What's new
The Front Row Forums

Register a free account today to become a member of the world's largest Rugby League discussion forum! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

The fourth bench spot......

DragonJ

Juniors
Messages
236
You are really are not very bright.
You keep referring to "morals" as if I was the one who introduced it to our exchanges.
Go back and have a really good look at the posts between ourselves and you will see quite clearly that you made the initial moral comment which was in relation to De Belin.
in respect of going to church no I didn't nor do I have any need to.
So bak to the Latimore question where you like many others introduce the argument of "he is on minimal money" as some form of justification for his repeated selection.
I don't care how much money he is on I firmly believe we have far better options to explore and it astounds me that doesn't happen and what astounds me more is people are too frightened to lose a game or 2 to bother to find out and in the meantime we lose a few games anyway.

No, no. Your position in regard to the morals of players is well known. That is what you said. I didn't know you were the arbiter of morals but now I know.

So as for Latimore. Being on minimal money would put a question over your morals when you so aggressively denounce him. But mostly he does his job and for the most part, does it well. Can any of the guys you mentioned do it better? Good question. Hard to say at this point.
 

BennyV

Referee
Messages
22,441
Robson. It simply has to be. Anything else is silly. He is by far our most valuable junior (other than Lomax) and far more important to our future than Dufty. He can give respite minutes to he hooker and lock while gaining valuable minutes that will lead to him challenging McInnes for the starting role in the coming years. In addition, we have no other depth at hooker, so Robson needs to be prepped when called upon.

Norman should be starting.
Dufty can play 1 position only, and shuffling halves during the game is moronic. Needs to develop in ISP.
Field is not near our bed 17.
An extra forward is a maybe but it’s better to relieve the middles (with Leilua giving one or both of the edges a break).

Not even a question. Needs to be Robson.
 

giboz71

First Grade
Messages
8,895
Robson needs to be given FG minutes so we can make a decision on McInnes as well. If he turns out to be the gun we all hope he'll be, some tough decisions may need to be made as plenty of other clubs will come calling.

Cam is a decent hooker for sure, but if Robson proves to be the better prospect long term, he should get the nod. The only way we can make a call on that is if he gets FG minutes.

The last thing we need is another Damien Cook scenario where a prospect we let go goes on to be an international for another club.
 

Old Timer

Coach
Messages
16,914
Robson needs to be given FG minutes so we can make a decision on McInnes as well. If he turns out to be the gun we all hope he'll be, some tough decisions may need to be made as plenty of other clubs will come calling.

Cam is a decent hooker for sure, but if Robson proves to be the better prospect long term, he should get the nod. The only way we can make a call on that is if he gets FG minutes.

The last thing we need is another Damien Cook scenario where a prospect we let go goes on to be an international for another club.
Damien Cook was not anything special when he left us and the argument we let go a rep quality footballer is badly flawed.
What we let go was considered less viable than Garvey and what Canterbury let go was also considered quite ordinary but what Souths and Cook himself created was potent.
 

muzby

Village Idiot
Staff member
Messages
45,708
The last thing we need is another Damien Cook scenario where a prospect we let go goes on to be an international for another club.

That’s not always the worst case scenario though..

Ben+Hornby+NRL+Rd+10+Panthers+v+Dragons+RVopLjnV9Nfl.jpg
 

giboz71

First Grade
Messages
8,895
Damien Cook was not anything special when he left us and the argument we let go a rep quality footballer is badly flawed.
What we let go was considered less viable than Garvey and what Canterbury let go was also considered quite ordinary but what Souths and Cook himself created was potent.

My point is, he never got a fair crack at his preferred position because we pinned all our hopes on Mitch f..king Rein.

We need to let that sink in for a second and vow never to let that situation happen again.

Not saying that Cam is anywhere the derp of Rein, but Robson needs to be given a crack to see what he can do. More chance than we gave Cook anyway.
 

watatank

Coach
Messages
13,972
Damien Cook is going to be the comparison then it doesn't matter because Robson is not going to be any good for about 4-5 years anyway.

We should be wary of what happened at the Bulldogs when they flicked Ennis in favour of Lichaa which was a mistake (also lost the opportunity to have Cook).
 

DragonJ

Juniors
Messages
236
Damien Cook is going to be the comparison then it doesn't matter because Robson is not going to be any good for about 4-5 years anyway.

We should be wary of what happened at the Bulldogs when they flicked Ennis in favour of Lichaa which was a mistake (also lost the opportunity to have Cook).
That's a very good point. I remember thinking something to the end of "f**k! Why are the Bullgrubs always 1 step ahead."

Glad to say I was wrong. Give Robson trail games and if that works out, time on the bench and if he continues to work out, maybe it will be time to let go of McInnes.

We really need to be more ruthless! If Robson passes the tests, let go of McInnes. Even if he wins the Clive Churchill medal this year. Melbourne and Rorters would do it. Probably even Shonkies. It's only us who are loyal to under-performing players compared to other players.
 

possm

Coach
Messages
15,587
Robson needs to be given FG minutes so we can make a decision on McInnes as well. If he turns out to be the gun we all hope he'll be, some tough decisions may need to be made as plenty of other clubs will come calling.

Cam is a decent hooker for sure, but if Robson proves to be the better prospect long term, he should get the nod. The only way we can make a call on that is if he gets FG minutes.

The last thing we need is another Damien Cook scenario where a prospect we let go goes on to be an international for another club.
It is not that complicated. Right now we just need to sign Robson on a 3-4 year deal and play him as the second string hooker until he proves to be superior to McInnes. Once McInness's contract is due, then we need to make decisions regarding the upgrade of Robson's contract and maybe the promotion of a gun young hooker to be our second string hooker.

