My team for round 1

[Dragon Revival]

All I ask is for the team to be picked on form and ability to score tries and defend soundly not salary nor seniority.
Mann is a must.

 

[71saintsimon]

1. Dufty
2. Macdonald
3. Aitkiin
4. Dugan
5. Milne
6. Widdop
7. Field
8. Vaughan
9. McInnes
10. Ah Mau
11. Frizell
12. Thompson
13. De Belin

14. Masoe
15. Packer
16. Luciano
17. Sele

As much as i love Nightingale I couldn't find a spot for him and Field is in my team but I know they won't pick him.

 

[kit66]

Mann and Nightie don't deserve to be dropped just to accommodate a couple of unproven new signings and I wouldn't be playing Frizell, our best edge runner at bloody lock.

Our forward pack though needs some tweaking as no other team in the comp was the least bit daunted at facing last years' line up, hopefully Vaughan, Mose - when fit - Host and Sims can add a bit of starch with Leilua's ball skills creating problems as well. Havili had a blinder against the huge Burleigh Bears pack at the end of last year too, and also running wide, making metres and a clever kicking game - shouldn't be overlooked as a back up.

 

[since77]

Dufty
Mc Donald
Dugan
Aitken
Nightingale
Nona
Widdop
Ah Mau
Mc Innes
Packer
Thompson
Frizzell
De Belin

Vaughan
Sims
Leilua
Mc Crone (Utility)

 

[Dragon Revival]

Mann is our second speediest back and should be in the starting side ahead of Nona. Host is better than robotic Ah Mau.

 

[Ben_Kusto_magic]

I think Mann will start the year in the halves but for the cutters. They will play it safe and put McCrone at half. Mann will definitely get a run at some point though

 

[dragonssamy61]

It defies logic you cant find a spot for nighty. He is first picked on the wing. Super reliable in every aspect of the game.

Biggest question is how dufty goes in pre season games. That will determine if he starts at fullback.

Is masoe full fit now? If not host might come in for him.

And perhaps if they dont put dufty at fullback then they play him from the bench as a super sub. Unlikely but possible.

At the moment we dont know much kore than what we did at the start of the pre season. So let us wait until we have a few trial games under our belt and go from there.

Morotti
Mosoe is on very light training a no contact.
He want be ready for a while yet.
I agree re nighty he is first picked.
I hope they give the combo of widdop and mann and also nona and widdop a run in the trails and see how they go.
Same with Dufty and Duges at centre.
Hopefully in the nines Jai Field will get a run with his touch football background he sould be good at nines.
Also good for his experience ect

 

[dragonssamy61]

1 Dufty
2 Nightingale
3 Milne
4 Dugan
5 McDonald
6 Widdop
7 Mann
8 Vaughan
9 McInnes
10 Packer
11 Luciano
12 Host
13 Frizzell

14 Ah Mau
15 Simms
16 DeBelin
17 Aikten/Thompson

I doubt that Masoe will be fit for round 1.

I think lock is Frizzells best position, he could rival Tamalolo as the bet lock in the game. I also think that lock is Simms and DeBelin's best position. Either Aikten or Thompson would come on as an edge back rower, they could also cover centre if there was an injury to an outside back.

A lot would be riding on Dufty and Mann to produce.

Like it Frank
Only change for me is nona at 6 widdop at 7 .
Nona much better suited to 6 and its his natural position.
Widdop play 7 for England so why not for us. But mann at 7 is also good

 

[Dragon Revival]

Last year Mann scored ten tries from thirteen games and Aitken scored about seven tries from 24 games. Why would you leave them out when we are struggling to score tries

 

[Qdf]

I like for Rd 1
1. Dunes
2.Mann
3.Milne
4Aitken
5.Mcdonald
6.Nona
7.Widdop
8.Packer
9.McInnes
10.Vaughn
11.Sims
12.Frizzel
13.JDB
14.Havalli
15.Host
16.Thompson
17.Leilua

 

[BennyV]

Mann is our second speediest back and should be in the starting side ahead of Nona. Host is better than robotic Ah Mau.

Different positions. We need Ah Mau in the prop rotation.

 

[emu62]

I doubt that they'll send anyone of note and that's a real shame. The Nines are a weird comp. They're great fun to watch, they give a lot of young kids a run and get their name into the zeitgeist (eg Bevan French, Latrell Mitchell, Matt Dufty etc). Unfortunately, they're viewed in a negative light by the majority of clubs (mostly because of the injuries that always happen).

I think we should send a full strength team over for one reason: our club is in a financial bind and the first prize is literally a million dollars. That would be a massive help to our infrastructure, junior dev, facilities, etc.

