The Really NSW 2011 thread that will be hated by all!

[hunters]

It's way too early, but should they be in form, or show some semblance of form:

1. Dugan
2. Stewart
3. Gasnier
4. Lewis
5. Hayne

6. Carney
7. Pearce

13. Bird
12. Laffranchi
11. TLL
10. Snowden
9. Gidley
8. Weyman

14. Mannah
15. Tolman/Galloway/Grant/Douglas
16. Watmough/Heighington
17. Anasta/Aubusson/Lawrence/Farah

Sheesh, now we have 4 fullbacks in the team! Will we never learn the pick players in their position idea?

 

[hunters]

LOL!

I couldn't decide. They are all very different types of players, so it's just a matter of team balance and form.


I don't want Gallen anywhere near the side. The amount of tries and games he has cost us over the years outweighs any benefits he brings. Most of the Queensland supporters I know think the best player in Queensland's team is Gallen.

Bird is not that much of a departure! Only difference is that he is crap.

 

[chefman21]

Sheesh, now we have 4 fullbacks in the team! Will we never learn the pick players in their position idea?

Stewart and Hayne have both played rep footy on the wing before. Dugan is the future and ready for Origin. Ennis' service out of dummy half is so slow and he is prone to the odd brain explosion - like that fight last year. Farah is too inconsistent at rep level to be a starting hooker at least for the moment. Gidley was great last game and is just the sort of hooker we need. If we play with Carney and Pearce in the halves then we need quick service out of dummy half. Gidley provides that. He's the ultimate team player, he is fit, tough and a leader.

Bird is crap? He's already got two man of the matches in Origin and one in a Test match. He's one of those players that lift for rep games.

 

[mrpwnd]

Stewart and Hayne have both played rep footy on the wing before. Dugan is the future and ready for Origin. Ennis' service out of dummy half is so slow and he is prone to the odd brain explosion - like that fight last year. Farah is too inconsistent at rep level to be a starting hooker at least for the moment. Gidley was great last game and is just the sort of hooker we need. If we play with Carney and Pearce in the halves then we need quick service out of dummy half. Gidley provides that. He's the ultimate team player, he is fit, tough and a leader.

Bird is crap? He's already got two man of the matches in Origin and one in a Test match. He's one of those players that lift for rep games.

Personally, I'd rather Hayne at fullback. Dugan or even Stewart for that matter have one dimensional play as fullbacks and can have mixed performances based on how well their respective halves are going. Considering how dominant QLD halves are compared to our pathetic selection pool of 7s, I personally believe that Hayne would be the better option at fullback as he adds the extra element as a playmaker as well as a ball runner, especially when you consider our sh*t playmakers since Joey retired from rep footy.

 

[mrpwnd]

Pearce also has a lot more linebreak assists (18) and tries (9) than any of the others who would be in contention.

Luke Walsh has the same amount of linebreak assists as Dave Taylor. :lol:

Maybe play Soward at the 7 with Carney at 6.
Just from watching a few dragons games over 09 and 10, I notice that both him and Hornby interchange between first and second reciever, with Soward calling more shots that a halfback would usually do.
Don't get me wrong, Pearce is a great halfback, but he has an apparent lack of playmaker creativity at rep level.
Soward has consistently been one of the form halves over 2 years, plus just recently helped steer his own side to a premiership victory. There is a lot in Soward that I see which NSW absolutely need, things that I honestly don't think Pearce can offer.

 

[chefman21]

double post...

 

[chefman21]

Personally, I'd rather Hayne at fullback. Dugan or even Stewart for that matter have one dimensional play as fullbacks and can have mixed performances based on how well their respective halves are going. Considering how dominant QLD halves are compared to our pathetic selection pool of 7s, I personally believe that Hayne would be the better option at fullback as he adds the extra element as a playmaker as well as a ball runner, especially when you consider our sh*t playmakers since Joey retired from rep footy.

