OFFICIAL Cowboys 2010 Thread

[Shorty]

And I don't think we need a ball-playing lock, although depth is never a bad thing.

To be fair, that is how we got to the qualifier in 2007.
Justin Smith with JT.

That's good news about the training squad, sounds like they're going to get hammered physically.

 

[Big Pete]

It's a good squad and I'm amazed about the depth at the club. However, you have to hope some of the forwards step up in 2010. That's where the Cowboys are at their strongest and if they're going to be any chance, the forwards will have to fire.

Kafusi, Manuokafoa and Webb will be on notice. Imagine if these players performed at their peak and gave Thurston the oppurtunity to weave his magic? Amazing. Alongside Scott, O'Donnell and Bolton Payne would be having a field day gifting the ball to Thurston.

 

[Talanexor]

Good point, but I still think we're one strike centre/winger away from being serious contenders. Maybe Gallant will move to the wing once Bowen returns from injury.

Fairly disappointed we didn't recruit a decent finisher. Bani is not the answer, Ty is too slow these days, Ash Graham's defence is STILL woeful, Malone is a specialist centre and from all reports Tupou is a centre/backrower NOT a finisher. I wonder if Obe Geia or Wayne Ulugia could make the step up next season?

 

[StinkyPete]

It's a good squad and I'm amazed about the depth at the club. However, you have to hope some of the forwards step up in 2010. That's where the Cowboys are at their strongest and if they're going to be any chance, the forwards will have to fire.

Kafusi, Manuokafoa and Webb will be on notice. Imagine if these players performed at their peak and gave Thurston the oppurtunity to weave his magic? Amazing. Alongside Scott, O'Donnell and Bolton Payne would be having a field day gifting the ball to Thurston.

With so many young kids now gunning for a spot if these guys don't fire they should be dropped to QLD cup. But Webb did string so good performances together for our last few games I'm expecting him to have a good year.

 

[Big Pete]

You can take Burns off that squad list. He's officially left the club to sign with Penrith.

Not a big loss. He simply wasn't the answer at five eigth.

 

[Talanexor]

I didn't rate Burns at all in 2008, but I started to like him a bit in 2009. His defence is great to watch, solid as, and he gives his best every game. Not a naturally talented playmaker however.

No big loss, but I hope he goes well at Penrith.

So who is partnering JT in the halves to start season 2010? Gotta be either Rovelli or Watts, with Amos or Thompson on the bench. Here's my starting team:

1. Gallant
2. Malone
3. Tonga
4. LOD
5. John Williams
6. Watts
7. JT
8. Scott
9. Payne
10. Kaufusi
11. Webb
12. Bolton
13. Southern

14. Amos
15. Tamou
16. Rapira
17. Manuokafoa

Gonna give Kaufusi and Manuokafoa 3 games to prove they should be in the side. If they still suck, Hogan gets a bench spot and Tamou moves into the starting lineup.

I went with Amos on the bench because he can also play backrow. Could just have easily used Watts as the benc utility and promoted Rovelli to starting at five-eight. Could also have put Will Tupou or Bani in the backline, preferred not to.

 

[StinkyPete]

Tal theres a article going around saying The halves spot is going to a youngster.

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2009/11/13/93631_sport.html

 

[Talanexor]

Oh, then thats an easy choice - whoever has the biggest boot. We won't have Bowen for half the season, and JT doesn't have the best long-kicking game around, so whichever of the young guys has a good long kicking game gets the gig.

Won't be Ryan Stig then. A running 5/8th who can pass - thats just Burns all over again (or Justin Smith).

What we need in a 5/8 is a great long kicking game, solid defence and a decent passing game, nothing too special. But the kicking game is absolutely crucial.

How many metres did Soward earn for the Dragons in 2009 with his boot alone? We need that sort of player.

 

[StinkyPete]

Alright I got bored and did up a side for round 1. your welcome Neil Henry (Left to right is order of preference)

1. Shannon Gallant
2. Micheal Bani/Ty Williams
3. Donald Malone/Will Tupou
4. Willie Tonga
5. John Williams
6. Ray Thompson/Anthony Watts/Ryan Stig/Grant Rovelli
7. Johnathan Thurston
8. Matthew Scott
9. Aaron Payne/ Anthony Watts
10. Antonio Kafusi/James Tamou
11. Carl Webb/Steve Rapira
12. Scott Bolton/Steve Southern
13. Luke O'Donnell

14. Anthony Watts/Clint Amos
15. Steve Rapira/Steve Southern/Dane Hogan/Isaak Au Mau
16. James Tamou/Dane Hogan
17. Leeson Ah Mau/Dane Hogan/Manase Manuokafoa

Stint in the QLD cup due to lack of talent or just no room:

