Pick your core NSW side to build around

[RHCP]

Mitchell Pearce is the best option we have at our disposal if we are looking towards the future. Who else is there? Trent Hodkinson?

 

[ANTiLAG]

exactly he got dominated by tim smith , any halfback who gets dominated by a player like tim smith isnt nrl standard.

It shows how embarrassing it is for nsw to have pearce at halfback

Bit harsh. Tim Smith did have many good days between 05-07. Very inconsistent player, though. Might be fairer to say not origin standard as opposed to not nrl standard.

 

[Deleted member 10972]

1. Dugan/Coote

7. Pearce

9. Ennis

13. Lewis


That is the core.

Wing spots - Kevin Gordon, Akuila Uate, Brett Morris and Chris Lawrence should fight for these. All of them are big, great in the air, lightning fast, strong and top finishers.

Centre spots - Joel Thompson and Jamal Idris fighting for one spot, Josh Morris and Michael Jennings fighting for the other spot. One side will have a sizable and powerful line-running centre, and the other will have a speedier strike centre.

Five-eighth - the two smaller options are Soward and Carney. Both are in decent form with nippy running games and big boots, but their tackling is questionable. Sutton and Campese are the larger options, but their creativity on a consistent basis under pressure isn't confirmed yet either. Bird is another option if Gidley is the utility.

Props - must pick four strong props. Snowden is a definite starter, and Mannah is a definite benchie, leaving two empty spots. For the workhorse prop to start with Snowden, I think King was a pretty poor option, and I feel that Douglas or Tolman would have been a better option. As for the impact man to partner Mannah on the bench, I don't mind TLL but I think Galloway might have been worth a shot.

Backrow - three slots; a workhorse, a linebreaker, and an allrounder. Workhorse slot should go to Heighington or O'Donnell, as they are well ahead of Waterhouse, Hindmarsh and Stewart on form. Linebreaker would go to Watmough because he is proven, but Mitchell Aubusson and Mark Minichiello would have to be pressing for his spot. Allrounder spot would have to go to either Gallen or Bird.

Utility - Bird or Gidley, no other real options out there.

So:

1. (Dugan/Coote)
2. (Gordon/Uate/Morris/Lawrence)
3. (Thompson/Idris)
4. (Morris/Jennings)
5. (Gordon/Uate/Morris/Lawrence)
6. (Carney/Soward/Campese/Sutton/Bird)
7. Pearce
8. Snowden
9. (Ennis/Farah)
10. (Douglas/Tolman)
11. (Gallen/Bird)
12. (Heighington/O'Donnell)
13. Lewis

14. (Bird/Gidley)
15. (Watmough/Aubusson/Minichiello)
16. (Learoyd-Lahrs/Galloway)
17. Mannah

Bird should be a priority pick though - if he doesn't get the five-eighth or backrow spot, he HAS to be on the bench at the expense of Gidley. Too good to be left out.

Therefore, a nice selection squad for NSW with plenty of youth, aggression and flexibility will be available.

 

[RHCP]

Wing spots - Kevin Gordon, Akuila Uate, Brett Morris and Chris Lawrence should fight for these. All of them are big, great in the air, lightning fast, strong and top finishers.

19 linebreaks + 14 tries already this season = There's no battle. Aku has a wing spot locked in if he becomes eligible next year.

 

[ANTiLAG]

19 linebreaks + 14 tries already this season = There's no battle. Aku has a wing spot locked in if he becomes eligible next year.

And they can make him captain - he's from Newcastle after all!

 

[RHCP]

And they can make him captain - he's from Newcastle after all!

I'd prefer to see that title go to Kurt Gidley off the bench, worked rather well last time.

 

[Gaba]

Bit harsh. Tim Smith did have many good days between 05-07. Very inconsistent player, though. Might be fairer to say not origin standard as opposed to not nrl standard.

may been a bit harsh on tim smith, but i dont rate pearce as a nrl standard halfback no matter what

 

[Gaba]

Mitchell Pearce is the best option we have at our disposal if we are looking towards the future. Who else is there? Trent Hodkinson?

there are 5/8 what could turn into halfbacks , for example campese , etc

would be better option then pearce at halfback

 

[ANTiLAG]

there are 5/8 what could turn into halfbacks , for example campese , etc

would be better option then pearce at halfback

Thats odd. Many of the Canberra fans believe Campese has been playing crap because he does not have a decent halfback inside of him so he has to adopt the role of first receiver. personally I think Campese is an overrated hack.

