by Paul Cook –

“We’ve only reached about 55% of our capability so far,” Sydney Rays head coach Simon Cron tells me as we reflect on his side’s unbeaten start to the 2016 NRC. An ominous sign for the rest of the competition then, should they unearth the rest of that potential over the coming weeks.

Having broken the mould round after round with his new charges – the first time the Rays have won their opening match of the NRC, the first time the Rays have won back-to-back games, the first time they have beaten the Rams – Cron can afford himself a smile of some satisfaction at his work thus far. But in keeping with the ‘winners’ mentality that turned a tail-spinning Northern Suburbs side into Shute Shield champions in less than two years, he is far from content.

“Defensive-wise we’re going well but attacking-wise, we’ve got a way to go yet. That’s got to do with rhythm and role clarity, we’re just not quite finding that rhythm yet, and by that I mean support play and running depth,” Cron explains. “We’re a bit shallow on the outside, putting too much pressure on the inside passes, and we’re running when we should have passed on a number of occasions.

“Last weekend against Queensland Country we probably had four occasions when we had a four-on-two or a three-on-one, and we ran it instead of passing it, or we kicked it. It’s about identifying those opportunities so as a coach, I’ve got to try and help those guys to see that as an attacking option rather than not using the ball.”

Sitting proudly atop the NRC ladder ahead of what shapes up as a pivotal round four, it is this quest for perfection from their talented young coach that the Rays will need to aspire to if they are to be considered genuine title contenders, particularly when you look at what lies in store for them over the next month. They will require a continuation of their record-breaking achievements if they hope to be involved at the pointy end of the season for the first time.

Starting with this afternoon’s top-of-the-table clash with the NSW Country Eagles at Pittwater Rugby Park, they go on to face reigning Premiers Brisbane City; last year’s runners-up, the UC Vikings; and the team with the second best winning percentage in the history of the competition behind City, Melbourne Rising. All four are teams over which the Rays are yet to taste victory in their short history.

Having somewhat misfired as the North Harbour Rays in the first two seasons of Australia’s fledgling third tier competition, with a meagre tally of four wins from 16 matches certainly not helped by a an epidemic-like run of injuries, Cron, the affable kiwi with the midas touch in clubland, was given the task of turning things around for a side at the next level. First item on the agenda was team culture and persona, and in selecting Waratahs scrumhalf Matt Lucas as his captain, he has the perfect on-field foil.

“The whole squad, all 33 players, have been selected on their personality type and how mobile they are and how they play the game, so there’s not one of them that I don’t think fits into that,” explains Cron. “It’s a mobile team that can smash people and that can go for 90 minutes because that’s the whole point, that’s the modern game. But you need everyone to buy in to that culture.

Head coach Simon Cron reasserts the message after the win over Perth Spirit – Photo: Clay Cross / Sportspics

“That’s led by a leadership group who implement the stuff that we need to implement, and then go out and play, and in that regard, Matty’s been great. We’ve got to know each other pretty well over the last six weeks and part of both of us building that relationship, was understanding each other’s expectations. I’ve got quite high expectations from this playing group and Matty suits that, because he’s got high expectations of himself, and he’s been really good at relaying those expectations onto the playing group.”

Perhaps one of Lucas’ biggest challenges as the new skipper, was coming in as a Manly player into an understandably Norths-centric squad given their Premiership exploits, and integrating his fellow Marlins and Rats and a lone Highlander in Jack Dempsey, around that core group and harnessing that success for their own gain as a team. He’s also revelling under the ambition and belief of his new coach.

“It’s a different structure to the way it’s been the last couple of years but it’s really good,” he affirmed. “Crono’s brought in a big element of intensity and professionalism, and having the success he had with Norths, trying to roll in a bit off the back of that momentum. Their players are very keen to prove themselves off the back of that Shute Shield success and see what’s on the horizon ahead, and this whole squad wants a bit of a taste of it.

