Your Teams 2012 ;1,7,6,9 ?

[firechild]

I don't think there's much of a gap at all between Manly and Melbourne but the gap between them and the other 14 clubs is quite obvious. All 8 members of these 2 spines have played either origin or test level and between them have plenty of awards (Dally M, international player awards and premiership rings) to show for their careers.

 

[thorson1987]

I don't think there's much of a gap at all between Manly and Melbourne but the gap between them and the other 14 clubs is quite obvious. All 8 members of these 2 spines have played either origin or test level and between them have plenty of awards (Dally M, international player awards and premiership rings) to show for their careers.

This pretty much.

Ballin will be the QLD hooker when smith is finished.
Stewart is the best 1 NSW have, and he isn't far behind slater.
Cherry evans will be in the QLD side when either Cronk or thurston are done.
Foran is already a kiwi rep, and would easily walk into the nsw side in front of pearce.

 

[franklin2323]

If we go with Burns and Walsh inthe halves all season i will track down gus and scalp the ugly prick.

Add we have no jersey sponsors and he hasn't done much

 

[Dragonwest]

thats what i want, but moltzen will be in there somewhere

but Moltzen has a sore shoulder .....

 

[Dragonwest]

1. K Stanley
6. Soward
7. Hornby
9. King/Rein

Fein to cover 6/7/9

 

[whall15]

Merritt
Sutton
Reynolds
Luke

Poor, poor Souths.

They've got a winger at fullback, a second-rower at five-eighth and a debutant at halfback.

 

[franklin2323]

I really can't see the panthers dodging the spoon.

Hard to argue. If injuries are kind we can probably win a few games.'i can't see our attack troubling the top teams we may not come last but I can't see finals if we are there Cleary will be coach of the year.

As for money a few off field decisions for junior development would of cost a bit. On field the word is we are paying overs for a few players. Eg $180k for Laurie. Most are now gone. With 3 $400k forwards (Pritchard, Petero & Waterhouse) gone we should have a bit left. Maybe we aim to make Cronk the highest paid player in the NRL in 2013.

 

[Raiderdave]

Raiders

1. Dugan
7. Mc Crone / Williams / Berrigan
6. Campese / Mc Crone / Berrigan
9. Buttris / McIlwrick / Berrigan

reasonably good ............;-)

 

[Boofhead]

1. Zillman
6. Sezer/Henry/Rankin
7. Prince
9. Srama

 

[saint_marto88]

Manly's spine is overrated.

Ballin is boring. Foran I used to rate until his international performances made me laugh. DCE is the next Mortimer

 

[Shaun Hewitt]

as someone previously said

1. Kevin Locke
6. James Maloney
7. Shaun Johnson
9. Nathan Friend

Pretty decent spine i reckon, not in the class of the Storm, however if all 4 of our guys are playing well, we should give any side a run for their money

 

[Warrior@Heart]

Merritt
Sutton
Reynolds
Luke

Poor, poor Souths.

They've got a winger at fullback, a second-rower at five-eighth and a debutant at halfback.

And a grub at hooker.

 

[BranVan3000]

Merritt
Sutton
Reynolds
Luke

Poor, poor Souths.

They've got a winger at fullback, a second-rower at five-eighth and a debutant at halfback.

Wow imagine a winger moving to fullback, unheard of. He should have been there for a long time in any case, he has appeared as our fullback 14 times since 09, and we have won 10 of those games. He also has to beat out Inglis for the spot.

Sutton needs to recapture his 2009 form to be worthwhile at that position

Having a debutant is not promising for predicting anything, but doesn't mean he can't do well

 

[BranVan3000]

And a grub at hooker.

Are there any hookers that aren't grubs?

 

[betcats]

Are there any hookers that aren't grubs?

No good ones.

 

[firechild]

Are there any hookers that aren't grubs?

Ballin, Gidley, Buderus.

 

[mxlegend99]

If we go with Burns and Walsh inthe halves all season i will track down gus and scalp the ugly prick.

Gus picked Ivan Cleary so he wouldn't have to focus on crap like that. He has put his faith in Ivan Cleary to do what is needed.

IMO Gus would only step in if Cleary was going the same thing and it wasn't working. But we saw Cleary make some pretty radical changes at the Warriors when sh*t was working at the start of the season. So hopefully he's just as willing at the Panthers... especially when there's only a handful of players that deserve guaranteed selection.

I still don't see it being a wooden spoon side. IMO they'll punch well above their weight and be borderline top 8. We just need Lewis and Gordon to play the majority of the season, and for Jennings to actually get the ball with space. Storm have proven you only need a few players firing to carry a squad. While they aren't in the same league or positions as Slater, Cronk and Smith.... they should be more then capable of putting the Panthers closer to the top 8 then the spoon.

 

[High Flyers]

Here is my take on spines in 2012...
1. Storm; Pure class.

2. Manly; Form young players on the up + a couple of solid old heads.

3. Cows; Best halfback, great FB, Impact 9 Segyaro + consistenty of Lui

4. Tigers; Quality, can score points. A whole season together injury free would help.

5. Eels; Im an eels fan so probably biased, Hayne on his day along with the new halves is a great combo. Keating... Meh.

6. Knights; Unknown as a team but highly rated 1,6,7 + Old head in Buderus coming back add depth and experience.

7. Warriors; Proven to be able to go all the way to the grand final but missing that extra 10%. Addition of N. Friend is helpful.

8. Roosters; Strong 1,6,7. Friend is a workhorse who should be an 80 min player (brian smith at it again!). Lack of exciting attacking options is only weakness.

9. Raiders; On paper look the goods, top 5 FB, quality 6, but the lack of ability to put it all together on the day as a team slow them down.

10. Bulldogs; Again similar to the Raiders, strong but not amazing line up with X factor FB and tough 9. Halves are yet to really click, maybe Dessy will see to that...

11. Broncos; Lots of options at all positions, I really like the FB Hoffman but cant see much from the rest. Not sure how long they can keep playing Mcculloch, seriously when was the last time he had a good game?

12. St George; Untested as a unit after the Loss of D, Boyd. 9 is up in the air and the halfback is not getting any younger. Soward playing like half the player he was in 2010.

13. Cronulla; They have a good coach who can get them fired up, a few good combos coming together but still lots of unknowns about 2012 for the sharkies. Which Carney will turn up to play this year? Great FB.

14. Penrith; They play well as a unit, just not good enough to win a game. Unless they all become better players over the summer it will be another tough year for the panthers. Walsh, too small.

15. Souths; Where do you start? Just a woeful spine. Its actually a shame because they have some fantastic players across the park in other positions who dont see enough ball. Sutton plays 1-2 good games a year & Issac is a tough little battler.

16. Titans; A great 7... 5 years ago. No quality in any of the other positions down the spine. Zillman, Srama & whoever at 6, least inspiring of all the teams.

 

[Politis]

Roosters far better than cows and Knights, Bowen can't tackle and Danny is over the hill!

 

[user_nat]

11. Broncos; Lots of options at all positions, I really like the FB Hoffman but cant see much from the rest. Not sure how long they can keep playing Mcculloch, seriously when was the last time he had a good game?

Excluding the finals and last 10 or so rounds?