The 2016 positives thread

[perverse]

It's an all-season pass to your mums bedroom. Every player gets one.

 

[Knightmare]

It's unlikely that the Knights will eclipse Canterbury's 80 and 85-point thrashings in 1935- for the time being, at least...

 

[The Showstopper]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...s/news-story/b9b83bd283f364eb3648d3bd3bd9478d

If this is the road we are taking and it all comes together then we will be doing alright. Sounds like WESTS or the next owners won't get a look in till the TPA bridge is built. Interesting how Tinkler basically shut TPA access out according to this article. My question is how did Bennett tolerate that? It is very Un-Wayne to cop something like that if it is indeed what happened. Could finally be our answer as to why he left so quickly.

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

Cant read the article, subscribers only

 

[ryana87]

Can you please copy and paste the article?

 

[League_God]

Tariq again was f**king average. Was made to look like average by his young brother, Saifiti, Pauli, Paea and King

 

[Mr_Knightside]

Given how the boys played last night I thought I would reignite this thread.

- Daniel Saifiti was brilliant again
- We proved that we can play attacking footy when we want to, we definitely would have won that game if Korbin hadn't tried to be a hero
- Nathan Ross had his best game in first grade last night, he made heaps of metres out of dummy half and he kept getting in between defenders and being dangerous all night, it was heartbreaking that he didn't get the ball down at the end there. If he produces that sort of game consistently then he's going to be one of the success stories for us this year
- Feeney had his best game last night as well, he wasn't brilliant but he had space to actually use his playmaking skills and threw some decent passes and almost broke through late in the game with a good run, if someone was backing him up we may have created something out of that run. It looks like he will be playing in the #6 jumper for a few more weeks with Mullen and Lamb out so hopefully he can keep improving and playing his natural game
- The last couple of weeks should prove that the effort is definitely there, we've been right in both of those games and if we had a team with a bit more experience or even just one player with a bit of individual brilliance we could have won both. I really hope the experience of losing games like this teaches them a few lessons about how to get those close games across the line.

 

[Knight76]

Ross needs to stay in the Centres, he needs the additional room to move as he showed last night he can break the line, has a good step and attacking ability. He is wasted on the wing where he is looking to catch the ball and run only.

 

[ryana87]

My issue with Ross in the centres is it would mean Gagai would stay at fullback..... We brought in Pete as a specialist centre.....

 

[borat]

Pete M is a handy fullback. Would be well worth a look at.

 

[Still Nutty]

After being at the game last night, my positives are Brown, Brown and then Brown.

I said at the start of the year I am interested in how our last 6 games are this year, not our first because we will be able to see what sort of influence Brown is having on the development of the squad, culture, attitude, etc...and for the first time last night, I saw the glimmers of light that tell me we have hope.

I'm a realist and the next 18 months to 2 years are still not going to be pretty but I can see that our ability to rebuild the foundations of this club are there if we have the patience and foresight to keep Brown in place and even sign him up to a longer term deal if we can get it.

Regardless of whatever happens under TPAs and our capacity to free up cap $$$, I am an advocate to say that keeping him here is the highest cornerstone priority above all else in maximising whatever this club can achieve in the next 5 years.

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

Brown is fair dinkum. He gets it spot on during the press conferences and doesn't hold back on what needs to be said. In particular, I like the way he puts focus on what was done well and the rewards from that while also paying attention to what wasn't done well. He reminds me of an aunt I had. New nickname - Aunty Brown.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Brown is fair dinkum. He gets it spot on during the press conferences and doesn't hold back on what needs to be said. In particular, I like the way he puts focus on what was done well and the rewards from that while also paying attention to what wasn't done well. He reminds me of an aunt I had. New nickname - Aunty Brown.

Mad Monday...

 

[Joel-22]

We have unearthed some gems this year and we have exposed the pretenders.

I think we're in a wonderful position to rebuild. People bag Trent Hodkinson and get down about the fact that we've signed him for 3 years but he has proven at the very least he is a very capable defensive halfback who is solid without being spectacular.

2017

1.Jake Mamo
2.Peter Mata'utia
3.Sione Mata'utia
4.Dane Gagai
5.Chanel Mata'utia
6.Jarrod Mullen
7.Trent Hodkinson
8.Sam Mataora
9.Danny Levi
10.Korbin Sims
11.Josh Jackson
12.Mitch Barnett
13.Luke Lewis

14.Brock Lamb
15.Daniel Saifiti
16.Jacob Saifiti
17.Pauli Pauli

Sign:

Luke Lewis & Josh Jackson

Release:

Nathan Ross, Robbie Rochow, James McManus, Kade Snowden, Tariq Sims, Aku Uate

2018

1.Matt Moylan/Tom Trbojevic/James Tedesco
2.Jake Mamo
3.Sione Mata'utia
4.Dane Gagai
5.Chanel Mata'utia
6.Brock Lamb
7.Trent Hodkinson
8.Jacob Saifiti
9.Danny Levi
10.Daniel Saifiti
11.Mitch Barnett
12.Josh Jackson
13.Luke Lewis

14.Jack Cogger
15.Korbin Sims
16.Pauli Pauli
17.Sam Mataora

release:

Peter Mata'utia, Jarrod Mullen, Tyler Randall, Micky Paea, Will Pearsall, Jack Stockwell

sign:

Genuine Fullback (Moylan, Tedesco, Trbojevic)

I think in 2018 with that realistic side we could challenge for a top 4 spot.

 

[slotmachine]

Stopped reading at 1. Jake Mamo

 

[Knight76]

Hodkinson is copping a lot of criticism at the moment from the forum but honestly what is he supposed to do? He is playing in a side of rookies, no stability in the team all year and a revolving door of forwards and 5/8's going on the injury list.

I think you will find once we get our team list sorted with some hirings and firings and maybe getting a break from injuries in 2017 - 2018 he will show he is still a good half.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

To be fair to Hodko the main gripe I think most fans have is that his last tackle options this year have been poor. This is obviously a pretty important part of being a good half in the NRL but for mine his passing, running, defence and especially his goal kicking have all been pretty decent if not better than some of the more fancied halves out there. If he can force a few more drop outs and stop kicking for touch when we're 40m out from the opposition's try line I think the pressure on him will ease up a bit.

 

[aqua_duck]

I was against signing Hodkinson from the start, he's never been more than a solid first grade halfback but he's always had a big, dominant pack to play in front of yet has never been more than another cog in the system. We sign him up for big money and hope for him to be something more than a cog in the system but we put a significantly weaker team around him than he's use to, it defies logic.
I said from the beginning we should have signed Ashley Taylor, Mitch Cornish (as a depth option) and spent the difference on another forward. TBH I don't think the titans would even accept a straight swap of Taylor for Hodkinson despite Hodkinson being on 3X the money

 

[slotmachine]

Zero chance they accept that swap. Cogger put on two nice tries yesterday and outplayed hodko in attack

 

[aqua_duck]

Zero chance they accept that swap. Cogger put on two nice tries yesterday and outplayed hodko in attack

Hodkinson has never been a great playmaker, even during his best year in 2014 he had less try assists than Tyrone Roberts, but hey he was the default NSW halfback at the time so everyone blew their loads at that