The Future of Tech. One Daily News Briefing.

AI is moving faster than any other technology cycle in history. New models. New tools. New claims. New noise.

Most people feel like they’re behind. But the people that don’t, aren’t smarter. They’re just better informed.

Forward Future is a daily news briefing for people who want clarity, not hype. In one concise newsletter each day, you’ll get the most important AI and tech developments, learn why they matter, and what they signal about what’s coming next.

We cover real product launches, model updates, policy shifts, and industry moves shaping how AI actually gets built, adopted, and regulated. Written for operators, builders, leaders, and anyone who wants to sound sharp when AI comes up in the meeting.

It takes about five minutes to read, but the edge lasts all day.

Sign Up. Look Smart.

NRL Film Room - Round 5 Highlights

Quick Hits

Jaxon Purdue In The Backfield The Cowboys are still finding ways to make the most of Jaxon Purdue’s ability with the ball, but sometimes all that’s required is some effort to push up around the ball.

Holy Apa Don’t say I didn’t warn you about what Te Hurinui Twidle can do with the ball. Although, I didn’t quite expect that with his first touch in the top grade…

The Feature Reel: (No) Try of the Week

Watching this game with one eye at the pub, I saw AJ Brimson take the pass and score before taking a quick note as something I wanted to dive into further for the review. Not for a second did I think the pass was forward, and it wasn’t until I looked up from my phone that I saw the Broncos taking the ball back up the field…

Despite the decision from the officials¹ , I still want to break this one down for the detail that went into it.

The Gold Coast Titans must have identified how tight Kotoni Staggs defends at times. Only two plays before the should-be try, they applied a similar fade on Staggs to his outside shoulder. From a more narrow field position and earlier in the set, Brimson ran out of room before turning is winger back underneath. However, with another chance and more space 30 seconds later, he nailed the run.

The run didn’t come without first disguising it as a kick, though. Lachlan Ilias does a nice job of showing the ball as though he’s going to grubber one in behind. Brimson is on the edge, flat as though he’s preparing to chase a kick, pointing at the space between Staggs and Ben Hunt.

It keeps the Broncos pair tight, ready to either trap and scrap the kick, or impede Brimson’s run as they turn to chase the ball down.

But as Ilias pulls the ball back in, Brimson makes his move. He fades to Staggs’ outside shoulder, looking to make the most of the space created by the winger dropping back for the kick.

“Brimson has all of the skills to be dangerous with the ball. He bounces out as well as any centre in the game already. His ability to move while the ball is in the air will produce points sooner rather than later.”

It’s only a matter of time before we see him race through on a similar line without it being pulled back.

NRL 2026 Four Point Focus: Why Teams Will Run On Last More This Season

Round 5 NRL Notes

Dolphins v Dragons

38%	Possession	62%
64% (20/31)	Completion Rate	89% (42/47)
1,388m	Run Metres	2,052m
356m	Post Contact Metres	657m
4	Line Breaks	8
452	Tackles Attempted	262

• The Numbers Tell The Story (Again): Like the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles game in Round 4, that stats after the game paint a fairly clear picture. Kieran Foran’s side dominated the Dolphins for 67 minutes before checking out early game already won.

• Block On Last: Foran and his staff didn’t have long to get sorted throughout the week, but landed on an excellent plan for their last plays inside the Dolphins 20. Twice - with the Dolphins wingers back in the pocket early to field a kick - they used their backrower as a ball player with the centre running a lead for the fullback.
  
  In the first instance, Ben Trbojevic played out the back of Tolutau Koula’s lead for Tom Trbojevic to throw the final pass out wide.

  

  
  
  On the second, Haumole Olakau’atu pulled Kodi Nikorima out of the line to create the angle inside Herbie Farnworth to hit the lead this time and score on an inside shoulder.

  

  
  While much of the reaction to this performance has been reduced to “playing for their coach,” the planning and execution on these plays suggests Foran could be the one to strike the right balance with the ball for a squad laden with attacking talent on the edges.

Knights v Raiders

• Why Is Strange On The Right? Ethan Strange announced himself as a potential State of Origin half throughout the 2025 NRL season, but has been slow to start in 2026. Much has been made of his switch to the right side and whether or not it’s the right decision.
  
  His step - left or right - is one of the most lethal in the competition. With the left edge backrower in the tackle and a middle forced to travel early in the game, he took on a tiring big forward defending four-in.

  

  
  While Strange’s right-foot step is something to consider in the switch, it is likely more to do with the left-footedness of Ethan Sanders and his kicking game than anything else.
  
  Most teams kick pressure from marker. It’s easier for a left foot kicker to kick on the left side of the ruck with the pressure coming from the inside, than it is for a right foot kicker having that pressure come directly at his kicking leg. A 1-4 start for the Raiders could prompt a few changes from Ricky Stuart ahead of Round 6, but moving Strange back to the left edge is unlikely to be one of them.

• Knights Dominate The Jam: The Raiders edge defence has a reputation for jamming. They’re physical, aggressive, and often make the right decision and do so without second-guessing themselves. However, it can come at a cost when the attack gets their part right.
  
  With Kaeo Weekes in the tackle here, he’s late back into the line. He’s not had a chance to look up and identify Newcastle’s dominant ball players on the left edge and set himself accordingly.

  

  
  That leaves the Raiders with five defenders from the middle of the field. As a result, Simi Sasagi jams in an attempt to close down the play, but a beautiful tunnel ball across the face of Fletcher Sharpe beats the jam and ends with Greg Marzhew over in the corner.
  
  Newcastle found plenty of success down the edges, playing short inside jamming defenders before searching down the same edge on the following play. Having my doubts about them this season - even with Dylan Brown and Kalyn Ponga in the squad - it might be time to rethink expectations around Justin Holbrook and the Knights for 2026.

Eels v Tigers

• Game Of The Season So Far: Wests Tigers and Parramatta Eels have a habit of playing out decent games, and this one marks the best of the 2026 NRL season after five rounds. It certainly wasn’t the prettiest. The coaching staff on both sides will be able to offer a lot of teaching moments across the 84 minutes. But with it coming down to the wire with neither team ever looking in total control, I spent more time on the edge of my seat than on the notepad.

• Momentum Tracker: We don’t need the Fox tracker on the screen to know when this game changed in the first half. Sean Russell leaving the field isn’t why, but it’s the point things changed for the Wests Tigers. One try became two as six agains and a blessed no-call on a Pierce-Paul strip coincided with repeated Eels errors out of yardage. Jack Williams streaking down the sideline before controversialy losing the ball² against the run of play further added to the pointlessness of the tracker as anything other than a sponsorship opportunity.

• Tigers Kick Plan: Wests made no secret of their kick plan on the Parramatta line: Kick it to Faaletino Tavana.
  
  He’s a weapon in the air and rose above above Josh Addo-Carr to score a beauty. It proved especially effective against an Eels team who became the face of the crack down on blockers as they left Addo-Carr out to dry with Brian Kelly, in particular, looking unsure of how he should support his winger in the contest.

• Chaos Late: Golden Point was probably a fair way to end the 80 minutes with both teams the beneficiary of painfully soft high-contact penalties late. Neither team looked comfortable under the pressure, though. While Moses earned the Eels a decent look at a winner, their defence failed to back him up. Meanwhile, the Tigers left a lot to be desired with their field goal setups on both shots; first failing to have a second kicker available before forcing Jock Madden to take his next attempt a lot wider than they should have with tackles up their sleeve.

Player Spotlight - Casey McLean, Penrith Panthers

Casey McLean is 19-years old…

Already among the best centres in the NRL, a proven player on the international stage and now seeing his name mentioned in New South Wales Blues predicted teams, still has so much room for growth.

Quite literally from a physical sense. Despite the ease at which he seems to be able to break tackles, he’s one of the more lean dominant centres in the game. His combination of strength and speed caused the Melbourne Storm sliding defence nightmares on Friday night, in particular.

His poise to take the first inside shoulder here, identify the scrambling defender is a middle he can beat with speed, and to hold the pass ever so slightly to commit the fullback is veteran-level play from guy only 35 games into his NRL career.

The Pipeline - Matthew Dufty, South Sydney Rabbitohs

Looking beyond the bright lights of the NRL to the lower grades, one player caught my eye this week.

Matthew Dufty is back down under following a stint in the Super League. While it’s unlikely that he make it back into the NRL in any sort of long term capacity, he can dominate reserve grade for a few more years if he wants.

Where his size could let him down defensively in first grade, his speed and ball-playing is a cheat code in New South Wales Cup.

In a Souths reserve grade side that has struggled for results in recent seasons, Dufty is ensuring they’re a danger with the ball at all times in 2026.

Member Mailbag

What's on the watchlist this week?

• Rabbitohs v Bulldogs

  • What Can Change For The Bulldogs In Attack?

• Team List Notes

• Content Offloads

NRL Round 4 Review: Clinical Cleary, Tinkering Titans & Two Old Boys Have Still Got It

Rabbitohs v Bulldogs

What Can Change For The Bulldogs In Attack?

Right now, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are playing with the worst attack in the NRL averaging just 15 points per game.

