BY DAN

Another club and NRL debut has been announced, with the Canberra Raiders listing Matty Nicholson in their 17 for round two.

Before we get carried away with what it means, let’s celebrate the moment. Nicholson had come a long way, with a not-insignificant level of expectations. You’ve come a long way, baby. Coach Stuart has spoken about how close he was to playing before round one, and he evidently wasn’t lying. This is a vote of confidence in Nicholson, but also the club’s ability to identify and (to a lesser extent) develop talent.

He’s ostensibly replacing Joe Tapine in the lineup which is obviously not a like for like substitution. With Trey Mooney and Pasami Saulo watching from the extended bench begs the question: Will he play middle?

Stuart has mentioned before that he thinks Nicholson can handle multiple roles. The coach marvelled at Nicholson’s physical transformation this off-season and lauded his utility ability, specifically to cover the entirety of the backrow. It wouldn’t shock me if you saw him taking carries and making tackles through the middle.

There’s a difference between this and playing prop though. Sometimes numbers on the backs of jerseys are better considered indicators than positions. I think we have a tendency to oversimplify and equate positions into typologies, rather than categorising players around roles. If we shift our mindset a little we can see some middles are there to take two carries a set, win every ruck and create mayhem (Tapine, Papalii, Mooney, Ata). Others are there to cover big reps of defence, take the third hit up of a set and generally do a shit ton of dirty work (Saulo, Horse, Smithies). Some even have a role as a link man through the middle third (Horse, Smithies, and on occasion, Tom Starling).

I could see Stuart using Nicholson in either of the latter two roles. In what I’ve seen of him in England he’s a good passer, a willing defender, and has a great motor. He could tie up the middle defensively and keep the ball from getting stuck around the ruck. A role so clear is a good place to start your NRL career.

It’s a pragmatic response to getting Nicholson involved. Hosking, when healthy, has proven an excellent edge on both sides of the ball. Matt Timoko’s try showed that, both in the outside-in line he ran to tie in the outside defenders, and his ability to ensure the ball still made it to Timoko. Stuart no doubt recognises how good Hosking has been, and wants to make sure Nicholson doesn’t have to sit around too long to get a taste.

This may be the best way. The balance of playing him alongside Ata and Horse, or Papa and Smithies, seems fitting, depending on how operation stop Haas and Carrigan is going. It does make the middle potentially feel small (particularly in the face that the aforementioned behemoths) but with Horse, Smithies, and perhaps Nicholson on def side duty perhaps that’s enough to keep them in check.

And maybe that’s also led to Bert Hopoate’s inclusion. People will have their preferences here, but his work in yardage is unquestionable. He’ll take 20 odd runs in this game. They may just not be a need for a bruiser. Or at least, there’s less of a need.

It’s not the only option to involve Nicholson. There’s a myriad of ways that the Enlighsman can be used. There’s flexibility through the roster, including shifting Hosking or Sasagi to cover middle minutes and allowing Nicholson to cover edge. Horse’s flexibility to cover all three of the middle ‘categories listed above means that you can balance him out however you want. Make him be the only big alongside Sasagi and Nicholson and go full speed to tire out big middles.

It’ll be fun to play with. I hope Stuart tests the edges of what is possible. And of course I hope Matty goes well.

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