2011 wild predictions

[Coastbloke]

Well since I last posted, I have been called a 'moron' and a 'wanker' and yet I have been accused of being personal..

Water off a ducks back, but I'm just saying. The hypocrite factor on this forum is massive..

It's quite funny that the 'experts' talk about Gids kicking game and passing game blah blah blah, everyone's a expert on the game but lets not look at the results, after all they speak for themselves when Gids was halfback..

Here's a revelation. I agree Gid's best position is FB..But with all the combinations we've had at 6 and 7 in the last couple of years, one combination has been outstanding..And it wins games..

So, dribble all you like. I'm going for the combination that means results..I want the Knights to win a Premiership..

 

[Apey]

Well since I last posted, I have been called a 'moron' and a 'wanker' and yet I have been accused of being personal..

Do you even read the dribble you post?

Water off a ducks back, but I'm just saying. The hypocrite factor on this forum is massive..

Wasn't it that people were attacking you for your opinion? It has little to do with your opinion, as ludicrous as it seems to the majority of us, but rather the pathetic way you go about expressing it.

Anyone who doesn't agree with you wants the team to fail? :lol: Wanker.

It's quite funny that the 'experts' talk about Gids kicking game and passing game blah blah blah, everyone's a expert on the game but lets not look at the results, after all they speak for themselves when Gids was halfback..

Funny how the actual aspects that concern Gidley's form as halfback rate as 'blah blah blah' to you.

Here's a revelation. I agree Gid's best position is FB..But with all the combinations we've had at 6 and 7 in the last couple of years, one combination has been outstanding..And it wins games..

You're coming across as someone who didn't actually watch any games last year, but rather went and read the paper or some website that told you we won more games with Gidley at half.

 

[Coastbloke]

Like I said blah blah blah...

My post before is the last one on this thread..I have my opinion..It's up to the experts to decide (which excludes 99% on here) where he plays..

My opinion is etched all year in my 2011 predictions sig..whether I'm right or wrong it stays up there and I'll either look pretty stupid or I'll be on the coaching staff in 2012..

 

[roopy]

With Karawana fit this season we have to consider him for the 6.
I think Rogers is better when he has a good game, but he only has 5 a season.
Marv doesn't pull off many big plays, but he doesn't go missing either.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

Kurt really needs to be at fullback imo. But having said that, the defense he offers in the front line for a number 7 is pretty unique.

 

[TooheysNew]

Water off a ducks back, but I'm just saying.

Yes, that's blatantly obvious.

 

[Alex28]

With Karawana fit this season we have to consider him for the 6.
I think Rogers is better when he has a good game, but he only has 5 a season.
Marv doesn't pull off many big plays, but he doesn't go missing either.

Oh come on... If Rogers has 5 good games a season, has Karawana even had 5 NRL quality games period?

I know the post is called "wild predictions" but this is ridiculous...

 

[slotmachine]

Just had a look at the records of our halfbacks in 2010. These stats might not be 100% correct as it hard to know who was actually playing first receiver despite the number on their back.

Dureau: 2 wins 8 losses - 20% win
Mullen: 4 wins 3 losses - 57% wins
Gidley: 4 wins 3 losses - 57% wins

In light of the above problem, halves combinations might be a better way to look at it.

Mullen / Dureau: 2 wins 7 losses - 22% win
Rogers / Mullen: 4 wins 3 losses - 57% win
Rogers / Gidley: 1 win 0 losses - 100% win
Rogers / Dureau: 0 wins 1 loss - 0% win
Mullen / Gidley: 3 wins 2 losses - 60% win
Dureau / Gidley: 0 wins 1 loss - 100% loss

So statistically it's a toss up as to whether Gidley or Mullen was better for us at half.

 

[Alex28]

So with Gidley in the halves we won 4 and lost 3. Who was playing fullback in those games and what was the win percentage for those players?

It is more than having one player in one position. It is about having strong players across the board.

The big question is - is Rogers/Henry a better half than McDonnell/Naiqama is a fullback?

 

[Rusty]

I think with a decent forward pack this year, it won't matter who will be partnering Mullen. Mullen will need to be the 'go to man' this year, no more excuses. A little more consistency and the team will be sweet.

 

[rnb11]

I don't know if you guys have seen Beau Henry's stats from 2010 so I've put together some. To add a bit of spice to things, I've compared them to JT's 2010 stats.

