Who do you think will surprise us in 2012?

[Steve_oneskie]

Yeh i never really got Capewell he started off all right at souths a few years ago as a young boy, but then he never really progressed, i thought the Titans would have been a good fit for him but obvisouly not.

 

[Frank_Grimes]

:shock: Wasn't good enough for a gig at wooden spoon winning Titans and same with a fairly ordinary Souths team. Don't think there are too many unknowns. Will be an impressive coaching job if he is turned around but there are a lot more talented players at the Broncos.

Teo wasn't good enough for an ailing Tigers outfit when he got booted up here, and he's turned himself into a very handy back rower/centre when required.

Look at what Scott Prince has turned into from that same spooner Titans side. It's amazing what some quality coaching and a different club culture can do. Just saying.

 

[Haffa]

Teo wasn't good enough for an ailing Tigers outfit when he got booted up here, and he's turned himself into a very handy back rower/centre when required.

Look at what Scott Prince has turned into from that same spooner Titans side. It's amazing what some quality coaching and a different club culture can do. Just saying.

To be fair to the Tigers Teo pretty much clocked off as soon as it looked like he was headed up here. He looked good before that.

 

[Kiwi]

If Pete's lineup is correct, is Gillett going to be used pretty much exclusively as a front rower this season?

With Hunt playing utility / hooker and Te'o playing second row (will be come on for Glenn or Thaiday??), McGuire and Gillett would have to be the front row pairing to replace Hannant and 70 Cents.

I think you'll find Thaiday will spend time in the front row during matches. Remember Thaiday played alo of minutes last year, will do so again.

 

[Goddy]

I'll tell you who BETTER surprise us, Peter Wallace.

 

[K Mull]

2012 premiers!!

 

[Big Pete]

Judging by Saturday's squad it appears Brendon Gibb has become the leading candidate for this thread. Gibb's 24 and was apart of Griffin's 2008 NYC squad where his versatility allowed him to fill both the backrow and centre positions. However, it wasn't until 2010 for Norths when he took his game to the next level that he truly stood out. He attracted a bit of interest from us & North Queensland before signing with Penrith - a move he saw as a challenge. Unfortunately, his time down in Penrith was injury plagued so he was granted an early release and returned home just as promising Tweed Heads prop Josh Starling departed.

As a player, he reminds me a lot of fellow Norths alumni Matt Gillett in his enthusiasm and could potentially become the 3rd Norths bolter to achieve success in the NRL for the Brisbane Broncos.

 

[PNG Bronco]

Hoffman has announced he wants to audition for the vacant No. 6. Think Hook should give him a shot. He's got a big boot on him plus a great passing game as well.

Beale is wasted on the wing. He did great as Josh's replacement at the back end of the season and will do even better if given the freedom to roam.

With Hoffman at 6 the new line-up would look like:
1. Beale
2. Copley
3. Reed
4. Hodges
5. Yow Yeh
6. Hoffman
7. Wallace

5 Internationals, 1 NSW rep and 1 Emerging QLDer. Certainly will cause headaches for a few teams.

 

[AuDragon]

Hoffman has announced he wants to audition for the vacant No. 6. Think Hook should give him a shot. He's got a big boot on him plus a great passing game as well.

Beale is wasted on the wing. He did great as Josh's replacement at the back end of the season and will do even better if given the freedom to roam.

With Hoffman at 6 the new line-up would look like:
1. Beale
2. Copley
3. Reed
4. Hodges
5. Yow Yeh
6. Hoffman
7. Wallace

5 Internationals, 1 NSW rep and 1 Emerging QLDer. Certainly will cause headaches for a few teams.

Can Hoffman kick? One of the things we will miss most, is Locky's kicking power and accuracy, and of the candidates for the 6, Norman is by far the most suited for this...

 

[Big Pete]

We've been missing Lockyer's kicking power since he did his knee - our long distance kicking game has ranked as one of the worst for a couple of seasons now.

 

[Talanexor]

I rate Gibb, and was disappointed when he signed with Penrith. I've heard he's a poor man's Gillet.

Speaking of, I've read in a few places that Gillet might be a bolter for the 6. Is this just stupid journo speculation, or is he in with a shot?

He's certainly one of the most skillful forwards in the game.

 

[PNG Bronco]

Can Hoffman kick? One of the things we will miss most, is Locky's kicking power and accuracy, and of the candidates for the 6, Norman is by far the most suited for this...

I don't think he'll put his hand up if he wasn't capable. We have our last trial this weekend, wouldn't hurt to give it a shot.

 

[AuDragon]

We've been missing Lockyer's kicking power since he did his knee - our long distance kicking game has ranked as one of the worst for a couple of seasons now.

You really need to check the stats before making such affirmations... :crazy:
Lockyer averaged close to 35 mtrs/kick last season, and is in the top 3 of the NRL. Norman played only a couple of games and emulated Lockyer's long kicking game with an average close to the above.

 

[Big Pete]

Since you love stats. so much here's a far more important one.

Brisbane’s long kicking game let them down at times. In fact, they ranked second last in the NRL when it came to the accuracy of their long kicks (ahead of only Canberra) at just 47.9 per cent accuracy.

http://www.nrl.com/brisbane-broncos-season-team-review/tabid/10874/newsid/65039/default.aspx

Your witness.

 

[AuDragon]

How do you measure kick accuracy?
47.9% accurate of what? Side Line, backline, try area, grass, what? :?

 

[Big Pete]

Of the 194 long kicks that Brisbane produced in 2011, just 93 found open space with 101 hitting the winger or fullback.

http://www.nrl.com/brisbane-broncos-season-team-review/tabid/10874/newsid/65039/default.aspx

 

[AuDragon]

Ah, good one. I noticed how we weren't able to pin the opposition in their 20 most of the time last year. I also noticed how we almost never had field position advantage compared to other teams... :crazy:


I wonder how far the percentage will drop if we don't have someone that can kick long range. :sarcasm:

 

[Big Pete]

A lot of that was to do with our short distance kicking game, which if you had of read the link, would have informed you the Broncos were one of the best exponents of it in the game.

That isn't the same story with the kicking game. Lockyer lost a lot of things when he had that knee reconstruction, his speed, agility and his long distance kicking game. He went from having one of the best boots to just being in the middle of the pack. Norman on the other hand, really impressed me with his boot in a couple of games he played last year. In fact, it was practically the only part of his game that impressed me.

 

[AuDragon]

You and I must have watched different games if you really think Locky's boot, in particular the coming out of trouble long kicks, had no influence on how well we went.

 

[Big Pete]

I suppose the official Rugby League website was too.

Compare Lockyer 2006 to 2008-2011 and then get back to me. Honestly in 2006, Lockyer was easily the best long distance kicker in the game and he had this knack for pulling off those awesome kicks that just pull up short of the dead ball line. His drop kicks were also fantastic and it still s**ts me when people accredit Campese for these 50m+ drop punts when Lockyer was doing it consistently while Campese was a nuffie in reserve grade.

By the by, what's your source for the first stat.? It's not that I'm skeptical, just interested.