lurker
Beaver lover
He'd probably drop the pen while signing the release
Croker - Honest opinions need apply
- Thread starter maxta
- Start date
HoldenV8
Journey Man
Yes he would. At least, he would at this stage
HoldenV8
Journey Man
Drop off Lewis you gronks.
I thought he looked outstanding on the bench on Friday
Here here, Lewis played perfectly on Friday night. Not one single penalty given away and no arm grabbing defence.
It was his best game in years.
Cameron
Make Manly Great Again #Hasler2019
Lol I hate you.
D
Deleted member 24974
Guest
Honest opinion. I think Crocker is not experienced enough for first grade. Manly and DCE need a five eight that complements DCE and I don’t the Crocker is the man at this stage of his career.
HoldenV8
Journey Man
R3
Bird gang affiliate
How come Greenburg is considering conditions for Carneys contract to A Cowboys feeder club but copped a flat no to playing with us? Does any body know what changed other than Carney saying ‘give me a perfect conduct clause like Matt Lodge’ ?
On the side, I think Daly should be able to direct more and play direct for his kind of money and length of contract. Other wise he should reduce his contract and switch to the six jersey so we can invest in a 7 that plays like a champion 7.
I feel like we cut him so much slack sometimes because we get used to defending him from other club supporters and media. I’m tired I’ll go to bed now
On the side, I think Daly should be able to direct more and play direct for his kind of money and length of contract. Other wise he should reduce his contract and switch to the six jersey so we can invest in a 7 that plays like a champion 7.
I feel like we cut him so much slack sometimes because we get used to defending him from other club supporters and media. I’m tired I’ll go to bed now
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HoldenV8
Journey Man
Word I'm hearing is that we never formally or officially asked the NRL to consider allowing Carney to play, hence the NRL never actually came out and said no he can't play or yes he can play. That was a bridge that would have been crossed had the club actually wanted to sign him and register his contract. As it is the Cowboys do apparently want to sign him to a feeder club (I wonder if they are worried that Thurston's shoulder won't last the season??) and the NRL are now considering it.
I'd love to lay blame on the NRL for that one but we apparently never asked.
Unfortunately R3, Cherry has had plenty of opportunity to show that he can game manage a team and he just can't do it. He couldn't do it for Qld, he couldn't do it for us in 2016 when he had to cover for Walker and he still can't do it as evidenced by the 2016 style headless chook DCE we saw re-appear on Friday.
As a consequence we need his halves partner to have those game management skills and this early on the jury is still out as to whether Croker is that player. But (provided he gets with the program), while he is learning I think it should be more up to Api and Tom to help out there. Api is the dummy half, he should be directing where he wants his players. And while Tom is getting better, he still needs to talk more out there and direct players around the park.
I'd love to lay blame on the NRL for that one but we apparently never asked.
Unfortunately R3, Cherry has had plenty of opportunity to show that he can game manage a team and he just can't do it. He couldn't do it for Qld, he couldn't do it for us in 2016 when he had to cover for Walker and he still can't do it as evidenced by the 2016 style headless chook DCE we saw re-appear on Friday.
As a consequence we need his halves partner to have those game management skills and this early on the jury is still out as to whether Croker is that player. But (provided he gets with the program), while he is learning I think it should be more up to Api and Tom to help out there. Api is the dummy half, he should be directing where he wants his players. And while Tom is getting better, he still needs to talk more out there and direct players around the park.
R3
Bird gang affiliate
Thanks mate, I suspected we might of dropped the plans to establish a contract for Carney, but I felt like we were bullied out of it because of who we are and/or the ongoing salary cap drama. The Cowboys have Michael Morgan and Te Maire Martin as well as some depth/lower graders to cover Thurston this year, I think any NRL commissioner or decision maker should be able to assess the game and figure out Carney could give more back to the game at our club as opposed to Nth QLD but maybe that’s too rational for them to comprehend for an organisation that boasts such evenly stacked competition.
As for Croker, I think he’s a great kid and a true half that we should persist with after his round 1 performance. I beleive he will improve enough to take more control of the team and he’s not my halves concern.
I agree Cherry has had plenty of opportunities to lead this team, captain it, direct the ship, steer the troops etc.. and I’ve never had the same confidence in his abilities without Foran, Lyon and Snake in the team. That doesn’t mean I lost hope or faith in him, but now that it’s 2018 I’m a little impatient looking at his age, experience, position, salary and leadership role and wondering if I’ll ever see him play like a 7 and be the general.
I Just think we’re currently asking for a 7 to wear the 6 jersey but still expecting him to be the 7/general that DCE is not capable of being.