Rovelli, Achurch, Slyney, Harris, Geia and Graham. (and those above who don't make the side each week)

U20's: Uhi

 

[Charlie124]

1. Shannon Gallant
2. Michael Bani
3. Luke O'Donnell
4. Willie Tonga
5. John Williams
6. Anthony Watts
7. Jonathon Thurston
8. Matt Scott
9. Aaron Payne
10. James Tamou
11. Carl Webb
12. Scott Bolton
13. Steve Southern

14. Clint Amos
15. Steve Rapira
16. Antonio Kaufusi
17. Manase Manukoufoa/One of the Au Mau Bros.

 

[Talanexor]

Nice looking team Charlie - I'm going to scrap a few of those players though. I don't think Amos offers that much off the bench - after a full offseason with Billy Johnstone our forward pack will have plenty of minutes in them. I think Kaufusi and Manuokafoa both need a stint in QLD cup. Webb plays best off the bench, as a prop. And I just plain don't like Bani. So here's my team for round 1:

1. Shannon Gallant
2. Don Malone
3. Luke O'Donnell
4. Willie Tonga
5. John Williams
6. Anthony Watts
7. Jonathon Thurston
8. Matt Scott
9. Aaron Payne
10. James Tamou
11. Steve Rapira
12. Scott Bolton
13. Steve Southern

14. Ray Thompson
15. Carl Webb
16. Au Mau 1
17. Au Mau 2/Dane Hogan

That backline is better defensively than any we had in 2009, although it lacks a bit of speed, we don't have any better options. Forward pack is great.

I've started Watts at five-eight, but I see him moving to dummy half once Thompson comes onto the field.

With Webb smashing through the middle of the field and offloading for Gallant, Watts and Thurston who needs decent wingers?

 

[Shorty]

Why have a center at wing and a lock at center because of missing Ben Farrar.
Come on the guy moved because of his family and his mum, nothing could be done.
Bani hasn't been that bad, either.

 

[Big Pete]

Yep, Bani cops an awful lot of flack for a mid-season transfer. Give him a full off-season with the right expectations and I believe he'll be more than a handy wing option.

 

[Charlie124]

Im more than happy with Bani so far, the guy has saved a number of tries and if we get our attack right i think he'll see a lot more ball in '10. I put O'Donnell in the centres for a few reasons - his size, his defence, his speed (together with his size) and the fact that we have heaps of quality backrowers. Id really like to see Henry experiment a little more with him in this position, if it doesnt work out then at least we've tried something worthwhile, the 1 or 2 games he played there i think he showed a lot of promice.

 

[Talanexor]

Why have a center at wing and a lock at center because of missing Ben Farrar.
Come on the guy moved because of his family and his mum, nothing could be done.
Bani hasn't been that bad, either.

Even Manly fans didn't rate Bani - they all agree he's a fringe first-grader at best. That David Williams is a much better player...
And they've seen more of him than we have.

I put Malone on the left wing for 3 reasons:
1 - He's tall. It's been a while since we had any big wingers and I think one of the reasons our attack sucked last season was because we didn't have any wingers that were dangerous in the air.
2 - The lack of quality wingers at our club. Ty Williams is just too slow, Ash Graham has woeful defence and isn't good under the high ball, Bani I don't like (covered this before) and Brenton Bowen is just for depth.
3 - Tonga has the #4 jersey as long as he wants. Malone plays at left centre - which isn't going to happen while Tonga is in the team - so we need to fit him somewhere else. I figured left wing was ideal, because it would be a more familiar position.

Regarding LOD at right centre:
As Charlie said, we have plenty of good backrowers pushing for spots, and O'Donnell has size, speed and is great in defence. I know that he's slower than a lot of outside backs, but he's not THAT much slower, and his positioning in defence is great. I don't think he'll get caught out in defence anywhere near as much as Ash Graham. Plus, if he can take on a few defenders and then offload to John Williams, he'll offer plenty in attack.

Crude but effective kind of centre. I don't care as long as it works.If it doesn't then we move Malone or Tupou there.

What does everyone think of Watts as the starting five-eighth and Thompson off the bench? If Thompson turns out to be a gun then naturally he gets the starting spot, but for the first few rounds I think this is best.

 

[Big Pete]

I wonder, how much of Malone have you guys actually seen?

 

[Talanexor]

Is he a dud Pete?

I've only seen him play the handful of games for us this year, and read a bit about his tryscoring feats in QLD Cup.

What I've seen of him impresses me far more than Bani has. I don't think Malone is the next Matt Sing for us, but I do think he's a better option on the left wing than either Bani, Graham or Brenton Bowen.

Once Matt Bowen recovers from his knee op - and if he moves back to fullback - Gallant will probably take his spot on the left wing.

 

[elyod138]

I wonder, how much of Malone have you guys actually seen?

