Bronx breaks arm

[legend]

With Bronx and Thommo out, I've moved Zillman to fullback and Miller to the starting side with Costigan and Brett Kelly onto the bench with Weyman and Thurling.

Zillman
Howell
Graham
Frawley
Best
Carney
Dobson
Tongue
Bickerstaff
Turner
Logan
Withers
Miller

Weyman
Kelly
Costigan
Thurling

 

[Chachi]

I think Howell is better defencively than Graham, and vice-versa on offence.

Hence the wing/centre positioning.

I'd be happy enough with that. Maybe they can swap positions depending on who has the ball!

 

[ak47]

And ak47, I notice you included Mullins in your list of great defensive fullbacks for our club. If memory serves me well, early in his career Mullos was a dead set turnstyle on his day who also got injured at the drop of a hat. He improved markedly over the years and IMHO Zilly is much more impressive at the same stage his career. I agree however that we have relied far too heavily on Schif's last line of defence over the last couple of seasons. That's a bullsh!t way for a team to perform.

I sure hope so as I havent seen too much of Zilly

Now the REDS can rely on Shif...........and hopefully Shif can win the webb ellis off his boot - what a way to give it to the YAWNION heads, and any other rival NRL club fan who have all been sceptic of Shif ability, even though he has produced the best all round stats for NRL FB's in the past 3 seasons.

Its the 4th year running, where I cop wooden spoon favourites before the season starts...some great spoon value going around that means

 

[julian87]

Hope Zillman gets the 1 in this case. Anyone who is faster than Graham and has all of these raps on him should walk into our team tbh. I've only seen the kid play about four times so i can't really comment. As for Chalk, I think he is better off used on th bench where he can play back row and shift out wide or to full back if injuries require him to do that. He is becoming very similar to Rod Jensen imo, but better.

 

[thickos]

I think Henry might go with Chalk at the back now for starters. Seems an easy way to get Marshall into the team, while there is still plenty of room for Zillman, either in the centres, at 6, or off the bench.

 

[Freddo]

Zillman
Howell
Graham
Frawley
Best
Carney
Dobson
Logan
Withers
Tilse
Bickerstaff
Turner
Tongue

Weyman
Leroyd-Lars
Chalk
Miller

 

[Timbo]

I just don't view Chalk as a fullback anymore.

He showed how bad his reads in defence had gotten last year. Who can forget him slugging the ground at Telstra that night after getting beaten for the eleventh time down the wing?

 

[Raider_69]

I just don't view Chalk as a fullback anymore.

He showed how bad his reads in defence had gotten last year. Who can forget him slugging the ground at Telstra that night after getting beaten for the eleventh time down the wing?

ohh you mean when he was thrusted into the wing spot, after playing most of the season in the back row for reasons unbeknownst to anyone but elliott, where the defensive patterns and reads are completely difffernet

yea you're right, down with chalk ;-)

 

[thickos]

Have to agree with 69, it was pretty rough to expect Chalk to just walk back into the wing position that night after a season off the bench and into the forwards.

He's a good player, and he had a bad night. And I think FB would suit him more than wing.

 

[SOULS 04]

and 1 bad game does not a bad player make.

 

[I Bleed Green]

...unless your name is Jason Bulgarelli...

(vs. Warriors, 2003 semi. After that night he was ruined)

 

[Chachi]

and 1 bad game does not a bad player make.

Yoda has spoken! :lol:

V. good point on all counts though. I don't think one sketchy show by chalk should erase the many good marks he's made for us in the past.

 

[paulquinn49]

Yoda has spoken! :lol:

V. good point on all counts though. I don't think one sketchy show by chalk should erase the many good marks he's made for us in the past.

You mean the posters or Raiders? Because he was a god to the posters before he played. I fail to see what Chalk has done for the Raiders, other than fail to cement a position in a fairly average team.

 

[dubby]

I think Howell is better defencively than Graham, and vice-versa on offence.

Hence the wing/centre positioning.

Fair enough. I disagree totally though. ;-)

Howell is a very good defending winger, but a woeful centre defender. I have visions of TOnga carving him up at Bruce, and the Sharks attacking him all game and giving us a hiding as a result. Both games were with Howell at centre. Elliot put him on the wing, and all of a sudden we started winning games (against the Cows in T'ville) and we never looked back.

