Round 6 v St George (Team List)

[thommo4pm]

Thompson is free to play with an early guily plea according to MMM.

I think we will fight Blair's charge, there was absolutely nothing in it.

Going by the NRL website, Thompson will likely be out, he has 80 carry over points.

http://www.nrl.com/TelstraPremiership/Judiciary/tabid/10246/Default.aspx

 

[madunit]

I dare say we'll name the same team that played last night, as is the norm for all teams that play on Monday

 

[gronkathon]

That would have been my guess MU.

As the NSW Cup side has the Bye week it will be an interesting hour before kickoff in terms of players named

 

[Matchball]

I'm glad Benji is out. Stale shit attack and shitty kicking options. Time to shake it up and try something new.
Sironen at 6 and Anasta at 7 has me excited. Big halves who can defend.
Tedesco at 1 and put Moltzen on a wing.

 

[hybrid_tiger]

I am very keen to see how we handle the long-term absence of Marshall. Let's face it, he has been utter rubbish this season.

Not saying the team will definitely be better without him, but is there a chance that could they be? I think so.

2-3 years ago you would have been locked up in a mental asylum for this suggestion, but IMO Benji has regressed/become stale as a player. He seems to have lost his sharpness and still makes so many poor errors. Also has a dreadful kicking game.

Maybe the rest will do him some good. Also, for the first time in a long time we have options to replace him. Whether it's Moltzen, Anasta, Miller, Sironen or even Brooks. Plenty of choice there.

 

[Shanghai Charlie]

Ive lost all faith in Benji taking this team forward and making the team better.
Big ups for being a club legend.......but......its time to move in a new direction.

Would like Sironen to get first crack at 6.

 

[deemac77]

God, poor Coach must be having nightmares.
Why would you seriously be a coach...

 

[benched tiger]

It may be a chance to play with a bit of structure in his absence

 

[FootynRacing]

It seems crazy that we now speak of a situation where we might be better off without Benji Marshall !!! I'm not disagreeing with the call, I actually think the idea has merit. For me it's like years ago I remember thinking we needed to sign Tim Sheens for life ha ha. Funny how things change.

 

[Old Time Tiger]

It may be a chance to play with a bit of structure in his absence

would it be too left field to suggest playing a 6 / 7 combination that has some experience playing together?

Miller and Siro ? gee, if the forwards could play like they did last night, that's the go forward that a 6 & 7 need.

Maybe Siro on the bench and if we are leading and playing well, shift Anasta to lock and play Siro with Miller.

Yeah, I know I'm talking shite and it's just crazy to think like that but....even Tedesco at fullback knows how these guys go.

 

[Vic Mackey]

Blair and Thompson out would be bigger losses then Marshall ATM, especially without Galloway and 27 other props

I'm guessing Moltzen will move to the halves with tedesco at 1. Certainly don't expect much from Moltzen at 7 but at less it gets him out of the 1.

 

[Shanghai Charlie]

would it be too left field to suggest playing a 6 / 7 combination that has some experience playing together?

Miller and Siro ? gee, if the forwards could play like they did last night, that's the go forward that a 6 & 7 need.

Maybe Siro on the bench and if we are leading and playing well, shift Anasta to lock and play Siro with Miller.

Yeah, I know I'm talking shite and it's just crazy to think like that but....even Tedesco at fullback knows how these guys go.

I wouldnt be against starting to build a 1,6, 7, 9 spine of Tedesco, Sironen, Miller and Farah.

 

[hutch]

Jesus Christ we are almost as bad as parra supporters with their hayne bashing. Marshall is a massive loss and we are certainly poorer without him. He may be slightly down on form but he has played the first 4 rounds with a halfback not up to first grade standard and a small pack who have been dominated. Then he played 60 plus minutes with an injury last night. There are some short memories around here who forget the amount of games he has won for us over the years.

 

[BrotherJim05]

I reckon we got two main choices, do we want a kicking/playmaking 5/8 or a running 5/8.

If playingmaking, I'd shift Anasta to 5/8 and bring Miller back at 7. If we were wanting a running 5/8 I'd shift Moltzen to 5/8 and chuck Teddy at 1.

