On another note, Matt Ballin

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I haven't seen any discussion re this topic yet but how good was Matt Ballin for the opening half.

I was really surprised at his kicking game for the opening half. He must have won us at least 2 repeat sets and that awesome 40/20. He really took it upon himself in that first half but somewhat stopped in the second.

I hope he continues with his kicking game and specially the grubbers to the in goal. Absolute legend.
 
Agreed completely. His first 20 minutes was masterful. His 40/20 was completely unexpected and his grubbers did the job. He needed to do it all night long though considering that Foran was out. Would have taken a lot of pressure off DCE.
 
those 2 kicks of his were the highlight of the game, shame we did follow through with the advantage they gave us
 
I Saw him standing at second receiver in one of the times we shifted the ball from Horhay to Lyon. His passing game is 99% accurate, if I was to pick anything it would be his hard passes close to the line but those kicks were A+
 
Yeah it was a major momentum killer when kite knocked on. Hope ke keeps his kicking game in the future as we really need another attacking option as of late.
 
9 meters for Ballin, . 72m for Friend. Symptomatic of all our forwards.
 
Ballins opening 20mins was superb, hopefully that can give him the confidence to show his skills. The 40/20 was lovely, and his short kicks to get repeat sets was just what was needed.

It seems Ballin has previously pigeonholed himself the way Hindmarsh did for many years, just as a tackling machine. But people forget that in his early days Hindmarsh was a great hole runner and provided plenty of attacking threat. I think Ballin has suffered from this syndrome as having to make 50/60 tackles per game, and that's how he sees himself.

Matt you have so much more to offer....as Monday night showed.
 
Killer03 said:
It seems Ballin has previously pigeonholed himself
Or maybe he's just been playing to instructions? He has abilities that maybe we should utilise a little more often.
 
This will offend many.

Ballin is our single biggest problem in attack and the main reason we struggle so badly when attacking the opposition line from close range.His style worked fine in years gone when we were younger,fresher and creative but unless we get a Lestrange like character to relieve him his days will be numbered.He offers zero threat and the opposition know they can double team our halves.He has virtually no feel for the game at key moments.

Smith/Luke/Friend offer so much more in offence and they are lynchpins.We need to fix this problem or wither on the vine.
 
susan said:
This will offend many.

Ballin is our single biggest problem in attack and the main reason we struggle so badly when attacking the opposition line from close range.His style worked fine in years gone when we were younger,fresher and creative but unless we get a Lestrange like character to relieve him his days will be numbered.He offers zero threat and the opposition know they can double team our halves.He has virtually no feel for the game at key moments.

Smith/Luke/Friend offer so much more in offence and they are lynchpins.We need to fix this problem or wither on the vine.

Agree and have for the past couple of years now
 
mickqld said:
Could never understand why QLD had him second in line to Smith.

Because he IS solid and they new what they would get plus his tackling. Other hookers have moments of brilliance like Luke but are not solid in the way Mat is plus he is an 80 min player
 
I wonder how we would have gone with ballin at 6 and bhurer at 9?
 
whatever happened to Lawton,I know the other rake in NSW cup is preferred more,but he doesnt even get a shot in first grade,maybe lawton will perform on the big stage
 
I'm a big Ballin fan. He does a huge amount of defensive work, and tidies up a lot when other miss their tackles. He is a workaholic.
Let's not denegrate him because he's not as good in attack; let's get a reserve hooker (like Lawton) in our 17 who can replace Matt at times of attacking needs.
I thought this was Buhrer's role, but he's not being used in this way.
 
No one is denigrating him Who.Just stating the glaringly obvious re his offensive capabilities-we have zero impact in this area while the top sides get great value.It is really hurting us.He needs a sidekick or he needs to be at another club.

12 or 14 points a game in attack seems to be about our level and then you either lose or fall over the line in a dogfight. In the end it just doesn't work and we need to put plans in place to change it.
 
In fairness I can see both points but it can be fixed.
Ballin is your old school hooker who does not ask many questions of the defence but is as honest as a 9 can be. His workrate is massive & cant be overlooked & theres no reason to think he is not a great contributer to this side in 2013.
Fact is, there is a need to have a dynamo for 10-15 minutes per half after the grind has gone out of the game adding some flair & unpredictability to the ruck area.
 

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