I thought about Hayne at fullback a fair few times for that very reason. I wasn't sure about Dugan going to the wing. He was always going to be there in my side, and I think he could handle the wing role well, but being a new guy I wanted him in his strongest position for at least the first couple of Origins he plays. Having said that if he was on the wing then I would be very happy. I'm a big, big fan of his. I think he is one of the most courageous players I have seen, especially after that tackle on Dave Taylor. He's great under the high ball, quick and breaks tackles with ease. In attack, I actually thought you could move Hayne and Dugan around for set plays where their styles of play would be most suited. It wouldn't be hard for them to switch on kick returns for example. If you needed a playmaker fullback off a scrum then use Hayne. If you need someone to bust through a line use Dugan. Defensively I'd have Dugan at fullback due to his positional awareness. He's a proper defensive fullback in my opinion.

Stewart was a must for me if he is in form. I think he brings much more to a side than Morris does - even on the wing. Same with a few other wingers. Gordon (sort of) and Williams (definitely) are in that boat. I think his positional awareness is second to none, he is as quick as they come and has good footwork and movement. His support play is fantastic too. I thought about Uate but I want to see him in City-Country first. That kickoff where he lost concentration and had to play catch up worries me a little. You can't do that in Origin. His defensive awareness also worries me, so I want to see how he comes up against a good wing/centre pairing.

Morris for me is a bit one dimensional and goes a bit quiet in games at times. He's a great club player but at rep level he is merely solid. His defence is a worry - although I do have Hayne on the wing - and has very little in his game that makes a team step back and go ummm... He can find the line no question, but when he gets the ball you know what he is going to do. He's gonna head straight for the line, which means he can be bundled into touch quite easily due to momentum and lack of size. He needs to get a dummy and the occasional pass going.

With Hayne on the wing, I've put Lewis next to him. Lewis's defence is great, and when he runs the ball he draws two or even three guys which means that it leaves Hayne wide open. He made his name in the centres and also has the ability to get a good pass away. I like a big, strong, hole-hitting centre, especially when you have a Hayne outside him.

Big fan of Gasnier. I think he is as good as Inglis on his day, and if he shows form then he is in. Otherwise Jennings. I think an in form Gasnier is better than an in form Jennings so I picked Gasnier for obvious reasons. The thing I like about both these guys is they are great runners of the ball. If they can beat their man then it's easy for them to put Stewart away, especially with the amount of pace Stewart has going for him.

As an entirety, I also wanted experience backs in the squad. Gasnier has 26 rep games to his name, Hayne has 16 and Lewis has 14. I think that we have really missed some experienced backs in the team. We've had a lot of talented players who are probably ready, but right at the moment we need to get some experience in the squad in my opinion.

So yeah... That was the whole reasoning behind my backs selection.

 

[mrpwnd]

I thought about Hayne at fullback a fair few times for that very reason. I wasn't sure about Dugan going to the wing. He was always going to be there in my side, and I think he could handle the wing role well, but being a new guy I wanted him in his strongest position for at least the first couple of Origins he plays. Having said that if he was on the wing then I would be very happy. I'm a big, big fan of his. I think he is one of the most courageous players I have seen, especially after that tackle on Dave Taylor. He's great under the high ball, quick and breaks tackles with ease. In attack, I actually thought you could move Hayne and Dugan around for set plays where their styles of play would be most suited. It wouldn't be hard for them to switch on kick returns for example. If you needed a playmaker fullback off a scrum then use Hayne. If you need someone to bust through a line use Dugan. Defensively I'd have Dugan at fullback due to his positional awareness. He's a proper defensive fullback in my opinion.

Stewart was a must for me if he is in form. I think he brings much more to a side than Morris does - even on the wing. Same with a few other wingers. Gordon (sort of) and Williams (definitely) are in that boat. I think his positional awareness is second to none, he is as quick as they come and has good footwork and movement. His support play is fantastic too. I thought about Uate but I want to see him in City-Country first. That kickoff where he lost concentration and had to play catch up worries me a little. You can't do that in Origin. His defensive awareness also worries me, so I want to see how he comes up against a good wing/centre pairing.

