Fox lab on Manly's recruitment

manlyfan76

There is no A.I. Just better computers
Some recognition of how good our newbys are going under Des and the coaching team.

SEA EAGLES

Notable recruits: Brendan Elliot, Kane Elgey, Reuben Garrick, Corey Waddell, Morgan Boyle

Rating: B

Analysis: Purely out of injury and circumstance, most of Manly’s recruits have actually proven quite handy over the opening third of the NRL season.

Brendan Elliot is only playing fullback to cover Tom Trbojevic, with Reuben Garrick coming onto the wing, while Kane Elgey has been plugging holes in the halves as the club battles a heinous injury toll.

None of those players would be considered stars and all of them would more than likely be playing reserve grade in other circumstances.

But the Sea Eagles are flying high under coach Des Hasler and none of the recruits can be knocked for their part.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...s/news-story/f0c4503d0875295e195ee6f7cb95bd50
 
Umm..

Garrick, Elgey and Waddell all picked in the top 17.

None of those 3 were injury cover. All 3 spots were open at seasons start.

Garrick and Waddell id say have permanent spots in the 17 this season now.

LG is fighting against Crocker for a permanent spot at 6.
 
I think a B rating for our 'notable' recruits is a bit generous.None of them were starters at their previous teams. Considering the injury toll and the salary cap constraints Des is working under we are well above expectations this season. The systems adopted/created by Des is very adaptable to accommodate Plan B, C....
 
I'm sweating on this too (SuperCoach) I think he will be good to play.
I hope he does we really need him. This weeks team should be interesting, kane Elgey from nrl to reserve grade back to nrl and now our chief play maker.
Do you have latrell in your supercoach? The machine made me 160 points... and i picked sheck as Captain for a mere 98 🙁
 
I hope he does we really need him. This weeks team should be interesting, kane Elgey from nrl to reserve grade back to nrl and now our chief play maker.
Do you have latrell in your supercoach? The machine made me 160 points... and i picked sheck as Captain for a mere 98 🙁

No sadly I was going to have Cook as my captain then thought I'd be cute and risk Johnston as VC. He didn't go huge so I settled for Tedesco. I don't have Latrell and probably won't until after origin now. Garrick has been great though 🙂
 
Will Manly field the youngest and least experienced team this week to smash the Broncos :nerd:

Riff and Broncos are always referred to as being the young, inexperienced NRL teams 😎
 
No sadly I was going to have Cook as my captain then thought I'd be cute and risk Johnston as VC. He didn't go huge so I settled for Tedesco. I don't have Latrell and probably won't until after origin now. Garrick has been great though 🙂
Ye garrick was great pity I hadn't picked him this round but the Parramatta rookie is killing it. Jr semi
 
Lets take a look at our recruits who have played first grade in 2019.

Brendan Elliot - Has played 7 of the 8 games only missing the win over the Warriors. But lets be honest, if Turbo was fit and Walker was available, would Elliot, as solid as he's been especially at fullback, even be in first grade right now? Garrick and Jorge have the wings sewn up (injury to Jorge aside), while Brad Parker has taken his game to another level not previously seen from him. If all were available, Elliot would have a tough job breaking into first grade and would probably be playing fullback or centre for Blacktown.

Reuben Garrick - Hardly a fill in. Even though he's a rookie he was given first crack at the right wing and has since cemented his spot. He's got what every winger should have....pace, backs up well and can kick goals. Lacks a bit defensively right now, but wingers aren't there because they are Jake Trbojevic like defenders.

Abbas Miski - Only played one game so far. Wasn't bad last week, but not about to take Jorge's spot permanently.

Kane Elgey - Was given first crack at the vacant 5/8 spot and played OK for the first 6 weeks, but not well enough it seemed despite our results and Des actually dropped him to bring Lachlan Croker into the side. Then DCE gets injured and LG got a reprieve and last week grabbed the opportunity with both hands with a MoM performance against the Dogs. Now with Croker also out, its LG's chance to prove that he is better than the player Des dropped just three weeks ago.

Corey Waddell - After missing the opening round, this kid came in onto the bench and has since cemented his spot in the 17 with some powerhouse performances, especially against higher ranked teams like the Chooks, Souffs and Canberra. So far he's jumped the queue and left Tangles, Paseka and Perrett in his wake.

Morgan Boyle - Came in late like fans of The Phantom, but was put into first grade early due to the need for a big body thanks to AFB's suspension riddled season so far, and is likely to get another reprieve this week if they won't risk AFB's knee. Although if truth be told, if all were fit and available, Boyle would probably still be in the front row for Blacktown.

And just for fun, before the side for Friday night in Brisbane is announced, here is what I think the side will look like:

Brendan Elliot, Abbas Miski, Moses Suli, Brad Parker, Reuben Garrick, Curtis Sironen, Kane Elgey, Toafofoa Sipley, Api Koroisau, Martin Taupau, Joel Thompson, Jack Gosiewski, Jake Trbojevic (c). Bench - Manase Fainu, Kelepi Tanginoa, Corey Waddell, Morgan Boyle.

I think (more like hope) Des will play Siro at 5/8 ahead of the predicted Api. I think AFB will be out with his knee, Sips will be back in the starting side with Boyle back in on the bench. And with Siro in the halves I think Jetski will get the start in the back row leaving Waddell as one of the bench props with Tangles coming in on the bench.
 

Note to Soward.

Manly back in Manly means that we always do better with one of our own in charge. Every premiership coach we've had, Ron Willey, Frank Stanton, Bob Fulton and Des Hasler, was an ex-Manly player. They don't have to be club juniors (I believe of that lot that only Cranky Franky was), but they know the club culture. They lived it, they breathed it.

Outsiders like the hair gel model don't get it and never seem to work. Even Graham Lowe, as good a coach as he was in his time with winning in Brisbane (BRL), Wigan, winning an Origin Series with Qld and coaching the Kiwis test team through the mid-80s, couldn't get us a premiership or to a Grand Final. And Lowe is probably as close as any "outsider" has come to success as Manly coach.
 
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