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The Guardian - AU

Sport

Nick Tedeschi

NRL: five things we learned from round 26

Teams that are defensively strong tend to go deep in September. Photograph: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Storm on the horizon

Anybody willing to write off the Melbourne Storm had best think again with Craig Bellamy’s team warming nicely for a deep September run. The true sign of how well the Storm are travelling is how well their defence is holding up.

In back-to-back games against top four teams, North Queensland and Brisbane, they conceded six points followed by eight. The Broncos are the top attacking team in the premiership while the Cowboys rank fourth.

Over the last nine seasons, teams that ranked in the top two defensively have filled 14 of the 18 grand final slots. Melbourne currently hold the second best defensive record in the NRL behind minor premiers Sydney Roosters.

With the best coach in the business, the greatest hooker the game has known, an international halfback and some young stars on the rise in Jesse Bromwich and Cameron Munster, Melbourne have all the tools to add another premiership to the trophy cabinet.

Souths shot

Not since Brisbane in 1998 has a team won back-to-back premierships and that run of outs looks set to continue this year with South Sydney all but done. The defending premiers limp into the finals having dropped four of their last five. Over their last three games they have conceded a whopping 109 points. They were held scoreless on Friday night for the first time since round six, 2011 by a Sydney Roosters team who were hardly firing on all cylinders. The Chooks posted the 30 before half-time.

With a blockbuster elimination final against the tough-as-teek Cronulla Sharks looming, South Sydney will need the divine intervention of the Dalai Lama, Clive Churchill and John Travolta just to get through the opening week.

The Bunnies haven’t found their rhythm all year and with a host of injuries, a spluttering attack and a poor defensive attitude they aren’t going to find it now when the whips are cracking and titles are won.

Brown’s cows

Incoming Newcastle coach Nathan Brown has inherited an absolute mess with the Knights, who ingloriously claimed their second wooden spoon with a hapless effort against a decimated Panthers team. To add insult to injury, it was a match where club legends Kurt Gidley and Danny Buderus said goodbye. The Knights went in huge favourites but were out-enthused by a Penrith team that showed plenty of pride in their jersey.

The same could not be said of their opposition. Coach Wayne Bennett could get very little out of the Knights, whose problems are far more entrenched than just talent on the roster and the state of the books. Newcastle – a once-proud club who stood for work ethic and grunt – have been mired in mediocrity for well over a decade, content to settle for good and never push for great.

The road ahead for Brown is a treacherous one. A roster clean-out, culture change and a new playing style are all needed and soon.

Shot clock too long

The NRL’s much-vaunted – by headquarters at least – solution to speeding the game up has come up snake eyes with the shot clock a big swing and a wild miss.

Tested during the Parramatta-Canberra clash on Sunday afternoon, the 35-second shot clock for a scrum and 30-second shot clock for a drop out were both too long with players often waiting out the shot clock. At no stage was play sped up by the clock with rests now mandated in the game.

All the while kickers waste up to two minutes while the clock ticks when lining up penalty goals and conversions. If the NRL is to introduce the shot clock for real next season, the length needs to be shortened significantly.

Hayne Plane opens up NRL

The truly remarkable transition from NRL star to NFL fairytale for Jarryd Hayne is set to open the NRL up to the world. Hayne – the co-winner of the 2014 Dally M Medal – defied any number of barriers to make the final 53-man roster for the San Francisco 49ers. It is a story that has proven as big in the United States as it has in Australia with Hayne moving from curiosity to a legitimate cult figure.

Hayne’s ascent will open up the offerings of the NRL to the world. Rugby union may have the international clout but it is rugby league that produces the best athletes and in a market the code has forever tried to break into, the focus will be on league.

There will be more NRL shown on US television. Scouts will pay more attention to the league looking for the next Hayne. The synergies between the NFL and NRL will ensure that rugby league will find an increased – even if still niche – audience in the United States.

Hayne may have left the code but has done more good for the game since leaving than anyone could ever possibly have imagined.