Burt in the halves

[Hollywood Jesus]

Did anyone notice that when Dykes and Morris were given a well deserved early rest, that it was Burty who slotted into first receiever?

From then on I pretty much watched him over everything else, and he directed traffic quite well and seemed confident and capable in the position.

Some people have suggested Burt in 6 before, and I haven't really agreed with them, but after wtaching him yesterday I would not be adverse to having him as some sort of back-up half or five-eighth.

 

[strider]

Damn it - Burty should be NSW half for Wednesdays SOO - piss Gus' love child Finch off!

 

[Kornstar]

When Smith took Dykes and Morris off my first thought was that Burt should slot into half back, i think Burt has a great passing game, he is great on his feet and if you watch him play sevens he is extremely smart. I would love to see him get more time with the ball in the halves as i think that if he was given that opportunity he could be something special.

Burt was great yesterday, he looked like he wanted to be there, he is getting better in the centre position, that first try he set up was clever, BS needs to let him do whatever he likes because he is one of those players that can really create something out of nothing.

 

[Redback71]

and the coach realises that too u can tell by his facial expressions while watching the game when burty almost made those 2 intercepts and the 1 where he finaly did.

 

[Twizzle]

Muspratt went into half and Burty at 5/8 in the last scrum line out.

I think every saw Morris and Dykes on the bench with Smithy and like me said WTF, who is playing where.

Even Wags put up a bomb yesterday, like a good 5/8 should.

 

[Matta]

Sure Burty can put a really good bomb up, (a really good bomb up) but he's playing too well in the centres to be moved. And the Dykes/Witt or even Dykes/Wagon combo is working too well for a change.

 

[Hollywood Jesus]

makes me remember the semi final against the warriors 2001. when it was obvious we were gonna smash em, smith pulled someone on and didn't replace him, deliberately leaving us with 12 men just in case we needed some practice for the rest of the semis.

yesterday when it became obvious that we were gonna smash em, smith pulls off dykes and morris and slots fresh faces into the halves, just, IMO, in case we need to face a situation where we do not have them on the field. I think it worked well.

 

[Matta]

But wouldn't you think Witt and Thorman would be our backup halves?

 

[Twizzle]

Witt will be back in when he has served his suspension

Burty is getting better, but still needs a defensive coach

his technique in defense is not as good as it use to be

 

[thedux]

Not sure who it was against but a game in 2001 really sticks out in my mind; we were up by about 30-odd and we had a scrum about 20 out from their line. They had JT at hooker, Freshy in the back-row and another back in the scrum as well, with hodgson at half, lyon at 5/8, the right winger at left centre and the left centre on the wing; we won the scrum, put it through the hands and scored out wide like it was the easiest thing in the world. Just shows you what a bit of confidence can do.

 

[Hurriflatch]

I think that was v Sharks

Gus made a big point about it aswell

 

[The Engineers Room]

I was the suggester of Burt in the halves a couple of years ago when we were struggling there (the McFadden years). I got bagged but now you see what I mean. He looks like a 5/8. Runs the ball well, is a great passer of the ball and analyses a game quite well. I think that the gluttony of halves at the club now will mean that this will not happen but I think he could be very dangerous in 5/8 outside a playmaker like Dykes and running off offloading forwards.

 

[The Colonel]

I think he can be another focal point in attack, however his size would catch up with him if he had to defend against the lock forward 5/8's that are becoming part of the game today. Variety suggests his worth will increase however....

 

[Eelementary]

What is Preston Campbell's size?

Because Campbell goes great.

Burt has a good tackling technique, he's just not aggressive enough. He is pretty strong for a bloke his size.

Look at Wade - in the past few weeks, the little fella has made some great one-on-one try-saving tackles against bigger blokes than him. Why? Because he has a good technique AND he is an aggressive tackler.

 

[JessEel]

Did anyone notice that when Dykes and Morris were given a well deserved early rest, that it was Burty who slotted into first receiever?

From then on I pretty much watched him over everything else, and he directed traffic quite well and seemed confident and capable in the position.

Some people have suggested Burt in 6 before, and I haven't really agreed with them, but after wtaching him yesterday I would not be adverse to having him as some sort of back-up half or five-eighth.

im glad you posted this HJ cos i thought i had gone crazy!! surely thats not burty filling in for dykes, surely thats not burty at first reciever... i thought i was imagining it!

 

[Hollywood Jesus]

I actually think Burt can have a terrible tackling technique sometimes. He has a tendency to stick his arms out and try to drag down a bloke at good speed, which can mean he gets rolled a fair bit.

But on this subject, while I don't get the feeling that he is being considered a serious replacement, I do get the feeling that Smith went, "OK, game's won, let's get Morris and Dykes off to see how we can run without them. Thorman and Witt were already out of the team, and to pull both Dykes and Morris off together surely had to be a deliberate thing.