Evaluating player performances

[The Who]

If you are like me you'll have preconceived expectations when it comes time to voting for our players of the match. By that I mean I have set the bar high when judging DCE, Turbo and Jurbo. They will have to have blinders in order for me to give them 3, 2 or 1 points. Yesterday, all three had good matches but I overlooked them in favour of players who exceeded expectations, such as Froggy and Burbo.
I admit I have a soft spot for Froggy. He cops criticism for not being as dynamic as Cook, or as crafty as Grant or Api. But jeeze he's a tough 'un. He was in everything yesterday and showed that he has attacking smarts.
Burbo had by far his best match in First Grade.
There were others that exceeded expectations: Brown was like a missile and he gave our pack some much-needed mongrel. He will become a fan favourite if he can continue to unsettle opposition forwards. Saab was terrific. Tent, Al and Bully were strong. (I'm not usually a fan of Al but I'm hopeful he'll be able to change my opinion of him).
Brooks was also excellent, but I had high expectations for him so his performance didn't rise to the "exceptional' level, for me anyway. It probably will when he returns to a full size field and he picks his time to run.
I gave my 3 points to Guacca. I have high expectations for him, believing him to be a NSW Blue in waiting, and he didn't disappoint.
If our forwards can at least match an opposition pack then I'm confident our backs will win us matches.

 

[Ryan]

Not sure this is the right thread, but is it just me that feels really, really bad for Brad Parker right now? We have so many backrowers / locks, too

Haumole Olakau'atu
Ben Trbojevic
Josh Schuster
Jake Trbojevic
Nathan Brown
Ethan Bullemor
Karl Lawton (in a utility position)
Zac Fulton (if he's not gone)
Ben Condon (listed as second row)

 

[The Who]

Not sure this is the right thread, but is it just me that feels really, really bad for Brad Parker right now? We have so many backrowers / locks, too

Haumole Olakau'atu
Ben Trbojevic
Josh Schuster
Jake Trbojevic
Nathan Brown
Ethan Bullemor
Karl Lawton (in a utility position)
Zac Fulton (if he's not gone)
Ben Condon (listed as second row)

Agreed. Brad is another player whom I have a soft spot for. He always gave his best, and his defence is top notch. He won't let us down if injuries strike.

 

[Eagle 1]

Not sure this is the right thread, but is it just me that feels really, really bad for Brad Parker right now? We have so many backrowers / locks, too

Haumole Olakau'atu
Ben Trbojevic
Josh Schuster
Jake Trbojevic
Nathan Brown
Ethan Bullemor
Karl Lawton (in a utility position)
Zac Fulton (if he's not gone)
Ben Condon (listed as second row)

Don't feel to bad for Parker Ryan, Parker may well get the centre spot in 2 weeks time, just sayin..

 

[Rocky]

Don't feel to bad for Parker Ryan, Parker may well get the centre spot in 2 weeks time, just sayin..

Well said. Given the injuries and the importance of the bench, you need a strong 25 squad.

I would rather Parkers as depth than some of the Souths backline players that were put out there yesterday.

 

[Rocky]

If you are like me you'll have preconceived expectations when it comes time to voting for our players of the match. By that I mean I have set the bar high when judging DCE, Turbo and Jurbo. They will have to have blinders in order for me to give them 3, 2 or 1 points. Yesterday, all three had good matches but I overlooked them in favour of players who exceeded expectations, such as Froggy and Burbo.
I admit I have a soft spot for Froggy. He cops criticism for not being as dynamic as Cook, or as crafty as Grant or Api. But jeeze he's a tough 'un. He was in everything yesterday and showed that he has attacking smarts.
Burbo had by far his best match in First Grade.
There were others that exceeded expectations: Brown was like a missile and he gave our pack some much-needed mongrel. He will become a fan favourite if he can continue to unsettle opposition forwards. Saab was terrific. Tent, Al and Bully were strong. (I'm not usually a fan of Al but I'm hopeful he'll be able to change my opinion of him).
Brooks was also excellent, but I had high expectations for him so his performance didn't rise to the "exceptional' level, for me anyway. It probably will when he returns to a full size field and he picks his time to run.
I gave my 3 points to Guacca. I have high expectations for him, believing him to be a NSW Blue in waiting, and he didn't disappoint.
If our forwards can at least match an opposition pack then I'm confident our backs will win us matches.

