Team v Knights

[Meth]

Unchanged?

1- Locke
2- Inu
3- Mannering
4- Brown
5- Vatuvei
6- Maloney
7- Seymour
8- Packer
9- Mara
10- Lillyman
11- Mateo
12- Taylor
13- Luck

Res- Hohaia, Ta'ai, Matulino, Latimore

 

[hitman82]

Yeah, I think it'd be crazy to change it after such a great performance.

My only MAYBE would be a young hooker/half to 14, but Lance did ok considering he was backing up.

However I did get the feeling our go forward was better with Mara at dummy half. He plays what he sees and doesn't have those weird "play maker" pauses that Hohaia seems to.

I sometimes feel Lance has a bit of an ego in his play, where he feels he should look for an opportunity for himself to start something rather than making the simple obvious play as fast as possible.

MAN I'm stoked we finally beat the Titans at home. It's been my most hated fixture for years.

 

[devoid]

Barring injury, I would run the same line up out against the Knights.

 

[Meth]

I think Hohaia's position is safe until Berrigan gets back at least.

Hopefully Heremaia isn't rushed back in- if he is, it will probably be at the expense of Mara.

Latimore is my one question mark- but he had an adequate game on the weekend.

 

[devoid]

I think Hohaia's position is safe until Berrigan gets back at least.

Hopefully Heremaia isn't rushed back in- if he is, it will probably be at the expense of Mara.

Latimore is my one question mark- but he had an adequate game on the weekend.

I thought Latimore went well, and our pack worked great together. It might have been because the Titans were missing some mettle, but still we did the job.

Agree with your thoughts regarding Hohaia/Berrigan. It's a long way off, but I'm starting to wonder about the worth of retaining Berro next season. I would start Mara again this week with Hohaia off the bench - Mara had a good outing and looks to be injury free. Makes sense to build on it if the club is going to keep him long term.

 

[Rich102]

Interesting that Cleary now prefers Mannering & Brown, backing-up, at centre rather than a fresh Moon. A season or so ago you couldn't keep Moon out of the team. And at the start of the season Moon was in and Inu was out.

I am impressed by the way Mateo & Inu are working out. I think they will be good for us. (But Mateo isn't a 5/8 and I think Inu may be a center.)

 

[devoid]

Yeah, Moon looks to be out of favour big time. Hooked after 20 mins against the Dragons, and not seen since. Can't see him being re-signed at this stage. It was touted as a coup when we got him (a few clubs chased him hard at the time).

 

[Meth]

If Inu switches to the centres, would he be on the left or the right? I think there is some merit to the idea of an Vatuvei/Inu/Brown combination (though perhaps it may present some defensive challenges).

 

[TurtleWarrior]

Who would Berrigan come back in the side for? IMO we don't need him right now so bringing him back would be stupid. The only possible place he could go is at 14, which means Mara or Hohaia. But tbh I prefer if the side was left alone. Hope Manu is better for the run he had.
And once the Fish is back, Inu to centre and to let him and Locke battle it out for fb and wing.

 

[Meth]

I would say Berrigan would be a no-brainer to replace Hohaia because he actually covers hooker well. Mara is not an 80 minute hooker

 

[Izz]

Berrigan's much stronger defensively too, imo.

 

[Revelation 3:20]

Same again.

Though I can't see Brown and Mannering being the centre pairing all season.

 

[hitman82]

Who else can we use?

And how would they gain selection?

Neither Brown nor Mannering is ever going to play badly enough to get dropped, and we have a truckload of second rowers to cover any injuries to Taylor, Luck, Ta'ai (jokes, he can't get hurt) etc.

If Hohaia doesn't play better this weekend, which he should after a rest, then Heremaia or Berrigan may bust back in.

 

[Meth]

Who else can we use?

Inu shifts to the centre---->Brown to the second row

 

[Warmess]

I think I read in some article just before the Titans game that Heremaia stayed back in NZ for personal reasons, but that he'd be flying out for the Newcastle game. So we may (unfortunately) see him back in the side, probably at the expense of Mara. Hope not though.

 

[ozbash]

Inu shifts to the centre---->Brown to the second row

hope not, its like having 2 Manu's , one on each wing.

 

[devoid]

Who else can we use?

And how would they gain selection?

Neither Brown nor Mannering is ever going to play badly enough to get dropped, and we have a truckload of second rowers to cover any injuries to Taylor, Luck, Ta'ai (jokes, he can't get hurt) etc.

If Hohaia doesn't play better this weekend, which he should after a rest, then Heremaia or Berrigan may bust back in.

Classic!

 

[hitman82]

Inu needs to stay on the wing imho. It's a dream having an aerial, offloading, tackle-breaking 100kg+ winger on each side of the field.

Yesterday showed the value in this. Aside from having a valid attacking option for either running or kicking the ball, it means we can focus our attack on Inu's wing for a while, giving Manu a rest and leaving him fresh for the next raid.

I'd hate to be a coach trying to organise my defense with those two opposing my wingers. Not to mention the powerful Mannering and Brown 1 in, and our equally threatening second row.

 

[Meth]

When Inu was signed, I never rated him as a centre. But then again, I never rated him as a wing and he has proved me wrong thus far.

 

[devoid]

An interesting dilemma. The thoughts around how long Brown will remain at centre at interesting. For mine, I am more inclined to have the best guys on the park, more of the time. That means keeping Brown with Manu, and leaving Simon with Krisnan - fullback is Lockey's to lose now imo.