Former Panthers in the NRL

[herbert henry1908]

I doubt very much he starts centre round 1 next year.

So then it’s a bad swap.

 

[franklin2323]

So then it’s a bad swap.

Not if we have a stronger top 17 as a result though

 

[herbert henry1908]

Not if we have a stronger top 17 as a result though

We can’t know if having a stronger overall 17 was a result of moving Blake on.

if we’re making multiple signings, it’s very likely because we moved on multiple players. Can’t link it back to a single player.

plus we now know we’re weak in the centres.

 

[Crashtest]

Koroisau will help as will the a new edge backrower (should he get the release)

Is the edge backrower target the state of origin forward you mentioned in the other thread?

 

[betcats]

Defence is huge issue, though. It’s not something you can hide in the centres when you’re often by yourself.

Overall it’s a downgrade, and people at the time were acting like he was already better or equal to Blake.

I disagree its a downgrade with the money saved taken into account, Naden scored double the amount of tries, he didnt miss double the amount of tackles or have a defensive rating half as bad as Blakes. He is a much worse defender than Blake but it doesnt write off his attacking advantages.

Nadens natural scoring instincts are what we need far more then a good defender. Considering hes never done an NRL preseason I think naden has a lot more room to improve also. As someone else stated Waqa wasnt a great defender when he got to the nrl, he developed that.

 

[franklin2323]

We can’t know if having a stronger overall 17 was a result of moving Blake on.

if we’re making multiple signings, it’s very likely because we moved on multiple players. Can’t link it back to a single player.

plus we now know we’re weak in the centres.

Needed cap space though.So won't just be due to Blake but the combination of all that moved on

 

[franklin2323]

Is the edge backrower target the state of origin forward you mentioned in the other thread?

Yep.that is him. I am guessing if it happens Yeo will be centre

 

[Dave's mate]

Wade is coming home!!!!!! Any other result and I'm coming for you Franklin

 

[betcats]

Upgrade maybe. Definitely not a massive one though.

Naden is one of the most potent attacking kick chasers I've seen. Very quick over short distances with a fantastic leap and very good instincts. He had no right to be anywhere near some of the tries he's scored. While it's a great asset, I feel it's one that opposition teams will work out if he's a regular fixture in our team, sort of like Walsh to Coote was in 2011. He's also got some technique problems as a finisher. He doesn't get low enough when attempting to score and he's been bundled off his feet pretty easily in dangerous positions. He's bombed several tries this way. His running game is ok (that try against the Warriors was a ridiculous moment) but Blake at his best is much better in that area. It gets talked about a lot, but he doesn't appear to have the ability to shift the ball quickly either.

Maybe those flaws get sorted with time (he's still very new to NRL level), but to me he looks like a talented but limited player, at least at centre. Exactly the kind of guy you want filling in on the fringes of your 17.

Re the running games, Blake is faster and has better footwork but it doesn't translate to more linebreaks or metres than Naden. Naden had one more Linebreak in three less games than Blake and he averaged more running metres per game so Blake does not have a better running game than Naden IMO. He looks like it should be better with his abilities but he doesn't use it effectively.

 

[herbert henry1908]

I disagree its a downgrade, Naden scored double the amount of tries, he didnt miss double the amount of tackles or have a defensive rating half as bad as Blakes. He is a much worse defender than Blake but it doesnt write off his attacking advantages.

Nadens natural scoring instincts are what we need far more then a good defender. Considering hes never done an NRL preseason I think naden has a lot more room to improve also. As someone else stated Waqa wasnt a great defender when he got to the nrl, he developed that.

Blake scored 13 tries last season from 16 games, you’re talking as if he has no attacking game at all. It was a quiet start to the year, but that’s possibly down to a new coach.

Also you can’t equate double the tries with double the missed tackles. That makes no sense.

 

[betcats]

Blake scored 13 tries last season from 16 games, you’re talking as if he has no attacking game at all. It was a quiet start to the year, but that’s possibly down to a new coach.

Also you can’t equate double the tries with double the missed tackles. That makes no sense.

Im stating facts about Waqa that is all, that stats make it look that way when compared to a rookie naden, I never said he had no attacking game at all. Naden had a new coach and club this year so that is no excuse for blake. If you want an excuse how about naden having to build a combination with the panthers players after coming into the side half way through the year. That effects defence and attack.

