Taking Your Opportunities

Taking Your Opportunities

Oscar Pannifex

Billy Slater talked often about ‘ability’ and ‘opportunity’ when discussing the makeup of his squad throughout the 2023 State of Origin series.

No doubt there are a number of players from each state with the ability to play at Origin level, but getting the opportunity to do so can be a different story.

The same can be said about club football.

Throughout the Origin period, when clubs are decimated by injuries, suspensions and now representative duties, rookies or fringe players are often presented with an opportunity to impress in the top grade.

Over the last few weeks – and in NRL Round 19 in particular – we saw a number of players across the league step up to the challenge and make the most of their opportunities in first-grade.

For some of those players, that effort should see them play more consistent footy at NRL level while for others it’s a chance to play themselves into a new contract at another club.

Let’s take a look at a few players who stood up – and stood out – to make the most of their opportunities over the representative period, and in NRL Round 19 in particular.

Luke Metcalf

I’m a big fan of Te Maire Martin and had him pencilled into the five-eighth position at the Warriors when he returns from injury in the coming weeks.

Luke Metcalf’s performance in NRL Round 19 has forced me to reconsider, though.

Metcalf lit up the stats sheet against the Eels on Saturday afternoon with two tries and one assist, but he was even better than that.

We know Metcalf is lightning quick but it was his ballplaying and pass selection down the left edge that caused so many issues for the Eels defence.

His ability to straighten the attack, engage a specific defender and complete the right pass saw the Warriors score three times in the first half and run out to a big early lead.

The double-pump in the lead up to Marcelo Montoya’s first try was particularly impressive and suggests Metcalf will play a lot more first-grade in the future – maybe even at the expense of Te Maire Martin.

Zac Woolford

Woolford made his NRL debut in Magic Round last season and I’ve been a believer ever since.

You can plug anyone into the No.9 jumper and ask them to do a job, but there’s no coaching the nuances and intricacies of a genuine dummy-half.

Woolford is that player.

His ruck recognition is superb to complement a decent running game from dummy-half. He relies on triggers to run the ball – tacklers slow to peel, markers gassed or out of position – and rarely gets the choice wrong between passing or pinning the ears back.

In yardage, Woolford subtle actions from dummy-half are often the difference between a dominant tackle or a quick play-the-ball.

The way he holds the ball, how he positions his body, where he’s looking with his eyes and how many steps he takes from behind the ruck are all factors for the defence to consider when Woolford steps out from behind the ruck.

Against the Dragons last week – in what was Woolford’s first 80-minute stint in first-grade – the young Raiders hooker used his deception and craft to orchestrate three scoring actions.

In the lead up to Jordan Rapana’s opening try, Woolford was on the ball for less than a second and still managed to manipulate no less than three Dragons defenders.

Actions like this are what sets Woolford apart from running hookers like Tom Starling and Danny Levi.

Both were preferred over Woolford to begin the season but neither offers anything like the vision, craft and control that Woolford does.

He’s profiling as a long-term NRL hooker and will be a huge part of Canberra’s finals push in 2023.

Alex Seyfarth

The Wests Tigers forward has played just 40 games over four seasons at the club but had his best one against the Sharks in NRL Round 19.

Coming on midway through the contest, Seyfarth offered a handy pass option around the ruck as the Tigers worked in yardage.

He’s a strong carrier of the footy but it was Seyfarth’s ballplaying that proved a point of difference when Shawn Blore crashed over just before halftime.

Seyfarth has been used sparingly so far this year but his involvements last week should see him feature more consistently in first-grade.

The Tigers tried to use John Bateman at lock-forward over the past few weeks but they need him on an edge defensively.

In the last two games Blore started on the edge, the Tigers conceded nine tries down his side of the field.

For the good of the team Bateman has to stay out wide, but Wests might’ve found a replacement for him in the middle.

Seyfarth is a sound defender and can fill that link role around the ruck for the rest of the season. It also gives him a chance to play himself into another contract, either at the Tigers or elsewhere.

Toby Sexton

He was thrown in the deep end to begin his NRL career at the Titans but it didn’t surprise to see Sexton impress in his Bulldogs debut.

Rugby League Writers has had a front row seat to Sexton’s Hostplus Cup campaign this season for the Tweed Seagulls, where he has been doing all the things we saw from him in NRL Round 19.

First things first, Sexton is a traditional halfback, he will point or pass a team around the park, getting them to certain spots on the field to execute attacking actions.

The sweeping backline movements we saw from the Bulldogs last weekend can be put down to Sexton’s work in the lead up.

On the ball, Sexton has greatly improved his running game this season.

Where in the past he was tentative to dig right into the line, against the Rabbitohs last week he did exactly that, knowing which defenders to engage in order to create the space out wide, and he picked the right pass more often than not.

Matt Burton’s numbers from NRL Round 19 go a long way to highlighting Sexton’s influence in this one.

Burton touched the ball just 38 times on Sunday – slightly down from his 45.9 season average.

He also registered just 119 kick metres – well down from his average 366.4 metres per game.

With Sexton taking the bulk of organising and kicking duties, Burton was freed up to do what he does best.

The 161 running metres Burton finished up with against Souths was his best return of the season and a sign of things to come.

With Sexton playing on the ball throughout the set, Burton can now pick his moments to run. It’s a case of quality over quantity for Burton with Sexton now in the side, and the Bulldogs will look better for it.

Tyrone Munro

Six months ago, Munro was playing SG Ball against 19 year olds.

Fast forward to NRL Round 19, and Munro has scored a try on debut in every grade, making the jump from SG Ball, to Flegg, to NSW Cup and now into first-grade.

We know he’s quick and we know he can find the try line, but some of Munro’s decision making and support efforts over the past two weeks seriously impressed.

How often do you see a winger make a half-break early in the count, only to kick back infield or push a pass that wasn’t on?

Instead of forcing the issue and turning over possession, Munro kept composed and took the percentage play more often than not.

He’s only small and is still developing defensively, but it’s hard not to get excited about Munro’s potential…

Who stepped up and owned his opportunities at your club over the representative period? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by Oscar Pannifex | rugbyleaguewriters.com