“I can’t speak highly enough about how the group has come together in a short period of time and got around each other and all bought in to what we’re after, and on a personal level, I’m extremely excited about this competition. To play with the group that we’ve got, while we’re not the star-studded outfits that are around, it’s an extremely skilled group with a lot to prove.”

A look back at the three wins that have put them on top of the table, validates Cron’s appraisal of where this side is currently at and how much untapped fuel is left in the tank. Faced with three different challenges, they found a way to come through and get the job done each time, but they are yet to put together anything like a cohesive 80 minute performance.

Kicking-off on a sunny Sunday afternoon at North Sydney Oval against the Western Sydney Rams, a bit of ring rustiness and a few inexperienced combinations on the opening weekend of a new season were always likely to induce a sporadic effort. But after a surprisingly cohesive and structured opening quarter led to a 24-0 lead, they became sloppy and opened the door for a refreshingly potent Rams side to hit back and trail 38-30 with only 12 to go, before kicking for home with a late flourish to run out 50-30 winners.

“Attacking-wise, to score 50pts is pleasing, and to get the bonus point after the bell is even more pleasing because culturally, that’s what we’re about, fighting to the enth degree in the last minute. So that was good, but you don’t want to let 30pts in at the other end,” says Cron.

“Some of those were really soft points and it was more of a connection issue than anything else, getting those relationships connection-wise. It is hard, it’s two weeks that we had the squad together but look, the Rams are a good side. They played well, they were tight and strong and because of our defensive connections, they got too many offloads, and they shouldn’t have.”

Flyhalf Angus Sinclair slots another 2pts against the Rams at the iconic North Sydney Oval – Photo: Getty Images

“There was a huge element of the unknown in terms of us, and also our opposition,” recalls Lucas. “To bring a group together in a little over two weeks and get through a lot of content, there was always going to be some good things and a few things missing the mark, but plenty came out of it for us to work on and take forward.

“The Rams are very good at unstructured, turnover footy and offloading so we, to a degree, allowed them to play on top of us and we struggled. They had a lot of really exciting outside backs that put us to the sword a bit at times, and some of those big forwards carried the ball really well and with ball skills so, they were pretty hard to handle at times. But we did handle it and ended up with a bonus point, which is all you can really ask for.”

Backing up only six days later, they took on a Perth Spirit side led by Jonno Lance under the Friday night lights, again at the iconic North Sydney Oval. But a deluge of rain across Sydney in the preceding 24 hours meant a change of approach to adjust to the tricky conditions.

Slow out of the blocks this time, they trailed an impressive looking Spirit side for much of the first half before edging back into contention before the break at 8-6 down. A tactical tweak from the coaching staff – moving flyhalf Angus Sinclair to fullback and inserting Sam Lane at 10 – enabled the side to control and dictate the game after the restart, and with Spirit running on empty as the game progressed, the Rays turned the screw. Milking penalties, upping the pace and finding holes, they struck with clinical precision for three more tries to grab another maximum points haul with a 28-8 victory.

“They were hitting hard in that first quarter and we weren’t playing our structures and we started doing things that we don’t usually do,” Cron remembers. “We lost three launch plays and our errors kept giving them momentum, and even before half-time, we still weren’t playing the sort of rugby we want to. We lacked cohesiveness and there were a few teething problems so we had a good chat at half-time about going back to what we know to do, getting back into some of our structures and patterns and stop doing X, Y and Z, and in the second half, they did that.

“The reason I put Angus to 15 and brought Sam Lane on was to keep two game managers on the field and be able to open up both sides with the addition of a left-footed kicker, and Angus did that down the left hand side for a try. Laney’s got a massive kick and great tackle technique and he and Angus complement each other, they’re both great players. We train deep enough with these guys that we have to be confident in all of them.”

“There was always the potential for it to be a bit of a dogfight with the weather that day and the amount of rain we’d had but the ground actually held up really well, it was just a bit greasy on top,” says Lucas. “We asked for commitment from the boys in what we could control and being able to bounce back from any errors and to their credit, they did it really well and we got away with another bonus point, in the wet, against a very good side.

