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It’s never wise to read too much into trials. Teams like to test new combinations, new plays and young players. They are rarely a true indication of how teams are going to perform in the season proper.
However, the Charity Shield is considered to be the ‘most proper’ of the trial matches each year, with the bulk of each side’s top 17 usually getting a run. This year was no exception, with South Sydney’s only notable absentee being Adam Reynolds, while the Dragons’ entire top 17 got a run at some point in the match.
Here’s what we learnt from this game about the Dragons and the Rabbitohs and how they will go this season.
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Adam Doueihi has a big future
While the Rabbitohs halves combination of Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker are pretty much a lock for Round 1 provided Reynolds recovers from a foot injury in time, look for young gun Adam Doueihi to keep the pressure on them should they fail to fire early in the season.
Doueihi played left centre for Lebanon in the World Cup last year, but at club level he is a half/five-eighth. He spent 2017 switching between the Souths under-20s team and North Sydney Bears in the New South Wales Cup.
At 19 years old he is still eligible for the under-20s, but I’m sure new coach Anthony Seibold will want him playing against men in the NSW Cup to toughen him up for his inevitable call-up to first grade.
Doueihi was impressive against the Dragons on the weekend. He slotted into several backline moves that resulted in tries and looks to have a cool and composed head, especially for someone of his age. If injuries or poor form strike down either of South Sydney’s halves, look for this young man to replace them.
(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Luciano Leilua is not first-grade material yet
Luciano Leilua, the brother of Joey Leilua, had an impressive start to his career at the end of 2016, but it was followed by a contract saga that dragged on well into the 2017 preseason.
After all this it was expected that Leilua would snare a bench spot for the Dragons and play lots of first grade in 2017. However, this wasn’t to be, and it left many Dragons fans scratching their heads as to why this young gun wasn’t in the team.
If you watched the Charity Shield, you know why. This kid looked slow, he looked lazy and, quite frankly, he looked overweight. His marker defence was awful at times, and Damien Cook took advantage of this superbly to set up Angus Crichton for a try in the 30th minute.
Leilua looks like a guy who dominated in the lower grades by simply being bigger and stronger than anyone else. That doesn’t cut it in the NRL unfortunately. He has a lot of potential but has a lot of work to do if he wants to be a first-grader.
(AAP Image/David Rowland)
Damien Cook needs to start
Last week I wrote that Robbie Farah starting and Damien Cook off the bench is better for team balance. My thinking was that Farah would provide reliable service out of dummy half for the first 25 to 30 minutes, with Cook coming on after and staying on for the remainder of the game.
But based on how Farah played on Saturday you simply can’t start him ahead of Cook. His service from the play-the-ball was not up to standard. Frankly, Cook’s was better, which says a lot about Farah at the moment given that Cook is known for his running game rather than his passing.
I would start Cook and give him the whole first half. I would then bring Farah on for the second half, then bring back Cook at around the 60 to 65-minute mark either as a direct replacement for Farah or at lock depending on the game situation.
I can still see merit to Farah starting, and I can see coach Seibold going either way on this one, but one thing is for sure: whether he starts on the field or on the bench, Cook needs to be getting more minutes than Farah.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
The Dragons need time to gel
I really think the Dragons can be successful this year – success being a finals berth; they will challenge for the premiership in the coming seasons – but don’t expect them to come flying out of the blocks like they did last year or 2015. I’m predicting a slow start and a fast finish to scrape into the eight
The Dragons had some standout individual performers. Jack de Belin was monstrous in defence during his short stint on the field. Tyson Frizell tried to spark them late with some barnstorming runs at good angles back through the middle. Matt Dufty was lethal at times. Hunt and Widdop both had some classy touches.
The issues that I have are related to teamwork, both in attack and defence. Defensively the Dragons’ middle-third players need to coordinate better. Too many times were the markers caught out of position while the defensive line was already back-tracking. This is a recipe for disaster, particularly against a player like Damien Cook.
In attack there were some positive signs. Ben Hunt showed good understanding with his winger Jason Nightingale when he put in a cross-field kick on tackle two in the 29th minute. Nightingale unfortunately put his finger on the line. Nine times out of ten he would have scored that try.
But some of their backline movements looked clunky and disorganised. Even Nene McDonald’s opening try came from a pass to the ground by Gareth Widdop. The fact that McDonald was still able to score is more an indication of poor defence than good attack.
Finally, the Dragons’ football intelligence needs to improve if they are to do anything noteworthy this year. Tim Lafai in particular is capable of some serious stupidity at times, including passing the ball into touch when he was already over the try line. This kind of thing will continue to see Dragons fans ripping their hair out – although this won’t be a problem for Paul McGregor – in frustration if it is not fixed.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
The South Sydney backline is still unclear
There is one certainty in the Rabbitohs backline: Dane Gagai will be one of the centres. Everything else is up in the air at this point. Greg Inglis and Alex Johnston are also certain to be there, but in which position remains unclear. Robert Jennings will also likely be there, but his position depends on what happens with Inglis and Johnston.
I’d say that coach Seibold’s grand plan is for Inglis to be fullback. He played centre in the Charity Shield, but that was his first match since Round 1, 2017. It wouldn’t surprise me if the plan is to ease Inglis back into it as a centre before moving him to fullback after a few weeks.
This means that Johnston will remain at fullback, where he played against both Wigan and St George Illawarra before going off injured after a head clash with James Graham. With Inglis and Gagai in the centres, Hymel Hunt will likely be stranded in reserve grade until Inglis moves to fullback. Robert Jennings will probably be on one wing, with any one of Braidon Burns, Campbell Graham or Richard Kennar on the other.
If and when Inglis moves to fullback, Alex Johnston will likely take the spot of Burns, Graham or Kennar, with Hymel Hunt coming in to partner Gagai in the centres.
Souths do have another option if Johnston fails to fire at fullback or if Inglis’s knee cannot handle playing fullback, and that is moving Cody Walker to the back, putting Inglis back to the centres at the expense of Hunt and bringing in Adam Doueihi to partner Adam Reynolds in the halves.
While the above is an interesting option, I still think that this is Souths’ best backline:
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