Beau Henry/ Johnathan Thurston

18 game/ 16 games
97 runs/ 106 runs
52 goals/ 40 goals
127 kicks/ 117 kicks
12 linebreaks/ 9 linebreaks
17 linebreak assists/ 22 linebreak assists
55 tackle busts/ 40 tackle busts
226 tackles/ 192 tackles
44 missed tackles/ 51 missed tackles
17 try assists/ 15 try assists
11 tries/ 2 tries

Nothing too spectacular from Henry but I'm keeping in mind he was injured in alot of these matches. His attack is obviously his best attribute, especially his ability to break out of tackles and set up his teammates. His missed tackle count is a bit of a worry but he'll no doubt improve while training with the first grade squad, Stone just needs to tell our backrowers to keep an eye on him and he should be okay.

To me, these stats and his success the year before clearly indicates how much of a talented playmaker he is, there's so much potential there and I can't wait to see him fulfill it at Newcastle.

 

[otori]

I don't know if you guys have seen Beau Henry's stats from 2010 so I've put together some. To add a bit of spice to things, I've compared them to JT's 2010 stats.

Beau Henry/ Johnathan Thurston

18 game/ 16 games
97 runs/ 106 runs
52 goals/ 40 goals
127 kicks/ 117 kicks
12 linebreaks/ 9 linebreaks
17 linebreak assists/ 22 linebreak assists
55 tackle busts/ 40 tackle busts
226 tackles/ 192 tackles
44 missed tackles/ 51 missed tackles
17 try assists/ 15 try assists
11 tries/ 2 tries

Nothing too spectacular from Henry but I'm keeping in mind he was injured in alot of these matches. His attack is obviously his best attribute, especially his ability to break out of tackles and set up his teammates. His missed tackle count is a bit of a worry but he'll no doubt improve while training with the first grade squad, Stone just needs to tell our backrowers to keep an eye on him and he should be okay.

To me, these stats and his success the year before clearly indicates how much of a talented playmaker he is, there's so much potential there and I can't wait to see him fulfill it at Newcastle.

Apples/Oranges
Green or red in colour/Orange in colour
Fell onto Newton's head/Did not fall on Newton's head

 

[perverse]

Just had a look at the records of our halfbacks in 2010. These stats might not be 100% correct as it hard to know who was actually playing first receiver despite the number on their back.

Dureau: 2 wins 8 losses - 20% win
Mullen: 4 wins 3 losses - 57% wins
Gidley: 4 wins 3 losses - 57% wins

In light of the above problem, halves combinations might be a better way to look at it.

Mullen / Dureau: 2 wins 7 losses - 22% win
Rogers / Mullen: 4 wins 3 losses - 57% win
Rogers / Gidley: 1 win 0 losses - 100% win
Rogers / Dureau: 0 wins 1 loss - 0% win
Mullen / Gidley: 3 wins 2 losses - 60% win
Dureau / Gidley: 0 wins 1 loss - 100% loss

So statistically it's a toss up as to whether Gidley or Mullen was better for us at half.

this. i also think you''ll find that Mullen was playing first receiver when Gidley had the 7 on his back more often than not anyway....

The big question is - is Rogers/Henry a better half than McDonnell/Naiqama is a fullback?

this. it's not even a big question, it's pretty obvious. i'd take a fit Dodge over McDonnell, straight up tbh.

I think with a decent forward pack this year, it won't matter who will be partnering Mullen. Mullen will need to be the 'go to man' this year, no more excuses. A little more consistency and the team will be sweet.

this. the pack has as much, if not more to do with our halves struggling than our halves themselves do.

Apples/Oranges
Green or red in colour/Orange in colour
Fell onto Newton's head/Did not fall on Newton's head

and this. comparing JT's stats to Henrys stats in NYC is farcical at best. forget the stats, if you've seen Henry play a couple of times you know the kid has talent and was too good for NYC in 2009 and had a dogged, injury ridden '10. he absolutely exuded class from every inch of his body when i watched him in '09, i wouldnt have even dreamed at that stage he'd end up a knight. he kicks goals, he has genuine pace, he's big enough, he has all the skills. i don't have any question marks over his ability. the only question mark will be whether he'll end up one of the thousands of kids that have the ability that don't make it, or whether he's got the complete package and makes a fist of it. i'm backing him in 100%. when you watch NYC, you see these kids that are just better than the others on the field. i've seen heaps of them come through to first grade the past couple of years, and i really think Henry is going to be another. he could easily be a Foran or a Hodkinson. he could eventually be better.

