NRL Round 5 Review: Brimson's No Try, Casey McLean & Twidle On Debut

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NRL Film Room - Round 5 Highlights

Quick Hits

The Feature Reel: (No) Try of the Week

Watching this game with one eye at the pub, I saw AJ Brimson take the pass and score before taking a quick note as something I wanted to dive into further for the review. Not for a second did I think the pass was forward, and it wasn’t until I looked up from my phone that I saw the Broncos taking the ball back up the field…

Despite the decision from the officials¹ , I still want to break this one down for the detail that went into it.

The Gold Coast Titans must have identified how tight Kotoni Staggs defends at times. Only two plays before the should-be try, they applied a similar fade on Staggs to his outside shoulder. From a more narrow field position and earlier in the set, Brimson ran out of room before turning is winger back underneath. However, with another chance and more space 30 seconds later, he nailed the run.

The run didn’t come without first disguising it as a kick, though. Lachlan Ilias does a nice job of showing the ball as though he’s going to grubber one in behind. Brimson is on the edge, flat as though he’s preparing to chase a kick, pointing at the space between Staggs and Ben Hunt.

It keeps the Broncos pair tight, ready to either trap and scrap the kick, or impede Brimson’s run as they turn to chase the ball down.

But as Ilias pulls the ball back in, Brimson makes his move. He fades to Staggs’ outside shoulder, looking to make the most of the space created by the winger dropping back for the kick.

“Brimson has all of the skills to be dangerous with the ball. He bounces out as well as any centre in the game already. His ability to move while the ball is in the air will produce points sooner rather than later.”

It’s only a matter of time before we see him race through on a similar line without it being pulled back.

Round 5 NRL Notes

Dolphins v Dragons

• The Numbers Tell The Story (Again): Like the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles game in Round 4, that stats after the game paint a fairly clear picture. Kieran Foran’s side dominated the Dolphins for 67 minutes before checking out early game already won.

• Block On Last: Foran and his staff didn’t have long to get sorted throughout the week, but landed on an excellent plan for their last plays inside the Dolphins 20. Twice - with the Dolphins wingers back in the pocket early to field a kick - they used their backrower as a ball player with the centre running a lead for the fullback.
  
  In the first instance, Ben Trbojevic played out the back of Tolutau Koula’s lead for Tom Trbojevic to throw the final pass out wide.

  

  
  
  On the second, Haumole Olakau’atu pulled Kodi Nikorima out of the line to create the angle inside Herbie Farnworth to hit the lead this time and score on an inside shoulder.

  

  
  While much of the reaction to this performance has been reduced to “playing for their coach,” the planning and execution on these plays suggests Foran could be the one to strike the right balance with the ball for a squad laden with attacking talent on the edges.

Knights v Raiders

• Why Is Strange On The Right? Ethan Strange announced himself as a potential State of Origin half throughout the 2025 NRL season, but has been slow to start in 2026. Much has been made of his switch to the right side and whether or not it’s the right decision.
  
  His step - left or right - is one of the most lethal in the competition. With the left edge backrower in the tackle and a middle forced to travel early in the game, he took on a tiring big forward defending four-in.

  

  
  While Strange’s right-foot step is something to consider in the switch, it is likely more to do with the left-footedness of Ethan Sanders and his kicking game than anything else.
  
  Most teams kick pressure from marker. It’s easier for a left foot kicker to kick on the left side of the ruck with the pressure coming from the inside, than it is for a right foot kicker having that pressure come directly at his kicking leg. A 1-4 start for the Raiders could prompt a few changes from Ricky Stuart ahead of Round 6, but moving Strange back to the left edge is unlikely to be one of them.

• Knights Dominate The Jam: The Raiders edge defence has a reputation for jamming. They’re physical, aggressive, and often make the right decision and do so without second-guessing themselves. However, it can come at a cost when the attack gets their part right.
  
