Time for a tough decision

[RABK]

I'm sure he hasn't got much interest at the moment. My point was though that after doing what he did today on the big stage that could change.

I don't think he'll break the bank at all, I'm just hoping he doesn't add another 20-40K to his pricetag because of the last month.

Tbh, he's added 100k to his price tag the last month because he was as good as gone 4 weeks ago. There wasn't going to be a contract. But he had been training hard and he got his opportunity and he's taken it. So now there will be a 100-120k contract that the club will offer.

 

[Johns Magic]

The McManus knockers yet again come flying out of the woodwork. Memories of goldfish, the lot of you. Has been right up there as one of best players this year. If you don't think that, you've been watching the wrong games.

Jimmy will come back once again and show what a good player he is. Don't get me wrong, Kev is going gangbusters, but it is disgraceful how quickly Jim's work and polish gets forgotten once you're presented with something new and shiny.

Firstly, I'd need to see a fair bit more of Kev's defence, especially in a tight game, to be able to make a call on him vs Mcmanus, even when factoring in how much cheaper Kev should be.

Secondly, bar the first month or so McManus hasn't had a particularly happy season. He hasn't done himself the favours you are suggesting. His defence has been the cornerstone of his game in years past and he needs to pick it up again.

 

[Seage]

We played like a busted arse as a team for about two months and even in that stretch there were games Jim was about the only one doing anything. He did all the donkey work our forwards couldn't and wouldn't - and picked up tries to boot. It is now an unfortunate fact of timing that he's dead when the team is on the up.

 

[Johns Magic]

I think McManus's defence was uncharacteristically poor during that period. He was making misreads and missing tackles that really surprised me.

I still think he's a great defender who was going through a rough patch but I can't agree that he was one of our best on field.

 

[perverse]

McManus has been ok at best this year... but to be honest it was during a period where I saw some of the worst football out of every single one of our players. Kev is reaping the benefits of a team that has gained a shitload of confidence and is playing on a completely different level, and good on him. I'm not sure I could drop him at this stage. it's definitely a pleasant headache to have.

 

[Rolla]

The McManus knockers yet again come flying out of the woodwork. Memories of goldfish, the lot of you. Has been right up there as one of best players this year. If you don't think that, you've been watching the wrong games.

Jimmy will come back once again and show what a good player he is. Don't get me wrong, Kev is going gangbusters, but it is disgraceful how quickly Jim's work and polish gets forgotten once you're presented with something new and shiny.

What polish?

He has plenty of mistakes and bonehead plays in him. He as defended poorly (particularly by his standards).

He hasn't been that good this year. Many peoples desired teams this year didn't have him in there because he was pretty poor last year too (and we didn't really have anyone putting their hands up either. The year before that Vuna had everyone excited about an Aku/Vuna one two punch. He was in a league above Jimmy too.

 

[rabble]

think jim's a fantastic player, just don't think he can keep kev out of the team. it speaks volumes that he has been in or around the winning side for the past couple of weeks, also that the nsw cup side has barely won a game without him in it. if we can hold onto him, he will be the furure FB when WB and Boyd pack and leave. snowy's an interest conundrum, had'nt thought about it, zeb's been good in the middle of the field. kidley, kidley, kidley, what to do with you.

 

[Seage]

What polish?

He has plenty of mistakes and bonehead plays in him. He as defended poorly (particularly by his standards).

He hasn't been that good this year. Many peoples desired teams this year didn't have him in there because he was pretty poor last year too (and we didn't really have anyone putting their hands up either. The year before that Vuna had everyone excited about an Aku/Vuna one two punch. He was in a league above Jimmy too.

You'd be lucky to find a guy who makes less mistakes or bonehead plays than him. Baffling you could even claim that. Truly baffling.

 

[Yosh]

I'm gonna have to go with Kev. He looks like a great attacking weapon and looks like he has ticker in D as well.

 

[Newie is God's Country]

Kev's pace makes us so much more potent out wide. Kev's form combined with Gagai's ability to create more room and time on the ball for Aku is a big reason we are scoring plenty of points. Darius can shift the ball left or right at will now. No more left sided bias in attack required. I think the left side bias in attack was picked off by teams. Now we have options both sides out of the sheer pace of our backs on the back of Mullo and Boyd's passing. Boyd is an extra running half with ball in hand. He creates so much width in attack that we are just toying with fringe defences at the moment. Mullo, Tyrone and Boyd are using the full width of the park. Great to watch. Reminds me of the 90's Green machine ironically enough.

