Cust vs Croker at 9

[eagle66]

The best I remember are the Old blokes drinking port wine & brandy. Fixed everything from a crook gut, gout and hangovers. For colds and flu, OP rum and milk.

 

[maxta]

I think Cust is clearly a better footballer in general.
But EVERY key aspect of dummy half, is also better imo.....though I feel Croker was regarded at the club as a better defender, which gave him the nod.
As for distribution, running game and support play, Cust wins hands down....and in the modern game in which we are struggling for points, this seems pretty clearly important.

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

It occurs to me Cust might be considered superior to Croker simply because he's had less time on the field in which to demonstrate his shortcomings!
Let's face it, as players each may have some redeeming quality or bit of potential or something, but as NRL dummy halves they are both rank novices and trying to learn on the job. They both have a fair way to go but Manly has no more time to spare!

Yes, neither is an experienced hooker, but Cust at least has shown an ability to make an impact on a game. He's a footy player, with a real instinct for a try, and the confidence to back his ability. I'm not actually sure what Croker is, but at the moment he's a guy who shuffles in and out of dummy half, shovels ineffective passes to the forwards and playmakers and takes up a spot in the middle of the field in defence. He has "fill in" written all over him, but somehow Des sees him as an NRL-quality starting hooker.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

I actually see Lawton as our starting nine (when fit), and Cust coming on the bench to provide impact for 30-40 minutes, every game. I see no reason for Croker to play anything more then a backup role for injuries to Lawton/Cust after Lawton gets a start with us.

Agree BUT this is Des Hasler you are talking about !!!

 

[Uk eagle]

Just seen about the swap deal between the panthers and dragons and it got me thinking....are we still short of garden chairs? Maybe we could swap Croker for a dozen but I'm not sure where we would get any interest from

 

[Brisbane Tragic]

My side

1. Harper / Turbo
2. Saab
3. Suli
4. Walker
5. Funa
6. Schuster
7. DCE
8. Taupau
9. Cust / Rotation with Foran (14)
10. Aloaia
11. Jake
12. Davey
13. Saddler

14. Foran
15. Paseka
16. Haumole
17. Sipley (deserves it after Sunday)

Understand Dessie's faith but enough is enough. This team has go forward, better speed. Hopefully more heart. Saddler needs an opportunity, Jake needs to play a different role, everyone's got his number now.

I'd rather loose by 20 with this team than what we currently have.

Agreed but I read that Saddler wont be available until June because he is a Development player? Not sure about the truth on this. Davey is out till next year

 

[Supreme Leader]

Agreed but I read that Saddler wont be available until June because he is a Development player? Not sure about the truth on this. Davey is out till next year

Saddler was named in 21 this week, we must have been given an exemption

 

[Brisbane Tragic]

Saddler was named in 21 this week, we must have been given an exemption

Cool - I think he has some talent and some toughness about him.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

The crazy thing is that neither Cust or Croker are hookers they are halves. Let’s make up for poor recruitment with picking players out of position. The outcome is identified clearly by our standing on the table and winning one game from 14.

 

[QueefRichards]

From my uneducated eye i thought Croker was great today

 

[Freagle]

From my uneducated eye i thought Croker was great today

yes, he is growing into the role! Doubt he will ever be a great hooker, but he’s become a fair one, and at the moment that is good enough!

 

[eaglebuzz]

Croker is doing enough to quell my desire to see him shot out of a cannon into the sun but I still can't wait til Fainu gets back.

 

[Remy]

crocker is improving, still prefer cust to start or atleast get more than 15 minutes a game. But crocker has put in back to back solid performances in the last fortnight, happy for him, credit where credit is due.

 

[Tomay]

His service during the first 30 minutes was diabolical today.

 

[The better Robbo]

What happens when Lawton is fit? Obviously he will have a few games at Blacktown but if he impresses, what does Des do? Start Lawton and keep Cust on bench or is Cust the unlucky one? Des seems keen on Croker starting so maybe Lawton and Cust to fight out bench spot. Croker is definitely improving but he still lacks the zip that we would benefit from massively. I must admit he is awesome in defence!

 

[Waz13]

What happens when Lawton is fit? Obviously he will have a few games at Blacktown but if he impresses, what does Des do? Start Lawton and keep Cust on bench or is Cust the unlucky one? Des seems keen on Croker starting so maybe Lawton and Cust to fight out bench spot. Croker is definitely improving but he still lacks the zip that we would benefit from massively. I must admit he is awesome in defence!

The way it’s looking Cust might be the one to go I reckon. Croker is Des favourite. Didn’t start well but gee he does a lot in defence. Can’t fault him there.

 

[Fibro Eagle]

What happens when Lawton is fit? Obviously he will have a few games at Blacktown but if he impresses, what does Des do? Start Lawton and keep Cust on bench or is Cust the unlucky one? Des seems keen on Croker starting so maybe Lawton and Cust to fight out bench spot. Croker is definitely improving but he still lacks the zip that we would benefit from massively. I must admit he is awesome in defence!

Cust is signed for a couple of years , So is Lawton , Croker unsigned for next year , Croker most likely not get renewed but will get the spot in the squad this year , interesting scenario would think the players signed would be in front of Croker , It might all depend on Fainu outcome I’d imagine

 

[manlyfan76]

While croaker has played better recently I'm not writing Cust off yet. He has been good in his very limited time this year and his defence has been top shelf HE HAS ONLY MISSED ONE TACKLE

 

[Rafferty]

I don’t want to bag Croker, I’ve said it before he tries his best, but we need more from our dummy half than just good defence, I wouldn’t say anyone is more important than our 1 but the current day 9 is massive, we need our game to go forward and unfortunately I can’t see Croker giving us the ability to achieve that, if he is likely to not to be resigned next year, then surely it doesn’t seem right to build our game with him as our primary 9, if Des thinks he should start due to the defensive difference then so be it, but surely cust brings more value to our attack, our go forward, his service with the ball and his instinctive natural play. Why isn’t Des giving cust bigger minutes especially during the last 2 weeks when we were dominating the game and were not defensively under much pressure, nothing gained by not giving cust extra minutes, game time and experience that could be vital later in the year, I would like to see Cust get more game time so we can get a better idea of who can do a better job, if cust was playing the minutes Croker has how much would his game and in turn our game improve? we must be looking for every inch of improvement we can and 9 is an area of our game that can and must improve, i can‘t see any upside in Croker‘s game but believe there’s quite a bit in cust’s.

 

[rmd]

Croker’s defence has been excellent the last three weeks and he really tightens up the middle and has made some desperate saves which have stopped opposition tries.

I’m not convinced about his service however, he has been sneaking more metres out of dummy half. Cust is far more dangerous out of dummy half however his defence is not at Croker’s standard. It’s not bad but just not as strong.