Backline Solutions for 2018 all about selection bravery

[The Damo]

Mate, we have seen what stats mean this year. On stats Dragons should have been top 4!
I would take Roberts or Moga any day over Lafai....

Indeed they should and lafai was a big reason for those top 4 stats. Without them, we'd have been quite a few places lower. Also if he had kahu or Oates outside him you could add plenty more to his stats. Nightingale had 18 line breaks this year thanks innlarge part to lafai. Kahu had 5.

 

[Crush]

Indeed they should and lafai was a big reason for those top 4 stats. Without them, we'd have been quite a few places lower. Also if he had kahu or Oates outside him you could add plenty more to his stats. Nightingale had 18 line breaks this year thanks innlarge part to lafai. Kahu had 5.

It sounds like you are a lafai fan. Fair enough, someone has to be I guess.
Maybe I am stuck in 2016 when he was the worst centre in the game for 16 rounds.
He was good in the first 10 rounds this year I admit...

 

[The Damo]

It sounds like you are a lafai fan. Fair enough, someone has to be I guess.
Maybe I am stuck in 2016 when he was the worst centre in the game for 16 rounds.
He was good in the first 10 rounds this year I admit...

Yeah that's me, ah well, a prophet is without honour in his homeland.

 

[Dragon Blood]

With the wealth of experience we have in the halves and forwards going into season 2018 and the dearth of pace in our backline maybe and I say maybe the solution to all our speed problems lie within ..
The potential backline below has pace and youth.

1. Field
2. Dufty
3. Aitken
4. Lafai
5. MANN

The back 3 of Field, MANN and Dufty lack size but the pace is phenomenal.. As I said it will need some bravery from the coach to drop Mcdonald and Nightingale but the results could have a min of 5 year legacy due to the players youth.

Thoughts?

Aiken and Laughfia don't sit well with my bowel movements at the moment, more diohreah, than shit. Nono McMuffin is pure diohre.

Flow (love the dude) should fake an ACL injury in the Charity Shield and keep his worth through compo insurance and stay on as ambassord of the club and mentor the young guns coming through. Love ya Nighty but it's time to hang em up.

 

[giboz71]

Having watched some 20's and Cutters games this year, we have a plethora of outside backs we can choose from.

Names like Herbert, Garrick, Lomax, Marsters, Sailor. And Field could play wing in a pinch.

Yes they are all young and unproven, but guys like Lafai, Nighty and Nene are hardly going to strike fear in other backlines. And we're flat out trying to keep up with the speed machines that other teams have.

End of the day, what we currently have should not stop us giving some of these young guys a go, much like the Raiders did with Nick Cotric. And how old was Vunivalu when he made his debut????

 

[watatank]

The back 3 in the OP would be the weakest in the competition

 

[mickeylane]

The back 3 in the OP would be the weakest in the competition

So everyone understands the nature of my post it was to put into perspective all this talk of give our juniors a go etc.. Instead of recruiting..

Its elementary really - Field , and maybe even Dufty are a year or two from being true grit first graders and MANN is definitely not a frontline 5/8, half, centre , FB or winger if anything he's a good player that can fill in whenever there are injuries .. So it seems like everyone agrees on here that a back three of Dufty, Field and MANN or even any of our other youngsters would be one of the weakest in the NRL then I'd hope everyone stops saying we don't need to buy at least 2 top class backs and that our juniors are good enough to play first grade because it's obvious from the consensus theyRe not!
So let's just shut up and urge the club to buy the 2 backline players we need to really contest a top 4 position next year..

 

[getsmarty]

So everyone understands the nature of my post it was to put into perspective all this talk of give our juniors a go etc.. Instead of recruiting..