Morris for me is a bit one dimensional and goes a bit quiet in games at times. He's a great club player but at rep level he is merely solid. His defence is a worry - although I do have Hayne on the wing - and has very little in his game that makes a team step back and go ummm... He can find the line no question, but when he gets the ball you know what he is going to do. He's gonna head straight for the line, which means he can be bundled into touch quite easily due to momentum and lack of size. He needs to get a dummy and the occasional pass going.

With Hayne on the wing, I've put Lewis next to him. Lewis's defence is great, and when he runs the ball he draws two or even three guys which means that it leaves Hayne wide open. He made his name in the centres and also has the ability to get a good pass away. I like a big, strong, hole-hitting centre, especially when you have a Hayne outside him.

Big fan of Gasnier. I think he is as good as Inglis on his day, and if he shows form then he is in. Otherwise Jennings. I think an in form Gasnier is better than an in form Jennings so I picked Gasnier for obvious reasons. The thing I like about both these guys is they are great runners of the ball. If they can beat their man then it's easy for them to put Stewart away, especially with the amount of pace Stewart has going for him.

As an entirety, I also wanted experience backs in the squad. Gasnier has 26 rep games to his name, Hayne has 16 and Lewis has 14. I think that we have really missed some experienced backs in the team. We've had a lot of talented players who are probably ready, but right at the moment we need to get some experience in the squad in my opinion.

So yeah... That was the whole reasoning behind my backs selection.

Wow, amazing post I pretty agree with all of it.
Definitely a good call on the fullback bit, tbh if Stewart is back to his best I'd have him over Dugan, Dugan's a great talent and probably a stronger defender than Stewart but Stewart brings that pure line-running strike power that was only bested by Minichiello, who incidentally would be first in my side if not for his massive loss in form.
One of the main reasons why i'd have Hayne for fullback would also be because of the recent experience he just got out of game 2 and 3, he was pretty average in game 2, but I think we saw his potential in game 3 where he made some pretty good busts under pressure, but it's good to see such strong and varied propositions at an important position.
Morris is arguably the best finisher which is invaluable at club level, but at Origin level, especially now when we don't have Fittler/Johns, he'll very rarely find that glaring open space on the left side, even in my side he'd struggle to make it in, I reckon he should've been put into CvC this year before getting the origin selection, he really struggled when it wasn't Soward, Hornby and Boyd moving him around. I've always put Kevin Gordon ahead of him, I find Gordon's just as good a finisher and much better at getting involved in general play, excellent on kick returns too imo and faster.
I'm still very 50/50 about Jennings, let's face it, alot of his reputation as a star player came off the back of that 110 metre try he did a while ago. Everyone demanded he be put back in for game 3 as we needed that 'spark' in the centres and he put in another average performance, I'd maybe have a centres pairing of Beau Champion and Gasnier, as a centre I think Champion was second to SKD.

 

[chefman21]

Wow, amazing post I pretty agree with all of it.
Definitely a good call on the fullback bit, tbh if Stewart is back to his best I'd have him over Dugan, Dugan's a great talent and probably a stronger defender than Stewart but Stewart brings that pure line-running strike power that was only bested by Minichiello, who incidentally would be first in my side if not for his massive loss in form.
One of the main reasons why i'd have Hayne for fullback would also be because of the recent experience he just got out of game 2 and 3, he was pretty average in game 2, but I think we saw his potential in game 3 where he made some pretty good busts under pressure, but it's good to see such strong and varied propositions at an important position.
Morris is arguably the best finisher which is invaluable at club level, but at Origin level, especially now when we don't have Fittler/Johns, he'll very rarely find that glaring open space on the left side, even in my side he'd struggle to make it in, I reckon he should've been put into CvC this year before getting the origin selection, he really struggled when it wasn't Soward, Hornby and Boyd moving him around. I've always put Kevin Gordon ahead of him, I find Gordon's just as good a finisher and much better at getting involved in general play, excellent on kick returns too imo and faster.
I'm still very 50/50 about Jennings, let's face it, alot of his reputation as a star player came off the back of that 110 metre try he did a while ago. Everyone demanded he be put back in for game 3 as we needed that 'spark' in the centres and he put in another average performance, I'd maybe have a centres pairing of Beau Champion and Gasnier, as a centre I think Champion was second to SKD.

