Why is Robson a halfback??

[yy_cheng]

The thing is is that I too agree that Robbo would not bring us a grand final.

The dilemma though is that he'll probably start and if we have a good run, DA would not change the team.

Come the finals again, same team but Finals especially the GF is a different ball game and we will fail again.

However, we don't have a PROVEN alternative yet.


I think Mortz plays like TERRY LAMB with a touch of Steve mortimer especially his runs and his around the legs defense.

He could play 7 but it would not be his best position.


Mortz, although a rookie, should've had the presence of mine to push Lowrie out of the way and say this is my ball during the GF.

We do not have a player that does that.


Hayne yes but he picks and chooses.
Mateo, yes when he was 5/8th but not at lock.

Someone needs to steer the ship not play off the cuff.

 

[yy_cheng]

Reddy could be turned into a wide running secondrower. He still makes too many mistakes at centre, defensively. He got hooked at centre in the GF and was replaced there by Ben Smith.

Why? His hitups aren't that good and we have a lot of backrowers:

Shack,
Smith,
Hindy,
Mateo

and all three could probably play 80mins w/o an interchange.

Furthermore, when MK comes on, he also plays in the backrow.

Lastly, miss tip is that FFMM will play prop first and then play wide ala Creagh in his 2nd stint.

It worked a treat especially now that we have Poore.

In his 2nd stint or in the 2nd half, I'd be we will see Poore, Caylo and Fui on the field at the same time.

 

[yy_cheng]

Mateo suffered at 5/8 because he didn't have a creative halfback inside him originally and was pretty much the go to man anyway. With Hayne in decent form and Mortimer playing well inside him there is little pressure on him to be the main playmaker. He can play whats in front of him from either position as Hayne and Mortimer are the ones running the show anyway.

Shackleton can play at lock.

What part of his game makes you think that Mortimer isn't a halfback? Is it his passing game, running game or his kicking game? Personally I think he is above average in all three areas and has more than enough smarts to make the seven jersey his for a long time. Keating is less a halfback than Mortimer is.

The game we currently play where the forwards play with the halves rather than in front negates the need for a true halfback outside of a strong kicking game anyway.

Mortz has the skills no doubt (reminds me of Pearce). Lacks the experience obviously but he needs to take charge. He needs to know that he is the one with the smarts and VISION and he should also have rank over Hayne. If he thinks that it's a better play for Hayne, then let him take it. If not, he should take it.

VISION or being able to see what will unfold (probability wise) in the next couple of plays is the key.

 

[yosemite]

For all those who said Robbo will not bring us a Grand Final have overlooked the fact that a half like Thurston did not bring the Cowboys one or even close. The worlds apparent best player.

Structure & cohesion within a team is far more important than any one player ( look at Melb this year). Each of the 13 have to be specific in the job they do. Robson will fill the half role with a calm head & prudent decision making as opposed to flair and brilliance.We have Mortimer, Hayne & Mateo to go all Hollywood in and around the ruck areas.


The ying and the yang is very important.

 

[The Colonel]

Mortz has the skills no doubt (reminds me of Pearce). Lacks the experience obviously but he needs to take charge. He needs to know that he is the one with the smarts and VISION and he should also have rank over Hayne. If he thinks that it's a better play for Hayne, then let him take it. If not, he should take it.

VISION or being able to see what will unfold (probability wise) in the next couple of plays is the key.

It all comes with time...... he has after all played not quite half a season in the top grade. I'm looking forward to the fact he will have had a full off season with the top squad next year.

 

[yy_cheng]

It all comes with time...... he has after all played not quite half a season in the top grade. I'm looking forward to the fact he will have had a full off season with the top squad next year.

I agree with you. He has the makings of.

But I guess he didn't really play halfback in his junior years so alot of the simple things of being a halfback, needs time to click.

Could johns help, I hope so.


Although Jarryd plays off the cuff. He does have vision. When not pressured as being the ONLY playmaker in the GF, he has actually made some really good decisions with Vision. Albeit the vision comes off the cuff if that makes sense. Some of his kicks to Burt and his passes to his wingers are signs of this.


Lastly, the technician has the brains and possibly plays in his head that could suit the 7 role. But does he have the football skills of a 7?