Cameron Ciraldo responded to their struggles with the ball by swapping Stephen Crichton and Matt Burton in the second half in Round 4. While it produced points, it didn’t look like a long-term solution to their problems. Instead, it perhaps offered some insight into how the Bulldogs will look to improve in the coming weeks.

The head coach made it clear what needs to happen for the Bulldogs to get the most out of their most dangrous attacking weapons when speaking after the match.

So, what might that look like?

We shouldn’t expect the straight swap too often. While Crichton has trained at five-eighth and Burton is experienced in the centres, chopping and changing halves rarely produces good results long team. Instead, the Bulldogs can find different ways to get Crichton on the ball from left centre.

The Future of Tech. One Daily News Briefing.

AI is moving faster than any other technology cycle in history. New models. New tools. New claims. New noise.

Most people feel like they’re behind. But the people that don’t, aren’t smarter. They’re just better informed.

Forward Future is a daily news briefing for people who want clarity, not hype. In one concise newsletter each day, you’ll get the most important AI and tech developments, learn why they matter, and what they signal about what’s coming next.

We cover real product launches, model updates, policy shifts, and industry moves shaping how AI actually gets built, adopted, and regulated. Written for operators, builders, leaders, and anyone who wants to sound sharp when AI comes up in the meeting.

It takes about five minutes to read, but the edge lasts all day.

Sign Up. Look Smart.

NRL Film Room - Round 4 Highlights

Quick Hits

The Little General Despite some recent commentary about his age and ability to lead a premiership-contending team, Adam Reynolds continues to prove he’s still got it.

Grant’s Pass My, oh my… The cojones to throw the pass is one thing, but for Harry Grant to put it on Will Warbrick’s chest across the face of four teammates is superb.

The Feature Reel: Try of the Week

Nathan Cleary sees the game unlike any player in the NRL, and managed to turn what looked like a failed planned set into points in Round 4.

It starts from a midfield scrum 20 metres out. Watching it a few times, it looks as though Thomas Jenkins gets pushed closer to the sideline than Cleary and the Panthers would have liked. You can see, as soon as the ball is fed, Cleary flips from the long side to the short side, looking to take advantage of any slow-traveling forwards.

Penrith get a good look with only two Eels players down the short side, but it’s narrow.

Instead, Mitch Kenny plays it back towards the middle to the spot I’m guessing Penrith wanted Jenkins to land.

Cleary is already moving back to first receiver on the long side, but spots an opportunity. The third man out of the tackle is late and not in his usual position in defence.

Triangles are the most dangerous shape in rugby league, and at the slightest sign of one in the defensive line, Cleary pounced to put Isaiah Papali’i through on Sean Russell’s inside shoulder to score.

NRL Analysis: How To Get The Defence To Travel

Those carries in yardage might not always look like much, but each can have a massive impact in a set if it all goes to plan.

Round 4 NRL Notes

Sea Eagles v Roosters

• The Numbers Tell The Story: The scoreline somewhat flatters the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the end, who did tackle well for much of the match before the pressure broke them down.

• 30 Seconds In: On just play two of the game, the Sea Eagles turned to what they do best: Shifting the ball out of yardage. A delay was mentioned pre-game with lightening striking and puddles pooling on the field. Nonetheless, the Sea Eagles made the most of the Sydney Roosters tight defence in yardage to skin them on the edge and score the opener.

• Roosters Halves: It’s going to take time for Daly Cherry-Evans and Sam Walker to find their feet as a pairing. Notably, they didn’t look that cohesive despite scoring 33 points and the match never really looking in doubt. They both floated to both sides, which appeared to cause some confusion. At times, it looked as though the decision on first reciever is who got there first. It’s difficult to get a great read on it from a television screen, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of clarity between them, and therefore the players around them. It will come, though. They’re both instinctive players who rely on each other as much as those around them anticipating what is to come.

• “Holy Shit”: That’s all I had as live commentary of this try.

• Putting Points On The Board: The Roosters played with plenty of possession and territory, but struggled to turn it into points for almost an hour. Robert Toia and Mark Nawaqanitawase produced moments of individual brilliance to score. Sometimes just giving them the ball is the right play. Still, the Chooks looked clunky inside 20 with Cherry-Evans, Walker, James Tedesco and Reece Robson still working out their flow attacking the line.

Raiders v Sharks

• Raiders Concede Two: What were you thinking, Corey Horsburgh? A sin bin for taking a player out inside 10 metres after a tap might be the most consistent call in rugby league. Even Ricky Stuart mentioned it was the right decision from the officials…
  
  Cronulla took advantage. Their second try while Horsburgh sat in the bin is the blueprint for attacking against 12 men. Where the Dragons desperately searched down their left edge last week with a one-man advantage, the Sharks attacked the middle. They compressed the defence, stressed the line, and waited for the cue to present itself out wide.

• Defending Shortsides: How the Sharks look to defend shortsides is on the watchlist in the coming weeks. The Raiders saw something throughout their preview to direct them down there. Canberra scored their first down a narrow shortside. They would have had a second down an even more narrow shortside if not for Will Kennedy at the back for the Sharks. The Raiders are a shortside team - there isn’t one too short for them to consider taking. Still, it seemed to be a particular target all afternoon.

Titans v Dragons

• Brimson Defending In The Centres: While centre might not be his best position, the Gold Coast Titans needed to change things up as they look to fit AJ Brimson in the side. But with that comes opportunity for the opposition, and the Dragons certainly made Brimson a target in the line. Consistently setting up around the left post, Kyle Flanagan attacked the space around the makeshift centre. Brimson jammed as Tyrel Sloan scored the first. He sat on his heels to create an always-dangerous triangle in the line on the Dragons next visit inside the Titans 20m line. Even on the Philip Sami intercept try, Brimson bit hard on the lead to produce a third different defensive look in ten minutes.
  
  Brimson has all of the skills to be dangerous with the ball. He bounces out as well as any centre in the game already. His ability to move while the ball is in the air will produce points sooner rather than later. However, Brimson’s future in the centres will be measured by his defence in the coming weeks.

• The Campbell/Ilias Combination: Jayden Campbell is the most influencial player in the Titans squad at the moment. Regardless of the number on his back, or role he’s assigned in the halves, the 26-year-old is the main man. His numbers don’t do his performance on Sunday night entirely justice. He may have only managed 59 running metres, but he threatened every time he tucked the ball under his arm. He generated quick play-the-balls and created opportunities for others with his running game. When passing, he laid on two try assists.
  

  There is still some work to be done on his combination with Lachlan Ilias. Campbell finished with more touches, and while that is better for the Titans, it leaves Ilias without opportunity. He’s a more traditional halfback, and if he’s to play second fiddle in regards to touches and directing the team, Ilias is at risk of becoming a bit of a passenger.

• Dragons Missing The Detail: You don’t always learn a lot from post-game press conferences, but the way Damien Cook put the performance on the players this week suggests they back the work of Shane Flanagan and his staff.

Player Spotlight - Jason Taumalolo

Jason Taumalolo is quietly putting together a strong start to the 2026 NRL season.

He’s not putting up the numbers he has done in the past, but for 32 years old, he’s still producing at a high level and putting the North Queensland Cowboys on his back when required.

Taumalolo punched out another 153 metres in Round 4, backing up his 173 metres against the Titans in Round 3. Todd Payten has been managing his minutes for a few seasons now with the back end of his career in mind. Still signed for another year beyond this one, that minute-management is paying off for Taumalolo to still be a valuable contributor to North Queensland’s yardage game.

The Pipeline - Te Hurinui Twidle, Parramatta Eels

Looking beyond the bright lights of the NRL to the lower grades, one player caught my eye this week.

You can’t go past Te Hurinui Twidle after he scored four tries for the Parramatta Eels in their 26-all draw with the Penrith Panthers in the NSW Cup this week.

Into his second season in reserve grade, Apa is growing in reputation as one of the most dangerous attacking players in the competition.

He finished a long shift to score his first on the edge. Anticipating Ronald Volkman running it on the last, he pushed up in support to score his second. Twidle completed his first half hattrick with a try timilar to the first - weighing up his options on the edge and making the right decision to dummy-and-run.

Saving his best for last, Twidle returned an ugly Panthers last play to the house to level up the scores.

Twidle isn’t without improvements to make. He’s is a target under the high-ball and conceded one try this week on the back of a drop. Still, he’s one to keep an eye on for the Eels, particularly with Isaiah Iongi going down in Round 4.

Member Mailbag

After the initial introduction of set restarts saw the proliferation of smaller ball-playing locks such as Dylan Walker and Connor Watson and given that we have seen players such as Euan Aitken and Jack Cogger spend time as middle forwards this year, do you think we will see more teams move towards picking smaller, lighter, more mobile players as middle forwards?

I think we’re already starting to see it balance out across the competition. Almost every team employs some sort of smaller player through the middle, whether it be to start or off the bench. However, the benefit of quicker and mobile forwards in the middle comes at a cost. They become targets in the defensive line and a spot for the opposition team to generate momentum.

