Backup plan for Snake...

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MK Eagle

Bencher
Firstly I will state Snake is not only my favourite Seaeagles player but THE most important player at Manly.
The thing is, his legs seem to be getting worse & quickly.
Anyone who has had major knee injuries will know they effect strength, balance , speed & confidence, plus have a snowball effect on other areas including hamstrings & back(though Knees contributed to his injury this year).
Brett has done a better job than most estimate with the amount of serious injury issues he takes into every game but this has become a major problem.
That GF Snake was 60% at best & while everyone points fingers at where it went wrong, I dare say having Brett at 100% we win regardless.
The problem is even when Snake plays now he is only ever half fit & though we have to milk every last game this champion can muster, its time to look to the future.
Theres Gutherson & Hiku - who will take over???
As we have seen Hiku is a tough reliable type but lacks the creativity, pace & positional play of Stewart. He is whole hearted, strong & good under the high ball.
Gutherson has good pace & vision, the potential is there to create his own name & can adequately fill in on the wing, but maybe a year away to earn the 1 jersey.
There may be a tragic day where this becomes a permanent option by 2014, who do you think is the best option??
 
I would like to see Gutherson get some starts on the wing next year but he's still too raw to be starting at fullback. Happy for Hiku to replace Snake if he gets injured next year.

Perhaps Snake could benefit by trying Wolfy's raw food diet??
 
Agree with SER8. Future wise though, i saw Gutherson as the FB and Hiku moving to the centres.
 
SeaEagleRock8 said:
Brett Stewart is still the best option.

Agree currently, but will he be playing 24/27 games in a season? It's doubtful.

Hiku did a brilliant job, but he's more of a running fullback (although to be fair so were Slater and Snake when they began).

Don't know enough about Gutherson, but he has some big wraps.

I'd like to see Kevin Locke at the Sea Eagles, has he gone anywhere yet? (before anyone writes back saying let's give Snake a go, I'm saying Locke as purely back-up.....not likely, but a good one to have in the bank!)
 
After hobbling back his 1st kick return of the night it was a credit to Brett that he had a big part in setting up tries for taufua and matai. I wish him a trouble free off season full of light work and rehab.
 
Hiku is the first choice backup plan for Snake at the moment. Gutherson was impressive in his first game, and is tall enough to be a good winger or centre.
 
Gutherson is the NSW under 20's fullback. I think he will be the natural selection for snake. Had a great origin too off memory
 
It's only going to be less likely he will go well than more likely he will go well.

He was busted in the GF.

Hope he can do a Minechello, but you can't wait for months at a time waiting for him to come back.
 
Snake may have reached the limit of recuperation :(

After having so many weeks to get that hammy right, it only lasted for one game :(

Feel sorry for these amazingly talented athletes whose body is not able to withstand the training and game time pressures. :angel:

I hope to see him in Manly colours again, but would not be surprised if he chooses early retirement :-/
 
Still recall Snake in 1 of his 1st games vs Sharks - 2 slashing long range tries & thinking - "YES -we have our own Brett Mullins" - well he only got better.
I lean towards Hiku early, he is tough & reliable & though he lacks dash so did Ridge, though he made up for it with silky skills as Hiku uses brute force & he has plenty of it.
Gutherson will most likely start on the wing but potentially exceed Hiku in the 1 imo as he ticks those boxes requiring extra speed in the modern game as in cover defence, support play, getting outside his man, getting to grubbers , long range tries.
Hiku is such a versatile type he could fill in most positions on the field so will prove a valuable member of the team.
As posted in my original thread, Snake is obviously the choice whilst he can drag himself onto the field, fact is this is becoming more limited to the point other options need to be explored.
 
HappilyManly said:
Snake may have reached the limit of recuperation :(

After having so many weeks to get that hammy right, it only lasted for one game :(

Feel sorry for these amazingly talented athletes whose body is not able to withstand the training and game time pressures. :angel:

I hope to see him in Manly colours again, but would not be surprised if he chooses early retirement :-/

Sounding more like Johnny Gibbs as the weeks go on. Career ended by chronic injuries. A matchwinner whenever he could get on the field. Hopefully an off season of modern rehab can set things right.
 
EagleFromMay1967 said:
This thread is ridiculous. Its not 2nd guessing, its more like 5th guessing.
Whats ridiculous is the dinosaur mentality of not looking to the future where there is an obvious area of concern.
How many games did Brett play in 2012 & 2013??
Do you think when he did play, he was fully fit??
Do you really think its a guess he wont be fully fit again & that another injury could sadly end his career??
Also appears the maths classes were shared with a few refs that think 6 is....7.
5th guessing?? Hiku + Gutherson = 2... if you add Snake = 3
 
HappilyManly said:
Snake may have reached the limit of recuperation :(

After having so many weeks to get that hammy right, it only lasted for one game :(

Feel sorry for these amazingly talented athletes whose body is not able to withstand the training and game time pressures. :angel:

I hope to see him in Manly colours again, but would not be surprised if he chooses early retirement :-/
Why would he retire when he's got 3 years to go on a 650k contract? Doesn't sound like a good retirement plan.
He was apparently hugely p*ssed off that Tooves didn't field him for the sharks match. To me that doesn't sound like a guy who's ready to retire at 28/29.
Heal well Snake. We need you.
 
niccipops said:
Why would he retire when he's got 3 years to go on a 650k contract? Doesn't sound like a good retirement plan.
He was apparently hugely p*ssed off that Tooves didn't field him for the sharks match. To me that doesn't sound like a guy who's ready to retire at 28/29.
Heal well Snake. We need you.

Makes no difference how many year's contract Snake has left, every year we see less and less of him on the field. I wasn't suggesting that Snake is mentally spent, just physically.

2v was right not to play him against the Sharks, as after the Rabbids game, Snake was not running freely in the GF :(

Saw it with Gibbsy and Luke Phillips in the past :angel:
 
I understand that Brett will be undergoing a leg transplant (on his dodgiest one) during the off season. He's picking up one that belonged to a bloke called Jake the Peg. Rolf Harris won't be needing it much longer.
 
HappilyManly said:
Makes no difference how many year's contract Snake has left, every year we see less and less of him on the field. I wasn't suggesting that Snake is mentally spent, just physically.

2v was right not to play him against the Sharks, as after the Rabbids game, Snake was not running freely in the GF :(

Saw it with Gibbsy and Luke Phillips in the past :angel:
I get a little defensive of Snake so please don't think I'm arguing. I do understand he's injured a lot and agree he wasn't his fittest in the GF. Are you suggesting that the club might push Snake into retirement as of now? Sounds a bit nuts to me. He was gold on many occasions this year and he has months to heal.
 

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