Early set starts in good ball often give us a look at what a team has been working on all week. Staff have spotted something they like and drawn up an action to expose it. For the Brisbane Broncos on Thursday night, they liked the look of Dylan Edwards leaving four from the post when the third man is late back to the line.

With it, Reece Walsh is able to use the space to roll one through for Jordan Riki to score.

The tell for this being something pre-planned, or at least communicated on the run, is the centre and backrower flat outside Walsh. They’re ready to chase a kick and never look like they’re expecting a pass.

Walsh nails play by skipping far enough across the A defender to draw B into the play. It leaves Riki and Kotoni Staggs with plenty of space to run through the line, unobstructed, timing their run to beat turning defenders.

The play relies on beating the third man back into the line. Payne Haas being the player to take in the hitup and be sent at Freddy Lussick isn’t an accident. Standing in the tackle, Haas has done his job for Walsh and Riki to do the rest.

Tap Set Brilliance: You know a team is improving when they can design plays and execute them on the run. The Gold Coast Titans had a plan to run their big bodies wider off the ruck and into the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles three-man, and put it into action on a good ball tap start in the second half.

I’m not sure how much they planned hitting up in to the two middles here, but it helps to disjoint the Sea Eagles edge. With the two middles involved in the first hitup, Haumole Olakau’atu is forced to travel to the middle into the second tackle.

Not only is the regular Sea Eagles four-man in the tackle, it’s a quick ruck which results in a tight defender at A and B. Taniela Paseka is in the unfamiliar four-man spot, and with Fa’asuamaleaui running straight at him, Jamal Fogarty shrinks in for the space to open up on the edge.

You can’t always run these big bodies out on the edge. Every team would be doing it otherwise. However, when given a set start and a moment to work to spots on the field you can time the action to be most effective, just as the Titans did here.

Another Grubber Through The Line: The North Queensland Cowboys started strong but fell away as the Dolphins complete sets and stretched them on the edges. However, at their best, North Queensland produced a well-planned trick play for Jeremiah Nanai to score.

Like the Titans penalty set, I can’t be sure that it’s all exactly how the Cowboys drew it up, but the action to create the cue is deliberate.

The Cowboys have seen the Dolphins right edge not getting up off the line and formed a play to get the ball there through the wraparound.

Whether or not the grubber is the designed play or eyes up, flipping the ball from right to left disjointed the line, and created the avenue for Tom Dearden to kick through.

It’s certainly not the first time Lachlan Galvin has featured on these pages. I’ve been a lot more positive on him as a halfback than most, and added more stocks to my portfolio after Round 20.

We don’t always need to see the flashy passes and counting stats from a halfback for them to be good. As much as they’re a measuring stick for fantasy sports and social media, Cameron Ciraldo is more likely to be looking at how he executes the game plan given to him.

Galvin’s position in the side has been under constant question externally, but the Bulldogs haven’t wavered. They believe in him so much that they’ve moved one of the best centres in the game in a spot to accommodate him.

Contining with a theme of this edition of the Newsletter, Galvin’s creativity to kick through the line for Josh Curran to score highlights his development as a halfback.

The play before looks pedestrian, but bringing Jahream Bula in is a cue. Terrell May’s work in the tackle is another. With three players crowded around the ruck and with two leads outside him to shrink the C and D defenders, the space opens up for Galvin.

A bit like Ashton Ward last week who produced some smart footy that wasn’t all that highlight-reel worthy, Galvin created some nice opportunities throughout this one.