#KiwiNRL Encyclopedia: The Arrival Of Jamayne Isaako
But what about Jamayne?
With Wests Tigers the joy of the NRL after two rounds and featuring the most #KiwiNRL players while doing so, a clash against Brisbane Broncos on home soil was always going to be tasty. Prior to that game, Jeremy Marshall-King was making his first start in the halves for the Bulldogs alongside Kieran Foran as the all-kiwi halves combo went into battle against Penrith Panthers.
I was especially interested in the all-kiwi halves combination as this was a low key monumental moment for the #KiwiNRL takeover. The Doggies grabbed their first win of 2018 and while you could point to the all-kiwi halves combo as to why they rolled out their best performance so far, this was more a case of the entire Bulldogs team playing with greater intensity, effort and enthusiasm.
Marshall-King played hooker in his lone appearance for the Tigers last season and came off the bench in that role to start this season, hence I didn't really know what to expect of him as a half. Foran predominantly played on the right side of the ruck, pushing Marshall-King to the left and with Foran pulling the strings as well as Moses M'bye being their most potent attacking weapon, Marshall-King wasn't asked to do a whole lot.
That's a perfect scenario for a fresh half, although what Marshall-King did do was play his role to near-perfection. When asked to kick (he had 3 kicks to Foran's 7), he nudged the ball towards the sideline on the left edge and when asked to swing around to the right edge to offer a extra pair of hands as a typical #6, he served up 2 try assists.
This is the shape the Bulldogs ran for M'bye's first try. It starts with Foran at first-receiver where he can lure in a few defenders before passing out to Marshall-King who has M'bye as his primary option. Not overly complicated and the main objective is to get M'bye into a 1-v-1 and as it's Marshall-King serving M'bye the footy, he's got a key job to do.
Marshall-King was hugely impressive in his first start and while the Bulldogs were generally better as a team, his solid performance was definitely a part of that. He also rebounded instantly after getting smoked while making a kick, just like Foran and with Marshall-King starting, Christchurch's Fa'amanu Brown gets the bench utility spot; only a couple minutes at hooker but he's there.
The Marshall-King x Foran combo will need a lot more time to gel and although the Bulldogs got the W here, it's important to note that Penrith lost Nathan Cleary to injury at half-time. They also made more errors and conceded more penalties than the Dogs, but only lost by 2 points. That being said, they development of Marshall-King will be of great interest to me as the #KiwiNRL play-making depth continues to grow.
Marshall-King's older bro Benji is definitely part of that play-making depth and he took part in a crazy last few minutes of the Tigers loss to the Broncos. This wasn't a great game to watch until the last quarter and the Tigers had a shocker with their hands, which left them visibly lacking punch in golden point due to all the (great) defensive work they had to do; their defence got them to extra time.
It all started with Benji as he stood behind the posts pondering an injured ankle. The trainer is signalling for Benji to be subbed, yet Benji stays on the park and while the game is in the balance for the next 10-15 minutes, he puts a grubber into touch followed by a kick into the in-goal that had Brisbane starting on their try-line and then a spiral bomb that pegged them on their own 10m line.
This is standard Benji business. He couldn't lead the Tigers to another freakish win and to be fair, Benji never really had a chance as Brisbane simply finished stronger. Benji's class has me hootin' about him being one of the best in the NRL right now and it has set up a season in which we can all follow Benji leading this #KiwiNRL Tigers group.
The other #KiwiNRL Tigers were great, although they did fade in extra time. Russell Packer made a big defensive play late in the game and was beastly in his work rate and effectiveness; the Tigers' leaders are hearty kiwis in Benji and Rusty.
This game featured a #KiwiNRL Tigers crew of Esan Marsters (centre), Benji (halves), Russell Packer (middle), Pita Godinet (hooker), Ben Matulino (middle), Matt McIlwrick (hooker),
Michael Chee Kam (everywhere), Josh Aloiai (edge).
Marsters, Chee Kam and Aloiai are from Auckland.
Benji's from Whakatane, Packer from Levin, Matulino from Wellington, Godinet and McIlwrick from Christchurch.
The punchline for this whole article though is the arrival of Jamayne Isaako - who I highlighted during the week as leading the NRL in errors. The Broncos also had Kodi Nikorima in the halves giving them two Christchurch bred players (and four in this game) as well as Alex Glenn who was monstrous on the Broncos' left edge; 13runs/140m, 4 tackle busts.
Oh and Isaako had no errors in this game.
It's safe to say that I have been anticipating such a moment for Isaako since he earned two Junior Kiwis selections (2015/16 - 2015 also featured Taane Milne, Joseph Manu, Te Maire Martin, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Sione Katoa, James Fisher-Harris, Jazz Tevaga, Danny Levi, Braden Uele, Toafofoa Sipley, Renouf To'omaga). Isaako and Marsters played in the 2016 team together and they combined to score 11 of the 16 points in this game, all kicks.
Isaako was a rugby union schoolboy star in Christchurch before being signed by Cronulla Sharks. He took his kicking experience from St Bedes 1st XI and kicked 4 penalties as well as a crucial droppie to seal the win for the Broncos. Isaako kicked a penalty from the right side of the field to pull the Broncos level at 6-6, then hit a droppie to put them ahead 7-6 before kicking the dubious game-winning penalty from in front.
The synchronicity here is kinda crazy given that Isaako held on to his spot in the top-17 despite Jack Bird returning because Jordan Kahu broke his jaw last week. Kahu was also a rugby union player in Wellington before linking up with Keebra Park High School and Kahu is the Broncos goal-kicker, plus the Broncos routinely get Kahu to kick their droppies when required; exactly what Isaako did in this game.
Isaako also had 15runs/145m, 2 offloads and 2 tackle busts.
While Isaako did his job as a winger, he won the game for Brisbane with his boot and not too many NRL clubs have the luxury of having one such outside back, let alone two as the Broncos do. Just like Kahu, Isaako is capable of play multiple backline positions; he played in the halves for Junior Kiwis (2016) and was a standout for Souths Logan at fullback last year.
Glorious #KiwiNRL times folks, glorious.
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Peace and love 27.