Rabbitohs rumours, signings, injuries etc

[alien]

I don't think anyone disagrees with that I think people just believe that he's not good enough for our top 17 anymore.

Exactly. He'll get games during the season because there are always plenty of injuries to props, but when we're at full strength, I'm not sure. He might get a spot on the interchange if he plays his best, but only 4 props are chosen in the 17, and the twins and probably Musgrove will be picked before Clark. Then Cherrington or Rochow could be in the 17 as a prop, with the other in the 17 as a second rower. I think Cook will be on the interchange too.

 

[callmack1]

I'll be happy to see him in the 17 anytime.

Same here and I think he will be. However, I wouldn't be extremely guttered if he wasn't there.

 

[southsport]

Same here and I think he will be. However, I wouldn't be extremely guttered if he wasn't there.

Yeah, we have to take what is served up to us by the coaches.

 

[DiegoNT]

Clark will play more games then cook.
I'm not one to talk in absolutes, but barring injury i can't see cook playing more games then clark. I think that clark will start the year in the 17 as part of the middle forward rotation. In my opinion cook won't be in 17 as we have had more success with 4 forwards on the bench in recent seasons then when we carry an extra hooker. I think if Cherrington or some other young prop forces their way into the 17 it will be with clark not instead of him. If we do start the year with cook in the 17 I think he'd be in more danger of losing his spot then clark

 

[rabbitohs95]

Happy to see Clark in the 17 but if he isn't there that means he's either injured or someone is doing a better job than him, so either way someone's doing their job.

 

[Rabbits20]

You have to perform or perish no good claiming he's part of the leadership group
Pretty hard when your playing in the reserve grade team to be a leader

I think he will surpise you and play most of the games actually.

Clark is one player that deserves to have good things happen to him.

Most definitely.

 

[Rabbits20]

I think clark is under valued in this forum by some. But he has played something like 90% of games over the last 3 seasons, always does his job, played his part in a premiership and with our depth a bit thin in true middle forwards he'll probably be in the team until someone from the lower grades forces his way into the team.
All this talk about guys like clark, AJ or even goodwin doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. What will make or break our season will be our 5 highest paid players, the burgii, Reynolds and GI, and whether we get value for money out of them. If those 5 earn there money, then all guys like clark, Johnston, turner etc have to do is do their jobs and make their contributions. Hopefully we get a situation like 2014 when our big 5 off inglis, reynolds, sam, george and isaac luke stayed in form and guys like clark, tyrell, old man lote and keary just played their parts

May I just add I think Sutto plays a very important role for us. We need him fit and firing.

 

[Souths Till I Die]

Clark will play more games then cook.
I'm not one to talk in absolutes, but barring injury i can't see cook playing more games then clark. I think that clark will start the year in the 17 as part of the middle forward rotation. In my opinion cook won't be in 17 as we have had more success with 4 forwards on the bench in recent seasons then when we carry an extra hooker. I think if Cherrington or some other young prop forces their way into the 17 it will be with clark not instead of him. If we do start the year with cook in the 17 I think he'd be in more danger of losing his spot then clark

I find it pretty hard to believe that Clark will retain a first 17 spot over a hooker who we had to fight to keep from a premiership winning team.

 

[DiegoNT]

I find it pretty hard to believe that Clark will retain a first 17 spot over a hooker who we had to fight to keep from a premiership winning team.

Not really. Clark has already proven himself valuable in a premiership winning team.
Cook took 20 games to settle, has been a back-up player for all but the last 5 games of his career. Even if sharks got him there were no guarentees that he would be first choice. We have cook who has been a back up player, and the current blues hooker to choose from. If farah can play himself into decent form then i think cook is uneeded on the bench. We won 9 games last year, the last 6 of those were with no bench hooker. Even one of those other games was won with mcinnes playing 80 minutes at hooker because cook got injured early. Having a hooker on the bench costs 2 interchanges, 1 to bring farah off then another to bring farah back in. That leaves us with 6 remaining interchange. With the twins being Giants who can't play long minutes it really stuffs our interchange up. I don't think the upside of bringing on a fresh cook outweighs the downside of having our big forwards having to play longer minutes especially the twins and especially considering that farah is easily capable of 80 minutes as shown in origin.
That's not factoring in the fact that cook failed miserably as a bench hooker in 2016
Clark has proven he can handle the task given to him, we don't have the greatest depth there also. And clark has played every match he has been available for since 2014.
I know people like cook and want him in the team, but i think if they look at it objectively they'll find it hard to justify a bench spot for him

 

[Souths Till I Die]

