no excuses

[susan ridgepipe]

after the bye in 2 weeks we have a great draw.toughest game is dragons away.

alos have storm at home (by then the mongrels will have absolutely nothing driving them with origin over)and tigers at bluetongue.

other than that we play raiders.warriors,roosters,dogs,sharks,knights,notably with the raiders,warriors and dogs games at home( they are always tough away) and tigers at bluetongue(not the liechardt graveyard)

looking at that we have no excuses at all,assuming a reasonable run with injuries,for not making top four.couldnt be a whole lot easier even with the old cliche that no game is easy.

 

[The Wheel]

The way we have played over the last few weeks Sue I will be happy to finish in 8th - any higher than that is a bonus

 

[Zep]

agreed wheel. But i think reasonably we need top 4 to make it to week 2 of the finals.

 

[Canteen Worker]

Sue is right. No excuses!! Hopefully we can get a good four months out of Hodkinson now that he has contracts finalised.

 

[Dan]

we will come good, we are just a team lacking a leader and it is clear King is no captain, neither is Glenn Stewart.

We need a leader and Jamie Lyon is that leader, it is clear that he knows how to get the team going and that his presence lifts the team.

Once he is back on the field and fit, we will be a different unit.

I think it may also be time to give up on Farrar at the back and give young Hoppa a go there since he has shown he can handle the pace, we may as well put a fullback in the fullback position

 

[DSM5]

Agreed Dan, Hoppa is wasted on the wing or centre.  Put him at fullback and Farrar in the centres if either Jamie or Stevie are out.  The 'captain' thing is strange.  I would have thought that there would be someone other than Lyon to give the team some direction.  It appears not.  Strange. 

 

[Dan]

Agreed Dan, Hoppa is wasted on the wing or centre.  Put him at fullback and Farrar in the centres if either Jamie or Stevie are out.  The 'captain' thing is strange.  I would have thought that there would be someone other than Lyon to give the team some direction.  It appears not.  Strange. 

I said it last year when we were talking about captains, Lyon was the only one with the right credentials and personality traits.

I say give the captaincy to Ballin he would probably make a  good fist of it

 

[Chip and Chase]

I think it may also be time to give up on Farrar at the back and give young Hoppa a go there since he has shown he can handle the pace, we may as well put a fullback in the fullback position

Gee here I was thinking that Farrar was going alright, save for a few dodgy moments under the high ball. I'm not sure that he is the problem, nor do I think that putting Hoppa there is going to make any appreciable difference. I think Farrar has been a pretty good link out wide and he is streets ahead of what Robbo was offering there last year.

 

[DSM5]

C&C Farrar is going 'alright', but I want to see some dynamism being offered up at the back.  Hoppa could provide this.  He is slicker than Farrar, quicker and could provide that x factor that Stewie provided.  We'll never know while he shivers out on the wing.  I'd like to think he could get a combination going like Ox and Stewie had in 07 and 08....  Hoppa following through on high kicks near their line.  Remember Farrar is a centre playing at fullback.  Hoppa is a fullback, playing centre.  I don't think anybody in their right mind would opt for Robbo to be back at number 1, and I haven't read anyone promoting that disaster.   

 

[Dan]

I agree Farrar is doing a good job back there, but his apprehension under the high ball is going to cost and and will be our undoing.

Hoppa is actually really good under the high ball and has always played fullback. His positioning is therefore great.

I still have room for Farrar as a utility but I would like to see Hoppa get 1 or 2 games.

There is a good chance that when brett comes back he may not be anywhere near the footballer he was and a further chance he may not be back for more than a year or two.

Lets give Hoppa some experience so we know what we are in for when his time is here, we also know whether it is worth wrapping him up for the future early on too

 

[Corso_Pete]

Hoppa has shown that he has the right stuff to play 1st Grade. He should be in the number 1 jersey from this week forward. Farrar has done an admirable job as a fill in but that was all he ever was going to be and ever intended to be.

With question marks still surrounding Brett, both in regard to his knees and legal issues the time is now right for Hoppa to step up as fullback.

 

[Canteen Worker]

I think Hoppa is ready though agree with C & C that Farrar has improved and is certainly adding something in attack, especially on the end of the second man plays. His combination with Foran was missed over the last few weeks. Over the last two weeks Farrar has also been one of our best and was 1000% more safe under the high ball, taking a couple of really good ones.

Hoppa is being given time to find his feet though in time will be our Number 1.

 

[clontaago]

I'd actually like Farrar to be used as our back up hooker/utility off the bench when we are at full strength (eventually).

Hoppa
Robbo
Whare
Lyon
T Rex
Foran
Hodko
King
Ballin
Perry
Choc
Rodney
Stewart

Farrar
15/16/17 to be Kite, Cross, Rose, or Joe depending on form. (Or even Perry for that matter)

 

[Dan]

I like that suggestion too Clontaago, he seems to have some skills and would work well there

 

[Fro]

No Matai clon?

 

[Rusty]

I'd actually like Farrar to be used as our back up hooker/utility off the bench when we are at full strength (eventually).

Hoppa
Robbo
Whare
Lyon
T Rex
Foran
Hodko
King
Ballin
Perry
Choc
Rodney
Stewart

Farrar
15/16/17 to be Kite, Cross, Rose, or Joe depending on form. (Or even Perry for that matter)

My team would be

Hoppa
Robbo
Whare
Matai
Wolf
Lyon
Foran
King
Ballin
Perry
Choc
Rodney
Stewart

T-Rex
Farrar
Kite
Rose / Cross / Joe

 

[Chip and Chase]

I saw Hoppa spill a bomb on the weekend so he's not the 5 bombs at a time catching freak we were led to believe. I'm all for him being given a go there if necessary, but i just don't think that fullback is our issue at the moment. I actually think Farrar has some pretty handy ball skills, and also has laid on some deft kick this year, do we know for sure that Hoppa can provide that same level of skill or are we all just living on hope and hype ? Hoppa's time will come, I just haven't written off season 2010 yet, so can't see the value in experimenting on the basis of an eye for the future....let's leave that till round 20+ if situation demands it. I expect that both Matai and Lyon will be back this week so back to NYC for Whare and Hoppa.

 

[clontaago]

Yep with Matai back its back to NYC for Whare for a little while.

 

[Rusty]

Yep with Matai back its back to NYC for Whare for a little while.

Why not move him to the wing, and have Trex play off the bench, Impact late in the game is something we could do with, and with Rose and Trex on the bench we would have it, especially when Rose gets a bit trim./

 

[codewana]

[quote author=clontaago link=topic=183593.msg266695#msg266695 date=1276640994]
Yep with Matai back its back to NYC for Whare for a little while.

Why not move him to the wing, and have Trex play off the bench, Impact late in the game is something we could do with, and with Rose and Trex on the bench we would have it, especially when Rose gets a bit trim./
[/quote]

+1