Earlier this week I named my NRL team of the season so far.
Most people seemed to agree that I wasn’t entirely crazy which was heartening. Today I’ve decided to have some fun and name an all-newcomers team.
These are players who have made a big impact for a new club in 2015.
Once again the same rules apply to this team as to the all-NRL team in that I have tried to pick players in position. Also again lets be very clear that selecting one player here over another candidate does not mean I think the second player has been rubbish.
Fullback – Lachlan Coote
Technically Lachlan Coote joined the Cowboys in 2014, however an ACL injury at the 2014 Auckland Nines ruled him out of last season altogether. Therefore, he meets the completely arbitrary eligibility rules i’ve come up with for this piece.
I wrote about Coote’s return to first grade earlier this season and predicted at that time that he had the potential to have a huge impact for the Cowboys. Well I’m happy to say that Coote has indeed been a huge addition for the Cowboys.
Along with the injection of Jake Granville and the resurrection of James Tamou, Coote has very rapidly become an integral part of the Cowboys game plan.
Interestingly for a team that features Johnathan Thurston and Michael Morgan in the halves, Coote has actually played a strong playmaking role for the Cowboys.
Among fullbacks only Matt Moylan touches the ball more and Coote averages as many kicks per game as some starting halves. He has two try assists and three line break assists in only six games to go with strong running and kick return numbers.
Wingers – Eto Nabuli and Curtis Rona
Rona is an easy selection after already making the all-NRL team I named earlier this week. Everything I said in that context also applies here with the added comment that the player he has replaced in the Bulldogs side, Mitch Brown, is now languishing in reserve grade at the Sharks suggesting that Rona represents a profound upgrade.
Eto Nabuli is a bit of cheat for this team given that he was never selected in first grade at the Panthers before joining the Dragons for this season.
However, given that I made up the rules myself I’m comfortable breaking them as well. Regardless of his eligibility for this fake team what cannot be argued is his impact for the Dragons this season. While Nabuli hasn’t scored a bunch of tries he is hardly alone in this is the defence-orientated Dragons.
Replacing fan favourite, and Origin representative Brett Morris was always going to be challenging for the Dragons but with Nabuli they have found a player who is at the very worst a solid first grade contributor and who has showed snippets of being something more.
Centres – Sisa Waqa and Blake Ferguson
Sisa Waqa is the first of several Canberra Raiders on this list, reflecting the extensive recruitment drive the club began last season targeting experience first grade players.
Waqa joined the club after four successful seasons at the Storm capped by his 18-try season in 2014. After spending much of his career as a left winger, in recent games Waqa has found a home at right centre for Canberra.
This gives the side a jumbo edge with Josh Papalii inside and Jordan Rapana outside Waqa. Of particular importance in recent games for the Raiders has been Waqa’s solid defence with only four missed tackles in the last three games, a noted improvement on Edrick Lee who struggled badly in defence as a centre.
Ferguson may well be lost to the Roosters for the season but his impact through his first four games, and in particular the last two games before his injury, was exactly what Roosters fans were hoping for.
Many Raiders fans were dreading to see those performances from a player who abandoned the club – or jumped before he was pushed. After easing his way back into first grade in rounds one and two Ferguson got back to the form that saw him picked for State of Origin in 2013 in Round 3 with a two try, 161m, five tackle break performance.
He continued that form in Round 4 before suffering the foot injury that may have ended his season.
Halves – Blake Austin and Blake Green
Blake Austin’s journey over the last twelve months – from useful utility at the Tigers, to guy blocking Mitchell Moses’ path to first grade, to guy who might be a nice pick up for the Raiders to trendy pick as a NSW State of Origin bolter – has been truly remarkable.
In 2014 Austin started at four different positions for the Tigers and came off the bench in a variety of roles as both a runner and passer. This year at the Raiders he has worn the number six jersey for all eight games thus far but his true role has been support player in chief.
With first Mitch Cornish and now Sam Williams organising the team primarily from the left edge, Austin has enjoyed the freedom to run the ball and support his teammates in the fashion of a Josh Reynolds without the cheap shots.
