State of origin series

[WestyLife]

Everyone reading way to much into where players will play etc haha.

Doesn't matter where Martin plays for the blues or what Freddy does lol... he's made some very weird selections.

I mean... I'd say apis form and fitness this year has been nowhere near as good as previous years... cook on the other hand has been really good..

Tpj is a weird one...

Turbo is a huge risk and he's left the form centre on the comp out.

I honestly couldn't care less where marto plays for the blues..

Again, we don't have the 2nd row depth or talent coming through to move him over the next 18-24months..

He was probs Australia's best player in the world cup at 2nd row..

He can be good anywhere in the pack... he's just one of those players that is highly committed and has a dig every game..

But we simply don't have the cattle to move him for us.. especially if sorro leaves..

The majority of this forum bar a couple thought soro was exclusively a middle.... now people are happy for him to stay there and marto go middle haha.. I mean... people just change their mind after a few decent games haha.

Unless a few players come on leaps and bounds in the next year or 2 marto isn't moving full time to the middle.

Fittler said he wasn't convinced running two hookers helped and Api got it because of his 2 seasons playing with Cleary. The team is built around Cleary as much as Freddy could get away with. If he wasn't available I guarantee you'd see more of a souths slant to selections.

 

[Iamback]

Hynes should have been the 6 but a roaming role is a terrible idea. With Latrell and Tommy in the side all you want it the forwards to run hard and then give them good clean EARLY ball.

Luai is better in defence and questions over Hynes in big games

When Yeo goes off. Hynes will give quality ball but also will be a threat when the fresh forwards come on late and start ball playing.

All of NSW Pack can pass and offload

 

[Munky]

If Hynes plays in the middle NSW will be lucky to start a set on the front foot.

 

[Fangs]

I don't like it either. But he is known to have defensive lapses out wide. No matter where he stands he will be targeted.

On reduced minutes anyway so he just needs to give his all for the 20-30 minutes he gets. Luai will be the one under pressure for 80 minutes and by the end of the game everyone is struggling.

 

[Iamback]

I don't like it either. But he is known to have defensive lapses out wide. No matter where he stands he will be targeted.

On reduced minutes anyway so he just needs to give his all for the 20-30 minutes he gets. Luai will be the one under pressure for 80 minutes and by the end of the game everyone is struggling.

QLD used Michael Morgan in that role for years effectively.

HIA no doubt sees Hynes get a run in a set position anyway

 

[Chins get the wins]

QLD used Michael Morgan in that role for years effectively.

HIA no doubt sees Hynes get a run in a set position anyway

I like Hynes but Morgan was twice the player and a hell of a lot more versatile

 

[Luke Bowden]

I don't like it either. But he is known to have defensive lapses out wide. No matter where he stands he will be targeted.

On reduced minutes anyway so he just needs to give his all for the 20-30 minutes he gets. Luai will be the one under pressure for 80 minutes and by the end of the game everyone is struggling.

Has anyone ever seen Luai struggling in a game? He’s never bowing hard, he’s always never caught out of position. He’s a fit dude

 

[Fangs]

Has anyone ever seen Luai struggling in a game? He’s never bowing hard, he’s always never caught out of position. He’s a fit dude

The winning try last year came in the 60th minute down Luai's edge. Talaki was inside him:


Not caught out of position here. He just can't make up for Talaki being a bit slow on the inside. But I bet he would of earlier in the match. The intensity of Origin will wilt down any player, even Cleary on the other side.

I'm far from bagging him. He is right up there with the best defenders in the game in terms of halves and we are blessed to have two of them in our team.

 

[snickers007]

The team is built around Cleary as much as Freddy could get away with.

I thought this in previous seasons too, but the reality is that the NSW team plays nothing like the Panthers in attack.

We're not going to see JAC, Mitchell and Turbo take the dirty carries required to get us on the front foot in attack.
The NSW back rowers will be doing a lot of work out of their end.
And we're not going to see Tedesco take the tackle 5 hitup and fast play the ball, rather he'll crab across the field for an age, get tackled, have to pull up his pants, and then play the ball, killing all momentum in the process.
Time will tell if this year's front row will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder and pin QLD inside their own half.

And without the above Yeo, Cleary & Luai aren't gonna have the time to do their thing.

Our players are effective as Panthers because they have a gameplan suited to them, and they work as a unit. Outside of that unit, and with a different gameplan, not so much.

 

[WestyLife]

I thought this in previous seasons too, but the reality is that the NSW team plays nothing like the Panthers in attack.

We're not going to see JAC, Mitchell and Turbo take the dirty carries required to get us on the front foot in attack.
The NSW back rowers will be doing a lot of work out of their end.
And we're not going to see Tedesco take the tackle 5 hitup and fast play the ball, rather he'll crab across the field for an age, get tackled, have to pull up his pants, and then play the ball, killing all momentum in the process.
Time will tell if this year's front row will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder and pin QLD inside their own half.

And without the above Yeo, Cleary & Luai aren't gonna have the time to do their thing.

Our players are effective as Panthers because they have a gameplan suited to them, and they work as a unit. Outside of that unit, and with a different gameplan, not so much.