I would swap Croker and Chez’s jersey if I wanted Croker to understand what the team require and expect from him, just a whacky idea that might spare our halves some confusion about their roles..
I would edit this to make sense but I’m supposed to be doing some work : )
Hope it comes across constructive not whiny haha
Anyone who looks at my tips can see a bloke scoring 2/8 and maybe, lost good footy judgement at the same time as ability 20 odd years ago.....so the opinion is 100% open to good old school debate.
However, the Croker critisism has me lost as to what more ppl think he could have done in his first game in a hostile environment, in what was a bit of a slugfest....
Personally went on record early to state Hastings would have been my first choice for many reasons including his kicking/goal kicking, but the selectors at Manly must have good reason to take the croker option.
This is not a utility option where we can debate the bench, 5/8 is a specialist position.
Just another 1% I took in immediately after the FT whistle on Friday night was vision of Croker looking extremely disappointed, I liked this sign, as many youngsters are just happy to get through the 80 minutes and not the result of a loss in their first top grade game.
Hope he can play big against those slimy Eels and light up the Silvertails site by Sunday afternoon.
However, the Croker critisism has me lost as to what more ppl think he could have done in his first game in a hostile environment, in what was a bit of a slugfest....
Personally went on record early to state Hastings would have been my first choice for many reasons including his kicking/goal kicking, but the selectors at Manly must have good reason to take the croker option.
This is not a utility option where we can debate the bench, 5/8 is a specialist position.
Just another 1% I took in immediately after the FT whistle on Friday night was vision of Croker looking extremely disappointed, I liked this sign, as many youngsters are just happy to get through the 80 minutes and not the result of a loss in their first top grade game.
Hope he can play big against those slimy Eels and light up the Silvertails site by Sunday afternoon.
stoodamire
Bencher
For young Manly Sea Eagles playmaker Lachlan Croker, the most painful part wasn't having his 2016 NRL debut with Canberra ended after less than 40 minutes by a shoulder injury.
The most painful part wasn't even the subsequent ruptured ACL, suffered playing for Raiders feeder club Mounties later that season, which sidelined him for a year.
It was the two years in the NRL wilderness, not knowing if or when he'd get another chance, not truly knowing if he was good enough.
That long wait came to an end at Newcastle's McDonald Jones Stadium last Friday night, and while his Sea Eagles fell agonisingly short in that 19-18 loss, Croker himself believes he and the team will be better for the experience as he aims to make the wait between his second and third NRL games roughly 50 weeks shorter than the one between his first and second.
"It was a pretty special experience having my family up there [at Newcastle]," Croker said.
"They obviously know how hard it's been on me and how tough things have been. It was more of a culmination of things and something we were all really happy about.
"The last couple of years have thrown me around with not being back in there (the NRL) and the way my body had been treated so to get through it and hopefully get through a couple more will be good."
Croker stressed his knee is fine and it wasn't his injury history playing on his mind. His pre-game nerves also settled once he got into the team environment, he added.
"I was more nervous being at home and not being around the boys but as soon as I got in with the boys and got around them I had – not a lot of nerves but I felt like we were all in it together and they were always going to look after me so being around them made it easy," he said.
"It's just a different feeling. It's all I wanted to do for so many years and to be able to do it is really special."
Croker's club debut drew support from prop Martin Taupau.
"I think he did really well for his first game for us," Taupau said.
"I think he's still trying to find his feet in our side. It will definitely take a couple of rounds and you'll see some fireworks. Luckily ge is here and boy oh boy he makes the rest of us look pedestrian. He is so awesome."
Much of the conversation in the pre-season has centred around how Croker will fare filling the gulf left by departed five-eighth Blake Green, who proved an ideal foil for senior half Daly Cherry-Evans last season.
Green's deft kicking was a highlight for the Sea Eagles last year whereas Croker's strongest facet is his running game. Croker admitted the combination is a work in progress but felt he and Cherry-Evans could combine well together.
"[The combination] were pretty good considering we only spent the last three months together," he said.
"They're obviously pretty crucial positions and they have to be able to gel properly to have a good team performance. We're only going to get better and the more time we spend together the better it will be.
"We're both around the ball a lot where Chez is good on an edge or a lot wider.
"I feel like the way the game went with so much dropped ball and all that sort of stuff we weren't able to move the ball as much as we would have liked. Holding the ball will fix that and letting Chez have a crack on the edges and not having to worry about what happens through the middle.
