Don't blame the kid (Thorman), blame Smith

[Ron Jeremy]

maybe the players outside him should start running some holes & postioning themselves better.

 

[Suitman]

Thorman just another scapegoat for a below average side, i could name 10 others that should table some blame, but i guess it won't happen on this board.

Here Here.

Suity

 

[PJ Marshal]

He is just this year McFadden

 

[Eelementary]

Fine.

You like Thorman. I was never impressed with him.

Why is it, also that when we had vastly he same backline, when Dykes played we had more direction, yet with Thorman at half we lack it?

Simple - he is just not good enough.

I believe as it stands neither is Witt.

But he needs to play to get better.

 

[Jake the snake]

I saw Tim Smith throw a 20m cutout left handed pass which put a player through a a gap on Saturday, been along while since I've seen that before.

 

[Eelementary]

May I ask - why is my head being ripped off for stating that Thorman's performances have been ordinary, and yet other people can get away with criticising players like Petersen or Hopkins who have played well recently in a woeful team?

Oh that's right - I'm not entitle to an opinion unless it agrees with other peoples'.

Well I'm sorry - Thorman has not impressed me.

 

[Suitman]

Fine.

You like Thorman. I was never impressed with him.

Why is it, also that when we had vastly he same backline, when Dykes played we had more direction, yet with Thorman at half we lack it?

Simple - he is just not good enough.

I believe as it stands neither is Witt.

But he needs to play to get better.

And thats where we differ.

I've seen plenty of Witt.
And a bit of Thorman.

And Thorman has far more heart and talent than Witt.

Suity

 

[Jake the snake]

I also think Thorman is woeful. Infact I could name another 6 players who are not up to 1st grade standard which are playing in our current team and who will NOT WIN US A PREMIERSHIP!!

 

[Eelementary]

Fine.

You like Thorman. I was never impressed with him.

Why is it, also that when we had vastly he same backline, when Dykes played we had more direction, yet with Thorman at half we lack it?

Simple - he is just not good enough.

I believe as it stands neither is Witt.

But he needs to play to get better.

And thats where we differ.

I've seen plenty of Witt.
And a bit of Thorman.

And Thorman has far more heart and talent than Witt.

Suity

Fair enough Suity.

I think Witt has talent. But I really cannot see us threatening for a Premiership with either Witt or Thorman at halfback YET.

I believe Thorman is a 5/8. Witt needs to iron out the flaws in his game too.

I would have liked to have seen Thorman reatined.

 

[bartman]

As Moffo says, I think the most of it has to come back to Smith.

Thorman and Witt have only played together twice in first garde - Round 12 (Tigers) and Round 17 (Warriors). Thorman has also started once with Dykes (Round 11 Dragons), and Witt also started once with Dykes (Round 13 Newcastle).

So four first grade games together is all that our best three halves options have had together in first grade this season!! And that's not through injuries either. Smith had 13 weeks before Dykes went down injured to select and guide a decent halves combo into form. And he didn't (or couldn't) do it, which is a bad reflection on a coach of his quality (and number of assistants).

Instead of learning from last year where Witt was our best halfback, showing genuine skill and potential in the second half of the season. Smith chose to start this year converting Dykes to a half-back, and converting Witt to a Premier League five-eighth? Why? We're all still guessing....

And since Dykes' injury, when we've been short of playmakers, he's only played Thorman in 4 of those eight games. And he didn't promote any play-makers instead of Thorman either #-o If we don't have the back-up options to cover one injury in the halves, then it's obvious we didn't have the depth there in the first place, which again is coach Smith's responsibility. And as for next year's recruitment in the halves?

Things may have been apples leading up to and in 2001, but since then Smith's record in recruiting and devloping our halves and their role in this team has been very poor, and ultimately (for mine) his biggest flaw, aside maybe from the week-to-week inspiration/motivation of his players.

 

[Misty Bee]

I'd love to see, in first grade, 6 Thorman, 7 Witt. Thorman isn't a ball player, and not a long range kicker. Nor has he the confidence to bark out instructions to seasoned forwards. BUt he is a ball runner, and great close to the line. And he has a lethal grubber.