You're right but that doesn't change that they see cleary as the best hakfback in nsw and are building the team around him as best as possible. At some point Cleary and Luai will have to learn to play great football when in reps teams without the comfort blanket of the Panthers system.

 

[Chins get the wins]

You're right but that doesn't change that they see cleary as the best hakfback in nsw and are building the team around him as best as possible. At some point Cleary and Luai will have to learn to play great football when in reps teams without the comfort blanket of the Panthers system.

Nathan has played great games for NSW. Ended the world cup in good form after Mal stopped f**king around with the team as well

 

[Goonji]

I would have preferred Stephen Crighton on the wing instead of Addo-Carr.

 

[TheEroticGamer]

Halves aren’t doing anything if the props can only drag us up to the 30 or 40 and end the set with a slow play the ball. Hopefully Haas being in form will improve the go forward from last year. Be hard not to.

 

[MugaB]

And we're not going to see Tedesco take the tackle 5 hitup and fast play the ball, rather he'll crab across the field for an age, get tackled, have to pull up his pants, and then play the ball, killing all momentum in the process.

BWAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA so true

 

[ColdWetPanther]

BWAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA so true

Well played @snickers007 i was glad I wasn’t drinking when I read the pull up his pants bit, because if physically guffawed!!

 

[Iamback]

I like Hynes but Morgan was twice the player and a hell of a lot more versatile

Hynes played almost everywhere for Storm, problem these days is even a finger nail touches the head and it is HIA. You need the cover mainly for the halves incase they go down.

If they don't go down then you need to find a role for that 14

 

[Iamback]

I thought this in previous seasons too, but the reality is that the NSW team plays nothing like the Panthers in attack.

We're not going to see JAC, Mitchell and Turbo take the dirty carries required to get us on the front foot in attack.
The NSW back rowers will be doing a lot of work out of their end.
And we're not going to see Tedesco take the tackle 5 hitup and fast play the ball, rather he'll crab across the field for an age, get tackled, have to pull up his pants, and then play the ball, killing all momentum in the process.
Time will tell if this year's front row will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder and pin QLD inside their own half.

And without the above Yeo, Cleary & Luai aren't gonna have the time to do their thing.

Our players are effective as Panthers because they have a gameplan suited to them, and they work as a unit. Outside of that unit, and with a different gameplan, not so much.

I like the pac picked.

A lot of those guys play big minutes for clubs, will get reduced and as such can do those things.

Take Martin IF the team list named is correct then we aren't seeing him before half time, means he can bash guys on both sides of the ball

As for the game plan. Club combos come in handy because Luai knows how deep Nathan likes him to stand.

Yeo also knows when to go to Cleary or when to get forwards running off him

 

[maple_69]

I thought this in previous seasons too, but the reality is that the NSW team plays nothing like the Panthers in attack.

We're not going to see JAC, Mitchell and Turbo take the dirty carries required to get us on the front foot in attack.
The NSW back rowers will be doing a lot of work out of their end.
And we're not going to see Tedesco take the tackle 5 hitup and fast play the ball, rather he'll crab across the field for an age, get tackled, have to pull up his pants, and then play the ball, killing all momentum in the process.
Time will tell if this year's front row will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder and pin QLD inside their own half.

And without the above Yeo, Cleary & Luai aren't gonna have the time to do their thing.

Our players are effective as Panthers because they have a gameplan suited to them, and they work as a unit. Outside of that unit, and with a different gameplan, not so much.

I think this was NSW's biggest issue last year and what slack jawed fans who say things like 'hurr durr Penrith Blues suck' completely miss. The Penrith Panthers would dominate the Penrith Blues because they have a gameplan that works not just for the core but for the supporting 13 guys qualities as well. Luai and Cleary showed in the world cup they can thrive playing a different gameplan and Yeo is basically as complete a forward as you're ever going to see. They can absolutely build around these 3 and their combination, but Freddy absolutely needs to have a gameplan that is built around the 17 guys he has in order for it to work.

 

[Munky]

NSWs biggest issue last year was the left second rower not understanding that Pantherball only works on early tackles if they're back and deep for the spread.

It stops the compression of the defensive line and three man tackles if the left second rower and centre are in position to go around them.

Sims f**ked up majority last year when they spun it early and he wasn't ready.

 

[Pomoz]

The reason Panther ball is allowed to work is because JFH, Leota, Martin, Spencer and Kenny take no prisoners. Make no mistake, without their aggression we would be nowhere. You can have all the Kikaus, Fifitas and Murrays you want, but they don't get to do anything unless people like Moses and JFH lay down the law.

Football is still decided by which forwards win the battle. NSW lost because the QLD forwards bashed NSW and made them their bitches. Gagai and Tino smashing Burton and no Blue within coee to smash them back. Fittler has hired some muscle this time and QLD won't be getting to bash NSW with TPJ, Haas, Young and Martin on watch.

There is a reason Bennett hires people like Kafusi for the Dolphins and Costigan, Smith and Weyman for the Dragons. He knows it's character that wins the big matches, not light stepping, torpedo pass, fancy Dan posers like Walsh. The Dragons couldn't win a grand final even though they were stacked with talent until Bennett put some steel in the team.