Rd 3 2024: Parra v Manly GAME DAY thread @ Commbank Stadium March 24th

[King-Gutho94]

How good is it waking up a Monday morning with the adrenaline still pumping from a Sunday Arvo win.

It really does put a spring in your step for the week ahead and even better with it being a 4 day week this week.

Watched a replay last night its certainly reinforces what a cracking game it was in fact i probably undersold how good a game it was when walking out of the ground. It was better watching on replay.

Now i haven't seen every game this season but across the 24 games in the first 3 rounds i reckon we have been involved in 2 of the top 3 or 4 games so far when it come to high quality rugby league. The last 2 weeks Penrith & Manly games have been such a high standard.

One thing i didnt realise at the game though was how poor Luke Brooks was yesterday we really did target him defensively and isolate him he was one of the key reasons we scored 2 tries and even the Penisini try he was stuck in no mans land tunnelling Gutho under the ball.

He also kicked the ball out on the full.

Back to reality this week for poor Luke.

Josh Aloiai has always been a cat the way he treated the Tigers on the way to being the ring-leader of the rainbow 7 that protested wearing the jersey.

Didnt he back out a boxing match as well a few years back in the off-season.

Reg would have smacked his arse if they took it out to the carpark.

 

[King-Gutho94]

Jurbo had 4 hit ups in 80 minutes… that is absolutely pathetic but he’s a good bloke so nothing to see here.

Jurbo is 500-600k player not the 800-900k they pay for him every year.

I suppose they have got more value out of him then Tommy simply by being on the park.

 

[King-Gutho94]

I think some of you are a bit harsh on Blaize.

He looked like he belonged. A few errors (one howler), but his winger is the slowest guy in the NRL, not sure why you're expecting a first gamer to cover for him?

If we managed to beat a red-hot Manly side with him there, then give him another game against the Tiggles. He won't become a better C by playing fullback for Cayless.

Sivo and Harper should be the combo in Cup. Put Simmonson outside Blaize for next week and see how he goes. A other 10 games for Blaize and he'll start getting up to speed. He has WAY more to offer than any other option at the spot right now.


@Poupou Escobar sorry to hear your news. That's hard. Hopefully the boys go on to win a premiership for him this year

I think Blaize should go back to cup but play in the centres.

Get practice in a position we may need him further this year.

He is too raw and happy to slowly bring him here and there gradually this year.

If he gets 5 or 6 FG grades this year it would be great for his development.

 

[King-Gutho94]

If BA doesn't have any faith in Dunster or Lume lume to come in and play wing in first grade stop playing them in CUP move them to the RMC team.

Harper has never played on the wing and for some reason had to play there for the first time today.. You need a backup winger who you are going to play...

It took a few seasons for Russell and Penisini to get their defense set

Sean Russell and Penisini fixing up that RHS side defensively has been a big plus in the first 3 weeks.

Russell has had another pre-season with 20+ games now is getting better every week.

That try he saved yesterday when he slid across and tacked the winger when it was a 2 on 1 situation was outstanding. His pace off the mark is very quick.

Penisini stagnated at back-end of last year i felt he was pretty disappointing in the last 9-10 weeks of last season. But looks like he is back up & running again to start the year.

 

[hindy111]

@Poupou Escobar if you can read this I’m sorry to hear about your old man. It’s always a shock to lose a parent now matter what your age.

That said how good is Paulo looking?? He’s look like peak Junior his toe must of really been bothering him last year.

What's dissapointing about Jnr is he dropped weight and become fit and is killing it and showing howngood he can be. But being on 750k+ and a leader one must wonder why he felt it was ok to have a gap year in 23 and come back in poor shape.

 

[yy_cheng]

I'm a harsh critic of ba but yesterday, i thought oh no but they stuck at it and now like our style.

We are looking to always offload but hold it if it's not there. It's the way of the future. Manly couldn't be manly coz they were knackered. Even turbo seemed knackered. If you watch panfers last game, they were trying to copy our offloads. Together with that defence of theirs, they will become super dangerous.

Love the right edge defence. Will and russ have worked a great combo.

Ba use of the bench was much much better

Dyl getting more involved a great plus

Now fix the left edge defense and get the dyl, lane combo working and hopefully no injuries and we will do this

Oh, and i think matto has been one of our best. Im glad we didn't trade him

 

[Gronk]

I think Blaize should go back to cup but play in the centres.

Get practice in a position we may need him further this year.

He is too raw and happy to slowly bring him here and there gradually this year.

If he gets 5 or 6 FG grades this year it would be great for his development.

Nah he should go back to cup and play fullback.

For mine, centres are players who are not good enough to play in the spine.

