Round 1 team:

[chrisD]

He isnt perfect but in regards to coaching the panthers he is a lot more perfect then anyone on this forum.

So no-one on this forum should ever critisise his methods then?

 

[betcats]

So no-one on this forum should ever critisise his methods then?

Im saying lets see what Yeo does before you start bagging him or the coach for picking him.

You are only bagging the coach because you are impatient to see DWZ in FG, not because you have any valid reasons why picking Yeo is such a stupid move as you have said(Beau Scott doesnt count ffs).

It is not unusual for Backrowers to play in the centres, especially backrowers who were centres before being moved into the pack.

 

[chrisD]

I've made it quite clear why I'm bagging Cleary. I'm not impatient to see DWZ in fg, or Nabuli or Roberts or Jennings. Cartwright yes. My criticism of playing Yeo at centre in fg right now is quite simple, he played all (or almost all) last season in the back row and mostly in the NYC. It's not normal, it's f**king weird, to go from middling back rower in NYC to starting in fg at centre in a pre-season. It's comically far from f**king normal. I don't believe it would happen if Cleary didn't love a back rower anywhere he could fit him.

Nothing against Yeo, he wasn't as good as Dunley or Cartwright but those two were exceptional and he is potentially more than just a solid first grade prospect.

 

[betcats]

I've made it quite clear why I'm bagging Cleary. I'm not impatient to see DWZ in fg, or Nabuli or Roberts or Jennings. Cartwright yes. My criticism of playing Yeo at centre in fg right now is quite simple, he played all (or almost all) last season in the back row and mostly in the NYC. It's not normal, it's f**king weird, to go from middling back rower in NYC to starting in fg at centre in a pre-season. It's comically far from f**king normal. I don't believe it would happen if Cleary didn't love a back rower anywhere he could fit him.

Nothing against Yeo, he wasn't as good as Dunley or Cartwright but those two were exceptional and he is potentially more than just a solid first grade prospect.

He was named as the reserve grade centre, its hardly ridiculous that the reserve grade centre would replace the first grade centre in the case of an injury no matter how you try and f**king spin it.

Guys can grow and develop over an offseason, especially at that age. The kid may of trained the f**king house down or there could be a lot of reasons for this, f**k we dont even know if it is true that he will be the replacement.

 

[Luke Bowden]

Yeo is a gun and Cleary is a very good coach.

 

[mxlegend99]

If we named a centre/winger pairing of David Simmons and Dallin Watene-Zelzniak to face BJ Leilua and James McManus, they would get torn to shreds and that's the absolute worst circumstances to debut a player. We want to bring a new talent in against a team we should carve up, or where the player he is opposing is atleast close to level with him.

I don't think any option we have available is going to be able to stop BJ Leilua in the form he is in. But Yeo would definitely do a better job on a guy as big and strong as BJ then Simmons would do.

Yeo started out as a centre and was moved into the second row because of his size, not because he was too slow. If you had actually ever seen him play, you would know that he can move for a big man. He has good pace and it wouldn't surprise me if he was quicker then David Simmons.

Things in his favor:
Bigger then Simmons
As quick or possibly even quicker then Simmons
Is used to playing further in field... getting through more work then Simmons
Is used to feeding the ball to players outside him... Simmons stands on the end of set plays and the only time he really sends the ball back inside is when he runs out of room and kicks through

I'm not expecting Yeo to come in and win us the game. Odds on he will really struggle against Leilua. But if he is the man picked to replace Idirs, I'm willing to back the coach if he thinks he's the best person available. I would love to see Dallin Watene-Zelzniak in first grade as much as anyone. But if that means that Simmons or Mansour are in the centres... forget about it. They would get murdered by either one of Leilua and Gagai, and DWZ wouldn't be near his potential in those circumstances.

It's not a matter of picking the best player and just fitting him in however you can. It's a matter of picking the team that gives us the best chance at winning. Simmons or Mansour at centre would not do that.

I honestly don't understand how you can say Yeo isn't capable of playing centre because he played second row in the Under 20's. He's playing centre in the reserve grade side because the coaches believe he is the best player they have available to play centre. If the first grade centre is out... it stands to reason that one of the reserve grade centres would be the next best choice for the team. It means that 16 of the players picked are in the positions we wanted them to be in, and the 17th guy is playing the exact same position he was expected to play in reserve grade.