 

[Gaba]

Thats odd. Many of the Canberra fans believe Campese has been playing crap because he does not have a decent halfback inside of him so he has to adopt the role of first receiver. personally I think Campese is an overrated hack.

Campese may not have been the best example but he still has more varitey in attack then pearce does.

nsw have an attacking 5/8 and attacking halfback which isnt just a kicker as the current halfback is and a coach with game plans , nsw will get closer

 

[RHCP]

Campese may not have been the best example but he still has more varitey in attack then pearce does.

nsw have an attacking 5/8 and attacking halfback which isnt just a kicker as the current halfback is and a coach with game plans , nsw will get closer

Mitchell Pearce: 6 tries, 4 linebreaks, 10 linebreaks assists, 20 tackle breaks, 9 try assists in 10 games
Terry Campese: 1 try, 3 linebreaks, 7 linebreak assists, 19 tackle breaks, 6 try assists in 14 games

Pearce has played 4 less games and is still on top of Campese in every stat. Why would we want to turn Campo into our halfback when we already have a better one?

 

[Gaba]

Mitchell Pearce: 6 tries, 4 linebreaks, 10 linebreaks assists, 20 tackle breaks, 9 try assists in 10 games
Terry Campese: 1 try, 3 linebreaks, 7 linebreak assists, 19 tackle breaks, 6 try assists in 14 games

Pearce has played 4 less games and is still on top of Campese in every stat. Why would we want to turn Campo into our halfback when we already have a better one?

pearce isnt better by a big margin though and pearce shows he goes missing in attack against defensive teams , if nsw is saying they picked Barrett for experience for the halfback , so why not put a better attacking player then pearce in at halfback and see how he went. I dont care which player (sutton,wallace, etc)
I couldnt see how that is going to do more damage of trying a new attacking halfback then keeping pearce , if nsw are serious in an attacking halves combo

 

[ANTiLAG]

You know I don't understant why your current selectors would try Lyon and Gasnier when playing as cetnres for their club as Origin five eigth but not try Soward.

 

[RHCP]

You know I don't understant why your current selectors would try Lyon and Gasnier when playing as cetnres for their club as Origin five eigth but not try Soward.

Join the club.

 

[Vic Mackey]

1. Hayne

6. Sutton/Campese (pick one and stick with them, at least for a whole series)
7. Pearce

9. Farah

13. Lewis (c)

 

[Raider_69]

Has to be sutton at the moment
campese is in the worst form ive ever seen him in atm. He's directly cost us the last 3 games with poor options and general ordinary play

that being said, that pass on monday night to Monaghan to score, you might not see a better long pass than that all year. 20 metres, threads the needle, hits his man on the chest in stride and gave the Defense absolute no chance. Brilliant. He's got it in him but besides flashes like that, he's in terrible form and has no place in SOO talks right now

 

[matt]

A competent half would supply the fix for the flashes 69...He has every attribute of a QLTY SOO player.

 

[Talanexor]

So you're saying Sutton for NSW #6 because Campese is too inconsistent? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...

Campese is struggling because there are no other decent playmakers to take the pressure off him or give him quality ball in space. Shift him out to second receiver, taking the line on and suddenly he'll be a hell of a lot better.

6. Campese
7. Pearce

Pearce has a great kicking game, good vision and is a good distributor. Campese is best when taking on the line - he's not an organiser. Put them together and you've got a combination that will pay dividends in years to come, as well as probably the best defensive halves pairing in NSW.

 

[Raider_69]

A competent half would supply the fix for the flashes 69...He has every attribute of a QLTY SOO player.

yes he does, but until he can put on more than 1 try in 55 tackles in a red zone, i dont think he can or will be selected for SOO.

His coaching isnt doing him favours, nor is his lack of a halfback, but his quality is such that in 55 cracks at the line in 80 minutes, he should be getting better results
regardless of halfback or coach, he's not playing very good football right now.

I think if given the chance, along side someone like Pearce he would flourish but his club form is dire at present, and until that improves, the selectors wont give him a 2nds thought. And probably fair enough too.

 

[Slackboy72]

The key issue for NSW is hooker. They no longer have a top line hooker who can get the forwards rolling forward and the defensive line retreating. It doesn't matter who else gets picked at 5/8 or FB or wherever. Until we get a top line hooker we're fuct.