Ryan
Journey Man
01. Brett Stewart
02. Paul Stephenson
03. Ashley Alberts
04. Terry Hill
05. Chris Hicks
06. Luke Williamson
07. Micheal Monaghan
08. Brent Kite
09. Chad Randall
10. Jason King
11. Anthony Watmough
12. Steve Menzies
13. Ben Kennedy
14. Shayne Dunley
15. Sam Harris
16. Kylie Leuleuai
17. Mark Bryant
That's the team I think Dessy will name. This is the team I would like:-
01. Brett Stewart
02. Paul Stephenson
03. Ashley Alberts
04. Terry Hill
05. Chris Hicks
06. Michael Witt
07. Micheal Monaghan
08. Brent Kite
09. Luke Williamson
10. Jason King
11. Anthony Watmough
12. Steve Menzies
13. Ben Kennedy
14. Shayne Dunley
15. Sam Harris
16. Kylie Leuleuai
17. Mailangi Styles
Whilst it killed me to drop Bryant (I agree he has been a great stalwart for us. Great defender, great attacker), I think Styles efforts should be rewarded. He looked an absolute class above ANY other player on park in Premier League (except Cuthbertson).
Chad Randall was a difficult one. He played sooo well against The Broncos, but his inconsistency is troubling me. I just think having Willow @ Hooker tightens up the defence in the middle of the ruck.
I included Terry Hill because he looked as though he got to some players at Brooky (Quinn), and we know who will come out on top in this area!! One sore point here though, is with Johns great long passing game, opposition teams need to be mobile out wide.
I included Michael Witt for a few reasons. One being that against a side like Newcastle at the moment, any team with variation will fair a lot better. You will not teams like The Roosters, The Bulldogs, who have Locks / centres playing 5/8 in Flannery & Anasta seem not to trouble Newcastle. The Knights have a simple, hard working mentality. They grind teams down. That's why teams like Souths, who seem not to care, or seem to have an unpredictability about them seem to fare pretty well against The Knights.
Sam Harris would add a bit of flare out wide as a wide running back rower, and with Watmough coming back after many weeks off, I'd expect him to have a lot of time on the park. He could really focus on Carmonts defense, which is very Ashley Alberts in effect. Hit and sometimes stick, sometimes fling off.
To be honest though, there is no hope of Dessy putting in Styles over Bryant, and I have no problem with that. He has been a very, very good player, and deserves his spot. He has good leg speed, and very rarely makes blunders.
The second thing Dessy won't do, is include Witty. That's cool too, because if Randall is anywhere as near effectual as he was against The Broncos, we will be fine. He scooted out od Dummy 1/2 quite a bit, and ate up plenty of metres. A few more of those, and a contract will be around the corner...wherever it may be.
Michael Monaghan is extremely a confidence player, as seen earlier on in the year. You will note that at the end of last year, when the team was travelling well, and had confidence, he rose to another level. At the start of THIS year, he did the same thing. Hopefully, that Broncos victory will instill this mind set back in him. I could definately tell you he wouldn't be getting the usual negativity off everyone this week!!! That alone could mean great things for us.
One OTHER point I wanted to add, and probably the most important. Did anyone else notice the team did just that last weekend against The Broncos....BE A TEAM. They seemed to play for each other. To have faith in each other. That was the most exciting thing for me. Isn't it strange that this happenned the week Manly management came out & said the medi reports about Monnas being offerred elsewhere was RUBBISH. I think it showed him we have faith in his presence in our team in 2006. He can focus on the footy.
That leads me to the last point I wanted to make. That ONE...yes, ONE victory showed us all that Manly can do it. I don't think The Broncos played THAT poorly. They were pretty much full strength (apart from big Civ), and we out enthused them. That then leads me to believe, maybe, just maybe we can win ALL our remaining matches.
There you are Canteen...I said three more...and the Broncos win was the fouth...I was wrong...now I consider our confidence can drive on from here.
Lose against The Knights though. I will be terribly displeased, as it takes away from the hard work the team put in to turn around a very devastating part of our season.