 

[TooheysNew]

Thats the first post youve made where the quoted text was longer than your input. ;-)

 

[perverse]

Thats the first post youve made where the quoted text was longer than your input. ;-)

hahahaha. i certainly do love the sound of my own keyboard. hard to keep up that sort of form when you just got home from an open bar, though.

 

[rnb11]

I compared his to JT's just for the fun of it, I wasn't expecting such a stiff response. Stats are good to see where a player's strong and weak points are and that's exactly what they've done to the tee. I knowww it means little until he plays first grade but I have no doubt if Stone can tweak his game just a bit, he will become one of our mvps for the next half-decade at least, all the signs are there. I haven't seen such potential in a long long time.

 

[slotmachine]

So with Gidley in the halves we won 4 and lost 3. Who was playing fullback in those games and what was the win percentage for those players?

McDonnell was fullback in those 7 games.

The big question is - is Rogers/Henry a better half than McDonnell/Naiqama is a fullback?

1. McDonnell 6. Mullen 7. Gidley versus 1. Gidley 6. Rogers 7. Mullen is, statistically, a coin flip. Henry is obviously an unknown quantity.

With Dureau no longer at the club, not to mention the improvements to our squad, we should be aiming at around a 60% win rate (14 games).

In recent years that would result in finishing 4th-6th on the table.
I think this would be an excellent result.

 

[Noname36]

Reading this thread has made me realize that I must be a complete moron, because to me at least, our end of season form had nothing to do with who was partnering Mullen in the halves, but it was all to do with the fact that the forwards were finally starting to give them some space. It's completely unfair to talk about winning percentages, when the pack were giving the halves that played at the backend of the year a much better platform.

Gidley was more than adequate in the halves, however only when he was playing 2nd in charge to Mullen. For those saying that Gidley is now a fantastic halfback, you only need to watch what happened to him in the game against the Warriors when Mullo was injured. Although we'd been in brilliant form, he had absolutely nothing in attack when he was forced to be the main playmaker. Yes i know a lot here will blame Dureau for that game, but if Gids really was a good half, he would have offered better considering the form he and the rest of the team had been in. Do we really want that? Do we really want to carry Gids in the halves (where he's only able to perform when Mullen's there), or do we want him at fullback where he's so damaging?

No matter what people say, you only need to look at a few games to realize that Mullen is our number 1 playmaker. That's why we put so much pressure on him to be consistent. If he fires we win 99% of the time. Gids though is unable to have that influence in the halves. He just doesn't have the playmaking abilities. We really need a half to partner Mullen (whether it be Henry, Dodge, or whoever) who can develop the playmaking abilities to take over the team when Mullo is injured or having one of his days when he isn't firing.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

Reading this thread has made me realize that I must be a complete moron, because to me at least, our end of season form had nothing to do with who was partnering Mullen in the halves, but it was all to do with the fact that the forwards were finally starting to give them some space. It's completely unfair to talk about winning percentages, when the pack were giving the halves that played at the backend of the year a much better platform.

Gidley was more than adequate in the halves, however only when he was playing 2nd in charge to Mullen. For those saying that Gidley is now a fantastic halfback, you only need to watch what happened to him in the game against the Warriors when Mullo was injured. Although we'd been in brilliant form, he had absolutely nothing in attack when he was forced to be the main playmaker. Yes i know a lot here will blame Dureau for that game, but if Gids really was a good half, he would have offered better considering the form he and the rest of the team had been in. Do we really want that? Do we really want to carry Gids in the halves (where he's only able to perform when Mullen's there), or do we want him at fullback where he's so damaging?

No matter what people say, you only need to look at a few games to realize that Mullen is our number 1 playmaker. That's why we put so much pressure on him to be consistent. If he fires we win 99% of the time. Gids though is unable to have that influence in the halves. He just doesn't have the playmaking abilities. We really need a half to partner Mullen (whether it be Henry, Dodge, or whoever) who can develop the playmaking abilities to take over the team when Mullo is injured or having one of his days when he isn't firing.

Spot on!

 

[rnb11]

Reading this thread has made me realize that I must be a complete moron, because to me at least, our end of season form had nothing to do with who was partnering Mullen in the halves, but it was all to do with the fact that the forwards were finally starting to give them some space. It's completely unfair to talk about winning percentages, when the pack were giving the halves that played at the backend of the year a much better platform.

Exactly, I have said this over and over but it seems to go unnoticed by a few people. Gidley at halfback had little to do with our late success, our forwards pulled their socks up which gave Gidley & Mullen every chance to lay on points. If our forwards can do the same for Henry (or Rogers) & Mullen I'm confident we will get the same winning results.