Sometimes it’s essential to have these laborious conversations, even when you didn’t precisely intend to have them enjoying out in entrance of the cameras and for everybody at residence to see and hear.
What to some could have appeared like two teammates arguing was one thing totally different to Jarome Luai. It was an indication of progress. Proof of gamers holding themselves accountable.
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NRL star David Klemmer chats about his Knights exit and there have been no laborious emotions. The veteran additionally revealed the hardest participant he’s ever confronted — and the conflict he’ll always remember.
Instead of cracks forming within the seemingly impenetrable wall Penrith has inbuilt the previous few years, Luai informed The Sydney Morning Heraldthese conversations solely make the group stronger.
“It’s just about getting better each and every week for us,” Luai mentioned.
“Sometimes you have to have some courageous conversations to find that.”
Many former gamers, together with Fox League’s personal Matty Johns, drew on their very own private experiences to defend Luai and teammate Jaeman Salmon by describing these sort of arguments as “not unusual”.
All of the above is true, as is what Johns later went on so as to add.
“I think it’s just a signal of the frustration,” he mentioned on SEN 1170’s ‘The Round Up’, “which is obvious across the whole side”.
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Losing an essential participant or two is nothing new for the highest groups. It’s proof of the wage cap working and the Panthers themselves have been no stranger to that unlucky actuality.
Only final season Matt Burton and Kurt Capewell walked out the door to different golf equipment. Like these laborious conversations, generally it’s additionally essential to make these laborious selections too.
That prolonged to this low season when Penrith was unable to compete with presents from the Tigers and Bulldogs for Apisai Koroisau and Viliame Kikau, struggling a big blow to its hopes of a third-straight premiership.
And on Friday night time in opposition to Brisbane, the Panthers received a small glimpse of what life with out the duo appears to be like like. As Johns put it on radio, it’s going to contain a complete lot of “frustration”.
Like when Luai went down the left edge and regarded to cross to Salmon, who was drawn as much as be the lead runner on the play however wasn’t in place, ensuing within the ball going to floor and a try-scoring alternative being thrown away.
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Speaking on Triple M’s ‘Saturday Scrum’, former Panthers premiership-winning centre Ryan Girdler warned there’ll must be loads of persistence with Penrith’s left edge assault.
“I just don’t think you can replace a guy like Viliame Kikau,” he mentioned.
“Everybody talks about that left edge attack but the fear he used to put in opponents, the pressure he would put on catches when he would chase through. He’s got absolutely no respect for his own body.
“He’s 115 kilograms and a right-side attacking edge would take him on once or twice and never go back there because of the damage he does in the earlier parts of the game.
“There were so many parts to his game that Penrith is going to miss and it’s going to take a while. You just don’t replace a guy like that. He’s obviously going to be a big loss for them.”
So with that in thoughts, foxsports.com.au watched Thursday night time’s recreation again to see what labored — and didn’t — with Penrith’s assault, and specifically, that left edge.
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What instantly turned evident early within the first half was the depth that Penrith performed with when attacking on the appropriate facet of the sector.
As it was final 12 months, Nathan Cleary could be stationed at first receiver after which cross to Isaah Yeo, who then shifted to fullback Dylan Edwards out the again.
But Penrith’s first attempt of the night time really got here after a variation on this standard set-up, with Edwards as an alternative at first receiver like he would usually when taking a hit-up.
As one of many league’s most effective runners, Edwards’ presence alone condensed the line of defense which was anticipating the Panthers fullback to easily cart the ball up.
Instead, he shifted it to Cleary and with an overlap created on the appropriate sideline, second rower Liam Martin had open house to race away as Crichton completed off the long-range attempt.
Penrith’s forwards and outdoors backs had been usually operating the ball up not simply to achieve area place, however to additionally place the workforce for these sweeping performs on the appropriate edge.
Although execution wasn’t all the time good, with Cleary floating one cross excessive for Brian To’o that was as an alternative intercepted by the taller Corey Oates within the thirty fourth minute.
On the entire, the Panthers discovered extra success on the appropriate edge, largely attributable to the truth that each Cleary and Yeo supply ball-playing and operating threats that maintain the defence guessing.
As for the left edge although, it isn’t that Luke Garner can’t be an efficient alternative for Kikau. After all, it has solely been a couple of video games when you embody the World Club Challenge.
Garner is only a totally different participant to Kikau and Penrith might want to evolve its left-edge assault accordingly, beginning with Luai.
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“In the short-term it’s going to be a pretty significant loss until the other players starting to bed down,” Matty Johns mentioned on SEN 1170’s ‘Mornings with Matty White’ on Monday.
