The Dureau/Mullen combination

[Jobdog]

Scotty and Mullo worked much better together than what Bails and Mullo would have. As has been said on here before, it was quite refreshing to see the ball moving from sideline to sideline. However, in saying that, we need to realise that in order to go sideways, you need to be making metres up the middle. That will come and lets not forget that it was only round 1 and there is a lot of improvement left in this side.

The first half was quite ordinary I thought. The kicking game from Mullo and Scotty (obviously due to them being rusty) was nothing short of disgraceful. It was 100% better in the second half, where the kicks on the fourth and fifth tackles were fairly regularly hitting the ground.

 

[Big Tim]

Scotty and Mullo worked much better together than what Bails and Mullo would have. As has been said on here before, it was quite refreshing to see the ball moving from sideline to sideline. However, in saying that, we need to realise that in order to go sideways, you need to be making metres up the middle. That will come and lets not forget that it was only round 1 and there is a lot of improvement left in this side.

Faoso and Wicks changed the game for us.

Who would have thought that 2 "unwanted" players would turn the first game for us? Brian Smith.

I felt Scottie was pushing to much too early. He settled and played alot better. Only 2 cringe moments.... the kick in the first half towards the post when we had a 2 man overlap, and the kick 10 out on the 3rd. But its experience and it didnt cost us anything.

Good game IMO.

 

[Bicey_18]

We will take some time to gel... and that showed last night. We did fairly well considering it was our first game of the season with all the new blokes. Wicks and Fa'aso killed it off the bench no doubt.. When this side gels we will be pretty hard to beat.. good signs for the club

 

[antonius]

It was definately the way to go. A genuine halfback and a genuine 5/8th. It will be hard to raise an argument to change back to fill in 5/8th, and shift Mullo. Dureau has certainly brushed up on his defence, a lot more commited than Walshy showed last year.

 

[Yosh]

Scotty wasn't THAT good... Acutally quite dissapointed... I can obviously see that he does have a pretty good set of skills but I really felt that he was playing everything by the spur of the moment and had some brain explosions...

As people mentioned above we need more off ball movment where forwards or even our outside backs start making in and out runs around the ball player confusing the other team... I think I saw 2 inside balls and they were both to Kids, and he was the only one running so it was pretty easy to spot out. We looked flat on offence, however due to the individual brilliance of some of our players we won. I think our players were better but as a team we didnt look that great.

HOWEVER, Scotty and Mullen is definately the future halves of our team.

Houston was gun I must say, but only half as gun as WICKS that guy was massive, he killed like half their team with some bullocking runs and some hardcore defence up the middle with Fao'so (however you spell his name)... Starting props were okay, but when they came on WAOWZERS they were gun, cant wait till Sarge and Cross comes back, we will have quite a dominating pack once again!!!

Hmm... got a bit carried away I admit but yeah good year I feel this year!!!

 

[Apey]

Didn't have my eye on Dureau much, but I thought Mullen played great.

The amount of kicks we did as a 3rd - 5th tackle option annoyed the sh*t out of me at the start of the game, but it improved.

 

[Bicey_18]

A reason why we didnt look great is because its round 1 and we are a fairly new side... of course we are going to have a few teething problems at the start of the year so any wins we can get on the board early is a huge bonus.. I believe we will hit our straps mid season. It all takes time we just have to patient.. it will come along fine.

A lil side note.. man there are some angry Raiders fans about, saying they lost to a bunch of no names, wooden spoon favorites and a bad ref? lol was a good read in the Raiders forum..

 

[Big Tim]

Scotty wasn't THAT good... Acutally quite dissapointed... I can obviously see that he does have a pretty good set of skills but I really felt that he was playing everything by the spur of the moment and had some brain explosions...

It was his 2nd game.... the great Andrew Johns was well known for his "brain explosions" when he was young.

It is the young guy mentality, you got a shot in game 1 and you want to prove to everyone you are the man by doing something amazing.

IMO his preformance wasnt the key factor.... it was Mullens performance at 2nd receiver that proves we need a genuine 7... no stop gap Hilder or Bailey in the halves from now on.

 

[Pika]

Scotty wasn't THAT good... Acutally quite dissapointed... I can obviously see that he does have a pretty good set of skills but I really felt that he was playing everything by the spur of the moment and had some brain explosions...

