Achtung Corso Pete

[Matabele]

LEGENDARY Manly hooker Max Krilich is tipping a bright future for the Sea Eagles workaholic rookie number nine Matt Ballin. Ballin showed amazing patience and will to succeed by being ready for the call-up and then rising to the occasion in his match-up against Wests Tigers' rising superstar, hooker Robbie Farah, last Saturday at Leichhardt Oval.

Ballin scored a try, made 45 tackles, ran strongly from dummy-half and kicked a 40-20 in a dream debut which won him a man-of-the-match award.

The likeable young man with the body of my late Uncle Adonis killed 'em and impressed the best of judges including Manly's all-time great hooker Max Krilich.

Krilich waited in reserve grade for more than 100 games (almost four years) behind Fred Jones before getting the call-up to first grade and went on to captain Manly, NSW and Australia.

And Krilich says Ballin's debut was as good as he has seen.

``He was outstanding - he played like he was born to be there,'' Krilich told me.

``His dummy-half play was crisp and his passing balletic. He chose his time to scoot and his defence was strong.''

Coach Des Hasler and his support team have done a wonderful job bringing talent like Ballin to the club.

Ballin hails from Kingaroy in Queensland and has been Manly's best premier league performer for the past two seasons. He runs his own personal fitness training business in conjunction with his full-time NRL training with the Sea Eagles.

His parents and friends left Kingaroy at 2am on Saturday morning to make the match and will back up again to watch Matty go around tomorrow against the Roosters at Aussie Stadium.

Almost as proud as the family was Manly's cunning-as-a-fox assistant coach Dennis Moore, who is another peanut from Kingaroy.

 

[Matabele]

Note the bold type - is that not what I said he would bring to First Grade as opposed to the ponderous nonsense we've put up with from Monaghan?

 

[Canteen Worker]

I would like to be included on the Ballin bandwagon, from as long as two years ago. Mind you we have all been wrong over time, occasionally!!!!!

 

[PEPSI]

Me Three, i was just stoked to see flat spiral sharp passing to the left and right, and that was in atrocious conditions, if the weather stays like this tommorrow this will be magnified !

I dont know how they will all fit into the line up but I for one would like to see him stay at Hooker/dummy half

 

[Stuey Davis’s Socks]

I would like to be included on the Ballin bandwagon, from as long as two years ago. Mind you we have all been wrong over time, occasionally!!!!!

I was wrong once, ten years ago, when I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't .

 

[Fluffy]

Both myself and duff built the bandwagon before mata had even seem him play

 

[Ryan]

I shudder to think what will happen to the bloke if he puts in a below par performance.
I hope everyone remembers that this will only be his second game, and not to expect too much.

 

[domdom]

ballin has been waiting in the wings for a while, so i think he'll be hungry to impress and stake his claim for a permanent spot.

at the worst, he might be error prone, due to enthusiasm, but he doesnt strike me as the type of player to coast through a game.

 

[Canteen Worker]

At hooker you don't get much time to rest.

9, 7, 6 and 1 are the most key players in terms of ball in hand and we do okay at that, when at full strength.

 

[Matabele]

Both myself and duff built the bandwagon before mata had even seem him play

Haig and I both wanted him to get a gig at the start of 2005.

 

[Fluffy]

after which game was that?

 

[Matabele]

Based on pre-season training.

 

[Fluffy]

so no game

 

[Dan]

We called him as a future star in the 2005 pre-season trial against the Tigers at tigger park. the day he mullane stand was born

 

[fLIP]

Well I was there at his birth... and I just knew. :lol:

 

[Matabele]

so no game

correct. I knew of him from Queensland and Haig was saying the coaching staff were very impressed with his skills base and work ethic.

 

[Fro]

Well I tipped him as a star before his Grandmother was born

you blokes must go through some tissue the way you are "congratulating" yourselves!!

 

[Jatz Crackers]

I spoke directly with Jesus about Ballin back when i was helping him carry around crosses. The outcome was never in doubt since then. I could say, let us !pray: , but there is just no need.

 

[Nutzcraw]

What a wankfest

 

[The Gronk]

I observed his ultrasound when he was still in the womb and noticed that he had great skills handling the placenta. I knew then we had a special talent.

When he was born the placenta actually came out first as a crisp spiral pass, going straight to the doctor's hands.