“I’ll use one example here. Jarome Luai is used to having Kikau alongside him so he would’ve played a style of football that suited him and also Kikau working that combination and having that big body.
“Jarome will have to go back to the drawing board a little bit and go, ‘OK, I’ve got a new backrower here, how do we make this work?’. That’s going to take a little bit of time.”
Penrith would usually shift the ball down the left edge and get the ball to Kikau properly earlier than the road for a reasonably easy motive.
He may pop a late cross, he may kick (higher than he did for the Bulldogs on the weekend) or, after all, he may swat defenders away to do all of it on his personal.
Kikau created holes. Garner, alternatively, runs by means of them and is superb at it.
Take the forty ninth minute when a robust Spencer Leniu run had Brisbane’s defence in hassle, with Luai instantly capitalising by taking over the road to attract in Adam Reynolds as Garner steamed onto a cross.
The former Tigers second rower went by means of a small hole within the defence, solely introduced down by a wonderful legs sort out by Kotoni Staggs.
That was one thing that saved arising when watching again Friday’s recreation. Even when Penrith’s left edge appeared to have one thing going, Brisbane’s scrambling defence or line velocity shut it down on virtually each event.
Take this play within the 56th minute, when the Panthers as soon as once more went down the left however this time had centre Izack Tago operating the decoy with Salmon out the again as a ball-playing choice.
But Sunia Turuva was simply dealt with by the Broncos defence and the play didn’t quantity to something, even when it was extra artistic than the conventional set-up with Garner operating a decoy.
Now one among Kikau’s greatest strengths was his skill to chop again in opposition to the grain with pressure, which helped fight robust sliding defence like that Brisbane had on Friday night time.
Playing Tago within the second row, the place he frolicked in Penrith’s junior system, could possibly be one choice however it might weaken one other place and take away from his improvement at centre.
There are different alternate options for coach Ivan Cleary, ought to the Panthers proceed to wrestle to create factors on the left edge.
Preston Riki is a extra dynamic ball-running choice whereas 110-kilogram prop Spencer Leniu may even be shifted to the second row at times near the road to focus on mismatches.
But as Cooper Cronk mentioned on Fox League’s preview present earlier than the season kicked off, Kikau’s departure is in the end a possibility for Luai to step up and refine his recreation.
“I think a lot of pressure goes on Jarome Luai,” Cronk mentioned on the time.
“I think through the middle Isaah Yeo and Nathan Cleary can sort of help out Mitch Kenny in different parts, but for that left edge to be as strong as it has been the last couple years, I think Jarome Luai will have to have his best ball-playing year because he’s only going to have Hosking or Garner outside of him, not the big presence that Kikau is.”
A variety of that can come again to timing as Michael Ennis identified in protection of Friday’s recreation, describing Luai as “a little lost” with out Kikau.
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Ennis mentioned Penrith’s assault as a complete regarded “a little predictable” and “slow” however he additionally pointed in direction of the absence of Koroisau and his “craftiness” at dummy-half as a part of that.
Mitch Kenny definitely ought to have been changed at hooker sooner, having performed the place for 54 minutes earlier than the extra misleading Soni Luke was introduced on and made an instantaneous impression.
“They’ve been a different side since Soni Luke’s come into the action,” Ennis mentioned.
Even earlier than he scored a attempt within the 76th minute, Luke was utilizing his guile to check Brisbane’s defence, shaping left after which shortly darting proper to virtually put a charging Liam Martin over.
Luke, having not featured in both of Penrith’s pre-season video games, was possible eased into Friday’s recreation and can possible get extra minutes as he will increase his match health.
Speaking on Triple M, Girdler referred to as for Cleary to make use of Luke in the same option to Koroisau, bringing him on after round 25 minutes with Kenny enjoying the remainder of the sport as a center ahead.
“We saw that a lot last year and the difference that makes to the way Penrith attack,” Girdler mentioned.
“The pressure it takes off the halves and the playmakers and time it gives them. I think Ivan [Cleary] will definitely look at bringing Soni [Luke] on just a little bit quicker.”
There is hardly a must panic in Penrith although. After all, each Koroisau and Kikau had underwhelming debuts as each the Tigers and Bulldogs struggled with new-look line-ups.
Plus, a couple of shut calls together with a missed alternative for Martin off a Cleary kick would have in the end seen the end result go Penrith’s approach regardless of what was an total rusty efficiency.
What the Panthers can’t afford to do although is downplay the issue if it persists. But if something, Luai and Salmon’s transient disagreement on Friday night time was proof that received’t occur.
Source: www.foxsports.com.au