I don't blindly like all of the coaches decisions. I hated that Whare was fullback for so long, I hated that we ever bought W. Naiqama, and that he was ever picked. I don't like that we re-signed Kingston or that he is likely going to start every game this year if he is fit. I don't think Simmons and Mansour are good enough to keep their spots with the talent behind them, but I fully expect they will hold them longer then they should. That said... this decision is one that makes sense. Assuming that it's even the decision the coach makes. This one has potential to really pay off, and if it doesn't we know that it's only a very temporary solution as Jamal Idris and Dean Whare are our centres. It's basically impossible for anyone to play them out of the team. Unless ofcourse they both drop massively in form from their 2013 season. But even then they would still get a free ride for quiet a bit IMO.

 

[chrisD]

He was named as the reserve grade centre, its hardly ridiculous that the reserve grade centre would replace the first grade centre in the case of an injury no matter how you try and f**king spin it.

Guys can grow and develop over an offseason, especially at that age. The kid may of trained the f**king house down or there could be a lot of reasons for this, f**k we dont even know if it is true that he will be the replacement.

How I spun it is how it is, or do you want to claim something there isn't true? It's like you want to disagree but have nothing to actually disagree with.

 

[betcats]

How I spun it is how it is, or do you want to claim something there isn't true? It's like you want to disagree but have nothing to actually disagree with.

You spun as if he is just an average NYC backrower without mentioning he has played plenty of centre and is the reserve grade centre.


Picking the reserve grade centre to replace the first grade centre is not comical.

 

[chrisD]

If we named a centre/winger pairing of David Simmons and Dallin Watene-Zelzniak to face BJ Leilua and James McManus, they would get torn to shreds and that's the absolute worst circumstances to debut a player. We want to bring a new talent in against a team we should carve up, or where the player he is opposing is atleast close to level with him.

So why are you now advocating debuting new talent to the slaughter?

I don't think any option we have available is going to be able to stop BJ Leilua in the form he is in. But Yeo would definitely do a better job on a guy as big and strong as BJ then Simmons would do.

Because he is so experienced at tackling fast, big, first grade quality attackers, unlike Simmons.

Yeo started out as a centre and was moved into the second row because of his size, not because he was too slow. If you had actually ever seen him play, you would know that he can move for a big man. He has good pace and it wouldn't surprise me if he was quicker then David Simmons.

He was moved from centre because of his size? Since when was being big a hindrance in any position? And did he get smaller so that he could be a centre again? I have seen him play and would be surprised if he was faster than Simmons, but I don't know and neither do you.

You spun as if he is just an average NYC backrower without mentioning he has played plenty of centre and is the reserve grade centre.


Picking the reserve grade centre to replace the first grade centre is not comical.

Oh ok.

Our once junior centre (half and back rower), last season NYC dedicated back rower who was perhaps our third best in that position, who has been given a preseason at centre and was NAMED at centre for the NSW cup team, is now possibly set to debut in first grade at centre, with what one trial game under his belt as his recent experience at centre?

Much more reasonable.

 

[MaxPower]

Give it up Christie.

 

[Kilkenny]

Guys this is getting boring. We would all much prefer it if Idris was fully fit and firing but it's not to be. Let's just be excited for the kid YEO and I am sure he will not let us down. Ivan Clearly would not select him if he did not think he was up to the task, it is that simple. Let's hope the extra week off is enough for Idris to get his hamstring injury sorted and he is fit for the Storm game.

 

[mxlegend99]

So why are you now advocating debuting new talent to the slaughter?

Ideally we wouldn't be throwing him in. But with all the injuries we have, he's the best option to face up against one of the Knights future representative players.

Because he is so experienced at tackling fast, big, first grade quality attackers, unlike Simmons.

Simmons is one of our most ineffective defenders missing around a third of his tackles as a winger. That's only going from memory and it might have been better last year when paired up with Dean Whare. But either way, Simmons as a defender is weak and misses a lot of tackles. Having experience at something doesn't mean that you're good at it... look at Mitchell Pearce and State of Origin. ;-)

He was moved from centre because of his size? Since when was being big a hindrance in any position? And did he get smaller so that he could be a centre again? I have seen him play and would be surprised if he was faster than Simmons, but I don't know and neither do you.

He's playing in the Under 20's. Most of the kids are smaller or skinny. So the bigger kids get pushed into the forwards because you need bigger bodies there. That doesn't mean that he isn't capable of playing another position, it just means that's what worked best for the team.

Size doesn't stop someone being capable of being a centre, and I never said that it did. I said size was the reason he was chosen in the second row.

