Brad Parker

[Fluffy]

1. Parker is a centre not a winger or fullback
2. Parker is a year younger than Kelly and last year when he was able to string games together was ahead of him.
3. He is our 4th back up as we were missing Walker, TT and Tafua for him to get on the field (getting close to $2M)

He is a genuine footballer who reads the play well and as fast as Kelly, better in defence but not as good in attack.

Last night he should not have played as he was clearly short of a gallop but he was far from the worst. Kelly knocked on the hodko pass by not playing to the whistle - he clearly thought the refs would call touched and made very little effort but that error cost us just as much.

His issue is stringing games together - needs to stay on the field more, just like Gojetski and a few others.

 

[HoldenV8]

Other than turning him into a bench back rower, Parker really has nowhere to go in this side.

He's not a fullback and isn't about to oust Tommy.

He's not a winger, and has already been overtaken as the first drop by Suli, and is also behind Matt Wright. And for all their handling or defence issues, he's not going to be picked ahead of either Jorge or Aku.

He's a centre but he's not about to displace either Walker, Kelly or even Suli and Matt Wright and its getting to the point where even Tom Wright is starting to be talked of in front of him.

Turning him into a back rower might be the best option he has. Other than that he's probably going to be nothing more than a fringe player for the duration of his career unless he shows dramatic improvement.

 

[brad]

I’ve never been impressed with him from the beginning. He’s living of his debut game where he defended well against Manu Vatuvai. He’s not quick, definitely not athletic and offers very little to the side.

Thanks man for saying what i thought long ago . Probably a great guy but not up to nrl first grade standard imo .

 

[Kevinward777]

Brad is a good natural footballer with some real ability but don"t think that wing is his most suited position . Had one real good game in the centres last season but if Walker . Kelly and Suli are going to be ranked ahead of him in the foreseeable future, maybe more of a utility role for him [ to cover centre or back row ]

Walker, Kelly and Suli should be ranked ahead of him, considering the fact they are much better players. I doubt there would be too many NRL clubs interested in Brad Parker. Earlier this season he fell across the line and bombed the most basic of tries a centre will ever have an opportunity to score. He tries hard, but adds very very little to the side. Especially in attack.

 

[HoldenV8]

Walker, Kelly and Suli should be ranked ahead of him due to the fact they are much better players. I doubt there would be too many NRL clubs interested in Brad Parker. Earlier this season he fell across the line and bombed the most basic of tries a centre will ever have an opportunity to score. He tries hard, but adds very very little to the side. Especially in attack.

I remember Dale Shearer bombing a try like that in Origin in about 1992 or 93 I think. He tried to spin past Tim Brasher and put the ball down but lost it in the process when all he really had to do was fall over the line and he would have scored.

But then again, that's not really a fair comparison is it. I mean, Rowdy had already proved his worth many times over for every team he played for, including Qld and Australia.

 

[brad]

Walker, Kelly and Suli should be ranked ahead of him, considering the fact they are much better players. I doubt there would be too many NRL clubs interested in Brad Parker. Earlier this season he fell across the line and bombed the most basic of tries a centre will ever have an opportunity to score. He tries hard, but adds very very little to the side. Especially in attack.

Im pretty impressed with suli strong running and good defense and haven't seen a mistake from him . Kelly is surprising me and keeps getting better .

 

[Kevinward777]

Im pretty impressed with suli strong running and good defense and haven't seen a mistake from him . Kelly is surprising me and keeps getting better .

Yeah mate, he wasn’t to blame for last night. When O’ne Ran through Parker and off loaded for Winterstein to score, and Thurston showed Chez how to kick cross field so your wingers/centres can hit catch the ball with momentum, it was.game over. There were also four occasions where we had numbers out wide and Matty Wright either dummied and ran, or threw a borderline forward pass.

 

[HoldenV8]

Yeah mate, he wasn’t to blame for last night. When O’ne Ran through Parker and off loaded for Winterstein to score, and Thurston showed Chez how to kick cross field so your wingers/centres can hit catch the ball with momentum, it was.game over. There were also four occasions where we had numbers out wide and Matty Wright either dummied and ran, or threw a borderline forward pass.

The one that got me was the first half when he threw a dummy to Jorge and then got tackled on our 20. Jorge was unmarked and while he is no speedster like an Addo-Carr, he could have easily made it to at least halfway before they rounded him up.

There were more than a few times last night when even our more experienced players took the wrong options and put us under more pressure than needed.

 

[Bearfax]

This arguent is not new to me. I said a year or so ago that Parker is not the answer in the backline. He could be a pretty decent bench player covering backs and forwards in time. But we need more than Parker on the wing. For me and until Anderson becomes one of the 30 the best backline I can see is

Tom Turbo
Tom Wright
Walker
Kelly
Suli (or Taufua)
Hodkinson
DCE.

If Manly could keep them together for more than a couple of games and had our best forward pack
Taupau,
Api,
AFB
Sironen (Johnson while he's unavaliable)
Lane
Jake

we would win more than we lose. Its keeping them on the park for an extended period. The fumbling comes from lack of continuity in the side. They'll win, but you've got to have the right players on the field and a consistent group of players used to winning. Use Parker, Perrett, Siply and one other to cover for Tanga on the bench

 

[HK_Eagle]

Look, it was a very disappointing game for BP. In the games he has played I have felt quite comfortable and secure knowing he was there. I don't expect him to light up the place but one of those reliable team cogs that is necessary in any successful team. Having said that, games like last night on top of the injury history make it hard for him to keep a place and develop any further. As a poster said above, BP is far from our biggest issue.

 

[SeaEagle21]

Parker’s first game back from a knee injury so a bit hard to make a judgement based on last night.

I don’t think he will command a starting spot at our club or any other. However i believe he could develop into a handy utility player that doesn’t take up a big amount of the cap. He still has time on his side which is the positive so willing to give him some time.