RLW's November edition - Best Knights team..

[bails]

Ive got to say although i might not contribute alot to forum disscusions i think gidley should start at halfback untill henry is clear to start. In saying that kurts best position is definately fullback and i feel we should start next season with Gidley/Mullen in the halves

 

[League_God]

First off i think our spine should be

1.Gids
6.Mullen
7.Henry
9.De Gois

but, in saying that i can see why some would want gids at half.
A big thing i noticed was the difference having gids at half made to mullens game. It's no secret Mullen goes missing, and lacks enthusiasm and involvement, but has all the attributes to be Australia's first choice 5/8 (no bias....he is very quick, agile, strong, has a great passing game, long kicking game, short kicking game is constantly improving, good defence..etc). Gidley is the absolute complete opposite in terms of the type of player he is. Gidley isnt the fastest or the strongest or naturally talented, he is without a doubt the most committed, hardworking player ive ever seen. He brings an incredible intensity to the team and drags others along with him.

Basically with gidley in the halves he is constantly busy and trying to pull off plays. This forces mullen to do the same or else he will just look like a tool, on top of this he also tends to play footy without overthinking as there isnt any time for him to sit back and think.

When mullen played with dureau however...there was absolutely no pressure placed on mullen. He could putt along doing whatever he wanted and look better than dureau.

Henry is and should be our first choice number 7 come 2011, It's why we bought him. Gidley playing at fullback still gets involved at first, second and third receiver, so there is less pressure on henry. Heres hoping henry fires and has the same effect on mullen as what gidley had. To be honest im confident he will be a huge talent himself.

 

[Yosh]

Ever seen Henry play?

No. My assumption has nothing to do with the kids ability but considering factors such as he is new to first grade and that our team already has a structure in place I think it's a correct assumption. Do you disagree?

 

[Joker's Wild]

I think you're missing the point here Coastbloke

The problem with the "spine" you have been touting is not the fact that it has Gidley at halfback but more the fact that it has Shannon "Momentum killer" McDonnell at fullback.

 

[Burwood]

Start of season
1.McDonnell/Wes
6. Mullen
7. Kidley
9. De Gois
14. Henry

Let Henry work his way into first grade by playing him off the bench and switching Kidley back to his preferred position when Henry comes on.

Then hopefully, by midway through the season, Henry has shown that he is capable of handling the starting position.

 

[Alex28]

Disagree Burwood - I would suggest we are likely to have Rogers on the bench to cover halves and backs. If Henry shows he is good enough in trials, then start him at half in Round 1. We have to think long-term with this and not game to game.

 

[Burwood]

Disagree Burwood - I would suggest we are likely to have Rogers on the bench to cover halves and backs. If Henry shows he is good enough in trials, then start him at half in Round 1. We have to think long-term with this and not game to game.

Playing him from the bench is thinking long-term. The pressure mentally and physically of playing 40 minutes during one or two trial matches is completely different to the week-in week-out pressure of the regular NRL season.

Melbourne did the same thing with Cooper Cronk when he first came into first grade. 12/13 appearances in 2004 off the bench and then 11/20 off the bench in 2005. Let him feel his way into first grade while still being a regular part of the team and its structure.

The alternative is playing Henry in only roughly half of the matches throughout the season and chopping and changing our halves as a result. Realistically, can anyone here picture him coming into the run-on team and being able to hold his position due to form and injuries for the entirety of the season?

 

[rnb11]

I agree with Alex. Gidley isnt our only other half option, if Stone feels Henry isn't quite up to it yet Rogers should either start and let Henry come off the bench or vise versa, Gids does not have to play in the halves. We are at our best when he's at fullback and we have a settled halves partnership, starting Gidley at halfback will go against all of that.

 

[Burwood]

Also, long-term I don't see Rogers as being part of our strongest side. Due to our player recruitment, I unfortunately see Hilder being our number 14 to play a dual role of backrower/relief for De Gois.

 

[TooheysNew]

You realize this article was probably written by the work experience kid, right?

