R9 vs Knights

[Buzzard Breath]

Very happy with the win. Wish I saw the game live but my weekend was lost to work and Mother's day celebrations.

 

[maple_69]

Mansour's stats are lol.

I was checking the stats on NRL.com and they have a stat for possessions for each player per game. Quite an interesting one which I've never seen before. Going through our games this year the main themes I saw were that Moylan is getting a lot more involved as the season goes on, our centres are getting more touches, Segeyaro is getting more touches/Kingston going down (would be interested to see their minutes) and lastly Docker isn't really doing much. He puts on some really good shots in defence, but doesn't get through a mountain of tackles, misses quite a few, is average running the ball andaverages about 8 possessions a game. Stats aren't everything but it backs up the suggestion that once our ducks are in a row, we should potentially be looking at Taylor or Peachey as our lock.

 

[Pomoz]

Going through our games this year the main themes I saw were that Moylan is getting a lot more involved as the season goes on, our centres are getting more touches.

I noticed that stat as well. 52 possessions, which was more than Soward or Wallace. He is really stepping in as a third half, adding another source of passes and kicks to the back line armoury. Girdler did a similar thing in our 2003 team and it really opens up attacking options. I wonder if he will be 5/8th one day? His running game as a fullback is his biggest limitation and that wouldn't matter at 5/8th.

As for Docker, he only played half a game, so 8 possessions is not too bad and he made 24 tackles. I notice that he misses more tackles than most and I think I know why. He always goes for a collision, so he often misses slightly if the player steps, or, he hits the really big players and sometimes bounces off. It is an interesting debate. Would we be better with a "grappler" like Taylor, who doesn't make big collisions but also doesn't miss many.

Personally, I think it comes down to balance. There is no doubt Dockers big tackles hurt far more than a "grappler" style and he helps soften up the forwards. I think if you have a couple of high work rate tacklers in your team like Taylor, Kingston, Brown and possibly Segyaro, then you can carry Docker. He misses a few and the "grapplers" sweep up. In the meantime he is bending players in half and causing spills.

If we have a poor defensive work rate, then I think Docker then becomes a liability and his misses will lead to line breaks.

 

[chrisD]

Taylor should have always been lock, he's next to useless in attack out wide but is actually quite dynamic around the ruck, he can run from dummy, he can draw defence and tip it on to other forwards, offload and can go to the line and throw decent balls out the back to our halves. And whilst he won't hit as hard as Docker he is as sure in defence and will make the effort to pressure kickers.

Taylor should be lock and Peachey or McKendry can cover the maximum fifteen minutes rest he needs, Mckendry preferably as we need a way to get more minutes out of our front row as Grant and Kite playing sub 40mins when we're struggling to keep an even footing up front is less than ideal.

 

[maple_69]

Yeah agree with all that. One point I'd make is Dockers stats look pretty similar if you go further back, it wasn't just the game he was injured. My other thought would be, when Plum is in the side, do we need two intimidating tacklers when one doesn't offer a huge amount outside that.
Docker still has a lot of room for improvement so I'm not writing him off yet but I think he and Brown are the most likely to end up outside the first 17 if Cartwright, VTK and BMM continue to develop the way we expect them to.

 

[Pomoz]

maple 69, amen to that. The more competition the better. If Docker kicks on and one of the others misses out (VTK is looking on thin ice) then the Panther's still win.

 

[franklin2323]

Yeah agree with all that. One point I'd make is Dockers stats look pretty similar if you go further back, it wasn't just the game he was injured. My other thought would be, when Plum is in the side, do we need two intimidating tacklers when one doesn't offer a huge amount outside that.
Docker still has a lot of room for improvement so I'm not writing him off yet but I think he and Brown are the most likely to end up outside the first 17 if Cartwright, VTK and BMM continue to develop the way we expect them to.

Spot on. Lets see where Docker is next year. I can't see us being able to have Taylor, Brown Docker in the same team Though not enough attack