Dummy-half for dummies: Blayke Brailey’s yin and yang as Cronulla bid to unlock rare attacking gifts

“He’s a great player so I was happy to play 14 or even NSW Cup if need be,” Brailey says.

McInnes too has been prepared for plenty of change too, given since he put pen to paper Cronulla has wound up with a new, first-time head coach and several more high profile recruits joining their ranks.

What may have just caught him by surprise though was the footballing brain alongside him.

“I think he’s one of the most skilful minds that I’ve seen,” McInnes says.

“His ability to pass and his movement and the way he holds up defenders, it’s unbelievable. The sky is the limit for him.”

In 2019 Cronulla had made the difficult decision to keep Brailey over his older brother, Jayden.

Many of the game’s best judges agreed that the Sharks had made the right call having watched Blayke carve up oppositions in junior football, his ability to break open the defensive line and capitalise on quick play the balls catching the eye.

But in his first two seasons as a first choice dummy half in the NRL, Brailey hasn’t been able to show off his attack, impressing teammates instead with his willingness to throw his body around in defence.

Last year Brailey led the Sharks defensive efforts with 37 per game, ranking in the NRL’s top 10 according to the Fox Sports Lab. Those sort of numbers took a toll on his body as he learned to cope with the rigours of first-grade footy.

“At times I did feel pretty run down,” Brailey says. “Towards the end there, it did get pretty sore on the body and the shoulders. I’d like to make less tackles but it’s part of the job.”

Not that there’s any sympathy from his captain Wade Graham.

“I don’t know if he knows, but he’s a hooker,” Graham laughs. “He can probably expect to make plenty more tackles this year as well.”

Under new coach Craig Fitzgibbon, Brailey wants to take his attacking game to the next level in 2022. Fitzgibbon in turn has been putting more pieces around the young No.9 to help him prosper.

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After two years of being the main, and at times only, dummy-half in Cronulla’s ranks, Brailey suddenly has pressure to maintain pole position given McInnes’ dummy-half credentials and the arrival of Jayden Berrell, who was dubbed the Q Cup’s best player last season.

“You have to have a great 30-man roster to win the comp and they’re definitely applying a lot of pressure,” Brailey says. “They’re training well and I think it makes me want to work harder and play better.”

While McInnes was signed as a lock under John Morris, in just one off-season the club has already seen a return in his ability to mentor Brailey. Having played the majority of his 130 NRL games at dummy-half, McInnes is well-versed in balancing defensive and attacking output.

“You can run as much as you want but if the structure and the system and the players around you aren’t there, and you’ve got no support, what’s going to come off the back of that?” McInnes says.

“The best hookers like Cookie (Damien Cook) for example, and Cam Smith when he was playing, don’t get me wrong they’re outstanding players, but it’s the players pushing off them.

“There were times where I’ve seen him (Brailey) in the last couple of years that he has so much to give and it’s about letting him do that.

“For Blayke, it’ll come for him and the way we play, more opportunities should be there. And he’ll take them because he’s smart, he’s fit and he has it. For me, there’s no urgency for his attack to go through the roof because his attack, facilitating, everything is there.”

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Across the last two seasons, Brailey has played 44 matches for six tries and nine try assists. Throw in nine linebreak assists and three 40/20s and it shows that he can have an impact in the NRL with ball in hand, but the 23-year-old knows he’s “still got a long way to go with my attack.”

“I want to run more and kick more,” Brailey says. “Hopefully, I can bring that out in the next few weeks because it’s something I enjoy doing. I want to bring that to the side.”

A four-year contract extension this off-season makes it abundantly clear – Brailey’s performances have been more than satisfactory for the Cronulla hierarchy, while Fitzgibbon too says he is exactly where he needs to be at his age.

“You don’t get a free hit in the first couple of years, you’ve got to learn your craft, grind, and go the hard way about it and it takes a while,” Fitzgibbon says.

“I think it will develop naturally. It’s part of developing into an NRL player. Once you get comfortable then you can express yourself. And he’s only young, he’s still getting used to the rigours of week in week out NRL. It’s just a natural progression.

“The players trust him and they love playing alongside him. He’s an infectious guy and important for our team.”

The first signs of Brailey in Fitzgibbon’s system point to a touch more freedom to be at his attacking best in 2022. It’s an opportunity he doesn’t plan on letting pass by.

“He (Fitzgibbon) said whenever I get the opportunity I should take it,” Brailey says.

“We’ve worked on at training when I run, a lot of the boys pushing with me so I’ll have a lot of different options there to run myself or pass the ball. Hopefully, I can bring it out at the start of the season.”