McLinden

[Kris_man]

if this had been done earleir we might have been able to keep Wiki or buy someone of value like Orford

good point. in fact, great point.

 

[hrundi99]

Don't forget that Wiki may still have gone for family reasons.

I still don't put 100% faith in it supposedly all being about the money.

 

[DJ Raida]

yeah wiki dosent seem like a bloke whod go for the money

 

[raiders_boy]

Bradford and Great Britain prop Stuart Fielden, but chief executive Simon Hawkins said: "I can categorically guarantee Stuart will not be here in 2005."

Great... :evil:

Well now I am cut that McLinden is gone... I thought some sort of good would come about from this that would help us in 05, but thats not the case...

I hope they really are keeping this under wraps, cos if so theyre doing a fine job... Sounds pretty convincing to me though...

 

[Raider Azz]

Don't forget that Wiki may still have gone for family reasons.

I still don't put 100% faith in it supposedly all being about the money.

Exactlly... in fact the Raiders last offer was $250 000... hardly a small ammount of money.

 

[Bay56]

Carney needs a full pre-season in the halves with the 1st grade squad to really adapt properly.

Let's hope he gets one this off-season.

What Carney needed was a call to 1st grade last season for the last 8 games or so ... unfortunately our genius coach decided to pick Drew ahead of him thereby robbing him of valuable experience .... most on this forum called for that. Where's Drewey now .... gorne .....

Will Carney fit the bill on a consistent basis next season .... well we're not 100% sure because he was given limited opportunities to exhibit his talent ... we all know it can be a big step from reggies to 1st grade.

 

[edabomb]

Don't forget that Wiki may still have gone for family reasons.

I still don't put 100% faith in it supposedly all being about the money.

Exactlly... in fact the Raiders last offer was $250 000... hardly a small ammount of money.

His sister in Auckland went missing during the season, so theres obviously a bit to do with it there - I think she's back now though. Plus he said he wanted to raise his kids in Auckland near their cousins. I don't think money was a huge factor.

 

[Tidus_Raider]

The disappointment at losing Macca was somewhat lessened by the Fielden factor. Now that t looks like he's not coming......

#-o

:x

 

[thickos]

From the CT:

Juniors to get their chance
By Andrew Benson
Tuesday, 9 November 2004

As he spoke to his teammates yesterday and told them for the first time he was leaving the club Mark McLinden knew that among the crowd there were players who would benefit from his decision.

Promising halfbacks, who have been raised in Canberra football, would now have their chance to shine thrust upon them. Young prodigies like Todd Carney, Terry Campese, and even 18-year-old Michael Dobson have all rapidly moved up a rung on the Raiders' pecking order.

"When I was addressing the players I said there was probably going to be one or two players in here who weren't going to be sorry to see me leave," McLinden admitted.

"It is difficult for junior players behind established first graders. It happened to me with Laurie Daley and Ricky Stuart, and while I am not of that status, it amounts to the same thing. They have an opportunity now and it is up to them to put their hand up and make the most of it."

After seven seasons with the Raiders, McLinden thought long and hard about his decision to leave but in the end decided he had faith in the talent that would still be here.

"The last thing I would want to do is have a great time with the club, and a great career, and leave them in a position that is worse off," he said.

"I was pretty confident. The club had spent a lot of time bringing up some juniors; Todd Carney and Terry Campese in particular.

"They have had first grade experience and looked very comfortable.

"They also have Michael Dobson as well, who is younger than those players but is a star of the future. I think Todd Carney has the ability to go on and do better things than I have at the club," McLinden said.

 

[Raider Azz]

Very noble of Marty.

 

[Edwahu]

I just hope Ohara can step up. Pretty much the whole season depends on him IMO.

Carney would do better things then Marty with the packs Marty had but with what he will be behind next season, I am not so sure.

 

[Kris_man]

Carney may or may not do better things than McLinden, but it is bloody unlikely that he'll have a better debut season than Marty (if we count 2005 as Todd's debut season). Marty was 17, and he was bloody awesome, he completely tore up the ARL.

