Rabbitohs rumours, signings, injuries etc

[ThingFish]

You’ve hardly seen Allen play, why would you just throw him in without knowing if he can handle first grade physically?

That’s why I said “depending on how the next two trials go”. Sheesh. If he fails of course I’d think twice about starting him Rd1. But if he kills it against NRL teams, he’s straight in.

 

[ThingFish]

George is suspended for first few rounds

Very good point

 

[Oldmate]

George is suspended for first few rounds

True that, I’d start Nicholls or Tatola and bring Knight onto the bench. I liked what I saw of Nicholls last year, few errors and good work rate. I understand it’s not ideal to carry a hooker on the bench but Brittain is far better than McIlwrick but totally untested. He can fill in at loose forward to give Cam a short break and Cook can play the 80, it would suck if Cookie got injured and our best replacement hadn’t played a game of first grade.

 

[southsport]

True that, I’d start Nicholls or Tatola and bring Knight onto the bench. I liked what I saw of Nicholls last year, few errors and good work rate. I understand it’s not ideal to carry a hooker on the bench but Brittain is far better than McIlwrick but totally untested. He can fill in at loose forward to give Cam a short break and Cook can play the 80, it would suck if Cookie got injured and our best replacement hadn’t played a game of first grade.

That's a good point re Brittain, we'll need a competent replacement for Cook come origin time.

 

[Meticulous Merv]

I think there’s a few reasons.
1. He was hand picked by Mal Meninga in the PM side without having played a single game of NRL.
2. Ennis also rates him as our best fullback option
3. He has an extensive junior rep history
4. There’s articles online that have him gunning for the number 1 position

https://www.mandurahmail.com.au/story/5918513/allan-chases-rabbitohs-no1-jumper/?cs=12331

https://www.thenational.com.pg/johnston-not-the-best-fit-for-fullback-ennis/

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...y/news-story/0cb50c84a054447bcd2cfa3cfd289928

The PMs game in PNG is a glorified exhibition game, nothing more, nothing less, it’s never been much to do with merit, at best it signals encouragement with a mix of experience

I doubt Ennis has seen him play any more than you have

Junior reps is a notoriously bad yardstick when it comes to grading players into senior footy, especially a first grade team in Rd 1

There’s articles online, well the journos are as likely to have seen him as much as you

Bennett i suppose will make a far more educated decision based on the trials he sees & the massive amount of training they do

 

[southsport]

Corey Allan has set his sights on the South Sydney No.1 jumper but is happy playing anywhere if it means earning an NRL debut.


Corey Allan looked around the room and saw the likes of NRL superstars Daly Cherry-Evans, David Klemmer, Jake Trbojevic and Tyson Frizell.

"I was just looking at all the players around me, I was thinking in my head '[$%^&*+], what am I doing here'," Allan said.

It was September last year and the little-known fullback had just arrived at the Pullman Hotel at Sydney Airport where he was checking in for a physical after being hand-picked by Mal Meninga to be part of the Prime Ministers' XIII.

The side is widely considered a stepping stone into the Australian Test team but Allan was picked despite having not made his NRL debut.

The idea of getting a nod was so far from his radar that he was camping with mates in central Queensland when he received the phone call telling him he was in.

He had to drive five hours back to Brisbane to meet up with the rest of the team in Sydney the next day.

"I didn't know what to say," Allan told AAP.


"All these people I've watched play and big names and no one knows who I am. It was nerve-racking.

"Straight away Mal says 'Corey, how ya going?' And then all the other players came and introduced themselves."

Being shoved out of his comfort zone has been a recurring theme in Allan's life of late.

After an excellent 2018, which saw him selected in the Australian under-20s side, the powerfully-built fullback made the decision to leave Brisbane and his hometown to move to South Sydney on a three-year deal.

Despite having the likes of Greg Inglis and Alex Johnston ahead of him in the pecking order for the Rabbitohs No.1 jumper, he decided to take the leap.

The 20-year-old is now in the running for a first-grade spot this year and will start Saturday's first trial on the wing.

Despite working over the last several years to establish himself as a fullback, he said he was willing to learn a new position if it meant earning an NRL debut and a regular starting role.

"Regardless of where you are, there's going to be someone in front of you," Allan said.

"I've got Greg if he wants to play fullback. I've got AJ who can play fullback. I've got players in front of me here, just like I had Darbs (Darius Boyd) and Jamayne (Isaako) back in Brisbane.

"I needed to get out of my comfort zone - that was the main thing. I felt like I was getting too comfortable in Brissy and just going through the motions."

 

[themacemaceman]

Yeah I’m not saying he’s a bad player, but there seems a bit of fuss over him. I seriously think Shannon Hegarty would have scored 22 tries on Souths left wing last year. If he was that good Bennett would work out a way to keep him.

Yeah, Nah!

 

[assess5]

At this stage then, what would you lot have as your first grade and reserve grade teams for round one? Yet to see a finalised top 30 I know but at this point I’d be rolling with something like this for NRL.
1. AJ
2. Allen/Hiroti
3. Inglis (if fit)
4. Campbell Graham (has bulked up and has been trialling at centre)
5. Gagai (will do Jennings job and more with kick returns and finishing)
6. Cody
7. Reyno
8. George
9. Cookie
10. Tommo
11. Sutts
12. Sam
13. King Murray
14. Brittain (needs to be blooded ASAP)
15. Tatola
16. Nicholls/Britt
17. Amone

You lost me as soon as you put Johnston fullback

 

[Meticulous Merv]

Have you seen him play?

