We drop Carney... now what?

[Big Tim]

Who would wear the #2?

Only thing I can see as an option is to move Mullen to 5/8 (though I am one of those that supports the "keep Mullen and Joey out of the same game" theory) Kidley to #4 and Carmont to #2

I doubt Carmont's defensive positioning would be that great, so what option is there?

 

[chinorocks]

Pigs will fly before Hagan drops anyone, let alone Carney.

But if by some miracle it happened, I'd bring in Tighe or Salkeld. Would normally say Tighe to centres, Carmont to the wing, but Carmonts defence has been going great and I wouldn't want to jeopardise that by shifting him to the other side of the field. So I'd probably lean to Salkeld because he's a specialist winger.

 

[Big Tim]

I never said that Hagan will drop Carney. I would like to know what everyone would like to see if we didnt have Carney.

I dont think we have too many options.

 

[northey]

if we didn't have carney, maybe give tighe a go and see how he goes

 

[chinorocks]

No your right, we are light on wingers. Carney is a good player. He is just struggling with his defence, particularly his positioning. IMO it wouldn't be a bad idea to give him a spell in premier league, even if its only for one week. Just to send the message that he needs to pick up that aspect of his game. The Cowboys did a similar thing a few weeks ago with Steve Southern, likewise the Storm with Scott Hill.

 

[Big Tim]

if we didn't have carney, maybe give tighe a go and see how he goes

Northey, Tighe played all his juniors at 5/8 or in the centres. In my eyes he is one of the best attacking centres we have. Problem is his defense. It would be a shame seeing him in the first grade team wearing any number but 3 or 4.

 

[northey]

yeah i know.
but it would be good to see how he would go.

 

[Big Tim]

I think we tried it last year. He didnt see enough ball for my liking... it is possible that had to do with the way we played early in the year.

Still think Tighe's skills wil be wasted oon the wing.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

It wont happen but I'd say Salkend as atleast he is a traditional winger and a good finisher.

 

[antonius]

If we did drop Carney (and Hagan wont) if Thaiday is back then Seage would be my choice. Big Tim is right re Tighe, he was very ordinary on the wing last year, he was however our best centre at the end of last season, very handy 5/8th as well.

 

[Big Tim]

Salkeld was a regular first grader when we lost 13 straight right?? Im not blaming him for the losses, but he never really stood out in any of the games he played. He is a solid back-up at best. Not really a regular first grader.

I am still of the belief that Seage will be our winger next year (when Carney drops himself ) but he needs game time there, which means half a season of PL. A player must have a great attitude if they are willing to sacrifice money to learn a new position in PL.

 

[jamesgould]

Salkeld was also the winger when we had our winning streak - played 17 games last year and was our second top tryscorer with 10.

Very professional finisher I reckon, a bit dodgy under the high ball though. Hopefully he gets a shot at some point this year, or gets a regular spot next season. Coz he looked good last year.

 

[Doctor]

Salkeld was also the winger when we had our winning streak - played 17 games last year and was our second top tryscorer with 10.

Very professional finisher I reckon, a bit dodgy under the high ball though. Hopefully he gets a shot at some point this year, or gets a regular spot next season. Coz he looked good last year.

You are right. Buderus was our hooker, and Johns our halfback, and there is no question of their places in the team. I don't think Salkeld can be held accountable for the losses (which is what is implied in singling him out, regardless of the disclaimer). He performed credibly last year. Probably the most interesting thing is that Salkeld isn't getting a run at fullback in Premier League. I want to see more of this Nathan Hinton kid -- if he can keep Seage, Cooper, Salkeld and Young from the fullback spot, he must be good.

Speaking of Young -- is he turning into a Daniel Abraham for our Premier League? Abes started at fullback before moving to Lock... Young is holding down a starting spot in the number 13 jersey each week. His defence is usually pretty solid -- the main disadvantage of his time in the backline has been in inability to find the tryline. Otherwise a pretty handy sort of player.

 

[Big Tim]

Agreed Oswin and James, but even Carney will score 10 tries in 17 games this year.

From watching him in PL, he is a good quality player, but I do think that he will always be that, a good quality back-up. I do not believe that he is a ready built replacement for First Grade.

 

[aqua_duck]

Salkeld is terrible, enough said

 

[Ben]

Knows his way to the tryline and that is probably the only good thing about him. I think he could be of first grade standard if he bulked up a bit.

 

[jamesgould]

Agreed Oswin and James, but even Carney will score 10 tries in 17 games this year.

We weren't racking up 70 points in matches last year though, even when we were on our winning streak! In fact we scored our lowest amount of points since 1996 ...

 

[ArturiusX]

No your right, we are light on wingers. Carney is a good player. He is just struggling with his defence, particularly his positioning. IMO it wouldn't be a bad idea to give him a spell in premier league, even if its only for one week. Just to send the message that he needs to pick up that aspect of his game. The Cowboys did a similar thing a few weeks ago with Steve Southern, likewise the Storm with Scott Hill.

These guys are professional atheletes, I don't think Carney needs to be told he's getting found out in defence. You drop players that need to regain confidence, Carney's having no problems with confidence, he just needs technique... go go knights training staff!

 

[ArturiusX]

Salkeld is an ok winger who doesn't stand out anywhere in particular. Not super quick, but not slow. Not a great tackler, but not bad. Not great under a high ball, but can handle himself.

Not really what the knights need right now.

 

[aqua_duck]

He played poorly on sunday and was completely and utterly outplayed by wests ben yelavich