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With half a season of football now under our belts, One Week takes a closer look at how some of the new recruits are faring for their teams.
State of Origin Game 2 teams
» QLD: Myles out, Lillyman in
» Roar’s Reaction: Maroons
» NSW: Graham in, but faces ban
» Roar’s Reaction: Blues
James Maloney
Rarely does a quality halfback excelling for a successful team become available on the open market. So when Trent Robinson decided that James Maloney did not have the requisite number of tattoos to play in the halves for the Roosters, he instantly became a coveted free agent.
Cronulla scrambled to come up with the cash, leaving no sofa cushion unturned in their effort to table a respectable offer. So far, the move has paid massive dividends for both parties.
Maloney has been in sparkling form since trading point breaks over the summer. His reliable short kicking game and willingness to take on the defensive line has added a new dimension to the Cronulla attack. Of particular note is the lethal left edge combination forming between Maloney, Ben Barba and Wade Graham.
This new-found ability to score bags of points along with Cronulla’s existing defensive aptitude has the Sharks sitting atop the Premiership ladder for the first time since Gordon Tallis had hair.
The Sharks recruit has also benefited personally from the move to the Shire. Despite his reputation as a defensive turnstile, Maloney’s brilliant club form has seen him recalled to the NSW Origin side, where he gave a respectable account of himself in Game 1.
With Cronulla firming as Premiership contenders and the Sydney Roosters floundering so badly than not even Kerrbox could rescue them, Maloney’s decision to leave Bondi has proven to be an inspired one.
Ash Taylor
This time last year, Ash Taylor was a talented yet largely unknown 20-year-old halfback buried on the Brisbane Broncos depth chart behind incumbent starters Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford.
Today, he is viewed as one of the most promising young players in the competition, and the driving force behind the Titans’ unlikely quest for finals football.
The serendipitous circumstances surrounding his unheralded career altering switch to Surfer’s Paradise is a tale worth revisiting.
The signing of former Kangaroos halfback Daly-Cherry Evans was supposed to put the Gold Coast Titans on the map. Instead, it felt like Rod Tidwell walked onto the set of Sliding Doors. In a decision which altered the course of three lives, Manly showed Cherry-Evans the money, Titans halfback Aidan Sezer fled to Canberra, leaving coach Neil Henry to sign the inexperienced Ash Taylor, knowing he was not yet ready for the rigours of first grade.
But when halfback Kane Elgey blew out a knee in preseason, Taylor was suddenly thrust into the starting line-up for Round 1. You could have forgiven the youngster for struggling with his introduction into the top grade. The leap from Under-20s hero to tackling a barnstorming Jason Taumalolo is a big one, and as Brock Lamb and Jackson Hastings have shown, many don’t stick the landing. But the rookie hit the ground running, embracing the responsibility of primary playmaker, and flourishing under the added pressure.
His consistent brilliance places him among the best halves in the competition this season, and he looks set to be one of the cornerstones of the Gold Coast franchise for the next decade. One can only wonder where he would be today had DCE honoured his contract.
Beau Scott
Beau Scott look finished last year at Newcastle. His lethargic play and indifferent attitude reeked of a man phoning it in while padding his Super account.
So when Parramatta signed the angry veteran to a lucrative contract, I was equal parts shocked and amused. But the Eels struggle to run a bath, let alone a football club, so throwing money at an aging warhorse not long for the stud paddock seemed apt.
Yet since his arrival, Scott has been nothing short of exceptional. His brutality and constant effort in defence has not only lifted his own game, but raised the standard of the entire Eels roster. Scott sets the tone early with punishing shots on helpless ball carriers, and possesses that element of intimidation previously missing from the Parramatta side.
And as an added bonus, the ferocious second rower maimed Anthony Watmough’s already gimpy knee in a preseason training drill, forcing Choc into early retirement and helping the Eels out of a considerable bind.
In a season blighted with more dark spots than Fatty Vautin’s latest skin cancer screening, Parramatta can at least rest their hats on the recruitment of Beau Scott. If it hadn’t been for that minor issue of systematic salary cap rorting and flagrant cheating, Scott would be leading Parramatta back to into Finals football for the first time AH (after Hayne). Oh well, there is always next year.
Aidan Sezer
This will probably be a controversial selection, as many would consider the former Titans halfback to be one of the better signings of the season. But I disagree.