Thanks!

I can see your point about Stewart. Between the three of them, it was tough to pick who to go with. The thing I like about having the three of them there is that they can alternate during kick returns and you are still going to get quality. I mean who do you kick too? Dugan? No way, he will break tackles all day, is safe under the high ball and will beat you through sheer strength. Stewart? Not a chance. If he is at full speed and hits that hole he is gone. He can still break tackles with ease, has an offload in him and is safe as a house under the high ball. He'll score tries in bucketloads if you let him. Hayne? The worst one to kick to of the lot. Jarrad Hayne, on his day, can take a game away from you.

I look back to 2008 till last series, and some of the wingers haven't been in that category. Turner, Quinn, McManus, Monaghan - they are excellent club players but nothing more. Gordon and Morris - potentially in the Stewart and Hayne category but haven't shown it yet. In other words, with these three there is no good option to kick too. You need more than pure finishers at Origin level. You need players that make the opposition question themselves. In attack it's the same. You give them an inch they will take a mile. Unfortunately, Morris is yet to do that, and Turner and co have been average at best.

I know they are three fullbacks and there is an argument to pick wingers, but I think there is a lack of quality wingers around at the moment - or at least wingers who are experienced which is something we have been lacking desperately. I figured that since there is a lack of experienced wingers around, that there is no problem picking fullbacks who have played on the wing in the past, and who can bring that much more to the team than the current set of wingers. But anyway...

 

[Deleted member 10972]

Too many players out of position IMO...

Keep it simple...

Best NSW fullback - Hayne (Dugan just misses out)

Best NSW wingers - Gordon, Morris (Uate just misses out)

Best NSW centres - Gasnier, Lyon (questionable with Gaz; Lawrence Jennings and Morris can push for spots)

Best NSW five-eighth - Carney (ahead of Soward, Mullen, Campese)

Best NSW halfback - Pearce (ahead of Wallace, Sandow, Walsh)

Best NSW lock - Lewis (ahead of Young)

Best NSW backrowers - Watmough, Gallen, Heighington (ahead of Minichiello, Aubusson, Waterhouse)

Best NSW utility - Bird (ahead of Gidley)

Best NSW props - Weyman, Learoyd-Lahrs, and any two of Grant, Mannah, Snowden, Douglas

 

[adamkungl]

Dugan
Hayne
Lyon
Lawrence
Morris
Carney
Pearce
Weyman
Farah
TLL
Bird
Gallen
Lewis (c)

Snowden
Mannah
Watmough
Aubusson

easy.

 

[campbo]

1. Hayne
2. B.Morris
3. Jennings
4. M.Gordon
5. Uate
6. Carney
7. Pearce
8. Learoyd-Lahrs
9. Farah
10. Weyman
11. Bird
12. Gallen (c)
13. Lewis

14. J.Friend/Idris
15. Galloway
16. Watmough
17. Grant/Mannah

I think Jake Friend could be a bolter. With Pearce and Carney likely in the team, it will help his chances.

 

[Joe's Magpies]

1. Hayne
2. B.Morris
3. Jennings
4. M.Gordon
5. Uate
6. Carney
7. Pearce
8. Learoyd-Lahrs
9. Farah
10. Weyman
11. Bird
12. Gallen (c)
13. Lewis

14. J.Friend/Idris
15. Galloway
16. Watmough
17. Grant/Mannah

I think Jake Friend could be a bolter. With Pearce and Carney likely in the team, it will help his chances.

Jake Friend is a queenslander. So that rules him out.

 

[Deleted member 10972]

Dugan
Hayne
Lyon
Lawrence
Morris
Carney
Pearce
Weyman
Farah
TLL
Bird
Gallen
Lewis (c)

Snowden
Mannah
Watmough
Aubusson

easy.

