We need a halfback...

[Avenger]

KK to hooker and Humble to 6. MK to Wenty.

 

[lingard]

Look...I know there will be no end of bitching and moaning threads, telling players to FOAD etc. There are already ones about KK, Inu, Wright and whoever else. It's always the way after a big loss. But this, for me anyway, is meant to be a rational thread.

Put simply, we need a halfback. We have for a long time. Robson did well there when no one really knew who he was, but he was worked out very quickly this year. We haven't really had one since he who shall not be named to be totally honest. But as it stands, we have no genuine seven, no one to lead us around the park. KK and Mortimer are both very talented, but both show the signs of being very good five-eighths. Neither is a general, neither will lead a side around the park. Both are happier playing off others and injecting themselves into a movement than controlling it. Of course, under one Michael Hagan, we had two players who have shown themselves to be very good halfbacks...they were let go and we now find ourselves having two 6's controlling the side. Trent Hodkinson stings particularly badly; the kid is a star and we could have had him in the seven.

I won't pretend I know the solution. In fact, this season, I don't think there is one. There isn't a genuine 7 in the club, through no fault of the current coach. I do think, though, that a 7 needs to be high on our list of targets and I'd love for us to look at Hodkinson. I know for a fact the kid would be back at Parra after the first two words of an offer...and while I trust Ando for the most part I'm not sure he shares the opinion of our halves that I do...

I certainly see your point; but I disagree. I think right now, what this team needs is a genuine five-eight. I`m going to stick my neck right out here and say that Kris Keating is very over-rated. I think Mortimer is a work in progress and he is showing me enough signs to suggest that he can fill the bill as our half-back - at least for the next two years. He`s not ideal, but he`ll do. But Keating won`t do. I think it`s time for Tom Humble to come into five-eight. I think that would do the trick nicely.

 

[spartan2153]

I certainly see your point; but I disagree. I think right now, what this team needs is a genuine five-eight. I`m going to stick my neck right out here and say that Kris Keating is very over-rated. I think Mortimer is a work in progress and he is showing me enough signs to suggest that he can fill the bill as our half-back - at least for the next two years. He`s not ideal, but he`ll do. But Keating won`t do. I think it`s time for Tom Humble to come into five-eight. I think that would do the trick nicely.

Can i ask what has he shown you enough of for you to think that. Trying hard & tackling for me is not enough. If that was the case ben kusto would be a great halfback

He lacks a passing game. His kicking game is horrible. He has no vision. He is just as much a hog as keating. Please just asking what everyone sees in him apart from effort.

I could play for parra & would bust my gut every game but that would not make me a work in progress

 

[Raudonikis]

I agree with lingard

 

[Raudonikis]

spartan has no idea or doesnt really watch the games

 

[spartan2153]

spartan has no idea or doesnt really watch the games

I asked a question. Tell me what he has to make you think he will be special.

that was not a answer.

I am waiting for someone to tell me anything other than he trys hard.

 

[lingard]

Can i ask what has he shown you enough of for you to think that. Trying hard & tackling for me is not enough. If that was the case ben kusto would be a great halfback

He lacks a passing game. His kicking game is horrible. He has no vision. He is just as much a hog as keating. Please just asking what everyone sees in him apart from effort.

I could play for parra & would bust my gut every game but that would not make me a work in progress

Okay:
1. The honest truth? I think we should not have signed him.
2. But he has a contract for two more years.
3. He has a nice chip kick which sometimes comes off, and he`s not afraid to use it.
4. He does have a nice inside ball and does do some neat passes. Looks like he has the ability to put players through gaps, though I`ll admit he does it rarely.
5. He played a lot better outside Jeff Robson last year than he does now.
6. I think he needs another at least competent half alongside him.
7. I think that playing with someone like Humble would help him greatly.
8. I think he has the ability to go well IF he has someone running or playing off him. At the moment no-one is doing that because we don`t have a five-eight who knows how to play five-eight. Everyone says that Keating is really a five-eight, but I don`t agree.
9. Just the fact that Mortimer and Humble are on two year contracts and Keating hasn`t got one yet, means it makes more sense to invest energy into developing Mortimer rather than Keating. Because, quite frankly, the two of them together are going to go nowhere. I think if we re-sign Keating, it will be the biggest mistake this club has made in a long time. (Unless, of course, we turn him into a hooker.)
10. Lastly, I agree with you. Mortimer won`t ever be anything extra-special. But with time and patience he might end up being a very good foil for a brilliant five-eight. That`s where we should look now.
11. I`ll stick my neck right out here and say that Tom Humble will be a brilliant five-eight. Our next Brett Kenny.