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Rumoured & Confirmed Signings - Part 5

GongPanther

Referee
Messages
28,305

IMO he isn't worth anything over $700K for us. If he is happy and likes it with us, he can stay for 700K. If not - off you go.
He is not setting the world on fire as much as he should be given his wage. That also goes for Critchton and Spencer Leniu.

We put all stops to keep these three players, but are not as consistent as the other high profile players in our side. It's as if some players in the team simply rely on or switch off when they think a win is dead and buried.

This is one of the bigger differences between us and the Storm.
 

Girds89

Bench
Messages
2,855
It's not a execution error I'd be fine with that. It's just a lack of effort to make solid contact on players. The game is won lost at the ruck and May doesn't try hard (consistently) to win the ruck with or without the ball.

He's not solid in defense on his own. As a system defender with someone hitting high as he tackles low and with the other team tired because he's off the bench he's reasonably solid. On his own he's not.

Kenny's somebody with a not to great tackling technique (by the standard of hookers) that tries hard and you can cop that.
I read all your crap about may and now kennys tackling haha.

Sorry but thats absolute dribble all of it.

I for one am not the biggest tmay fan. I wish we had a speedy little 14 like connor watson on the bench and ive said a number of times this year i think tmays style as a 14 doesnt really keep uo in the modern game.

But to suggest hes not a good defender especially in the middle of the field is absolute garbage. Out wide at centre his not quick enough but may has a brilliant tackling technique and often brings down the bigger men by himself when defending closer in. He pits his body on the line. And tmays not some hige bloke like u think. Hes got 3kgs on nath.

Same as kenny. He has a brilliant technique.

Ive been the first to say earlier in the year i think tmays in danger of losing the 14 spot and i got hammered on here but one thing he is not is a crap defender. Your completeley wrong on this.
 

Smug Panther

First Grade
Messages
7,004
I read all your crap about may and now kennys tackling haha.

Sorry but thats absolute dribble all of it.

I for one am not the biggest tmay fan. I wish we had a speedy little 14 like connor watson on the bench and ive said a number of times this year i think tmays style as a 14 doesnt really keep uo in the modern game.

But to suggest hes not a good defender especially in the middle of the field is absolute garbage. Out wide at centre his not quick enough but may has a brilliant tackling technique and often brings down the bigger men by himself when defending closer in. He pits his body on the line. And tmays not some hige bloke like u think. Hes got 3kgs on nath.

Same as kenny. He has a brilliant technique.

Ive been the first to say earlier in the year i think tmays in danger of losing the 14 spot and i got hammered on here but one thing he is not is a crap defender. Your completeley wrong on this.
Exactly right on May. Can tackle but is fsr too slow to tackle out wide
 

betcats

Referee
Messages
23,471
Kenny can tackle that is for sure and certain. May hits like a pillow but he usually finds a way to hold on.
 

Original Name

Juniors
Messages
1,288
I read all your crap about may and now kennys tackling haha.

Sorry but thats absolute dribble all of it.

I for one am not the biggest tmay fan. I wish we had a speedy little 14 like connor watson on the bench and ive said a number of times this year i think tmays style as a 14 doesnt really keep uo in the modern game.

But to suggest hes not a good defender especially in the middle of the field is absolute garbage. Out wide at centre his not quick enough but may has a brilliant tackling technique and often brings down the bigger men by himself when defending closer in. He pits his body on the line. And tmays not some hige bloke like u think. Hes got 3kgs on nath.

Same as kenny. He has a brilliant technique.

Ive been the first to say earlier in the year i think tmays in danger of losing the 14 spot and i got hammered on here but one thing he is not is a crap defender. Your completeley wrong on this.
The sites online update stats like height and weight irregularly. E.g Brian To'o having two different weights listed last year under his usual weight of around 102kgs last year. Edit (it was posted on the Sunday footy show last year a thing on his Instagram stories him jumping on the scales and being 102 something)

He does bring down defenders but tackling in the modern game isn't just that. This isn't the 80's where you can afford to tackle and leg go half a second later unless you absolutely have to and defensives are almost always beaten on ball movement, games are won on winning the ruck on not conceding as many quick play the balls as possible. Fans didn't give a shit about Matt Prior towards the end of his NRL career but his team mates valued him as one of the most important guys at the Sharks because even in his last season of the NRL he had the most dominant tackles in the comp, he was picked in Origin for his tackling that most fans don't value. Guys like Jake Turbo and Dale Finucane were picked at prop in the first 20 of Origin for their tackling and winning that first contact, whereas other props ball running more destructive with the ball aren't as good at first contact in defence. First contact and winning or losing it matters a crazy amount in the modern game.


There's nothing wrong with him off the bench in the last 20 at lock forward/hooker when his weaknesses are better covered due to fatigue in the opposition and he can leverage his strengths but Ivan's weird boner for playing him for as much as possible (Edit) with weird shit like shifting Yeo to prop to give him extra minutes as if he offers something up the middle in a battle of field position f*cks up the middle rotation in attack and defence.
 
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age.s

First Grade
Messages
6,923
Kenny has decent technique and really good energy, but he's small and gets run over all too often. Look at some of the soft tries we've conceded in the middle this year. Kenny features all too often, usually just being beaten for size.
 

