Team vs the Bucking Broncos

[tom of poland]

FYI - Sifa back, Connor relegated but not forgotten...........

1. WILL KENNEDY - proudly sponsored by Pilot
2. SIONE KATOA - proudly sponsored by Ressler Property
3. JESSE RAMIEN - proudly sponsored by The Vinyl Room
4. SIFA TALAKAI - proudly sponsored by O'Brien Palmer
5. RONALDO MULITALO - proudly sponsored by A Corp. Computers
6. MATT MOYLAN - proudly sponsored by Executive Demolition
7. NICHO HYNES - proudly sponsored by John Ryan Freight Management
8. OREGON KAUFUSI - proudly sponsored by Sharp Extensive IT
9. BLAYKE BRAILEY - proudly sponsored by Elite Legal
10. ROYCE HUNT - proudly sponsored by Lloyds Building & Development
11. BRITON NIKORA - proudly sponsored by Guardian Venue Management
12. TEIG WILTON - proudly sponsored by MainFix
13. DALE FINUCANE - proudly sponsored by Shire Steel & Fabrication

Interchange

14. WADE GRAHAM - proudly sponsored by White Wolf Constructions
15. JACK WILLIAMS - proudly sponsored by Madimack
16. THOMAS HAZELTON - proudly sponsored by Ace Gutters
17. BRADEN HAMLIN-UELE - proudly sponsored by ModularWalls

Extended Bench

18. BRAYDON TRINDALL
19. CONNOR TRACEY
20. JESSE COLQUHOUN
21. DAN ATKINSON
22. JAYDEN BERRELL

Coach. CRAIG FITZGIBBON

 

[Eion]

No surprise there, all fair enough

 

[2012....Sharks Year]

I’d prefer Tracey on the bench for Jack Williams. Has never inspired me tbh. Tricky obviously cover for Nicho if required.

 

[roboshark]

We have the red headed git. Close to becoming the new KLEIN

 

[shadowboxer]

We have the red headed git. Close to becoming the new KLEIN

Welcome back.

 

[Eion]

We can’t hate them all. As long as we dont get Klein or Atkins I’ll take it

 

[Chimp]

This ginger fella loves a last tackle ‘set restart’… if I’ve noticed that, surely someone in our club has - you have to be quick to release on the last tackle otherwise he’ll ping you…

 

[txta2]

Surprisingly no outraged Connor Tracey fans in here.....

 

[Peach & Apricot]

That bench looks fantastic

 

[Chimp]

Surprisingly no outraged Connor Tracey fans in here.....

If I’m honest, I’d have him on the bench instead of Wade, but am comfortable admitting Fitz probably knows better than me….
Tracey covers far more spots than Wade, and can be a game breaker/point chaser if we ever needed that - Wade doesn’t offer anywhere near that sort of impact.

 

[Tiger Shark]

If I’m honest, I’d have him on the bench instead of Wade, but am comfortable admitting Fitz probably knows better than me….
Tracey covers far more spots than Wade, and can be a game breaker/point chaser if we ever needed that - Wade doesn’t offer anywhere near that sort of impact.

How often do you need to cover a player? Not that often.

The more common scenario is you want players to be able to contribute whilst the team doesn’t need cover and for that Wade is better.

Tracey is just like Trindall on the bench. Will get 10-15 novelty minutes and not offer a lot.

I am curious to see what happens when Cam and Tony are back and we don’t lose any more forwards. Hazelton is obviously gone, who else is gone ? Wade or Jack. Jack has been playing well so wonder if Wade gets a rest?

A lot of our forwards have missed games so not a bad idea resting a few after our last bye

 

[Chimp]

How often do you need to cover a player? Not that often.

The more common scenario is you want players to be able to contribute whilst the team doesn’t need cover and for that Wade is better.

Tracey is just like Trindall on the bench. Will get 10-15 novelty minutes and not offer a lot.

