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Sack Griffin

B

BLM01

First Grade
Messages
9,166
Funny another win and yet again the losing coach focusses on they lost basically 2 players to our 1 (fullback) during the game and playing us at our home cant understand why we won the penalty count and had no ball in the 1st half...and the media egg it on. Fed dinkum you cant win even when you win.

Yes Des & DCE you were brave and deserved to win that game and were robbed of a fair fight.
 
OneEyedDragon

OneEyedDragon

Juniors
Messages
1,472
BLM01 said:
Funny another win and yet again the losing coach focusses on they lost basically 2 players to our 1 (fullback) during the game and playing us at our home cant understand why we won the penalty count and had no ball in the 1st half...and the media egg it on. Fed dinkum you cant win even when you win.

Yes Des & DCE you were brave and deserved to win that game and were robbed of a fair fight.
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Hook seems to be the only coach that says "The opposition were very good tonight", and he says that about every opposition team! Other coaches rarely mention the opposition except to comment on how they were lucky with the ref's calls!
 
Paddles

Paddles

Juniors
Messages
312
True_Believer said:
So you don't want to make the 8 this year?
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I want to make the finals. But limping into 8th and being bundled out is not much better than finishing 9th. What I want more is a team that can win the comp, or at least be excited about.

What we’ve got now is an uncreative coach with an odd emotional connection to his ‘glory days’ in Brisbane, who has drafted some of his ‘kids’ and recruited a bunch of other old guys serving as roadblocks to real talent. We’ve got the world’s slowest hooker directing the team around, a half so dominant that his 5/8 and the rest of the backline get the ball far less than they should, and Mbye slotted into any position that can serve as a roadblock to players that should be central to the team for the next 5 years.

Sure Hunt is playing very well, but our game plan is so predictable and the strategy of basing everything around him is stupid tactically, and short sighted with a view to developing players that could be part of a comp winning team (Sullivan, Amone, Sloan, Feagais)

Teams know that if they shut down Hunt they shut down the dragons. Our best half all year - the first half against Souths - was notable because it’s one of the only times Amone has been the dominant playmaker with Hunt on the field. Amone was demanding the ball as the ‘half’, calling plays, putting in attacking kicks etc. and we looked awesome.

The current crew are performing at their ceiling, and we might limp into 7th place. If we utilise Sullivan, Amone, Sloan, Ramsay, Lomax and others properly there might be a comp winning team. They’ll have the odd shit game but thats development.

It’s unbelievably stupid to not be playing Sullivan, and almost an insult to give him 1 min. Compare the way Manly have brought Schuster on compared to our efforts with Sullivan. They both came through that SG Ball 2019 cohort.

I want the team to win, but balanced with developing players who are potential superstars (or at least not contorting yourself to find ways to block them - see Bird at fullback, rushing McCullough back into the team, mbye anywhere).

I’ve seen nothing in his judgement or performances that suggest griffin can be anything other than a guy trying to hang on and sneak into 7th with boring and conservative choices, to the detriment of the future.
 
I

I'm Hornby

Juniors
Messages
698
Paddles said:
I want the team to win, but balanced with developing players who are potential superstars (or at least not contorting yourself to find ways to block them - see Bird at fullback, rushing McCullough back into the team, mbye anywhere).
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I agree with you on the composition of the team and having a balance between youth and experience. Do you know that the team that ran on to the field last night, more than half (7/13) are 25 or younger? And if you include the 'aging bench' that you're not happy about in the parts of your post I omitted in my quote, there is 8/17 being 25 or younger.

Ramsey, Feagai, Lomax, Amone, Lawrie, Burns, Sua and Sullivan are the guys by the way.

The above plus a few others have all been blooded and in the majority of cases are playing regular first grade and are developing as you've stated you'd like to see happen.

So what more do you want Paddles? You complain about Hunt who is on track to win the Dally M, do we replace him with a young halfback like Sullivan when he is in arguably the best form of his career?

You complain about McCullough so do we replace him with Mulheison who by reports from those in the know on here and by the coach himself is a couple of seasons away from being first grade standard?

Lastly you complain about Mbye, a guy with state of origin experience who has proven himself to be an asset with his versatility and able to plug most holes if anyone goes down injured. Who from reserve grade or Flegg do you see being able to come in and do this job? Could Sullivan play fullback, centre or wing do you reckon?

Sometimes by reading a lot of the negativity on here you can fall in to the trap of thinking along the lines you are currently but I hope this at least provides a little perspective for you.
 
Paddles

Paddles

Juniors
Messages
312
Yes I would move Hunt. He’s playing well but the team is not playing well with him in that position.