The Dragons were caught out a couple of times with Damien Cook and Jacob Liddle on the field together last season. Bailey Hayward has seen his role at the Bulldogs increase at the expense of Reed Mahoney for a reason. Ryley Smith is making a lot of tackles in his stints to start this season.

There is a place for smaller middles in every team, but they aren’t about to become the majority. Defence is still what wins footy games and those smaller bodies only make it more difficult.

What's on the watchlist this week?

• Another Crackdown…

• That Cleary Kick

• Team List Notes

• Content Offloads

Another Crackdown…

“The NRL has clearly put a focus on calling escort penalties and we saw four called in this game alone. While I’ve seen a few questionable decisions across the first three rounds, they were all fairly obvious in this one. Teams need to be smarter, and I expect they will be in the coming weeks.” - Round 3 Review

“While players are permitted to move towards the ball and take up a position, this does not override the clear obligation all players have under the international laws of the game to not obstruct an opponent who is not in possession of the ball.

“Consequently, if in the opinion of match officials, one or more players take up positions with the intent to interfere with an opponent’s ability to compete for the ball or attempt a tackle, such action will be deemed obstruction, as it would be in any other aspect of general play where a player is obstructed while not in possession.” - NRL head of football elite competition, Graham Annesley

This will be interesting…

Players getting back around a catcher is nothing new. It just took a comical photo on social media of the Parramatta Eels using one poorly thoughtout interpretation to bring about another.

It’s now up to officials, at speed and under pressure, to determine what a player is thinking as they turn and track to the ball.

Hopefully nothing changes from Round 3. While escort penalties are up, there haven’t been many called that are shockers. If anything, they’ve still missed a few. But those were genuine escorts - changing lines and obstructing the kick chase.

Is a player who runs straight back to the ball before stopping to allow his teammate to catch it an obstruction?

Does the refocus on the rule only apply to the occassions two or three players - whether they run straight back or not - stand close together to form a wall?

Everybody will be learning the new standard in Round 4, whatever it is…

NRL Analysis: The Importance of a Consistent Kick Chase

A good kick chase isn't the most exciting element of an NRL match, but it's a key factor in deciding who wins and loses each week.

That Cleary Kick

It flew under the radar on the day as Brian To’o couldn’t reel the kick in, but it won’t be the last time we see Nathan Cleary attempt this kick…

NRL Film Room - Round 3 Highlights

Quick Hits

Beware Of The Second Kick As a big believer in teams looking to run it on the last this season, I didn’t have “To’o Two Kicks” on my watchlist for the Penrith Panthers in Round 3.

Take Your Pick Try on NRL debut ✅ Make a Wish try ✅ Multi-killer ✅

NRL 2026 Four Point Focus: Why Teams Will Run On Last More This Season

In a time when building pressure is a focus for most teams in attack, I expect to see more teams run the ball on 5th tackle from long range in 2026.

The Feature Reel: Try of the Week

Josh Curran throws a nice ball to Jacob Preston to crash over and score, but it’s the play leading to the try assist that this as the feature try of the week.

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs to an excellent job of selling the shortside to the Raiders markers to generate the linebreak.

First, it looks as though Connor Tracey is already in position to target the shortside to make it 4 v 4 on the edge. When Matt Burton makes his late move from the longside to the shortside, the second marker is forced into action. He follows Burton down the shortside as the first marker takes care of Bailey Hayward at dummy half.

With the two markers split, Tracey straightens up and hits the hole in behind the ruck, flying into the backfield before the Bulldogs use the momentum to score under the posts.

The deception isn’t an accident. Cameron Ciraldo and the Bulldogs must have seen a trend in the Raiders defence to draw this one up, and it’s come off to near-perfection.

Round 3 NRL Notes

Storm v Broncos

• Broncos Bench: In contrast to the overuse of the six-man bench across the first two rounds of the NRL season, the Broncos went the other way using only two interchange players. They’re blessed with big-minute middles in Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan while Cory Paix is capable of playing a full game at dummy half. While it’s not a rotation Michael Maguire is likely to employ often, it’s good to know he can roll out a finals-like middle in a big spot as he did in Melbourne here.

• Sua At The Back: Sua Fa’alogo has impressed and exceeded expectations to start the season, but it’s important to pump the breaks on him and look at his performance through a Craig Bellamy lens. He’s scoring tries, breaking tackles and generating running metres. His footwork is incredible and he is always dangerous on the edge. However, it’s not always where Bellamy wants him to be and the young fullback is still working out when to distribute or take the line on himself:

  “He’s got a lot of improvement in him to be quite honest. Just learning more about the game and learn how to use his pace and his change of direction. I think, sometimes, he probably gets across field a bit too much.” - Craig Bellamy

Eels v Dragons

• The Penalty Try: It’s one of the few areas the Bunker has been relatively consistent in recent seasons. I can’t think of many that I have egregiously disagreed with, until today…

  Did Nine have coverage of this game? I assume they said something along the lines of “how can you be certain he would have scored?!?”

  That isn’t the rule. However, with three defenders around him, including Jayden Su’a draped all over him early, it seems unlikely that Jonah Pezet would have got over the line from here.

• The Escorts: The NRL has clearly put a focus on calling escort penalties and we saw four called in this game alone. While I’ve seen a few questionable decisions across the first three rounds, they were all fairly obvious in this one. Teams need to be smarter, and I expect they will be in the coming weeks.

• Atkinson’s Development: It’s a pretty good sign when Cooper Cronk mentions the need for Daniel Atkinson to play it short to set the game up in commentary, and for the Dragons halfback to recognise as much himself to make the pass shortly after for the Red V to score. However, presented with a backrower in the centres for much of the second half, and that same backrower in the bin for 10 minutes, Atkinson and the Dragons failed to take enough of an advantage against 12 men. While they started to look dangerous down that side in the end, as they used the lead inside three to isolate Moses, it came too late.

• Offloads: The Dragons finished this game with 18 offloads after managing only 16 across the first two rounds. They’d thrown 11 by halftime in what appeared to be a clear plan against what has been a fairly loose Eels middle to start the season. It’s something to monitor against the Titans in Round 4.

Cowboys v Titans

• It’s Becoming A Problem: I really don’t want this to be a weekly gripe. Like the players and coaches, we simply need to adjust despite there being numerous voices in the game offering opinions that have, unfortunately, come too late³ .

  This isn’t the kind of rugby league that I love, though:

PVL's ideal version of rugby league:

— The Rugby League Eye Test (@leagueeyetest.bsky.social)
7:22 AM • Mar 22, 2026

• Campbell Straight Back Into It: While there are still questions around how effective Jayden Campbell can be in a #7 jersey, the Gold Coast Titans are desperate for his quality with the ball. He needed only 15 minutes to spot a cue and score on his return to the side.

  With one Cowboys defender left on the ground and only one marker at the ruck, Campbell takes the space back in behind to score a beauty. It only took five more minutes to have a second try for the Titans to take a lead.

  Whether or not he can lead a dangerous attack in a good team remains to be seen, but he’s enough on his own make the Titans a lot better.

Player Spotlight - Thomas Jenkins

Despite putting up impressive numbers, Thomas Jenkins was always at risk of falling out of the Penrith Panthers side last season. He did by the finals in a decision that proved to be the right one for Ivan Cleary in the end.

However, Jenkins is making the decision even easier this season - he’s staying there.

Coaches love to know what they’re going to get from a player. More than a flashy moment, it’s often better to be able to trust and predict what they’re going to produce. Jenkins is providing Cleary with that trust and predictability at the moment. He doesn’t always need to do a lot to score, as evidenced by his four-try haul this week. Still, he’s producing in yardage to earn his keep in the side throughout a match he acts as a finisher in attack.

The Pipeline - Tristan Sailor, St Helens

Looking beyond the bright lights of the NRL to the lower grades, one player caught my eye this week.

While he hasn’t played in the NRL since 2024¹ , Tristan Sailor stood out for St Helens this week, and given the six-man bench and growing importance of genuine utility options, we may not have seen the last of the 27-year-old down under.

Sailor laid on a nice try for his winger, finishing it with an offload with two defenders hanging off hime.

Shortly after, he produced a moment of brilliance. Jumping up and over the opposition player, Sailor managed to find an offload on the ground with his back to his teammate.

Even with the requisite “it’s only Super League” prefaces, Sailor is at the very least a versatile attacking player who can provide moments to turn a game.

Member Mailbag

“It’s Penrith and then daylight”

It’s pretty hard to argue against that at the moment.

Defence wins premierships and the Penrith Panthers have conceded 10 points in three weeks. They work hard, are smart in defence² and have found the consistency in the side they lacked to start last season. A relatively inexperienced group learned some hard lessons to start 2025, but Cleary has stuck with what worked so well in winning four consecutive premierships and Penrith is starting to reproduce the same again now.

It’s not a style of play too dissimilar to a few teams around the competition at the moment, but Penrith is once again the benchmark.

What's on the watchlist this week?

• Storm v Broncos

  • Broncos Left Edge Defence

• Rabbitohs v Tigers

  • A Wests Tigers Tap Set

• Content Offloads

NRL Round 2 Review: Johnston's Record, Grant's Service & Joey Walsh Impressing

Round 2 is in the books for the 2026 NRL season with the Melbourne Storm already starting to assert their dominance on the competition.

