BY DAN

Matty Nicholson wasn’t named in the Raiders team for their first round win against the Warriors and if you were anything like me you were a little surprised and a little disappointed. But it shouldn’t be disheartening. That he missed out speaks more to the strength of Canberra at the moment than any weakness on his behalf. He’s on his way.

Many, including us expected Nicholson to play from the get go. He’d started on the right edge in both trial games, playing mostly with the first string. While he hadn’t been a revelation, he’d seemed solid enough in attack, and got through a mountain of work in defence. The prospect of someone so young being so effective on the right edge was exciting. It had been so long since the Raiders had depth at the position that having an international to plug into the role seemed a sure thing.

That became seemingly impregnable logic when Zac Hosking’s third injury in twelve months kept him out of pre-season. But alas Nicholson wasn’t picked, and wasn’t even named in the extended squad. It was disappointing, for him and us, but not a reason to panic, and was noted as such by Coach Stuart in the post-game press conference after the victory over the Warriors.

Not picking Matty Nicholson was a really big call for me. Simi Sasagi he handles a number of positions. That’s why I gave him the bench spot….he’s got great utility value. I had to make a call between Zac and Matty Nicholson…Matty Nicholson is a really good footy player too…who is going to play NRL at this club very soon.

Stuart noted that Hosking’s experience and Sasagi’s utility were big parts of the decision. Without wanting to sound like a psycho, the way Stick said ‘very soon’ sounded literal. As in maybe next round. At the very least it should ameliorate any vestiges of concern that Nicholson had a downside risk for the Milk. Stuart seems clear to me. Him not making the first grade team is a reflection of squad strenght, not his weakness.

I also wonder if our interpretation of previous comments he’d made about the Englishman’s progress were wrong. Prior to the trials Stick lauded the physical transformation Nicholson had made since he joined the club, and flagged that he’d expect even more to occur between now and next season, noting:

He’s put on some really good size since he’s been here. You can see he hasn’t done a lot of work in the gymnasium. I’m really looking forward to seeing what his shape will look like this time next year after two good-preseasons in the gym

Stick to Sky Sports on February 5

At the time we took it as a validation of that progress, but perhaps we should have noted the eyes towards the future as a scale of the makeover required. The transition from Super League to NRL is a tough one, and our expectations that he would slip immediately into the side was perhaps too high. But that Stuart thinks there’s more to his physical transformation and he’s nearly ready for first grade. That’s pretty exciting.

While the coach said it was an either him or Zac, I suspect the decision might be to include him instead of Sasagi at some point. Nicholson isn’t a one trick pony, and Stuart noted his utility in the pre-season:

Matty’s got the ability to play on the edge and play in the middle, which is from that utility value is very handy for a coach, given the importance of the interchange in the bench.

Sasagi is evidently ahead of Nicholson in Stuart’s estimation. Taking the boss at face value suggests it’s about coverage of the edge and centres, and halves. While I wouldn’t expect Nicholson to do that, Canberra actually have that mix of options with or without Sasagi. Hosking can cover centre. Weekes can cover halves. Savage and Kris can cover fullback. That’s not to say Sasagi isn’t deservedly ahead of Nicholson, but rather if that’s the case then utility shouldn’t necessarily be the reason.

But whatever the reasoning Stuart’s comments in the post-game suggest we’re not too far off the mark. So rather than panic, patience is a virtue here. He is not far away, and with improvement in his bones then there are good things to come. Nicholson may not have cracked the line up yet, but we’ve only just begun.

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