Give Mason and Ata a go.

[Beavers Headgear]

The Shaun Johnson at fullback thing is intriguing and I'd like to see it, but the biggest downfall of it is that the lad seems to be scared of contact, which isn't ideal for kick returns

I don't think I could even get him into the top 5 halfbacks, certainly not at the 3rd when you have the 2 blokes that played origin the other night and Thurston added in. He would probably be a decent running 6, in he Milford mould, if he was prepared to take the line on a bit more

 

[Philip_Smith007]

I know SJ isnt the reason for the loss, but I see 12 teams in front of us.
I would have JT in a heart beat, mainly because of something you can't measure easily on stats.
Brains and ticker.
I dont watch enough other teams consistanly to know if players are consistant.

So would have to rely on stat, in 2017.
- Alone on Errors there is only 1 regular halfback playing this weekend with the same or worse thats Moses.
- Cleary, Mbye, DCE, McCrone, Cronk and Feeney all on average miss less tackles.

Also hard to compare when they are all playing behind different forward packs, if pack gets monstered they would have higher kicking meters.

-Try Assists, DCE, McCrone and Taylor in front on Average and he has 1 more than Cooper.
-Tries he clearly stands out, only Cooper in front.
- Line Break Assists he should dominate, Feeney, MCCrone, DCE and Cooper all have higher averages.

I'm just not convinced we can build a team around him.
Plus our ability to build/attact the right talent is never going to happen or is a LONG way into the future.

 

[Rich102]

I'm starting to think he is part of the problem.

If we go back over the season how many points has he cost us with dud kicks, intercepts, racing out of the line etc.

If you have a job description for a half back, he may be 10/10 for some aspects, but the rest he is 5's at best.
How many 40/20's?
How well does he organise plays?
How many times is he jumping out of the line?
How effectives is he at getting repeat sets?
Knowing what to play in front of him, when not a large gap or tired forwards?

He pulls out some great games and we all fall back in love, then he shits the bed again.
Capable of brilliance, but not of consistancy.

You can't build a team around someone who is not consistant,

Add to this list:
How well does he communicate?
How predictable is he?
How direct does he play?

 

[Rich102]

Both Maloney and Townsend played here with Johnson.
Both have won Grand Finals - Together.
Johnson hasn't got the team into the top 8 for 6 years.
It doesn't matter how flash you are it depends on how well you get the job done.

 

[gordynz]

When you have someone of Johnson's skill level you can't not pick him. However, hes just not getting it right atm. His last tackle plays are horrendous and he cost us another two tries on the weekend from bad mistakes. The first player that needs to go is Bodene and we need to take a closer look at our pack. If we can get a decent roll on through the middle then Johnson has no excuses. At the moment, due to our pack getting dominated I feel he's just trying too hard and hence coming up with the odd mistake.

 

[Rich102]

Nothing helps a struggling pack like a 40/20.

 

[Matua]

Man, this place is the Shaun Johnson Knight in Shining Armour brigade. I reckon he could kick a kitten and punch Kayla Cullen in the mouth and some on here would still defend him.

He's not the only issue for the Warriors but he's a key problem. His last play's are atrocious. He's not even good one week and average the next, he can be good,bad, and terrible all in one play.

The Warriors this year need to have Foran as the primary playmaker and let Johnson be the second playmaker. Or use him somewhere else, whether that is fullback, centre (he can pass so he's already an improvement on Kata), or as a Jim Dymock style loose forward (now that his defence has improved markedly).

 

[ozbash]

The Warriors this year need to have Foran as the primary playmaker and let Johnson be the second playmaker.

f**k Foran. Agree with the rest though. I'd have either Lino or Ata as chief playmaker and SJ roving.

He's not a playmaker, he is too busy tackling...

 

[JJ]

f**k Foran. Agree with the rest though. I'd have either Lino or Ata as chief playmaker and SJ roving.

He's not a playmaker, he is too busy tackling...

I agree 100% on Foran, f**k him, we are f**ked make him asst coach and move on. Same with Thompson and Hoffman, build now for 2018. If this was US baseball we'd be selling now

 

[ZEROMISSTACKLES]

Fu<k Foran? oh hell no, don't fu<k Foran. f**k man, he's going good. His hammies might be tightening up like theyre gonna pull cos I seen him slow down like a wasp flew up his ass on a few occasions but still, even though he's not a hundy he's still going good. He picked the right man to pass to on Saturday to put Mannering through for his try, probably did some other thing is I can't remember right now but never fu<k Foran.

 

[JJ]

Doesn't matter he's gone next year

 

[Penrose Warrior]

I dunno...I've been SJ's biggest advocate over 6 years. I watched most games he played in 20s. His try vs the Broncos in 2011, I remember exactly where I was and how hard my jaw hit the ground. I've defended him for having shit coaches and poor packs for his whole career. I loved him in the Kiwis jersey. I was a big fan of the way he holds himself and the way he speaks.

But yeah, I'm not so sure anymore. It's not hunger, he's been trying too hard if anything the last couple of weeks. I dunno. His kicking game is nigh-on the worst in the comp. Can't even drop the thing on his foot right. He aimlessly bombs, rarely finds the in-goal and his field kicking is never great, often average, sometimes awful. He's mostly still the touch player in a game of league, able to conjure up the great stuff without actually being able to do the stuff required to be an NRL halve.

If we're talking halfbacks, I would have JT, Cronk, DCE, Hunt, Taylor, Norman, A Reynolds over him. I'd probably have Nathan Cleary over him. And this is me, an unabashed sycophantic fan in the past.

I dunno how he's going to get there. Coaching? Ha. I'd say he needs a great halve - ie Foran if he stayed and wasn't injured - to take all the responsibility off him and just allow SJ to be that touch player, popping up at the right times and really having fewer touches but make them more effective. Plus a great pack. And not sure either of those is coming.

 

[playdaball]

I'd like to see Cameron Cullen here (Manly reserves ex Titans)

 

[the rebel]

Maybe it's our style of attack which is stifling Johnson? Both Kearney and Cappy (both started their coaching careers at the Storm) have tried to turn the Warriors into some watered down Storm clone. Interesting hearing Michael Ennis after the Bulldogs lost against the Panthers today. He mentioned the Bulldogs style has not changed in the last few years and teams such as the Broncos and the Cowboys play flatter attacks and play what's in front of them. He also mentioned how the Dragons revamped their attack this season. Our attack looks so predictable and slow. Easy for opposition teams to defend thus its not taking too much energy out of the opposition. We have certainly lost our flair this year.

 

[KeepingTheFaith]

I think he's been overcoached. There's just too much going on in his head to allow any instincts to come out.

He's become quite indecisive and that's a key issue for him IMO.

He needs to make a decision and follow through instead of making half a decision, waiting to see if the defense helps him out, and then choosing what to do.

Wouldn't solve all his problems, but it would be a start.

 

[Rich102]

Read the ISP cup report about Mason Lino:

"Lino: Was controlled, cool, calm and collected. Directed the team around the park well"

Deserves a chance.

 

[Leber]

Drop them all to reserves. Might get a chance at a nsw cup premiership at least.

 

[ozbash]

Read the ISP cup report about Mason Lino:

"Lino: Was controlled, cool, calm and collected. Directed the team around the park well"

Deserves a chance.

Good way to describe Mason, a director..

 

[JJ]

Drop them all to reserves. Might get a chance at a nsw cup premiership at least.

Indeed, they've shown against the Broncos that they're pretty good at that level

 

[MKEB...]

What I dont get, is that he has had two halves as coachs, Elmer McFudden and former World's Greatest Halfback Stacey Jones. How the heck has he not improved?