Rumours and Stuff

[Poupou Escobar]

I'd re-sign Lussick for sure.

He's an awesome backup but also too good for reserve grade. Unfortunately he's not good enough for the top 17 at a strong club.

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

What's the go with Roache? Thought of more as a 14 than backup hooker?

 

[The Eel]

What's the go with Roache? Thought of more as a 14 than backup hooker?

I think someone on here said he was gone next year, could be wrong

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

I think someone on here said he was gone next year, could be wrong

I thought that was Lussick. To SL at least. Maybe both gone.

 

[The Eel]

I thought that was Lussick. To SL at least. Maybe both gone.

I am hearing both

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I don’t think anyone expects him to be playing like a seasoned veteran. There was one stage a few weeks ago where he had a solo try assist after 16 NRL games.

He didn't have any try assists last night either, yet merkins still think he had a good game.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I don't see why people want to move Waqa on the wing. Has played some really good games this year on the left edge and last night he set up Dunster quite a bit.

Because on the wing he will get more ball and have to do less tackling. Also allows us to bring Opacic back into the team while keeping Penisini there. The player who misses out will be Dunster, who I think isn't as good as Opacic.

 

[parramaniac2516]

Brown looks so much more comfortable on the left. He has been playing on the right all season and at the end of the manly game went back to the left. Our attack doesn't break down anymore on the left.

I wouldn't be making any chances in the backs or halves for the rest of the season. I think finishing 5th would be the best thing for us. Easy week 1 and then the real test will begin.

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

He didn't have any try assists last night either, yet merkins still think he had a good game.

Small sample size. He did have a good game but. Try assists aren't granular enough to judge on one game.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

It's cleary compared to ba.

Ba seems to me a safety first approach.

Probably why Arthur's has the wood on Cleary in head-to-head clashes: 8 wins to 5

13 games is a small sample but.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Agree. But still has a few dumb plays in him. Early in game when pushed out as took on the sideline.
And also around 70th minute he should of caught bomb and tried to find a pass or just run and got tackled considering 12 up at the time. A stupid punch back which ended up with Jerome Hughes going downfield and almost finding link men to make it a try. Would of made it a 6 point lead with 9 to go.
Not only halfbacks need to be aware and educated about how and what plays are important at what times of the game. It feels like everyone thinks its only the halfbacks job.
That was a high risk stupid play and not needed. I hope BA bring it up on tape.

Different story if early in game. Or if we where down by 10 at that point. Or if 30 mins to go. But terrible option at that situation.

Nearly every player has weaknesses. For Blake it's that he makes poor decisions. But he is one of the best players in the team for speed and power. That's what he provides.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I've heard that RCG could be back next week. I'd rest Gutho, Papa, N.Brown and Jnr next week. Penrith will rest plenty next week as well.

I wonder about this. If Penrith think they can get the minor premiership will they go all out? Melbourne are near certainties to beat the Sharks, but they were also unbackable against us last night. If the Storm win there's nothing Penrith can do to finish first. They won't beat us by 140 points even if we send Jake Arthur out there by himself.

If Penrith decide to rest players next week is a lottery. I maybe should've waited for TLT before backing the Panthers. I had $300 on them at $1.31 but they will probably blow out if they name a reserve grade side. ffs

 

[lingard]

So you think that Andrew Johns is not coaching him right ?

Quite possibly, yes. Just because you're a great player, it doesn't make you a great coach.

 

[lingard]

Wighton was a fullback

And a good one.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

His lack of creativity and ball-playing skill is something that you can manage if you have speed and creativity elsewhere in your side. But we haven't

Really?

Moses and Gutherson are both in the NRL top ten for try assists, and Mahoney is still in the top 20 despite missing six games. In fact he is the top hooker in the NRL for TAs.

 

[lingard]

Because on the wing he will get more ball and have to do less tackling. Also allows us to bring Opacic back into the team while keeping Penisini there. The player who misses out will be Dunster, who I think isn't as good as Opacic.

Duster improves every game he plays. But Opacic is certainly underrated by most.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Go back to what they were like when they all had 51 games experience. Muster better, Luai better, Wighton better, Walker better, Foran better. Not knocking Dylan (he's playing in a side that has had the skill coached out of them), but at least compare apples with apples.

If you're going to do that you need to compare age as well:

Player	Age after 52 games	NRL experience at 21 years, 69 days
Walker	28 years, 107 days	0 games
Luai	24 years, 199 days	0 games
Munster	22 years, 252 days	20 games (10 wins)
Wighton	22 years, 69 days	33 games (13 wins)
Brown	21 years, 69 days	52 games (35 wins)
Foran	21 years, 25 days	56 games (37 wins)

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Player	Games	Tries	Win/Loss/Draw (%)
Foran	51	20	32/19 (63%)
Munster	51	22	35/16 (68%)	Played 49 games before playing 5/8
Walker	51	22	21/30 (41%)	Debuted as 26 yo
Wighton	51	14	20/31 (39%)	Played 27 games before playing 5/8
Luai	51	10	40/10/1 (78%)
Brown	51	13	34/17 (66%)

If comparing apples to apples, then really only Foran and Luai are comparisons.
Both them and Drown debuted when 19 and played 5/8 from the get go.

Only Foran hit 52 games at a younger age. Interestingly, he is the best comparison for playing style.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

His cover defense shows so much desperation it is commended. Like grothe snr coming from the other side of the TV screen to make a cross field tackle

Except Grothe wasn't also making 30 tackles per game.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

This!

as a half he’s failed to deliver thus far. Last night was an exceptional game. We were a threat both sides of the ruck. He put away his ‘dummy and go’ and utilized a passing game which was great to see. Whether it’s a coaching flaw or that’s his game, hopefully we see more of last night’s performance. Moses cops so much criticism but it’s a breath of fresh air when you have two genuine halves playing ball.

With his move to the left Drown has actually gone back to the more central role he played in 2020, handling the ball more than Moses. This allows Moses to attack wider on the right, and also on the short side, which we're finally f**king doing these past two weeks. Not only does Drown look better but Moses is back to the player of 2017.