Its no secret IMHO that Dave Howell was a target for the opposition in defence, especialy when he was in the centres. The Wolf kept rushing up and leaving his winger stranded (which was usually Turtell).

Frawley and Graham for mine!

 

[woodgers]

Fair enough. I disagree totally though. ;-)

Howell is a very good defending winger, but a woeful centre defender. I have visions of TOnga carving him up at Bruce, and the Sharks attacking him all game and giving us a hiding as a result. Both games were with Howell at centre. Elliot put him on the wing, and all of a sudden we started winning games (against the Cows in T'ville) and we never looked back.

Its no secret IMHO that Dave Howell was a target for the opposition in defence, especialy when he was in the centres. The Wolf kept rushing up and leaving his winger stranded (which was usually Turtell).

Frawley and Graham for mine!

I'm with you Dubman. Howell is terrible in the centres, he was targeted for well over a year. Chalk had 1 bad defensive game against the winger who got top tryscorer, in the pouring rain, and it has been a constant point of topic every time his name is mentioned since, sometimes by people who rate Howell in defence - who was probably the worst defender in the league for a year!

Ahhh well, different strokes for different folkes and I guess that is what the forum is all about.

With the new coaching staff and various players coming and going I hope the competition for spots makes them all play at a new level. Get in there Howell I say

 

[ak47]

You mean the posters or Raiders? Because he was a god to the posters before he played. I fail to see what Chalk has done for the Raiders, other than fail to cement a position in a fairly average team.

Fail to cement because he is a FB and we had Shif

then gets shafted to the forwards as a 'utility' under the brain of Elliot (whom we have already questioned his tactics)

He runs north and south...........hard n straight............thats more than half our backs apart from Shif n Graham (Mogg in 2006 only) in the last few seasons.

IMO Chalk is a back - nothing like a forward - Elliot putting him as a utility for 2006 was the worst thing for him.........his confidence dropped.........he tried and learnt the hard way..............2007 i hope to see him in the backs, and nowhere near shifting into a utility role in the back row.

 

[dubby]

I agree AK47. Elliot tried the same tactic with Frawley being used off the bench as a forward...what the?

That can screw a guy up, especially when guys like Howell and Turtell are getting selected every week.

 

[Chachi]

Fail to cement because he is a FB and we had Shif

then gets shafted to the forwards as a 'utility' under the brain of Elliot (whom we have already questioned his tactics)

He runs north and south...........hard n straight............thats more than half our backs apart from Shif n Graham (Mogg in 2006 only) in the last few seasons.

IMO Chalk is a back - nothing like a forward - Elliot putting him as a utility for 2006 was the worst thing for him.........his confidence dropped.........he tried and learnt the hard way..............2007 i hope to see him in the backs, and nowhere near shifting into a utility role in the back row.

Took the words right outta my mouth AK.

Chalky is never going to be a rep quality fullback, but (other than some dodgy hands at times and one shocking game on the wing) he's a reliable performer who gives us 100% every time he gets on the park.

If Zilly gets a crack in the centres I'd prefer Chalk at FB rather than flavour-of-the-month Goodwin at this point in time - notwithstanding broken arms etc.

Speaking of trials, I haven't heard the name Craig Frawley mentioned.

 

[ak47]

I agree AK47. Elliot tried the same tactic with Frawley being used off the bench as a forward...what the?

That can screw a guy up, especially when guys like Howell and Turtell are getting selected every week.

I also noticed that Elliot tried with vigor to experiment moreso once he was contracted to the panthers in 2007.

Burning his own bridges - Doesnt want to get beat by his old team

IMO Chalk is leapyears ahead of Howell in every facet of the game.........yet we scraped thru signing Chalk - ONLY because we got lucky nobody wanted him.

Dont even talk Purtell.............Chalks unborn children play better.

Edit: Yes Chachi - Chalk's enthusiasm, and hard running is top draw.............he wont winch, flinch or dog a situation.

Howell - 'Wolf' as they call him - more like the boy who cried it............all talk in training.......no walk on gameday.

 

[Timbo]

Still. Chalks defence was shown up whenever he played out of the backrow last year.

I don't rate him as an outside back anymore, and I was the one championing him when he was still a PL nobody several years back.

He's just a Jensen-clone to me now.