 

[The Colonel]

You are certainly keen on turning outside backs into halves aren't you yy. :lol:

 

[yy_cheng]

You are certainly keen on turning outside backs into halves aren't you yy. :lol:

Hah, it appears that way. But not really, it's just the attributes that I think is required in a half.

I am all for this off the cuff plays. All this 2nd phase play as it is extremely beneficial to the team as it tires the defense and it shows that our guys are sharp. Always expecting the ball.

Whereas in the Hages era and earlier this year, they were not sharp and dropped the ball all the time. Happened with the best of them in Caylo and Hindy too.

But it's basically the same set of players.

Hages approach was to play safety one out to prevent the dropsy.
DA's approach was pride in the jersey, do your job 100% and not let your fellow man down.

Hmmmmm.

But in saying that off the cuff is good, we still need a dominant half who can SEE and EXECUTE. CRONK did this really well in the GF.

He can do nothing and watch them play off the cuff. But when he senses it is not working, he WILL STEP IN and take control.

Hayne and Burt does this well. Hayne would deliberately kick it dead or kick to touch to give his guys a break. Burt have shown this too which is good and all but I still think it is the halfback's job.

Lastly, we need a 100% better kicking game.


For mine, Tim Smith had all these attributes that I like to see in a half. He would call the plays, he would kick for the seagulls, he would regain possesion by trapping the opposition in the in goal, he would yell at his players to make the next play and where to stand as he was thinking 2-3 plays ahead.

He played 7 all his life so he knows the job of a 7 instead of being told what a 7 should do (in the case of KK and Mortz).


However, Timmy lacks all the stuff of Mortz and Robson. Good defense, toughness, does not go MIA (this however does apply to M and R as well only due to the fact that they don't have full command yet).

And it was one reason I would've love to have seen Smith sign and play under DA. I would've loved him playing at wenty and bide his call up.

Yeah he played crap for Wigan but from what I have read Noble is like another Hages.

DA is sooo different and with Sharp also coming, I reckon they could've made Tim a more complete player.

 

[bartman]

The traditional role of halfback is changing, just like the traditional role of five eighth has changed over the years, and centres have changed to left and right instead of inside and outside.

In some teams, halfbacks are no longer the focal playmakers, but just serve as ball distributors, enabling a coach to have a natural playmaker to use their creativity out wider from the ruck.

So long as the players playing in the selected positions follow the game plan, and allow each other to play their roles successfully, I'm not bothered who wears 6, 7, 9, 1, or whatever... it shouldn't be so strictly traditional these days, and good coaching will mean that a team's attack is not too predictable either.

PS. I actually believe KK will be first choice halfback next season, Morts in the #6, MK at #9, and maybe Robson starting the year in #14, ahead of Mitchell. Then we just let the season (and the random luck of injuries) take its course.

 

[yy_cheng]

The traditional role of halfback is changing, just like the traditional role of five eighth has changed over the years, and centres have changed to left and right instead of inside and outside.

In some teams, halfbacks are no longer the focal playmakers, but just serve as ball distributors, enabling a coach to have a natural playmaker to use their creativity out wider from the ruck.

So long as the players playing in the selected positions follow the game plan, and allow each other to play their roles successfully, I'm not bothered who wears 6, 7, 9, 1, or whatever... it shouldn't be so strictly traditional these days, and good coaching will mean that a team's attack is not too predictable either.

PS. I actually believe KK will be first choice halfback next season, Morts in the #6, MK at #9, and maybe Robson starting the year in #14, ahead of Mitchell. Then we just let the season (and the random luck of injuries) take its course.

That I do agree with Bart. Share the skills rather than rely on 1 man. But someone needs to take control and ensure that the game plan is executed and play Mr fixit to steer it back on the game plan. This need not be the captain BTW so it is not a dig at Caylo. Nowadays, it should be 6 or 7 or 1. 9 is too close to the ruck to see things from a far. To micro instead of Macro.

Furthermore, if the game plan is failing, ala kick to turner, someone has to take control of trying to kick it to the other winger or Slater himself.

You could say the coach can make these decisions but some has to execute too.

