NRL Offseason Octopus - Matt Moylan And His (Kiwi) Panthers
Moylan and his kiwis, which makes Moylan almost a kiwi.
Anticipating the return of Matt Moylan has been a long and arduous task. Ever since Moylan was ruled of the 2015 NRL season, the Panthers' hopes of stacking up some wins and making a finals push vanished. Moylan had already shown what a slick operator he was at fullback and how crucial he was to the Panthers, all before being named skipper of the Penrith Panthers at the ripe ol' age of 24.
Lost amongst the big signings, coaching changes, other players returning to their respective teams and the usual dramas that the Australian media drum up has been the return of Moylan. I don't think I've ever been as excited to see a player in action ahead of an NRL season than I am right now with Moylan. Racking my brain, trying to come up with some possibilities to counter that thought only leads me to players who broke free of their shackles, guys like Jason Taumalolo, Shaun Johnson or Roger Tuivasa-Sheck hadn't laid such a platform like Moylan has, nor did they or anyone else off the top of my head share similar circumstances to Moylan.
A lot has changed at the Panthers, any time there is a new coach there's plenty of change and in bidding farewell to former coach Ivan Cleary, Penrith lost the perfect mentor for Moylan. Cleary has a great track record with young players along with getting the best out of limited rosters like the Warriors and Panthers in previous seasons, combine this with Cleary being a fullback like Moylan and it's hard not to wonder what could have been.
Moylan was getting comfortable, he had figured out NRL footy, figured out his niche, figured out his combination with veteran halves Jamie Soward and Peter Wallace, then injury and the winds of change swept through Penrith.
New coach Anthony Griffin also has proven experience in getting the best out of a young squad and I believe this appreciation for youth led Griffin to name Moylan as the clubs' skipper. In previous seasons we had see Moylan display all his ability, however this came in a Panthers team that made life super easy for Moylan, and any other player. Everything was designed to get the most out of a Panthers roster that reflected their desire to rectify their salary cap position with Soward and Wallace leading a simple but effective game plan, allowing Moylan to chime in where he saw fit without the pressure of having to be the main guy.
Now Moylan is the skipper and the clubs most talented player, who will be looked up to to offer game-breaking ability and leadership.
What intrigues me about Moylan's 2016 season are the players around him and where Moylan will slot into this Panthers team. The Panthers will be a dangerous team with the Soward/Wallace/Moylan combination, thanks largely due to the freedom that having veteran job-doers offers Moylan, who won't have to worry about controlling the game or dictating where it's played. That's what Soward and Wallace do best, this is an option that I like as Moylan comes to grips with his new responsibility.
More interesting than that option however comes with news that young kiwis half Te Maire Martin has been impressing so far. Martin is one of the most exciting young halves on the cusp of NRL footy and with Griffin as coach it's more than a chance that Martin is preferred over Soward or Wallace. Martin could partner either Soward or Wallace and learn the ropes from one of these veterans which would be the safest option for Martin and the Panthers this season.
A riskier option, but one that is immensely funky is a possible Martin/Moylan halves partnership which would allow another young gun kiwi Dallin Watene Zelezniak to rock the fullback jersey.
The Martin/Moylan combo would be interesting and Moylan's possible move to the halves has been an interesting sub-plot, it seems destined to go down at some point and what better time than now to hand this team over to Moylan? This would also put DWZ to best use as he would otherwise feature mainly as a winger and sometimes a centre.
Moylan will be dangerous whether he's at fullback or in the halves, he's shown enough while playing at fullback to suggest that he can be a high quality NRL half and I have no questions regarding Moylan as a half. I get the feeling that Moylan will fit into the Panthers team to accomodate other players like DWZ and this will become a situation in which coach Griffin must figure out the best way to get his most talented players the best opportunities.
To me, that means playing DWZ at fullback and pushing Moylan into the halves. Whether Moylan is playing alongside a veteran or a young gun like Martin is the question, possibly the most interesting question heading into the 2016 season.