02. Paul Stephenson
03. Ashley Alberts
04. Terry Hill
05. Chris Hicks
06. Luke Williamson
07. Micheal Monaghan
08. Brent Kite
09. Chad Randall
10. Jason King
11. Anthony Watmough
12. Steve Menzies
13. Ben Kennedy
14. Shayne Dunley
15. Sam Harris
16. Kylie Leuleuai
17. Mark Bryant
That's the team I think Dessy will name. This is the team I would like:-
01. Brett Stewart
02. Paul Stephenson
03. Ashley Alberts
04. Terry Hill
05. Chris Hicks
06. Michael Witt
07. Micheal Monaghan
08. Brent Kite
09. Luke Williamson
10. Jason King
11. Anthony Watmough
12. Steve Menzies
13. Ben Kennedy
14. Shayne Dunley
15. Sam Harris
16. Kylie Leuleuai
17. Mailangi Styles
Whilst it killed me to drop Bryant (I agree he has been a great stalwart for us. Great defender, great attacker), I think Styles efforts should be rewarded. He looked an absolute class above ANY other player on park in Premier League (except Cuthbertson).
Chad Randall was a difficult one. He played sooo well against The Broncos, but his inconsistency is troubling me. I just think having Willow @ Hooker tightens up the defence in the middle of the ruck.
I included Terry Hill because he looked as though he got to some players at Brooky (Quinn), and we know who will come out on top in this area!! One sore point here though, is with Johns great long passing game, opposition teams need to be mobile out wide.
I included Michael Witt for a few reasons. One being that against a side like Newcastle at the moment, any team with variation will fair a lot better. You will not teams like The Roosters, The Bulldogs, who have Locks / centres playing 5/8 in Flannery & Anasta seem not to trouble Newcastle. The Knights have a simple, hard working mentality. They grind teams down. That's why teams like Souths, who seem not to care, or seem to have an unpredictability about them seem to fare pretty well against The Knights.
Sam Harris would add a bit of flare out wide as a wide running back rower, and with Watmough coming back after many weeks off, I'd expect him to have a lot of time on the park. He could really focus on Carmonts defense, which is very Ashley Alberts in effect. Hit and sometimes stick, sometimes fling off.
To be honest though, there is no hope of Dessy putting in Styles over Bryant, and I have no problem with that. He has been a very, very good player, and deserves his spot. He has good leg speed, and very rarely makes blunders.
The second thing Dessy won't do, is include Witty. That's cool too, because if Randall is anywhere as near effectual as he was against The Broncos, we will be fine. He scooted out od Dummy 1/2 quite a bit, and ate up plenty of metres. A few more of those, and a contract will be around the corner...wherever it may be.
Michael Monaghan is extremely a confidence player, as seen earlier on in the year. You will note that at the end of last year, when the team was travelling well, and had confidence, he rose to another level. At the start of THIS year, he did the same thing. Hopefully, that Broncos victory will instill this mind set back in him. I could definately tell you he wouldn't be getting the usual negativity off everyone this week!!! That alone could mean great things for us.
One OTHER point I wanted to add, and probably the most important. Did anyone else notice the team did just that last weekend against The Broncos....BE A TEAM. They seemed to play for each other. To have faith in each other. That was the most exciting thing for me. Isn't it strange that this happenned the week Manly management came out & said the medi reports about Monnas being offerred elsewhere was RUBBISH. I think it showed him we have faith in his presence in our team in 2006. He can focus on the footy.
That leads me to the last point I wanted to make. That ONE...yes, ONE victory showed us all that Manly can do it. I don't think The Broncos played THAT poorly. They were pretty much full strength (apart from big Civ), and we out enthused them. That then leads me to believe, maybe, just maybe we can win ALL our remaining matches.
There you are Canteen...I said three more...and the Broncos win was the fouth...I was wrong...now I consider our confidence can drive on from here.
Lose against The Knights though. I will be terribly displeased, as it takes away from the hard work the team put in to turn around a very devastating part of our season.