Witt is not a ball runner, but not a bad ball player. And he has a neat step in close. He has a batter long range kicking game than Thorman (though not as good as Dykes), and can bomb and kick for wingers well.

IN short, we potentially have a mini Sterling/Kenny partnership. Give em both confidence, authority to dictate play, and experience with each other, and the potential is there.

But, as Smith has pissed Thorman up against the wall, we'll never know.

And while some of us bag Thorman's efforts, please name his replacement.

 

[fish eel]

And he has a lethal grubber.

Do you really think.

He tried countless grubbers on the weekend, couldnt even get them in goal!

 

[The Colonel]

And he has a lethal grubber.

Do you really think.

He tried countless grubbers on the weekend, couldnt even get them in goal!

Did we get any ball in the in-goal aside from the kikc from Hopkins?

His "lethal" grubber could find the sideline just not the in-goal. Thorman's kicking game is non-existant.

 

[Eelementary]

I'd love to see, in first grade, 6 Thorman, 7 Witt. Thorman isn't a ball player, and not a long range kicker. Nor has he the confidence to bark out instructions to seasoned forwards. BUt he is a ball runner, and great close to the line. And he has a lethal grubber.

Witt is not a ball runner, but not a bad ball player. And he has a neat step in close. He has a batter long range kicking game than Thorman (though not as good as Dykes), and can bomb and kick for wingers well.

IN short, we potentially have a mini Sterling/Kenny partnership. Give em both confidence, authority to dictate play, and experience with each other, and the potential is there.

But, as Smith has pissed Thorman up against the wall, we'll never know.

And while some of us bag Thorman's efforts, please name his replacement.

In real life, Thorman or Dykes at 5/8 with Witt at halfback would have been an ideal option.

I bag Thorman mainly because form what I have seen, he is not a halfback. A 5/8 yes, but not a halfback.

But a halves combination of Thorman-Dykes, Thorman-Witt, Dykes-Witt would have been worth playing methinks.

And I think most people except for the one person that counts think that way.

We need TWO HALVES, Brian. TWO.

 

[fish eel]

His "lethal" grubber could find the sideline just not the in-goal. Thorman's kicking game is non-existant.

Countless times he was able to pick out tigers defenders, and grubber straight to them #-o

 

[Eelementary]

And he has a lethal grubber.

Do you really think.

He tried countless grubbers on the weekend, couldnt even get them in goal!

Did we get any ball in the in-goal aside from the kikc from Hopkins?

His "lethal" grubber could find the sideline just not the in-goal. Thorman's kicking game is non-existant.

He did have a kicking game. What about that 40/20 against Melbourne that was missed?

For me, I was never impressed with the choice of kick he decided on(like chipping it in your own half, or grubbering or yourself when you're 50 metres out).

 

[True EEL]

i said all the Thorman is a 5/8 and Witt is a half and got bagged....again....but now its all in vogue apparently

 

[Sean7]

Witt may or may not be the answer at half, but how would we know? He came into the team last year at a very difficult time and turned the team around somewhat. For a young guy thrust into a losing side, you couldn't have asked for much more.

This year, he was told he wasn't good enough before the season even started and when he has been selected, he hasn't been given a real chance to play himself into form anyway. We don't even know how good he could be. Same goes for Thorman to a certain extent, though he was always going to have a limited amount of time to prove himself and he knew it. Witt has already shown us what he is capable of and still sits behind a guy who is leaving the club and isn't providing any more than him. It was only a few games ago that Witt came up with 2 or 3 try assists against the premiership frontrunners in a game that we won quite well and then finds himself dropped again soon after. What must he be thinking?

McFadden was given some 18 rounds to prove himself before he was dropped and he was a veteran who shouldn't have needed that much time.

If Smith doesn't feel that Witt is the answer and we release Dykes (the player who sits near the top of our try scoring list and leads our try assists by about 8) then I don't know what'll happen to us. Maybe Pearson is the answer.

 

[Misty Bee]

Maybe Smith's big and ugly routine is really about halfbacks. I mean, his ultimate would be "6 Wagon, 7 Pearson"!

 

[blackfriday]

bring on timmy smith! i think smith should go coach union so he can have orgasms of forwards running straight into defenders.