As people mentioned above we need more off ball movment where forwards or even our outside backs start making in and out runs around the ball player confusing the other team... I think I saw 2 inside balls and they were both to Kids, and he was the only one running so it was pretty easy to spot out. We looked flat on offence, however due to the individual brilliance of some of our players we won. I think our players were better but as a team we didnt look that great.

HOWEVER, Scotty and Mullen is definately the future halves of our team.

Houston was gun I must say, but only half as gun as WICKS that guy was massive, he killed like half their team with some bullocking runs and some hardcore defence up the middle with Fao'so (however you spell his name)... Starting props were okay, but when they came on WAOWZERS they were gun, cant wait till Sarge and Cross comes back, we will have quite a dominating pack once again!!!

Hmm... got a bit carried away I admit but yeah good year I feel this year!!!

What brain explosions?

A short side kick out on the full and a completely muffed grubber early.

I thoguht he played a very restrained game. Passing mostly. His distribution and selection was outstanding.

Defence was great as well.

 

[Karmawave]

Scotty wasn't THAT good... Acutally quite dissapointed... I can obviously see that he does have a pretty good set of skill

Agree. The reality is, he would not play first grade in any other team in the competition.

I know he has fans on here, but lets not get carried away - he is an adequate short term solution and only highlights our problems in the halves.

If all we need is a bloke to organise and pass the ball out to Mullen ( and hopefully leave his long kicking game back in the dressing sheds ), then he will do.

 

[Rusty]

Mullen's work in defence was impressive. There were some breaks made by the Raiders and Mullen was quick in cover defence. It's evident that he's been working hard on his defence in the off season.

 

[KniGhTs BaTTLeR]

Agree. The reality is, he would not play first grade in any other team in the competition.

I know he has fans on here, but lets not get carried away - he is an adequate short term solution and only highlights our problems in the halves.

If all we need is a bloke to organise and pass the ball out to Mullen ( and hopefully leave his long kicking game back in the dressing sheds ), then he will do.

What more did you want from him? First game of the season, he played one game before that with one of the sh*ttest sides we have ever put on a footy field. He was a little bit kick happy but his directional plays and passing were good. If you want instant stardum from him after just one round then your a hard taskmasker my friend.

 

[Pika]

Agree. The reality is, he would not play first grade in any other team in the competition.

I know he has fans on here, but lets not get carried away - he is an adequate short term solution and only highlights our problems in the halves.

If all we need is a bloke to organise and pass the ball out to Mullen ( and hopefully leave his long kicking game back in the dressing sheds ), then he will do.

Mate, you are going to end up the size of a house with statements like these.

Have you not eaten enough humble pie yet?

Only a week ago he was our third string choice and would not play in the first month, that pie you ate was huge.

There are a lot of Scott fans on this site, I am not really one of them. He has a long way to go, but I can see the potential.

To be honest, you can forgive his fans for nut hugging him a bit, but you need to start following the game objectively or you will have egg on your face week in week out.

Scotts game was restrained and solid, and his long kicking was outstanding. From the kicking coach and Brian down he is considered the best long kicker in the Club.

 

[Karmawave]

Mate, you are going to end up the size of a house with statements like these.

Have you not eaten enough humble pie yet?


There are a lot of Scott fans on this site, I am not really one of them. He has a long way to go, but I can see the potential.

To be honest, you can forgive his fans for nut hugging him a bit, but you need to start following the game objectively or you will have egg on your face week in week out.

Scotts game was restrained and solid, and his long kicking was outstanding. From the kicking coach and Brian down he is considered the best long kicker in the Club.

Pika, if Luke Walsh had a proper offseason and was not impacted by illness and was able to bulk up a little, we all know Scott Dureau would not be in this team. Whether we agree with that or not is irrelevant, the Knights showed their hand by the contracts they gave Walsh/Dureau.

I am not taking ANYTHING away from how he played last night - I am of the belief he doesn't get much better than he played last night.

I did not say he didn't play well.

I said he was solid - but lets not get carried away.

He kicked down the throat of the fullback on 3 occasions, and our long kicking game was best served when Mullen drove the kicks down into the corner. On the training paddock he may be the best long kicker in the club, but last night Mullen outshone him. He kicked out on the full badly at one stage, and deadset bombed a try when grubbering behind the line ( on the 3rd tackle! ) when we had a massive overlap.

The bloke is already 21.

I don't think I'll be putting on much weight this year waiting for Scott Dureau to become a first grade standout. It just isn't going to happen.

