Apologies if I seemed a little too forward, but i've just seen so many people (mainly on Facebook) singing his praises and attacking the coaching staff for not giving him a shot, when there's a clear reason for it.
Sure, you watched him play for Norths and U18's SOO in 2017, when he was a 17 year old and probably a similar size... Playing against boys. When you're that size at that age, playing against younger kids who don't have the physicality that grown men in the NRL competition have, you generally look at lot better.
Even though it's completely the polar opposite, Dufty and Field are perfect examples of that. They lit that competition up and were never physically dominated.
f**k, even TJ Uele looked like a world-beater at one stage and he was half Blacker's size.
Blacker's lateral movement is poor, he lacks that desperation in defense and doesn't have the mobility that you need in the modern game. There's no late footwork, in fact there's no footwork at all. All you'd need to do if you were someone like Murray, Brailey, Taukeiaho etc.... Is just go low on him and he'll drop every time. He's predictable and slow, his output (for what you'd expect from a dominant prop looking for hit-ups) needs A LOT of work.
I'd be intrigued to see how he goes at Penrith and if he can develop into an NRL player, but at the moment he's nowhere close. This swap gave us a player who is ready right now in a position we're getting desperate for depth.