 

[Yosh]

I'm with Burwood. I would love to see Henry come off the bench as the no.14 for two seasons however we don't have the luxury Melbourne had. They had Orford and the bald guy whose name escapes me, who formed a good halves combo. We have Mullen and noone else really... Not ideal but putting Henry in the deep end could potentially be the best solution.

 

[roopy]

We also have Stig, who is coming off a season as one of the best in the Qld cup, and with how weak the NSW cup was this year, that is arguably the second strongest comp in the country.

 

[Alex28]

I'm with Burwood. I would love to see Henry come off the bench as the no.14 for two seasons...

For real? He could have done that at St George. He came here to do the exact opposite.

People are pretending to know what is best for the team without seeing how the guy goes during the off season and even seeing him play in a trial. It is all a bit stupid really...

 

[Burwood]

For real? He could have done that at St George. He came here to do the exact opposite.

People are pretending to know what is best for the team without seeing how the guy goes during the off season and even seeing him play in a trial. It is all a bit stupid really...

How many young halves that have come into first grade over the last 5-6 years have been able to produce consistent results over a sustained period of time? Maybe Pearce?

The guy could have the best off-season and play brilliantly in the trials, but history tells us that that will account for little once the regular NRL season gets underway.

 

[RHCP]

Carrying a reserve halfback is too put it bluntly, a stupid idea in my books. We need stability, and that last bench position could be put to better use.

I'd rather see Beau Henry in 18 than 14.

 

[TooheysNew]

Yeah you're right. Why give the best prospect we have a chance.

 

[Tom155]

Yeah you're right. Why give the best prospect we have a chance.

This, ridiculous some of you are not willing to give him a shot at cementing a 1st grade spot.

1. Gidley
6. Mullen
7. Henry
9. De Gois

 

[Liam]

How many young halves that have come into first grade over the last 5-6 years have been able to produce consistent results over a sustained period of time? Maybe Pearce?

The guy could have the best off-season and play brilliantly in the trials, but history tells us that that will account for little once the regular NRL season gets underway.

Cooper Cronk?

 

[rnb11]

This, ridiculous some of you are not willing to give him a shot at cementing a 1st grade spot.

1. Gidley
6. Mullen
7. Henry
9. De Gois

That there should be our spine for at least the next 3 years so why put off the inevitable? Henry needs to play first grade as soon as possible, if he starts slow then so be it! We need to show faith in this guy and give him some confidence. As I said earlier, being realistic our chances of winning the comp in 2011 are slim to none which is okay, as long as our halves partnership becomes steady and they can build some good form to carry into 2012.

We all know how much potential Henry has so let him set it free. The longer we wait for him to be a consistent first grader, the longer we wait for a premiership imo. If we continue to play Gids at halfback our halves dilemma will never get sorted and the team will never run smoothly. Henry has to be there from round 1, I'll be shocked if he's not.

 

[aqua_duck]

A little known fact - Henry has never played firstgrade.

he can't possibly do worse than your love child Scott Dureau

It's a big move I admit, but it bore results..

Same thing was said about Locky when he was Fullback, then he became one of the best 5/8s in the business..

mate if we had Karmichael Hunt by all means I'd move Gidley to halfback but McDonnell isn't cutie, and quite frankly Gidley isn't Lockyer.

Woo hoo...!!

Tell you what..

If he's the number 7 all year and we make the final 4 (not 8) I'll totally eat my words ny problem whatsoever...

with our current prop rotation, I don't think we'd make the top 4 even if we had Thurston at halfback

How many young halves that have come into first grade over the last 5-6 years have been able to produce consistent results over a sustained period of time? Maybe Pearce?

How many young halves period have produced been consistent results in their 1st few years period? I mean realistically I don't think anyone is expecting the 2nd coming of Joey, all that should be expected is for him to show he's not overawed and can handle 1st grade. If he has a season akin to what Hodkinson had for Manly this year i'll be quite happy