Round 21 V Sharks

[betcats]

Cleary was impressive on Friday also, very impressive, he had it on a string. And Liam Martin is something else, keep him on the edge.

 

[OldPanther]

Cleary was impressive on Friday also, very impressive, he had it on a string. And Liam Martin is something else, keep him on the edge.

Martin/Kikau is a best back row by a long way.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Makes a lot of sense to move our only experienced half to hooker (where he has no experience) and run a teenager with one games experience alongside a guy with a handful of games experience of which only one game was truly awesome.

Nathan absolutely killed it at 7 when the team was his. He's our best bet in 2020.

He played brilliantly, no doubt. But not so much in the fundamentals of a no.7.

As @Fangs talked about, his game management isn’t really there. He’s a good footy player, but I maintain that doesn’t necessarily make him a good 7.



tbh though I was more thinking into the future. Not necessarily from game 1 next year.

 

[herbert henry1908]

X2. We have no information that says he'll even be good at 9. Just a maybe based on his skill set. Are we willing to lose an entire off season and season on the gamble?

Skill set is an important consideration. And he has played hooker in lower grades.

He’s a good defender

his running game is excellent

he’s somewhat robotic (hooker is all about repetition)

he’s super fit (could play 80)

I honestly think he has more attributes of a hooker than a 7.

 

[betcats]

I thought Leniu was pretty good in his time on the field, some strong defence and he really explodes once he has the ball. Fingers crossed but he looks every bit a line breaking prop to me. Crichton was good but we need to see him tested defensively a bit.

 

[Flashstep]

I think people calling for Cleary to move to Hooker are forgetting an important detail, he plays with a lot of energy for 80 minutes as a half but he’s making what 15-20 tackles a game there, as a Hooker he would have to make 40-50 tackles a game which would most likely drain his energy a lot faster.

Another thing is whilst he does have a good running game I don’t think he has the acceleration to consistently get around markers, he gets faster as he runs so he’s better off playing eyes up and spotting gaps in the defensive line, he’s to tall to bend down and get off the mark at speed from hooker.

I get why people aren’t high on Cleary as a half, I agree with a lot of the criticisms I just think if we want a hooker we should look elsewhere.

 

[Aliceinwonderland]

I rate Luai highly but Burton is the total package and his best position will be 6.

My feelins exactly. Lui has the 'potential' (no he hasn't showed it yet, to be a wonderful impact player. Comming in and playing along with the halves like he did in the dragons game. We don't need the Peach. Lui can fill that role I believe. Burton seems to compliment Cleary well. (I know it was only one game, but class is class)

 

[herbert henry1908]

I think people calling for Cleary to move to Hooker are forgetting an important detail, he plays with a lot of energy for 80 minutes as a half but he’s making what 15-20 tackles a game there, as a Hooker he would have to make 40-50 tackles a game which would most likely drain his energy a lot faster.

Another thing is whilst he does have a good running game I don’t think he has the acceleration to consistently get around markers, he gets faster as he runs so he’s better off playing eyes up and spotting gaps in the defensive line, he’s to tall to bend down and get off the mark at speed from hooker.

I get why people aren’t high on Cleary as a half, I agree with a lot of the criticisms I just think if we want a hooker we should look elsewhere.

Doing all that tackling is definitely going to reduce his energy, it’s not being forgotten. He just has that competitiveness to make it work. I’m not expecting the exact same player just shifting across to 9.


We need to look for another hooker anyway, I think those of us that want to see it tried are realistic enough to know it won’t be anytime soon.

More realistic swap might be him moving slightly wider to a traditional 5/8 role, with Luai in closer at 7.

 

[herbert henry1908]

My feelins exactly. Lui has the 'potential' (no he hasn't showed it yet, to be a wonderful impact player. Comming in and playing along with the halves like he did in the dragons game. We don't need the Peach. Lui can fill that role I believe. Burton seems to compliment Cleary well. (I know it was only one game, but class is class)

Even if that’s the role the club want him in, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to keep him there. He’s easily good enough to get a starting role in the halves somewhere in the NRL. If Burton proves better at 5/8 we’ll very likely lose Luai.

 

[herbert henry1908]

I’ve only seen him play 4 or 5 times, it’s based on that alone. It’s an early predication no doubt but I’ll stick by it. Move Cleary or Luai I don’t even care as long as Burton 6.