Storm v Broncos

Broncos Left Edge Defence

The Brisbane Broncos left edge couldn’t handle the Parramatta Eels in Round 2. Down big and in a desperate search for points, Mitchell Moses and the Eels repeatedly targeted the Broncos left edge for regular success.

Gehamat Shibasaki has since been dropped for their Round 3 clash against the Melbourne Storm so here, we’re going to look at what went wrong with an eye for any changes when Grant Anderson steps in as his replacement.

Parramatta made the three-man their target for a lot of the match. Ezra Mam is a strong defender and doesn’t shy away from contact. That can be what hurts him when he sinks too far on a lead to protect his inside shoulder. A lot depends on how quickly his four-man can get across the field, too.

Kelma Tulagi took the game by the scruff of the neck to bust through and score an excellent individual try early. However, it’s the three later in the game that will have played a part in Michael Maguire’s decision to make a change.

With Aublix Tawha getting caught up on the lead as Moses swings early into Mam at three-man, Shibasaki is still on his way out. The disconnect between Mam and Shibasaki presents a gapping hole for Tuilagi to score his second.

The Eels went back to the well on the following set. On the momentum of a barnstorming Sam Tuivaiti carry, Moses pushes forward at Xavier Willison who has travelled to A on the short side.

Again, Mam is caught in an awkward spot, but it’s ultimately the triangle Shibasaki creates by failing to get up alongside his half that Isaiah Iongi steps through to score.

Out of the break having no doubt spoken about how they want to attack in their first opportunity on the Broncos line, the Eels are straight into the left edge.

Moses is once again the man to make the move, getting across the four-man and into Mam at three. This time, however, Shibasaki stays tight to his half. Too tight. Iongi is able to swing outside the centre on the Moses pass, and by the time he catches it, has already isolated Josaiah Karapani on the wing.

Iongi is too quick and there isn’t enough grass behind Shibasaki for him to make an effective scrambling tackle.

While Shibasaki isn’t the only player to blame for the Broncos’ struggles on the left edge, Maguire’s answer is for Anderson - a classic Mr. Fix It player - to come in and firm it up. He won’t be tasked with a lot beyond getting up in defence and making strong contact.

I’m curious to see the differences, if any, to how the Broncos approach their edge defence against a Storm attack that can score in a variety of ways.

Rabbitohs v Tigers

A Wests Tigers Tap Set

The Wests Tigers are a long time without finals football, and while they’ve displayed the odd promising period over the years, their success hasn’t come through repeatable actions. It’s in repeatable actions where we can judge their improvement and the potential for consistency and a chance of cracking the Top 8.

One tap set offered hope in Round 2.

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NRL Film Room - Round 2 Highlights

Quick Hits

In The Context Of This Game His team played with 29% possession across the first 18 minutes of the match. Down 12-0, Kelma Tuilagi decided to do it all on his own for the Eels.

Holy Atkinson This is an absolute peach of a pass. The jury is still out on Daniel Atkinson as a genuine #7, but there is no doubting his potential with the ball in hand.

The Feature Reel: Try of the Week

Harry Grant is constantly creating highlights for his work around the ruck, darting out from dummy half to score tries few others at the position could. But sometimes it’s just simple service that can create highlights for others.

The Melbourne Storm laid on a beauty in Round 2 by distrupting the defensive line, compressing one side of the field and cashing in on the other.

Having played two short balls down the left edge, the cue presents itself on the longside: The backrower inside the posts. That is enough to tell Grant and the Storm attack that there is room on the edge.

Grant’s pass is exceptional. He passes across five Dragons defenders straight to the chest of his five-eighth. Cameron Munster plays a simple block inside Luciao Leilua who is already caught further infield than he’d like to be.

With Leilua caught on the lead, Jahrome Hughes is able to make his way into the three-man to create the three-on-two situation out wide. As the defence responds, so too does Sua Fa’alogo¹ who completes the action with quick hands to Will Warbrick on the wing.

While Warbrick ended with the points and Fa’alogo the try assist, Grant’s on-the-money pass played a key part in the ball getting wide at speed for Melbourne to open the scoring.

Breaking Down The Harry Grant Try: "I Don't Know What Happened"

The game slows down for Harry Grant before he speeds it up to score.

Round 2 NRL Notes

Broncos v Eels

• Broncos Kick Defusals: Eight of the last nine tries the Brisbane Broncos conceded coming into this game came after they failed to defuse a kick. Mitchell Moses tested them early with Josiah Karapani looking to be his main target. While they cleaned them up well early, Parramatta’s first try of the second half came on the back of a Reece Walsh drop. He dropped another one later in the game, too. It’s something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks as opposition kickers no doubt scheme to take advantage.

• Broncos Left Edge Defence: While the Broncos seemed to do as they pleased with the ball, they offered little resistance in defence. Starved of possession to have played with only 38% of the ball as the Eels scored their third try in the 34th minute, the visitors didn’t have to work particularly hard to score when getting into Broncos territory. Parramatta scored 22 points in the first half with only two tackles inside the Brisbane 20-metre line…

• Parra Attacking The Three-Man: It feels appropriate to highlight the first try out of halftime, which came on the back of Reece Walsh failing to defuse a kick, and displayed the same traits as the first-half four-pointers. Parramatta found a lot of success down their right edge. They generated particularly dangerous looks by getting into the three-man with a lead inside two.

  With Jonah Pezet able to slot in at first reciever and put Mitchell Moses on the second layer, the Eels right edge is going to cause some problems this season.

Roosters v Rabbitohs

• A More Comfortable Cherry-Evans: Following a week of being told he’s too old, Daly Cherry-Evans looked a lot more comfortable within the Sydney Roosters attack this week.

  Plenty questioned how Cherry-Evans could work alongside Sam Walker, how the two would link up and who takes control of the side. Like a lot of halves pairings in the NRL these days, it looks as though it will be a week-to-week thing based on the hot hand and opposition in front of them.

  “I took my opportunities (against Souths). I didn’t wait for anything to happen. Along with the rest of the team, I feel like we went after the game.” - Cherry-Evans

  Both Walker and Cherry-Evans are capable of playing the team to points and taking advantage of the cues in front of them. The more they play alongside eachother, the better they will look in attack² .

• Collins Responds: A bit like Cherry-Evans, Lindsay Collins caught a few barbs throughout the week. He responded by generating 149 running metres and making 30 tackles in 63 minutes. Collins isn’t a prop that will always put up big counting stats; it isn’t always his role within the team. Instead, he thrives in the actions that often go unnoticed: Kick chase, first contact, effort plays. He thrived in both areas this week, though.

Sea Eagles v Knights

• Knights With Ponga: Kalyn Ponga registered 50 touches of the football in Las Vegas and continued to slip into his new-look role before being forced from the field in this one. Rather than throwing the last pass of a shift in good ball, he’s taking possession in more central areas in a halfback-like role at times. Unfortunately, it’s going to be six weeks before we see it all again.

• Knights Without Ponga: And Dylan Brown…

  It remains to be seen how they approach yet another new-look halves pairing, but based on what we saw in the second half on Sunday, Newcastle will likely adopt a more traditional approach to their service. Sandon Smith took over as an on-ball halfback to finish with 66 touches for the afternoon. He’s the best positioned to take on the guiding role now required without Ponga and Brown. Fletcher Sharpe is set to return while Tyson Gamble laid on four try assists in the NSW Cup on Sunday afternoon as possible partners.

Player Spotlight - Alex Johnston

It can only be one man this week…

Alex Johnston wrote his name into the history books by scoring his 212th and 213th career try on Friday night. Fittingly, he did it on the back of a Latrell Mitchell pass, crossing the line effectively untouched before thousands stormed the field.

He’s the mark of professionalism and consistency. Without being the strongest or fastest winger in rugby league, Johnston has made a career out of putting himself in positions to benefit from the work inside him. An elite finisher and, from all reports, an even better person, Johnston will deservedly go down as one of the games greats.

For the Rabbitohs, they can start to turn their focus to winning football games with the talk of the record, when it might happen and how it should be celebrated dominating the discourse throughout the opening two rounds.

The Pipeline - Joey Walsh, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

Looking beyond the bright lights of the NRL to the lower grades, one player caught my eye this week.

With the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles reportedly holding the first honesty session of the 2026 NRL season, changes might not be far away.

Joey Walsh is a name known to most by now, but he’s been a slow burn on arrival from Rugby Union. He’s always had the physical tools to look the part isolation, but is now adding the footy IQ to become a consistent influence in rugby union.

He scored a try and assisted on another in a strong performance against the Knights Cup side on Sunday afternoon.

The first step in becoming a top tier half in the NRL is dominating reserve grade for an extended period. With an excellent 80 minutes under his belt in Round 2, Walsh looks as though he might be ready to make the leap.

Member Mailbag

What are the key takeaways after the first two rounds of the NRL season?

Any suggestions for the Player Spotlight of The Pipeline? Get in touch…

What's on the watchlist this week?