"I feel like our jobs are completely different so that makes my job easier, knowing that's my job and that's his job. Games together will fix that."
https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/03/13/painful-wait-out-of-the-way-for-lachlan-croker/
The most painful part wasn't even the subsequent ruptured ACL, suffered playing for Raiders feeder club Mounties later that season, which sidelined him for a year.
It was the two years in the NRL wilderness, not knowing if or when he'd get another chance, not truly knowing if he was good enough.
That long wait came to an end at Newcastle's McDonald Jones Stadium last Friday night, and while his Sea Eagles fell agonisingly short in that 19-18 loss, Croker himself believes he and the team will be better for the experience as he aims to make the wait between his second and third NRL games roughly 50 weeks shorter than the one between his first and second.
"It was a pretty special experience having my family up there [at Newcastle]," Croker said.
"They obviously know how hard it's been on me and how tough things have been. It was more of a culmination of things and something we were all really happy about.
"The last couple of years have thrown me around with not being back in there (the NRL) and the way my body had been treated so to get through it and hopefully get through a couple more will be good."
Croker stressed his knee is fine and it wasn't his injury history playing on his mind. His pre-game nerves also settled once he got into the team environment, he added.
"I was more nervous being at home and not being around the boys but as soon as I got in with the boys and got around them I had – not a lot of nerves but I felt like we were all in it together and they were always going to look after me so being around them made it easy," he said.
"It's just a different feeling. It's all I wanted to do for so many years and to be able to do it is really special."
Croker's club debut drew support from prop Martin Taupau.
"I think he did really well for his first game for us," Taupau said.
"I think he's still trying to find his feet in our side. It will definitely take a couple of rounds and you'll see some fireworks. Luckily ge is here and boy oh boy he makes the rest of us look pedestrian. He is so awesome."
Much of the conversation in the pre-season has centred around how Croker will fare filling the gulf left by departed five-eighth Blake Green, who proved an ideal foil for senior half Daly Cherry-Evans last season.
Green's deft kicking was a highlight for the Sea Eagles last year whereas Croker's strongest facet is his running game. Croker admitted the combination is a work in progress but felt he and Cherry-Evans could combine well together.
"[The combination] were pretty good considering we only spent the last three months together," he said.
"They're obviously pretty crucial positions and they have to be able to gel properly to have a good team performance. We're only going to get better and the more time we spend together the better it will be.
"We're both around the ball a lot where Chez is good on an edge or a lot wider.
"I feel like the way the game went with so much dropped ball and all that sort of stuff we weren't able to move the ball as much as we would have liked. Holding the ball will fix that and letting Chez have a crack on the edges and not having to worry about what happens through the middle.
"I feel like our jobs are completely different so that makes my job easier, knowing that's my job and that's his job. Games together will fix that."
https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/03/13/painful-wait-out-of-the-way-for-lachlan-croker/
Tomay
Bencher
Plenty of great players have had worse showings in their first appearance. He’s not an experienced, proven commodity and we shouldn’t expect him to step into a new environment like one. What he is though is talented with great size for his position - he has the potential to develop into anything.
HoldenV8
Journey Man
I don't think we're saying that Croker won't end up as at least a solid first grade 5/8. He has the skills and from what we saw on Friday his defence was pretty good. We're just wondering if he has the experience to lead the team around the park right now.
He wasn't able to get back into first grade last year even though Canberra struggled to get near their 2016 form, and now with just one first grade game under his belt in 2016 (and only half a game at that), he has been handed the Manly #6 jumper to be DCE's halves partner.
Don't get me wrong, for Manly's sake I hope he does live up to expectations. But if he doesn't then I hope it doesn't take Barrett too long to make a change like it did with Dylan Walker in 2016.
He wasn't able to get back into first grade last year even though Canberra struggled to get near their 2016 form, and now with just one first grade game under his belt in 2016 (and only half a game at that), he has been handed the Manly #6 jumper to be DCE's halves partner.
Don't get me wrong, for Manly's sake I hope he does live up to expectations. But if he doesn't then I hope it doesn't take Barrett too long to make a change like it did with Dylan Walker in 2016.
40 years an eagle
Bencher
He did just fine in his debut and will go better this week.
TokyoEagle
Bencher
I'm with Maxta on this one, I thought he did a good job on debut. A couple of nice kicks, one the was almost a Tommy Turbo try. Ok, there were a few dropped balls. One trying to create 2nd phase play that went wrong, another that wasn't really his mistake. Geez there are done hard markers on here for the kids first game in our colours.
Personally, I think there was way more to be positive about than negative.
Personally, I think there was way more to be positive about than negative.
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