Koni Files: Chapter Six
Low key make sure you watch Koni's right to left pass, especially from dummy half. It's a rocket.
As expected, last week Konrad Hurrell was simply amazing as Gold Coast took a nice win away from their trip down to Newcastle. The Titans were far too good for the Knights and while five of their forwards ran for over 100m, it was Koni who was the busiest and most effective ball-runner for the Titans as he churned through 20 carries for 203m with 3 tackle busts and 3 offloads.
Here's a cheeky masterpiece of Koni's work in Newcastle...
We can't really take too much insight away from that win as the Knights don't offer much starch and Koni was always going to enjoy his work in this game. There were a few funky moments with Koni again taking a hit up from the kick-off, this time he did so on the left side of the field as opposed to his usual right side. What also stood out in this game was the pure desire of Koni to make an impact and his 20 carries is a great sign of Koni's mind-set as we've repeatedly been told (mainly by Warriors folk) that Koni's biggest problem is his desire or work ethic.
In that little video, there's a hit up where Koni gets planted on his backside and Koni then takes a moment to catch his breath with someone else taking a hit up, before Koni gets in and takes another hit up. Two hit ups in three plays, with Koni using his speed to cut back in-behind the ruck and make some big metres. All those little markers of a player who is full switched-on are there with Koni and it's not just his work with the footy as he's consistently putting in effort on kick-chase and showing intent on defence.
I take great joy in doing this each week, so once again, I serve to you on a silver platter Koni's stats from since round 19...
Round 19 vs Dragons: 15 carries, 174m, 1 line break, 1 offload.
Round 20 vs Eels: 16 carries, 192m, 2 line breaks, 1 offload.
Round 21 vs Sharks: 16 carries, 192m, 1 line break, 3 offloads.
Round 22 vs Warriors: 9 carries, 92m, 1 line break.
Round 23 vs Tigers: 16 carries, 143m, 1 offload.
Round 24 vs Knights: 20 carries, 203m, 1 line break, 3 offloads.
Put it in the bank as another strong game from Koni and another strong game for Gold Coast. This week is a different story though as Gold Coast face Penrith in a huge game in terms of sussing out the last few top-8 spots. I have the Titans and Panthers filling those last two spots, so I don't think it has major implications but it's two evenly-matched teams who both definitely need a win to seal their destiny and Koni's going to be extremely fun to observe.
Koni will line up against Tyrone Peachey who has settled in as Penrith's right centre and this is a very interesting match up given Peachey's ability as a footballer. Peachey gives up a bit of size to Koni, but Peachey does that most weeks as he's a smaller bloke, yet it's his rather freakish strength and footwork that makes him a dangerous package out on the edges and most NRL fans have gone well past the 'how does Peachey do that!?' stage.
What I conveniently ignored when celebrating Koni's attacking stats, is that he has missed 16 tackles over those six games which is obviously less than ideal. In the big scheme of things though this is absorbed by the fact that the Titans have only lost one of those six games and Koni's work with the footy has well and truly made up for those defensive lapses. I do suspect that the Panthers will be eager to ask many questions of Koni's defence in this game though and while Peachey will pose a threat individually with his quick feet and strength, the Panthers have some fantastic play-makers who will make Koni think.
Nathan Cleary and Matt Moylan love to link up down Penrith's left edge, with Cleary starting the attacking movement. Clearly will look to go for a little scoot and keep the middle defenders engaged, before firing the ball to Moylan and Moylan will more often than not, get the footy in Koni's channel. This means that Moylan will look to lure Koni in, or get him sliding with Peachey and Josh Mansour waiting to be served a dime.
Thus far, Koni has tended to get up off his line and attack the ball-carrier with the Titans. We can safely assume that Neil Henry has given Koni this mandate which ensures that Koni has a simple plan when defending slick attacking movements. I like it because Koni is quick enough to not be caught in no-man's-land and as long as the likes of Chris McQueen and Greg Bird are sliding behind Koni, covering the wing channel, this is all good.
We know precisely how Koni is used in attack and Penrith will still try to get numbers into the tackle when Koni's charging forward. Good luck with that, as long as Koni's taking plenty of carries and getting in-behind the ruck, he'll make big metres, get a quick play-the-ball and maybe an offload. What I'm most interested in here is how Koni defends the slick play-making ability of Penrith and how he goes against Peachey.
The Titans have only faced one genuine 'upper echelon' team (Cronulla) and haven't quite been tested by a creative attacking team just yet. If they make the top-8, then they will face an abundance of attacking talent that will definitely target Koni's defence with plenty of bodies in motion and creative plays. What happens against Penrith will give us a great insight into how the Titans as a team look to defend the likes of Moylan and Cleary on the edges and how Koni goes about that as an individual.