Api Koroisau is a wizard. He sees things others don’t, and plays a key role which few notice in tries scored nowhere near him.

This is a prime example of how his involvement can seem like nothing, but result in so much.

The smallest action can have a big impact out of dummy half. Here, the extra second to step out and hold up the ball just enough to engage the marker and keep the fullback plugged in at A, while using the Terrell May lead, holds up B and starts to create the space on the edge.

With Radley shrinking in at B, Jock Madden is able to get on the outside of his man to use a lead inside three.

That lead holds up Sam Walker this time, allowing Jahream Bula to swing outside and into the centre defending two-in.

By swinging outside three and into the two-man, Bula forces the winger to jam in on Patrick Herbert who uses some quick hands to find Jeral Skelton in the corner.

Skelton sneaks inside the corner post with centimetres to spare. Centimetres created at the play-the-ball by his dummy half and preserved by the timing of the ball-players and line-runners inside him.

Another 6/0 Scrum Try

The Dolphins are proving to be one of the most dangerous attacking teams from a scrum start this season. They scored another one the first play against the Parramatta Eels on Friday night.

They pulled the South Sydney Rabbitohs apart in Round 1 when Souths tried to defend with five to the Dolphins’ six. In Round 3 against the Sharks, Isaiya Katoa bounced off his right foot to send his backrower through a hole. They did the same against five Cowboys defenders in Round 15, too.

Presented with six against the Panthers in Round 7, they used a lead inside four with Kodi Nikorima and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow swinging out the back to score in the corner.

No doubt seeing that in their preview, the Parramatta Eels responded by jamming in on Tabuai-Fidow out the back. Nikorima had the answer against a disjointed defence, though…

I’ve ranted about it too many times already, but reducing the number of scrums captures, to perfections, how little thought goes into some of the changes in our game.

Tigers Last Plays: We were here last week, so last plays were a particular focus point for this one. It didn’t take long to realise there might not be a lot of improvement.

Wests Tigers ended their first set with the ball by running on last 30 metres from the line. Turning it over without applying any territorial pressure, they conceded on the following set.

The next set was only marginally better. Again Wests looked to run it from around halfway, only to be bailed out by the touch of a Rooster to earn a repeat set.

There is value in being unpredictable to end a set. It makes teams difficult to defend when the run and kick is an option across the park. However, unpredictable becomes dysfunctional if not even they know what is coming.

A Bad Day At The Office:

“I feel like we had lots of guys taking a breath at different times where they shouldn't have. Whether it was moving off a short side onto the open side, whether it was winning a tackle, whether it was a chase back that they needed to make. We made more choices tonight than we've made in a long time, and usually, you're just supposed to do them.”

Trent Robinson went as close to saying “we were complacent” as you can without saying the words in his post-match press conference.

Asked more specifically if they were:

“The reality was that's what happened. I can sit here and say it didn't, but we weren't as mentally strong today as what we needed to be and that was the truth.”

The Sydney Roosters played with 51% possession, 58% of the territory and generated 43 tackles inside the Tigers 20-metre line. A coach never wants to see his team take another lightly but it best explains how far the Roosters were off the pace in this one.

Wests Tigers did well to make the most of the opportunity. Koroisau, in particular, feasted on a few of those decisions Robinson mentioned. Still, there shouldn’t be any overreaction to this result and the Roosters’ place in the premiership race.

Api Koroisau has been given the full treatment above, but he wasn’t the only crafty hooker creating points this weekend.

Look Long, Play Short

Wayde Egan might be the most underrated player in the competition at the moment. This filthy try assist filling highlight reels will have tongues wagging, though.

Those couple of steps out from the ruck take the attention of the A defender, and as Egan looks long behind James Fisher-Harris, B sways out before the dummy half plays in short.

McInnes Try

Dummy halves can overplay their hand a bit. Sometimes, the simple cue is the right one.

Oliver Pascoe has become a regular for the Gold Coast Titans this season. While he’s been effective with the ball in hand, opposing teams are spotting him up on the line. Blayke Brailey did just that on Sunday.

There isn’t a lot of deception involved. The line isn’t even run particularly hard. But by putting Cameron McInnes onto Pascoe, Brailey made the most of an isolated, smaller defender, on the line.

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

He ended up being voted as the Player of the Match in the Rabbitohs win over the Warriors on Saturday afternoon.

We’re unlikely to see Jennings again at NRL this season, but he’s a prime candidate for a rapid rise after a full preseason ahead of 2027.