Probably as much as everyone else, a mix of limited highlights & that’s about it
So given that, I’d not name him anywhere, probably reserve grade, however, I’m sure the coaching staff have a far better idea & will act accordingly

 

[uksouthsfan]

With Jennings now gone, does that mean we have zero left in our salary cap. Read stories about Lowe coming from the cowboys. Is their any truth in that or just paper talk

 

[southsport]

With Jennings now gone, does that mean we have zero left in our salary cap. Read stories about Lowe coming from the cowboys. Is their any truth in that or just paper talk

It could go either way I suppose, the media say it's on but others say there's no cap space, so unless the cowboys pay a big chunk of his salary?

 

[Travitoh]

FWIW, it would currently seem that AJ leads the race to the number 1 ahead of Allan judging by this weekends teamlist, should GI be unable to fulfill the position.

 

[CAFPOW]

If AJ and Allan swap positions in the 2nd half in R2R, we might find out who is the real Fullback at Charity Shield not R2R

 

[callmack1]

Path clears for Wayne Bennett to sign Cowboys forward Ethan Lowe
Peter Badel, The Courier-Mail
February 22, 2019 10:15am

Souths coach Wayne Bennett has upped the ante for Ethan Lowe, holding formal talks with the Queensland Origin hopeful in the strongest sign yet the backrower will quit the Cowboys.

The Courier-Mail can reveal the Rabbitohs have tabled a one-year deal for Lowe, who will turn out for the Cowboys in tomorrow’s trial match against the Titans on the Sunshine Coast.

But the pre-season hitout could represent Lowe’s final game in Cowboys colours as South Sydney move to free up space under the salary cap to bring the goalkicking forward to Redfern.

Bennett has spoken to Lowe, who is keen for a fresh start at Souths, but his move south hinged on the Rabbitohs’ ability to offload winger Roberts Jennings to Sydney rivals Wests Tigers.

http://forum.nospam26.com/attachments/1550805789138-png.1452/

Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett has spoken to Ethan Lowe as he moves to sign the Cowboys forward

The Tigers have attempted to sign Jennings, but recent negotiations hit a stumbling block when the joint-venture club was hit with a provisional $639,000 salary-cap fine in relation to a post-football deal for veteran Robbie Farah.

However, the NRL have finally given the Tigers the green light to sign Jennings, who was released on Thursday.

That clears the path for Bennett to get his man, with Lowe to become the final player added to South Sydney’s 30-man full-time squad.

The final impediment now rests on a compensation deal and whether North Queensland will provide a subsidy to sever ties with Lowe, who fell out of favour with coach Paul Green last season.

The 27-year-old is on around $400,000 at North Queensland, but with the Rabbitohs having limited salary cap room, the Cowboys will have to broker a payout for Lowe to become Bennett’s first Souths signing.

Ethan Lowe fell out of favour with coach Paul Green last season.

Bennett believes he can reignite Lowe.

The Goondiwindi product was outstanding in 2015, playing all 28 games in the Cowboys’ epic grand final defeat of a Broncos team coached by Bennett.

Lowe went close to clinching a Queensland Origin debut with an impressive 2017 campaign, but he lost his way last year. He drifted in and out of the Cowboys’ top 17, playing 15 games after a mid-season axing to the Intrust Super Cup.

Lowe has played 108 NRL games and would give the Bunnies a handy goalkicking option, plus experience to support key forwards John Sutton and Sam Burgess.

 

[ThingFish]

With Jennings now gone, does that mean we have zero left in our salary cap. Read stories about Lowe coming from the cowboys. Is their any truth in that or just paper talk

I don’t think it means there is zero. It just means there is not enough to sign Jennings on what Jennings was worth. If Lowe wants to come he’s going to have to sign for whatever we have left, or we need the Cowboys to pay some of his way if they want to release him.

 

[ThingFish]

FWIW, it would currently seem that AJ leads the race to the number 1 ahead of Allan judging by this weekends teamlist, should GI be unable to fulfill the position.

I think the first team players will probably only play 20min. WB will let them honour Sutto then get them outta there. He’s named nearly our whole 30 on the bench
I think we’ll see Allen get about 60mins at FB.

 

[Go Bunnies]

I think the first team players will probably only play 20min. WB will let them honour Sutto then get them outta there. He’s named nearly our whole 30 on the bench
I think we’ll see Allen get about 60mins at FB.

You’re right. From what I heard first graders will play 20 mins and most likely in the second stint.

 

[southsport]

Hey guys, have you got the NRL app so that you can live-stream the game?

 

[Travitoh]

Hey guys, have you got the NRL app so that you can live-stream the game?

It'll be on Kayo.

 

[Go Bunnies]

You drop kick, if you haven't seen him how can you comment on the opinion of others?

I agree with Merv. Because the only footage most people have seen of Allan is not at NRL level.
Any current first grader looks like a star in the 20s or Reserve grade.
Until he plays regularly in first grade, I won’t believe the media hype as I have heard varying reports from those who watched him in the Qld Cup last year.