restarts later, and a Sharks settler just wide of the left upright split the Dragons defensive line and invited Sloan to fill in at A-defender on the short side:
Brailey again spots it from behind the ruck and so does Hynes, who sits nice and wide of the ruck on the Sharks left edge.
A long pass from Brailey to Hynes stretches the Dragons defence and invites the B-defender (Blake Lawrie) to fly off his line and get at Hynes before he skips across-field.
He was never skipping across-field here, though:
Lawrie does his best to shut Hynes down but he leaves a huge hole back on his inside where Sloan is filling in. Hynes disguises the pass nicely to send the 116kg Hazelton at a flat-footed, 84kg Sloan.
Try time.
I first noticed Hazelton back in NRL Round 9 when the Sharks played to him on the edges in yardage, getting him one-on-one with a defending half.
Not only did those actions lead to positive yardage gains, but they also appeared to offer an offload option:
The way Hazelton stays high in the tackle and keeps his arms free suggests he’s got an offload about him. He’s thrown just one in his 10 NRL games so far but it won’t be long before he has a linebreak or try assist to his name.
Credit must go to Craig Fitzgibbon and his management of Hazelton at this point in his career. He’s getting Hazelton on the field at the right times and playing to his strengths in both yardage and good-ball.
In an ideal world, you don’t want Hazelton playing 25+ minutes right now and defending for most of them. He’s a wrecking ball and an impact player who’s best suited to short, attacking stints at this stage, but he’s showing all the attributes of a long-term NRL front-rower in the future.
Heads In! NRL Round 19: Introducing Tom Hazelton + Bye Round Notes & RLW R19 Percentage Play - Rugby League Writers
Big man season has continued over the last few weeks with Cronulla prop Tom Hazelton scoring two tries in his last two NRL games.
They do some great breakdowns on this site. Only recently found it myself
The one on Nicho's try is really good as well.
sharks2010
Dribbler
Nrl trial specialist defence tonight, but ran the ball strongly
Johnny B Goode
Hammerhead
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Played strong tonight
Capital_Shark
Kitty Master
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Not strong enough on Blore. Otherwise pretty good.
Sir Chadley
Jaws
Only saw his no try on replay but didn’t see the bunker ruling, where did he knock it on? Looked like a clean catch to me.
HaroldBishop
Megalodon
Nah he lost it for a split second and it hit SJ (I think it was) before regathering it.
100% no try.
snowman
Total gronk
he knocked it on twice
same ruling as tommy talau and hynes
same ruling as tommy talau and hynes
