Game Day: Cowboys v Manly [Round 13, 2019]

[The better Robbo]

Walker is not yet in form, but he'll come good. He has set up at least one try for his winger on the right edge since returning. DCE played last night, but in previous weeks the centres haven't had much good ball from the halves, esp. against the Titans & Panthers when our forwards were out muscled (poor kicking games from the halves contributed to this)

I dont disagree with walker not getting good ball. My argument is that he is a runner first and pass second. Suli is very much the same. Unless Turbo is chiming in our backline our wingers wont see much good ball.
I just believe with walkers defencive issues, once parker returns walker could turn out to be a star winger and I reckon the way he plays the game is made for the wing! Just because someone is good at one position doesnt mean they wouldnt be better at another.

 

[The better Robbo]

Hes played 3 or 4 games back from a long lay off and what must have been a very stressful time.
I’ve no wrap on the bloke but he is a very very good player.
I said in another thread Parker and Suli haves scored about ten tries between them in 3 or 4 seasons. I think Suli has scored two tries at the most for us since he got here.They have been great for us this year but having two blokes on the field who rarely score in the centres is not what I call balance and in a big game you need some xfactor. A workmanlike three quarter line won’t get the silver wear. All the top sides have explosive 1 to 5s.

Everyone accepts the rocks and diamonds Tommy dishes up because he’s creative and can break a game open. His goal line defense is average and his positioning is also very poor at times but I would not want anyone else back there because he will win you games.
Xerri and Mitchell are also classic examples. Bad defensive reads , plenty of errors but worth their weight in gold.

Agree we need strike in the outside backs. Its one position I would be target in recruitment for next yr.
To be fair to Parker and Suli, It is Parkers first season in his preferred position (centre) and has done a great job. His defencive reads and structure along with his strong carries more than make up for that lack of spark.
Also this is Suli's first real season with us. I actually believe both walker and suli would be better wingers than they are centres. Both think run first and pass second. With Parker to come back at left centre then either suli or walker need to play left wing leaving out jorge and Elliott. I know you are not a big fan of parker but walker let in more tries last night than parker has all year. No good having a strike centre who cant read in defence and lets in soft tries. There needs to be a balance between attack and defence.

 

[Sue]

I like Suli at winger too.

My point is judging Walkers defence on three or four games after a long lay off and a stress fest over his entire career bring on the line misses the big picture.
Dylan can also pass. He played a bit of five eight in his junior years and was brought here by Bozo and Barrett as a five eight, even though it failed. He can pass.

The guy has played 120 games for about 60 tries and while never been regarded as a great defensive centre he has never been thought of a being a major liability either.(Suli has scored about 4 in forty games). Dylan has played 4 tests for Australia and origin and won a grand final and is still very young. I would bet a lot of money, as good as they are going,Suli and Parker will never reach those heights.Positionally Tommy Turbot is one of the worst fullbacks in the comp. His defense is ok but not outstanding . Do I want him out there? You bet I do !

Parker will be left centre.He has me converted totally now. What he has done and Des has done with him is amazing. He was embarrassing at times under Barrett.

Dylan will go back to his preferred right and Suli will compete for a wing spot. That is a side with balance. I don’t want Walker sitting on the sideline in a semi final with a back five who other than Tommy are not overly threatening , despite being great team players. Look at Roosters , Melbourne , Raiders , Souths ... that’s the recipe out wide nd we can’t leave firepower on the bench to challenge for the big prize consistently.

And I’m no wrap on the bloke himself but he can play and play well.

 

[The Who]

Reuben must be retained on the wing. Not only is he the quickest back we have but he is becoming one of the comp's best goalkickers, which is taking a further load off DCE.
So, imo, the decision on our best two centres comes down to dropping either Suli, Parker or Walker. Unless Walker improves then I think he needs a stint at Blacktown because, for so many reasons, he has been a major disappointment this season. Certainly I wouldn't consider retaining him for 2020.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Hooray!

Finally, another win!🙂

What's with the ref's game plan to either penalise or give the opposition every call until they score against us? Seems a miracle that Manly have scored the most points in the first quarter of footy this year.

