DCE Report

[susan]

Sunshine Coast 35 to Burleigh 6

Firstly I must say Burleigh were pretty bad BUT

DCE and Seu Seu played in the halves and were a class above everyone.Seu Seu scored a 60 metre individual try and set up one of the best tries I have seen when he ran 30 metres to the 40 metre line and then kicked back on an angle to the corner and hit the winger on the chest on the fly.It was sensational.

DCE

Size- no worries there.has filled out particularly in the legs.probably bigger than the average half.

Mongrel: was defending out wide in second half due to a minor injury and was marking Jordan Atkins(Titans winger) who is a big lad.They had a rolling battle and DCE was in his face and verballing him a lot.I liked it;not over the top but let him know he was there.

Kicking Game: he really kicks purely.his long kicking was sensational and his short kicks came off the boot well although sometimes were a bit strong at times.a natural kicker of the ball.

Organisation: seemed to have plenty of time and generally took the right options although as I said the bears were poor.

Attack: had oodles of time;set up 4 tries and basically was head and shoulders above everyone on the field.Had a bit of a tendency to crab sideways at times but I think that was because he was toying with them and was a bit overconfident.

Defence: not really tested but did pull off a couple of big hits on bigger players

Pace: difficult to work out as he made a lot of half breaks and only one spurt of 30 metres or so.If I had to guess I would say he is nippy without being a speedstar.

Alli in all a he looks a complete footballer and plays with real confidence and a bit of aggression.I can see a real future for the lad.

Other players: Sandow ok,Palu killed them in patches  but looked far too overweight.None of the other forwards are remotely NRL standard,although an islander second rower who looked young had a couple of nice touches.Lussick did not play.Costin is a good coach.They looked really well drilled and hardly made an error all day.

 

[Chip and Chase]

Buhrer play ?? Any chance he showed enough that he can provide cover for Ballin at 9 at some stage ??

Thanks for the report on DCE. Sounds good, but if the opposition were poor it's hard to get a read. At least he sounds promising, I'll wait and see how he goes next year when he's rolling with the big boys.

 

[susan]

buehrer is a tryer but i can see why des does not really have faith in him.

Seu Seu has talent.not sure how you extract it though.

 

[Dan]

I also agree that Sri sry looks great at this level. Certainly more of a half than a hooker.

DCE will be good accompaniment IMO but not the go to guy

 

[Volley]

Sounds a bit promising. Thanks for the appraisal. Shame Lussick didn't get a run. Always rated him from the 20's. Hopefully he develops.

 

[susan]

Dan

based on what i saw today in my opinion DCE is a better player than Seu Seu in most respects already except probably toughness and has the potential to make a far better fist of it than him.

having said that Seu Seu should be in our top 17 instead of Bailey and I would give him 10 or 15 miniutes a game at 5/8 late in a half with Foran moving to lock.there is certianly nothing slow about him and that try today is as good as you will see.He seems to go a lot better in a bit of space rather tight around the ruck.We are a pretty predictable side at the moment and need something a little different.i think we are just idling towards execution in the semis and maybe this might give us a bit of zing like lestrange did.

 

[chrisos]

yea,when we dominated toyota cup the last 2 years it was because dce anf foran were the halves pairing.

 

[Matabele]

We don't need a superstar half back, just a foil for Foran (presuming he doesn't go to the Eels). 

 

[codewana]

I also agree that Sri sry looks great at this level. Certainly more of a half than a hooker.

I think Dan's iPhone just came up with a nickname for Seu Seu! Not sure if Sri Sry rolls off the tongue though

 

[Fluffy]

it seems we are following the exact same sheet of music as last year.

Good thing is that the feedback on DCE is that he is better than TH was at teh same stage.