Original Name

Juniors
Messages
1,288
Kenny has decent technique and really good energy, but he's small and gets run over all too often. Look at some of the soft tries we've conceded in the middle this year. Kenny features all too often, usually just being beaten for size.
He gets terrorized by guys like Hass, Lodge and huge props that are destructive with the ball but he just does his job against most middles. Game against the Storm he was fine filling in and did his job in defence because they were running NAS at Luai. Game against the Broncos a couple of games later and Lodge kept targeting him to great success and all he could do was put his body on the line to slow him down and to his credit and he kept doing that until he helped force an error near the end of the game from Lodge that was a pretty big play. Same with Hass the second Broncos game, got terrorized again. If JWH isn't playing I'd back his defence to be fine against this Roosters team who don't really have a middle player like that with SST playing within himself and Collins injured.
 
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Vicpanther

Juniors
Messages
888
Wrong thread..

I might be the only one but I don't really see the value in kikau. He hasnt stood up when needed and doesn't seem as impactful as he used to be.
Looks a little lazy lately to me.
 

Das Hassler

Bench
Messages
2,964
Nathan is the best player in the comp. Reminds me of Andrew at the Knights and Jonathan at the Cowboys, can't beat the top teams without them. That's the team we are. But the storm have players who can back up but be in 17 in other clubs.

'21 Storm have proved they don't have a player they can't beat anybody without....no Grant?...no Pap?...no hughes?..no munster?. ..no whoever...no problem. Bad luck doesn't lay a glove on them. That's a helluva advantage over everyone else in this current injury riddled game.
 

maple_69

Bench
Messages
4,423
Yeah they’ve got it good on that front this year. Next year they lose Hynes, Finucane and potentially Smith. It’s not often you unearth the kind of backup spine players they have this year. Even Bellamy built his legacy on unearthing and polishing but players around the greatest spine of all time that never missed a game. Papi and Grant look very fragile.

If we don’t win it this year, our squad will be one year closer to their prime and another year playing with our spine together working on pulling apart good defences.
 

Girds89

Bench
Messages
2,855
He gets terrorized by guys like Hass, Lodge and huge guys props that are destructive with the ball but he just does his job against most middles. Game against the Storm he was fine filling in and did his job in defence because they were running NAS at Luai. Game against the Broncos a couple of games later and Lodge kept targeting him to great success and all he could do was put his body on the line to slow him down and to his credit and he kept doing that until he helped force an error near the end of the game from Lodge that was a pretty big play. If JWH isn't playing I'd back his defence to be fine against this Roosters team who don't really have a middle player like that with SST playing within himself and Collins injured.
Every 175cm hooker in the comp is going to struggle one on one with haas or lodge or NAS.

Haas is an animal and him and lodge destroyed our whole pack first time we played them this year. None of our forwards could contain them..

Infact no forwards can really contain haas.. hes a beast.

But keep up the dribble mate.. if i see api cook or any other 175cm 83kg hooker belt haas and stop an offload one on one ill come apolgise right here..

Up until then. Youre wrong. Jfh leota and yeo couldnt contain haas first time we played brissie but you blame kenny haha🤣
 

martielang

Bench
Messages
3,375
'21 Storm have proved they don't have a player they can't beat anybody without....no Grant?...no Pap?...no hughes?..no munster?. ..no whoever...no problem. Bad luck doesn't lay a glove on them. That's a helluva advantage over everyone else in this current injury riddled game.

Have they played us or Manly or South’s without a couple of them though? They have lapped a few poor sides without them, and they are the best at that, but beating the other top 3 is a completely different proposition imo.

I think most of the good sides can cover one or two of their best players out but when it’s 3+ core/spine players I can’t see any side melb included, beating another top team who are close to fully fit.
 

franklin2323

Immortal
Messages
33,546
Have they played us or Manly or South’s without a couple of them though? They have lapped a few poor sides without them, and they are the best at that, but beating the other top 3 is a completely different proposition imo.

I think most of the good sides can cover one or two of their best players out but when it’s 3+ core/spine players I can’t see any side melb included, beating another top team who are close to fully fit.

That is it draw has a lot to do with these things
 

Blade23

Juniors
Messages
1,636
Sometimes I think these stories are drummed up by Player managers and their allies to push up player prices.

That unfortunately is the new norm.
Player managers regularly leak to reporters to push up the price for their client, or they leak to spark interest when little is shown.
It is either the manager qouted in the article or sources close to the player. Which is usually the manager.
 

Das Hassler

Bench
Messages
2,964
Have they played us or Manly or South’s without a couple of them though? They have lapped a few poor sides without them, and they are the best at that, but beating the other top 3 is a completely different proposition imo.

I think most of the good sides can cover one or two of their best players out but when it’s 3+ core/spine players I can’t see any side melb included, beating another top team who are close to fully fit.


Fair enough....my point was only that their strength and motivation doesn't depend on the health of any one player...Nathan...Tom T...perhaps even Moses. Even Gus offhandedly declared earlier in the year that Melbourne wouldnt be Melbourne without C Smith....so much for that
 

age.s

First Grade
Messages
6,923
We can win without Nathan. We've already beaten the Storm without him this year.

Nathan's our most important player, but let's not lose sight of the fact that we've had at least 6 of our best 17 out every game we've lost this year.
 

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