Craig Fitzgibbon has been coached by Ricky Stuart at club, state and international level, and the Sharks coach will know what he’s walking into on Thursday night. I just hope his players do, too.
It’s an old-fashioned Raiders ambush just waiting to happen. When Canberra are playing at home they are just a totally different proposition and a 10- to 12-point better team.
“Sticky” plotted and executed a physical ambush on the Broncos a few weeks ago and even though the Raiders are coming off a couple of losses on the road, Cronulla will need to pack their overalls. Because it’s going to be down and dirty in the nation’s capital.
No one is going to feel this as much as Nicho Hynes. He’s already under pressure and no coach harasses opposition halves like Ricky Stuart – which is exactly how Sticky used to play too.
His back-rowers take genuine pleasure in going after playmakers. Hudson Young is on Canberra’s left edge and his job will be terrorising Hynes with and without the ball.
And on the other edge, Braydon Trindall has the young Englishman Matty Nicholson running directly at him.
Nicho Hynes is already under pressure, and Ricky Stuart will smell blood in the water.Credit: NRL Photos
Both back-rowers will be sledging and going after the halves, and no one sledged or targeted an opponent better than Sticky – especially in defence. They’ll be hitting them. Hitting them hard. And hitting them often.
Just sit back and watch.
Helping Hynes: How do you rebuild Nicho?
For the Sharks halves, I’ve said for a while now that their combination works best when they’re able to combine rather than being parked on different sides of the field.
Trindall has taken on more organisation and kicking duties as he’s grown in stature and this is Cronulla’s best dynamic. A couple of plays this season – against Penrith in Las Vegas and the Rabbitohs in round three – put it on show.
The key to both plays is that it’s Trindall at first receiver calling the shots and Nicho is out the back as the second wave of attack, which takes a lot of responsibility off Hynes.
And when you look at both his bread and butter plays, and history when he came into the NRL at Melbourne, he was playing fullback and excelling as that second-layer attacking threat.
Nicho’s best ball-playing is also when he runs and passes left-to-right. He does his best work down the right side with Jesse Ramien getting one on one. This is the blueprint for me: put Trindall in charge and on the ball, as they did last year, and don’t overload or confuse Nicho with too much right now.
The variation between the first try against Penrith and the second against South Sydney a few weeks later is Ramien runs a decoy and Nicho is coming out the back to slide through. It’s the same simple principle, and it’s where Nicho is most comfortable.
I spoke on The Sunday Footy Show and said I just don’t know how you rebuild Nicho into the Dally M Medal halfback that he was three years ago. These right-side plays are the tactical side of things to get him into a position he knows well and excels in out the back as second-receiver. But as far as building that confidence back up in him, that’s a big challenge for Fitzgibbon, and it won’t happen overnight.
Battle of the big boys
It’s a big, brutal test on Thursday night, especially through the middle. I still don’t have a great read on the Sharks and where they are at compared to the NRL’s genuine title contenders.
Addin Fonua-Blake up against Joe Tapine and Josh Papalii is a brilliant battle, but I think Canberra’s got a much stronger and more rounded forward pack.
Canberra will be coming straight through the middle with their forwards looking to offload and bring their small men into play: Ethan Strange, Tom Starling, Kaeo Weekes and their new hooker Owen Pattie, he looks a real star of the future.
I can smell an ambush and an upset.
Joey’s tip: Raiders by six
First try-scorer: Hudson Young
Man of the match: Joe Tapine
Ashes to Ashes: A rugby league bucket list trip
There were fans from Australia and England travelling from all over to get to Las Vegas earlier this year and the recently announced Ashes tour is the next bucket list item you should be ticking off.
There’s no rugby league atmosphere quite like an English one; it’s the only place I’ve heard fans singing songs in full voice, and the English fans have a genuine appreciation of quality footy.
I’ve seen English crowds stand and applaud the opposition if the play is good enough. It doesn’t matter where they’re from, they just appreciate good play.
Winners are grinners: Brad Fittler and Andrew Johns celebrate winning the 2001 Ashes at Wigan.Credit: Reuters
England will play fast, open, entertaining footy and the chance to play at Wembley and Everton’s new stadium, those are just incredible opportunities for fans and players. Northern England is a great place to visit for both.
I’d love to see a full Kangaroos tour return one day with three Tests and tour matches against the big clubs like Wigan, Warrington, St Helens and Leeds. Australia could take a squad of younger players under the age of 23 for that kind of experience because it really is just priceless.
It’s phenomenal to see international rugby league getting back towards where it was 30 and 40 years ago in terms of prominence, with guys like Payne Haas and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui looking to play for Samoa.
Tonga are getting better and better, New Zealand are going well and Papua New Guinea will get stronger too with a team coming into the NRL.
While international footy won’t ever overtake Origin, it deserves its own place in the game.
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.