 

[bartman]

I think the confidence in execution will be improved next season, following the experiences of this season. We were all a little overawed in the GF, and Morts, Robson, Mateo, Keating, and Hayne will be better placed to take charge when needed next year.

For all those who said Robbo will not bring us a Grand Final have overlooked the fact that a half like Thurston did not bring the Cowboys one or even close. The worlds apparent best player.

Structure & cohesion within a team is far more important than any one player ( look at Melb this year). Each of the 13 have to be specific in the job they do. Robson will fill the half role with a calm head & prudent decision making as opposed to flair and brilliance.We have Mortimer, Hayne & Mateo to go all Hollywood in and around the ruck areas.


The ying and the yang is very important.

Very true. The structure and balance is more important than having a talented/skilled player like Thurston, who doesn't get results either.

 

[Mr Angry]

Well I am most certainly in the Daniel Mortimer for halfback group.

He has a great kicking game that will only get better, with maturity and strength.

He is a great reader of the game.

He will have no problem yapping at his forwards and organising them.

He will work well with the dummy half and his support up the middle is already there.

Humble will be a great foil for him too.

Mateo @ lock offloading to either Morts, Humble or Hayne will be very dangerous.

 

[Delboy]

Robson is not a good 7, he basically played catch and pass and defended the right hand side. KK is much more in the role of a real half, think that Robson was originally signed as a hooker/half to fill in when needed and bring players some stability at Wenty. Althpough I didn't see a lot of Wenty games, I understand he did not really stand out there, and he got a chance that paid off when Kris went down and we got on a roll, good luck to him but I don't think he was a priority signing

Kevin Kingston was much more a reason why we went well, trouble was the structure of his contract appears to have made his resigning very difficult , as he is not a $110k plus a year player, and possibly Penrith had a need and the space to pay that.

I believe Robson will play at Wenty for the majority of the year and that is why he was signed , to back up players like KK and possible Humble

 

[zipzip man]

Guaranteed lads... at some stage next year Morts will be our long term number 7. I think this year was he's apprenticeship. DA didn't want to burden him with it this year as we were going pretty ordinary and it just clicked and Robbo worked OK for our run and he didn't wanna change a winning team, but after the GF it shows we needed a number 7 which we just didn't have. Morts will come on next year and he's already showed he's got the right stuff.

Do you think there might be a voice in DA's head at maybe giving Hayne another crack at 6..? Burt back to 1 if I were Inu I'd be hoping so because that's the only way i can find a spot for him in the side.

 

[TheParraboy]

With a lot of hard work and dedication, I think Robson can reach he heights of Stu Glabraith imo.

 

[Parra Steve]

Oh oh i know why he's a halfback, he's too small to be a forward....

 

[zipzip man]

With a lot of hard work and dedication, I think Robson can reach he heights of Stu Glabraith imo.

lol gotta go with that :lol:

 

[lucablight]

If we play Mateo at five eighth do we have enough backrowers to fill in the rest of the spots?

 

[yy_cheng]

If we play Mateo at five eighth do we have enough backrowers to fill in the rest of the spots?

I don;t think that will happen unless lots of injuries.

We have Mortz, Robson, KK. Mateo and Humble as possible backups with Hayne.

If it does happen, we have

Smith, Shack, Hindy. Don't know about Shack but the other 2 can play 80mins.

As in other threads, I reckon FFMM will take a 2nd row spot during games when FFMM, Poore and Caylo will be on the field at the same time.

Furthermore, if the 14 goes good when put on, MK could also take a 2nd row spot like when Kingston was having a wowser.

So 2nd row for mine is not that big an issue.


Do you think DA and Sharp can change Wellar's attitude? It is very EARLY FUI like and dare I say it Hayne and INU like earlier on in the year.

Hayne should take Wellar to Fiji.

 

[Kornstar]

Wow, I can't believe how many people don't rate kk!

I watched him come through and he has that star quality imo, moreso than Mortz, going on their juniors form. I must admit that Mortimer stepped up better than I ever thought he would!

I don't think it really matters what number Mortz or KK have on their backs, with our style their combined supports games will only benefit us.

They are both clever little players who are quick off the mark and will capitalize on our offloads.