 

[susan]

on what i saw i wouldnt say necesaarily better than TH at this stage but he is a different player.I would say he definitely has the potential to be a player with more flair than TH.In terms of being physically ready(although he is a decent size) he may take a bit more time to get used to the rigours of first grade than TH who i think everyone agrees is a good tough defensive player.

i would suspect that he may develop into a more dangerous player than TH but may take a bit more time than TH to handle first grade football.

the one caveat on this is that i have only seen the one game.he did totally dominate but burliegh were ordinary at best.

however everyone who watched the game with me(not manly fans) agreed he was a talent.

 

[susan]

in terms of this interminable halfback debate i think mortimer is a walking talking example of how tough it is on young playmakers these days.

on the back of a harlem globetrotters style he looked a worldbeater last year.this year he was targeted physically and struggled badly despite his obvious talent.he also suffered by not having a seasoned 5/8 outside of him.

consider this please when commenting on TH and more importantly DCE next year.They have had and will have a 21 year old foran outside of them at 6 as well(much like mortimer with keating) which will make the job harder.with all the comment on TH and DCE many have forgotten that foran is struggling a little also which is perfectly natural.

as i have said many times except for pearce there hasnt been any young half get the job done satisfactorily in the last few years.it took John Thurston 3 years to get 20 games at halfback fulltime.


Also look at the only non star halves who have won a comp in the last 30 years-perry and pollarmounter-they had lockyer and lamb outside them.probably throw in wing(a kangaroo) and the 04 bulldogs half(on a huge salary) as well ,they had fittler and anasta at 6.

it is a tough gig and only getting tougher with forwards receiving a rest with the interchange.you can get a handle on outside backs and backrowers reasonably quickly.halves need patience so give DCE a go next year before he is consigned to the scrapheap.

 

[Fluffy]

i would still like him to eb given a go this year off the bench so he has the offseason to practice.

 

[susan]

im not sure on that one but it simply doesnt appear to be Dessies style.I think Seu Seu will get a go as utility but I couldnt possible see Des giving a rookie a go against pearce in round 25.

 

[The Who]

Susan, I really enjoy your insightful posts. Keep them up.
I am a huge DCE fan, having watched him in Toyota Cup last season, but I haven;t seen him this year. I know he will make an excellent first grade player, in time, and agree that the step up must be huge.
You made a really good point that I think is under-estimated: the replacement rules, which allow big boppers to play for 10 minutes, run at the smaller players, and then slink off, leaving the halfback spent. Fifita from the Tigers is a good example.
There needs to be a reduction in the replacement rule, or else the elusive smaller players will not be given the room to run as the opposition forwards tire.
Clubs are very quick to axe their halfbacks, and Parra is a perfect example. The Warriors half Maloney was a Parra player, and has shown that he should have been retained. Now Parra are in all sorts of strife, with their 'saviour' Mortimer suffering a form slump, and them trying to buy another half.
I do think that DCE will be a more organised half than TH, and in time will be captain of Manly. But, as I say, I've not seen him this season.

 

[BOZO]

if a player is good enough and tough enough no rules will prevent him in succeeding

 

[susan]

thanks BH.

Might seem strange but the thing i liked most was the bit of mongrel he showed against a big player with NRL experience(atkins).he was right in his face all the second half with a little bit of verbal.my memories of him from U20's ere that he seemed very slight and a bit timid.that isnt the case any more.his talent is obvious but he seems to have a lot of confidence and is a big talker at the

 

[susan]

sorry cut myself off.

...big talker at the QRL level anyway.one of my mates said he as the son of a rocky footballer Troy Evans who was one tough unit.If that is the case(and im not sure)on a genes basis he won't lack ticker .

 

[mickqld]

What has been said here all points to the absolute failings of the NRL to have established a proper 2nd tier competition. You get guys who have to make the step up from NYC or NSW cup or QLD cup when clearly those competitions are a long way short of NRL standard. Then you have a player like Cross who has been cooling his heels on the sideline instead of playing in a reserve grade national comp. that should have older NRL experienced players in it. So many young guys are getting thrown into the deep end and get smashed by seasoned NRL players when they really aren't ready yet.

 

[The Who]

Spot on Mick.