  With Kaeo Weekes in the tackle here, he’s late back into the line. He’s not had a chance to look up and identify Newcastle’s dominant ball players on the left edge and set himself accordingly.

  

  
  That leaves the Raiders with five defenders from the middle of the field. As a result, Simi Sasagi jams in an attempt to close down the play, but a beautiful tunnel ball across the face of Fletcher Sharpe beats the jam and ends with Greg Marzhew over in the corner.
  
  Newcastle found plenty of success down the edges, playing short inside jamming defenders before searching down the same edge on the following play. Having my doubts about them this season - even with Dylan Brown and Kalyn Ponga in the squad - it might be time to rethink expectations around Justin Holbrook and the Knights for 2026.

Eels v Tigers

• Game Of The Season So Far: Wests Tigers and Parramatta Eels have a habit of playing out decent games, and this one marks the best of the 2026 NRL season after five rounds. It certainly wasn’t the prettiest. The coaching staff on both sides will be able to offer a lot of teaching moments across the 84 minutes. But with it coming down to the wire with neither team ever looking in total control, I spent more time on the edge of my seat than on the notepad.

• Momentum Tracker: We don’t need the Fox tracker on the screen to know when this game changed in the first half. Sean Russell leaving the field isn’t why, but it’s the point things changed for the Wests Tigers. One try became two as six agains and a blessed no-call on a Pierce-Paul strip coincided with repeated Eels errors out of yardage. Jack Williams streaking down the sideline before controversialy losing the ball² against the run of play further added to the pointlessness of the tracker as anything other than a sponsorship opportunity.

• Tigers Kick Plan: Wests made no secret of their kick plan on the Parramatta line: Kick it to Faaletino Tavana.
  
  He’s a weapon in the air and rose above above Josh Addo-Carr to score a beauty. It proved especially effective against an Eels team who became the face of the crack down on blockers as they left Addo-Carr out to dry with Brian Kelly, in particular, looking unsure of how he should support his winger in the contest.

• Chaos Late: Golden Point was probably a fair way to end the 80 minutes with both teams the beneficiary of painfully soft high-contact penalties late. Neither team looked comfortable under the pressure, though. While Moses earned the Eels a decent look at a winner, their defence failed to back him up. Meanwhile, the Tigers left a lot to be desired with their field goal setups on both shots; first failing to have a second kicker available before forcing Jock Madden to take his next attempt a lot wider than they should have with tackles up their sleeve.

Player Spotlight - Casey McLean, Penrith Panthers

Casey McLean is 19-years old…

Already among the best centres in the NRL, a proven player on the international stage and now seeing his name mentioned in New South Wales Blues predicted teams, still has so much room for growth.

Quite literally from a physical sense. Despite the ease at which he seems to be able to break tackles, he’s one of the more lean dominant centres in the game. His combination of strength and speed caused the Melbourne Storm sliding defence nightmares on Friday night, in particular.

His poise to take the first inside shoulder here, identify the scrambling defender is a middle he can beat with speed, and to hold the pass ever so slightly to commit the fullback is veteran-level play from guy only 35 games into his NRL career.

The Pipeline - Matthew Dufty, South Sydney Rabbitohs

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

Matthew Dufty is back down under following a stint in the Super League. While it’s unlikely that he make it back into the NRL in any sort of long term capacity, he can dominate reserve grade for a few more years if he wants.

Where his size could let him down defensively in first grade, his speed and ball-playing is a cheat code in New South Wales Cup.

In a Souths reserve grade side that has struggled for results in recent seasons, Dufty is ensuring they’re a danger with the ball at all times in 2026.

Member Mailbag

1  Did they get tricked by the line? That’s the only way I can see the touch judge coming to his decision…

2  Again, another head-scratching decision and a minor issue with the captains challenge system. Peter Gough got the decision so wrong having not called tackle complete, that Mitchell Moses couldn’t technically challenge what looked like an incorrect decision.