Yeah or this. Same as my team, except Aubusson in for Heighington (Aubusson has less workrate, but better linebreaking and more mobility), Dugan in for Gordon, and Lawrence in for Gaz.

Most of the spots should be signed and sealed.

Gidley, Waterhouse, Kite, King, White need to go on the scrapheap with Perry, Turner, McManus, Wallace, and whatever other rubbish players NSW have tried and watch flail at this level of footy. Even Ben Creagh isn't worthy - might be good at club level, but slacker in defense, and has never stepped up at Origin level unlike Watmough and Gallen.

1 Hayne - would have been in Australia team if not injured
2 Gordon / Dugan
3 Gasnier / Lawrence
4 Lyon - would have been in Australia team if not injured
5 Morris - incumbent member of Australian team
6 Carney
7 Pearce
8 Weyman - would have been in Australia team if not injured
9 Farah / Ennis
10 Learoyd-Lahrs - incumbent member of Australian team
11 Watmough - incumbent member of Australian team
12 Heighington / Aubusson
13 Lewis - incumbent member of Australian team

14 Bird - built for Origin, twice the player Sh*tley is
15 Gallen - incumbent member of Australian team
16 Mannah / Grant
17 Snowden / Douglas

Everything in bold should be DEFINITE. The best players in every position. If Dugan gets picked, Hayne to wing, but if Gordon gets picked, keep Hayne at fullback.

I would love to see Chris Lawrence, Kevin Gordon and Akuila Uate push for outside back spots. Something gives me the feeling that Josh Morris and Michael Jennings just might lack that extra gear required for Origin footy.

 

[abpanther]

Why the f**k do people keep picking Lyon? The guy has no heart and he's a proven loser at Origin level, we need some young fresh faces.

 

[timka4]

Best NSW halfback - Pearce (ahead of Wallace, Sandow, Walsh)

1. Sandow is QLD
2. Never ever would I consider Walsh as halfback for NSW, I would honestly rather Weyman.

Jarrod Mullen is a better half then Walsh. He actually knows how to pass it instead of just kick it, also has a better running game and defensive game.

 

[abpanther]

I would love to see Chris Lawrence, Kevin Gordon and Akuila Uate push for outside back spots. Something gives me the feeling that Josh Morris and Michael Jennings just might lack that extra gear required for Origin footy.

So apparantely Jennings lacks an extra gear but you wanna pick Lyon and Gasnier?

:lol:

 

[adamkungl]

Lyon is the best centre in NSW imo.
Gasnier's had his time. Cooper just embarassed himself last year.

leaving Lawrence and Jennings, and I rate Lawrence above Jennings, personally.

 

[Deleted member 10972]

So apparantely Jennings lacks an extra gear but you wanna pick Lyon and Gasnier?

:lol:

Typical to find a Panthers fan jumping to his defense.

I don't mean extra gear in terms of speed. It is in terms of playing ability at the highest level. Lyon and Gasnier have the ability to create from nothing, and have shown it at Origin level in the past. Jennings has shown it to some extent at club level, but his lack of size and physical presence has seen him struggle at Origin level.

 

[mxlegend99]

Typical to find a Panthers fan jumping to his defense.

I don't mean extra gear in terms of speed. It is in terms of playing ability at the highest level. Lyon and Gasnier have the ability to create from nothing, and have shown it at Origin level in the past. Jennings has shown it to some extent at club level, but his lack of size and physical presence has seen him struggle at Origin level.

He hasn't played a game fully fit. In Game 3 this season and for most of the regular season he was carrying a knee injury, and last year he got injured in the first half of Game 1 and while he played Game 3 he still wasn't 100%.

This year was his own fault though - he could have skipped the City vs Country game and had his knee surgery, it would have only required him to miss 2 weeks and given the Panthers had the bye that was only one club game. It would have also meant he was at 100% when/if picked for NSW. Instead he decided to play on, despite his knee restricting his pace and acceleration, the things which make him so dangerous.

Hopefully he gets another crack in 2011 and he's fully fit and the halves give him some decent ball. If he still fails to spark anything then there's definitely something up with him at Origin level.