I did not say he was not solid - he did his job!

I am stating though, based on his ability - that he would not play first grade in any other team in the competition. Nobody with an unbiased view can argue this.

My problem is Pika, is that I AM objective, and thats why it pees people off on here when I try and add a dose of reality by saying he did his job, but is far from a standout first grade footballer.

He never will be. I maintain that stance.

And the objectiveness of other fans in here needs to recognise in that the Knights signed Luke Walsh for 3 years. 3 years.

Halfbacks that are not seen as a first grader do not get 3 year contracts.

Anyone with any idea or common sense, knows the Luke Walsh is not fully fit to play first grade, had a disrupted offseason, had the French offer come in, and needs to get back to full fitness soon if he is to play a part in first grade soon.

As it stands Scott Dureau has the inside running!

Look, I hope he wins us games - but I don't like seeing people get carried away about how good our halves are, when we were made to look good by a terrible Canberra team, and a few opportune ( some might say lucky ) tries.

Dureaus defence was excellent I have to say - as was Mullens cover defence! Mullen shut down a couple of potential big breaks with great commitment and effort in cover.

 

[Big Tim]

There is no point.... Karma is Brian Smith. He seems to know exactly what Brian is thinking all the time.

"Scott will not play first grade"

I am gonna look for that ignore button.

 

[Karmawave]

There is no point.... Karma is Brian Smith. He seems to know exactly what Brian is thinking all the time.

"Scott will not play first grade"

I am gonna look for that ignore button.

Its not about being Brian Smith. :roll: What a stupid response. And NOT ONCE did I ever say Scott Dureau would not play first grade - grow up. I said lets wait until the end of the year and see who plays more first grade - Dureau or Walsh. I stick by that statement. Obviously Walsh will not be playing first grade anytime soon because Scott Dureau has the INSIDE running because of Walsh injury setbacks during the offseason. So now because a player is injured I'm going to be wrong after one bloody game? Unbelievable.

Its common f*cking sense. If the Knights deemed Luke Walsh good enough to get a 3 year contract, why do they only give Dureau a one year one? Can anyone explain this.

Its not speculation its merely fact. Anyway, whats the point in going over this again.

Who here is going to be that ridiculously stupid and name another team in the entire NRL that Scott Dureau would be first selected halfback in.

Of course Dureau has ability or he wouldnt even be with the Knights ( then again Joel Burraston is )...
But thats not the point is it?

The point Ive been trying to make all along is Scott Dureau ( in my opinion! ) is not a very good first grade halfback.

Adequate, but nothing special.

I hope you find the ignore button Tim, then I wouldn't have to reply to stupid people taking me out of context.

 

[~knights~]

Its common f*cking sense. If the Knights deemed Luke Walsh good enough to get a 3 year contract, why do they only give Dureau a one year one? Can anyone explain this.


.

Maybe Dureau has improved a hell of alot since his contract signing and been working hard at training

 

[KempoKnight]

karma i think the problem people have with you in this thread is that you a writing as if the bloke should be f**king sensational in his 2nd first grade game. Give the bloke a chance he HAS the potential to be an awsome half but he needs to use that potential.

 

[Karmawave]

Maybe Dureau has improved a hell of alot since his contract signing and been working hard at training

He has! And not once did I ever deny he doesnt have talent. He has busted his ass at training and good on him!

He played WELL last night - adequate and in my opinion, within the realms of his overall ability.

Its just so bloody annoying when people put the bloke up on a pedestal when he wouldnt play in the 7 in any other NRL team.

Jesus Christ people here take things way out of context.

 

[Karmawave]

karma i think the problem people have with you in this thread is that you a writing as if the bloke should be f**king sensational in his 2nd first grade game. Give the bloke a chance he HAS the potential to be an awsome half but he needs to use that potential.

No, see above mate, its merely because I get sick of people writing that he IS sensational.

He is mediocre, adequate, solid.

And thats great, because I want to see the team win as much as the next bloke.

I think people here think I wish bad upon the bloke.

Mate I wouldnt care if Scott Dureau played in the 7 all year if it means we win a comp.

Im not here hoping he drops a ball and gets dropped for Luke Walsh. Thats not what Im about.

While we are winning, Scott Dureau can play in the 7 as long as he wants.

Lets just keep it a bit real in here though about wrapping the bloke like he is some potential bloody superstar.