He is big fast and physical. He’s got very good footwork and vision and his debut proved he has it between the ears also. He’s got everything, nothing is garaunteed but he is going to be a star IMO.

Could be an argument that easing Burton into FG in the centres might improve his long term prospects. It’s a lot of pressure on someone so young to play at 6.

 

[betcats]

Could be an argument that easing Burton into FG in the centres might improve his long term prospects. It’s a lot of pressure on someone so young to play at 6.

Its certainly an option and one that I wouldn't complain about if they went that way. But that kid hasn't done an NRL pre-season, barely knew his teammates and he ate the pressure of playing as an NRL 6 up like it was nothing. Give him the year in Cup, move him onto a FG contract by whatever means necessary for next year and tell him and Jerome the spot is their for the taking, Burtons talent will prove out I think.

 

[franklin2323]

I thought Leniu was pretty good in his time on the field, some strong defence and he really explodes once he has the ball. Fingers crossed but he looks every bit a line breaking prop to me. Crichton was good but we need to see him tested defensively a bit.

Leinu is 2nd top tryscorer in NSW Cup and a few try assists. He is the type of player the bench needs

 

[OldPanther]

Its certainly an option and one that I wouldn't complain about if they went that way. But that kid hasn't done an NRL pre-season, barely knew his teammates and he ate the pressure of playing as an NRL 6 up like it was nothing. Give him the year in Cup, move him onto a FG contract by whatever means necessary for next year and tell him and Jerome the spot is their for the taking, Burtons talent will prove out I think.

That's what gets me. He's played 4 reserve grade games yet got man of the match for NSW and we all saw his game against the Sharks in a team he'd never met. I've never heard of such a thing.

 

[herbert henry1908]

That's what gets me. He's played 4 reserve grade games yet got man of the match for NSW and we all saw his game against the Sharks in a team he'd never met. I've never heard of such a thing.

Nathan Cleary.

 

[The yak]

I liked Burton on Friday. For a 19 year kid to have such game awareness was surprising.
Apart from his last kick I thought his kicking game was outstanding.
He knew when our forwards needed a rest or Cronulla's momentum needed to be blunted by kicking for the touchline deep in their half. A nice little kick through for a try to Naden. A nice kick for a forced drop out.
He showed great maturity.

 

[betcats]

Nathan Cleary.

Clearys handled it well for his age as a teen, he was very composed, he didn't it own like Burton did. Burton has talents that Cleary just doesn't have, the natural skill and vision we talk about cleary lacking Burton has in spades, trust me.

 

[The yak]

That's what gets me. He's played 4 reserve grade games yet got man of the match for NSW and we all saw his game against the Sharks in a team he'd never met. I've never heard of such a thing.

I am not calling him the next Greg Alexander but I seem to recall Brandy only played a handful of reserve grade matches because he was just too good.
Burton's got more improvement and learning to do but the early signs are promising.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Its certainly an option and one that I wouldn't complain about if they went that way. But that kid hasn't done an NRL pre-season, barely knew his teammates and he ate the pressure of playing as an NRL 6 up like it was nothing. Give him the year in Cup, move him onto a FG contract by whatever means necessary for next year and tell him and Jerome the spot is their for the taking, Burtons talent will prove out I think.

Luai had a huge first starting game, I tend to think there’s a bit of recency bias going on here. 10 weeks ago Naden was the same, but since we’ve seen more about his game there’s more realistic opinions about him. (Although he’s still good, don’t get me wrong)

I dunno, I’m very skeptical with all Penrith juniors, seen so many burn brightly early and then plateau out.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Clearys handled it well for his age as a teen, he was very composed, he didn't it own like Burton did. Burton has talents that Cleary just doesn't have, the natural skill and vision we talk about cleary lacking Burton has in spades, trust me.

Early on he owned it tbh. They were some of his best games.

But I was more talking about his rise, with only a few reserve grade games and not knowing his teammates.

 

[betcats]

Early on he owned it tbh. They were some of his best games.

But I was more talking about his rise, with only a few reserve grade games and not knowing his teammates.

Fair enough.

Either way that was an ultra impressive debut for a young half. When he is in first grade consistently we are going to see him blowing people away with footwork and speed and killing teams with pinpoint kicking. Imaging him with a few extra kilos muscle and a real NRL pre-season under his belt, he already played like a seasoned vet out there while on debut, that just shows his understading of the game, got plenty of talking done also.....one deflected kick and one premeditated play were his worst moments. A kid like that you put in his best spot and move other people around.