Not really. Clark has already proven himself valuable in a premiership winning team.
Cook took 20 games to settle, has been a back-up player for all but the last 5 games of his career. Even if sharks got him there were no guarentees that he would be first choice. We have cook who has been a back up player, and the current blues hooker to choose from. If farah can play himself into decent form then i think cook is uneeded on the bench. We won 9 games last year, the last 6 of those were with no bench hooker. Even one of those other games was won with mcinnes playing 80 minutes at hooker because cook got injured early. Having a hooker on the bench costs 2 interchanges, 1 to bring farah off then another to bring farah back in. That leaves us with 6 remaining interchange. With the twins being Giants who can't play long minutes it really stuffs our interchange up. I don't think the upside of bringing on a fresh cook outweighs the downside of having our big forwards having to play longer minutes especially the twins and especially considering that farah is easily capable of 80 minutes as shown in origin.
That's not factoring in the fact that cook failed miserably as a bench hooker in 2016
Clark has proven he can handle the task given to him, we don't have the greatest depth there also. And clark has played every match he has been available for since 2014.
I know people like cook and want him in the team, but i think if they look at it objectively they'll find it hard to justify a bench spot for him

I see what your saying but the way you talk about cook it's almost as if you think he had a fair chance at the start of the year as a bench hooker. He literally got f**ked over every time he came on we were either losing or playing terribly. You're right about the end games we were playing really well with 4 forwards but the thing is we were playing really well because we were playing fast footy as well as not dropping the ball every 2 sets. The format of the bench doesn't matter as long as we're still playing fast, consistent, hard hitting footy. You don't have to use 2 interchanges on the hooker either it could be Farah playing 60 minutes and cook finishing the last 20. With Farah going to the bench or playing in the second row. We signed cook on a four year deal it's really hard for me to believe they're going to drop him to norths when he is a part of our long term plan. They're going to want him to experience first grade as much as possible. Clark however is not the same. He is interchangeable and is not needed in the future. The way you talk about clark is almost the same way that R20 backs up Goodwin. You can't really say Goodwin is not up to it and Clark is because the fact of the matter is they both have a lot of pressure on their spots. They're not superstars they're just solid players who do their jobs and are replaceable.

 

[Rsag85]

Cooks style of play suits the team more then Farah end of story, don't want to go though another 20 rounds to realise that fact again. If Farah is good make him earn his spot not give it to him just because he is a name player

 

[southsport]

Cooks style of play suits the team more then Farah end of story, don't want to go though another 20 rounds to realise that fact again. If Farah is good make him earn his spot not give it to him just because he is a name player

That's the problem with signing Farah, he will be in front of Cook unless he is injured.

 

[De tmTrajic]

Not really. Clark has already proven himself valuable in a premiership winning team.
Cook took 20 games to settle, has been a back-up player for all but the last 5 games of his career. Even if sharks got him there were no guarentees that he would be first choice. We have cook who has been a back up player, and the current blues hooker to choose from. If farah can play himself into decent form then i think cook is uneeded on the bench. We won 9 games last year, the last 6 of those were with no bench hooker. Even one of those other games was won with mcinnes playing 80 minutes at hooker because cook got injured early. Having a hooker on the bench costs 2 interchanges, 1 to bring farah off then another to bring farah back in. That leaves us with 6 remaining interchange. With the twins being Giants who can't play long minutes it really stuffs our interchange up. I don't think the upside of bringing on a fresh cook outweighs the downside of having our big forwards having to play longer minutes especially the twins and especially considering that farah is easily capable of 80 minutes as shown in origin.
That's not factoring in the fact that cook failed miserably as a bench hooker in 2016
Clark has proven he can handle the task given to him, we don't have the greatest depth there also. And clark has played every match he has been available for since 2014.
I know people like cook and want him in the team, but i think if they look at it objectively they'll find it hard to justify a bench spot for him

We now have outstanding young players who must be given the space to shine. Cook, at best a remote chance of a bench stop and Clark , not even. There is quality here right now. Barring a shocking injury toll, we will set the premiership on fire.

 

[doyen]

Cooks style of play suits the team more then Farah end of story, don't want to go though another 20 rounds to realise that fact again. If Farah is good make him earn his spot not give it to him just because he is a name player

We won't know if Farah suits Sths until he actually plays a few games.

He is rated our No.1 hooker by miles I would expect!!

Cook may get a bench spot depending on Madge's approach. If Madge wants Farah to play 80 mins then Cook will add to his already long list of NSW Cup games!!!

Farah is a durable type & normally shows up every week to play 80. I think this is what Sths will want to do,if possible.
Madge may,however, only want to play Farah for part of the game. Obviously,Cook will then be considered for the bench!!

 

[callmack1]

That's the problem with signing Farah, he will be in front of Cook unless he is injured.

I absoulutely love Cook as a player and if he's not starting I hope he is still in the 17. Will be one of the best hookers in the game in the future imo

However, If Farah drops his ego, listens to Madge and fits in, I reckon he could be one of the signings of the season. Those are big if's though. Time will tell.

