{"id":368853,"date":"2024-02-19T00:09:29","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T01:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=368853"},"modified":"2024-02-19T03:03:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T03:03:00","slug":"secret-ponga-plan-floated-after-trial-surprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=368853","title":{"rendered":"Secret Ponga 'plan' floated after trial surprise"},"content":{"rendered":"

As expected, the NRL<\/a> pre-season challenge offered up a scrappy start but there was plenty to get excited about from the first round.<\/p>\n

\ufeffThe Bulldogs kicked things off at Belmore, defeating the Storm 24-12<\/a> in a game that included 61 missed tackles and 23 errors.<\/p>\n

Newcastle, the Roosters, Raiders, Rabbitohs, Tigers, Broncos and Dolphins were the other sides to record wins \ufeffwith 384 points scored in total across the board.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Gun recruit, top hookers kick off NRL top 50 countdown<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Aussie great's Olympics in doubt over 'sticky situation'<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Bazball 'at a crossroads' as England sink to 90-year low<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Here's what we learned from the opening round of the pre-season challenge.<\/em><\/p>\n

Broncos have found another emerging talent<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The development system at the Broncos has progressed to great heights in recent years and it appears they've got another one.<\/p>\n

The 205cm Ben Te Kura \ufeffproduced a brilliant performance for Kevin Walters' side, scoring a try against the Cowboys where he ran over defenders close to the line.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Walters had already forecasted his impact<\/a> \ufeffand the 19-year-old impressed league great James Graham with his performance.<\/p>\n

"This is a name to look out \ufefffor," Graham said on Fox League.<\/p>\n

"He is a monster of a man, so big, so tall, so young. He's a frightening prospect and I think we'll be seeing more of those short-range tries.<\/p>\n

"What a weapon to use at your disposal."<\/p>\n

Knights may have addressed depth issues\ufeff<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Over the past few seasons, injuries to key players have cruelled the Knights.<\/p>\n

Jayden Brailey and Kalyn Ponga have suffered their fair share of setbacks while the latter has been shifted from fullback to five-eighth sporadically under coach Adam O'Brien.<\/p>\n

Maybe there was an unknown plan behind that?<\/p>\n

The emergence of David Armstrong could certainly suggest that, with the fullback scoring a double against the Sharks.<\/p>\n

A young product from Moree, Armstrong has risen from the junior grades of Newcastle and scored 18 tries across 23 matches in NSW Cup over the last two years.<\/p>\n

He could plug a hole if Ponga features for Queensland in State of Origin this year. \ufeff<\/p>\n

Roosters nowhere near their best<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A 36-22 win over the Sea Eagles would suggest the Roosters were satisfied with their pre-season showing.<\/p>\n

\"Blow<\/p>\n

However, Luke Keary was somewhat scathing post-game.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffIt was a bit of a disappointing day," he told Fox League.<\/p>\n

Keary pinpointed the Roosters' slow start – having allowed an understrength Manly to score first – low intensity and the nature of tries conceded as the reason for his frustration.<\/p>\n

But it might be that sort of accountability that propels them back into the top four. \ufeff<\/p>\n

\ufeffLong road ahead for Dragons fans<\/strong><\/h3>\n

They certainly didn't give up in the Charity Shield but the Dragons failed to impress as the Shane Flanagan era started with a loss.<\/p>\n

\"Bunnies<\/p>\n

\ufeffThe Rabbitohs dominated in attack in the second half and the only Dragons try came off Mikaele Ravalawa running 40 metres off an opponent's error.<\/p>\n

A completion rate of 68 per cent is to be expected in pre-season but there'll be hope it's not a consistent statistic when competition points are on the line. \ufeff<\/p>\n

Roger's still got it<\/strong><\/h3>\n

How good was it to see Roger Tuivasa-Sheck back in the NRL?<\/p>\n

Midway through the first half of the Warriors' clash against the Tigers, the former All Black found himself with space, 40 metres out from the line.<\/p>\n

\ufeffHe turned Charlie Staines inside out and advanced 15 metres before finding Marcelo Montoya inside and the Warriors almost scored.<\/p>\n

The link-up looked a little clunky but no doubt that combination will flourish with more game time.<\/p>\n

Tuivasa-Sheck then showed he's not just classy in attack, but in defence too.<\/p>\n

With the Tigers on the attack late in the first half he crunched Jahream Bula with a beautiful tackle, forcing a knock on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As expected, the NRL pre-season challenge offered up a scrappy start but there was plenty to get excited about from the first round. \ufeffThe Bulldogs […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":368855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368853"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=368853"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":368859,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368853\/revisions\/368859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/368855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=368853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=368853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=368853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}