As far as centre is concerned, he is full-time now and can train that way during the week. But on the weekend, a player like that needs the ball in his hands as much as possible. Last time he played reggies at FB, he received the ball 34 times and the LBAs TAs flowed from there.

I just don't see how playing him in centres around RM players will do him any good. At least at FB he will get involved, sweep etc.

 

[oldmancraigy]

I think Blaize should go back to cup but play in the centres.

Get practice in a position we may need him further this year.

He is too raw and happy to slowly bring him here and there gradually this year.

If he gets 5 or 6 FG grades this year it would be great for his development.

I hear you! I don't disagree that would normally be a good way to bring a young guy along.
But we have a far higher ceiling this season with Blaize playing centers over Harper or Simmo.

For mine, all of Harper/ Simmonson and Sivo are decent backups - useful at a pinch, but not starter quality. It would appear the club is searching for a strike outside back, so they share that opinion on at least 2 of those guys.

Think about having Harper or Simmonson playing center over Blaize. You're telling me you aren't just as worried in defence, plus Simmo has a shocker of an error in him sometimes anyway.

Playing in a losing NSW Cup team every week won't help as much as playing in a winning NRL team, learning from mistakes, and improving on the go. It worked out ok for WillyP - he debuted not long after his 19th birthday, and has done a wonderful job learning on the fly in the NRL (ok, he did have half a season of Cup under his belt, but was younger than Blaize currently is, and one might argue that he was thrown up to cup to adjust to the physicality more quickly).

 

[Noise]

Nah he should go back to cup and play fullback.

For mine, centres are players who are not good enough to play in the spine.

As far as centre is concerned, he is full-time now and can train that way during the week. But on the weekend, a player like that needs the ball in his hands as much as possible. Last time he played reggies at FB, he received the ball 34 times and the LBAs TAs flowed from there.

I just don't see how playing him in centres around RM players will do him any good. At least at FB he will get involved, sweep etc.

Because defence at centre is the hardest thing. He needs practice there in game situations.

 

[yy_cheng]

Because defence at centre is the hardest thing. He needs practice there in game situations.

Yup. It's either he's the backup centre or backup fullback. He has to learn one of the trades. Can't go and learn to be a fb then put into centre vice versa. Well you can but not the best way.

Russells sudden improvement for mine should be the apprentice fb

 

[Gronk]

Because defence at centre is the hardest thing. He needs practice there in game situations.

Ok so we agree to disagree. My take is that he will go back and they will focus on his development. There no real need to panic and train him at centre if they are trying to buy one of those two STG players.

 

[Gronk]

Yup. It's either he's the backup centre or backup fullback. He has to learn one of the trades. Can't go and learn to be a fb then put into centre vice versa. Well you can but not the best way.

Russells sudden improvement for mine should be the apprentice fb

I don't get the fascination with Russell at FB, only because has hasn't shown any ball playing skill ever. I agree he has a big body and is safe, so I see him as a temp fullback if anything.

 

[crocodile]

You will be sorely missed.

I’m just kind of guy.

 

[crocodile]

I'll take it you have never been to Commbank...

What makes you think that.

 

[hineyrulz]

What's dissapointing about Jnr is he dropped weight and become fit and is killing it and showing howngood he can be. But being on 750k+ and a leader one must wonder why he felt it was ok to have a gap year in 23 and come back in poor shape.

Well the standards of this club are below average, and we all know it’s not the coaches job to motivate players.

How else do you get a coach as one dimensional as Bea Arthur get 11 years and counting??

 

[yy_cheng]

I don't get the fascination with Russell at FB, only because has hasn't shown any ball playing skill ever. I agree he has a big body and is safe, so I see him as a temp fullback if anything.

My choice is dyl but i doubt ba would do that.

Russell is pretty safe under the high ball and his speed should help him be a efwards type fb

He also seems smart and will work on his game

 

[TheParraboy]

We play Manly again in 4 weeks, April 26th on their turf..

Hopefully we all have a night off and just cut and paste this thread..

 

[Noise]

I’m just kind of guy.

I don't know what that means.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

What's dissapointing about Jnr is he dropped weight and become fit and is killing it and showing howngood he can be. But being on 750k+ and a leader one must wonder why he felt it was ok to have a gap year in 23 and come back in poor shape.

He might’ve thought training hard would lead to burnout at the back end of the year. Gotta conserve your energy or some shit.

 

[The Predictor]

I don't get the fascination with Russell at FB, only because has hasn't shown any ball playing skill ever. I agree he has a big body and is safe, so I see him as a temp fullback if anything.

He will make a fantastic future FB, u need to look harder!