Getting more line-breaks in 2009.

Much was said in 2008 about the Sharks poor attack. The fact that the Sharks came equal first on the ladder, but scored less tries and caused less line-breaks than any other club in 2008, was widely discussed in Rugby League circles.

An issue being discussed currently, is the effect of the additional policing of the ruck area resulting from the extra referee in 2009. It’s been suggested that faster play-the-balls will occur, and more metres will be gained from dummy-half runners.

It’s disappointing to Sharks fans that the two best dummy-half line breakers at the club over the last few seasons will not play for the Sharks in 2009. Isaac De Gois was a sensational dummy-half runner in 2007 and 2008, and prior to becoming a star representative player, Greg Bird was one of the top dummy-half line breakers in the NRL.

In addition, Kevin Kingston has left the club to join Parramatta, and he was also a good runner from dummy-half.

The two top hookers at the club currently are tackling-machine Corey Hughes, and the baby-faced assassin Terence Seu Seu. Although it’s great that such a clever, experienced, and tough player like Hughes has joined the Sharks, his most valuable input at the Sharks may not be to make long runs from dummy-half line breaks. Expect him to break the line close to the try-line, and score tries by exploiting tired and/or inexperienced defenders.

While representing Samoa in the recent Rugby League World Cup, Terence Seu Seu showed that he has developed a dummy-half combination with winger Misi Taulapapa. The ‘mouse-trap’ was used frequently by this pair, and added to the overall entertainment value of this highly under-rated tournament. Misi may get good yards from dummy-half running in 2009. He slotted into dummy-half from the wing a fair bit in 2008.

And with tutelage from Corey Hughes, who knows how much more improvement we will see from Seu Seu in 2009.

It is possible that a speedster like Brett Kearney may also exploit tired defenders with dummy-half runs in 2009, and Mitch Brown may do the same if called up to do NRL duty. In 2008, Brown showed dazzling speed when filling the fullback position in Kearney’s absence.