strewth_mate said:
In your opinion roopy, is Joel Brown likely to remain in the halves throughout his career? Or would he be more useful somewhere else? The Browns seem like the kind of guys that, on a good day, can tear a team to shreds by themselves (Riley starred at halfback last year in PL, if I remember correctly), but I'm not sure I seem them as playmakers per se. Or I could be wrong ;-)
Joel doesn't have the playmaking skills of a Walsh or a Dureau, but his passing game is looking good already and his running game is very good as befits our top tryscorer from Ball last season as a running 5/8. He is already better than Sharp - so you would have to say he has come a long way for a guy who has played less than half a dozen games at halfback.
He will be 90 + kg when fully grown - bigger than Joey.
He is a fair to good defender.
He has a very accurate and long passing game from his time as a hooker.
As with Riley, he has a very good running game - can beat a man with footwork, fend, and run like hell when in a gap.
His kicking game is average at the moment.
He has more vision than Sharp - but like i said - he is no Walsh or Dureau yet.
I'm probably biased by having seen him as a great 5/8 prospect last year - because when i saw him playing 7 in the trial and couldn't work out who he was i was thinking 'that new kid looks really good' - but as soon as i found out it was Joel i couldn't help thinking he is a 5/8 and not a half.
Anyway - the worst thing this experiment will do is give Brown some new skills - and the best thing would be to turn him into a big and mobile halfback who can take on the line far better than most.