Gee must of gone up a bit , pretty sure it was only a 100 grand last year

 

[Old Timer]

If Dufty gets the FB role it will change the entire dynamics of the backline
Dugan to RC is obvious
Mc Donald and Nighty on the wings
Forces Mann to LC which is his normal position
Neither Milne nor Aitken are better than Mann as a LC option so back to Cutters for them
Nona technically the best proven option at 5/8 if no chances re to be taken forces Widdop to half
McCrone to bench to cover off halves if they don't gel and / or McIness if he can't play 80
IMO that is what the coach would run with if he goes that way with Dufty

 

[Saints Forever]

The trial games will be more crucial than ever in determining the FG line up for round 1

Mary would love to see Duges play RC

Most of us on the forum would like to see Dufty given a chance to impress at FB

Given the 7 role is up for grabs and Widdop has not impressed at 7 for England, I would be inclined to give Mann a run at half so that Milne/Aitken could be given a shot at left centre

Don't believe Nona will be fully fit for round 1 hence I don't think he is in the mix for 7 or 6 role

Expect to see McCrone start at 7

If Mann isn't given a shot at 7, agree with OT that he should play left centre in front of Aitken and Milne as he is a left sided player.

Either way given his try scoring ability Mann must play somewhere in the back line

Flo and McDonald will start as wingers

So team I expect to see is:

Dugan
Flo
Milne
Mann
McDonald
Widdop
McCrone
Ah Mau
McInnes
Packer
Thompson
Frizzell
JDB

Vaughan
Leilua
Sims
Marketo

I will wait till we have seen some footy before seriously posting a round 1 team

 

[dragonssamy61]

Gee must of gone up a bit , pretty sure it was only a 100 grand last year

Emu 62
Prisemoney Auckland nines is 2.3million total.
Winner 370,000
Minor Premiers NRL 100,000
Premiers 400,000

 

[dragonssamy61]

If Dufty gets the FB role it will change the entire dynamics of the backline
Dugan to RC is obvious
Mc Donald and Nighty on the wings
Forces Mann to LC which is his normal position
Neither Milne nor Aitken are better than Mann as a LC option so back to Cutters for them
Nona technically the best proven option at 5/8 if no chances re to be taken forces Widdop to half
McCrone to bench to cover off halves if they don't gel and / or McIness if he can't play 80
IMO that is what the coach would run with if he goes that way with Dufty

Spot on OT let hope he does

 

[dragonssamy61]

The trial games will be more crucial than ever in determining the FG line up for round 1

Mary would love to see Duges play RC

Most of us on the forum would like to see Dufty given a chance to impress at FB

Given the 7 role is up for grabs and Widdop has not impressed at 7 for England, I would be inclined to give Mann a run at half so that Milne/Aitken could be given a shot at left centre

Don't believe Nona will be fully fit for round 1 hence I don't think he is in the mix for 7 or 6 role

Expect to see McCrone start at 7

If Mann isn't given a shot at 7, agree with OT that he should play left centre in front of Aitken and Milne as he is a left sided player.

Either way given his try scoring ability Mann must play somewhere in the back line

Flo and McDonald will start as wingers

So team I expect to see is:

Dugan
Flo
Milne
Mann
McDonald
Widdop
McCrone
Ah Mau
McInnes
Packer
Thompson
Frizzell
JDB

Vaughan
Leilua
Sims
Marketo

I will wait till we have seen some footy before seriously posting a round 1 team

I can see you thinking re above.
But I would not have Marketo in there.
I would have Host

 

[emu62]

Emu 62
Prisemoney Auckland nines is 2.3million total.
Winner 370,000
Minor Premiers NRL 100,000
Premiers 400,000

Thanks Sammy, a lot more than i thought

 

[Dannyboy80]

I would really feel for Mann and Milne if they missed out on a spot for the start of the season. Thought they both did enough in a poor side last year to earn their spots for kick off this year.

That said, if Dufty gets fullback, all of a sudden there is going to be some hard calls made in the wing and center spots.

Does anyone think Milne would make a decent bench back row interchange? He could terrorize tired forwards with his footwork and offloads

 

[TomRedVRiver]

As much as I love the versatility and professionalism that Kurt Mann offers the team, I can't agree with him securing a left centre spot over Milne or Aitken.
A lot of people will say that Mann has come from a successful backline at the Storm, which is correct, however Mann didn't exactly set the world alight when he was there. The Melbourne structures made him look much better than he was, but it's not his preferred position at all, in fact it's come from his own mouth that he prefers fullback or 5/8. Not only this, but he was dropped a number of times for Hymel Hunt and Richie Kenner.
If specialist centres like Aitken and Milne are available, Mann doesn't make the backline imo. It's a real shame because he's a good player, in fact he might even serve the team a lot better from 5/8. The fact is that he doesn't have the damaging skills quality centres have these days, he's a great back up utility, but not a specialist.