Lachie Miller

[aqua_duck]

He's abit like the fullback version of SKD, you know the quality is there but so are the errors which in some cases are near comical like the defensive 'effort' for Olakaatu's try which lets be honest would've been ridiculed to high water if it were Ponga, Darius, or Matt Dufty.
As others have mentioned can't fault the effort and the genuine quality moments but some of the errors would make some like Bellamy want to tear the coaching box apart

 

[Spot On]

That’s the risk you take re errors in positioning and the finer points of fullback play with a 5 game rookie.

Coaching staff need to work closely with him to get him up to speed.

Tedesco spent a lot of time with Mini when he went to Easts. He had plenty of errors and plenty of improvement in him so I hope Lochie is getting that type of coaching/mentoring here.

I’ll take what he is giving us every day of the week and happily accept any errors. Our side is littered with big names who have played poorly for us over years and had excuses made for them.

Keep returning the ball Lochie!

 

[mozza91]

I think we’re overstating his error rate abit. He had a few brain farts on the weekend but has been pretty safe during the first 4 games.

 

[PhilGould]

Hasn't cost us yet but he has just watched multiple bombs bounce instead of getting under them and seems to lack awareness in general in that area i.e running full speed into his wingers while they're under a kick.

 

[Old dog]

Still not sold on him but he does put in, some areas are an improvement on Ponga some still need work but he is good compared to his length of experience. A work in process that is likely to be very good

 

[Apey]

Our back 3 of Young, Marzhew and Miller is giving Penrith's back three a run for their money. What else needs to be said? All 3 would be on close to minimum contract as well.

Miller's effort and enthusiasm seems infection and I'm loving it.

Never change Yosh, never change.

 

[aqua_duck]

I think we’re overstating his error rate abit. He had a few brain farts on the weekend but has been pretty safe during the first 4 games.

Also put 2 kicks out on the full in consecutive weeks earlier in the season which is potentially one of the costliest and most inexcusable errors someone can make. As I said it’s not so much that he’s making errors but it’s the type of errors he’s making, it’s kind of shows abit of a lack of attention to detail which I hope he can address

 

[HarVeeGee]

Energy/effort is unquestionable and he's very capable of creating for himself and others when attacking the edge. We've started actually offloading the ball a bit but mostly coming from the centres and edge players so far, reckon he can wreak havoc if we get those going through the middle of the field too, in particular think he should be following Croker on his runs.

Have to say I'm still pretty sceptical on other areas though. Some of the defensive reads and work under kicks would keep a gun fullback coming through the juniors from breaking into top grade, let alone a 28-year old. Can only imagine the reaction if Ponga had pulled some of the things Miller has so far at the back. Would love to cut out most/all of the one out hit-ups as well.

I reckon a junior fullback delivering the kind of work rate and attacking input Lachie has would break into top grade easily and be persisted with. Dylan Edwards was an error machine early on, and his work in attacking zones was pretty bad too - but he kept his spot because of his phenomenal work rate.

There’s way more good than bad in Lachie so far. With how stretched thin our forwards are, Lachie’s willingness to take so many runs has made such a difference. Kids like Bailey and Will are gonna have to bust their arses and deliver something pretty special in attack to take his spot.

 

[PhilGould]

The hit-ups can be helpful late in a game like yesterday when everyone is out on their feet but we’re going to it far too often and it's not creating any advantage. He could cut out 10 hit-ups and 100m and still be a very good attacking fullback.

The decision making when the ball isn't in his hands is what I'm mostly worried about.

 

[Apey]

The hit-ups can be helpful late in a game like yesterday when everyone is out on their feet but we’re going to it far too often and it's not creating any advantage. He could cut out 10 hit-ups and 100m and still be a very good attacking fullback.

The decision making when the ball isn't in his hands is what I'm mostly worried about.

Yeah we've had that mix-up between him and his wingers three times now, it's not a coincidence. Needs to work on that real quick.

 

[alexwilliams_66692007]

Our back 3 of Young, Marzhew and Miller is giving Penrith's back three a run for their money. What else needs to be said? All 3 would be on close to minimum contract as well.

Miller's effort and enthusiasm seems infection and I'm loving it.

Lol, settle down...

