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Ranking the halfbacks

Vic Mackey

Referee
Messages
26,356
Yeah, I worded that poorly. Should have said "....a game plan that doesn't rely on his running....." I did say he has a fine running game.

Reynolds' rookie year in 2012 (in which he won rookie of the year ) was straight after major knee surgery, with complications. You saw very little running. That was definitely intentional and part of Maguires plans. It takes at least 6 months to get anywhere near full speed with that type of injury + throw in the confidence factor. He still went great. Last year he did run a lot more running and scored and setup some great running tries, but he struggled with a leg injury during the back end of the season..you could see him grabbing at it after tackles.

I'm willing to bet now that his second year is out of the way, we're going to witness a long-term, superstar halfback emerge.

You have no idea

You're probably the same kind of souffs spastic who thought willie peters was the next peter sterling

Reynolds is barely a first grader. He is a one dimensional hack who got shown up big time during the pressure games in 2013. He could have a 4 on 1 and he would still kick it. He has NO running game and NO passing game. Ben Teo came to souths as the best hole running second rower in the comp. they stuck him next to Reynolds who can't even draw and pass which saw him basically become a run if the mill hit up second rower. Reynolds is a less annoying Jamie Soward...although at least soward can run in broken play.
 

MrAnonymous

Bench
Messages
4,070
Reynolds is pretty much like Walsh, Good kicking game.

that's about it. Put any half in that Souths team with a decent kicking game and they would look good.
 
Messages
119
Myth Pearce is the worst halfback to ever play rep football. He is a choker and a joke at rep level. If it wasn't for cronyism, he would never have got a rep jersey and NSW might have been competitive for the past 6 years.

Reynolds will take Pearce's NSW spot next year and hold it for the next 10 years. He will also get Cronk's spot for the roos within two years.

Hahaha, so you're one of those genius's that thinks both Laurie Daley and Ricky Stuart risked their jobs and coaching reputations just to pick they're good mate Pearce???

Also, please tell me all about the "better" options NSW have had in the last 6 years?? Obviously Pearce has played shite at origin level and as a Blues fan i hope he doesn't play next year, but the Blues coaches did the right thing in persisting with him. It is only now that we have Reynolds nearly ready and Luke Brooks coming through that there has been any pressure on Pearce's jersey.
 

rabbitohs95

Bench
Messages
4,711
Reynolds has a decent running game.A passing game with vision is what he is lacking

Someone's on the money

Only thing Pearce has over Reynolds is a passing game. As previously mentioned, Reynold's game doesn't involve running, however with Sutton most likely moving to the forwards next year we could see more of his running. Hope he gets far he is a great young talent who is only going to get better
 

gypsy

Bench
Messages
4,248
A. Reynolds isn't close to top 10 at the moment.
Halfback's are measured by having a complete game, and standing up when needed/under pressure.
He hasn't shown anything of note when tested.
 

mxlegend99

Referee
Messages
23,647
Cooper Cronk and Daly Cherry-Evans are without a doubt the top 2. I would have Shaun Johnson ahead of Mitchell Pearce for 3rd place though. Mitchell Pearce has been given more representative chances then any player deserves and consistently failed to deliver. Shaun Johnson has atleast performed in representative football.

It's quiet sad that Pearce is able to be in the top 5 halfbacks to be honest. The quality is pretty disgraceful when a bloke with so little talent is easily in the top 5 and for many people the 3rd best halfback. Although I can't imagine any person who rated him 3rd wanting their club to sign him over Shaun Johnson.

When was the last time the halfback talent was so thin in the NRL? People thought NSW were struggling when the likes of Gower and Orford were the first choice of options after Joey was injured/retired. Yet if we had either one of those blokes available today in the form they had back then the Blues would have won a few series atleast.
 

MrAnonymous

Bench
Messages
4,070
Someone's on the money

Only thing Pearce has over Reynolds is a passing game. As previously mentioned, Reynold's game doesn't involve running, however with Sutton most likely moving to the forwards next year we could see more of his running. Hope he gets far he is a great young talent who is only going to get better

He's 24 next yr, Wouldn't call that a great young talent.
 

Vic Mackey

Referee
Messages
26,356
06 on?

Not a chance.


I'd say that over the last 3-4 years nsw forwards and outside backs have bettered qld fairly well, it's just that qlds halves are so insanely better then nsw that has got them home. If thurston, Lockyer and cronk had of played for nsw the last few years and Pearce and whoever played for qld I have little doubt the series wins would have been reversed.
 

Big Pete

Referee
Messages
29,176
Lockyer, JT and Cronk are on a whole other level to 06-07 Gower & Orford though.

