Official team v Manly - oh my god

[Brando]

Manu at Captain - what does a Captain really actually do these days out there anyway, you have Friend and Maloney out there calling the shots.

Brown in the centres - we made a grand final with him there.

Benry in the 2nd row - everyone agrees he makes poor choices in the centres and was the U20 Captain in the 2nd row.

So all is not lost there.....but we will still get pantsed because we have no tackle machine in Micheal Luck out there this season and now his partner in crime Mannering is out too so someone has to cover all of those tackles.

However, the main reason we will get killed other than the youth factor is simply Blueys unfathomable logic in naming an all forward bench....yeah yeah yeah Godinet is named (now) but he never makes the cut, so here we go again......sigh!!!!

 

[Aragorn]

Manu at Captain - what does a Captain really actually do these days out there anyway, you have Friend and Maloney out there calling the shots.

Obviously you've never captained a side before - Captains do a lot - they toss the coin to decide which side we play on first

But in all seriousness, the captain is suppose to lead by example, challenge the referee, talk to the troops and inspire them, take interviews after the game..... can you see Manu doing any of these things well? :sarcasm::crazy:

 

[Skram]

Obviously you've never captained a side before - Captains do a lot - they toss the coin to decide which side we play on first

But in all seriousness, the captain is suppose to lead by example, challenge the referee, talk to the troops and inspire them, take interviews after the game..... can you see Manu doing any of these things well? :sarcasm::crazy:

Definitely. Not sure how he'll go challenging the refs and getting back onside all the time but we'll see how he goes.

 

[Auckland4ever]

Stewart is a freak, imo Locke isn't even close at the moment all round

Agreed. Locke does many things well, but the top tier of fullbacks are players that are capable of carving sides up from nothing and do so regularly. He has his moments & is obviously playing at below 100%, but have yet to see him put in performances on par with what the likes of Bowen has shown numerous times this season.

On the Manu captaincy, it may backfire. But by the same token, he's a much respected player by the other players in the side(by all accounts) and is also a much maligned player by many in the supporter/armchair expert base. So if anything it may really galvanize the team to do everything they can not to let him down.

Have got to change the station on my alarm clock. Listening to some of the dribblers that ring up radiosport is not a relaxing way to start the day. Have never known a single player to generate so much vitriol(including below-the-belt personal attacks) than Manu Vatuvei. People take it all far too seriously.

 

[Aragorn]

Manu just needs to man up and prove his critics wrong.

I will be the first to stand up and say I was wrong if he turns in a blinder this weekend and we win. Thats a really big "if" though...

 

[Brando]

"Obviously you've never captained a side before - Captains do a lot - they toss the coin to decide which side we play on first"


Wrong! I Captained my under nine club side and I stand by what I said, I also think that Manu will have no problems washing all the teams jerseys after the game or organising the oranges either. LOL

The other things that a Captain does can all be handled by Maloney and Friend except talking to the Ref, which doesn't do anything anyway.

Still worried about the all forward 2012 bench. Remind me to watch Wigan V Hull to see if this is a SL thing.

 

[Brando]

"Have never known a single player to generate so much vitriol(including below-the-belt personal attacks) than Manu Vatuvei."


Poor Manu, the one player constantly and repeatidly attacked below the belt off the field and above the shoulders on it!

 

[Auckland4ever]

Poor Manu, the one player constantly and repeatidly attacked below the belt off the field and above the shoulders on it!

lol

He deserves some of the criticism, but for someone to send in a text calling him "the dumbest person in NZ" and to have Veitch gleefully read it out on national radio shows the mentality of some sports "fans" and it says a lot about the host and the integrity of his show as well.

 

[beefstew]

Manu just needs to man up and prove his critics wrong.

I will be the first to stand up and say I was wrong if he turns in a blinder this weekend and we win. Thats a really big "if" though...

No one doubts he can pull out a blinder, the problem with Manu is next week, when he's even more likely to pull out a shocker...he offers no consistency whatsoever.

 

[beefstew]

"Have never known a single player to generate so much vitriol(including below-the-belt personal attacks) than Manu Vatuvei."


