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Cleary’s Response
Dan Walsh at the Sydney Morning Herald dug into an uncharacteristically poor performance by Nathan Cleary last week:
‘Cleary tried everything. His 84 handles of the ball were a decent increase on his average of 64 the past three years… Without Yeo playing as an indomitable link man and run threat, the Roosters – in particular Sam Walker and to a lesser extent, halves partner Daly Cherry-Evans – regularly raced up on Cleary.’
Asked in the post-match press conference what changes without Isaah Yeo in the side, Nathan Cleary offered some insight on what we could expect against Melbourne in Round 25.
Not a whole lot, and it probably changes from game to game depending on feel.
Laurie [I’m assuming this is a nickname for Lindsay Smith] is definitely capable to play that Yeoy role. I think we're only going to get better with the more reps we get. It obviously wasn't good enough, but there's plenty in there to get better at and work on, and do our homework on.
A lot of it comes back to me as well—picking the right option at the right time, and I wasn't doing that tonight.
The Roosters looked to put pressure on Cleary all night with a well-planned and executed approach in defence.
They took away his time and space on the ball from the middle when in at first receiver. Siua Wong and Victor Radley, in particular, made him a target. Bouncing out onto the second layer, the Chooks rushed him from the outside in.
So, what might the subtle changes or better decisions look like?