The Frog on 400k or whatever it is, is such a great-value contract. That matters when you are trying to build a team under the salary cap.

Give me him over guys like Reed Mahoney (who is on roughly double the money) any day.

 

[Stewbojevic]

Not sure this is the right thread, but is it just me that feels really, really bad for Brad Parker right now? We have so many backrowers / locks, too

Haumole Olakau'atu
Ben Trbojevic
Josh Schuster
Jake Trbojevic
Nathan Brown
Ethan Bullemor
Karl Lawton (in a utility position)
Zac Fulton (if he's not gone)
Ben Condon (listed as second row)

I never agreed with shifting Brad into the backrow. We have some depth there but our outside back depth is a bit slim, in terms of guys you can rely on.

Going into a GF I’d be much more confident with Parker at centre and Garrick on a wing than I am with Paulo/Talau/Ray.

He’s no superstar but runs good lines and defends better than most. Won’t let you down

 

[Supreme Leader]

Was a great performance yesterday given how well we go in the first game of the season usually.

The only player I'm not sure of is Lawton? Don't see where he fits in and as well as I haven't really ever seen him do something meaningful. Having said that next game he'll play a blinder. Here's hoping!

 

[Brookie Bob]

Was a great performance yesterday given how well we go in the first game of the season usually.

The only player I'm not sure of is Lawton? Don't see where he fits in and as well as I haven't really ever seen him do something meaningful. Having said that next game he'll play a blinder. Here's hoping!

He can be our No 2 hooker - till JH and GCKT mature into consistent all round matchwinners - which they have the potential to be.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Not sure this is the right thread, but is it just me that feels really, really bad for Brad Parker right now? We have so many backrowers / locks, too

I don't feel sorry for him at all. Despite some serious injuries that cost him whatever pace he started out with, he's played 117 NRL games for Manly, his junior club, he's very popular at the club, and he's still got another year or two on contract as a player.

I never thought the was a serious second row option but I'm starting to warm to the idea, as a back-up option. Even if we don't use him he's had a good career already.

 

[Disco]

Not sure this is the right thread, but is it just me that feels really, really bad for Brad Parker right now? We have so many backrowers / locks, too

Haumole Olakau'atu
Ben Trbojevic
Josh Schuster
Jake Trbojevic
Nathan Brown
Ethan Bullemor
Karl Lawton (in a utility position)
Zac Fulton (if he's not gone)
Ben Condon (listed as second row)

Brad will get games this year. Squads get stretched, injuries happen.

And Parker is an edge so from the above list you are looking at Haumole, Burbo, Schuster then Maybe Lawton ahead of him.

 

[Phobia]

My personal opinion of Parker is that he is the ultimate depth player - reliable as, now can play in both forwards and backs, and is a brilliant defender. Never was a fan of him as a starter though. He would just never get consistently high metres per game, and the burden would pass onto our other backs and forwards. A big spot of difference yesterday was all of our backs except Paulo getting 150m+ (I think Koula got 149 but you get the point). If Vaega was on the team I would imagine him to do similar, he was in very good form at the back end of last year and was getting there too. Even in Saab, you could see that most of these metres were coming from hard carries and hitups. That's what one of our fundamental differences with the top teams were, when we were stuck with Harper and Parker. Look at the Panthers. You can rely on their backs to get around 150m each a game. It takes the burden off the forwards, who we were forced to rely on for metres, and we were already lacking there to begin with. Parker was a great line runner, and a very capable half's tool. Schuster used to work with him very well as a 5/8, consequently. But aside from that, he's just not a good attacking centre. We don't need flashiness, or people for Schuster to bounce off, we have enough of both. What we need is people who are willing to do the tough stuff, and make metres in the backline. And I think with a 1-5 of:

1. Turbo
2. Saab
3. Koula
4. Garrick
5. Vaega

Has all of those attributes.
We have a great balance between toughness, flashiness, skill and speed, and that's only with the options we have now. Of course Saab is out, but later in the season, that's what I would want our backs to look like. That's a genuinely competitive backline.

