Mann picked to wear the number 7

[Old Timer]

With Mann's footwaork I am expecting Dugan to start finding some holes in the middle of the ruck.
If not this week certainly next as we have not had a ball player turning the ball back on the inside and at least now we have a chance.
I think people will be pleasantly surprised what we will get out of this for Frizz and Duges.

 

[Dragsters]

McCrone isn't the answer at 7, so fair enough.

Trouble is, neither is Mann.

C'mon man...

He hasn't even pulled the jumper on yet!

At least let him do that before you write him off...

 

[JDHD]

With Mann's footwaork I am expecting Dugan to start finding some holes in the middle of the ruck.
If not this week certainly next as we have not had a ball player turning the ball back on the inside and at least now we have a chance.
I think people will be pleasantly surprised what we will get out of this for Frizz and Duges.

100%. I think Mann is one of our top five players and probably our best instinctual player outside of Widdop. Good things happen when he touches the ball. Add the fact that he's deceptively strong (he consistently makes five or six metres post-contact in yardage despite weighing as much as a photograph of himself) and has one of the sleekest passing games I've seen in a long time. I think we're onto a winner.

 

[Overseas dragon]

Yes it's a bit rough when some of you guys write the kid off.at least what till he's had as much time as Mr wolfpack.theres no way he's not an improvement.how big an improvement we shall find out.well done Paul McGregor for growing some balls.

 

[Gippsy]

I'm more concerned about McCrone in the 17, than Mann in the 7.

 

[JDHD]

Yes it's a bit rough when some of you guys write the kid off.at least what till he's had as much time as Mr wolfpack.theres no way he's not an improvement.how big an improvement we shall find out.well done Paul McGregor for growing some balls.

He had that one absolute shocker against Cronulla last year, got dropped for half the season, came back and wound up being our top try scorer. He's then been dicked around this year, being shifted all over the park, even spending time in Cup, and he's not only persevered, he's absolutely flourished. We're lucky to have him.

 

[monsterkev]

Mann is on a hiding to nothing
Another position,
If he fails in the first game to impress,the club and Mary and some fans will say we told you so I did not work and end of experiment
He succeeds everyone who rates Mann will say told you how good he is
The club and Mary will pat themselves on the back
Some fans will still bag Mann
Gitano will be top of that list
Do we have another player at this club that can play every position in the backline and be good at each of them
I don't think so
He could easily be hooker as well
I hope he has a blinder and his value increases as I think he is amongst our best players
I am more excited to watch this game now than any other game saints have played this year
Just to see how Mann goes

 

[Old Timer]

Mann is on a hiding to nothing
Another position,
If he fails in the first game to impress,the club and Mary and some fans will say we told you so I did not work and end of experiment
He succeeds everyone who rates Mann will say told you how good he is
The club and Mary will pat themselves on the back
Some fans will still bag Mann
Gitano will be top of that list
Do we have another player at this club that can play every position in the backline and be good at each of them
I don't think so
He could easily be hooker as well
I hope he has a blinder and his value increases as I think he is amongst our best players
I am more excited to watch this game now than any other game saints have played this year
Just to see how Mann goes

Intelligent post and you have got it 100% correct

 

[Slackboy72]

Where we were doing well earlier this year was the speed of ball movement from McInnes to McCrone/Widdop to Aitken/Lafai.
As long as Mann can do that then we should be okay.

 

[Bests Golden Boots]

We all know how this turns out.
First injury Mann gets moved, McCrone comes back in.
First dud pass, Mann gets hooked McCrone comes back in.
First dud kick, Mann gets hooked McCrone comes back in.

You can garentee McCrone isn't treated like all the other bench utilities all year and gets 9minutes at the end of the game.

 

[borat]

Wow the rubbish that gets posted here never ceases to amaze me.

Firstly, McCrone is rubbish and always has been. He was washed up when at the Raiders and played for the Mounties most his last season, then we sign him as a supposed hooker/half option. Anyone who watched him play hooker at the Raiders could tell you he was shockingly bad.

The only question is who is best in the 7 before Hunt gets here. Luckily for us Widdop has grown emensely this year so the No 7 need only not do stupid things and complement Widdop. And it's worked so far, we aren't last but well entrenched in the 8 despite the armchair experts predictions otherwise.

If we had a 7 in 2nds that was killing it week in week out, like Field or Dufty, then it would be an easy call to make the change. But we don't, and far from it.

But momentum has turned and we are now sliding out of the 8 if we keep going. So I can see why we now try Mann. But some of you need to get a grip and realise he may turn out to be a terrible 7. It's a real gamble but likely one worth taking. That doesn't make Mann a bad player and any less worth resigning.

2017 was always going to be a shit sandwhich at 7 no matter which way we turned.

 

[JDHD]

Wow the rubbish that gets posted here never ceases to amaze me.

