There were plenty of eyebrows raised when the Knights picked $13m man Dylan Brown at halfback for their season opener, but the way the game is evolving is proof it can work.
Any time that you come up against a team that present Dylan Brown, Fletcher Sharpe and Kalyn Ponga as your seven, six and one, you’ve got to be on your toes and it’s a very exciting prospect.
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The way the game presents itself, it’s only getting faster with the new penalty rule, which I think will allow teams to be playing on the front foot a lot more.
And with Brown, Ponga and Sharpe attacking you due to more ball in play and more six-agains rather than traditional penalties, I think that promotes an opportunity for that really unstructured, creative attack.
Everyone, for so long, has been screaming out for the Knights to have a halves paring that they can stick with for years to come.
Round 1 in Vegas presents that opportunity for a real view of what the future is and what the fans are going to be able to get behind.
And I’m not turning a blind eye here to the fact that Brown has played really good footy at No.6, in the NRL and Test arena which you can’t dismiss.
But there’s also facts to the argument that he has played a lot of No.7 throughout his junior football.
I remember watching him play No.7 for Wentworthville in NSW Cup. The position is not foreign to him.
He’s a great defender, which I think is a big reason behind Newcastle being so comfortable with him as their marquee half going forward.
He has a really long kick. He’s a very relaxed character, great decision-maker, and I think the team will really grow with him.
We’re in an age in the NRL where they’re making rule changes every single year.
And the one thing that I keep hearing Peter V’landys say is that he wants more ball in play. He wants more time of the actual game.
He wants to continue to improve the spectacle of the sport. On average, it’s around mid-50 minutes a game that we actually get that live ball in play time.
Brown embracing pressure of price tag | 05:04
The game doesn’t want dead time. The game wants live football.
And I feel that any team that wants to look at other teams to build their squad or copy their style of play because it’s worked previously is justifiable.
But the way the game is changing, I don’t think that’s the best approach. I think it leans into the Knights’ approach in relation to Brown, Sharpe and Ponga.
They’re not a specific style of player. They’re going to be able to over time develop their own game.
They’re going to be able to get comfortable with each other and they’re going to be able to score some points, which has been a question in the past and they’re going to be able to ask some questions of their opponents defensive lines.
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League fans soak up trip of a lifetime | 04:48
DRAGONS HALVES DILEMMA AMID BIG FORGOTTEN LOSS
There has been no shortage of critics for the Dragons and particularly their halves pairing of Daniel Atkinson and Kyle Flanagan.
But as coach Shane Flanagan said in his interview with Matty Johns, it’s really important that you defend well and kick well to start the year.
As much as Daniel Atkinson is a big signing and they’ve paid a good amount of money for him, I think to start the year, as much as there will be external pressure and expectations, the half needs to build themselves into the team and build their game and their season.
And what that means is simply what Flanagan said — kick well, support well, defend well. And those three things are all things that Atkinson can do really well.
It also means play into your strengths, which will allow Kyle Flanagan to kick and be that first receiver.
From all reports, they’ll present a solid team, which has got good experienced players in it. However, Jack de Belin will be a massive loss. They’re going to miss him more than people might think.
But it also gives an opportunity for Hamish Stewart to start at lock and be able to play a style of footy that brings him into the game and particularly his ball playing skills, which is exciting for a young player.
But de Belin was always somebody that really set the tone in defence and tied a lot of things up, so it’ll take in a few months for somebody to fall into that spot and for them to recognise what they’re going without.
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TOO MANY QUESTIONS OVER BRONCOS BACK-TO-BACK BID
I’ve never seen a premiership team have more questions around it than the 2026 Broncos.
I’ve never seen a title team win the comp and then the next year people are still questioning the coach.
I can understand the questions are valid. I’m not dismissing them. I’m just saying there’s so much conjecture and questioning around the Broncos at the moment. It’s absolutely hilarious.
They just won the comp and the coach has done a great job. The sooner the ball is kicked off and the sooner the footy starts for them, the better it’ll be.
There’s always headlines around the Broncos squad and especially at the moment and with everything that is going on.
A lot of people like to take shots at different sorts of people and that’s fine, but as soon as the football starts, I think people will be reminded about why they won the comp.
A lot of people say that the Broncos went on a run last year and they put themselves in good positions, and that they had a little luck on their side with a few games.
You can look at that from one direction and go, sure they had a lot of luck on their side and they were lucky to win and get those results.
But you can also look at it from other way and go, they haven’t actually fulfilled their potential yet. They haven’t actually fully dominated a season. They haven’t fully dominated a NRL finals series.
It’s really interesting to see people question their multiple wins in the finals and how things played out.
A lot of people say, Reece Walsh’s final series and the grand final performance is like none other and it’ll never be repeated and they had some outstanding performances as most grand final teams do. That’s how you win grand finals.
But the reality is, I don’t think Brisbane’s actually reached their potential yet. And with a full and healthy squad, the Broncos in 2026 could be pretty bloody scary.
The other question mark is the changes to their starting halves and playmaking combinations with Ezra Mam coming in at five-eighth and Ben Hunt moving to the bench.
Hunt has shown throughout his whole career that he’s a selfless team first player and for Ben to be able to play that role and transition out of the starting team and have someone like Mam to come in and take the No.6 is very fortunate for a team to be able to have that luxury.
