Mary to make Key Positional Changes?

[coast_dragons]

Benji and Gareth enough said two 5/8's don't work.

 

[Get2dachopper!]

Having two 5/8's, combined with a fullback and hooker who cannot pass, will certainly impede a teams ability to score points.

I said it 3 months ago, putting Mann at Fullback will help the situation. We will look so much better with a fullback who can distribute clean ball to our centres and wingers.

As for hooker, I think we just need to use Rein's strengths (running/defence) and work out how much time he spends on the field. He is not and never will be an 80 minute hooker.

 

[coast_dragons]

Havili or McCrone can fill in the void at hooker.

 

[BennyV]

Having two 5/8's, combined with a fullback and hooker who cannot pass, will certainly impede a teams ability to score points.

I said it 3 months ago, putting Mann at Fullback will help the situation. We will look so much better with a fullback who can distribute clean ball to our centres and wingers.

As for hooker, I think we just need to use Rein's strengths (running/defence) and work out how much time he spends on the field. He is not and never will be an 80 minute hooker.

TBH, if we are going to move TheDugan from fullback (assuming we dont switch the two in defence/attack) then I would prefer Widdop to 1 and Mann to 6. Widdop is a great defender and better ball runner, smart enough to organise the defensive line and great ability to pick the right ball runner when playing the distributor role. Also removes the issue of having two dominnat ball runners in the halves.

Preference would still be Dugan to 1, or at the very least he can defend at 1 and attack out wide.

 

[Jubileeboy]

seriously?
complete rubbish article full of fluff which i got two things from:

1. Mcgregor is about 1 year behind the common man in football smarts
2. they take the supporter base as a bunch of fools trotting out that article and hoping we swallow it..
i know its the off season but surely something more of value could have been reported on?

serious question - did you take anything new, or anything you didnt already know 12 months ago from that article?

and yet you jump straight to doomsayer spiel.

Seems you haven't changed your tune in the last 12 months either, doomsayer. McGregor may be 'about 1 year behind the common man in football smarts' and by my reckoning, puts him about 18 years ahead of you.
Treat the article for all it's worth, or is the plan to psycho-analyse all media reporting?
Some folks like to read about their club and what's going on in the off-season.

 

[Saints Forever]

TBH, if we are going to move TheDugan from fullback (assuming we dont switch the two in defence/attack) then I would prefer Widdop to 1 and Mann to 6. Widdop is a great defender and better ball runner, smart enough to organise the defensive line and great ability to pick the right ball runner when playing the distributor role. Also removes the issue of having two dominnat ball runners in the halves.

Preference would still be Dugan to 1, or at the very least he can defend at 1 and attack out wide.

This is the positional change I would like to see Saints trial in the preseason.

All depends on whether Mann can play the half role to NRL standard.

Would create the balance in attack we need.

 

[Mr Red]

Seems you haven't changed your tune in the last 12 months either, doomsayer. McGregor may be 'about 1 year behind the common man in football smarts' and by my reckoning, puts him about 18 years ahead of you.
Treat the article for all it's worth, or is the plan to psycho-analyse all media reporting?
Some folks like to read about their club and what's going on in the off-season.

can always rely on you for a totally negative and aggressive response that adds no value.
seems the only people here that keep banging on about doomsayers are the ones that claim they aren't doomsayers.. irony anyone?

 

[dino2170]

we need speed and more speed

 

[Get2dachopper!]

TBH, if we are going to move TheDugan from fullback (assuming we dont switch the two in defence/attack) then I would prefer Widdop to 1 and Mann to 6. Widdop is a great defender and better ball runner, smart enough to organise the defensive line and great ability to pick the right ball runner when playing the distributor role. Also removes the issue of having two dominnat ball runners in the halves.

Preference would still be Dugan to 1, or at the very least he can defend at 1 and attack out wide.

My only reservation would be the way widdop runs the ball back from kick returns, probably Amos Roberts like! You usually see FB moving to 5/8, not the other way around, I'm really not sure about widdop moving to FB at 27, especially after that hip injury he had a few years ago.

I think Dugan and Mann will probably switch between centre and fullback.

 

[Lethal25]

Laurie Daley was quoted yesterday with respect to the possible move of Blake Ferguson to fullback

“And it will probably change the way that he plays, but it’ll probably be good for him because as a fullback these days, you need to have good catch-pass skills."

I shudder at the thought of Daley and Mary chatting over a coffee about where Dugan should be playing. After all Dugan was only selected as the Blues player of the series.

Mann as a fullback is untried at first grade level, I'd rather not see a coach take gambles with one of the most important positions on the field

 

[The Nick]

can always rely on you for a totally negative and aggressive response that adds no value.
seems the only people here that keep banging on about doomsayers are the ones that claim they aren't doomsayers.. irony anyone?

Well that's a stretch....