I've seen him play a lot, mostly for the Jets.

His best assets suit playing center, he would be wasted on the wing IMO.

 

[Asedenburns]

Northern pride have signed Mark Dalle Cort a 27yo centre, he looks big if he can tackle may be an option, yeah he played with us before but may actually be better or his run overseas.
Our attack struggled for 2 reasons 1)No one we played at 5/8 gave the wingers ball
2)Jt plays his own gameplan and most of our players had little clue what was going on other than follow JT, we looked lost in attack at times

 

[Talanexor]

Veteran welcomes role of mentor
JOSH ALSTON
November 24th, 2009
TY Williams can hear the thundering footsteps of the young Cowboys behind him gunning for his spot.
But instead of being concerned, the Innisfail product is keen to mentor them as they make their push into the NRL.
At 29, Williams is a veteran at the club and has been re-signed on a one-year deal for the 2010 season.
A former Origin winger who has utility value in the centres and at fullback, he now has a fight on his hands to secure a spot on the flank for round one.

• DEVASTATED TY UP FOR ANOTHER SEASON
• WILLIAMS THROWN A LIFELINE
• MORE COWBOYS NEWS ONLINE

Young speed machine Obe Geia is impressing at training and has firmed as a chance to add to his two NRL appearances next season while recruit Will Tupou is also pushing for his chance.
Add to the mix John Williams, Michael Bani and Donald Malone and there is a logjam of players vying for a place on the wings.
Instead of seeing them as a threat, Williams has pledged to help guide the young players into first grade - but not before he retires.
''They've come a long way and I think with me still being here I reckon I can offer them a bit of advice as well,'' he said.
''They're only young and they've got a lot to learn in the game so when I'm ready to hang up the boots those guys are ready to step into the spot.
''They keep me on my toes and I'm making sure I keep them on theirs as well, so it's good.''
The Cowboys have entered this pre-season with a roster similar to last year.
Williams said that stability would serve them well as they attempt to arrest a two-year finals drought if they could overcome the loss of Matt Bowen (knee) for the opening eight rounds.
''We've just got to get as far forward in the early months of the season without 'Mango' and see how we go from there,'' he said.
''It's pretty strange actually, we haven't signed any big name players, we've got the main base of the squad from last year.
''We're only missing three guys from training at the moment which is our rep players (Johnathan Thurston, Luke O'Donnell and Matt Scott.
''The young guys that have stepped up have been good, Shannon (Gallant) has been great at fullback as well.
'The other fellas to look out for will be the Ah Mau brothers (Isaak and Leeson), they're very good trainers.
''They don't say much but they get in and rip in.
''They're going to add a bit of muscle up front which will be great for us.''
Williams said the pre-season had been progressing well but was expecting a further flogging next week when the coaching staff ramp up the pain in the final three weeks leading up into Christmas break.
''Over the last two weeks training has been good, we've been pretty spot on with our skills and everything, we seem to be making all our targets at the moment,'' he said.
''We'll see next week when we go into our second block of three weeks, I think (strength and conditioning coach) Billy (Johnstone) and Murph (athletic performance manager Glen Murphy) are going to step it up then so it will be interesting.''

So, reading between the lines, our options are:
John Williams
Ty Williams
Michael Bani
Donald Malone
Obe Geia

What I saw of Geia in 2008 didn't impress me that much, but he was VERY young then, and has apparently been carving up recently.

Also, about Malone - sometimes having big, tall, strong wingers is better than having speedsters. Tuiaki goes alright at the tigers - up there with the leading tryscorers this season, and Wendell has never been the quickest guy on the field. I'm not saying that being able to score off bombs is the only skill we should look for in a winger, but gee it would be nice to have that option.

Asedenburns, Bowen was our 5/8 in attack most of the season, and he gave plenty of ball to the wings. It's just that Bani sucks and Ty is too slow. We ALWAYS went to the left (because of Tonga presumably), and we NEVER put in a cross-field kick. Which made us very predictable.

I can remember two occasions where Travis Burns tried the cutout pass for John Williams instead of going left. We scored a try from one of those, not a bad strike rate.

Thurston's biggest flaw is that he isn't a great communicator. Great at yelling at teammates if they f*ck up, but he'll never be as good as Johns because he can't lift the whole team. He's really much better at five-eighth.

Having said all that, razzle-dazzle attack doesn't happen overnight. Looking at the improvement in our defence from 2008-2009, I'm confident Henry can also fix the attack over the offseason.

Seems to be a pattern. He spent his first year at the Raiders increasing fitness and strengthening defence, and the Raiders didn't set the world on fire. But in 2008, when the focus shifted to attack....they could have won the comp if not for the Todd Carney fiasco and the fact they have a lot of very average players.