Team vs Cowboys Round 20

[Serc]

ROUND 20 TEAMS
newcastleknights.com
20/07/2010 3:00:00 PM

Con Mika and Cameron Ciraldo return to the Newcastle Knights team named to faced the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday night.

NRL: Newcastle Knights v North Queensland Cowboys
7.30 Saturday 24 July 2010
Dairy Farmers Stadium
1. Kurt Gidley (C)
2. Akuila Uate
3. Junior Sa'u
4. Adam MacDougall
5. James McManus
6. Ben Rogers
7. Jarrod Mullen
8. Ben Cross
9. Isaac De Gois
10. Dan Tolar
11. Zeb Taia
12. Cameron Ciraldo
13. Matt Hilder

Interchange:
14. Wes Naiqama
15. Con Mika
16. Richie Fa'aoso
17. Antonio Kaufusi
18. Mark Taufua

http://www.newcastleknights.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=28035&title=round-20-teams

 

[Serc]

I'm gonna buy a backrow seat on the Karma train re: Edwards...given the rubbish that Fa'aoso has dished up all year and he can't crack first grade.

Otherwise they are mostly the changes I expected - with Pato dropped the only real option in that position is Ciraldo I presume. Also noticed he was in full kit at Canberra last week in jumper #19.

I should've put Hilder at lock in my suggested team (which I did before I swapped him with Taufua instead), otherwise I was getting close!

 

[perverse]

Mark T dropped in favour of Kaufusi...

not sure if i'm a fan of that one. the other changes were expected.

bench is pathetic. Mika provides "impact"... but he has zero work rate, much like the rest of our nuffies. Wes as a backrower is a well established myth. Kaufusi is sh*t in anyones language. Fa'aoso has provided us piss all this year.

f**k... just end this misery now... i can actually see the cowboys getting right over the top of us if they just play it up the middle and get quick PTB's.

 

[Noname36]

If Edwards doesn't end up coming in for Fass I'm going to punch something.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

Tafua's been ordinary but Richie has been worse then dreadful, Edwards definately has reason to feel hard done by.

 

[Adsy]

F**k this sh*t.

One player dropped and an extended bench named.

Why would Tolar and Fa'aoso bother playing hard when they are getting paid and picked week in week out to dish up dog sh*t.

 

[Noname36]

Taufua's been bad, but Fass and Tolar have been WAY worse. What does Edwards have to do to get a run? Honestly???

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

Its almost worth hoping Cowboys put 50 on us, so the chances of Stone getting the axe are increased.

 

[doggone]

Issac 9 Hilder lock 13. It should of been this way last week. Shame Edwards missing, but otherwise should get the job done. Issac, Mullen & Rogers need to defend they backsides off. Forget about last week sh*t happens. Gids to have a blinder!

 

[Serc]

I don't see a problem with retaining Tolar...his recent form hasn't really been *that* bad, especially compared to any of his best games in his career (and is probably being paid as such). Fa'aoso I have an issue with - he is so far below where he was last year its hard to believe its the same guy.

Mika goes ok...sure he's no workhorse but I'm happy with a guy like him being put on the bench, we need a bit of starch and fire at the moment with big hits and the like!

Wes on the bench I can also live with...sure he's pretty poor (an understatement) when used as a backrower, but his form otherwise has been good.

Kaufusi certainly getting closer to Fa'aoso territory as well...hasn't shown much so far (though to be fair he is playing only 2/3rds of the time that the other 3 props have been playing). Be good if there was an improvement in time spent on the field in the next few weeks, as what he has shown when on the field is ok.

 

[macavity]

not surprised. disappointed, but not surprised.

 

[perverse]

I don't see a problem with retaining Tolar...his recent form hasn't really been *that* bad, especially compared to any of his best games in his career (and is probably being paid as such). Fa'aoso I have an issue with - he is so far below where he was last year its hard to believe its the same guy.

Mika goes ok...sure he's no workhorse but I'm happy with a guy like him being put on the bench, we need a bit of starch and fire at the moment with big hits and the like!

Wes on the bench I can also live with...sure he's pretty poor (an understatement) when used as a backrower, but his form otherwise has been good.

you can't seriously be defending Tolar when he is a massive part of our problem. don't even START pulling out his efficiency at tackling or any sort of technical wizardry in the ruck. he fails on every single front as far as a first grade prop goes. i could care less that he doesn't miss many tackles, he barely makes any! i could care less how metres per run he makes, he barely makes any! he is a total waste of oxygen on the footy field and i hope someone takes him out back and shoots him sooner rather than later.

honestly, give up on the Tolar sympathy. he is not worth any amount of time. he's not even worth the paper and ink it took to print and sign his contract.