• Balancing Tricky & Nicho

• Isolating Kini In The Air

• Six-Man Bench: How Are Coaches Using It?

• Content Offloads

NRL Round 1 Review: Tricky Trindall, Middle Defence & Sea Eagles Show Their Hand

A week later, Round 1 of the 2026 NRL season is over with the Sharks, in particular, making a big statement in the premiership race.

Panthers v Sharks

Balancing Tricky & Nicho

The Cronulla Sutherland Sharks ripped through the Gold Coast Titans last week. Regardless of the “It’s Round 1” and “It’s only the Titans” prefaces required when analysing the performance, the Sharks halves, in particular, impressed with how they balanced the field and executed on the cues in front of them.

Asked about whether or not he liked Braydon Trindall “taking charge” while Nicho Hynes was “floating out the back,” Craig Fitzgibbon offered a glimpse into what the Sharks are trying to do with the ball.

“It's actually not any different of what we've always done.

“If there's six agains and there's a lot of ball in midfield, then yeah, Hynes is on the ball. Hynes is a runner.

“If we get the opportunity to set things up we get Tricky on the ball.”

Despite the numbers on their back, Hynes and Trindall have fairly defined roles and are getting better at picking their respective moments.

Even when the Sharks have been at their best in recent years, they’ve struggled to break down good defences. Hynes can play over the advantage line and to cues as well as any half in the NRL, but the games the Sharks have lost came when they needed a more traditional approach in attack.

That’s where Trindall and his ability to “set things up” come into play.

The Titans didn’t give us a great look at how Hynes and Trindall might interplay, given the ease with which they scored. However, their third try offered a glimpse.

From a relatively slow start, Trindall gets the Sharks to the spot on the field they want to attack from. He plays a giant Tom Hazelton onto the smaller Sam Verrills to generate a quick play-the-ball.

With it, Hynes steps in:

Taking possession on the second layer of the shift, Hynes is in position to run and react. He reads the jam, steps inside, and fires the pass wide. While it goes to ground on the way, it gets to where he wants it in the end.

Having stepped inside one jam and passed across the next defender, he knows the Sharks have the numbers on the edge, and it’s simply a case of getting the ball there one way or another.

Up against the Penrith Panthers in Round 2, we should get a much better idea of how Trindall and Hynes will play together. This is the sort of defence they’ve struggled to score against in the past, and the Panthers just kept the defending premiers to nil last week…

Dolphins v Titans

Isolating Kini In The Air

Keano Kini is one of the most dangerous and unpredictable attacking players in rugby league. He breaks tackles like nobody his size should be able to, and has learned how to make the most of his diminutive stature in a game full of giants.

However, there is one place he can’t hide from the height he gives up to most opposition players, and the Sharks scored a try last week that might make up part of the Dolphins’ game plan on Sunday.

The Melbourne Storm, as they always do, turned up to Round 1 of the latest NRL season ready to go. There is never any rust with this club. Harry Grant, in particular, burst out of the blocks to play out a Man of the Match performance featuring one of the best individual tries of the weekend.

	Tries	Line Breaks	Run Metres	Tackle Breaks
Harry Grant	2	2	86	4

Grant is a master of his craft. A cue from the defence rarely goes unpunished when he’s at his best. However, he’s only as dominant as the pack in front of him, and with Melbourne cruising up the field against a fatigued Parramatta middle, Grant had his way.

What Greg Alexander said at halftime summed it up well in the end: “I don’t know what happened.”

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NRL Film Room - Round 1 Highlights

Quick Hits

Mark Nawaqanitawase The Roosters winger sees rugby league differently to anybody else. You can’t take your eyes off him or assume anything as a defender.

Give It To The Big Kid Like junior footy in the early years of tackle, Souths have a ‘give it to the big kid’ backline that makes scoring on the back of momentum simple.

The Feature Reel: Try of the Week

Take your pick involving Braydon Tindall this week…

This one stood out for me given the fine example of halves play from start to finish.

First, Trindall is there pushing up in support as Blayke Brailey threatens to make a line break. As Brailey is reeled in, Trindall is quickly able to idenfity the next opportunity in front of him.

You can see him direct - with two fingers - his backrower and centre to run leads either side of the two man.

It’s the perfect play given the situation. With the Sharks running downhill behind a quick play-the-ball, Keano Kini is forced into A and Beau Fermor struggles for linespeed from B given the amount of distance he has had to travel in between tackles.

It’s crucial that Trindall’s backrower holds width to keep the three-man from shrinking. Briton Nikora is standing on the scrum line as Brailey is tackled, but by the time the ball finds Trindall, Nikora has moved ten metres wider.

That lack of linespeed keeps Kini up in the line longer than he’d want to be. Then able to bounce outside Fermor, Trindall is presented with a huge gap to kick through with Nikora holding the three-man wide.

Just needing the bounce, Nikora continues on his line to score an excellent Sharks try on a day they made everything look so easy in attack.

Round 1 NRL Notes

Storm v Eels

• Utoikamanu Is Underrated At This Point: Between his time at the Tigers, the overblown expectations on arrival at the Storm and low-stat-output performances in State of Origin, the perception around Stefano Utoikamanu is largely negative - underwhelming, at best. He’s not considered an elite prop by most, but the right people in representative football keep selecting him, and he made it more obvious why on Thursday night.

  He ran all over the Parramatta Eels with his carries particualrly noteworthy in the buildup to tries. His job in this Storm side isn’t always to pile up run metres and get them up the field. Rather, his carry and play-the-ball’s are the catalyst to Melbourne’s electric attack that takes advantage of a cue in the defensive line better than most.

  Harry Grant ended up as the best player on the field, but Utoikamanu’s work helped to elevate him.

• The 6-man Bench: Coaches are still learning how to best use the six-man bench, and Jason Ryles’ use in this one appeared to miss the mark. Giving in to the temptaion of installing Joash Papalii at fullback while Isaiah Iongi completed his HIA, that 15 minutes of security cost Parramatta their only genuine prop on the bench, and left them with a rotation of Papalii, Talyn De Silva, Matt Doorey and Dylan Walker - not the ideal quartet. It comes after Shane Flanagan did similar in Las Vegas.

  The popular conversation has been around how these new-look benches could win games, but, while it’s not why Parramatta lost this one, mismanagement of the rotation will cost a team two points at some stage.

• Eels Defence Through The Middle: There are a lot of reasons for Parramatta to have struggled through the middle in this one: They defended 10 minutes a man down early in the game, faced a rampaging Storm pack, and did so with only two forwards on the bench in the end. But the defence through the middle will be where they put their focus throughout the week after the Storm cruised up the field all too easily for the majority of the match.

Sharks v Titans

• Titans Middle Defence: It couldn’t have been any worse for Josh Hannay to start his tenure as head coach of the Gold Coast Titans. They lost the physical battle from the start, and never looked like clawing it back.

  You’d hope after a break at halftime - spray from the coach or not - that the Titans would display some resilience. However, the Sharks generated momentum from the kickoff and ended the set one metre from the Titans line, and scored inside three minutes after oranges.

  The Sharks consistently poked thier nose through the line, found their front, and generated a quick play-the-ball. Gold Coast’s defence couldn’t keep up. I’m always asking if it’s ‘something or nothing’ at this time of the NRL season. We don’t know the answer yet, but will have a much better idea about the Titans pack after the early exchanges of their Round 2 clash against the Dolphins.

• Titans Attack: Perhaps the fatigue from their struggles in defence can explain a lot of their issues with the ball, but the Titans appeared to run out of ideas quickly.

  With three full sets attacking the Sharks line at one point, the Titans offered little outside of two grubbers - both early in the count. Shortly after being turned away, AJ Brimson resorted to a chip kick to nobody on 3rd tackle which ended up out on the full. The early grubbers didn’t stop in the second half, either.

  It’s new-look team, without their first-choice halfback, and under a new coach so teething issues are expected. However, finding points has rarely been an issue for the Titans in the past, regardless of their form and ladder position.

Sea Eagles v Raiders

• It’s Officialy A Worry: Apply all of the “it’s Round 1” prefacing you need here, but three penalties and four set restarts in the first nine minutes of this game - along with the 2021 feel to a few of the other games already this season - is a concern. Despite coming out of arguably the best NRL season in a decade in 2025, the worst rule ever introduced to the game back in 2020 was given greater influence for 2026. While it turned into a contest in the end, the number of games that could get out of hand in the coming weeks is something to keep an eye on.

• Sea Eagles Show Their Hand In Attack: It took less than five minutes for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles to announce exacly how they plan on playing with the ball this season. Shifting on a yardage set - in the rain - from the kickoff before earning a penalty, they went coast to coast twice in the space of one extended set for Tom Trbojevic to open the scoring.
  

  

  
  Manly’s best football has been when playing this expansive style that is particularly notable out of yardage. It appears as though it’s here to stay despite the departure of Daly Cherry-Evans.

• Ricky’s Resilience: The Canberra Raiders copped a rough whistle and made it tough on themselves early, but in what has been a common trend under Ricky Stuart in recent years, the they showed enough reslience to stop the bleeding in the first half to give themselves a chance in the second. Not many teams in the NRL could comeback from what they dealt with across the opening quarter to win in Golden Point.

