Lately I've been watching most Raiders games amongst friends who are supporters of other teams. Over this season its been a recurring theme for them to ask questions about our backline players who they have been pleasantly surprised by.
Guys like Chalk, Ale, Milne, Graham (really got their attention this year) and Howell. Basically the guys who are under the radar in comparison to other big name high contract rep backs at other clubs.
What amuses me though is that lately we've been talking about June 30 and all of them keep mentioning how Canberra need a high profile centre. This really got me thinking of whether big name backs (mainly centres) are a valuable purchase or a risk. [font=Verdana, Arial]Without starting it up again, the heated debate about Frawley on here is a good example of where i'm coming from on this.[/font][font=Verdana, Arial]
Over the past few years it seems centres in particular have become a risky buy, it could be due to new clubs thinking they are wingers and playing them out of position, due to having to learn a new playing style in the halves, or simply too much pressure to deliver a truckload of tries which can sometimes be well beyond their control. Guys like Vagana, Hodges (not counting his move back), Lolesi, Monaghan, Frawley, and even Tahu. All of them on decent contracts and seem to have struggled and never really regained the form of prior clubs.
The more i think about it the more worthwile it seems to me is to have patience and develop backs from within the system. Even a guy like Ale although a new signing has had much less pressure on him in reserve grade ranks, I'm wondering if taking the stress off these guys is the key. In Ale's instance he is in contention for a spot but doesn't expect it, it means he is still hungry but will not get completely destroyed psychologically if he doesn't slot in immediately. The reserve grade environment allows him to flourish and learn the coaches and club styles whilst still getting a look in at the top grade (even though I don't agree with him being dropped currently). Then there are guys like Milne and Chalk who we are all excited about eventually suiting up in Lime green fulltime who have both shown impressive signs in first grade and plenty of confidence.
As a Raiders fan like all of us I miss our elite days and the lack of rep players which used have the opposition fear playing us. But as much as we all are dissapointed with these project players maybe management got it right with our backline. I think Mogg, Gafa and Robbo are clogging our system a bit, but i'm much more confident in our future with Chalk, Graham, Schif, Milne, Ale and Mundine to hopefully suit up for us on a regular basis. This also seems to be the same for other clubs when you look at the likes of Soliola, Bott and Vatuvei who are all looking like potential stars for their respective clubs.
So what do you guys think? Do we need a high profile centre? would it be a bust? Could they excel with our playing style? Would it be neglecting our other needs?
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Guys like Chalk, Ale, Milne, Graham (really got their attention this year) and Howell. Basically the guys who are under the radar in comparison to other big name high contract rep backs at other clubs.
What amuses me though is that lately we've been talking about June 30 and all of them keep mentioning how Canberra need a high profile centre. This really got me thinking of whether big name backs (mainly centres) are a valuable purchase or a risk. [font=Verdana, Arial]Without starting it up again, the heated debate about Frawley on here is a good example of where i'm coming from on this.[/font][font=Verdana, Arial]
Over the past few years it seems centres in particular have become a risky buy, it could be due to new clubs thinking they are wingers and playing them out of position, due to having to learn a new playing style in the halves, or simply too much pressure to deliver a truckload of tries which can sometimes be well beyond their control. Guys like Vagana, Hodges (not counting his move back), Lolesi, Monaghan, Frawley, and even Tahu. All of them on decent contracts and seem to have struggled and never really regained the form of prior clubs.
The more i think about it the more worthwile it seems to me is to have patience and develop backs from within the system. Even a guy like Ale although a new signing has had much less pressure on him in reserve grade ranks, I'm wondering if taking the stress off these guys is the key. In Ale's instance he is in contention for a spot but doesn't expect it, it means he is still hungry but will not get completely destroyed psychologically if he doesn't slot in immediately. The reserve grade environment allows him to flourish and learn the coaches and club styles whilst still getting a look in at the top grade (even though I don't agree with him being dropped currently). Then there are guys like Milne and Chalk who we are all excited about eventually suiting up in Lime green fulltime who have both shown impressive signs in first grade and plenty of confidence.
As a Raiders fan like all of us I miss our elite days and the lack of rep players which used have the opposition fear playing us. But as much as we all are dissapointed with these project players maybe management got it right with our backline. I think Mogg, Gafa and Robbo are clogging our system a bit, but i'm much more confident in our future with Chalk, Graham, Schif, Milne, Ale and Mundine to hopefully suit up for us on a regular basis. This also seems to be the same for other clubs when you look at the likes of Soliola, Bott and Vatuvei who are all looking like potential stars for their respective clubs.
So what do you guys think? Do we need a high profile centre? would it be a bust? Could they excel with our playing style? Would it be neglecting our other needs?
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