 

[Uk eagle]

If you are like me you'll have preconceived expectations when it comes time to voting for our players of the match. By that I mean I have set the bar high when judging DCE, Turbo and Jurbo. They will have to have blinders in order for me to give them 3, 2 or 1 points. Yesterday, all three had good matches but I overlooked them in favour of players who exceeded expectations, such as Froggy and Burbo.
I admit I have a soft spot for Froggy. He cops criticism for not being as dynamic as Cook, or as crafty as Grant or Api. But jeeze he's a tough 'un. He was in everything yesterday and showed that he has attacking smarts.
Burbo had by far his best match in First Grade.
There were others that exceeded expectations: Brown was like a missile and he gave our pack some much-needed mongrel. He will become a fan favourite if he can continue to unsettle opposition forwards. Saab was terrific. Tent, Al and Bully were strong. (I'm not usually a fan of Al but I'm hopeful he'll be able to change my opinion of him).
Brooks was also excellent, but I had high expectations for him so his performance didn't rise to the "exceptional' level, for me anyway. It probably will when he returns to a full size field and he picks his time to run.
I gave my 3 points to Guacca. I have high expectations for him, believing him to be a NSW Blue in waiting, and he didn't disappoint.
If our forwards can at least match an opposition pack then I'm confident our backs will win us matches.

That too is how I use my vote. Rightly or wrongly I don't start out with all players being equal. I use a perceived average performance from each player and judge accordingly

 

[Disco]

Even in Saab, you could see that most of these metres were coming from hard carries and hitups.

Not to be picky but on this point in particular, at least 100m of Saabs metres were from the sideline run and the intercept.

He still had a great game though.

 

[LeonardCohen]

I don't know about Parker on an edge. I know he runs good lines and is a stout defender but he gets absolutely belted and has suspect hands; neither of which are going to make for a good edge forward.

I feel that once the club made up their mind about Garrick transitioning full-time into the centres, they felt bad for Brad and instead of saying 'we've replaced you with a better option', they pumped his tires up in the guise of a 'transition'. More, 'we think you'll be great on an edge', as opposed to 'you're too slow and we're giving you the arse.'

 

[Jay Eagle]

I never agreed with shifting Brad into the backrow. We have some depth there but our outside back depth is a bit slim, in terms of guys you can rely on.

Going into a GF I’d be much more confident with Parker at centre and Garrick on a wing than I am with Paulo/Talau/Ray.

He’s no superstar but runs good lines and defends better than most. Won’t let you

Brad may be a good cover as a second row and centre.. he could really be adding value to his footy career

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Brad may be a good cover as a second row and centre.. he could really be adding value to his footy career

Lets hope so , a great clubman , deserves to go out a winner

 

[Bearfax]

I think Manly has only one problem position and that is on the wing. Saab is a star but on the other side there's little happening. Maybe Vaega or Talau. I'd go for the latter. Fast, strong and more creative.

 

[The Who]

I think Manly has only one problem position and that is on the wing. Saab is a star but on the other side there's little happening. Maybe Vaega or Talau. I'd go for the latter. Fast, strong and more creative.

I haven't seen enough of Talau to form an opinion. I know he can play centre so he would be interchangeable with Sandwich, if necessary. I reckon he is a "safer" choice, initially.
'Vegas' is strong and willing and takes the hit ups well. However, from what I've seen he is a little rocks-or-diamonds. Being a short, stocky winger is a negative in catching a diffusing bombs so that is an obvious weakness.