Player Spotlight

There is a bit of “it’s only the Titans” about it, as it looked too easy at times. Still, to turn up in Round 1 and put together this sort of attacking output is massively encouraging for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.

Often unfairly, a lot of the burden of the Sharks attack has been put on Nicho Hynes given his price tag and jersey number. However, Trindall is the more natural first receiver which can put Hynes into his dominant role on the second layer, reacting to cues and playing on the front foot.

While it could have been a case of who had the hot hand on the day, Trindall taking the lead on Saturday may yet be a sign of things to come in 2026.

The Pipeline - Jack Cole, Penrith Panthers

Looking beyond the bright lights of the NRL to the lower grades, one player caught my eye this week.

The North Sydney Bears led the Penrith Panthers 16-8 with only three minutes to play on Saturday afternoon. Even as Toby Crosby scored to make it 16-14 with 90 seconds left, the Panthers still had 95 metres to travel.

However, presented with an opportunity to kick for touch on the back of a penalty, the Panthers found themselves with a set inside the Bears 10-metre line to win it.

Enter: Jack Cole.

A late inclusion to the side on the day, the Bears will have still had ‘no show and go’s' on the tip sheet before the game. Cole is a regular runner of the ball and consistently threatens the line in good ball. With one Bears player missing the jump and offering Cole an always-dangerous triangle in the defensive line, Cole took advantage to score the winner with the final play of the game.

Member Mailbag

The blaming of 6 again expansion for the round 1 results is showing how tunnel visioned fans can be. They weren't the key influencer for results this week as opposed to 2020/2021. People hate the rule so it's to blame for everything.

I tend to agree. I personally don’t like that they made the change and am definetly concerned about the impact it could have on the competition this season, but just like it’s too early to make any sweeping judgements about players and teams, we’re three or four weeks away from a serious conversation about the expanded six again influence. We’ve seen more early-season crackdowns that last no more than month than I care to remember. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the numbers come down as soon as Round 2.

Rugbaloig added on BlueSky: “refs still appear to be paid by the count of set restarts.”

What's on the watchlist this week?

• Storm v Eels

  • Sua At The Back

• Sharks v Titans

  • Lachlan Ilias From The Shadows

• Dolphins v Rabbitohs

  • What Defence?

NRL Round Las Vegas Recap: Knights Cause An Upset & Bulldogs Hang On

The first stage Round 1 of the 2026 NRL season is in the books with the Knights and Bulldogs taking the chocolates.

Storm v Eels

Sua At The Back

Sua Faalogo is an exciement machine. He’s a highlight reel player and one that can create something out of nothing from anywhere on the field. Some of the tries I’ve seen him score - a chip and chase out of yardage playing for the North Sydney Bears comes to mind - can only leave you shaking your head in disbelief.

Those aren’t the first traits I usually think of when considering a Bellamy fullback, though.

Ryan Papenhuyzen scored some incredible tries throughout his career, but his reliability and consistency allowed him to do so. His push in support, ability to put himself in position to make the pass early, his timing on the swing out the back of shape. Papenhuyzen used his speed in a variety of ways, and unlike other rapid fullbacks in the competition, can make quick decisions and the right passes at speed.

This is a beauty.

He swings onto the two-man and holds up the pass to sit the winger on his heels. No defender is making a strong tackle with that base. Grant Anderson breezes through the attempted tackle and, as usual, Papenhuyzen is pushing up through the middle to score.

NRL 2026 Four Point Focus: How Will The Storm Attack Without Papenhuyzen?

Ryan Papenhuyzen's speed has been a key feature of the Melbourne Storm attack in recent NRL seasons. How will they adapt without him?

Sharks v Titans

Lachlan Ilias From The Shadows

Having the unfortunate honour of taking over from Adam Reynolds at the South Sydney Rabbitohs, expectations and eye balls have always followed Lachlan Ilias. He fell short of those lofty expectations at Souths and faced another unfortunate situation behind the coaches son at the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Now out of the spotlight at the Gold Coast Titans with little mentioned of him in the build up to the 2026 NRL season, Ilias is suddenly starting in Round 1¹ .

It’s back!

The first instalment of Round 1 didn’t end without controversy, but what’s a week of footy without lines on still images, a formal complaint and more mentioning of the Bunker? After a long summer without the greatest game of all, the 2026 NRL season kicked off with a pair of exciting matches as the Las Vegas experiment extended another year¹ .

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NRL Film Room - Round 1 Highlights

Quick Hits

Setu On Debut Tries on debut are already some of the best moments in footy, but Setu Tu crossing the line after a big week in the news is particularly special.

Taking The Cue Love the vision of this try; Tracey caught in the tackle, then at A on the shortside, and neither Cook nor Guler miss a beat on the grubber.

The Feature Reel: Try of the Week

It took only ten minutes for Lachlan Galvin to lay on a try worthy of him wearing the #7 jersey. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs failing to get a field goal attempt away with under four minutes to play highlighted his inexperience and the development still to come, but his try assist to Jacob Preston captures what he has to work with in the mean time.

What’s most impressive is what was likely to be an over-call after identifying the cue.

The Bulldogs have stacked their left edge with two spine players, and Clint Gutnerson responds by flipping his A defender to set that side first. Teams will take on that five with their seven attacking players more often than not² . However, the retreat late back, Galvin takes the cue.

He’s able to skip over to engage the back-stepping three-man with Preston inside two. By the numbers, the Bulldogs have an underlap, but Galvin’s speed across the A and B defender creates the advantage, and he’s good enough to make the right pass under pressure.

The vision to create opportunities for others is very encouraging for his prospects as a long-term halfback.

NRL 2026 Four Point Focus: Galvin Looks Like A #6, But Has The Tools To Be A #7

There is wide debate over whether or not Lachlan Galvin can take the Bulldogs to a premiership as a #7, but he's their best option heading into the 2026 NRL season.

Round 1 NRL Notes

Knights v Cowboys

• Knights Halves: Unfortunately, the new-look Knights halves pairing lasted only 26 minutes before Fletcher Sharpe limped off with a knee injury. Even worse is how good Newcastle looked with the ball while he was on the field. Without a traditional halfback, Newcastle employed all of Sharpe, Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Brown as ball players depending on where the previous play-the-ball fell. They kept to channels across the field, which will be a major talking point at some stage, but it has potential given the players at Justin Holbrook’s disposal.

• Ponga’s Touches: While losing a half would typically see the fullback take on more touches, Newcastle replaced Sharpe with Sandon Smith - arguably the more natural fit at the position. So, Ponga’s 50 touches on Sunday are still notable given his year-on-year averages at the Knights and will be on the notepad when they next play in Round 2.

• Cowboys Struggle Inside 20: The Cowboys attack didn’t click in Round 1. We can put it down to rust as they have too much individual talent to read too much into the opener, but did play fairly sideways inside the Knights 20m line. While getting down into enemy territory is a win, scoring only three tries on 55 tackles inside the opposition 20m line is a cause for concern.

Bulldogs v Dragons

• Dragons Plan: We know the Bulldogs are an arm-wrestle team, one that will be patient with the ball and wait for the opposition to slip up. The Dragons might be taking the same approach in 2026. They beat the Bulldogs at their own game as the opening arm-wrestle went beyond six minutes before the Bulldogs broke.

• Atkinson’s Kicking Game: The painful references to Matt Burton and the NFL took away a lot of the shine on Daniel Atkinson’s kicking game. His long-range kicking already looks like it could be among the best in the NRL as he consistently hung the ball in the air and landed inside the 10-15m box on the Bulldogs line. You saw the difference late in the match when Atkinson was caught with the ball on the 4th tackle, forcing Kyle Flanagan to kick, who left the ball a lot shorter than his halves partner had been up to that point.

• Bulldogs In The Clutch: While Cameron Ciraldo will be happy with the result, he will no doubt spend some time breaking down the process late in the match after this one. With a prime opportunity to set up for a match-winning field goal with just over three minutes to play in regulation time, they never looked like getting one away. Cooper Cronk mentioned in commentary that there is still a place for trying to score in these scenarios, but it needs to be with the setup in mind. It’s a moment Galvin, in particular, will learn from moving forward.

NRL Notepad: Las Vegas Double Header

The Notepad breaks down what is important heading into the upcoming round of the 2026 NRL Season.

Player Spotlight

It shouldn’t have come to him stepping up, but Stephen Crichton’s field goal capped off an excellent season-opener for the Bulldogs captain.

He dusted off Valentine Holmes to score one-off a scrum, threatened down the left edge with and without the ball in a variety of shapes throughout the 80 minutes, and came up with the biggest play of the game in the 89th.

Latrell Mitchell has moved back into the centres and will no doubt quickly be recognised as one of the best in the game, but Crichton is the benchmark at the moment.

The Pipeline - Payton Tarau, South Sydney Rabbitohs

Looking beyond the bright lights of the NRL to the lower grades, one player caught my eye this week.