 

[mxlegend99]

Blake had two try assists all year you idiot

Twice as many as Naden and this is his worst season since 2015. He had 13 in the previous 2 seasons and was critiscized for noy being able to pass.

You're judging Naden off a handful of good games ignoring the bad... and ignoring 3 seasons of Blake and judging him off a handful of bad games where the entire team was f**ked.

Brent Naden will never be an elite centre. If we are fair dinkum we will put him on the wing where IMO he can thrive just as Blake Ferguson did. Wingers can be more important offensively than a centre.

Each to his own. You think Naden can be a better centre than Blake. I don't. I think his future is on the wing. Removes modt of his flaws and allows him to better focus on his strengths.

 

[betcats]

Twice as many as Naden and this is his worst season since 2015. He had 13 in the previous 2 seasons and was critiscized for noy being able to pass.

You're judging Naden off a handful of good games ignoring the bad... and ignoring 3 seasons of Blake and judging him off a handful of bad games where the entire team was f**ked.

Brent Naden will never be an elite centre. If we are fair dinkum we will put him on the wing where IMO he can thrive just as Blake Ferguson did. Wingers can be more important offensively than a centre.

Each to his own. You think Naden can be a better centre than Blake. I don't. I think his future is on the wing. Removes modt of his flaws and allows him to better focus on his strengths.

Im judging them both on their most recent seasons, I am not ignoring anything, I have acknowledged Nadens flaws and Blakes advantages.

As an out and out centre waqa is better, but he isn't 200-300k better and I think overall Naden is more valuable to this team with his try scoring and the extra cap space. I think he has a lot more room for improvement then Blake. He has never done an NRL preseason, he came into our side half way through the y ear and was thrown in the deep end. Like most rookies he should be a much better player next season then he was this season.

 

[martielang]

Yep.that is him. I am guessing if it happens Yeo will be centre

Tbh if Yeo can strip down a bit or slightly improve his lateral movement, I wouldn't mind having a big physical centre like him. Or we bring back Jamal.

 

[franklin2323]

Im judging them both on their most recent seasons, I am not ignoring anything, I have acknowledged Nadens flaws and Blakes advantages.

As an out and out centre waqa is better, but he isn't 200-300k better and I think overall Naden is more valuable to this team with his try scoring and the extra cap space. I think he has a lot more room for improvement then Blake. He has never done an NRL preseason, he came into our side half way through the y ear and was thrown in the deep end. Like most rookies he should be a much better player next season then he was this season.

This is how I see it.

The better centre it is a no brainer BUT for the team balance and cap space then Naden is better for the team

 

[betcats]

Tbh if Yeo can strip down a bit or slightly improve his lateral movement, I wouldn't mind having a big physical centre like him. Or we bring back Jamal.

Offensively he isn't much worse than Whare, shit he might be better.

 

[martielang]

Offensively he isn't much worse than Whare, shit he might be better.

With the little room our centres seem to get, I tend to agree, you're better off having someone with power then footwork.

 

[betcats]

With the little room our centres seem to get, I tend to agree, you're better off having someone with power then footwork.

Yeah that makes sense.

Anyway all that being said I actually think Yeo will be pushed into the middle next season if we have signed an edge forward. He looked good there this season(his one on one tackling was ridiculos) when moved and we need more middle forwards after RCG leaving.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Im stating facts about Waqa that is all, that stats make it look that way when compared to a rookie naden, I never said he had no attacking game at all. Naden had a new coach and club this year so that is no excuse for blake. If you want an excuse how about naden having to build a combination with the panthers players after coming into the side half way through the year. That effects defence and attack.

You’re simultaneously arguing that Naden can improve his defence, whilst also ignoring what Blake is capable of in attack. Those two things run counter to each other.

The difference is we know what Blake is capable of in attack, we don’t know if Naden is capable of improving his defence.

 

[Crashtest]

Yep.that is him. I am guessing if it happens Yeo will be centre

Interesting. Who is an unhappy SOS edge forward wanting a release? Crighton may be upset playing off the bench. Frizell had enough of McGregor?