Rabbits' new coach to return Inglis to No.6

[Newcastlerabbit]

Josh Rakic

May 22, 2011

On the move ... Greg Inglis to get closer to the action next year. Photo: Simon Alekna

STAR Souths recruit Greg Inglis has been earmarked for a return to five-eighth, the position from which he guided the Melbourne Storm to the 2007 premiership, winning the Clive Churchill medal.
Inglis thrived in the No.6 jumper under then assistant Storm coach Michael Maguire.
Rabbitohs chief executive Shane Richardson has revealed the incoming coach has already hatched a plan to move the 24-year-old Inglis closer to the action next year.
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Richardson travelled to England, where Maguire coaches the Wigan club, several weeks ago, and the two men discussed South Sydney's player roster, salary cap and coaching structure.
''The biggest question everyone has is the halves, and I think there is some great options there,'' Richardson said. ''We haven't got much out of Greg Inglis this year but we will get a lot more out of GI next year - and he can play five-eighth. GI played five-eighth under Maguire at Melbourne and 'Mag' has a great history of working with playmakers and making them.
''He can play fullback, too, but we've got a lot of options there for Greg. Both he and 'Sutto' [John Sutton] can play five-eighth or in the centres at a pinch. Sutto is pretty comfortable in the back row, too.
''We see GI as a leader for us, too. He already is for the indigenous community but we see him being a great leader. He was in the mix with [Michael] Crocker when we decided the captaincy. We certainly see him as a leader, and so does he. He wants to be a leader.''
While Inglis and Sutton will do battle for the No.6 jersey, the more pressing issue is who will replace Chris Sandow at No.7. Richardson said the club had no plans to replace Sandow with a name No.7, insisting Maguire was confident in bringing through club juniors Aaron Reynolds and Mal Webster. Maguire is responsible for converting former fringe centre Cooper Cronk into a world-class halfback.
''There is the Luke Lewis clause that Sandow has up until round 13 to change his mind,'' Richardson said. ''But he's happy and we've moved on.
''We won't be making another offer to Chris. We've made our offer, and we won't be going any further. We went as far as we could. I'm disappointed he's leaving but he came to us an unknown, and I think we can do the same thing with Aaron Reynolds.
''We think Aaron Reynolds is pretty special, and he's come through the same system Chris did … And I don't think there is anyone out there at the moment that fits our recruitment strategy.
''We've got another good kid named Mal Webster, who is from the same mould as Preston Campbell, and is Greg Inglis's first cousin. Like Preston, he's a great defender. And then there's James Roberts. We don't want to spend a heap of money when we have the talent in our own backyard.
''We've also got a special kid coming through called Tyrone Ranuku-Phillips, who is the NYC fullback … He is very talented.''


http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...h-to-return-inglis-to-no6-20110521-1exs4.html

 

[boo_boo]

It's good to see Maguire making plans for the club already.
Gives us the confidence of knowing that his mind is on the job.

 

[thehattrickrabbit]

may i add Inglis looks in mad shape in that photo...he's obviously worked hard

1. James Roberts
2. Nathan Merritt
3. Dylan Farrell
4. Centre Signing?
5. Josh Mansour/Chris McQueen
6. Greg Inglis
7. Adam Reynolds/Centre Signing

we are still one or two players short there and we also need to sign one or two props... Moving GI out of centre makes our backline more average

 

[Noa]

Good move.I wasnt a fan of it when he first moved, and even though i felt Cooper and Cam looked him off to often, he still succeded. However the games changed now and centers dont get has much space as they did a few years ago so 6 is the perfect fit for him now. A major benefit of the move I think is it will allow Greg to drift acrross the field a bit more and give him a better angle to utilise that fend.

 

[Wheeled Warrior]

This coach is smart. I have a feeling that trophy drought might come to an end very soon. future looks very promising

 

[Big Sam]

How about we move him there from next week?

 

[hindyrabbit]

only problem is we have a lot of back rowers who are doing a great job filling in the front row.
if we move sutton out of 5/8 he has to go to the back row as he is too slow for centre.
what centres are on the market to buy or is tim moltzen still in our picture?
will be interesting to see what happens over the next month or 2.
also think looking at getting brett seymour for a year or 2 to help bring ADAM reynolds through

 

[Rabbit toes]

I'm not liking the idea of Moltzen as a Centre, In a pinch I'd rather Lowe and Sutton covering in lock
Def going to be interesting to watch as this unfolds into next year

 

[DC_fan]

Melbourne thought the move of Inglis to five-eight was such a success they went out and signed Brett Finch to play the position.

 

[Noa]

^
Thats about as simplistic as it gets.

 

[besthalfbackPEARCE]

He's a centre and that's where he should play ffs. Stop destroying good players.

 

[BunniesMan]

Thank god. He's won a CC medal at #6, he's great there.

9 Luke
7 Reynolds
6 Inglis
1 Roberts

That's a spine that'll do well for us for 5-10 years.

Sutton belongs in the backrow or off the bench as a utility.

If Inglis is back next week I'd happily have him at five eighth now.

P.S. He looks pretty close to peak fitness in that pic. Can't wait for him to get back in the team, he'll be keen to put in big games now that its origin time. And don't we need him back, we showed we could defend today but we're just lacking a little bit of firepower to put points on the board, which usually comes easy to us when we have our stars.

 

[Ike E Bear]

I hope the bunnies take a look at Tomane from the Titans (assuming he goes with the arrival of Idris and Champion). Maguire is likely familiar with him from the Storm days. Tomane was going very well until injury struck.

 

[Mattyoh]

We need a couple of centres of the Beau Scott/Simon Mannering mould. i.e. can tackle.

Burgess, McPherson and Pettybourne need to make a permanent switch to the front row. We are to big and we have too many backrowers when everyone's fit.

 

[Jimmy Smooth]

Wouldnt mind Ben Lowe move there. While he is a genuine Back rower, he played a fair few games at center and he wasnt too bad there.

 

[Ttime]

Was exposed quite a bit with speed, however that could have had a lot to do with playing inside talanoa too

 

[Achillies]

Wouldnt mind Ben Lowe move there. While he is a genuine Back rower, he played a fair few games at center and he wasnt too bad there.

You must of missed the game where a geriatric Adam Macdougall carved him up.
Rather than convert backrowers into centres why not move a few on?
Clark does the same job as Lowe and costs us much less,use the extra cash on a recognised centre.

 

[Zigwaa]

Is inglis back for the Panthers game?

 

[t10do]

lowe DOES NOT belong in the centres. keep him where he has proven to be a solid player. thought his tackling really improved last season. shame about his injury.

 

[Zigwaa]

I thought Lowe did well in the centres a few games last year.