- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Opinion
Now that POPE has blessed the best players of 2022 season so far, it’s time to look at some of the season’s surprise packages.
The surprise packages include a few young players on their way up, some journeymen on their way back, a veteran with one foot out the door and a couple of high-profile halves with split personalities.
There are no eligibility criteria for this team. It’s just players who surprised me for whatever reason.
1. Starford To’a, Wests (589 POPEs)
To’a joined Wests after being released by Newcastle in January and has become the Tigers’ Mr Fix-it. His overall POPE rating doesn’t stand out, primarily because he’s moved around between wing, centre and fullback.
I thought he did a good job deputising for Dane Laurie and the numbers show he’s done a good job wherever he’s played. There’s good metreage, impact on defensive lines and some promising signs with the ball in hand.
Laurie’s still better at the link play expected of a fullback, but I reckon To’a’s got something a good coach could develop.
2. Greg Marzhew, Gold Coast (685)
The comparisons between Marzhew and Brian To’o have been around a while. I thought he was, at best, an ersatz To’o last season, but he’s improved again in the first half of 2022.
The Gold Coast should persist with him given Corey Thompson’s in his dotage, Jamayne Isaako’s leaving and Phillip Sami’s talents are much needed in the centres.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
3. Matthew Timoko, Canberra (563)
I didn’t see this one coming. Timoko finished just in front of Herbie Farnworth and Joseph Manu. Before you start, it’s only half a season and a small sample of data. I don’t expect Timoko to stay in his lofty position.
Then again, he might be the real deal. There’s nothing in his numbers that screams fluke. He’s pretty solid across the board and has done it in a wildly inconsistent Canberra team. He’s one to keep an eye on.
4. Oliver Gildart, Wests (519)
There’s not much more to say about the centre crop of 2022. The best are performing as expected, rookie Izack Tago has been sensational, but everybody knows that. The Titans and Warriors are terrible and so are their centres. Even Adam Pompey’s having a poor season.
That leaves the Englishman Oliver Gildart. He’s solid, like Kotoni Staggs without the attacking flair. Which essentially makes him the new Tom Opacic, just marginally better and with a Manc accent.
5. Nick Cotric, Canberra (670)
Cotric has been playing a little bit like Alex Johnston on the end of a much less fluent and productive back line.
It’s easy to forget that he’s represented NSW and Australia, including the Kangaroos’ last outing against Tonga in November 2019, nearly 950 days ago.
6. Sam Walker, Sydney (443)
There’s good and bad here. Walker finished well behind his Queensland compatriots Cameron Munster, AJ Brimson and Tom Dearden, the latter of whom was deservedly selected in Queensland’s squad for Origin One.
(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
Walker’s facilitation numbers are down, likely because of the Roosters’ clunky start, and he’s still a target for opposition ball runners.
The upside: he’s running the ball more and more effectively and making fewer mistakes. When this kid puts it all together, he’s going to be special. He needs more help.
7. Mitchell Moses, Parramatta (458)
Which brings us to Moses. While he still doesn’t run the ball enough, Moses is an elite attacking half, in terms of both his own impact and the impact he facilitates for others. His defence is another story, but it’s not necessarily Moses’ fault.
Most of the best halves in the competition don’t need to do a lot tackling. This is to be expected given most of them play for the best teams who tend to dominate possession and territory.
But I think there’s more to it. The best teams don’t just react in defence, they try to engineer an outcome.
Next time you’re watching Penrith, keep an eye on Viliame Kikau and Liam Martin rushing out of the defensive line whenever the opposing team shifts. The object is not necessarily to complete a tackle but to disrupt the shift.
The carrier is either tackled by Kikau or Martin, tackled easily by somebody else as they reel out contact, or end up passing to a teammate in a worse position.
Kikau and Martin ‘miss’ a lot of tackles but in doing so take a lot of pressure off Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary. Missed tackles can be a misleading statistic. Ineffective tackles, doubly so.
It’s just one example. Melbourne are the grand masters at using defence as an attacking weapon. It’s part of the Cowboys’ resurgence this season. It’s something Parramatta needs to improve if they’re to unlock Moses’ potential and squeeze through their narrowing premiership window.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
8. Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Sydney Roosters (483)
Late last year, I concluded that Taukeiaho was in irreversible decline. News of his pending switch to Super League came as no surprise and I didn’t expect an upturn in form.
But the upturn has happened and it’s offsetting definite signs of irreversible decline in Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
9. Erin Clark, Gold Coast (425)
Evaluating the current crop of acting halves is not easy. They’re either runners like Damien Cook and Reece Robson, passers like Reed Mahoney and Blayke Brailey, both like Harry Grant, or weird hybrids like Adam Elliott and Brandon Smith.
Clark’s a decent passer and an underrated runner – he should run more in fact. Several commentators have identified dummy half as a weakness for the Titans. They could certainly do better, but they could also do a lot worse than Clark.
10. Corey Jensen, Brisbane (466)
Jensen hasn’t played a lot of minutes for Brisbane this season, but he’s put up big run metres, tackled like a demon and, well, that’s it. What more could you want?
He’s the perfect foil for the talented and inconsistent young forwards the Broncos are running out at this stage in their rebuild.
11. Tevita Pangai Junior, Canterbury (484)
Nobody’s ever doubted Pangai’s ability. He came perilously close to making the team of the half season and has a POPE profile very similar to that of Isaiah Papali’i.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
While I think Papali’i’s a better player and will finish well ahead at season’s end, it does illustrate Pangai’s quality. If he could eliminate a few mistakes and show a bit more maturity, a blue jersey could be his for taking.
12. Trent Loiero, Melbourne (478)
Have Melbourne unearthed another gem from their south-east Queensland nursery and yet another ready-made replacement for a departing representative player?
Like Ryan Matterson and Heilum Luki, Loiero’s making a big impact coming off the bench. He’s churning out 168 run metres per 80 minutes, second only to Matterson, while his stingy defence and lack of mistakes look very much like the Melbourne blueprint.
13. Adam Elliott, Canberra (451)
Who is this guy and what has he done with the one-dimensional edge back rower that used to play for Canterbury?
I thought Elliott was good as a makeshift dummy half and he’s continued playing well as a ball-playing lock. He’s essentially doing what Jack De Belin does, just slightly better.
His move to Newcastle next season makes sense on every level.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.