Knights v Raiders Trial

[Alex28]

It's Snowie and Pauli to start for me due to Pauli's fitness. It surprised me. My backrow is the Sims boys and Stockwell. Chanel and Sione on the left. Sione plays best if he has his bros in the side. Agreed on Mamo. He needs to work a lot harder. He will get there. Aku was really good.

You can't find a spot for Rochow in the starting 13?

 

[Jono078]

http://www.newcastleknights.com.au/news/2016/02/20/knights_youth_impres.html

How good is it having a coach keeping it real after a game too.

 

[League_God]

I'm concerned on how easily we rolled over in that first half. Raiders forwards were just so powerful but even so we just could not control the ruck in any way. It just stank if last year and pea-heartiness.

The comeback was comforting but I keep reading that the raiders took a lot of there bigger names off.. Which is less encouraging.

Knowing Brown has already said the younger players upstaged the seniors is good and hopefully a real warning shot to every player to play at there potential otherwise they'll be dropped.

Seeing how they react to that will be the difference cone round one.

I can see we will be a team that keeps improving throughout the year. I just hope it won't take too long.

The two worst forwards on the field were Snowden and Stockwell followed by Rochow and Korbin.
Pauli Pauli and both Saifiti brothers were awesome and convincingly outplayed the entire pack. Paea and Smith were solid as well.

 

[The Showstopper]

You can't find a spot for Rochow in the starting 13?

No. He did not aim up yesterday at all. He is a excellent and reliable player and has to show he is worth the money on offer for him. Bench until he proves he is a starter. We should reward form as a rule in 2016 cos it will make the comfort zone players realise NSW Cup is one bad game away from reality. It will be interesting to see where the Safitis factor in when the bigger sides come into town. You could even slot the Safitis into the backrow if need be. Rochow and the Sims boys will need big years to be assured starters. If nothing else the young kids showed yesterday they have hunger in them and that is always a positive. If we end 2016 with the competition in the squad at boiling point just to stay in the 17 that is a success.

Browny said it all in his post match presser. Why was the second half team more aggressive than the first half team? He highlighted why our defence has been our issue for 12 years or more and it comes down to attitude. I think Brown is going to attract players to this club who are sick of lazier players getting all the plaudits when they know they work harder for a smaller pay cheque. I will not be surprised if we see a much different side to the one we expect in round one. Brown could not be more impressive as a coach. His annoyance at the defence leak was clear as day in his tone.

 

[Spot On]

Browny said it all in his post match presser. Why was the second half team more aggressive than the first half team? He highlighted why our defence has been our issue for 12 years or more and it comes down to attitude. I think Brown is going to attract players to this club who are sick of lazier players getting all the plaudits when they know they work harder for a smaller pay cheque. I will not be surprised if we see a much different side to the one we expect in round one. Brown could not be more impressive as a coach. His annoyance at the defence leak was clear as day in his tone.

I 100% agree with this. It would seem that incumbency isn't really going to be a large part of Brown's selection criteria no matter the size of the player name, contract or experience and I love that he operates this way. Many of us have questioned the attitude and effort of players, their performance and their huge contracts. I won't be surprised AT ALL if a few of our so called 'big names' are dumped for rookies. The facts could very well be that they are no better than the young blokes in many ways , except for experience. Something a lot of supporters are going to have realise sooner rather than later.

Be prepared for a bumpy ride. At the end of the day I think the coach will turn us around.

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

How long until the knights nannas run brown out of town when he starts dropping regulars?

 

[Caped Crusader]

I'm waiting for a letter from a 10 yo girl to appear in the paper

 

[League_God]

I agree with pretty much everything that's being said. I'd like to hear specifics though.
Who should be demoted?

Kade Snowden
Tariq Sims
Aku Uate

Are the 3 players at the top of my list. Both Rochow & Stockwell had poor games on Saturday but both are coming back from long stints on the sidelines. If they don't improve over the next 3-4 games, I'd add them to the list.

 

[slotmachine]

You are going to be disappointed if you think aku or snowden are getting dropped on the trial performance.

 

[Spot On]

I won't be disappointed if they are there to start the season.

The disappointment will be if they are dragging their arses through the first 3 rounds and Brown keeps picking them. I just don't see him putting up with it for too long though.

I'll also be disappointed if Snowden takes 15 rounds to get 'match fit'. That 'ol chestnut is well and truly a myth that should be buried. He'd be plenty fit if his contract was due for renewal.

 

[League_God]

You are going to be disappointed if you think aku or snowden are getting dropped on the trial performance.

I don't necessarily think they should be dropped effective immediately. I think those are the players who should be put on notice.

- Tariq was, by his standards and I imagine by the standard of his pay package, average last year.

- Snowden is notorious for being shithouse for much of the year before getting "matchfit".

- Aku is on 500k and for the last 2-3 years has played at a standard worth about 150k

They need to be put on notice

 

[slotmachine]

Snowden might be shithouse, but he has been our best prop for a few years running.

 

[League_God]

Snowden might be shithouse, but he has been our best prop for a few years running.

I thought Korbin was more effective last year. That said, I do agree with you

 

[Still Nutty]

I have a soft spot for Aku, but based on the trial form, I was seeing the same Uate we have had for the past couple of seasons - he just seems so mentally fragile...and he doesn't seem to have changed that part of his game under Brown to date.

On what I saw on the weekend, I think Chanel certainly stepped up quite significantly and as much as he is maligned, one of the most effective backs on the field for the Knights was Ross when he came on in the second half...carried the ball with enthusiasm and purpose every time he got his hands on it, went looking for work, defended effectively and didn't produce any penalties or errors from what I saw.

So for mine, I see Chanel and Ross being potential starting wingers come round 1 with Sione and Dane centres.

The other player that seems to have taken a step up this year (purely based on that game) was Randell - looks like he might have added about 5 kgs to his frame, seemed to be effective in defence, gave good service out of dummy half and looked like he's got a bit of a combination going with Hodko...for mine he was the better of him and Danny Levi on the day. I really rate Levi and think he is our long term future as hooker but if Randell can up his game and give us a solid option until Levi is ready that would be a bonus.

 

[slotmachine]

I think Snowden was clearly better. Made more metres, made more tackles, missed less tackles, played longer minutes, had more offloads. More tries and line breaks (not that it matters for a prop).

Korbin would play three good games, and then one weak one. I thought he was a chance of taking over as the #1 prop this year if he found consistency, but we might not find out if the strange 2nd rower experiment continues.

 

[Burwood]

The problem with dropping Aku is that it wouldn't have any impact on him. He's been dropped before, and his poor attitude was that there are young guys coming through the grades who were deserving of a shot in first grade or that it would be a bit of fun to play in NSW Cup with his mates. It didn't spark any desire in him to fight and earn his position back. He wasn't embarrassed. He couldn't have cared less.

Even with Brown apparently shopping Aku around in the off season, he hasn't show any intensity or desire in the matches we've seen him play in this year. I know that it doesn't tell the whole story, but his body language so far this year is no different to the last couple of seasons. He looks to be simply going through the motions.