I don't think we can play structured attack if we don't have the halves and hooker to execute that kind of style though. Obviously we have to have some structure, but we need game plans that suit our players strengths rather than attempt to copy the Dragons and Storm. We cannot play ad lib like '09 either, we've lost all our offloaders. I think we could perform if we find the right balance between the two though. If the forwards can dominate and get quick play the balls we have some good players who can hit holes, and we have the brilliance of Jarryd Hayne. Hayne is at his best playing in an ad lib style because he's so unpredictable, and we're going to need that if we're a chance of succeeding next season.
I think there needs to be structure around our halves - catch, pass, catch, pass, and grubber in-goal on the 5th.
Then it's all about who stands where on which tackle, who supports who, and then you can just layer Hayne's ad-lib onto that, but only after
x tackle, and only in
y part of the field, for example.
He has a lot of ability, but very little as a playmaker and that's the role he's being required to perform.
He hasn't shown much ability to pull defenders out of position for his runners but the fact is he's elusive so that part of the game will open up for him with experience.
He didn't carve it up in the NYC, most that have watched a lot of him in the junior grades agree he probably got the call up far too soon.
He certainly did carve up in NYC. He didn't make loads of breaks like Kris Keating (which is why Keating was called up a year earlier than him) but he did put more runners through gaps, and he did put on more tries with the boot.
Of course he wasn't physically ready, he probably still isn't. He's a tiny little bloke but history's full of tiny little blokes who eventually became good first grade halves once they got enough experience and physical strength but that's generally not until their mid-20s.
Matt Orford didn't play his first full season until he was 23. Morts will be in his 4th season by then.
And don't bring up stats again, we've been through that I'm not interested and will just ignore them so it's not worth wasting your time
You're not interested because they show your ignorance. You just make sh*t up and call it facts which is how footy fans have been doing it for 100 years.
But there are numbers now mate. They prove some points and disprove others. Hide behind your 'observations' all you want mate but if you reckon you observed something then there's probably a stat for it and we can see how much attention you're really paying.
DA was pretty much forced to promote him to first grade, after Brett Finch walked out on the club, and both members of our makeshift halves combination in Feleti Mateo and Kris Keating both suffered long term injuries in the same game.
Agreed. But he's shown so much ability that Anderson stuck with him all year, and Kearney seems confident in him for this year.
What he did do is fit into a side that was on a hot streak, and offered excellent support play and basic ball skills. But he struggled last year when expected to play more of a creative role and traditonal playmaking role of a 5'8th or halfback, which is why a lot of people are treading cautiously with him.
So maybe he needs to be used differently until his strength and experience catch up to his heart and talent. Don't just f**king write him off. Jamie Soward would've gone sh*t in our team last year too. Jeff Robson was a lot worse than Morts as well (though he was once again one of the top defensive halves in the NRL).
Morts just looks worse when he's ineffective because he gets rag-dolled. But that should change with time.
