Twizzle, I hate the way Drown is playing offensively right now.
It shows very little creativity or aptitude for the game as a half. He is like a human handbrake out there at present. I have almost forgotten that he even has a short kicking game. I doubt the coaching staff have told him to put almost all that makes a half/5/8th, a playmaker away.
I understand that he is only just starting out his NRL career and the coach has probably told him to concentrate on certain areas of his game over others, but I doubt they have told him to struggle to draw and pass at the line or not count numbers and pass to the wrong player or drop balls. These are some of the little things that he has been getting wrong throughout his time in the NRL.
He has a tidy short passing game, but as for almost everything else as a 5/8th's attacking game he is very average. His running game too is underwhelming because he isn't doing anything with his hands to threaten the defense other then just run so to the defense it is just like tackling a non passing forward out wide.
What I would have expected if the coaching staff wanted him to simplify his game as they build it up over the first few years is a player that makes sure he makes his tackles, which he does and at present is the best part of his game. Offensively though I would told him to focus on just being a link man on his side of the field and running wherever the opportunity presents itself. Not to worry about making things happen on his own and to occasionally kick. This is what seems to have been the directive so far and what he is doing.
But the problem though is he is doing doing it rather poorly a lot of the time. His passing game and his ability to sum up an attacking raid and then execute it properly is what concerns me the most at present. He just doesn't look very comfortable or proficient in this area. Almost like a dear in headlights at times.
I agree that we need to build his game from the basics first and slowly add to his bow, but he is not showing improvement in the things that he is doing and actually playing worse at times. Mahoney other then the occasional game here and there has always played well. He just needed to add a running game to his game so as that he could be a threat at the ruck and bring our players on to the ball over the advantage line, which he is now doing.
What I expected from someone of Drowns ability as a running 5/8th is for him to have been given a licence to roam. All I would have told him would be make your tackles, give good quick service to your backs and when you get the feeling in a game, due to him being basically the second fittest at the club behind Gutho, make your support play your weapon.
Instead of him just running the ball as a hitup all the time, he should loiter on either side of the ruck like Gutho, and anticipate a break or half break. He has the fitness to do this and even better then Gutho, is much quicker. I would turn him into a support/running 5/8th. Just like Baa Baa if he just learnt to pushup in the middle all the time, good things would naturally happen for him.
But at the the moment, he is mainly just sitting out wide waiting for things to happen and to much time to think and get it wrong. If he became more of a hound dog support player his game would improve 10 fold, because then he would find himself in many different scenario's that he would have to deal with and learn from his mistakes. At present he isn't contributing much in the backline and actually stifling it on many occasions and I think it is because he is trying to make it happen, but failing and getting frustrated.
I am still a fan of his and think that he deserves his place in the team at the very least because we have no one better at the club to replace him with anyway. But he needs to change his game up a little and becoming a rovers dog out there just like Gutho, which I believe is the first step in building up his attacking game. Gutho's attacking game has come along due to all the support play he has built his game around. Like I said, he is super fit just like Gutho and you can never have to many support players, especially in our team of off loaders who so often are looking around and no one is there.
But I suspect he will continue on the way he is playing right now and end up a solid but nothing special playmaker. So if somehow he turns his game around over the next year or two and comes on in leaps and bounds, I will consider our coach a master player developer and he knows exactly what he is doing and the rest of us are just nongs. But I can't say I am not concerned. He just looks confused and lost out there. I hope I am so very wrong and that there is a method to the madness.
Time will tell.