 

[DiegoNT]

I see what your saying but the way you talk about cook it's almost as if you think he had a fair chance at the start of the year as a bench hooker. He literally got f**ked over every time he came on we were either losing or playing terribly. You're right about the end games we were playing really well with 4 forwards but the thing is we were playing really well because we were playing fast footy as well as not dropping the ball every 2 sets. The format of the bench doesn't matter as long as we're still playing fast, consistent, hard hitting footy. You don't have to use 2 interchanges on the hooker either it could be Farah playing 60 minutes and cook finishing the last 20. With Farah going to the bench or playing in the second row. We signed cook on a four year deal it's really hard for me to believe they're going to drop him to norths when he is a part of our long term plan. They're going to want him to experience first grade as much as possible. Clark however is not the same. He is interchangeable and is not needed in the future. The way you talk about clark is almost the same way that R20 backs up Goodwin. You can't really say Goodwin is not up to it and Clark is because the fact of the matter is they both have a lot of pressure on their spots. They're not superstars they're just solid players who do their jobs and are replaceable.

Cook had a stack of chances in the first half of the year. He averaged something like 40 minutes a game. He came on when we were winning easily, he came on when we were leading tight games, losing tight games and being flogged. He failed in all circumstances in the first half of the year.
If we play a hooker off the bench it add about 5-10 Minutes to the twins playing stints. That is dangerous. You can see what a huge effect it has on the whole team when they are getting dominated easily, getting sloppy in tackles and dropping balls.
You want your best players on the field at the end of the game. That's why barring injury the starting players usually finish. To suddenly change a spine player for the last 20 seems a bit silly, especially if it's a close one. And theres no way farah plays second row. Why would you bring on an inferior hooker, and move farah into the second row when you can just have a second rower on the bench?
The difference between clark and goodwin in massive. Clark won a premiership, goodwin didn't. Clark plays a keep the ship steady while the stars rest role while goodwin plays 80. Clark for Remains consistent, he'll come on and give you 25 good tacks and 8-10 hit ups every game. Goodwins form fluctuates. My problems with goodwin is that he offers not much in attack and has huge defensive problems, but he does do the shit work. We have a lot of good young centres trying to fill 2 spots. We have either 5 or 6 spots in the team for midde forwards, and at the moment we only really have 7 true middle forwards and one of them is dave tyrell. So clark and goodwin are polls apart

 

[Rsag85]

We won't know if Farah suits Sths until he actually plays a few games.

He is rated our No.1 hooker by miles I would expect!!

Cook may get a bench spot depending on Madge's approach. If Madge wants Farah to play 80 mins then Cook will add to his already long list of NSW Cup games!!!

Farah is a durable type & normally shows up every week to play 80. I think this is what Sths will want to do,if possible.
Madge may,however, only want to play Farah for part of the game. Obviously,Cook will then be considered for the bench!!

The question should be asked did Madge want Farah at the club or was that Rusty call?

 

[Bensville rabbit]

Cooks style of play suits the team more then Farah end of story, don't want to go though another 20 rounds to realise that fact again. If Farah is good make him earn his spot not give it to him just because he is a name player

Still don't understand how you want to lay the States Best Hooker in reserve grade for a guy( Cook ) who has proven nothing but that he has lots of errors in his game,
It's nearly as ridiculous as when you were calling for Sam to be put in reserve grade
Thank god your the coach RSag

 

[Bensville rabbit]

Not the coach

 

[Bensville rabbit]

Cook had a stack of chances in the first half of the year. He averaged something like 40 minutes a game. He came on when we were winning easily, he came on when we were leading tight games, losing tight games and being flogged. He failed in all circumstances in the first half of the year.
If we play a hooker off the bench it add about 5-10 Minutes to the twins playing stints. That is dangerous. You can see what a huge effect it has on the whole team when they are getting dominated easily, getting sloppy in tackles and dropping balls.
You want your best players on the field at the end of the game. That's why barring injury the starting players usually finish. To suddenly change a spine player for the last 20 seems a bit silly, especially if it's a close one. And theres no way farah plays second row. Why would you bring on an inferior hooker, and move farah into the second row when you can just have a second rower on the bench?
The difference between clark and goodwin in massive. Clark won a premiership, goodwin didn't. Clark plays a keep the ship steady while the stars rest role while goodwin plays 80. Clark for Remains consistent, he'll come on and give you 25 good tacks and 8-10 hit ups every game. Goodwins form fluctuates. My problems with goodwin is that he offers not much in attack and has huge defensive problems, but he does do the shit work. We have a lot of good young centres trying to fill 2 spots. We have either 5 or 6 spots in the team for midde forwards, and at the moment we only really have 7 true middle forwards and one of them is dave tyrell. So clark and goodwin are polls apart

You seem to forget there has been several games where we have been well on top when Clark comes on and drops the ball on the first hit up on the second tackle 20 m out
Hence pressure is relieved they get the ball downfield score a try and the game is now reversed totally
I'm not saying this always happens but it has happened often enough with both Clark and Tyrrell
I can't see either being in our top 17 with the calibre of guys we have now