We can’t really forget that this is not like a rookie No.6 is going in to take the position. This is Ezra Mam, who scored a hat-trick and nearly won the Clive Churchill Medal in 2023, before Nathan Cleary intervened.
He’s not like an inexperienced player, so I think it’s a real luxury that Ezra is able to come back into that position with the support of Hunt and the guidance of him over the next year or two.
It’s also a real luxury how Hunt plays that hooker-lock role. The Broncos lost Tyson Smoothy and Kobe Hetherington from their Grand Final team.
There were a lot of games last year when Smoothy came onto the field and his ability to pass the ball and support was a real point difference for them.
It was understated the effect that he was having on games and I really think Hunt can play that role in the middle at No.13, given he’s able to find a pass and bring other players into the game.
Smoothy played a real pivotal role in their attack and their style of play just before half-time and into the second half and that’s something that Hunt could probably start to do.
Just that style of play where they’re able to pass through the middle and play that role that really supported some of the big, powerful runners that they have.
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Unpacking the shock Payne Haas departure | 08:20
FORGOTTEN BROWN VOID EELS CAN’T IGNORE
Trading Dylan Brown for Jonah Pezet in attack seems like a pretty fair swap for the Eels, but there are two sides to a rugby league game.
Overall the Eels look like every player is improving and that’s a good sign for the club and the coaching staff and how things are operating.
They all look fit and they all look like they’re improving, which is what you want. You want your squad to continue to get better, but their season will be dictated by Mitchell Moses’ health.
But with Brown going to Newcastle, he’s probably one of the best defensive halves in the game.
The fact that now Jonah Pezet falls into that spot, I feel like a lot more attack will be going that side of the field towards Pezet rather than at Moses.
In the past, a lot of attack was thrown at Moses because Brown was a really good defender. Moses would be pretty happy that Pezet signed at Parramatta and I’m sure he’ll get a lot of attention from other teams’ attack and he will have to step up in defence.
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ARE THE ROOSTERS TITLE FAVOURITES AMID STAR DUO’S ARRIVAL?
I’m always fascinated with Trent Robinson and the Roosters’ starts to seasons.
I’m not going to say it’s deliberate, but it is purposeful in the sense that they never come out of the blocks flying. They never come out of the blocks fluent in game style.
Robinson as a coach tries to coach to the strengths of his players and in the strengths of his team.
Everyone can do a pre-season and they can have a style of play that they think is going to be competitive, but it’s your ability to then adjust on the run to what really suits your team and the players that you’ve got and playing to those strengths is the key.
You might have those strengths in your mind going into a season, but some players might be playing well or you might get an injury.
The Roosters are a team that’s stacked with talent, with a lot of emerging good young middles and edge players and outside backs, as they always do.
They’ve done a great job with their roster. They’re able to now bring in a new hooker in Reece Robson when he gets back from injury and a new five-eighth in Daly Cherry-Evans.
Naturally Robson’s a bit of a loss for them and they won’t be able to completely play the style of play that Robson allows them to.
But I’m sure that it’ll also create opportunity for other areas of their team to focus on that they can then grow for when Robson comes back into their team and he will only elevate them.
Robbo is very strategic with how he starts his year. The Roosters will be there at semi-finals time.
They’ve got great depth in their squad, which I know not every club has. And they have one of the best players in the game in James Tedesco.
V’Landys eyes NRL global domination | 05:47
WAYNE’S ROUND 1 HALVES PAIRING A HUGE NOD TO SOUTHS’ FUTURE
Souths will definitely be in the top eight and be competing in 2026. Wayne’s teams always compete.
That’s something that when you watch South Sydney last year, there wasn’t a match where they got absolutely towelled up.
There was no-name players in there still scrapping, chasing, defending really well, and they weren’t getting beat by much, so a lot of growth comes from that.
It was an opportunity to play some younger and less experienced players, so it’ll only benefit the squad’s depth and their ability to be consistent in 2026 because of how they went last year.
We saw that with the Roosters previously when faced with a lot of injuries and a lot of young players got the opportunity to play and it obviously helped them the following year.
Wayne’s teams build themselves, they find their style, and on their day, I think they can beat any team.
The big question will be who plays halfback out of Ashton Ward, Jamie Humphreys and Jayden Sullivan.
Wayne has a great ability to pick and stick and make a decision and back himself, so I believe that whoever he does pick, he’ll put his full support behind, and I don’t think he’ll change it for the year.
It’s been a long time since Adam Reynolds was at the Rabbitohs, and replacing him is impossible, but I think whoever Wayne selects to play No.7 in Round 1, you’re going to see at least a few months of him pending injuries.
He will give them every opportunity to build their game and put their best foot forward for the team to get used to him.
Latrell’s move to centre should also be a masterstroke and will allow him to feature in more matches and I’m sure he’ll dominate better than anyone in the game.
Injury update for Smith and Souths | 00:21
The fact that fullbacks now have to cover so many kilometres, it’s just a big ask for a man of Latrell’s size, that is so big and powerful.
I still strongly believe that Latrell could be a great five-eighth, but him at left centre with their current team is incredible.
I’m really excited to see him back in that position where he can really dominate that one side of the field.
And with his ability to play fullback, there might be some opportunities in good ball or attacking positions where Latrell goes to No.1.
He might come to the right side of the field and you might see Latrell, Jai Gray, Jack Wighton, all on the same side of the field and that’s bloody scary.
