England A- Chris Thorman

[Razzar]

Alot of players don't make the SL grade in eng..we are behind NRL in the pace the game is played at.

Watching the NRL it is faster paced whereas SL is not as fast paced. Make no mistake though the SL is improving in quality year upon year.

Many players who can't hack it are sent to the lower leagues..

i.e. Newlove and Wray both are playing lower grade this year as they were not at the right level.

The thing with Thorman is he was an unknown the 1st half of SL!!!!

One good game put his name in the Media and before you know it the media Hyped him up BIG TIME! :roll: . He had some good games and they were hyped in the media but he had some bad games which were not mentioned in the media.

Call it a media snowball effect! :? .

One thing is for sure he has potential, he is a good kicker (field kicker).

A move to the NRL has come far too soon for him IMO but he could prove me wrong 8) .

Read these stats...

ROONEY (APPS = 16(2) TRY = 10 . GOALS = 64 . FG = 4

THORMAN (APPS = 26(0) TRY = 4 . GOALS = 69 . FG = 1

The reason Rooney had to play half the season in the second team was so he could be eased in and get up to fitness levels as he played previously in the dev below as the best player in that league. ( he also scored points for fun in the second team)!

It is Rooneys 1st preffessional year and he played half a season, Rooney was seem for years as a halfback with potential to be the greatest but wakefield were the only team to pay a fee for him and take the risk.

Rooney played out of his skin nearly every game. his goal kicking is precise and he is a good defender unlike Thorman..

Dennis Moran would have been a top catch for Paramatta..joint top try scorer can play Fb and halfback...every time you look at london match review he had a hatrick.

Thorman has time to develope though.

Raz

 

[bartman]

Denis Moran is a former Eel, from before he went to London! Small and always quite nippy around the paddock, but wasn't really cutting it regularly in first grade at that stage?

Moran definitely had potential though, and its good to read about him killing it for London all last season.!

I hope Thorman goes OK. I can see him being used for us a part of a gang of four sharing half, 5/8, and hooker through the season (Witt, Dykes, Morris, Thorman), kind of like James Webster did for us late in the year.

 

[Razzar]

Don't get me wrong Thorman is not bad but my opinion is he is not ready and it is only my opinion and i could be wrong. nobody knows till next year but he is a decent goal kicker looking at his stats.

Raz

 

[bartman]

Cheers Raz.

We needed something extra in the halves based on our performances last year, and I guess we are all hoping Thorman may be it? If he's keen and give things a go then he will fit in well, and hopefully develop and adapt as the season progresses.

Good luck for Wakefield in 2004!

 

[Freak]

Forman was not out here yet before the boys broke up for Xmas / New Year.
I would suggest he will be out here within a matter of days now.

Lets not ridicule him before we see him in the Blue and Gold. I don't expect miracles from him and I am sure the majority of the Parramatta faithful don't either, but it is exciting to get an untried young halfback who is willing to come to the other side of the globe to try his hand on a 1 year contract against the best Rugby League has to offer. If nothing else his presence will put pressure on our current halves to perform.

I really hope he develops and does really well under Smith and I look forward to watching him!

 

[btaag]

Thorman is perfect for Parra (ans Brian Smith) as he has potential : Smith can train him and mould him. As was mentioned, we already have Witt, Dykes Morris etc, so Thorman is not the "great white hope" for us. Anything he contributes is a bonus and even if he is a 25% chance of suceeding we are not risking huge amounts of money.
I will be interested to see how he goes, but am aware that our forward pack will be just as important this year as to our success...Cant wait!!

 

[Pazza]

The kid is willing to give it his all and i admire him for that.

 

[Razzar]

If he is coached well he could become a decent NRL player..this year IMO will be a jumpstart to improving his game.

Raz - but Good luck to Eels too and thanks for Solomona..in the SL he should be a top forward as the SL is played at a marginally slower pace than NRL.

 

[redeel]

imo i think he will be just what parra has been lacking in the past , a robust thinking player with goalkicking ability to boot, the best thing since JT, he will make a difference

 

[Avenger]

Redeel said

imo i think he will be just what parra has been lacking in the past , a robust thinking player with goalkicking ability to boot, the best thing since JT, he will make a difference

Right on Redeel I agree totally.

 

[Jic Jarrett]

I watched him in a few games and this kid has potential!

 

[Razzar]

Like i say he has potential...and if your coach has patience and coaches him well he could come good..But don't expect him to be a superstar straight away...he will need time to settle, bond with the team and develope his game especially defensively.

Raz