 

[antonius]

Same crap, I'll make a prediction, Edwards will leave and become reg first grader elsewhere.

 

[Johns Magic]

I don't see a problem with retaining Tolar...his recent form hasn't really been *that* bad, especially compared to any of his best games in his career

That is the worst reason to keep someone in a team ever.

 

[Serc]

you can't seriously be defending Tolar when he is a massive part of our problem. don't even START pulling out his efficiency at tackling or any sort of technical wizardry in the ruck. he fails on every single front as far as a first grade prop goes. i could care less that he doesn't miss many tackles, he barely makes any! i could care less how metres per run he makes, he barely makes any! he is a total waste of oxygen on the footy field and i hope someone takes him out back and shoots him sooner rather than later.

honestly, give up on the Tolar sympathy. he is not worth any amount of time. he's not even worth the paper and ink it took to print and sign his contract.

In one way he's a part of the problem in that he isn't as good as Cross, or Craig Smith, or any good prop we've had in recent years. In another he's not part of the problem because he is continuing to play to the reasonable standard that he has in his whole career...a number of our forwards are well below the standards that they have set.

I wasn't even thinking of putting any spin on it, the above was what was going through my mind.

I will say that you've contradicted yourself in the latter part there if he makes a reasonable amount of metres (and surprisingly, managed 10 metres per run against the Titans), and makes his fair share of tackles and in an effective fashion, is he not an adequate first grader? I'm defending him because he has been everyone's favourite whipping boy where using the same logic, a number of other players deserve to cop the same pasting - you'd think the guy is Greg Smith reincarnated! (that was his name wasn't it)

That is the worst reason to keep someone in a team ever.

Its not such a bad reason when you consider how terrible everyone else has been - are we just going to get our NYC and NSW Cup props to play instead of our firstgraders? Of course not. All I was trying to say was that I think he is not as close to getting the chop as a couple of our other forwards are.

 

[Pika]

Edwards is crook.

 

[Medievalknight]

Edwards is crook.

IF he wasnt,t would he have been picked Pika ?

 

[Pika]

No idea mate.

 

[perverse]

In one way he's a part of the problem in that he isn't as good as Cross, or Craig Smith, or any good prop we've had in recent years. In another he's not part of the problem because he is continuing to play to the reasonable standard that he has in his whole career...a number of our forwards are well below the standards that they have set.

I wasn't even thinking of putting any spin on it, the above was what was going through my mind.

I will say that you've contradicted yourself in the latter part there if he makes a reasonable amount of metres (and surprisingly, managed 10 metres per run against the Titans), and makes his fair share of tackles and in an effective fashion, is he not an adequate first grader? I'm defending him because he has been everyone's favourite whipping boy where using the same logic, a number of other players deserve to cop the same pasting - you'd think the guy is Greg Smith reincarnated! (that was his name wasn't it)



Its not such a bad reason when you consider how terrible everyone else has been - are we just going to get our NYC and NSW Cup props to play instead of our firstgraders? Of course not. All I was trying to say was that I think he is not as close to getting the chop as a couple of our other forwards are.

he is sh*t. his stats would make most bench props blush with embarrassment. i didn't contradict myself in the slightest... you have probably misunderstood a part of my post... and i'm not wasting anymore of my time with this discussion, i'll leave it up to you to work out why i haven't contradicted myself, but needless to say i did NOT say he makes a reasonable amount of metres OR his fair share of tackles. he does neither of these things. Tolar isn't even worth having a discussion about. a team with Petero Civoniceva and Ben Hannant up front could barely afford to carry this poor excuse for a footballer.

 

[Serc]

The contradiction is where you said 'Tolar fails on every single front as far as a first grade prop goes'...and then go onto say that you don't care how many metres or tackles or whatever he makes. The fact is that he DOES do a reasonable/average/middle of the road (whatever word you choose) amount of all that stuff.

If you replaced the word 'Tolar' in that sentence with one of the countless other average props in the NRL with the same unexciting but 'average' results on field every week (and the same average looking statistics), would you feel like a goose? I think so.