Rep Players

[Zoidberg]

Not that I want to give NSW any ideas but could you imagine Mullo's kicking game for Tupou?

 

[Burwood]

Is there a better defensive half in the competition? He cut down a few players only a few metres out from the line and saved a try in the exact same circumstances that Reynolds made a defensive error and let one in.

The only down side was that Rabs kept crediting other Country players like Scott and Docker for the tackles.

 

[The Showstopper]

Idris and Tupou on the right. Lielua and Tufua on the left. Mullo linking both sides with kicking and passing equals Qld nightmare. Josh Reynolds deserves a spot. Halfback? He is that busy.

 

[Noname36]

J Reynolds offers no more than Pearce IMO.

 

[Swarzey]

The only thing that Reynolds adds is a bit more grub. There's nothing special about the bloke and it amazes me how much hype there has been around him.

 

[Allstar Knights]

I thought Rochow had really good impact off the bench for Country in the limited time he got. Ran hard and straight up the middle. Could have more of a future at prop if he keeps playing like that.

 

[Apey]

Thought all the halves were pretty average, unfortunately. Someone's going to have to lift their game big time if NSW want a chance.

 

[Joker's Wild]

Roberts did a sterling effort on Fafita in defence. He ran at Tyrone all day and he just cut him off at the knees everytime

Didnt do much else though unfortunately

 

[Joker's Wild]

Back on the topic of the thread, I thought Mullen outplayed Reynolds in CvC. Reynolds was lucky to get a freakish try to his name due to the work of Fifita and Moylan. Mullen controlled much of the game, kicked a really sweet 40/20 and was involved in 2 tries. He had some shaky moments, too... he's not where he was last year yet, but I thought he was probably the best half on field. Can feel a bit dudded if he doesn't get a crack this year IMO.

Mullo also looked like he is struggling to stretch out too

He was chasing Walker in the final minutes but then just stopped to let Idris the human semi trailer do it instead and they made that brek that lead to þe equaliser.

His hammy is not 100% yet

 

[aqua_duck]

Higher football IQ? I don't think you'll find a smarter footballer than Dane. He doesn't enjoy getting smashed taking hitups but no other Knights want to do the dirty work.

Most Hitups after 8 Rounds.
1. Sam Burgess (South Sydney) 164
2. Aiden Tolman (Canterbury-Bankstown) 137
3. Aaron Woods (Wests Tigers) 135
4. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Sydney Roosters) 129
4. Trent Merrin (St George Illawarra) 129
6. Daniel Vidot (Brisbane) 128
7. Greg Bird (Gold Coast) 127
8. Jesse Bromwich (Melbourne) 126
9. Dane Gagai (Newcastle) 124
10. Corey Parker (Brisbane) 118
10. Jacob Lillyman (Warriors) 118
10. James Graham (Canterbury-Bankstown) 118
13. David Taylor (Gold Coast) 116
13. Greg Inglis (South Sydney) 116
13. Jason Nightingale (St George Illawarra) 116
13. Sam Perrett (Canterbury-Bankstown) 116
17. James Tamou (North Queensland) 115
18. Billy Slater (Melbourne) 114
18. Ryan Hoffman (Melbourne) 114
20. Michael Gordon (Cronulla) 113

No other centre in the top 20 except for Dane. Shows how badly he being used atm.

Smart footballers don't throw stupid offloads in their own 10m. Smart footballers don't get torn apart in D

 

[Noname36]

I thought all our blokes played pretty well actually. Rochow probably played one of his better games of the season. Scott made some big plays at crucial moments which is a sign of a good player. Roberts was probably our weakest but he wasn't really bad, more quiet. Jimmy Mac was Jimmy Mac. Topou got the better of him a couple of times but nobody would have been able to stop him for that try. Mullen still isn't back to his best obviously but he was still the best half on the field.

 

[1qaz]

Smart footballers don't throw stupid offloads in their own 10m. Smart footballers don't get torn apart in D

Yeah, tell me how many times he has done a silly offload like this? Yeah you can't can you.
Yeah Lockyer was a dumb footballer too cause he couldn't tackle either

 

[Joker's Wild]

Smart footballers don't throw stupid offloads in their own 10m. Smart footballers don't get torn apart in D

The offload was more a sign of a frustrated player, not a dumb one

 

[aqua_duck]

Yeah, tell me how many times he has done a silly offload like this? Yeah you can't can you.
Yeah Lockyer was a dumb footballer too cause he couldn't tackle either

He done that offload against the dogs.
Lockyer had defensive issues because of his size, Gagai has bad reads

 

[The Showstopper]

The defence of both Gagai and Uate has been very suspect this year. Dane needs to bulk up. He is too lean.

 

[Joker's Wild]

No he doesnt, he did fine with that lean frame last year

 

[1qaz]

Which Dog game? You talking about last week? I already adknowledge that dumb offload.
I wanting to know all the other times he has came up with a brain explosion.
Also in last week game he came up with a penalty. When was the last time he gave away a penalty?
Dane isn't much bigger than Lockyer.
Dane reads the defense ok, but it's his first contact that he struggles with.

 

[1qaz]

IMO they trying bulk him up too much.
If you saw him when he first started out, he was a twig.
Like Hodges, they both rely on their light feet to beat opponents.
Hodges has never had the biggest chest, arms, shoulders, legs but will go down as one of the best attacking centres to play the game. Hodges defense has been pretty bad all his career as well.
But who would you rather, Hodges or a Matt Cooper?

 

[aqua_duck]

So is his build more Hodges like or Lockyer like because there's a massive difference between the 2, 15kg in fact. Size wise I think he's fine but I feel in defence he sometimes struggles with positioning, eg over committing on the outside and getting burnt back on the inside or sliding close to the line, call it what you will but bottom line is he's suspect defensively.
Don't get me wrong he's not a bad player, he's a damn good player when he's on but Sione I feel is a prodigy, the best outside back we've produced in 15 years, and his skillset as a centre is better than Dane, partly because he's been a centre his whole life where as Dane was mainly a fullback in juniors. Sione is physically bigger, runs awesome lines, knows how to set up his winger and hits like a truck in D. Not saying he's better than Dane or anything but I feel long term he'll be a better centre (not necessarily a better footballer)

 

[1qaz]

I wouldn't take how much they weigh into much consideration. Hodges is over 1.90m whereas Lockyer is not even 1.80m. But both players are not bulky. What I'm getting at is some players are just better off not trying to put on so much weight and hitting the gym fully hetic during the pre season.

Sione is a good talent. Like most islander kids, they are built like tanks for their age. The majority of them reach their peak in their teens as well.
The Warriors under 20s are a perfect example.
I'm not saying it's going to happen with Sione but it is something I am always mindful of when I hear about a young future superstar being so physically dominant and he is only so and so age.