 

[Spot On]

Maassive test will come for Kev in defence and under the high ball this week. Hasler will be gunning for him in his game plans to test him fully. This really will be his acid test v Dogs.

Go Kevvy!

 

[Rolla]

You'd be lucky to find a guy who makes less mistakes or bonehead plays than him. Baffling you could even claim that. Truly baffling.

Not saying he has more than most or above average.... But if your biggest asset is safety you need to be safer than he is in my opinion. People with less conservative games will make more mistakes naturally. I don't think Jimmy is safe enough to warrant selection on that alone (and dummy half runs). Not many people are really.

Jimmy makes plenty, His hands are good but not great, he has fumbles in him. He is strong in the air but like the first Canberra game he can get in wrong. Getting bundled into touch on nothing plays and a hospital pass to Aku at the back that could have cost a try. A lot of misreads in D this year too. One springs to mind where he could have taken man or an intercept but forgot to look at what was going on and didn't lift an arm to catch the ball.

You could make a list like this for any winger, but some make up for them better then others... See Aku Uate for instance.

 

[Jono078]

Maassive test will come for Kev in defence and under the high ball this week. Hasler will be gunning for him in his game plans to test him fully. This really will be his acid test v Dogs.

Go Kevvy!

Kev intercepts and leaves Josh Morris for dead.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

I'm really glad that I'm not the knights coach atm as this is going to be a very tough decision. I have always been a Mcmanus fan, but with the way Naiqama is playing, it will be a tough decision. Head coaches and specialised coaches can teach a player how to take the correct options in attack and defence, but something that can't be taught is speed. Naiqama has this in spades and it's a big plus to our side.

I'll be very curious to see what Bennett does when Mcmanus is good to go again.

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

Macmanus is 50 times the player Kev is.

 

[Yosh]

Macmanus is 50 times the player Kev is.

Who the fu*k is mAcmanus? Lol

 

[Johns Magic]

3 Line Break Assists for McKinnon, most by a player today.

We had 11 linebreaks all up as well.

I'm fairly certain he was playing second-row on the left side as opposed to lock where he was named. Edwards shifted into the middle.

Those sort of ballplaying skills are exactly what you want from your second-rowers and it was beautiful to watch. Really ignites the left side in attack that we've been sorely missing. Edwards and co playing there just means the play breaks down every time.

I'd love to see McKinnon start taking on the line himself with a bit more purpose. When he adds that to his game, which I'm sure he will as he gets more confident of himself physically in the top-grade, he'll be a real weapon.

 

[Frances the Mute]

Lot of decisions have been easy to make this year regarding player selections for Wayne - now we have a difficult one.

Kev Naiqama Vs James McManus

Does McManus deserve to walk back in? He's probably been our most solid and consistent player this season. But Kev is looking just as good and scoring trys that McManus would never score. He is a genuine game breaker with speed to burn. I'm loving our backline so much right now, do we mess with it once McManus is good?

Its a massive call, lets see in a months time were Kev's at once opposing teams start marking up on him.

At the moment definately Kev, BUT when Kev starts getting 3 defenders on him at once we'll see what he has.

 

[Joker's Wild]

Im one of Jimmys biggest defenders around here but even I can see the writing on the wall for him if Kev continues to improve. Id like to see Kev tested against a side that utilises slick outside plays (Dogs, Cowboys, Broncos) to really gauge his completion as a FGer. His attack speaks for itself and his kick returns have really stepped up since his 1st game this year, he is not getting dominated as often.

On Jimmy. He has given good service to us but his defencive form this year has been down and also his attcking ability under the high ball. Back in '09 he seemed to always get above his opponent but that has rapidly faded in recent seasons. I think he may be an option to move to hooker given his great work from dummy half, defencive soundness and speed (yes, speed). He has a reputation as a guy who can put in the hard work to learn a position so Id be confident he could work on his weaker areas (passing and direction) to do the job. I reackon some time with NSWCup and in the off season playing hooker may be the ticket

 

[Robbie'o'Davis]

Is kev injury prone?! anyone know this