We know Hunt is a quality dummy half. Will possibly be picked for Australia there. Why have we not at least tried Hunt at 9, Sullivan 7? That solves several of the issues you raise - McCullough out with a credible replacement, the half of the future actually playing, and Hunt still out there in actually his best position.

The issue obviously is that Hunt has publicly and repeatedly said he prefers playing 7. This is an area where griffin (or hunt) have to show some leadership and make a call a senior player doesn’t like for the benefit of the whole team.

Re mbye - More recently to playing origin, he was struggling to make first grade at the Tigers. He has no place being selected in front of Sullivan at 9, Sloan at 1, or Feagai at 3. His performances have been pretty average and the strategy wrong. Amone and Ramsay have covered hooker, centre and wing pretty admirably in their limited opportunities.

In addition to these poor strategic selections that shape the team, we are playing a boring and predictable style. Sliding into somewhere between 7th and 10th isn’t good enough, and Griffin is showing every week that he doesn’t have the plans for anything better.
 
I

I'm Hornby

Juniors
Messages
698
Paddles said:
Yes I would move Hunt. He’s playing well but the team is not playing well with him in that position.

We know Hunt is a quality dummy half. Will possibly be picked for Australia there. Why have we not at least tried Hunt at 9, Sullivan 7? That solves several of the issues you raise - McCullough out with a credible replacement, the half of the future actually playing, and Hunt still out there in actually his best position.

The issue obviously is that Hunt has publicly and repeatedly said he prefers playing 7. This is an area where griffin (or hunt) have to show some leadership and make a call a senior player doesn’t like for the benefit of the whole team.

Re mbye - More recently to playing origin, he was struggling to make first grade at the Tigers. He has no place being selected in front of Sullivan at 9, Sloan at 1, or Feagai at 3. His performances have been pretty average and the strategy wrong. Amone and Ramsay have covered hooker, centre and wing pretty admirably in their limited opportunities.

In addition to these poor strategic selections that shape the team, we are playing a boring and predictable style. Sliding into somewhere between 7th and 10th isn’t good enough, and Griffin is showing every week that he doesn’t have the plans for anything better.
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Moving Hunt right now when he is playing some of the best football of his career at halfback and replacing him with a rookie would not be a smart move at all. Hunt is one of the best halves of the modern era and regardless of whether or not he is also able to play Hooker, how many of the other great halves of the modern era (Thurston, Cronk, Johns) have been tapped on the shoulder and moved to a different position so that an unproven rookie would get a chance? It would be unprecedented and just plain dumb. I hope Sullivan turns out to be our next best thing as well but currently he isn't a better halfback than Hunt, so that move would make no sense and wouldn't benefit the team.

The difference is that Mbye can cover a range of positions which is why he adds value to the team being selected on the bench. Sullivan, Sloan and Max Feagai can't cover the same amount of positions that Mbye can, so either of them being named at 14 wouldn't bring the same amount of versatility, if any of the starting team got injured we would be at an extreme disadvantage and would be playing many players out of position.

As I pointed out to you in my original reply, we have plenty of young players in the first grade team each week that are learning their craft. So I suggest you take pleasure in that rather than focusing on the minority of fringe players who are not yet seeing regular first grade game time.
 
Paddles

Paddles

Juniors
Messages
312
Still disagree.

There’s a ton of examples of teams moving halves to hooker for the good of the team. Including Hunt (for Brisbane, qld), Johns (to accommodate kimmorley), Foran, Fien, even C Smith started as a half.

Hunt is in great form atm, but there’s no way he’s in Thurston and Johns category.

Mbye has been selected at 1, 3 and 9 in front of all the players I mentioned in my previous. There might be an argument to have him on the bench, but again his performances have ranged from average to bad.
 
D

dragon thomo

Juniors
Messages
1,166
When you care for a for something enough you have to make sacrifices.
If it means we dont make the eight to lose Griffin than so be it.
We will only be cannon fodder anyway.
The issue is that the board should move now so they can build for next year.
I respect everyone for their own thoughts but i am sick and tired of shit results and its time for action Now.
 
D

dungay dragon

Juniors
Messages
1,071
Re Mbye
Wasnt thrilled when he signed but has filled in admirably in several positions when given the task .
Relatively safe and mostly error free
One of our best against the Eagles and would be surprised if he isnt retained at FB this week
Mightn't win you a game but he wont lose one for you either
Everyone wants to see the younger players come thru , but i like some on here , dont feel they are ready for the week to week grind and intensity of NRL..
They read all the bouquets that fans put on them and start believing they are ready
 
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