While I follow the competition, a Harold Matthews player here will be rare. However, having seen Payton Tarau play in person a few weeks ago, and with what he dished up in Round 4, I’ll make the exception with New South Wales and Queensland Cup still a week away.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs halfback plays with a lot more time than anybody else on the field. He’s big, strong and a smart player for his age and is one to watch coming through the grades over the next few years.

Member Mailbag

Now that footy is back and we have two games to start painting a picture of what might be to come throughout the 2026 NRL season, send through your predictions ahead of the rest of Round 1 next week.

The Notepad is back for the 2026 NRL season.

We’re starting off in Las Vegas which, as a few teams know now, is a unique experience. It has a finals feel throughout the week, but Round 1 rust is hard to shake.

Despite it being “it’s early" season where everything discussed is quickly dismissed, we can still try to determine what might be real and what’s not.

What's on the watchlist this week?

• Knights v Cowboys

  • Knights Halves

• Bulldogs v Dragons

  • Dragons Loading Up The Long Side

  • Setu Tu On Debut

  • Bulldogs Beating The Man With A Pass

Knights v Cowboys

Knights Halves

The Newcastle Knights have landed on Fletcher Sharpe and Dylan Brown in the halves to start the NRL season. While I don’t subscribe so much to the idea that you need an organiser and a running half to make a productive pairing, I’m curious to see how these two fit alongside each other.

Sharpe and Sandon Smith played left and right service against the Dragons in Week 1 of the Trials.

In Week 2, Smith moved over to the left for Brown to slot in on the right edge.

Newcastle will be looking for a more balanced attack to what they’ve played with in recent years. Kalyn Ponga is a wizard, and while he will still play a leading role, they need to find points without him.

MORE: Ponga Guiding The Knights Attack 

He played a role in four tries in Round 2. He crabbed across the field in the lead-up to the first, bouncing away from the line before engaging Kodi Nikorima and finding Jack Cogger one pass wider. The 27-year-old made the right pass out the back of a block for the Knights to score the second. It’s in the third when we see Ponga at his best, and the simple block shape with two outside him on the edge where he’s most dangerous.

I’m looking forward to seeing where Sharpe and Brown fall on the day. The trials suggest Sharpe on the left and Brown on the right, but history says they will flip.

Sharpe seems capable of attacking from anywhere. His ability to push in support and change direction at speed doesn’t favour a left or right foot. Brown, however, is lethal stepping back inside behind the ruck down a shortside on the left edge. He spent his career at the Parramatta Eels on that side of the field, and if he’s to become the long-awaited answer in the #7 jersey in Newcastle, it would make sense to have him start where he’s most comfortable.

Justin Holbrook has already mentioned the potential for change, though…

Bulldogs v Dragons

Dragons Loading Up The Long Side

The 2025 NRL season didn’t end how the Dragons wanted, but they displayed some promising signs all year. They played in a competition-high¹ 12 games only to find themselves on the wrong side of the result more often than not.

The Four Point Focus breaks down a try from every round of the 2025 NRL season, highlighting the context, shape, trigger and the lessons learned. It’s viewed with an eye on 2026 as we look for trends, breakout players and hints of what might be to come next season.

Point 1 - The Context

As the Canterbury-Bankstown board the plane to Las Vegas to kick off the 2026 NRL season, debate surrounds their #7 jersey.

While Lachlan Galvin is widely considered the leading man of their future in the halves, is he the present in a premiership-contending team?

Much of the sentiment seems to suggest he’s not the best fit in the #7 jersey right now. “He’s a six” is the most common response of seen. I thought much of the same six months ago…

However, while he struggled to fill the role of the traditional halfback after making his mid-season switch to the Bulldogs, the signs are there.

Those signs were on show in Round 21 as he orchestrated a late game-winner. Another offseason as an NRL halfback will help, too.

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Point 2 - The Shape

With the game on the line and a set attacking the St George Illawarra line, the Bulldogs worked towards the spots they no doubt highlighted during the week.

The Dragons right edge became a target. Specifically, the Dogs getting a half into the three-man with a lead inside two, forcing the winger into a 2 v 1 battle.

Jaemon Salman and Galvin set it up early by training the defence to hold on the drop play.

If you look at Kyle Flanagan three-in, you’ll see him sit back on his heels once Galvin takes the ball. He has a tendency to step backwards to buy time for his backrower to scramble across when isolated, and does the same when Matt Burton gets into him only 30 seconds later.

It’s all there in the match-winning try another 60 seconds later, too…

The roles change slightly, but the shape and intention are the same as Galvin throws the floating pass behind a jamming Tyrell Sloan on the wing.

They’ve sent the same shape at the Dragons right edge three times in two minutes, all in different ways before landing on the look to win it.

Point 3 - The Trigger

It’s all there as Galvin shapes to pass.

Kikau drops underneath to occupy the four- and five-man for just long enough to send Flanagan back.

In response as the centre turns down inside the two-man, Sloan jams. It’s not the right decision with how well Moses Suli stays high and relatively square, but it’s one an inexperienced winger is going to make sometimes.

While the pass is made to look simple in the end, it’s all by design. The Bulldogs have identified a potential weakness in the Dragons defensive line, and worked to expose it in the biggest moment of the match.

Point 4 - The Lesson

Galvin can play well as a halfback this year. He has all of the tools to do so despite where he has played his best footy so far throughout his NRL career.

He profiles well as a running six, but his demand for the ball and time he has with it - at only 20 years old - set him up nicely has a seven.

My breakdown of his debut is on the now-defunct Wordpress website, but it revolved around the simplicity of his game. He was able to keep it simple by playing smart, making the right passes and not overplaying his hand.

His last-play options weren’t a strong suit of his play last year, but Wests Tigers ended their sets like no other team in the NRL. A summer spent breaking down the right option on last tackle in a Cameron Ciraldo system will help.

His upcoming season won’t come without teething issues. No young half is exempt from struggling at times. His willingness to look for the big play, an attribute that has seen him become one of the most highly-fancied young halves in the game in recent years, will backfire in a big spot at some stage. However, with experience and confidence now accompanying his developing footy IQ, Galvin looks set to take another leap. One that can see him play as an effective #7 for the Bulldogs this season as they hunt for a Top 4 finish.

The Four Point Focus breaks down a try from every round of the 2025 NRL season, highlighting the context, shape, trigger and the lessons learned. It’s viewed with an eye on 2026 as we look for trends, breakout players and hints of what might be to come next season.

This is an off-season series for Premium subscribers who choose to support my work over the break.

Point 1 - The Context

Only the Gold Coast Titans had won fewer games than the Parramatta Eels heading into Round 19 of the 2025 NRL season.

Only the Newcastle Knights had scored fewer points.

And while Parramatta just managed 10 points against a typically stern Penrith Panthers defence here, they scored one try that might offer some insight into how teams plan to shift the ball in 2026.

Point 2 - The Shape

The try scorer will bring up some emotions for Eels fans, but ignore those for a second. He isn’t what matters here. It’s the quick shovel pass that caught my eye watching it back.

The Four Point Focus breaks down a try from every round of the 2025 NRL season, highlighting the context, shape, trigger and the lessons learned. It’s viewed with an eye on 2026 as we look for trends, breakout players and hints of what might be to come next season.

This is an off-season series for Premium subscribers who choose to support my work over the break.

Point 1 - The Context

The North Queensland Cowboys have made regular changes to their halves pairings in recent years. Tom Dearden is the mainstay, but even he jumps between the #6 and #7 jersey.

Thomas Duffy started the 2025 NRL season alongside him and Jake Clifford always finds his way back into frame for selection. Young Jaxon Purdue also found himself move in a spot to play in the halves in Round 11. But after five games in the spine, Purdue moved back out to the centres where he has been his most damaging.

Round 18, in particular, provided a clear picture of what he is capable of with the ball when playing the Melbourne Storm.

Point 2 - The Shape

The shape itself in the buildup to Purdue’s try isn’t anything unusual.

It’s a fairly standard diamond shape almost every team will run from this position.

The Four Point Focus breaks down a play from every round of the 2025 NRL season, highlighting the context, shape, trigger and the lessons learned. It’s viewed with an eye on 2026 as we look for trends, breakout players and hints of what might be to come next season.

This is an off-season series for Premium subscribers who choose to support my work over the break.

Previous:
- Quick Taps On The Up?
- Ponga Guiding The Knights Attack (free)
- Defending Katoa's Deception (free)
- How Souths Use Keaon Koloamatangi On The Line
- The Triangle Leading To Cleary's Curling Grubber
- How The Roosters Exploit Kick Pressure From Marker (free)
- Scrum Play Double Bluff
- How Cleary Recreated That Grand Final Try (free)
- Breaking Down A Raiders Tap Start
- Payne Passing Through The Middle
- Dolphins Breaking Down Spacings On The Goal Line
- How Will The Storm Attack Without Papenhuyzen?
- Can The Dolphins Keep Attacking From Everywhere? (free)
- What Works In The Titans Attack?
- Why Mitchell Is the #1 Option At Fullback

Point 1 - The Context

As one trend develops in the NRL, coaches look for opportunities. It happens every season, particularly now with the ARLC’s desperation to change rules at any opportunity.

One trend I’ve kept an eye on recently is a teams willingness to run it on the last from anywhere on the field.

