No Benji next year

[TruSaint]

Too late for Benj. Lock in Elgey for 17

You have this on good authority BLM ?

 

[Como Connection]

too late for benj. Lock in elgey for 17

fact ??

 

[BLM01]

You have this on good authority BLM ?

Very good authority he will be replaced by either of below.
Elgey favoured...Keary less favoured
Keary would worry me anyway cause I think we have to pay overs for him
Elgey is also a risk...knees?

 

[BLM01]

fact ??

I will never use the word fact until announced but very likely.

 

[TheRev]

It highlights that picking the skill of a half is very difficult because blokes like Keary, Hodgkinson and even JT tbh are always playing behind international quality packs.. I mean you can make an assessment but playing for Saints, we rarely win the battle up front, we need to be able to grind out of tough situations.

Keary in particular just doesnt seem much better than the backup halves in the comp, I mean he is a little better.. and he has 1st grade experience.. but I dont get the vibe that hes the bloke that leads a team through finals.. he also appears to be a bit of a t*rd.. Reynolds would have been ace (should have been NSW #7 years ago), but seems like Souths wont let him go.

Have no doubt that if Saints lose a few games, itll be Benji that will cop the forums wrath, so lets hope that doesnt happen.... and his form can be assessed fairly.

 

[coast_dragons]

The only person who will get the blame is Rein.

 

[TheRev]

The only person who will get the blame is Rein.

haha possibly a 50/50 mix of Rein & Benji hate.. im also not ruling out calls of Dugan to #1 and Mann axed if we lose a couple of games.

 

[TruSaint]

Very good authority he will be replaced by either of below.
Elgey favoured...Keary less favoured
Keary would worry me anyway cause I think we have to pay overs for him
Elgey is also a risk...knees?

Cheers for the reply mate

 

[Saints Forever]

In the absence of landing Cronk or a reasonably priced Elgey or Keary, Benji will do for me.

He is still a class player when it's all said and done.

Form is temporary, class is permanent

 

[ggould]

I just heard the same thing!! it was Dean Ritchie talking to Jimmy Smith. I have to say if Dean Ritchie told me today was Sunday i'd have to get a second opinion!!! Ritchie has zero cred!!!

 

[_Johnsy]

*I'm not Vas but I hold his contributions with high regard. I'd go so far as to say he's intellectually my equal

You have such low self esteem, quite sad.

 

[Miller was a legend]

The Rev makes a very good point about the battle up front.

Keary plays behind a good pack, yet for mine doesn't shine as you would expect a $800k a year half would. Also has brain explosions when under pressure.

Elgy is this one as far as I am concerned. Has shown he is cool headed under pressure, can adjust his game to any situation. Even when his forwards are barely holding their own, the kid can shine.

If Dragons pick up this kid, I would say it's a brilliant signing.

 

[giboz71]

The Rev makes a very good point about the battle up front.

Keary plays behind a good pack, yet for mine doesn't shine as you would expect a $800k a year half would. Also has brain explosions when under pressure.

Elgy is this one as far as I am concerned. Has shown he is cool headed under pressure, can adjust his game to any situation. Even when his forwards are barely holding their own, the kid can shine.

If Dragons pick up this kid, I would say it's a brilliant signing.

This.

I've been banging on about Elgey for a while. That game he won against us when he and Mortimer made our international halves look 2nd rate convinced me.

 

[dragondad]

I just heard the same thing!! it was Dean Ritchie talking to Jimmy Smith. I have to say if Dean Ritchie told me today was Sunday i'd have to get a second opinion!!! Ritchie has zero cred!!!

That's very funny. Never trust a bulldog!

 

[BLM01]

haha possibly a 50/50 mix of Rein & Benji hate.. im also not ruling out calls of Dugan to #1 and Mann axed if we lose a couple of games.