Its elementary really - Field , and maybe even Dufty are a year or two from being true grit first graders and MANN is definitely not a frontline 5/8, half, centre , FB or winger if anything he's a good player that can fill in whenever there are injuries .. So it seems like everyone agrees on here that a back three of Dufty, Field and MANN or even any of our other youngsters would be one of the weakest in the NRL then I'd hope everyone stops saying we don't need to buy at least 2 top class backs and that our juniors are good enough to play first grade because it's obvious from the consensus theyRe not!
So let's just shut up and urge the club to buy the 2 backline players we need to really contest a top 4 position next year..

With all Due respect Mickey, the Biggest problem is the coach and the board who put him there.
He will be under pressure next year and he will resort to what he has done in the past...which is play "Experienced " first graders over rookies. ( eg McCrone this year / B. Harrison /Marketo etc in the past ) Look at how he treated Leilua/Host this year. Also Mann was under utilised.
I think Millward has done a good job signing up the bulk of our juniors but without a coach to bring them through and improve their game it all seems rather hopeless.

 

[2010]

Ok I admit I am a fan of Lafai. Watching him this season it is obvious he is a class player. A decent coach would see him reach his potential

 

[denis preston]

Not to disagree with your other points, but Bennett might well choose Lafai, the shit he gets on here is way out of proportion.
Lafai Vs Moga vs Roberts
Try assists
L 11 M 5 R 5
Line break assists
L 18 M 10 R 2
Tries
L 7 M 9 R 17
Tackle breaks
L 75 M 82 R 98
Missed tackles
L 31 M 45 R 36
Line breaks
L 9 M 10 R 14
Offloads
L 64 M 19 R 17
Hit ups
L 17 M 10 R 6
All run metres
L 3173 M 3673 R 3081
Minutes
L 1913 M 2007 R 1922
They're different style of players, but hard to make a case he's contributed less than either of those two.

Agree , with the right players inside and outside of him he could be a lethal asset.Just go back to our last game and Dufty's try as an example of how he should be used. To be effective he needs to offload to a player with speed.

 

[Belta]

I've watched a few games with Mann and despite his size he doesn't appear to get ragged dolled, I think on current form he could take Macdonalds wing and have more impact. Dufty and Field could both be considered in the fullback role, I also like someone's earlier game plan of giving Hunt a short stint in hooker and putting Field in the halves as the defence tires, mixing it up and not being so predictable could really pay dividends. Hunt could give a different dimension in the hooking role and Field would be a handful amongst tired forwards, especially if Dufty chimes in...many options next year...I think the potential with the likes of Marsters, Lomax, Sailor, Herbert, Garrick etc then maybe we're as far off the mark as some people may think, just need good management of these talents....

 

[watatank]

So everyone understands the nature of my post it was to put into perspective all this talk of give our juniors a go etc.. Instead of recruiting..

Its elementary really - Field , and maybe even Dufty are a year or two from being true grit first graders and MANN is definitely not a frontline 5/8, half, centre , FB or winger if anything he's a good player that can fill in whenever there are injuries .. So it seems like everyone agrees on here that a back three of Dufty, Field and MANN or even any of our other youngsters would be one of the weakest in the NRL then I'd hope everyone stops saying we don't need to buy at least 2 top class backs and that our juniors are good enough to play first grade because it's obvious from the consensus theyRe not!
So let's just shut up and urge the club to buy the 2 backline players we need to really contest a top 4 position next year..

Like it or not, the direction the club seems to have taken is that the younger players will be good enough to come through over the next couple of years. So there isn't a desperate need to go buying anyone. That may or may not be good enough for some people but that's what's happening.

Good luck with 'urging' the club.

 

[getsmarty]

I've watched a few games with Mann and despite his size he doesn't appear to get ragged dolled, I think on current form he could take Macdonalds wing and have more impact. Dufty and Field could both be considered in the fullback role, I also like someone's earlier game plan of giving Hunt a short stint in hooker and putting Field in the halves as the defence tires, mixing it up and not being so predictable could really pay dividends. Hunt could give a different dimension in the hooking role and Field would be a handful amongst tired forwards, especially if Dufty chimes in...many options next year...I think the potential with the likes of Marsters, Lomax, Sailor, Herbert, Garrick etc then maybe we're as far off the mark as some people may think, just need good management of these talents....

