Souths young gun to get a shot at replacing Sandow

[Newcastlerabbit]

Greg Prichard

May 18, 2011

"Reynolds is a good player and he will get his chance next year".

ADAM REYNOLDS is looking increasingly like the player who will get first crack at the halfback position for South Sydney next year, once Chris Sandow has left the club to join Parramatta at the end of this season.
Rabbitohs chief executive Shane Richardson said yesterday the club was not going to buy a halfback just for the sake of it and there were several options to be considered among players already at the club.
''Adam Reynolds is certainly one of those players,'' Richardson said. ''He is a good young player and he will get his chance next year. Adam was going to start as the back-up player to Chris Sandow this year, until he did his anterior cruciate ligament in the pre-season and had to have a knee reconstruction.
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''We thought he might put some pressure on Chris for the spot this year, but he never got the chance. Adam has a great kicking game, he's very strong defensively and he's a good leader. He was captain of our under-20s team that made last year's grand final. Plus, he can kick goals.''
Sandow's recent decision to accept a huge offer from the Eels has put pressure on Souths to find an alternative, but there is a dearth of alternatives coming off contract at other clubs.
There has been speculation Brett Finch, who played with numerous clubs in the NRL before switching to English club Wigan this year, may take his place. Wigan are coached by Michael Maguire, who will take over at Souths next year. But the Finch option appears unlikely.
Richardson flew to England recently to assist Maguire in planning and the pair are in regular contact. Maguire was an assistant coach at Melbourne when that club fashioned Cooper Cronk into a halfback, sparking suggestions the same thing could happen at the Rabbitohs if a player who is not currently in the halves was identified as having the necessary skills to play there.
Matthew Johns has been approached to do specialist coaching of the halves at Souths next year. Johns did a lot of work with Cronk on behalf of the Storm, helping to turn him into a star No.7 who is now the back-up to Johnathan Thurston in the Queensland and Australian sides.
''We're not going to rush into anything when it comes to the halfback spot,'' Richardson said. '''Madge' [Maguire] is doing his research on the possibilities there, and what we've got is an opportunity for someone within our club to rise to the occasion and take over from Chris at the end of the season.''
Reynolds may recover in time to get back on the field this season, in which case he would get a valuable opportunity to start finding his feet again playing for Rabbitohs feeder club North Sydney in the NSW Cup.
It remains to be seen whether Maguire leaves John Sutton at five-eighth next year or moves him to lock and goes for an all-new halves combination. Dylan Farrell and even Greg Inglis may end up being considered there.


http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-shot-at-replacing-sandow-20110517-1erho.html

 

[Ike E Bear]

While I'd be happy for Adam to get an opportunity, I'd surely hope he wasn't the only realistic option Souths have for halfback next year ... that would be an even worse situation than when Sandow was thrown in the deep end. There's a reason Sandow is coming good in 2011 - it takes time. Without depth, I think the Bunnies will struggle massively in the halves. Adding to the problem is that Reynolds will be coming back from a full season of injury.

 

[Zigwaa]

It's working ok with Manly this year with Cherry-Evans and they did the same with Hodkinson the year before.

As long at the team around Reynolds are doign their job and we don't rely on him to create everything and make the big plays early on he could grow in the role.

If he's fit towards the end of the season and we're not a finals chance i'd throw him the number 7 then.

 

[Newcastlerabbit]

Our major concern,by next year Reynolds would not have played for over a year.Me thinks we still need another halfback.

 

[Ike E Bear]

Also, Manly have a bit more flexibility/redundancy in case of injury in the halves.

If DCE is injured, Foran can go to halfback with one of Lyon, G Stewart or maybe even Buhrer going to 5/8.

The Bunnies would have to reach down for yet another rookie in such a situation if one or two halves aren't recruited.

 

[BunniesMan]

Our website says Reynold's predicted return is August, if we're out of contention (hopefully not) we could throw him in for a month or so and see if he's ready for 1st grade. If he goes well enough that we think with a full off season (of training from Matty Johns), he'll be a readymade #7, we can go with him. If he struggles we can just bring in one of those veterans like Finch/Gower etc to hold the fort for part of 2012 until Reynolds is fully ready.

The difference between Reynolds and Sandow is Reynolds will have Johns, Sandow never really had that kind of expert help.

 

[Newcastlerabbit]

Our website says Reynold's predicted return is August, if we're out of contention (hopefully not) we could throw him in for a month or so and see if he's ready for 1st grade. If he goes well enough that we think with a full off season (of training from Matty Johns), he'll be a readymade #7, we can go with him. If he struggles we can just bring in one of those veterans like Finch/Gower etc to hold the fort for part of 2012 until Reynolds is fully ready.

The difference between Reynolds and Sandow is Reynolds will have Johns, Sandow never really had that kind of expert help.

BM,I doubt he will be back this season.

 

[BunniesMan]

BM,I doubt he will be back this season.

You never know, recoveries take longer than expected sometimes. But I was just speaking hypothetically if that date is true at this point and if he is healthy by then.

 

[DC_fan]

Our major concern,by next year Reynolds would not have played for over a year.Me thinks we still need another halfback.

Me also thinks so.

But the problem is there are not many options out there.

 

[thomas10do]

The difference between Reynolds and Sandow is Reynolds will have Johns, Sandow never really had that kind of expert help.

has this johns talk actually been confirmed? like proper.

as for reynolds, granted he has age on his side but wouldn't like for him to push too hard after doing an ACL.at least he has even more motivation now to come back strong knowing sandow's going.

on that topic, granted i dont play first grade football, but have nearly gone stir crazy in seasons when i have had a injury that required a few weeks off.but even then, some of us have jobs to go to.a 20 year old footballer with a bum knee........shame.

come back strong mate.