Your 2nd statement is the one that has me worried. Mann playing fullback. Dugan natural ball running fullback playing centre waiting to be put into holes from a side ways running half. Up and in defences will be in his face and eat that up if they study our set plays enough as dugan does not have the quick set of hands to set up his winger. Last time Dugan played a bit of centre it was unknown and a surprise packet for oppositions.
If it ends up being true it is a huge risk. If it pays off Mary genius and contract extension, if not....well you know the rest. Hope my doubts are quashed.

 

[BLM01]

It highlights that picking the skill of a half is very difficult because blokes like Keary, Hodgkinson and even JT tbh are always playing behind international quality packs.. I mean you can make an assessment but playing for Saints, we rarely win the battle up front, we need to be able to grind out of tough situations.

Keary in particular just doesnt seem much better than the backup halves in the comp, I mean he is a little better.. and he has 1st grade experience.. but I dont get the vibe that hes the bloke that leads a team through finals.. he also appears to be a bit of a t*rd.. Reynolds would have been ace (should have been NSW #7 years ago), but seems like Souths wont let him go.

Have no doubt that if Saints lose a few games, itll be Benji that will cop the forums wrath, so lets hope that doesnt happen.... and his form can be assessed fairly.

All true statements. From 2012 (taking out Weyman) to in part 2015 our forwards have been a talking point unable to bend the line as flat footed in attack and smaller one out runners and a wait back on your heels attitude at times in defense.
It appears the club are starting to wake up but what like to see more support play and runners off the forwards. (i.e. Dugan, Mann and halves). Hoping Monday is the start of the step forward (excuse the pun)
The say our forwards were good last year..but the only improvement I saw was more resolve in defense across the park. We still did not lay enough platforms for deep attacking plays for our halves.

 

[St Georgio]

To many wankers here with there own agendas pushing for certain things, only to the demise of this great footy club.
Benji should be a keeper and help develope our own number 7..look at there(tigers) number 6 and 7 they're looking healthy over the next few years IMHO!

 

[Old Timer]

As has been said before Benji is a 5/8 not a natural 7.

If Benji was to be picked up by another club he would be slotted into the 6 jumper unless it was one of the bottom dwellers with no 7 at all.

Our club sees Widdop as the better player and long term future in the 6 jumper otherwise they would have already tried to swap them.

Any thought of Hutch playing 6 in the future and Widdop 7 would seem remote because at this stage Benji is a far better player than Hutch as a 6 and if they are not willing to make that swap now they will not do it in the future.

If our forwards go better this year and start to dictate the game Benji will have a much better year but the fact remains he is always going to be a 6 in 7 jumper and nothing is going to change that, it is just a case of can our style of play cope with that and can win a premiership?

If the final determination is that half back position is critical to winning the comp then best we get a specialist 7 who is in the top 4 or 5 half backs running around because Benji is probably about no 6 or 7.

 

[Miller was a legend]

To many wankers here with there own agendas pushing for certain things, only to the demise of this great footy club.
Benji should be a keeper and help develope our own number 7..look at there(tigers) number 6 and 7 they're looking healthy over the next few years IMHO!

Just to make it clear, my point and I suspect that of Rev has nothing really to do with Benji as a player. It is simply about having a genuine 7 in the side. If the discussion then turns to which is the better 6 option out of Benji and Widdop, it's a whole different discussion.

The club would need to weigh up long term prospects and how their respective styles fit the team and playing strategies. I suspect Widdop offers longer term stability for the club, given Benji really is a year by year proposition ( as brilliant as he can be, it is just how it is)

 

[giboz71]

To many wankers here with there own agendas pushing for certain things, only to the demise of this great footy club.
Benji should be a keeper and help develope our own number 7..look at there(tigers) number 6 and 7 they're looking healthy over the next few years IMHO!

What's your problem?

Just because people want an alternative to Benji doesn't make them wankers. Wake up to yourself.

Benji and Widdop have had 18 months together and all we've accomplished is scraping into the 8 last year. Benji is a great player but as OT says, he's a 6 playing as a 7, anyone that knows anything about footy, you need a pure 7 to succeed. No surprise that that the 2 GF teams had the 2 best 7's in the comp in Thurston and Hunt.

If the rumours about Elgey are true, we should absolutely make a play for him.