I think the latter is best option. Shift 2 players instead of 3 and don't have to bring in any new players besides the winger. It means we can also give Nuomfala a crack at number 5 and I really liked Anasta at 7. He has a leadership mentality and will boss the team around. Motlzen can't do this but I do think he is talented enough to run through holes and quick passes. Don't even need his kicking game, Anasta can take care of it.

 

[deemac77]

I wouldnt be against starting to build a 1,6, 7, 9 spine of Tedesco, Sironen, Miller and Farah.

Sounds great in theory bro, a spine like that barring injuries would be nice, may not even take that long to gel as the young 3 have played together before.
While Sironen has a name behind him, is he really that good? I dunno, i didnt see a whole heap from him last year when he got his shot. Poor kids been killed with injuries, is he even available?

 

[Radical Rat]

Jesus Christ we are almost as bad as parra supporters with their hayne bashing. Marshall is a massive loss and we are certainly poorer without him. He may be slightly down on form but he has played the first 4 rounds with a halfback not up to first grade standard and a small pack who have been dominated. Then he played 60 plus minutes with an injury last night. There are some short memories around here who forget the amount of games he has won for us over the years.

I'm with you Hutch, very short memories. I can't believe the Benji bashing going on here. If we lose the next month of football and aren't creating anything, everyone will be crying for Benji to come back.

While I'm excited to see hopefully Siro get a go. I can never bring myself to bash Benji. He has made this club.

 

[deemac77]

But seriously, hes never been an outstanding, consistant player, ever.
Im not saying hes not valuable and can pull off things most 1st graders dream of but hes very stale, predictable and massiveky down on form at the moment.

I wouldnt worry too much, Potter is not going to drop him any time soon thats for sure.
But with him being injured gives us a chance to either give young Sirro a go or work some new combinations.

 

[FootynRacing]

I see Blair is going to fight his charge. What was the verdict on Thompson ? Is he sweet to play with early plea ?

 

[Fordy20]

I reckon we got two main choices, do we want a kicking/playmaking 5/8 or a running 5/8.

If playingmaking, I'd shift Anasta to 5/8 and bring Miller back at 7. If we were wanting a running 5/8 I'd shift Moltzen to 5/8 and chuck Teddy at 1.

I think the latter is best option. Shift 2 players instead of 3 and don't have to bring in any new players besides the winger. It means we can also give Nuomfala a crack at number 5 and I really liked Anasta at 7. He has a leadership mentality and will boss the team around. Motlzen can't do this but I do think he is talented enough to run through holes and quick passes. Don't even need his kicking game, Anasta can take care of it.

Agreed. I hate to say it, but Marshall being injured could be a blessing in disguise, particularly if Potter takes option two. As we saw on Monday night, keeping Anasta out of the backrow strengthens our forwards by allowing a more damaging player to pack down in the forwards. It will allow Farah and Anasta to build their combination without Benji there over calling Anasta.

It will mean the best fullback will be playing in the #1 jersey, getting him out from the unfamiliar wing position where he is a liability. More damaging kick returns and more support play in the middle which could mean more offloads and potential line breaks. With Moltzen in the halves it means we have a serviceable replacement for Benji, someone with speed and a decent passing game, but not someone who will leave running the show to Farah and Anasta.

Hopefully it will mean another speedy youngster comes into the backline as well.

 

[BrotherJim05]

Assuming that Blair wins his cases (I honestly don't think there was anything in that), Thomson being suspended and that Fulton, Marshall and Koro remain injured, I would like to see this:

1. Teddy
2. Reddy
3. Ayshford
4. Rory Bein
5. Numofala
6. Moltzen
7. Anasta
8. Woods
9. Farah
10. Buchanen
11. Pettyborne
12. BMM
13. Blair

14. Bell
15. Ava
16. - don't know who
17. - don't know who

If we have no Blair we can replace with Bell, and just have to fill up our bench with reserve graders for this week.

Its really crazy to think how hectic our forward issue is AGAIN. We really need to invest wisely next year in some quality forwards to add to the roster