 

[perverse]

Also put 2 kicks out on the full in consecutive weeks earlier in the season which is potentially one of the costliest and most inexcusable errors someone can make. As I said it’s not so much that he’s making errors but it’s the type of errors he’s making, it’s kind of shows abit of a lack of attention to detail which I hope he can address

The horrors he's having communicating with his wingers for what should be routine catches is alarming as well. I'm amazed by how hard people are riding his dick when there are glaring flaws in his game that anyone else would get hammered for.

He's got a lot of potential for a guy his age and experience, and obviously has actual talent. But a spade is a spade no matter what it's getting paid, and he is making a lot of really costly errors. I'm backing him to fix it up, but I don't know why we have to be so black and white about everything. I'm glad to have him despite the glaring issues. The best thing i can say about him is he doesn't wither away when he makes a clanger. He just keeps on having a crack.

 

[Burwood]

Communicating with wingers is an easy fix. Letting the ball bounce and not attacking bombs is a bit more concerning.

 

[perverse]

Communicating with wingers is an easy fix. Letting the ball bounce and not attacking bombs is a bit more concerning.

You'd think so, I didn't expect to see it more than once. But we have.

And yeah, he's an absolute hazard with letting so many balls bounce too. Honestly, there are a LOT of gaps in his game that are usually not a problem even for the most unskilled fullbacks. His good is good, but his bad you don't expect at SG Ball level, let alone NRL.

He's close to costing us as much as he's gaining us on the field at the moment, but I have to believe he can improve in the areas he's sucking in. He's getting a free pass from many because the good stuff he does is stuff he haven't had in the team for a while.

 

[mozza91]

Yeah what a liability he is. We should have kept Tex Hoy and Bradbury and we’d be so much better off.

 

[aqua_duck]

Yeah what a liability he is. We should have kept Tex Hoy and Bradbury and we’d be so much better off.

Not sure why you feel the need to throw in some unwitty sarcasm when no one has insinuated that nor do we even know what Bradbury could turn into. There are obvious errors and holes in his game, it shouldn’t be taboos to state as much

 

[PhilGould]

No room for nuance or legitimate criticisms about a player, either you think he's perfect or you want Tex Hoy back.

 

[Mr Angry]

Mr Angry

Our former fullback couldn’t tackle. Yet had excuses made for him. Miller is on f**k all coin and has played f**k all NRL so no one expects any better. Well, no one with a memory that goes back more than 5 games. Par for the course on this one.

Our former fullback didn’t return the ball. Miller has alread clocked up 1100 m plus in 5 games. He is taking enormous pressure of our big men. We’ve desperately needed that for years.

Our former fullback use to chime in and do a bit of ball playing/running in good ball position. Miller already has 2 tries and 3 try assists. He’s killing it.

His error count is low. Not bad for a rookie.

And now for the best point - he’s on f**k all money!!!! That is absolute gold.

It’s just nice to see a bloke have a dig and have some skill too.

Well we can all thank Fitz, picked the bloke from no where, gave him a crack and understanding he was behind Will, gave him his chance with you blokes.

I wish him the best, seems more of a beer guy than strawberry milkshakes.

 

[perverse]

Yeah what a liability he is. We should have kept Tex Hoy and Bradbury and we’d be so much better off.

No-one said this, we're just calling a spade a spade.

 

[K-Man]

Clangers aside, I still don't think Miller is getting enough credit for the ball playing and general skill he's bringing to a team that desperately needed another dimension. Pre-season people were doubting whether he was even worth bringing to the club over a promising junior forward. And he was being spoken about like he was a speedster and not much else. That simply wasn't the case and you can't overstate how important it is to have a fullback like him that adds something to the dynamic whenever we attack with structure or without.

It was his quick tip-on for Young's first try. His quick hands to support Hastings' smart blindside play that set up Young's second try. His support play and two short passes that ensured we didn't bomb it for Young's incredible length of the field third try. It was his lovely flat torpedo pass that should have been an assist for Best's disallowed try. On their own none of them are world-class plays as such as they don't dominate the highlight reel, but we don't score those tries without his involvement. There have also been plenty of other examples throughout the 5 games so far. And I think we still haven't seen the best of his running game. Hastings is rightly getting a lot of the credit for our revamped attack, but Miller is a big part of it.