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

[aqua_duck]

Ballin will be the QLD hooker when smith is finished.

I don't think so, theres less than a year age difference between Ballin and Smith

I can't see why Parra's spine is so highly rated, Hayne is good when he wants to be, Sandow still has quite a few holes in his game and Keating and Roberts wouldn't make 1st grade at most clubs

 

[DoggiesBro]

I don't think so, theres less than a year age difference between Ballin and Smith

I can't see why Parra's spine is so highly rated, Hayne is good when he wants to be, Sandow still has quite a few holes in his game and Keating and Roberts wouldn't make 1st grade at most clubs

Completely agree.

 

[Politis]

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.

Jake is already better than Balin and half his vintage! Jake will take Smiths place berfore the next two seasons are finished!

 

[timka4]

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.

That is the thing, Penrith still have good players like Coote, Lewis, Gordon, Jennings, but the problem is, outside of that they only got Grant and McKendry. Looking throughout the rest of the squad, no one is really threatening. One or 2 injuries to key players will affect Penrith the most over any other club imo.

I like the Panthers, but I just don't see them having a great season, unless Cleary can do something amazing.

 

[rnb11]

I think...

1. Darius Boyd
6. Jarrod Mullen
7. Kurt Gidley
9. Danny Buderus

...would have to be at least in the top 5 spines, especially with the Bennett influence.

 

[hitman82]

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

In his debut year 2011, Shaun Johnson had what, 16 games and 18 try assists? Not to mention footwork and a cutout pass as good as Benji's but with better pace and vision. The guy has potential to be the best halfback in the world IMHO.
2011 was also Locke's first season in the Fullback jersey and he seemed to get better with every game. He's pretty much a Slater clone but without the brain explosions - needs to work on his support play though.
If these two avoid second year syndrome and Maloney continues to improve, all we need is Friend to gell well with the team and we have potential to be the best spine in the comp. As it is I expect we'd only be behind Manly and Melbourne.

 

[Allstar Knights]

I'd take the Warriors spine over Manly's, just.

Locke > Stewart
Maloney < Foran
Johnson > DCE
Friend < Ballin

Both are awesome spine's and there isn't much difference between them in quality. But Johnson and Locke are just freaks, plus I wouldn't say Ballin is much better than Friend, either.

 

[devoid]

I think it's fair to speculate that probably 3 clubs might have a weaker spine than previous years: Brisbane (losing Lockyer), Souths (for losing Sandow), and the Dragons (for losing Boyd). It will be intesting to see who stands up in those clubs, and I'm also looking forward to seeing the Penrith, Coote vs Gordon battle.

 

[Noname36]

I honestly can't see how anyone could prefer Manly's spine over Melbourne's.

 

[firechild]

I honestly can't see how anyone could prefer Manly's spine over Melbourne's.

The last 3 seasons where Stewart has been fit for the back end of the year Manly has made the GF, winning the last 2. That's not to say he's better than Slater but there's not much between them at their peak.
Smith over Ballin is a no brainer though Ballin is still in the top handful of hookers in the game.
Foran over Widdop.
DCE only has 1 season to go on but in that year he was picked for the Kangaroos, won the Dally M rookie of the year and International Player Awards halfback and rookie of the year. IF he continues his current run of form he would have to be at least equal with Cronk. Defensively I'd take him over Cronk but skillwise they are close to being on par.

 

[MSIH]

I honestly can't see how anyone could prefer Manly's spine over Melbourne's.

Agreed, that Melbourne spine is ridiculously good. Manly's a clear 2nd though.

 

[DoggiesBro]

Storm....

Daylight...

Manly, Knights, Warriors...

Daylight....

 

[natheel]

1. Hayne
6. Roberts
7. Sandow
9. Keating


Has alot of potential that spine

Will depend of comsistency

 

[Noname36]

The last 3 seasons where Stewart has been fit for the back end of the year Manly has made the GF, winning the last 2. That's not to say he's better than Slater but there's not much between them at their peak.
Smith over Ballin is a no brainer though Ballin is still in the top handful of hookers in the game.
Foran over Widdop.
DCE only has 1 season to go on but in that year he was picked for the Kangaroos, won the Dally M rookie of the year and International Player Awards halfback and rookie of the year. IF he continues his current run of form he would have to be at least equal with Cronk. Defensively I'd take him over Cronk but skillwise they are close to being on par.

