macavity
Referee
- Messages
- 20,529
let me start out by saying im a huge Abes fan - I think he is one of our best, a great clubman, and has some great ball skills. a real footballer.
having said that, I think he needs to get out of the 6 jumper ASAP.
reasons being:
1. his lateral defence just isnt good enough for 5/8.
he is a BIG guy - well over 100kgs, and has had a few leg problems also. front on, he is a great defender - but I think what we have seen the past few games is that he is very vulnerable to players with good footwork. I shudder to think what Lockyer, Tate or Hunt are going to do with him this week - I think he will be targeted.
I think he is aware of this, and tends to rush up in defence to compensate - try to shut them down before they have space. this tends to leave holes in the line - and if the player gets away from him, a cut-out is thrown, or the player manages to get an offload, a line break is the result nearly every time - particularly when he is inside Tighe, who is a woeful defender.
2. he is an awful kicker of the ball.
does any more need to be said? he has played fullback and in the forwards. he has never been asked to kick. we cant expect it of him. teams only have to shut down mullo and we have no other kicking option, save kids at the back, who is invariably kicking from behind the line and so at a distance disadvantage, and is an ordinary kicker of the ball.
3. he is too slow.
for the backs. he has lost alot of speed as he has bulked up whilst off injured. the abes of 5 yrs ago wouldnt be too slow.
finally,
4. he is too good a lock to waste at 6.
as a lock he has the entire package - great (forward) defender, ballskills, good vision, breaks tackles and big motor. as a 6 he is a square peg in a round hole - a big guy used to the middle of the park and trying to be something he is not.
13. abes
12. simmo
11. patto
10. newton
9. bedsy
8. perry/wooly/tolar
is a bloody good pack.
as far as replacements go, well im not sure.
sorry JM, I dont rate Tighe. no ticker that boy.
for mine that realistically leaves:
Kidley (let us never speak of him as 5/8 again);
Bailey (injured but possible); or
Brown.
I say "realistic" as they are the players I know relatively well - roops has mentioned Hunt (9 in PL) and I rate him, and we have Karawana (ball hog, no ticker) and Dureau (is he ready?) as well. I don't know any of those 3 well enough to definitavely say yay or nay, but must say im not impressed by Karawana at all. Hunt intrigues me - big boy, great ball skills. might be a smokey.
having said that, my pick at the moment is Brown. as a hooker he can tend to overplay his hand - however I think given the space out a bit wider, he would thrive. he has pretty good vision, can kick (short kicking game is spot on, long passable) and has a great pass on him. He is a decent defender, and is ok laterally. he was killing it at 7 in PL last year, and scored 4 (?) tries in a game late in the season.
he deserves 5-6 games to give it a shot.
Brown for 6.
having said that, I think he needs to get out of the 6 jumper ASAP.
reasons being:
1. his lateral defence just isnt good enough for 5/8.
he is a BIG guy - well over 100kgs, and has had a few leg problems also. front on, he is a great defender - but I think what we have seen the past few games is that he is very vulnerable to players with good footwork. I shudder to think what Lockyer, Tate or Hunt are going to do with him this week - I think he will be targeted.
I think he is aware of this, and tends to rush up in defence to compensate - try to shut them down before they have space. this tends to leave holes in the line - and if the player gets away from him, a cut-out is thrown, or the player manages to get an offload, a line break is the result nearly every time - particularly when he is inside Tighe, who is a woeful defender.
2. he is an awful kicker of the ball.
does any more need to be said? he has played fullback and in the forwards. he has never been asked to kick. we cant expect it of him. teams only have to shut down mullo and we have no other kicking option, save kids at the back, who is invariably kicking from behind the line and so at a distance disadvantage, and is an ordinary kicker of the ball.
3. he is too slow.
for the backs. he has lost alot of speed as he has bulked up whilst off injured. the abes of 5 yrs ago wouldnt be too slow.
finally,
4. he is too good a lock to waste at 6.
as a lock he has the entire package - great (forward) defender, ballskills, good vision, breaks tackles and big motor. as a 6 he is a square peg in a round hole - a big guy used to the middle of the park and trying to be something he is not.
13. abes
12. simmo
11. patto
10. newton
9. bedsy
8. perry/wooly/tolar
is a bloody good pack.
as far as replacements go, well im not sure.
sorry JM, I dont rate Tighe. no ticker that boy.
for mine that realistically leaves:
Kidley (let us never speak of him as 5/8 again);
Bailey (injured but possible); or
Brown.
I say "realistic" as they are the players I know relatively well - roops has mentioned Hunt (9 in PL) and I rate him, and we have Karawana (ball hog, no ticker) and Dureau (is he ready?) as well. I don't know any of those 3 well enough to definitavely say yay or nay, but must say im not impressed by Karawana at all. Hunt intrigues me - big boy, great ball skills. might be a smokey.
having said that, my pick at the moment is Brown. as a hooker he can tend to overplay his hand - however I think given the space out a bit wider, he would thrive. he has pretty good vision, can kick (short kicking game is spot on, long passable) and has a great pass on him. He is a decent defender, and is ok laterally. he was killing it at 7 in PL last year, and scored 4 (?) tries in a game late in the season.
he deserves 5-6 games to give it a shot.
Brown for 6.