McInnes is the backbone of our defence in the middle and features in our attacking plays from dummy half. His accurate passing and his ability to feed the ball according to game plan is without question. Robson will need to demonstrate an ability to defend in the middle well and provide superior skills in attack to that of McInnes before he could be considered for the 9 jumper. Until that time, he should be given the 14 jumper and be happy to learn and improve.
 

Old Timer

Coach
Messages
16,914
Robson, Leilua, Lawrie and K.Sims on the bench. Host to come into the 17 if JDB is out.

Latimore should be captain of the reggies.
That is exactly what Latimore's job should be.
Absolutely nothing he can teach anyone in 1st grade and our young forwards need some guidance in ISP.
Depending on his fitness levels and potency I might even swap Graham back to the bench for Lawrie to start.
Graham might provide that starch we need just before and just after half time and I think his longevity would benefit from having 10 or 15 minutes playing time followed by the half time break and then another 10 to 15 playing time straight after that.
 

Saint_JimmyG

First Grade
Messages
5,067
The argument re Latimore really irks me.
  1. Is he a good bloke? By all accounts a great fellow
  2. Would he get the same gig with another top 8 team? Not likely.
  3. Can he teach anyone in the 1st grade squad anything by playing with them? No
  4. Can he teach and mentor young blokes in reggies? Definitely
  5. If people think we can win the comp this year, then to have Latimore on their bench they must think we can't win the premiership without him being there. So that beggars the question who believes that Latimore can make the difference between winning or losing a premiership? Not me
  6. Latimore is on a 1 year contract, not likely to be retained next year and if people don't think he will make the difference between in winning or losing the comp then why the f**k would you pick him? Mystifying IMO
  7. The pro Latimore people will then say, if Latimore is not picked do I think the player in front of him will make the difference between winning or losing the comp? The answer is I don't know but I am certainly willing to find out and if they don't do it this year they might just do it next year and that won't happen with Latimore.

Re point 6: didn’t we all question the same thing at the end of last season? The bottom line here (for right or wrong) is that McGregor will choose Latimore no matter what. He is our “Jon Green”.
 

Old Timer

Coach
Messages
16,914
Re point 6: didn’t we all question the same thing at the end of last season? The bottom line here (for right or wrong) is that McGregor will choose Latimore no matter what. He is our “Jon Green”.
Unfortunately not all questioned it last year and surprisingly some still refuse to question it this year.
Still people saying he is only on minimal money and he does his job".
Evidently minimal money is the answer rather than what he actually brings to us to make us a formidable premiership threat.
K Sims for mine would have been a considerable upgrade on Latimore on the proviso we kept LAM and we would have been in a much better position.
But losing LAM and retaining Latimore means that K Sims basically secures the status quo of last year which was not good enough.
Time for Mc F to put it all on the line and finally answer the question do Lawrie, Leilua & Host have enough to hold permanent positions in 1st grade and if not then time to let them go.
Just on Leilua I acknowledge he showed some positive signs last year but IMO he still has a lot to prove and he needs plenty of 1st grade time to do that.
He showed some flashy stuff that made a few people think he has made it but I want to see him stiffen up in defence and really bust the line on a consistent basis.
 
Last edited:

RufusRex

Post Whore
Messages
62,231
The last few rounds last year showed that Lawrie was ready .. again it was an injury that proved our juniors were ready and forced Mary into picking them.

The suspension to Korbin means that Latimore/Lawrie will play the opening rounds off the bench. Probably a head to head dual for the spot when Korbin takes his place.

Hopefully Lawrie outshines Latimore and Mary recognises this.
 

BLM01

First Grade
Messages
8,938
It is not that complicated. Right now we just need to sign Robson on a 3-4 year deal and play him as the second string hooker until he proves to be superior to McInnes. Once McInness's contract is due, then we need to make decisions regarding the upgrade of Robson's contract and maybe the promotion of a gun young hooker to be our second string hooker.

McInnes is the backbone of our defence in the middle and features in our attacking plays from dummy half. His accurate passing and his ability to feed the ball according to game plan is without question. Robson will need to demonstrate an ability to defend in the middle well and provide superior skills in attack to that of McInnes before he could be considered for the 9 jumper. Until that time, he should be given the 14 jumper and be happy to learn and improve.
However Possm..you wont get him a long term deal playing 14.
You are right re McInnes but if someone snaps Robson up for 2020 to play 1st grade based on a bit of unknown to date, decision has been made for us. You cant keep em all.
 

possm

Coach
Messages
15,587
However Possm..you wont get him a long term deal playing 14.
You are right re McInnes but if someone snaps Robson up for 2020 to play 1st grade based on a bit of unknown to date, decision has been made for us. You cant keep em all.

You are right however, Robson and Lomax are two players we must keep and on the other side of the ledger, Aitken and Lafai are two we should let go - both should never have been signed long term.
 

LINESPEED

Juniors
Messages
1,551
Can someone please send this thread to Mary and remind him there is an actual 4th bench spot for when he evolves into a 1st grade coach.


The coelacanth hasn’t evolved in 360 million years.
1.5% of the braincase contains brain tissue.
So for some, evolution is a moot point lol
 
Last edited:

BennyV

Referee
Messages
22,441
However Possm..you wont get him a long term deal playing 14.
You are right re McInnes but if someone snaps Robson up for 2020 to play 1st grade based on a bit of unknown to date, decision has been made for us. You cant keep em all.
He won’t be picked up to be a first stringer for 2020. What team would?
 

nontime111

Juniors
Messages
1,623
the bench players should be rotated also to give experience in first grade when we do NEED them.....all this lot should be getting semi regular FG games in my book

Lawrie
Host
Kerr

Luch a definite along with Simms and Robson
 

Latest posts

Top