Firstly, McCrone is rubbish and always has been. He was washed up when at the Raiders and played for the Mounties most his last season, then we sign him as a supposed hooker/half option. Anyone who watched him play hooker at the Raiders could tell you he was shockingly bad.

The only question is who is best in the 7 before Hunt gets here. Luckily for us Widdop has grown emensely this year so the No 7 need only not do stupid things and complement Widdop. And it's worked so far, we aren't last but well entrenched in the 8 despite the armchair experts predictions otherwise.

If we had a 7 in 2nds that was killing it week in week out, like Field or Dufty, then it would be an easy call to make the change. But we don't, and far from it.

But momentum has turned and we are now sliding out of the 8 if we keep going. So I can see why we now try Mann. But some of you need to get a grip and realise he may turn out to be a terrible 7. It's a real gamble but likely one worth taking. That doesn't make Mann a bad player and any less worth resigning.

2017 was always going to be a shit sandwhich at 7 no matter which way we turned.

Yeah, exactly. We bought Ben Hunt because halfback is basically the only position now that we have no depth in. We're up to our eyeballs in quality/potential-heavy outside backs, fullbacks, backrowers, hookers and frontrowers. We've even got several quality 5/8ths on the books. The only area we lack is, again, halfback, and the only genuine 7 we have anywhere is Jackson Willis, who's playing really well in 20s but he's only 18 and in his first season of 20s, so he wouldn't be ready yet (he's also blind in one eye and some grub like Taupau or JWH could potentially lay him out from his blind side and ruin his career before it even started).

Point is, McCrone isn't a first-grader's asshole, so all you can do until Hunt arrives is just put your best/most versatile players in the halves and hope for the best. Mann's already proven his worth to our team as a 5/8/outside back/utility, he'd still be a great asset to the team.

 

[Dragsters]

"Pick all your best players first and then find a position for them."

Jack Gibson...

 

[borat]

"Pick all your best players first and then find a position for them."

Jack Gibson...

Well JDB back to halfback then......

That quote is 40 years old, times have changed. Halfback is a specialist role that not just anyone can play.

 

[Dennis Papaioannou]

Yes it's a bit rough when some of you guys write the kid off.at least what till he's had as much time as Mr wolfpack.theres no way he's not an improvement.how big an improvement we shall find out.well done Paul McGregor for growing some balls.

The discussion point, if he's successful at no.7 will be - why has it taken McGregor 17 rounds to change something?
The only way we will really know is if he is given a reasonable time to settle into a combination with Widdop.
I think if Mann is given time, he will provide us with more options in attack and make us more of a threat out wide.
He is also a good defender so we won't lose anything in that department.

 

[hazzbeen]

Mann is on a hiding to nothing
Another position,
If he fails in the first game to impress,the club and Mary and some fans will say we told you so I did not work and end of experiment
He succeeds everyone who rates Mann will say told you how good he is
The club and Mary will pat themselves on the back
Some fans will still bag Mann
Gitano will be top of that list
Do we have another player at this club that can play every position in the backline and be good at each of them
I don't think so
He could easily be hooker as well
I hope he has a blinder and his value increases as I think he is amongst our best players
I am more excited to watch this game now than any other game saints have played this year
Just to see how Mann goes

I have said before you take anyone out of our back line and F**K them around like they have with Mann and lets see if they can still preform .....

 

[mickeylane]

Widdop needs early ball - I hope Mann understands this!

 

[RedV Resurgence]

Mann is on a hiding to nothing
Another position,
If he fails in the first game to impress,the club and Mary and some fans will say we told you so I did not work and end of experiment
He succeeds everyone who rates Mann will say told you how good he is
The club and Mary will pat themselves on the back
Some fans will still bag Mann
Gitano will be top of that list
Do we have another player at this club that can play every position in the backline and be good at each of them
I don't think so
He could easily be hooker as well
I hope he has a blinder and his value increases as I think he is amongst our best players
I am more excited to watch this game now than any other game saints have played this year
Just to see how Mann goes

I agree, McCrone has had many chances to impress and settle into half back. Mann will get one chance, maybe a second game if he goes alright. Just like his stint at fullback - No Second chances Mann.

 

[Dragsters]

Well JDB back to halfback then......

That quote is 40 years old, times have changed. Halfback is a specialist role that not just anyone can play.

This I understand.

It was a general statement and I think that's how Jack may have meant it.

I also think that halfback was a specialist role back then.

It's apt here coz McCrone is not one of our best players.

Also in origin with the swathe of fullbacks in the backline trend.

 

[Cazbah Steeler]

Finally Mary has picked Mann to wear the number 7. Myself and many others on this forum were calling for a Widdop Mann halves pairing at the start of the year. I have continued to call for it. I don't know if Mann will be success at halfback, but he has to be an improvement on Mcrone. I am hoping that it will be a success and that Mann will add another dimension to our attack.

Fingers crossed he gets more than one game to show what he can do as a 7. Just don't kick it out on the full, and he is half way there. I am pretty sure Gaz will do most of the kicking now.