Defence doesn't attract punters to the stadium, nor does a good defensive read make it into the highlights packages too often. Nevertheless, it's arguably the most important part of the game.

The correlation between defence and premierships is undeniable.

Finish the season as one of the best defensive teams in the competition, and you're in the hunt for the premiership. It's not quite the same for the competitions elite attacking teams. It was only last year that the Raiders led the NRL in points per game and still couldn't make the Top 8.

While the percentage spread of where teams concede tries doesn't always tell the full story about which teams are good and bad defensively, it gives us an idea of where most can improve.

WHERE EACH NRL CLUB IS CONCEDING THEIR TRIES (AS OF ROUND 19)

Just as the case in where teams score their tries, where they've conceded can also depend on injuries, position changes and general cohesion.

Here we can see a round-by-round split of where each club has scored their tries throughout the season:

Broncos

Despite the turnover in centres and backrowers, the Broncos have remained fairly consistent across the field all season. Not necessarily good, but consistent nonetheless.

The noticeable change comes with the departure of James Roberts in Round 8. Up to 50% of Brisbane's tries had come through his right side at one point. Roberts isn't a defensive powerhouse, but he's not the turnstile those numbers suggest he is either. The gradual drop to 40.9% has been a result of an improved team defence and the cohesion built by not needing to juggle Roberts and others in the position. 

Bulldogs

The Bulldogs defence is ranked 14th in the NRL, so they conceded a few tries. It's down their left edge where the Dogs concede the most. Only the Gold Coast have allowed more tries through on the left the Canterbury's 31 this season.

Will Hopoate does a job on the right side and remains one of the most underappreciated players in the NRL. However, Kerrod Holland and Marcelo Montoya have acted as turnstile's on the left. 

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Cowboys

The power of cohesion is clear in how the percentage of tries the Cowboys concede on the right has dropped in recent weeks. 

North Queensland have been forced to turn over their backline almost every week this season. However, Tom Opacic and Kyle Feldt have been able to string a few games together on the right side recently. The Cowboys have now conceded the same number of tries on the right as they have the left (24).

Dragons

Despite the overall percentage of tries conceded on the right coming down from 58.8% in Round 4 to 41.3% by the end of Round 19, no team has allowed more tries down that side than the Dragons (31). Perhaps more worryingly, only one club has allowed more tries to come through the middle than the Red V's 22 for the season.

Eels

That one club to allow more tries through the middle than the Dragons are the Eels. They've conceded 23 tries through the guts in 2019. It's not all on him, but opposing sides have singled out the 86kg and 175cm Reed Mahoney on the line more and more as the season has progressed.

You can see Issac Luke pick him out as he approaches dummy half before running straight over him here:

Knights

While Ramien's defence is being used as a reason Knights fans are happy to see him leave, his side of the field isn't noticeably bad overall. Most teams concede more tries on the right than they do the left simply because most attacking shapes favour right-to-left shifts.

The Knights have allowed 25 tries in on the right side this season - sixth-most in the NRL and equal with the Sea Eagles, Broncos and Storm. The 41.6% spread of their tries coming down that side is a touch above the 39.9% average across the competition. 

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Panthers

With how much the Panthers have been forced to move different edges in and out of the playing 17 each week, it's difficult to get a grasp on where they are at defensively. It's no surprise to see a fairly even spread across the season.

With Brent Naden locking down a centre spot, Dean Whare returning from injury and a little more consistency in the faces filling the 11 and 12 jerseys, we can expect to see the percentage numbers jump and fall over the next few weeks. 

Rabbitohs

The left centre spot has been a nightmare for the Rabbitohs this season. However, the return of Braidon Burns has seen the steady rise of tries conceded on that side of the field plateau. 

Only the Bulldogs, Cowboys and Titans have conceded more than the Rabbitohs' 23 tries on the left, but a healthy Burns, as well as the return on Sam Burgess, should result in an improvement.

Raiders

The Raiders continue to fly under the radar as the second-best defensive team in the NRL. Allowing just 14.7 points per game in 2019, they've made significant improvements to a defence that let 22.5 points per game through in 2018.

They've allowed the second-fewest tries through the middle (9) with no team in the NRL recording fewer than the 14 tries they've allowed to be scored down the right side. 

Roosters

Few clubs could navigate the injuries and suspensions the Roosters have throughout 2019 and still only concede 49 tries in 18 games (third-fewest in the NRL). But then again, not every club is as expertly coached as the Roosters.

Trent Robinson once again has the Chooks defence humming with no clear issues across the field. If you want to get picky, the 34.6% of their tries coming through the middle is the highest percentage in the competition.

Sea Eagles

The Sea Eagles have taken ownership of the 5th spot on the ladder by conceding the fifth-fewest tries of all 16 teams this season (55). It's a remarkable achievement for a side many claimed was sending out a reserve grade backline way back in Round 1. 

That significant spike in the percentage of tries conceded on Manly's right side coincides with Brad Parker being left out of the first-choice 17 and Dylan Walker returning to the team. However, after a few weeks of consistent selections - and Parker playing the last two rounds - Manly's edge defence is back in order.

Sharks

For better or worse, where Cronulla concedes their tries has remained relatively consistent all season.

While their recent results and position on the ladder don't suggest the Sharks have held firm defensively this season, the 57 tries they've allowed in so far is the sixth-fewest in the NRL. They're back to full strength and a chance at further improvement. It may be too little too late, though.

Storm

It's not so much where the Storm concedes their tries, rather, how many.

More specifically, how few.

The 12.6 points per game and 37 total tries the Storm have allowed through their defensive line are far and away the best numbers in the NRL. 

Titans

Where the Titans have conceded their tries paints a picture of why Garth Brennan is now without a job.

The Titans' left side has let in 36 tries this season; the most on that side, and the most for any area across all 16 teams. Despite every footy fan being able to identify the most significant issue, it took Brennan ten rounds to move Tyrone Peachey out of the centres. 

At the end of the day, the spread of where the Titans concede their tries means very little. They're allowing too many to be run through them overall to be competitive.

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Warriors

It may come as a surprise to some that the number of tries the Warriors have conceded on the left side hasn't trended upward since Kodi Nikorima's arrival. His struggles in defence have been well-documented over the years. However, opposing teams haven't been able to pick him out of the defensive line quite so frequently since he joined the Warriors.

For all the heat he cops for his lack of runs with the football, Adam Blair deserves credit for how effective the Warriors left side defence has been this season. Only the Roosters and Storm have conceded fewer tries on that side all year.

Wests Tigers

The spread of where the Tigers concede their tries doesn't sway too far away from the NRL averages. It's the fact that only five teams have allowed more tries through them than Wests 63 in 2019 that is the issue. The NRL-high 28 they've had poured through their right side defence is the major hand-brake on their finals hopes.

They're searching for a Top 8 spot and have a nice enough remaining draw to get there. Locking down the right side will go a long way to ending Wests finals drought.

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