NRL Round 17 Review: Isaiya Katoa, The Bulldogs Attack, Kickers Running & Eyes Up Cowboys

What's to come this week:

• Big Takeaway From the Week: Katoa Cleaning Up

• Quick Play-the-Balls

  • Tracey Try Saver

  • The Balance Of The Bulldogs Attack

• Setting Up For A Shot: Kickers Running On Last

• Try Time: Eyes Up Cowboys

Big Takeaway From the Week: Katoa Cleaning Up

Tackle one can make or break a set of six. First up here, we’re breaking down what makes for the biggest talking point of the week.

Tempo and deception are key features of halfback play. They’re the difference between good and great number 7’s in our game.

We’ve seen many good individual seasons from those wearing a 7 jersey, but those with great careers utilise the subtleties of halfback play to influence every week.

Tempo and deception extend halves careers from nippy ball players dominating with speed and footwork before they mature into managers of an attack and manipulators of a defensive line.

Shaun Johnson is a prime recent example of that transition. The development of Jahrome Huges as a halfback centres around his improvement in deception in partnership with his footwork and speed.

Nathan Cleary has played in a league of his own when it comes to tempo and deception in recent years, but Katoa is up there with him right now. He’s shown glimpses of this stuff since entering the NRL:

Katoa is doing things you simply don’t see from a 19-year-old halfback.

You might see flashes. They will often come early in the year before the rigours of an NRL season catch up on a young body and mind. However, Katoa is going from strength to strength and this play here to set up Jamayne Isaako’s second try in Round 23 sums up how far ahead he is of most young players at this position.

The Dolphins are playing with an extra man and have the numbers advantage down the short side. Newcastle looks to counter as both markers quickly turn to the short side while the defender at A shoots off the line. But with one step off his right foot and the slightest change of speed, Katoa is able to preserve the space and overlap on the outside for Kodi Nikorima and Isaako to link up for points.

Two seasons later, as he leads a team scoring 45 points per game across their last five games, the 21-year-old is now generating the counting stats that put him at the forefront of halfback discussions at the pub and in group chats.

He’s only one try assist shy of equalling his first two seasons in the NRL combined.

His two try assists¹ on Sunday left me shaking my head. Again, even three seasons into his NRL career, Katoa is doing things you simply don’t see from a 21-year-old halfback.

The tempo of his first is outrageous. Katoa takes possession and all but stops on his run to sit the defence and consider his options, shapes in, sprints forward, shapes long, and tucks the ball under his arm to break the line. He does this all in little more than a second.

Even in the backfield he has the time to look left and right before finally throwing the pass with the fullback well and truly engaged.

Just as Katoa makes his quick move, he has A and B in his sights. He knows the A defender will be working to take his time away, so applies a few quick steps to get in front of the pressure.

Engaging the line, he has the B defender turned out, and if you slow it right down, you’ll see he’s sold the dummy towards Kodi Nikorima to bring the three-man above the ball.

Sean Keppie should do better here, but take nothing away from Katoa’s brilliance. Keppie’s focus here is forcing an earlier pass from Katoa. He has the risk of a penalty in his mind, too. With the B defender sold, Katoa is able to make the most of the captains run tackle attempt to break through the line.

Katoa’s second try assist is what captures his talent best.

He’s presented with a scrambled defensive line following a line break and quickly breaks down his options: Engage the three-man and play the cue.

Credit to Kodi Nikorima for the line. His ability to duck back under on Campbell Graham’s inside shoulder is elite footy in itself.

But it’s Katoa’s ability and consistency to throw the right pass that matters. His dummy presents the cue as Graham starts to move beyond Nikorima with his hips turned to the man outside him…

…and Katoa passes to the space rather than the man which allows Nikorima to make his move and score under the posts.

Unreal.

Katoa has been invited into State of Origin camp ahead of Game 3, but it won’t be long before he’s a regular feature. Cleary has command of the best halfback in the game tag. Mitchell Moses can still lay claim to number two for me, but Katoa is closing in and is already among the best halves in footy.

Quick Play-the-Balls

We’re generating momentum through the middle of the article with a couple of quick carries.

Tracey Try Saver

Connor Tracey is quietly putting together a great 2025 NRL season. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs spine is coming under a lot of scrutiny, but Tracey’s place in the side seems nailed on.

He’s finishing shifts well with four tries and six try assists and is always dangerous himself as a runner to average 203 running metres per game. Tracey doesn’t need to do a lot within the Bulldogs attack, but he’s excellent in the role he’s filling.

However, it’s in defence he deserves the most praise this week.

He’s already covered a lot of ground in this set, but once again, he’s filling in the short side and flying across to the long side in cover. The Penrith Panthers would score their first of the night if not for Tracey’s work rate.

It’s sometimes difficult to see the influence fullbacks have on a game. You need to see the likes of Tracey, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Clint Gutherson at the ground to truly grasp how important they are to a teams defence. On this occasion, the camera angle provides a clear picture of Tracey’s movements and how he positioned himself to pull off an incredible try saver.

The Balance Of The Bulldogs Attack

I started this on Thursday with an eye to the future, but given how the Panthers defended to keep the Bulldogs to only one try, I think exploring how to defend the balanced attack is also worth considering. More to come later in the week…

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have improved their attack on last year after averaging 22 points per game to be putting up 25.4 points per game in this one (5th in the NRL).

They’ve been stacked with attacking talent all along, but have found a balance to their attack this season that has made them particularly dangerous.

Per Stats Insider, the Bulldogs couldn’t split their tries much better across the field.

On the edges, the Bulldogs are especially good at getting to the four-man and testing the defence of the opposing half and movements of the centre.

They like to play from the middle of the field with lead and support runners compressing the middle, allowing their ball-players to engage the four-man and asking difficult questions of the three defenders out wide.

Both left and right, the Bulldogs will use a variety of passes and shapes, but the question is typically fairly similar in the end.

Where Reed Mahoney played straight to his half who skipped out to the four-man above, they used a middle foward to shovel the ball on to Matt Burton already on the outside shoulder of his man here:

Those shapes on the edges open up opportunities through the middle, but more to come on that before their clash with the Broncos on Friday night.

Sign up for a Premium membership using this link for three months free. More to come on the Bulldogs attack and how the Panthers defended it before Round 18.

Setting Up For A Shot: Kickers Running On Last

Teams play to points with the following tackle in mind. Here, I’m touching on something to watch next week as we try to keep ahead of things happening on the field.

While we saw the expected outrage of a correct call on a kicker in Round 15, we aren’t any closer to consistently getting it right.

So, with that in mind, we should expect to see players start to take advantage of officials blindly calling any contact on a kicker as a penalty. Defenders have started to adjust and pull up short on the kick pressure, and it won’t be long before it costs a team points.

Jahrome Hughes offered a glimpse of what that might look like on Sunday afternoon.

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