Laurie Daley was quoted yesterday with respect to the possible move of Blake Ferguson to fullback

?And it will probably change the way that he plays, but it?ll probably be good for him because as a fullback these days, you need to have good catch-pass skills."

I shudder at the thought of Daley and Mary chatting over a coffee about where Dugan should be playing. After all Dugan was only selected as the Blues player of the series.

Mann as a fullback is untried at first grade level, I'd rather not see a coach take gambles with one of the most important positions on the field

Dugan has excellent catch-pass skills. There's a big difference between catch-pass and ball playing.

 

[st.phil]

I think the fullback debate will continue here on the forum however far less dramatic in reality. Dugan will start the year at FB, Mann likely at centre and they will work him into set plays and swap out Dugan and Mann in diff attacking scenario's. Think thats where Mary is going - a big bang "position switch" for the current NSW FB is really really unlikely IMO

 

[Dragon66]

This is the positional change I would like to see Saints trial in the preseason.

All depends on whether Mann can play the half role to NRL standard.

Would create the balance in attack we need.

Mann's highly regarded reputation during junior football was built on his ability as a ball playing fullback or five eight. If you check his stats, he is definitely no improvement on Euan Aitken, who scored more trys and was better in most of the other key area's of the game.


He is at best a stop gap centre. Melbourne put him there because he is a talented footballer but also because he fitted into their structure. As we know their game plan revolves around the big three. And with Cameron Munster, they now have the Big Four.

For us to see Mann's real value it will have to be Fullback or in the halves.

 

[BrissyRedV]

My personal preference, and it has changed a number times on this as I see merits in both arguments, is for the Dugan to go to centre and Mann to FB.

We all know how good the Dugan can be at either position. At FB his kick returns, tackle breaking ability, defence and positioning are great. But conversely, he lacks the support play and the play making ability that the best FBs have. To often on the sweeping plays the ball dies with him. To play him at centre will give us a better balance to the team, giving us the strike centre we have been asking for and I do not think this will negatively impact to much on our KR and defence.

Mann, as we have seen with his play at the Storm is an average centre. He lacks the physique of the Dugan and most of the better strike centres in the game. But in the younger grades he was an exceptional FB/Standoff with Newcastle, Melbourne and also the QLD u20s. Putting him at the back gives us that ball playing fullback.

 

[Cagey Mac]

I agree without a lot of conviction

Duges was the best of the Blues at FB
Keen to see some trials

Looking forward to 2016
Especially with Masoe and Packer adding some muscle up front if all goes well
There's noting like the fear of a 120kg + forward crashing though to give some of the outside backs a little more room

 

[The Nick]

Origin is a whole different beast to club football. You don't really need a ball playing fullback at Origin level, you just need a bloke who is big, tough, cool under pressure and mistake free. Dugan offers all that.

 

[giboz71]

The trials will reveal plenty.

Happy to see Mann have a crack at FB, but none of us have really seen him play that position. The best fullbacks are dual threats - runners and distributors. RTS, Inglis, Slater and Stewart are the elite. Tedesco not far behind. Dugan without a passing game I would put a notch below.

The most ideal scenario would be for Dugan to develop a passing game, but seeing it appears Mann will get first crack at FB, maybe the coaches have conceded this is a pointless exercise.

Looking forward to see what Mann can do at FB. His passing/distribution better be top notch as I don't really see a power running game at this stage.

 

[Jubileeboy]

can always rely on you for a totally negative and aggressive response that adds no value.
seems the only people here that keep banging on about doomsayers are the ones that claim they aren't doomsayers.. irony anyone?

You started with the negatives, ya muppet

 

[BrissyRedV]

I agree without a lot of conviction

Duges was the best of the Blues at FB
Keen to see some trials

Looking forward to 2016
Especially with Masoe and Packer adding some muscle up front if all goes well
There's noting like the fear of a 120kg + forward crashing though to give some of the outside backs a little more room

Yep, really looking forward to this too. We had one of the lowest rates of quick play the balls in 2015 so really looking forward to seeing some actual big bodies provide that time and space for Gaz, Benji et al to take advantage of.

 

[Vasilevsky]

The trials will reveal plenty.

Happy to see Mann have a crack at FB, but none of us have really seen him play that position. The best fullbacks are dual threats - runners and distributors. RTS, Inglis, Slater and Stewart are the elite. Tedesco not far behind. Dugan without a passing game I would put a notch below.

The most ideal scenario would be for Dugan to develop a passing game, but seeing it appears Mann will get first crack at FB, maybe the coaches have conceded this is a pointless exercise.

Looking forward to see what Mann can do at FB. His passing/distribution better be top notch as I don't really see a power running game at this stage.

Dugan a notch Stewart? WTF!! Based on last season I would rate Dugan above Inglis as a fullback. RTS, Tedesco and Dugan are the 3 best fullbacks based on last season. Stewart has been well down the list for a long time.