R1 Team V Canberra

[billypilgrimnz]

Taylor on the bench is just geniused. He's either starting or not used.

We won't get close to the Raiders.

 

[Copperhead]

Taylor on the bench is just geniused. He's either starting or not used.

Always the chance he might be used to rest Sege....... he was fantastic at dh for the Warriors.

 

[Royce is King]

Gee i hope this team wins and wins well... a few points

* Will Smith was one of our top 3 players the last 3 - 4 games this team played... he deserves a shot in the no. 1 with moylan out.

* Some people here zero in on a bad performance and the next thing that player should never even speak to the rest of the squad... let alone play another game.

* Blake last year was public enemy no. 1 with alot of people here, but after a couple of trials and the touch comp called the 9s, he is the next Greg Inglis....PLEASE

*DWZ is a good young player who i hope stays for life, but he has done nothing in the no.1 in the nrl that justifies the hype.

this team has not played 1 minute together and people want to bag the s&^t out of them going off a few mickey mouse trials..... i think the coaching staff see more than we do

PANTHERS BY 8

 

[PenrithPanther45]

Yeo should swap with Taylor, he's a waste of space on the bench. Wallace and Soward are for me the real problem. I'm thinking a slow start to the season might spell the end of Wallace if griffin is brave enough. I reckon well start pretty poorly and never really catch up well enough. Smith is pretty good in attack at FB but his defence is average. I really hope Griffin is playing mind games, at least with taylor

 

[PenrithPanther45]

Someone brought up a good point on the fb page that et could be used off the bench as a tackling machine to counter the massive raiders forwards

 

[mxlegend99]

* Will Smith was one of our top 3 players the last 3 - 4 games this team played... he deserves a shot in the no. 1 with moylan out.

In the last few games this team and he played he was among the worst. He was the worst player on field from both teams against the Eels. He was horrible in the 9s also and had no idea what to do in attack.

I think his form in those games is a better indication in what to expect from him.

* Some people here zero in on a bad performance and the next thing that player should never even speak to the rest of the squad... let alone play another game.

* Blake last year was public enemy no. 1 with alot of people here, but after a couple of trials and the touch comp called the 9s, he is the next Greg Inglis....PLEASE

These points contradict each other?

Also he was the next Greg Inglis before he ever pulled an NRL jersey on.

*DWZ is a good young player who i hope stays for life, but he has done nothing in the no.1 in the nrl that justifies the hype.

Did you miss his final few games at fullback before injury? He was steamrolling players with his runs and growing in confidence with every game. Sadly his injury sets him back a long way. Not just at fullback but in general fitness.

this team has not played 1 minute together and people want to bag the s&^t out of them going off a few mickey mouse trials..... i think the coaching staff see more than we do

PANTHERS BY 8

1 minute together? The Eels trial was 80 minutes and most of this team was here last year. It's not like we have a brand new spine.

 

[billypilgrimnz]

Always the chance he might be used to rest Sege....... he was fantastic at dh for the Warriors.

Griffin would probably entertain that.

 

[betcats]

Id love to know what the coaches are seeing in Mckendry.

 

[betcats]

Someone brought up a good point on the fb page that et could be used off the bench as a tackling machine to counter the massive raiders forwards

He can tackle a lot more big forwards starting then he could off the bench.

 

[mxlegend99]

Id love to know what the coaches are seeing in Mckendry.

Maybe they haven't got any tapes since 2012?

He's one I am hopeful can re-find his form. But it won't happen in first grade IMO. I think a few games in the lower grades to both build confidence and fire him up to earn his first grade spot back would do wonders.

It's crazy to think that Matt Elliott developed two of the best young props in the game between Sam McKendry and Tim Grant. Yet their careers went backwards under Ivan Cleary. They should be two of the best forwards in the game today. But there's atleast half a dozen teams where they couldn't get a run at full strength.

 

[Royce is King]

MX we get you don't rate Will Smith.... god knows we get it but if you think a couple of trial games has determined this 17 you have not looked at the rest of the team.

So a couple of good games makes DWZ a life long no.1?.... I have heard the hype but the fact is he has not yet delivered. Ask people that don't follow Penrith and they don't get what all the fuss is about.

MX we also get that you think Moylan should be 5/8..... but if you blindly go off what little trial form that has been played, which you clearly do, then MOYLAN SHOULD NEVER MOVE FROM NO.1

This 17 has NEVER played together... but i am pretty sure if we don't get up on Saturday it will be Will Smith's fault.

 

[murraymob]

simple fact we have a few injuries that have caused the 17 if all players are available we have more options and can field a different 17.Come on get behind the boys support will smith I am

 

[betcats]

We just had a parra fan in here saying DWZ is to good for the wing. Does a couple good games make Will a no 1 for life? Dallin has shown more then Smith has.

