one of the more interesting quotes that T made after he signed with us was that he developed the ability to pass in both directions, which could give DA something to ponder...
It's not as silly as it sounds an it could very well happen at some stage.
Not necessarily silly , I'm just not sure whether it would be the best use of the resources the coach has available.
Still , if the one thing he has learnt one thing from his trip to the dark side is to pass both ways , it is an interesting prospect .
Why move Tahu t 5/8 when we already have 3 players in Mortimer, Keating and Robson fighting for 2 positions. Plus there is Bumble Bee. If we were short of half's it would be a good option.
If we continue to off load like this year there are going to be quite a few times where Tahu will be one on one with the oposition - and we know what normally happens in this situation !!!! Tahu is almost impossible to tackle one on one.
The ability to pass "perfectly" in both directions is amazingly difficult to teach RL players these days because there is almost no use for most players to learn it in the modern game. Quite amazing actually.
But thats just one thing about being a half. How are Tahus organisational skills, how is his kicking game, could he cope with being closer to the middle of the field in defence. Not interested in the experiment one bit and would rather develop KK, Humble and Morts further.
i'd be keen to see how tahu goes as a running half, providing daniel mortimer is the halfback. hayne's kicking responsibilities at fb and maturity now make this quite viable. surely the rugger would have added to tahu's technical ability if anything
The traditional roll of a 5/8 is changing and so is the whole team game. It would not be unrealistic to have Tahu at center pushing long passes behind the ruck, either side, to quickly switch the point of attack when a staggered wall of defence has been created by fast play the balls and 2nd phase plays at the line.
Having great attackers like Hayne, Burt, Inu, Grothe, Mateo, Fui, Smith, Reddy, etc, running at holes that tells/guides/instructs Tahu (and others) exactly where to pass the ball, is a most exciting option (of many). We saw this a few times late season when Burt or Hayne were breaking away from well inside the Eels 20 meter lines on 1st or 2nd tackle options, running off each others long passes behind the 1st lines of attack.
If I was DA I would be devising many attacking options well behind the ruck with players hitting the ball at great speed, on angle runs, that allows them to blast through staggered walls of defence. It's mouth watering the many long-range tries this Eels squad will create 2010.
I would be training Mortimer, Robson, Mateo, Burt, both Keatings, Tahu, Hayne, Inu, etc (all good long-passes of the ball) to switch the points of the attack (behind the 1st line of attack) after a 2nd phase play at the line has occurred or after a few fast play the balls occurred through the ruck or either side of the ruck.
When you include other players, SOME in motion running as decoys (or not) at holes, at speed, behind the 1st lines of attack, the defensive lines will have a hard time detecting where the ball is going to be passed as well as always having two or three defenders available to shut down a Fui or Grothe or Mateo or Inu or Reddy or Hayne,.... burst at a hole at speed.
If I was coach I would generally (not always) have this Eels team playing a wide/expansive game and on rainy/heavy dew days/nights, tighten up the attack (as little as possible) and focus on fast play the balls, with runners hitting holes either side of the ruck and use the kicking game through or over the defense lines when the defense has been pulled in tight.
I would even mix things up by using both options many times during a game as well. The key is fast play the balls, controlling the ruck with speed and further developing techniques that allows 2nd phase plays to occur more frequently. The Eels have ALL the right players to carry out such a game plan.
And then there is the individual brilliance arising from so many strong, tall, freaky attacking players creating opportunities one on one and even two on one at the line or behind the line.
