The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks made it look easy to score their second try of the night on Saturday.

It looked easy, because it was from the start.

It’s not uncommon for teams to defend with a 3/3 split against 4/2. Coaches often want to defend spaces, not faces. We’d typically see teams defend the four when it is on the same side as the feed. That way the half can act as the fourth defender. The Cowboys, on the other hand, appear to have given that responsibility to Scott Drinkwater from the back of the scrum.

A fullback would typically break and race to the corner from the back but Drinkwater doesn’t look that way for a second. He’s lined up Nicho Hynes at first receiver.

Perhaps the Sharks had made note of this during the week. Instead of playing inside Jake Clifford as he’d typically do with the extra man outside him, Hynes runs straight at him. It holds up Clifford’s ability to slide off with Drinkwater tracking across, forces Jaxon Purdue to honour the lead and a jam out of Zac Laybutt on the wing.

The Cowboys defended it relatively well, but were beaten by Hynes’ smarts and Will Kennedy’s footwork in the end.

Knights On The Edge

We’re going to know early on in the game where it stands physically. Should the Rabbitohs match the Knights from the start, they will generate enough looks at the line to find points. - Where The Game Will Be Won

Even before the Cody Walker injury, the Knights dominated to start the game. The expected Rabbitohs advantage through the middle didn’t eventuate. In contrast, the Knights held their own in the middle and found success down the edges. They should have been up by a lot more at the break but looked too keen to play an expansive style.

With both teams carrying relatively clear paths to victory into the game, Newcastle executed on theirs best. They moved Souths around the field, stretched them on the edges, and created enough opportunities to score even while bombing three or four along the way. Kalyn Ponga swinging to both sides and popping up in the middle at times has become such a dangerous approach for the defence to contain.

It remains to be seen what the halves look like at South Sydney next season. Walker’s future is up in the air and there isn’t a clear pairing to start Round 1. Regardless, Payne Haas is exactly what they need through the middle with how much he rises their floor in the pack. The attacking talent on the edges is too often for nothing against the better defensive teams in the NRL when Souths can’t make a dent in the middle.

Stats That Matter: Tom Dearden is, as expected, on the receiving end of some negative press following the Cowboys finals loss. Warranted or not, it comes with the territory of the #7 jersey.

To be more complete, Dearden needs to beef-up his kicking. The classy Katoa kicked 18 times for 594m in his finals debut. Dearden had three kicks for 66m and four runs for a paltry 16m.

Dearden isn’t what you would consider an elite kicker in the NRL, but he doesn’t need to be. Especially in this team. Jake Clifford has a monster boot that should be the first option in yardage. Closer to halfway and into good ball, Scott Drinkwater can hang up a floating bomb with the best of them. It can thicken up the kick-chase by allowing him to stay back behind the line, too. Kicking metres isn’t an accurate measure of quality.

There is a discrepancy in run metres depending on the source you’re looking at. The Fox side of the stats sheet shows four runs and 16 metres. However, the better read comes from NRL.com where Dearden is credited with 16 runs for 97 metres. The official provider includes those runs where players engage the line without being tackled - as they should. Dearden’s reputation as a runner makes those run-to-pass plays more dangerous than others.

Rugby league isn’t a great game for numbers. Missed tackles are constantly used to measure defence when they shouldn’t be. Giving up standing tackles can sometimes be worse, but we don’t measure those. Don’t get me started on average set distance as a measure of attack.

In the case of Dearden, there is certainly room for critiquing his game and how impactful he is as a #7. Kicking metres as the third option and poorly-generated running metres numbers aren’t the way, though.

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

Taj Ford has had a couple of injury issues throughout his career, but with a full-season under his belt with the Newtown Jets, we’re starting to see the best of him.

He’s played multiple positions this year. Depending on who drops back from first grade, he’s been at fullback, the halves and come off the bench for the Newtown Jets. At fullback in their elimination final against the North Sydney Bears on Saturday, Ford came up clutch with two field goals in the dying moments.

I’m not sure on Ford’s best position. He’s a smaller body so can be a spot in the line defensively in the halves. At the back, he’s behind Liam Ison who has also kicked on well in a healthier season. Still, he’s on to keep an eye on at only 21-years old.