All great suggestions but probably over the coaches head. LOL

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

If Dufty doesn't resolve his "Quinlan-esque" problems of: a) allowing the ball to bounce, and b) taking the option of passing first instead of taking a "kick return", he shouldn't last the 2018 season.

Due to his reluctance to bring the ball back strongly, in addition to a lack of bulk/height, Dufty would be an unmitigated disaster on the wing.

Dugan will be missed.

 

[Frank Facer]

If Dufty doesn't resolve his "Quinlan-esque" problems of: a) allowing the ball to bounce, and b) taking the option of passing first instead of taking a "kick return", he shouldn't last the 2018 season.

Due to his reluctance to bring the ball back strongly, in addition to a lack of bulk/height, Dufty would be an unmitigated disaster on the wing.

Dugan will be missed.

Dugan won't be missed at fullback. Not my me anyway.

I will definitely be doing a poll next year, to see how many people miss Dugan.

 

[Carlton]

Dugan won't be missed at fullback. Not my me anyway.

I will definitely be doing a poll next year, to see how many people miss Dugan.

Well I'll get in early and post my vote now.

He will be missed, we were winning the comp while he was fullback and his kick returns supported the "power" game we were playing. Dufty has a long way to go before he is a top flight fullback.

 

[saintm]

Well I'll get in early and post my vote now.

He will be missed, we were winning the comp while he was fullback and his kick returns supported the "power" game we were playing. Dufty has a long way to go before he is a top flight fullback.

Agreed he needs to work and bulk up... as I've stated on here before the passing of the ball on kick returns is definitely coached. I've watched him come through the ranks and he has always been a strong returner of the ball. The blame with that part of his game lies with Mary.

 

[Frank Facer]

Well I'll get in early and post my vote now.

He will be missed, we were winning the comp while he was fullback and his kick returns supported the "power" game we were playing. Dufty has a long way to go before he is a top flight fullback.

We were also leading the comp with Mcrone at halfback. lol

We had Dugan for 4 and half years and made the semi's once while he was playing for us. His tally of tries and try assists has always been one of the worst in the comp. He is also injury prone. He would be one of the slowest fullbacks in the comp and he still has trouble passing the ball. Dugan has been handicapping our attack for the last 4 years and taking up too much cap space. We will be better off without him.

 

[j0nesy]

Indeed they should and lafai was a big reason for those top 4 stats. Without them, we'd have been quite a few places lower. Also if he had kahu or Oates outside him you could add plenty more to his stats. Nightingale had 18 line breaks this year thanks innlarge part to lafai. Kahu had 5.

Good points. Lafai has a lot of potential and had some very good moments this season. However I believe he lacks consistency and needs to learn to be more selective with his offloads. He has a lot of silly errors in him.

 

[Old Timer]

So everyone understands the nature of my post it was to put into perspective all this talk of give our juniors a go etc.. Instead of recruiting..

Its elementary really - Field , and maybe even Dufty are a year or two from being true grit first graders and MANN is definitely not a frontline 5/8, half, centre , FB or winger if anything he's a good player that can fill in whenever there are injuries .. So it seems like everyone agrees on here that a back three of Dufty, Field and MANN or even any of our other youngsters would be one of the weakest in the NRL then I'd hope everyone stops saying we don't need to buy at least 2 top class backs and that our juniors are good enough to play first grade because it's obvious from the consensus theyRe not!
So let's just shut up and urge the club to buy the 2 backline players we need to really contest a top 4 position next year..

How about you just speak for yourself.
It is long overdue for our speedsters from within our ranks to be given their chance to be the next big thing.
Penrith, Chooks, Storm, Cowboys, Eels, have all got their youngsters firing and as they are 5 of the 6 teams left in the comp how about we take a leaf out of their book, oh by the way Broncos decided to go back to old hands and lost so maybe a lesson in that as well?