Blake Green meanwhile is the latest player to take up the poisoned chalice that is playing alongside the famed big three in the Melbourne playmaking spine. In a lot of respects the main job of the Storm five-eighth is to not screw up too obviously while hopefully contributing some creativity as a complementary playmaker.
Green has delivered on both these counts. he is averaging less than one error per game while also running the ball effectively, kicking when required and adding a handful of try assists and line break assists.
The true test of course will come during Origin period when Green will no longer simply be a complementary player but will instead become the man himself.
Props – Danny Wicks and Frank-Paul Nuuasuala
After losing four years of his playing prime to, lets say, some unpleasantness, Wicks has returned to the NRL driven to make up for lost time.
Gone is the jolly fat man bench prop of his early 20s and in his place is a leaner, more aggressive player who has thrived in a starting role in recent matches.
Wicks is the Eels leading metre-maker in the front row behind only Tim Mannah this season and is also making 27 tackles per game. Moreover, his hard and straight running creates space for players like Manu Ma’u and Tepai Moeroa.
For Frank-Paul Nuuasuala, season 2015 has brought a change of scenery that he wasn’t expecting and certainly didn’t ask for. After being released from the Roosters to join the Raiders late last year, Nuuasuala was unapologetic that it had been his preference to stay with the Sydney side.
However, his misgivings have been left off the field as he has brought experience to a Raiders forward pack lacking in veterans after a generational change over the last twelve months. Overall Nuuasuala’s statistics do not impress however his back to back man of the match awards in the comeback wins against the Tigers and the Rabbitohs demonstrate his importance to the team.
Hooker – Jake Granville
This could easily have gone to a number of players. English import Josh Hodgson has very quickly become integral to the Raiders and interestingly both Michael Ennis and Michael Lichaa have flourished after trading places at the Bulldogs and Sharks.
However for sheer impact its hard to go past Jake Granville. I’ve written about Granville earlier this season, and noted that the team has been undefeated since Granville took the starting hooker job. No doubt the aforementioned emergence of Lachlan Coote and resurrection of James Tamou has been instrumental for the Cowboys but Granville’s energy from dummy half has not only been a large part of the Cowboy’s turnaround but is also just plain good fun to watch.
Second Rowers – Sia Soliola and Bodene Thompson
I promise Sia Soliola is the last Raider on this list – but in some ways he’s the most important. Quite aside from his excellent numbers on the field (100m and 38 tackles per game) and his proclivity to rearrange the internal organs of opposition halfbacks, it is Soliola’s role as a mentor that is most pleasing to Raiders fans. Just looking at this hit on Luke Brooks shows you his power.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tUWimZZ1TgE
Take a look at any behind the scenes video of the Raiders and you will invariably see three players together: Soliola, Nuuasuala and Josh Papalii. This Polynesian coterie is the heart of a Raiders forward pack on the rise.
Bodene Thompson will be a name that surprises a lot of fans but he is quietly having an excellent season for the Warriors. Does he make a heap of metres? Not really. Does he generate a lot of second phase play and broken tackles. Nope. Does he have a stack of tries. Uh uh. But what he does is tackle that everything moves, avoid mistakes and play big minutes.
In a team stacked with off the cuff, and not so much within the game plan, players that sort of steadiness is invaluable. It’s worth noting that this award could just as easily have gone to the Warriors other second row import Ryan Hoffman, however in this case I’ve gone from the player with the lower expectations compared to what he has delivered.
Lock – Dale Finucane
For those among us who were enjoying the gradual stripping away of the Melbourne Storm’s ill-gotten squad advantage from the salary cap cheating era, the news that they had pilfered away Dale Finucane from the Bulldogs was quite depressing. At the Bulldogs Finucane often got lost in the mix of Polynesian giants; the angry Englishman was a solid, if unspectacular bench contributor.
However, at the Storm, Finucane has started all eight games at lock and is playing a critical role in the middle of the field.
Much like Bodene Thompson at the Warriors, Finucane isn’t asked to ball play, or even to break tackles. To use the football vernacular Finucane is asked to carry water, that is to do the grunt work.
This allows players like Tohu Harris and Kevin Proctor to play with more freedom on the edges. Finucane has executed that role superbly for the Storm, to the point where he got selected for Country last weekend.
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