 

[Royce is King]

Never ever did i say Will Smith for life..... i said he deserves to fill in for MOYLAN after the way he finished last year.

Obviously the coaching staff think the same.

 

[betcats]

No one here has said Dallin should be fb ahead of Moylan. But if Moylan is out or if he is moved Dallin should be next in line, he has done more to earn that then Will Smith has imo.

 

[Randy81]

Fmd this thread is hurting my head. I must admit i only saw the parra trial - which imo had an awful second half display by the whole team.
In that game, blake was the only one to impress me, so i don't get the singling out of will smith. Was he really that bad in the other trials?

I will be driving down to Canberra for this one with the family. So fingers crossed it was cobwebs thus far.

 

[betcats]

I don't even mind the idea of Smith at fb except for the fact I believe Dallin should be ahead of him. What really bothers me is Mckendry starting and ET on the bench. Also it seems Latu and JFH might be injured which adds to our already concerning injury list.

Another thing I noticed was every team that finished in the bottom eight made fairly significant changes to their spine. That might not mean anything but it has me concerned about persisting with Wallace.

 

[Randy81]

I don't even mind the idea of Smith at fb except for the fact I believe Dallin should be ahead of him. What really bothers me is Mckendry starting and ET on the bench. Also it seems Latu and JFH might be injured which adds to our already concerning injury list.

I sit just behind the bench and can confirm that latu came off injured vs eels and looked in alot of pain.
At the time i thought it may have been his back by the way he was tentatively moving. Sternum makes sense though.
I really hope he is back quickly. Certainly has some size and aggression for the pack

 

[maple_69]

Another thing I noticed was every team that finished in the bottom eight made fairly significant changes to their spine. That might not mean anything but it has me concerned about persisting with Wallace.

We didn't have any spine last year period. The last time this spine had any time together they were good enough to get us to a top 4 finish and a prelim. Granted, Wallace and Soward are 2 years older now but I can't fault Griffin for giving them first crack when Moylan is out. I'll start criticising when/if they prove themselves underwhelming after 3/4 rounds and we have other viable options.

I think DWZ should be fullback as well but can live with Smith for the sake of continuity (Moylan supposed to be back R2 apparently) given he performed well at the end of last year. Gus and Griffin clearly want Merrin at lock, so I'm assuming they are trying to figure out what to do with Taylor. He'll probably end up leaving.

Excited to see Merrin debut, I think we've all glossed over what a huge addition he can be to this side given our issues with go forward. Hope Blake has a good game also.

 

[mxlegend99]

MX we get you don't rate Will Smith.... god knows we get it but if you think a couple of trial games has determined this 17 you have not looked at the rest of the team.
This team is proof that trials had absolutely no bearing on team selection at all. That's what's shit about it. Current form has been ignored 100%.

So a couple of good games makes DWZ a life long no.1?.... I have heard the hype but the fact is he has not yet delivered. Ask people that don't follow Penrith and they don't get what all the fuss is about.
Well apparently he wont get the chance now. But he was improving every week prior to his injury and he has something Smith and Moylan don't... he has size and strength. sadly his injury happened at the worst time for him. Story of his life really. Should have repped New Zealand and had our #1 locked up. But he got injured as he was about to do both.

MX we also get that you think Moylan should be 5/8..... but if you blindly go off what little trial form that has been played, which you clearly do, then MOYLAN SHOULD NEVER MOVE FROM NO.1
Moylan played 20 minutes at half in his first game in more than 9 months. He played 20 minutes at fullback and wasn't anywhere near his best in either position. Although he's injured and irrelevant to the Round 1 team.

This 17 has NEVER played together... but i am pretty sure if we don't get up on Saturday it will be Will Smith's fault.
If he plays shit it's his fault. And Griffins for picking a player who was horrible the entire preseason. By the same token pretty much every team named has never played together before..

If a player has a shit game i am going to say they played shit. If that player continues to play poorly and still gets picked I am going to be pissed off that he keeps getting a run. If that player starts playing well I will give him credit for it and if he keeps playing well I will want him in the team. This is what happened in the trials.

I want our best 17 fit players on the field. He's not one of them (at the moment). If that changes then I will be happy if its due to him improving. But unlike some people I don't blindly accept everything our team does as being great. Or think everyone in our jersey has actually earned or deserves it.. I want us to win every single game. I want us to go into every single game with our best team available and for poor players to be dropped and reserve grade guys in good form to be rewarded by replacing the poor performers. Ideally everyone is in terrific form and it's a huge headache.

He had a few good games last year. But he had more poor ones then that. So there's a chance he plays ok. But based on trials and his strike rate of good games last year there's a far bigger chance he plays poorly.