I wouldn't say the NSW forwards or backs have out-performed Queensland since consistently since 2009 either.
 

mxlegend99

Referee
Messages
23,647
Gower and Orford back then are miles ahead of Pearce though. Give us either one of them
In stead of Pearce in each series and we win a couple IMO. Not because they're better than The QLD opposite. But because theyre a big enough improvement over Pearce to make a difference and win a few of the games we lost.

Its purely hypothetical ofcourse. But Pearce is the reason we cant win. Sadly we have no better actual halfbacks at the moment. Although using a Mullen or Carney at 7 would be an improvement.
 

adamkungl

Immortal
Messages
42,972
Someone's on the money

Only thing Pearce has over Reynolds is a passing game. As previously mentioned, Reynold's game doesn't involve running, however with Sutton most likely moving to the forwards next year we could see more of his running. Hope he gets far he is a great young talent who is only going to get better

For a halfback this seems faiiiirly important :lol: So what youre saying is, he has no passing game and his game doesn't involve running... what exactly *does* his game involve?
 

Nightward

Juniors
Messages
874
Lockyer, JT and Cronk are on a whole other level to 06-07 Gower & Orford though.

I wouldn't say the NSW forwards or backs have out-performed Queensland since consistently since 2009 either.

Indeed. If that were the case, the halves would be irrelevant. The forwards would be laying an attacking platform, and the backs would be finishing it off. Instead, NSW is 0 from 4 attempts in that time frame.

Not to say Queensland haven't picked some hopeless cases (Thaiday, PJ Marsh's one-off return) but the results very much attest to Queensland just being better across the park, year in year out.

I think the dearth of genuine talent in halves these days can be attributed to two things; a focus on "athletes" over footballers, and a risk-averse style of play from most teams and coaches. At the development level, few players who would be able to develop into the halves of yester-year even get a go because larger frames are preferred and chancing your hand isn't going to win too many points from your immediate coach or the NRL side your club is a feeder for. By the time you get to NRL level, players with flair and creativity have largely been trained or simply bashed out of the game.

There are exceptions (Thurston, DCE, etc) but they are getting fewer and further between. Even when you do see someone with promise make it to the NRL level they usually don't go on with it.

Watching old games makes it pretty clear we've almost lost the traditional five-eighth entirely, and signs indicate that the traditional halfback is also a dying breed. There will always be a need for 6s and 7s who can kick, but truly creative ones that we used to see are coming up less and less. That a player as hopeless as Pearce in that position is being rated so highly just about says it all. I think he'd be a pretty handy hooker (as would Wallace, really, who should have been moved a while ago), but he doesn't do that well as a half.

Of course, as the role changes him and Wallace are what we've mostly got to look forward to as new players come through.
 

Big Pete

Referee
Messages
29,176
Gower and Orford back then are miles ahead of Pearce though. Give us either one of them
In stead of Pearce in each series and we win a couple IMO. Not because they're better than The QLD opposite. But because theyre a big enough improvement over Pearce to make a difference and win a few of the games we lost.

Its purely hypothetical ofcourse. But Pearce is the reason we cant win. Sadly we have no better actual halfbacks at the moment. Although using a Mullen or Carney at 7 would be an improvement.

I'd like to see how you arrived at this conclusion.

Gower was a hack by 06, heck you could even make the argument for 05 really and he didn't produce anything of note in the halves at that level, ever.

Orford never even made it that far and it wasn't like people were that concerned with his omission either. If anything, he's Pearce's equal in that he was a 'good' club halfback. Nothing more, nothing less.
 

BranVan3000

Coach
Messages
12,297
Reynolds is a great halfback but he is not a complete halfback. Same decription goes for Pearce. Only Cronk, DCE and Thurston could claim to have a complete halfbacks game.

I think Reynolds needs to do two things: work with a halves coach like DCE has had the benefit of doing, and move to the other side of the field. The best I've seen him play was in the City a country game where he shifted to the left side of the field, his right to left passing seemed much crisper and working with Fittler seemed to help him a lot. Still, his passing game leaves a lot to be desired. Which is odd because he was known for his kicking and passing in the u20s. To his credit he has a really cool head for a halfback and one of the best kicking games in the competition. Hopefully he can continue improving.
 

bellyache

Bench
Messages
3,213
Someone's on the money

Only thing Pearce has over Reynolds is a passing game. As previously mentioned, Reynold's game doesn't involve running, however with Sutton most likely moving to the forwards next year we could see more of his running. Hope he gets far he is a great young talent who is only going to get better
Doesn't defence, speed, power and a brain count these days? When Reynolds gets these he might come close to Pearce, I doubt Reynolds will sprout longer legs and improve his IQ..
 

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