NRL: Big expectations rest on small shoulders

Reporter·NZ Herald·

21 Sep, 2014 05:00 PM6 mins to read

Adam Reynolds and his goal kicking will again be key on Friday night . Photo / Getty Images

As it is throughout the 26 regular-season rounds, the hopes of the final four sides left in the NRL premiership race rest largely on the shoulders of their diminutive halfbacks.

South Sydney's Adam Reynolds, Sydney Roosters' Mitchell Pearce, Penrith's Jamie Soward and Canterbury's Trent Hodkinson are used to living their football lives under the microscope. Every time they pull on their No 7 jerseys it is expected they will guide their team around the park and steer them towards victory.

If their teams win they've done their job. The responsibility for defeat, however, also lies at their feet. It's the chief playmaker's lot in life.

Only two will survive this weekend's preliminary finals, so let's take a close look at the four money men hoping to take their team through to grand final glory on October 5.

Adam Reynolds - South Sydney Rabbitohs
The halfback under the most pressure, with fans desperate for their first grand final spot since 1971.

For a third consecutive year Souths are one game away, after blowing two golden opportunities in grand final qualifying matches in the past two seasons, against Canterbury in 2012 and Manly in 2013.

Reynolds, 24, copped more than his share of blame for those defeats. A hamstring injury forced him from the field in the Bulldogs encounter, while the Sea Eagles overturned a 0-14 deficit to win 30-20 last year.

Earlier this season rumours swirled that he was on the outer with Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire, with 22-year-old Luke Keary supposedly seen as the creative force needed to take them one step further.

A fiery round-25 clash against the Bulldogs saw Reynolds handed a one-game suspension for a dangerous tackle on Bulldogs rookie Moses Mbye. He was back for a quality performance in their 40-18 qualifying final win over Manly, scoring two tries and booting six goals - 20 points.

His goal kicking will again be key on Friday night but it remains to be seen whether he can help the foundation club fulfil the league fairytale that's been 43 years in the making.

Mitchell Pearce of the Roosters has been in the best form of his career of late. Photo / Getty Images

Mitchell Pearce - Sydney Roosters
The season's latter stages have seen Pearce in the best form of his career, coinciding with the Roosters' purple patch over the past six weeks.

Yet just a few months ago the 25-year-old's career was in free-fall after he was arrested for failing to leave a Kings Cross nightclub on the eve of the State of Origin series. That resulted in a one-match suspension and a $10,000 fine and cost him his place in the NSW Origin side.

The 2013 premiership winner's confidence took a battering yet he has re-emerged a stronger player. Guided by halfback authority Alan Bell, 71 - credited with developing Andrew Johns from a promising Newcastle junior into the eighth immortal - Pearce has refined his game. Composure and authority have replaced the erratic and inconsistent aspects of his play.

Pearce's running, passing and kicking game have all improved, as have his decision-making and defensive determination, but the challenge remains for him to maintain those standards and help guide the Roosters to back-to-back titles.

Jamie Soward of the Penrith Panthers continues to defy his critics. Photo / Getty Images

Jamie Soward - Penrith Panthers
The man most league fans love to hate continues to defy his critics as he drags the underrated Panthers to within touching distance of the Provan-Summons trophy.

Soward, 29, is in terrific form, with his pinpoint kicking, passing and organisational ability well in-synch with his running and ad-lib skills.

His contribution to last week's stunning 19-18 qualifying final win over the Roosters will live long in the memory and typified the ice-cool qualities of the 2010 Dragons premiership winner. Three goals and a wobbly but on-target field goal in the final minute got the Panthers home and put to bed the theory they were lame ducks after losing halfback and captain Peter Wallace to knee injury.

The former NSW Origin five-eighth has proven to be the buy of the season after Penrith supremo Phil Gould threw him an NRL lifeline late last year, following his acrimonious departure from St George-Illawarra.

A victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday would allow him the chance to cement his reputation as one of the best halves in the business, and give Penrith their first shot at grand final glory since 2003.

Write him off at your peril.

Trent Hodkinson of the Bulldogs celebrates after kicking the winning field goal in extra time against the Manly Sea Eagles in Sydney. Photo / Getty Images

Trent Hodkinson - Canterbury Bulldogs
Hodkinson has had a mixed year reflecting the Bulldogs' fortunes but his brilliance was on show in Saturday's 18-17 semifinal win over Manly.

He put aside a knee injury to nail two field goals in the 75th and 84th minutes to send the Sea Eagles packing and keep Canterbury on line for their second grand final appearance in three years.

The week before the 26-year-old scored a try and nailed four goals to play a leading role in their 28-4 rout of the star-studded Melbourne Storm, when most tipsters had picked the seventh-placed Doggies for an early playoffs exit.

It all seemed so unlikely through the late stages of the regular season, when Hodkinson struggled to show his class after returning to club land from a State of Origin series win with the Blues. He played a vital role in overturning the Maroons' eight-year-reign, scoring the only try and adding the extras off the boot to secure a game two and series win, before his subsequent NRL form dropped away.

The Bulldogs plunged from the top of the NRL ladder and were fortunate to remain in the top eight after losing six of their final eight matches.

Hodkinson and ill-disciplined Bulldogs five-eighth Josh Reynolds wore much of the blame but both have shown they are back in the right mindset at the most important time of the year. If the Bulldogs are to carry on their upward trajectory, you can bank on Hodkinson playing a leading role in their success.