Cleary injury update

[OldPanther]

That’s probably why they won.

haha well played.

 

[OldPanther]

Or Pawwa just suck

Until Gutho comes back and they become top 4 again.

 

[martielang]

I can see both sides. It is worrying that Maloney has been average at best so far & he could of run his race as far as his career is concerned, but he’s also showed glimpses of real quality at times & maybe it’s just a timing thing / being early in the season. I’m hopeful he’ll get back to the standard we expected from him.

Wallace at 7, semi makes sense against the cows IMO. Significantly improves our defence, while gives us another kicking option. Maloney will still run the show & Wallace shouldn’t overplay his hand.

Tbh I see reasoning for all 3 different scenarios, I’d like to see Luai given a shot but I can understand if he wasn’t chosen this week.

 

[martielang]

Or Pawwa just suck

Both correct answers.

 

[herbert henry1908]

To me we should select the combination we want for the period Cleary is out, whatever that is.

 

[OldPanther]

To me we should select the combination we want for the period Cleary is out, whatever that is.

Yeah no mind games. No trying to be tricky.

These guys shouldn't be in the top 30 if they can't handle a call up when the club needs them.

 

[franklin2323]

Yeah no mind games. No trying to be tricky.

These guys shouldn't be in the top 30 if they can't handle a call up when the club needs them.

May is our best backup half. He should be 5/8th when fit so depends do we look forward with Luai until then... Or go the defensive route and play Wallace or Peachey there for the next 2-3 weeks?

 

[mxlegend99]

May is coming back from a serious injury. One that Whare still hasnt gone close to fully recovering from in more than a year.

I think he should be eased back into footy. NSW Cup for a bit. After that the bench in first grade.

I like him. But rather we didnt throw him in the deep end.

 

[tripster]

May is coming back from a serious injury. One that Whare still hasnt gone close to fully recovering from in more than a year.

Nor has Mansour

 

[TheFrog]

think he should be eased back into footy. NSW Cup for a bit.

I"m sure that is what will happen.

 

[Frankus]

10 weeks is extremely conservative and would be worst case. Nathan is only 19/20 years of age and would have relatively good powers of recuperation. I’ve known grade 3 MCLs (total rupture) to be good in 6 weeks if things are done right.

It is common for people to do both their ACL and medial in the one go even in the most innocuous incidents. So he dodged a bullet there.

Didn’t Merrin have a grade 3 last season and was back in around 8 weeks? Edwards had a grade 2 and was back in 1-2 weeks.

 

[seal]

This is definitely a left-field option, but I feel that Katoa in the halves could also be a possibility

He's played halves before, his defence shouldn't be an issue, and he has a good kicking and passing games. He's essentially playing as a third playmaker in reserve grade at the moment so I think Katoa could be a realistic option to fill in for the time being

 

[OldPanther]

Turns out Luai isn't that small. Pretty similar to Cleary:

 

[franklin2323]

I can see both sides. It is worrying that Maloney has been average at best so far & he could of run his race as far as his career is concerned, but he’s also showed glimpses of real quality at times & maybe it’s just a timing thing / being early in the season. I’m hopeful he’ll get back to the standard we expected from him.

Wallace at 7, semi makes sense against the cows IMO. Significantly improves our defence, while gives us another kicking option. Maloney will still run the show & Wallace shouldn’t overplay his hand.

Tbh I see reasoning for all 3 different scenarios, I’d like to see Luai given a shot but I can understand if he wasn’t chosen this week.

I agree with both. I usually am straight for the kids to be in but we leave tomorrow for a very hard away trip. Yes Luai is a FG in waiting but Katoa is further along in development. We should pick the best 17 to beat them. Hess will be running at our number 6 all night. So that needs to be weighed up in it all

The 6 we pick this week can be different then the one that plays v Parra and GC.

 

[mxlegend99]

I dont think Peachey at half is that good. But if he just plays as an extra ball runner it might be fine for a single game.

He hates to pass and if Maloney has a strong game he can be the sole half and decide if he wants to hit Peachey or Edwards running lines or cut them out and get our centres early ball.

Realistically we're losing out no matter who we pick. Cowboys are going to test any new half. I can see the advantage go Luai coming in against Eels instead.

 

[umina panther]

Man up guys Luai has played international football. Lets back the kid

 

[GongPanther]

Or Pawwa just suck

Loved the line in the Croulla V Parra SMH report were they mentioned that Manly supporters from the earlier game stayed on to watch Parra lose.

 

[snickers007]

For mine, Katoa has to come in.

I don't mind if he plays Hooker with Wallace at Half, or whether he plays Five-Eighth, and Maloney at Half. I don't even mind if he plays Hooker in attack, and Five-Eighth in defence.

We need to think defensively. And outside of the first 20mins against Parra, our defence has been pretty good. Let's back that, and grind some games out.

 

[tripster]

Very interesting article about ACL injuries and their long term effect on athletes. It is about a year old.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/may/11/acl-injuries-sports-athletes-careers

I suspect the findings would carry over to the NRL.

It was this finding that concerned me the most

In the NFL, like other sports, a lasting return to play is also influenced by the player’s pre-injury position – 20% of running backs and wide receivers never return to the NFL and for those that do return, performance drops by a third. However, because their performance is less tied to lower body speed and explosiveness, 12 out of the 13 of NFL quarterbacks studied after ACL surgeries were able to resume playing at pre-injury levels.

We have definitely seen it in Mansour and Whare. I just hope it doesn't ruin May's career before it even gets off the ground. Oh and thank God Cleary didn't do his ACL.

It also made me wonder, do we have more ACL injury affected members of our outside backs than any other team? At the start of the year, with Mansour, Whare and McKendry all having recovered from the injury, we had 3 players, including two backs. I can't think of similar stats from other clubs. Does Melbourne even have anyone (other than Sandor Earl who hasn't even played a game for them).