Look, I rate Manly's spine very highly, It's number 2 easily...but Smith, Slater and Cronk are the best in the game in their respective positions (yes, I believe that Cronk is better than Thurston due to his ability to consistently perform at such a high level). + You have Widdop, who IMO showed just as much potential as DCE, he just didn't win the accolades which everyone knows are subjective.

Comparing DCE to Cronk at this stage is just ridiculous. DCE had a very good year yes, but that doesn't hold a candle to the consistent level of quality that Cronk has been able to maintain for years now. It's way too early to be making a judgement on DCE. Yes he has shown he has the skills, but a lot of young halves have a brilliant rookie year but then cannot maintain it (Mortimer for example). Let's have this discussion in 2-3 years when we can really form a proper judgement.

When it all comes down to it:

Slater - Stewart
Widdop - Foran
Cronk - DCE
Smith - Ballin

Melbourne's spine has Manly's covered in every position other than 5/8 imo...however Widdop is still an unknown entity like DCE at this stage. We need to take what they did in their rookie year at face-value because we've seen so many times with young halves that for all the talent they have, they just cannot maintain it in first grade.

I do think though that Manly's overall squad is better than Melbourne's. Melbourne just has them covered in the spine.

 

[firechild]

Comparing DCE to Cronk at this stage is just ridiculous. DCE had a very good year yes, but that doesn't hold a candle to the consistent level of quality that Cronk has been able to maintain for years now. It's way too early to be making a judgement on DCE. Yes he has shown he has the skills, but a lot of young halves have a brilliant rookie year but then cannot maintain it (Mortimer for example). Let's have this discussion in 2-3 years when we can really form a proper judgement.

The problem with that is the whole idea of this thread is to compare the spines of different teams and that involves comparing each position. It's a bit difficult to compare Manly and Melbourne's spines if you can't make any judgement on DCE, Foran or Widdop due to the number of games they've played. We can only compare DCE and Cronk based on what they have shown. Of course time will tell whether these first impressions of DCE are correct but we still have to use what we've seen in order to make comparison. I have no problem with anyone wanting to rate Cronk, Thurston or anyone else above DCE but surely if the aim is to compare them then that is what we must do. DCE has shown an amazing ability to read the game and he handles pressure exceptionally well. The try he scored in the GF demonstrated both of these traits.

 

[saint_marto88]

DCE was behind 4-5 other young halves coming through the Toyota Cup, and is still behind them IMO.

 

[DoggiesBro]

Seeing firechild is on ignore and i see his name keep popping up, i'm going to assume that he is the one arguing dce is better then cronk or even comparable. What a clown. He has one very good season and to even think he is mentioned with Cronk is a joke. Who next. Thurston?

Guess he never heard of Dan Mortimer.

 

[firechild]

Go play in traffic Doggiesblow, grown ups are talking.

 

[hitman82]

Melbourne's spine is the best of course, as they've managed to keep it together post-cheating.
Their recently-reduced salary cap is taking its toll on the front row and outside backs though, and I don't think Melbourne will win a legitimate premiership in the next 5 years. Keeping Cronk, Slater, Smith (and now Widdop) together will make it near-impossible to retain any new stars they unearth in other positions, and their depth will always be weaker than that of other top sides.
Emotion and lack of injuries got Melbourne the 2011 MP but it wasn't enough to carry them through the finals.
If I was a Storm supporter I'd also be concerned that Slater recently broke his collarbone in 5 places and had metal plates inserted. I know a number of people who've done their collarbones less seriously and had ongoing issues - ie rebreaking with relative ease.
Just on Cronk, I'd rather have DCE, Johnson, Thurston and maybe even a couple of others ahead of him. But combined with Smith, Widdop and Slater he's fantastic.

 

[Politis]

1. Hayne
6. Roberts
7. Sandow
9. Keating


Has alot of potential that spine

Will depend of comsistency

Not bad! Maguire is still playing good footy.