Sezer was hailed as a true difference-maker for the Raiders, a game-managing halfback who would bring astute organisational skills and the calm demeanour needed to tame the erratic Canberra backline.
Teaming with the overhyped Blake Austin, Sezer was seen as the missing piece of the puzzle that would allow the Raiders to finally transform from perennial Black Beauties into thoroughbreds.
But here we are 14 Rounds into the season, and what’s changed? Despite the predictable white hot start, the Canberra side of 2016 is frustratingly similar to previous incarnations. If it wasn’t for a few follicular discrepancies in the halves, you could swear Terry Campese was still running around.
Much like the New Zealand Warriors, Canberra has the irritating habit of playing a certain style of football, regardless of coaching staff or player personnel. They continue to be plagued by inconsistency, both within games and week to week.
Aidan Sezer was brought in to help remedy this issue, but so far he has been less effective than a Band-Aid on a severed limb. Canberra will put on a dazzling display of attacking rugby league and blow a top side off the park, but then follow this with a performance where the players appear lazy and disinterested.
There is no doubt that Sezer is a quality player, but he has failed to meet his objectives in the Nation’s capital.
Trent Hodkinson
Trent Hodkinson is a quality player. He didn’t guide the Blues to a breakthrough Origin series victory by accident. The former Bulldog is the prototypical game-managing halfback, with an accurate long and short kicking game, a strong passing game and stout defence.
Sure he doesn’t take over a game like Johnathan Thurston or strangle the life out of a team like Cooper Cronk, but Hodkinson can be the perfect halfback in the right situation. The only problem is, he won’t find that situation in Newcastle.
The Knights are in the guts of a Hiroshima-sized rebuilding process, cutting away the veteran dead wood and focusing on blooding local juniors.
Newcastle already has an overpriced veteran halfback in Jarrod Mullen, and a duo of prodigiously talented halves coming through the system in Brock Lamb and Jack Cogger.
The team is not in a position to win now, or even in the next 2-3 years. So why sign Hodkinson? What exactly is he bringing to the table?
If this season is anything to go by, not a great deal. Hodkinson’s game has remained as solid my wife’s sedimentary scones, but without a competent supporting cast, his efforts have largely been in vain.
Unlike the greats of the position, Hodkinson does not have the ability to lift those around him, but instead responds to the dominance of his forward pack. Unfortunately for the Knights, their forwards would struggle to dominate a staring competition with a newborn.
Every game Hodkinson plays for Newcastle, he takes valuable playing time away from the next generation of Novocastrians superstars.
Trent Barrett
I almost feel sorry for Trent Barrett, but then remind myself he coaches Manly.
The former Dragon and Shark walked into a highly volatile environment on the Northern Beaches. The Sea Eagles had just enjoyed one of the most successful periods in the modern era, making the finals every year for a decade. The siege mentality established by club legend Des Hasler and then perpetuated by another club legend in Geoff Toovey had fostered a strong culture of success.
But nothing lasts forever. Core members of the squad departed, the playing group became fractured, performance started slipping, and results were not forthcoming. Geoff Toovey copped the blame and was shown the door, replaced by a rookie coach keen to make his mark.
And Barrett did not arrive alone. A convoy of removalist vans created havoc on the Spit Bridge as an army of big name Manly signings rolled into Brookvale. But with these big names came big expectations, with Barrett expected to take the star-studded Sea Eagles straight back into the top eight.
So far, the results have been less palatable than a kale smoothie. Manly has lost more games than they have won, and lost many games they should have won.
Injuries have certainly not helped matters, but all teams suffer injuries throughout the course of the season.
Perhaps the most alarming aspect of the Sea Eagles’ dismal season is that all key players, both old and new, are horrifically out of form.
Nate Myles seems to operate at half capacity during club games, saving his petrol for Origin. Marty Taupau is suddenly less venomous than a carpet python, and seen on the field about as often as one. Dylan Walker has been a bust in the halves, and Cherry-Evans has been at his best when sitting injured in the stands, where his damage can be minimised.
Barrett seems out of his depth as coach, slow to react when things aren’t working, and incapable of motivating his troops. I think a true measure of any signing is whether the team is better or worse-off as a result. After 14 rounds, it is clear that Manly should have held onto Tooves.