Jorge Taufua ! He's my favourite thing when it comes to the team song (besides the song itself). The crazy shoe banging going on in the background with the hair wild and free is just awesome.

If you haven't seen it, remember the ever helpful @HappilyManly does a whole stack of post game updates and twitter info at the start of these game day threads; which she also nicely creates for us.

Yay!

Manly win
Parra lose
Ash Barty wins!
Toronto beat Golden state meaning a Canadian team is on the cusp of its first ever NBA title!
St Louis have the chance to win the Stanley cup against turd bags Boston in the NHL
Toronto wolfpack playing tomorrow

Shaping up to be a very nice sporting weekend.

Canada knocked Australia out of the World Cup of Darts too

 

[Woodsie]

Reuben must be retained on the wing. Not only is he the quickest back we have but he is becoming one of the comp's best goalkickers, which is taking a further load off DCE.
So, imo, the decision on our best two centres comes down to dropping either Suli, Parker or Walker. Unless Walker improves then I think he needs a stint at Blacktown because, for so many reasons, he has been a major disappointment this season. Certainly I wouldn't consider retaining him for 2020.

Just my opinion who .... but I would take a winger that bends the line and puts our set on the front foot with kick returns like Taufua over a goal kicker every day of the week ... the diffrence of a few % between Garrick and DCE as a goal kicker just isn't good enough for him to retain his spot for mine ....

Garrick is just too ineffective at returning the ball ... puts us under stress every time ..... can and will improve if he puts a few kg's of power on .....

And whilst fast ... I don't think he as quick as we think ....

I would have Walker and Parker in the centres and jorge and Suli on the wings ..... and I think the number of long range try opportunities are far fewer than the close to the line barge overs these days ....

 

[The Who]

Just my opinion who .... but I would take a winger that bends the line and puts our set on the front foot with kick returns like Taufua over a goal kicker every day of the week ... the diffrence of a few % between Garrick and DCE as a goal kicker just isn't good enough for him to retain his spot for mine ....

Garrick is just too ineffective at returning the ball ... puts us under stress every time ..... can and will improve if he puts a few kg's of power on .....

And whilst fast ... I don't think he as quick as we think ....

I would have Walker and Parker in the centres and jorge and Suli on the wings ..... and I think the number of long range try opportunities are far fewer than the close to the line barge overs these days ....

Well, it's good to have options. I think Garrick is going to be a long-term star for us.
Who would have thought at the start of the season that we'd have two many centres and wingers in consideration for First Grade?

 

[double hoops]

I dont disagree with walker not getting good ball. My argument is that he is a runner first and pass second. Suli is very much the same. Unless Turbo is chiming in our backline our wingers wont see much good ball.
I just believe with walkers defencive issues, once parker returns walker could turn out to be a star winger and I reckon the way he plays the game is made for the wing! Just because someone is good at one position doesnt mean they wouldnt be better at another.

Completely agree.

And wow that's a pretty impressive team

1. Turbo.
2. Walks.
3. Parks.
4. Suli.
5. Garrick.
6. Cust.
7. DCE.

 

[sheridanstand78]

Tommy was rusty and it showed with his timing. A bit better and we would have at least two extra tries. Remember the crucial passes for Curtis and Jorge to score, Tommy is back and even with the mistakes we are a hundred percent a better side!

 

[globaleagle]

Canada knocked Australia out of the World Cup of Darts too

I'm not sure if I'm more surprised at the upset, or that New Zealander knew about it!

🙂


Penalty Broncos

 

[sheridanstand78]

Well, it's good to have options. I think Garrick is going to be a long-term star for us.
Who would have thought at the start of the season that we'd have two many centres and wingers in consideration for First Grade?

I think that Garrick is a candidate for rookie of the year. Been one or our unsung heroes week in, week out.!

 

[The Wheel]

I think that Garrick is a candidate for rookie of the year. Been one or our unsung heroes week in, week out.!

His goal kicking is a major upgrade as well

 

[mickqld]

Akuila appreciated Dylan's four try assists in this 2017 game against the Bunnies

First try assist 1:21

That's the Dylan we need back.

 

[mickqld]

Agree on both points Mick. The Sipley injury has really hurt. The defensive flaws hopefully Des can rectify. Brad Parker's defence was great before he got injured and better than what we are seeing now.

