Grand final halves- who's better ?

[The.X.Factor9]

As a neutral fan the match up's im looking forward too come grand final day are the halves match ups.

This is just a thread to gauge an opinion on who are the better grand final halves for both teams.

Both halves pairings are very young(maybe the youngest ever to play agains each other?), but have shown maturity beyond their years, this year.

Maloney & Foran both debuted in 2009.
-Maloney & Foran both have great running and passing games. Although Maloney seems to have a more composed kicking game.

Whilst DCE and Johnson are both first season rookies.
-DCE and Johnson are both; not afraid to take the ball to the line.
-Johnson seems to have a more flamboyant and ad-lib passing game.
-DCE seems to have a more structured and less ad-lib passing game(although he still has a great ability to play what's in front of him.
- Both of these players have good kicking games; but in this case I think DCE edges out johnson, because he seems to have a more mature kicking game.

What are your opinions ?

Also vote on the poll.

 

[Didgi]

Foran > Maloney
DCE > Johnson

It's a tight thing though, they're all extremely talented and on their day some of the best and most exciting in the comp. It'll come down to far more than just the halves, that's for sure.

Though I think if a team's halves are to win it for them, it'll be the Warriors'. Foran and DCE are class players but there are plenty of others there that pitch in.

 

[Mr Fourex]

Tough call.......like both of them

The DCE/Foran combo just edges out the Warriors pair for mine.

Really like watching Johnson play though

 

[Garts]

I am very impressed with Johnson. Love watching him play. I would say Manly's halves are in front due to being up the top of the table all season so have been very consistent but the Warriors halves are great. Maloney is a surprise packet, playing some great footy.

 

[ceagle]

Picked Manly

Johnson still has quite alot of brain farts in his game.

What are the chances of the Warriors halves staying together?

 

[The.X.Factor9]

Foran > Maloney
DCE > Johnson
It's a tight thing though, they're all extremely talented and on their day some of the best and most exciting in the comp. It'll come down to far more than just the halves, that's for sure.
Though I think if a team's halves are to win it for them, it'll be the Warriors'. Foran and DCE are class players but there are plenty of others there that pitch in.

I think its going to come down to who buckles less under the grand final pressure, but I agree it will come down to much more.

The forward packs for both teams have to aim up, especially manly's forward pack considering, well in my opinion anyway the warriors have one of the most devastating forward packs in the competition.

Really like watching Johnson play though

Agreed, he seems like he is going to be a more updated version of Benji. He seems very composed for a rookie and if need be he can humiliate players with his foot ward and sheer speed.

 

[woodyk2]

All four are on fire at the moment...harder to pick than a broken nose.

 

[trudge]

Interchange them and you have the future world cup final halves.

 

[jonno_knights]

Ive rated Maloney all season, he'd be a great candidate for an origin half. He has the speed of Soward, a kicking game to rival his, kicks goals just as good but the main thing is that he doesnt shy away from the tackling, and a his combination with Mannering in defence is quite good, no reason something similar couldnt happen with Scott.

I still think Foran and DCE have it on paper though. But its not where the game is going to be won IMO. The forwards will be the biggest deciding factor. They are two of the toughest packs in the competition. Mateo is the X-factor in this game, he is unstoppable when he wants to be, in the same mold as SBW was. If he gets his offloads going along with Mataulino, Maloney, Locke and Johnson will have a field day with their pace.

 

[manly40gimps0]

Cronk and Soward..oops

 

[Marshall_magic]

Manly halves will control the game better and allow their side to get on top, Warriors halves are better for the brilliant play or something out of nothing try.

 

[The.X.Factor9]

I still think Foran and DCE have it on paper though. But its not where the game is going to be won IMO. The forwards will be the biggest deciding factor. They are two of the toughest packs in the competition. Mateo is the X-factor in this game, he is unstoppable when he wants to be, in the same mold as SBW was. If he gets his offloads going along with Mataulino, Maloney, Locke and Johnson will have a field day with their pace.

I completely agree in the sense that it is going to be played in the forwards, also I think Mateo is matched by Glenn Stewart in terms of being the Xfactor. Stewart seems to do a lot of ball playing which is very sup rising considering he is a forward.

 

[Noa]

Really its the Manly halves by a fair margin.

Maloney is solid to good while Johnson still drifts in & out of games.

 

[_addict]

Both pairings have a different style.

Foran is probably the game breaker. We've seen him drag his team kicking and screaming to a couple of victories this year. Maloney, while I think he's great, has yet to take command at that level. Here's hoping he does in the GF

 

[ceagle]

It said in the paper today that Maloney is definitely looking at leaving the club once his contract expires because he misses family support in Sydney.

Disappointing if true for the Warriors. The Warriors could be a dynasty teams along with Manly if their halves stay on board.

 

[Clifferd]

Manly halves for me. They do all the small things right every game and have performed consistently all through the season. Warriors halves might be more exciting with those game-breakers and the skill and speed of Johnson.

This game could well go down to which team's halves perform better

 

[2010Dragons]

DCE will cost manly the grand final. He is very young and makes too many mistakes.

 

[_addict]

In our game against Storm I thought the battle of the Fullbacks would hold the most intrigue.

For this game the 6's will be very interesting. Maloney's had a bit of a thing for dealing a decent hit to his opposite throughout the year. Foran is tougher than a lot of the others out there and should be up for any challenge laid down.

 

[ceagle]

DCE will cost manly the grand final. He is very young and makes too many mistakes.

troll

 

[jonno_knights]

I completely agree in the sense that it is going to be played in the forwards, also I think Mateo is matched by Glenn Stewart in terms of being the Xfactor. Stewart seems to do a lot of ball playing which is very sup rising considering he is a forward.

Yeh, I was going to mention Stewart as Manly's X-factor, although not as unstoppable as Mateo can be, he is more consistent and can still be pretty devastating in his own right, and you know what you are going to get from him come Sunday. A lot of his ball playing comes before the line, which is a little different from Mateo, but his combination with Lyon is one of the best in the game. Im havent really looked into it, so I'm not sure who will be marking who, but Inu and Brown (irrespective of playing centre for the Kiwis) arnt the most established centres in the game, and a few of the set moves could catch them out.

Probably the major difference between the two is that Stewart plays a more structured style which fits in perfect with Manly, where as the Warriors usually give the ball to Mateo where he can just look like he is taking an ordinary hitup and draws in the defence only to get the arm free and pop the offload.

It will be an interesting battle though, they have been two of the better back rowers in the game this year and in terms of allround attack they are probably unrivalled. Both have very unique skillsets.