 

[borat]

Carney may or may not do better things than McLinden, but it is bloody unlikely that he'll have a better debut season than Marty (if we count 2005 as Todd's debut season). Marty was 17, and he was bloody awesome, he completely tore up the ARL.

So what happend? I am not having a go, I have just been amazed by this whole story. He was awesome so what happened to him. Was he never really that good, was he pushed to hard to early in his career? Its just that I can see the parrallels in that Mclinden burst onot the stage at 17 and is washed up at 25. This could happen to Carney couldn't it?

 

[Kris_man]

no, Carney's not that type of player - he's got more to him than just a running game, he can pass and kick (or so i'm led to believe) - aspects of play that McLinden never really mastered. i think one of the main reasons McLinden went off the boil cos all opposition teams had to do was mark him properly in defence - in 1998 nobody knew that this was his only strength. the only way for him to combat this was by developing other areas of his game, like passing and kicking. in 2003 he seemed to be doing this, having his best season since 1998, and fans had high hopes for 2004. but in 2004 he was back to his old ways - its like he didnt know whether to be "running Marty" or "organising Marty". it's clear he needed a balance between the two - in 2003 was the only year he found that balance, in 2004 he had no idea.

 

[greeneyed]

Carney is a passer and kicker. Traditional organising half, but with some brilliant touches. I am confident in Carney making it and being one of the best halves we have ever had at the club.

 

[Kris_man]

more about McLinden:

here's how he would have shaped up positionally (and this is where the coaching comes into it - it's his responsibility to target areas of a player's game that need to be specialised in, and play him in the appropriate position):

Skills required and preferred for each position
fullback running only - no kicking or passing required. the main concern for Marty here would have been defusing bombs. other than that, i think he would have made a top Bowen-esque fullback. defence is less important here, IMO, than at halfback or 5/8.
five-eighth running very important, as is passing and kicking, although the latter two can be almost completely ignored if there is a top-class organising halfback. Marty could have been a great 5/8 if the Raiders had a decent organising halfback, which we haven't had since Stuart left. I am surprised, though, that McLinden never struck up a good combo with Brett finch, who had a decent passing game.
halfback the opposite to 5/8 in that running the ball can be ignored if the 5/8 is a good runner. top class passing and kicking, however, are 100% essential. for Mclinden to be a successful halfback, he would have had to drastically improve these areas of his play.

 

[thickos]

fullback running only - no kicking or passing required. the main concern for Marty here would have been defusing bombs. other than that, i think he would have made a top Bowen-esque fullback. defence is less important here, IMO, than at halfback or 5/8.

Gotta disagree here. If Schif wasn't the brilliant defender that he is, we would have lost a lot more games than the 14 we lost this season. His cover defence when our backline screwed up AGAIN as the ball went wide is testimony to him. He is a brilliant positional fullback and his defence, IMO, is the best in the comp in that position.

Agree with the rest of your points on Marty however.

 

[SOULS 04]

Carney is a passer and kicker. Traditional organising half, but with some brilliant touches. I am confident in Carney making it and being one of the best halves we have ever had at the club

he has a rubnning game too doesnt he?

 

[DJ Raida]

i dont think so

 

[Prodigiousman]

Carney may or may not do better things than McLinden, but it is bloody unlikely that he'll have a better debut season than Marty (if we count 2005 as Todd's debut season). Marty was 17, and he was bloody awesome, he completely tore up the ARL.

You do realise McLinden started off next to the likes of Daley, Stuart, Clyde, Furner, Wiki (defending outside him), Kennedy, Mullins etc etc etc. A far cry from the talent level on the 2005 Raiders. I have never doubted McLinden's talent but gee wizz he got a leg up playing with those superstars. I actually think Carney might have a more significant impact on the season than McLinden did in 98, he was an individual star Macca back then, but Carney will team with Smith as what I think will be our best and most potent halves combo since Daley-Stuart.