Anthony Griffin’s St George Illawarra Dragons loved to run it on the last when attacking the line; it’s a fine place to turn the ball over. However, we saw a few teams adopt the approach from further out in 2025 with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs taking the risk in search of points late in their Round 17 defeat to the Penrith Panthers.

Point 2 - The Shape

With less than three minutes to play and perhaps one more full set to find points, the Bulldogs chanced their arm around halfway.

Lachlan Galvin doesn’t even shape to kick when taking the pass from his dummy half. He quickly shovels the pass wider for Bailey Hayward to do the same.

With the winger back for the kick and Matt Burton sweeping behind a middle forward running a lead inside the four-man, the Bulldogs get the look they want.

Connor Tracey gets to the outside of Nathan Cleary at two-man to put his centre down the outside. We can’t ignore the difficulty of the position Brian To’o is in here…

Instinctively, he rushes up at Bronson Xerri as the Bulldogs shift the ball. But when it’s time to make his decision with two attacking players in front of him, he’s steady. To’o hasn’t guessed where the ball is going and instead makes what might be a try-saving tackle.

Only an excellent tackle and scrambling defence stopped the Bulldogs from scoring here, and it’s not the last time we saw teams move the ball from similar positions.

Point 3 - The Trigger

I ended up covering the Penrith Panthers running it on the last tackle in Round 24:

“No team is better at assessing risk vs reward on the fly than the Panthers. If they’re doing it, the rest of the competition will soon follow.”

It’s late in a half of a close game. While you might expect the Dolphins to throw caution to the wind from here, the Panthers, as we’ve come to know them, would take their time in breaking down the opposition.

In hindsight, their willingness to run the ball from this spot on last tackle may have come as a result of it happening right in front of them two months earlier.

The Storm provide the Panthers with a similar look to what they themselves presented the Bulldogs in Round 17. Both send one defender looking to apply kick pressure while the defensive line hangs back, pehaps cheating every so slightly on their way back to the kick return.

But with that passive defensive line and defender shooting out, the Panthers in Round 17, and Storm in Round 24, are left with fewer defenders than they’d like defending a lot more space than they’d want.

Point 4 - The Lesson

Frustratingly, the rules have changed again for the 2026 NRL season¹ .

As already mentioned, coaches look for opportunities in these times.

With fewer penalties and more fatigue in the game, these opportunities to run it on the last from 40+ metres out look even more appealing. Not only does the defence have a lot of space to cover with fewer defenders as they lose one to the kick pressure and, in most cases, a winger dropping back, those defenders could be defending their 8th or 9th tackle in a row.

I don’t expect to see teams scoring long-range tries on the last tackle every week. Pressure-building teams will lick their lips at building more on a fatigued defence by playing it safe and kicking to corners. But when we look back at the best attacking teams of the 2026 NRL season, I expect to see long-range tries on the last to be a feature.

The Four Point Focus breaks down a try from every round of the 2025 NRL season, highlighting the context, shape, trigger and the lessons learned. It’s viewed with an eye on 2026 as we look for trends, breakout players and hints of what might be to come next season.

This is an off-season series for Premium subscribers who choose to support my work leading into Round 1.

Point 1 - The Context

We didn’t get to see Latrell Mitchell play nearly enough footy throughout the 2025 NRL season. Limited to only 11 games, he gave Jye Gray an opportunity to stake a claim on the #1 jersey.

Twitter tweet

With neither named on the team sheet for South Sydney’s first trial this week, we’re not any closer to knowing who will play fullback for Round 1. However, against the Melbourne Storm in Round 16 in 2025, Mitchell laid on four try assists to remind everybody of the best fullback at the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Point 2 - The Shape

Mitchell is most well-known for his strength in contact and speed for his size. He’s a physical freak and create tries for himself out of nothing. However, his hands are what sets him apart and what puts him in the conversation as a premier fullback in the NRL when playing his best.

As a dangerous ball-carrier first, Mitchell puts a defence on their heels. He’s a nightmare for one-on-one defenders and takes the attention of the line whenever he digs in. With that danger comes opportunity for others.

Swinging it left here as the Rabbitohs so often do, Mitchell makes a relatively difficult pass look so simple.

With the defender jamming in his face, Mitchell not only moves the ball quickly across his body, but makes the right pass under pressure. In one fluid motion, he puts his winger over in the corner.

He throws another try assist shortly after halftime, again down the left edge.

The Four Point Focus breaks down a try from every round of the 2025 NRL season, highlighting the context, shape, trigger and the lessons learned. It’s viewed with an eye on 2026 as we look for trends, breakout players and hints of what might be to come next season.

This is an off-season series for Premium subscribers who choose to support my work over the break.

Point 1 - The Context

The Gold Coast Titans sat in 17th on the NRL ladder heading into Round 15. However, their attack hadn’t been the problem up to this point. Their NRL-worst 382 points against had them fixed to the bottom.

However, against the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, it all came together on both sides of the ball for the Titans to register a 28-8 win. They played with a clear plan in attack which could yet feature again in 2026.

Point 2 - The Shape

When looking through the Gold Coast Titans first three tries, it might look as though the scored in different ways.

Kieran Foran is a common feature. On a long shift from outside the scrum line, he floats a beautiful pass over the top of the defence for Alan Fitzgibbon to score their first in the corner.

Getting the defence to travel while working out of yardage, the Titans catch Jake Trbojevic late back to the line which creates space on the edge for the second.

Foran is again involved, this time with a pass across the face of his backrower. But it’s a moment of individual brilliance that ultimately ends with Alofiana Khan-Pereira diving over in the other corner.

Shortly after, the Titans are back in attacking territory.

AJ Brimson does a great job to move on the pass and extend the play as Jason Saab tries to jam on him. Finding Khan-Pereira out wide, the Sea Eagles defence scrambles. The Titans winger is too quick and wrong-foots the whole right edge as he cuts back inside to score another impressive individual try.

While all three end in a different fashion, there is one thing they all have in common.

Point 3 - The Trigger

The pivotal moment and indication of their plan comes through in Foran’s role.

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The Four Point Focus breaks down a try from every round of the 2025 NRL season, highlighting the context, shape, trigger and the lessons learned. It’s viewed with an eye on 2026 as we look for trends, breakout players and hints of what might be to come next season.

This is an off-season series for Premium subscribers who choose to support my work over the break.

Point 1 - The Context

The Dolphins averaged 30 points per game throughout the 2025 NRL season.

They created a reputation as an attacking powerhouse, and for their willingness to seek out the try line from anywhere on the field.

As teams across the competition put their focus into building pressure, maintaining possession and dominating field position, the Dolphins looked to score as soon as they crossed the 50 metre line - most often down the left edge.

Stats Insider Try Location Analysis

Unfortunately for the St George Illawarra Dragons, they were on the receiving end of 56 points in Round 14.

Point 2 - The Shape

You don’t often see a team light up when playing the ball near the tap line, around halfway on fourth tackle. It’s a time to play a forward to the middle of the field to setup a kick and front load in defence.

Not for the Dolphins.

Presented with exactly that field position against the Dragons, they fired the ball with reckless abandon to the other sideline before Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow scored a classic Hammer try in support.

There is a bit of that Isaiya Katoa deception through the middle. He shapes to drop a forward under to hold up the middle forward and finds Kodi Nikorima a pass wider. However, it’s unlikely to be exactly how they drew it up in the preview. Instead, the Dolphins are playing to what the defence gives them.

As mentioned, most teams are setting up for a kick from this spot. Part of the Dragons defensive line must have assumed as much given how passive they moved forward as Katoa slid across.

By the time the ball finds Nikorima, it’s too late. The edge is caught short and has to make a decision. As was often the case in 2025, the Dolphins had the right response.

Point 3 - The Trigger

Despite the play starting from a wide field position, the trigger is through the middle.

A long pass out of dummy half and a slow-moving Dragons line makes it all too easy for Katoa to drift across the field.

He manages to engage the four-man with a lead - a task that should be more difficult from this play-the-ball - and puts Nikorima onto the three-man at speed. By holding up the middle of the field, Katoa creates achres of space for Nikorima and the left edge to work.

Point 4 - The Lesson

The lesson is one a few teams learned throughout the year against the Dolphins: expect the unexpected.

Kristian Woolf’s side can score just as well as any team in the NRL from traditional points using regular shapes. But they’ve shown an ability and willingness to chance their arm in a competition that has trended towards safety, possession and pressure more recently.

The Dolphins, largely due to Katoa, engaged the line more than any other team in the NRL at 23.4 points per game - considerably more than the North Queensland Cowboys in 2nd (19.5). In the all-important age of winning possession, the Dolphins still ranked 6th at 50.8% despite their more risky approach. Much to the dismay of Peter V’landys, teams that score points can dominate possession even if they do rank in the bottom half of the NRL in completion rate.

Teams have a lot more vision on this Dolphins attack now. Samoa provided a fine example of one way to manage Katoa’s influence on a game, too. The challenge now for Woolf and the Dolphins is adding to their attack, not necessarily in their points per game average, but the variety in which they strike from distance.