I am curious to see what happens when Cam and Tony are back and we don’t lose any more forwards. Hazelton is obviously gone, who else is gone ? Wade or Jack. Jack has been playing well so wonder if Wade gets a rest?

A lot of our forwards have missed games so not a bad idea resting a few after our last bye

I think there is a role for Tracey on the bench, in addition to being a great utility to cover for injuries. I’d be more than comfortable him coming on as a quick middle, or even into the centres and move Sifa into the 2nd row.
I’m not sure what Wade is really bringing in the ‘common scenario’.

 

[bad boy bubby]

I think you’ll find that with Wade on the bench, if an injury to an outside back occurs then they’d have Teig covering left centre, Nikora right plus both wing spots, with Wade to cover both sides as edge backrower.
Also Wade to cover both halves and hooker positions, he also has been playing middle forward.
Not bad coverage.
If WK goes down I’d say Ronnie to fullback with the positional changes to apply.

 

[Quigs]

I just hope that after tonight Channel Nein's State of Origin that the Donks have to do a lot of reshuffling their side around.

 

[Ozzi_78]

Hope Walsh does a hammy.

 

[Quigs]

Or an eyebrow

 

[Chimp]

I think you’ll find that with Wade on the bench, if an injury to an outside back occurs then they’d have Teig covering left centre, Nikora right plus both wing spots, with Wade to cover both sides as edge backrower.
Also Wade to cover both halves and hooker positions, he also has been playing middle forward.
Not bad coverage.
If WK goes down I’d say Ronnie to fullback with the positional changes to apply.

Yep agree with all of that, and as I say, am comfortable Fitzy going this way, just my preference would be Tracey, as think he can actually contribute more than Wade in terms of impact. But also see the leadership qualities of Wade, and also some other cultural type benefits of showing loyalty to a veteran - makes us look like a club that looks after those who’ve shed blood for the cause.
So yeah, happy to go with Wade if that’s what Fitz thinks, but a good discussion point, and nice to have genuine competition in the squad.
We have some top quality players missing our 17, who’d get a game at most other clubs - another question is, would we be better having slightly less quality sitting in the reserves as ‘back up’ and have spent that money on a gun front rower?

 

[bad boy bubby]

We have some top quality players missing our 17, who’d get a game at most other clubs - another question is, would we be better having slightly less quality sitting in the reserves as ‘back up’ and have spent that money on a gun front rower?

You ever get the feeling that position of "gun front rower" is up for grabs in the current squad?
Have you seen the list of how many of them come off contract after next season, there's quite a few.
It makes me think that Fitz has placed them all in a "survival of the fittest" type scenario, and may the best of them win the positions in the oncoming years.

In the top 30 Middles Off contract at the end of 2024:
Bradbury
Colquhoun
Hamlin Uele
Hazelton (club option for 25)
Kaufusi (mutual option for 25)
Rudolf
Williams.

And Finucanes pay drops to 300k in 2025, so not as much to be spent on another middle.
Lets hope the competition to earn the next round of contracts is red hot.

 

[Big Bloke]

How often do you need to cover a player? Not that often.

The more common scenario is you want players to be able to contribute whilst the team doesn’t need cover and for that Wade is better.

Tracey is just like Trindall on the bench. Will get 10-15 novelty minutes and not offer a lot.

I am curious to see what happens when Cam and Tony are back and we don’t lose any more forwards. Hazelton is obviously gone, who else is gone ? Wade or Jack. Jack has been playing well so wonder if Wade gets a rest?

A lot of our forwards have missed games so not a bad idea resting a few after our last bye

Not so sure about this mate, Tommy has been playing the house down. I'd almost have him there instead of Wade when all are fully fit. Although I'm sure Fitz won't do that.

 

[bluefox68]

McInnes
Rudolf
BHU
Williams / Hazelton

That’s not a bad bench…

As stated by others, the backline can be reshuffled quite easily. Also, in the event of Nicho going down, McInnes to 9 and Brailey to 7 is not out of the question.