‘The Sharks will get them’: How our experts see the Las Vegas clashes playing out

Our journalists on the ground in Las Vegas have unpacked the matches at Allegiant Stadium this weekend.

From forward packs to halves combinations, here’s where they see the games being won and lost when the teams play on Sunday.

Let’s start with the Panthers and Sharks. No Sunia Turuva, no James Fisher-Harris, no Brian To’o for the Panthers. So how do you think this match is going to play out?

I think the Sharks will get them. Look, Penrith the last couple of years have started the season pretty slow. I can smell un upset in the air. I just think if you look at last year’s grand final team: no Jarome Luai, no Fisher-Harris, no Sunia Turuva, you’ve also got Brian To’o out – that’s a massive out – and you’ve also got Liam Henry out as well. I think the Sharks could get them here. The Panthers have lost an extra forward really in Brian To’o. He’s their metre eater, he’s the one they’re going to miss the most, and it will be interesting to see how they handle that.

This one’s a tale of two preparations. The Sharks are the only team that decided not to come to Vegas straight away. I was talking to coach Craig Fitzgibbon today, his great mate Trent Robinson had a very similar path to Vegas last year so he’s obviously picked his brain and thought that’s the best way to do it. For Penrith, we’re all talking about life without Jarome Luai, and everyone was sort of considering that Blaize Talagi was that guy [to replace him]. They’ve pinched him from Parramatta – really excited to see him in Panthers colours alongside Nathan Cleary for the first time. But he’s not quite right to go, he’s obviously recovering from the shoulder issue. And then you’ve got a guy like Jack Cole, who’s always been the second banana. He’s only come in when either Nathan or Jarome are out, and I was talking to him, and he was basically saying, ‘I’m not a stop gap, I see myself as being this guy’.

If we’re talking about halves, let’s talk about the Sharks because Nicho Hynes, he sees himself as being a real No.7, and he has been able to stand up for the Sharks, but in big games, sometimes the occasion does get to him. And this is a big game.

It is a big game, but I think that fatigue as the season goes on, he’s struggled with as well. He generally starts the year pretty strong. The last few years he’s done that, he’s come out of the blocks pretty strong, and won himself an Origin position last year. I know there were a few players out. I’ve been very critical of Nicho Hynes in the past. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt – it’s a new season, new campaign. He would have learnt a lot over the off-season, and, look, I do think it probably is his last crack at the No.7 jersey. If things don’t go right for him and Cronulla this year, you might see him move to fullback in the future. And with Will Kennedy still off contract and not re-signed, that’s an option for Cronulla.

I think Nicho Hynes is a tremendous player, and if he gets the confidence against a team like Penrith in Vegas, I know what momentum can do to a player. We get criticised for knocking him, but I think some of the criticism has been warranted because he hasn’t delivered on the big stage. But, fresh start – and he can prove the doubters wrong.

I find it fascinating just to see who is going to be the dominant playmaker, because that’s sort of been interchanging between the two of them. We saw the end of last year, Braydon Trindall really stood up – and you talk to the Sharks and they say, well we don’t really need a dominant playmaker. Depending on where the game is, either one of them can step up. So, that could be a bonus. Perhaps, unleashing [Hynes] and not burdening him with actually steering the team around will let him focus on what he’s good at, and that’s his running game as well.

Official tips?

Sharks by 8.

Sharks by 4.

Let’s move to the Warriors, Raiders game. What are your initial thoughts? The teams seem pretty standard, there are some young kids coming up through the Raiders.

I’m interested to see how Luke Metcalf goes at the Warriors. I just think he’s a fantastic player. He hasn’t been on the field for a long time. It’s interesting, too, this whole idea of stepping into Shaun Johnson’s boots. Players have been trying to do that for four or five years. Johnson left the club, he came back, he had that ridiculous Dally M-quality year which was just fantastic. It’s a big cultural shift without Johnson there. Is Metcalf the sort of guy they can build a team around? I think he is, he just needs a stay on the park because once he’s playing football, he can do it all.

I’ll talk about the Raiders. I’ve spent a bit of time with them in camp the last few days, you get a vibe for what Ricky Stuart’s like as a coach. And, according to them, it’s been a pretty good start to their build-up. I look at the side here, I love Ethan Strange and what he did last year. I think Jamal Fogarty is back fit, fresh and good. Xavier Savage in this sort of environment, he could come to life on the weekend against the Warriors. Then there’s Kaeo Weekes, and there’s a lot of excitement around Matt Timoko. It’s a young team, it’s a rebuilding phase. I don’t know if they’ll make the eight, but I don’t think they’ll finish with the spoon, and I think they’ll get past the Warriors at Allegiant Stadium on the weekend.

Let’s talk about the forward pack then, because that’s probably where a lot of the Warriors’ strength is.

Well, Mitch Barnett, they actually see leadership in him, and probably it’s fair to say he didn’t have captaincy have stamped all over him, but he’s really stepped up. I think it’s going to be great having James Fisher-Harris as well leading that pack. For me, this is also of interest: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. There’s always been a push for him to play fullback, and now all of a sudden we’re talking about him playing on the wing, and he was of course Dally M winger of the year in a previous life. I would still love to see him play fullback, but the cool thing too is this is proof that you don’t have to play rugby to play all over the world. You’re playing in Vegas.

Lastly, Hudson Young and Morgan Smithies named in the team. That’s no surprise, but do you think what’s happened earlier in the week is going to be a distraction for the team?

No, because of the way they handled it. They got in front of it, they put the players up, they dealt with it, they told the truth. All the details, every little detail, including an inflatable baseball bat. So, I think they handled it really well. It’s a lesson to other clubs in how to deal with crisis management. But it’s an embarrassing look for the game, they didn’t need it here in Vegas, but they dealt with it, moved on, and it won’t be a distraction. I don’t think that will be an excuse if they don’t get the job done on the weekend.

That’s the reason I’ve tipped against them. I reckon it is a distraction. Seriously, I reckon if you’re doing that sort of stuff – you’re having a fist fight in an elevator – it’s a distraction.

OK, official tips?

Warriors by 8.

Raiders by 2.

What about the Jillaroos match? Are England in with a chance on the weekend?

I think the Aussies are going to pump England. The Jillaroos are just miles ahead of most other national teams, and the only ones who come close to them are New Zealand. There is a little bit of injury concern around captain Kezie Apps, but really they have enough depth to cover her if she has to sit this one out, and that’s the same for most positions. They’ve got one of the best halfbacks, Lauren Brown, in the reserves if either Ali Brigginshaw or Tarryn Aiken can’t play, and that’s also true in the forwards with Mahalia Murphy and Jessika Elliston. The starting team is so strong – Tamika Upton, Tiana Penitani, Simaima Taufa, Isabelle Kelly – the list goes on. So I think the Jillaroos are in for at least a 20-point victory.

The Herald’s travel expenses to Las Vegas have been partly funded by the NRL.

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