Our once junior centre (half and back rower), last season NYC dedicated back rower who was perhaps our third best in that position, who has been given a preseason at centre and was NAMED at centre for the NSW cup team, is now possibly set to debut in first grade at centre, with what one trial game under his belt as his recent experience at centre?

Much more reasonable.

Hate on the decision all you want. Your suggestion of putting a poor defensive winger at centre against representative quality centres is even worse, as is bringing in a rookie winger to play on the outside of him. Seriously, did you even think the suggestion through? Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and David Simmons paired against either BJ Leilua and James McManus, or Dane Gagai and Akuila Uate. Both of those combinations are State of Origin quality players.

I honestly believe that without Idris none of our combinations are going to stand a chance against them. But Yeo at centre with Simmons on the wing is a far safer defensive options then Simmons at centre with DWZ on the wing. I also can't see the attack being any worse given Simmons wouldn't exactly worry Gagai or BJ, and DWZ would never get any space.

That's all I'm going to say on the subject. I honestly don't see how you can be so down on every decision made when the club has improved in so many ways and things are looking better then ever before. You should be excited to potentially see one of our Under 20's grand final players in first grade. Whether he's the one you want there or not, what does it matter?

He's a talented player and when you look at the job he would have to do, he's definitely one of the better options for it. The best option is to make as little change to the team and the team dynamic as possible. We have a lot of new faces in this side, and if we shuffle players around for a single injury that will only require Idris to miss one game, that's a week wasted at allowing players to settle. If Jamal was expected to miss half the season, maybe then we would be looking at a long term solution. But for now all we need is a bandaid.

 

[Kilkenny]

Last season wife and I were in Auckland for the Warriors game. Brad Tighe took ill on the morning of the game and with the NSW Cup side back in Sydney we had to call up young Tom Eisunhuth to fill in at centre against pretty decent opponent. Now Tom is equally at home in the back row as he is at centre. He did a pretty decent job on the day and was not overshadowed. Yeo will be no different. Relax guys it will be fine.

 

[Big Mick]

FFS give it up. Just let it f**king go.

 

[MaxPower]

But it's f**king weird! I don't like it when people make decisions i don't want them to make.

 

[typicalfan]

Replacing Idris with a big young guy lends weight to a game plan that revolves around size on the right edge.

 

[meek]

Thank god the yeo /cleary bag session is over
some on here need to get a life
enjoy reading peoples opinions on here
but seriously enough is enough

 

[BxTom]

Yes girls, stop arguing - it is common for there to be injuries in league and hence replacement players. Move on. In a way it is good that we have some injuries. It stops the expectations that we are going to win every game. I am sure that we will win more than we will lose, but, like last year, there have been a lot of changes and it will take some time for some players to find their place in the team and for the team to gel.

Tom.

 

[Pomoz]

I don't blindly like all of the coaches decisions. I hated that Whare was fullback for so long, I hated that we ever bought W. Naiqama, and that he was ever picked. I don't like that we re-signed Kingston or that he is likely going to start every game this year if he is fit. I don't think Simmons and Mansour are good enough to keep their spots with the talent behind them, but I fully expect they will hold them longer then they should. That said... this decision is one that makes sense. Assuming that it's even the decision the coach makes. This one has potential to really pay off, and if it doesn't we know that it's only a very temporary solution as Jamal Idris and Dean Whare are our centres. It's basically impossible for anyone to play them out of the team. Unless ofcourse they both drop massively in form from their 2013 season. But even then they would still get a free ride for quiet a bit IMO.

I liked your post MX. You have made a great effort to explain your point of view and pointing out some facts that support it.

I think you are spot on with your "it's because of his size" analysis. Gagai and BJ are powerful centres. Matching their threat with somebody who is either nails hard and a great tackler (Docker isn't big, but people don't run through him too often) or physically powerful, just makes a lot of sense. Anybody who watched poor old Trent Waterhouse play at centre for the Kangaroos would note that pace is also important. If Yeo is also reasonably fast (not the quickest but fast enough not to be run around), then he ticks all the boxes except the one marked "experience". It is a matter of judgement as too what is better, a powerful and reasonably fast rookie centre with an experienced winger, or, a seasoned first grader at centre (with no experience in the position and certainly not big or nails hard) and a rookie winger. Neither option is right or wrong. Its just a matter of opinion.

Over to you Ivan, make your call.

 

[betcats]

Just watching Nyc young Naden looks like a good prospect, tall, rangy, quick with good ball skills, needs to bulk up a bit but still in highschool so hes got plenty of time.