Seven talking points from the World Club Series

Our first real taste of rugby league action is in the books for 2018 and that means it’s time for the return of NRL talking points as we get ready for a huge season ahead.

» Check out all of The Roar‘s pre-season information here.

The Storm are still going to be hard to beat
Despite the fact Melbourne don’t go into the 2018 season as favourites for the premiership after the departure of Cooper Cronk, they are still going to be a very difficult team to beat.

And any team with Billy Slater and Cameron Smith always will be.

While it’s hard to take a result against any Super League club as gospel, the Storm looked reasonably good for the most part, despite their star players obviously being underdone after the World Cup and a delayed start to pre-season.

Cameron Smith made more errors than he did for most of last season and Slater’s shoulder is a worry after he took no part in the second half.

But there were plenty of positives. Brodie Croft made an outstanding impression (more on this later) and the replacements in the forward pack look settled.

Ryan Hoffman slots straight into the role Tohu Harris played in 2017 on the edge for the Storm. The combination he and fellow second-rower Felise Kaufusi (who was also superb) can create with halves Croft and Cameron Munster will have a huge bearing on how many points the Storm are able to run up this season.

Up front, the loss of Jordan McLean leaves a hole, but with Queensland Origin prop Tim Glasby starting and the impact of Kiwi giant Nelson Asofa-Solomona coming off the bench, they lost nothing.

Asofa-Solomona was man off the match against Leeds and it probably won’t be the last time he wins such accolades in 2018.

There is an appetite for the World Club Series in Australia
If Friday night’s game between Melbourne and Leeds confirmed anything then there is no doubting an appetite exists for the concept both here in Australia and back in England, as we have known for years.

Big crowds regularly welcome NRL premiers (and in recent years, more clubs) into the United Kingdom, but the attendance both in Melbourne and at ANZ Stadium on Saturday, as well as reported healthy TV figures do plenty of good for the concept.

With NRL clubs getting cold feet about the idea of travelling north, the Super League picked up the slack this year. The game in Wollongong between Wigan and Hull last weekend was well supported and all three clubs had a solid number of supporters Down Under this weekend.

While expansion of the game in the UK is important (and NRL clubs are one of the best ways to do that), it’s going to be hard to convince NRL clubs to head over there again. It’s proven to disrupt pre-season and ensure said team won’t be winning a premiership the next season.

Of course, that has plenty to do with other problems associated in going back-to-back, but it has plenty of merit.

The World Club Series has a place, but it’s not in the United Kingdom right at the moment.

Matt Dufty is in for a huge season
The young Dragons fullback burst onto the scene at the end of 2017 and despite fading a little during the final few rounds, has been earmarked for a huge season ahead, replacing Josh Dugan in the Red V’s number one jumper.

He has been likened to Billy Slater in many parts with the youngster possessing acceleration and vision to match the greatest fullback the game has ever seen at the same stage of their development.

Of course, kicking on to be the next Slater is a long way down the track, but he made another promising statement against Hull on Saturday.

Running for more than 200 metres, he had two linebreaks and showed plenty of creativity, looking dangerous more often than not for the Dragons.

Doing it against Hull is one thing, but if he can do it consistently he will become one of the game’s best fullbacks in 2018. There is no reason he won’t either, with all reports suggesting he has gone injury-free during the pre-season.

He showed us glimpses in 2017, but 2018 could be the year Dufty stamps his authority as the best up and coming fullback of the next generation.

Greg Inglis must play in the Charity Shield
It would be foolish for the Rabbitohs to not play Greg Inglis before the season started at all. The superstar Queensland and Australian representative is returning from a long lay-off after a knee injury ruined his 2017.

He, along with Sam Burgess, Adam Reynolds, Angus Crichton, Cody Walker and Dane Gagai, sat out of the first trial game against Wigan.

That’s no biggie, with Inglis probably not quite at 100 per cent fitness and coach Anthony Seibold not willing to risk him in a game where the stakes were a little higher than a usual trial.

To be fair, the Charity Shield carries a similar weight to it. The game is more than just a trial and in a lot of ways, the Dragons and Rabbitohs have missed the mark setting up their pre-season.

None the less, throwing Inglis straight into an 80-minute, NRL-intensity game would be silly without a proper, gameplay test of the knee.

Brodie Croft and Cameron Munster will go perfectly well in the halves
It was a case of Cooper who for the Storm on Friday. Brodie Croft might be a debutant, but he looked anything but as he ran every play to perfection, barely made a mistake all night and ended up with a try and a few assists to show for it.

Croft has plenty of talent and showed it in his limited opportunities last year while Cronk was away on representative duty for Queensland.

In a similar veign to Dufty, he will need to prove himself over the course of the season, but the opportunities are there for him to stamp his authority and become the next long-term option in the halves at the Storm.

His willingness to run the ball, take the line on and set up plays for his teammates were hallmarks of his game against Leeds as the score gradually blew out to the end result of 38-4.

Croft combined nicely with Cameron Munster in the halves though with the more experienced of the pair looking to take his game to another level in 2018.

After an Origin debut for Queensland last year, he will need to takeover the lead role for Melbourne this year, although it was hard gauge exactly where the combination is given he played fullback once Slater was of the field.

Nonetheless, it was impressive early on and the pair are expected to have a big year. Whether they can get the Storm back to the big dance is anyone’s guess this early on, but with Slater and Smith there, it’s hard to rule them out.

Robbie Farah starting ahead of Damian Cook would be the definition of stupidity
The Rabbitohs have a conundrum when it comes to picking their starting number nine for the season ahead. In truth, it’s one they often got wrong last season under Michael Maguire and a problem his replacement Anthony Seibold must get right if the men from Redfern are to succeed.

Robbie Farah is a veteran and off a good campaign with Lebanon at the World Cup, but if Damian Cook is again forced to bide his time on the pine in 2018, questions will be asked.

Both looked solid on Saturday evening against Wigan without being spectacular, but Cook is a livewire.

He must be starting games and looking to tire marker defence out early, rather than waiting to come into the game and having Farah do the early work. That’s nothing against Farah, but with the veteran proving his ability to play in the halves during the World Cup, he adds extra versatility off the bench.

Could any English Super League team actually compete in the NRL?
During the coverage of the World Club Challenge, the question was posed to Nine commentator Wally Lewis where the Rhinos would have finished if they were to compete in the NRL.

“They would probably make the top eight. Seventh or eighth,” Lewis said, surprising many observers.

The truth of the matter is, Leeds were far from good enough on Friday night to compete with the best the NRL has to offer, but what Lewis said has some merit.

Hull and Wigan put up better efforts against clearly less serious clubs in the Dragons and Rabbitohs respectively on Saturday night, but with everyone at the top of their game, it wouldn’t have been close one suspects.

What would be a positive for English clubs is the idea of being in the conditions for the entire year and learning the style of the NRL. When they host the World Club Challenge, it’s been competitive previously and over the course of a full season, at very least, you’d think a few English clubs would challenge for the top eight.

Well, that’s it for the first edition of NRL talking points in 2018. Be sure to drop a comment below and let us know your thoughts on the World Club Series weekend and all the rest of the trial action.