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Pre-season Challenge vs Pennys Sat 11 Feb @ 6pm | Kayo | Foxtel

Poupou Escobar

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Utilities are guys who have a lot of talent but just not good enough for one.
No it's guys who can play multiple positions. They help cover injuries during a game, but you don't need one on the bench if you have them in the starting side. The whole bench can be used to give merkins a breather.
 

Poupou Escobar

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The journo seems to be linking the indecision shown by the halves to the choices made by other players in the face of that indecision i.e. "largely due to". Do try and keep up!
Hodgson is the dummy half and should be free to try to set up tries at the line, regardless of what the halves want. Blaming his decision to throw a risky pass on your favoured scapegoat exposes your intellectual dishonesty. Greig had both halves outside him and threw the ball twenty metres behind them. Again, his fault.
As for the second quote from the article - do you disagree? Did Jake's performance do anything to quell criticism for the coach's tactic of his NRL selections last year?
In a scrappy game where outside backs were the top performers I didn't read too much into it either way. The sky isn't falling, much as you and the media would like to portray it that way.
In other posts you still seem to be at great pains trying to justify that (and Jake's potential inclusion at NRL level this year), but will change position like the wind when the coach (rightly, and as the coach has already indicated) has other plans.
My point is that whether he plays first grade or not in any given week, it's all justifiable. You won't hear me pretending I know more than the coaching staff. But if you start f**ken whinging about selections again, I will be reminding you and the rest of you whingers how little you know.
 

Poupou Escobar

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That actually sounds like a half decent succession plan, should Moses' manager decide Moses will play elsehwere in 2024.

And then all we'd need is a hooker to pick up from Hodgson when he retires.
I would've thought it was obvious. Gutherson is a utility, and fullbacks are pretty easy to find.
 

Poupou Escobar

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Seemed safe but as others have said. Joel Reddy like. I don't see explosiveness or electric speed or power. If he doesn't develop this he will be nothing more then a plodder.
Every team needs plodders, and they're cheaper if they're local.
 
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Poupou Escobar

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I was impressed with his efforts both on and off the ball.
Good service from dummy half and the guy was everywhere in defence.
Unofficial (NRL) stats had him with 38 tackles in 40 mins of football.
I thought he played about 60, but yes he was solid.
 

Poupou Escobar

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He was a average NRL player. Yes you need them. But guys like Reddy are hardly must keep talents.
They're must keep if they fit into your culture because they are good value under the cap. You will gain no benefit from replacing them in your squad. Spend the extra money somewhere else.
 

Poupou Escobar

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This is why i dont get the club and the backups. Why wouldnt u have Russell playing Fb at nsw cup to give him experience and pick up things.
Isn't that exactly what he did yesterday? It was essentially a NSW Cup trial and he played fullback.
 

Poupou Escobar

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We missed the boat on that late last year. And this year it's too late, because we don't have enough quality outside backs in the squad to afford Russell not being in the first grade line up somewhere.
Yes we do. If these more experienced merkins all get picked in first grade there will be no room for Dunster or Russell:

Penisini
Sivo
Blake
Simonsson
 

Poupou Escobar

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Yates, Cini and Greig did well i thought, other youngsters looked ok but will definitely get better.

I'm concerned on the back up halves though, Rankin looks slow and old.

Just on Cini, the Fox commentators kept going on about how he didnt get a go last year, I could be wrong but I dont think he was allowed to be used because he wasnt in the top 30??

More importantly why did Wests Tigers let him go lol
More importantly why isn't he in our (or any other) top 30? I struggle to see why he isn't in the top 510 players in the game. I guess if I knew more than five-eighths of f**k all I'd be able to figure it out. He outplayed Russell (and most other players) in reserve grade last year. Maybe he only likes playing against nuffies?
 

Poupou Escobar

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Rankin isn't even in our NRL top 30 so he is basically just taking up a CUP spot until a Jnr comes up.
Even at full strength the top 30 doesn't fill the NRL and reserve grade sides. There will always be merkins outside the top 30 playing NSW Cup.
 

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