Poor Manu, the one player constantly and repeatidly attacked below the belt off the field and above the shoulders on it!

I guess some people dont like it when theres one set of rules or standards for Manu, and a whole different set for everyone else.

 

[Skram]

I guess some people dont like it when theres one set of rules or standards for Manu, and a whole different set for everyone else.

I'm one of the people who hate this.
While I'm sure it's not what you're referring to, the fact that Manu is a behemoth with a reputation for, a) having handling issues, and b) steamrolling over the top of blokes, doesn't mean that defenders trying to, a) dislodge the ball through stripping it, and b) dislodge his head through ripping it off, somehow are within their rights to do so.
If these same tactics employed against Manu were employed against Thurston, Benji etc. the defenders in question would not only be penalised but probably would often find themselves put on report. But it's all good in the refs eyes cos Manu is a bumbling fumbling beast.

 

[Auckland4ever]

I guess some people dont like it when theres one set of rules or standards for Manu, and a whole different set for everyone else.

The coaching staff would have one set of rules & standards for every player when it comes to attitude, i.e. how hard are they training, how much do they put in on the field. But beyond that, it makes no sense to have the exact same set of rules & standards for every player for the very simple reason that they are all quite different in terms of what they offer to the team. Putting a team together revolves around summing up what individual attributes a player has, strengths & weaknesses etc. not whether they've crossed some black and white magical line that they have to stay within in order to make the cut. Form obviously comes into it as well, but you would give someone who has uncommon abilities more leeway than someone who is a low level contributor without much ability.

 

[Skinner]

The coaching staff would have one set of rules & standards for every player when it comes to attitude, i.e. how hard are they training, how much do they put in on the field. But beyond that, it makes no sense to have the exact same set of rules & standards for every player for the very simple reason that they are all quite different in terms of what they offer to the team. Putting a team together revolves around summing up what individual attributes a player has, strengths & weaknesses etc. not whether they've crossed some black and white magical line that they have to stay within in order to make the cut. Form obviously comes into it as well, but you would give someone who has uncommon abilities more leeway than someone who is a low level contributor without much ability.

Agree 100% with this.

 

[Bobby DIGital]

Whenever a winger gets named as captain it's peculiar. So to see a big and somewhat unintelligent looking winger get named captain is very, very interesting.

 

[WarriorDefence]

Whenever a winger gets named as captain it's peculiar. So to see a big and somewhat unintelligent looking winger get named captain is very, very interesting.

How does one look unintelligent? Is it because he doesn't wear milk bottle glasses and pants that sit three inches above his shoes?

 

[MKEB...]

Whenever a winger gets named as captain it's peculiar. So to see a big and somewhat unintelligent looking winger get named captain is very, very interesting.

McIndoe, Wishart (IIRC)

 

[Aragorn]

Calling Manu unintelligent looking is bordering on offensive... where's our moderator.??

 

[Warmess]

Maybe we're hoping Vatuvei can intimidate the refs into giving us all the calls?

Seriously though, seems an odd decision. I wouldn't trust a guy that can't seem to learn not to offload the ball when he's getting driven backwards to lead a team.

Friend seems to be the obvious choice, but maybe they didn't want to give it to a guy in his first year at the club? If you want an 80 minute player to be captain then I guess Vatuvei is the only other choice, but still......

Sam Lousi looked like he could go good, this game we'll see. Hoping for big things from Ikahihifo too!

 

[Micistm]

Meh, it's done now and I'm not optimistic, but you get behind the team and wish em well. You're a supporter, you support.
I would love Manu to have a blinder as capt. Partly because he's a really likeable guy, but also to stick it to some really nasty f****wits who have text into radio talkback with some disgraceful and personally abusive comments. Some have been downright nasty. We all can have our moments getting frustrated with a team, but that's just getting a bit low. I hope the team fires up more because of it.
We should have really been out of the loop last week, cowboys did us a favour. It's now or never to get fired up

 

[Brando]

There you go Manu, dress more like Harry Potter and you will be halfway there, 'cause apparently now you are unintelligent looking to boot but I would rather be unintelligent "looking" then confirm my stupidity by writing a post like the one claiming that.