“They’re led around by Jonno at 10 and he’s a class player, and they did control that opening stanza. But on the other side of that, we weathered it really well. We let in a try early but that was it. We tried to play a lot of footy and we were quite good at times but what was really good was our defensive effort, which was quite a turnaround from the week before. The boys stuck to our processes for the entire game and while we didn’t convert as much as we would have liked to with the possession and territory we had, we didn’t ease up on them, we stuck to our guns and got our bonus point.”

Winger Harry Jones breaks Perth’s Spirit with a damaging run – Photo: Getty Images

Last weekend saw the Sydney side enjoy their first away trip, up to the Gold Coast and the fields of Bond University to take on a Queensland Country side boosted by the inclusions of Rob Simmons and Ben Daley. A lacklustre start from both sides, in what was inclement weather for the sunshine state, left an un-NRC like 0-0 on the scoreboard after almost half an hour before the home side ran in the opening score.

That seemed to light the touch-paper for the visitors, who suddenly found their attacking shoes to lead 16-8 at half-time, somewhat against the run of play. They kicked again in the second stanza, two more tries taking them out to a healthy 30-8 advantage before they switched off to allow Country two late scores and ensure a nail-biting finish, eventually hanging on for a 30-22 win.

“We did exactly what we planned to do for the first minute, which was get the ball back of kick-off, and having done that that we started to play a little bit of structure,” a frustrated Cron reflects. “We started the first three or four phases well but then it was just a couple of poor passes that gave the ball back to them, and that’s down to guys who are still learning, making the wrong decisions. But Con Foley getting knocked out and Angus Sinclair getting a yellow card didn’t really help to be honest.

“When we do our roles and stick to our processes, we score tries, and quickly. We had something like 36% possession in the first half but went in at half-time 16-8 up, and if you showed anybody not watching the game the statistics, I’m sure they’d be asking how we were ahead. But we train a lot around our reaction time and our ability to support each other and create tries.

“The way that we’re trying to play means that we can score in under four phases, or maintain possession and start to move the ball a lot. But in the early stages of learning how to attack this way, you can have a high turnover rate off the back of individual errors – it’s a bit horse before the cart or the cart before the horse. We’re coaching a lot of ball skill stuff, and making sure our pass is accurate and our line running is accurate, is a part of being able to attack in the way we want.”

Loose forward James Brown runs in for the Rays against Queensland Country last weekend – Photo: QRU/Sportography

That attention to detail and refusal to accept anything less than the optimal best from anyone in any situation, is infectious, and is driving the Rays on, hopefully towards bigger and better things. Three from three is a great start but as Cron will tell you, it’s how you finish that matters, and with four major roadblocks in their path before they can even think about finals, they have a long way still to go.

First up are the NSW Country Eagles, also unbeaten and providers of the most complete performance of the competition so far when they dismantled a star-studded UC Vikings side by 60pts in Canberra in round two. The Rays impressive tally of tackles from their three matches – 424, the highest of the eight NRC teams – may well get a significant top-up this afternoon, but coach Cron is looking for his side to up their execution around the park and limit the need for another attritional defensive effort.

“We need to be as accurate a possible at the breakdown and we have a one bullet, one kill philosophy in that regard – you’ve got to be able to hit what’s in front of you,” he says. “It’s about limiting the numbers that we have at the attacking breakdown so that we don’t end up short in attack, making sure that we are accurate and that we don’t over-commit for no reason, and that we get quick ruck-speed.

“We need to be more accurate with our catch and pass because they’ll swoop on any errors we make. They play a pretty quick game, similar to us, so I think we need to make sure our error rate is really, really low and we cannot afford to keep making as many tackles as we are.

“They’re all good sides and they’re four big games,” he concludes. “But every team’s a good side in this comp to be honest, and full of a lot of very talented individuals. We’re all about ‘team’ so we’ve got to keep developing as a team, but there’s certainly no fear there. We’re here to win.”

So far, so good.