Whilst Hank has been very good defensively he's a little 1 dimensional in attack. Doesn't have the pace or step of Walker. Maybe FrankenDes can cobble together a combo of the 2 of them.

 

[HoldenV8]

We would be doing the same after those 2 calls, 1 for the strip which was not in the act of scoring even though Suli was over the try line (WTF was Suli thinking if he was trying to score??) and that Cotter no try.

Oh I agree, wholeheartedly. But its fun to watch opposition fans go into "Kill the Refs" meltdown mode when we win 😉

 

[wombatgc]

Parker will be left centre.He has me converted totally now. What he has done and Des has done with him is amazing. He was embarrassing at times under Barrett.
.

Put me down as a born again Parker parishioner as well. Who would’ve thought.....?

 

[Bring back the.... Biff?]

His defence was terrible on the right with Garrick, hence why des moved him to left and opted to keep him there. Walker doesn't pass, he is a runner and wing would be his best position. Look at gagai, great centre but an even better winger!!!

How many games did he play on the right? One?. then parker got injured. Suli been training at right center thats why hes there. Walker does pass or have you forgotten last week? If jorge was a good player he would of had a couple of tries. Wing no freaking way. Thr guys a rep center premiership winning center and dally m center... but yea lets chuck him in the wing.. hes too small he will get owned out there

 

[The better Robbo]

How many games did he play on the right? One?. then parker got injured. Suli been training at right center thats why hes there. Walker does pass or have you forgotten last week? If jorge was a good player he would of had a couple of tries. Wing no freaking way. Thr guys a rep center premiership winning center and dally m center... but yea lets chuck him in the wing.. hes too small he will get owned out there

He got moved to the left cos his defence was terrible on the right and was responsible for 3 tries in one game!!! Simple as that. Also, So what you're saying is that suli is preferred at right centre than our "almighty dally m centre of the year" walker? Why not just play suli on the left as he has done plenty of times previously for us and tigers.
Parker owns left centre so where does that leave walker?
If walker was the star you make him out to be then no way he is moved out of his preferred right centre to accommodate suli!
Walker was moved to fix his defencive issues which were only further noticable on the wknd

 

[Sue]

He got moved to the left cos his defence was terrible on the right and was responsible for 3 tries in one game!!! Simple as that. Also, So what you're saying is that suli is preferred at right centre than our "almighty dally m centre of the year" walker? Why not just play suli on the left as he has done plenty of times previously for us and tigers.
Parker owns left centre so where does that leave walker?
If walker was the star you make him out to be then no way he is moved out of his preferred right centre to accommodate suli!
Walker was moved to fix his defencive issues which were only further noticable on the wknd

Can someone tell me how moving a bloke from one side of the field to the other will fix defensive issues when you have Jorge out there( who I love for different reasons ) but seriously is the least game aware player in the NRL and would be a nightmare to defend beside.Throw in Cade playing his third game out there as well.Des ain’t that silly.How could that possibly help Walkers defense?

The reason he was moved is because he is a seasoned player who Des believes can handle both sides of the field and make a better combination till Parker returns.

Des wouldn’t move Suli there for a very simple reason.Suli inside of Tafua would be a total fiasco.They both have the turning circle of the Titanic.Imagine the short grubbers in behind them or the chase on a line break. I don’t want to think about it.Having your two fastest backs together with two big slow turning men on the other side is a recipe for disaster.If Suli did play on the left for Manly he certainly didn’t do it inside Jorge. It simply would not work.

Keep hearing Walker doesn’t pass. Moses makes Walks look like a distributing halfback. Would have thrown two passes in two years.Garrick is one of the few players with speed in our backline and rarely gets it outside of kick returns and broken play with Moses inside.


It’s all moot anyway. If anyone thinks Des is going to drop Walker for Suli then I think they’ll be disappointed for a long time.Suli will be competing for a wing spot when Parker returns to the left. It’s a good problem to have as both Parker and Suli have improved markedly under Des.I like the idea of Moses on a wing.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

I'm not sure if I'm more surprised at the upset, or that New Zealander knew about it!

🙂


Penalty Broncos

Kiwis into the quarters tonight against the japs 😉