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Trial vs Penrith

Poupou Escobar

Poupou Escobar

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91,179
Paulo got more LBAs than Corey Norman last year too. He got picked in every game by Arthur's, and got picked by Bennett in the All-Stars game.

He's no star but he is a first grader. He allows our halves to play wider when he's on. That's why he's in the top 17 this weekend.

As for Fa'aoso, jersey 14 is free this weekend.
 
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Casper The Ghost

Casper The Ghost

First Grade
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9,924
Poupou Escobar said:
Paulo got more LBAs than Corey Norman last year too. He got picked in every game by Arthur's, and got picked by Bennett in the All-Stars game.

He's no star but he is a first grader. He allows our halves to play wider when he's on. That's why he's in the top 17 this weekend.

As for Fa'aoso, jersey 14 is free this weekend.
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Agreed about this, is one of the benefits he brings to the game. Love the idea of Sandow operating down narrower channels where he can stay focused for 80 minutes on creating cracks rather than a game plan where it allows his head to wonder across the field looking for some type of opportunity and after a few failed attempts goes on a walkabout.

Norman was injured and appeared to be quite restricted for much of the year. The recent 9's games showed much more promise. Only time will tell. I wonder now that Hayne has gone whether Norman and Sandow will excel. Having Hayne as the major point of attack could have f**ked Sandow and Norman in the head quite a bit. I wonder if this happened with Joseph Paulo too? Am very keen to see what transpires over the first 6 rounds.
 
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bartman

bartman

Immortal
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41,022
Hmm... Morgan > Toutai and Folau. Welcome back to first grade, son :D.

I'd imagine Gower and Jr Paulo (and Mannah and Lussick) will get the first round first grade front row spots - they have form on the board from last year Wicks and Fa'aoso have had so much time away from the games.

The pack's definitely stronger this year - Peni and Pauli not even getting a look in, despite Edwards being injured.

Can't see too many changes to that lineup for round one tbh, other than Sandow in for Kelly (if fit), Peats in for De Gois (if fit) and Takairangi in for ether Morgan/Champion (if fit)?
 
natheel

natheel

Coach
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12,137
I'd say that will be close to our Round 1 team maybe with Takairangi (Bench for Seffa) and Sandow for Kelly

Where is Wicks?
 
S

spiderdan

Bench
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3,743
Casper The Ghost said:
He is a back rower and not a half. He does not penetrate the defensive line and crabs across the field a lot. He gets the ball in almost every set so he will achieve a few more LBA's over a season than other back rowers in the comp, generally speaking. With Sandow and Norman on the field, we are WASTING a spot on the bench for a solid punching back rower who can mop up and hurt in defence. You get the drift. :crazy: At worst, we are better off with De Gois on the bench. De Gois will save us more points in defence during each game than Joseph Paulo putting on LBA's that lead to points and would be good enough to cover 6 or 7, with Peats, if Sandow or Norman got injured.
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so were jason smith, Jim dymock, Mateo and sbw. just because someone is a forward, doesn't mean they can't be used as an extra dimension as a ball player in the attacking structure. Paulo is there to do a job that Arthur's sets him. obviously he is doing it or improving enough at it over the time Arthur's has been at the club or he wouldn't keep getting picked.

degois is a specialist dummy half like peats. unless Arthur's can find another role for one or both of them it's a waste of a bench spot to accommodate a specialist position with limited interchange, unless the starting player in that position were to get injured during a game.
 
bartman

bartman

Immortal
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41,022
spiderdan said:
Paulo is there to do a job that Arthur's sets him. obviously he is doing it or improving enough at it over the time Arthur's has been at the club or he wouldn't keep getting picked.
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Yep, we were kind of thinking Arthur might have just been working with the squad he inherited, but he's chosen to resign Seffa, so must see a significant role for him - at least in the first year of the two year contract. We can expect him to be in the top 17 this year.

As a bench option he can cover injury in the halves or (at a stretch) hooker, as well as his usual job in the back row rotation of using his ball playing skills to create some uncertainty and opportunities.

I agree we don't need a 2nd hooker on the bench, as Peats and De Gois can each go 80mins doing pretty much the same thing. Takairangi might be a good choice for the bench (utility value covering backline injury), provided he's prepared to do a regular stint in the second row rotation?
 
yy_cheng

yy_cheng

Coach
Messages
18,734
spiderdan said:
so were jason smith, Jim dymock, Mateo and sbw. just because someone is a forward, doesn't mean they can't be used as an extra dimension as a ball player in the attacking structure. Paulo is there to do a job that Arthur's sets him. obviously he is doing it or improving enough at it over the time Arthur's has been at the club or he wouldn't keep getting picked.

degois is a specialist dummy half like peats. unless Arthur's can find another role for one or both of them it's a waste of a bench spot to accommodate a specialist position with limited interchange, unless the starting player in that position were to get injured during a game.
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Kenny, Fittler, Lewis also played 13 (probably it was #8 in those days).
 
S

spiderdan

Bench
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3,743
yy_cheng said:
Kenny, Fittler, Lewis also played 13 (probably it was #8 in those days).
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yup. the archaic practice of typecasting a player based on a jersey number and the old school position associated with the number is a great way to cement a team to the bottom of the table. defined roles are great (aka structure) but it shouldn't be determined by players' numbers, it should be derived from analyzing player strengths and weaknesses.

If he stays fit, another forward I expect to have good lba numbers is gower.
 
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