Fullback

[Sue]

Both arguments have merit but there is a problem

When are people going to realise that Hoppa won’t be playing first grade till later in the year and won’t be thrown in at fullback. He is a kid coming off an ACL. Smithy confirmed that yesterday.

Have yiu guys seen Elliot play? He is a decent journeyman; no more no less.To be brutally honest without Turbot and Dylan our backline is pedestrian at best.In that scenario do you put Tom in a position where he touches the ball half the number of times?

As I said I’m not against the idea of centre but in our team right now it’s too hard.

 

[Woodsie]

I have tried to educate you pelicans ..... and it's like trying to teach Biology in Louisiana ......

For the 10th time ... just move Tom to where he belongs .... The 2nd row .....

 

[Woodsie]

Over the past few years, an increasing trend has been for the fullback to defend in the lline when inside the 10-15m zone at times ....

Does anybody know if Des was leaning that way back at the doggies ? It will be interesting to see if he stays more traditional at Manly

How does this style effect Tom? Is it a good or bad change ?

My reason for mentioning this is that if he is defending "in" the line ... then it removes the ability to bark at and direct defense from behind ... ala Snake ...

 

[Paw93]

Playing Tom at centre in rep works because there's no pressure to move him to fullback because of his pay grade. Nor is he under pressure to get his hands on the ball more often since there are other attacking players to come up with the plays. At Manly, he's our greatest attacking asset (alongside DCE). He needs to be in a position where he has the most significant input.

 

[brad]

If Elliot or young Hoppa aim up at fullback I think a move to the centres for Tom would be an advantage for the team.
Mal used him there I think and he went pretty well.
I can see merit in the move so let's see how the professor sees it.
Someone asked a year or two back who Tom reminds me of and I said a young Gene Miles and that hasn't changed.

That's where personally I'd have him , centre . Fullback there is so much lateral movement which for being such a tall fella can make life difficult for his joints , hammys etc at the drop of a coin . Centres it usally sweeps one way or another on set plays which would cause less damage with constant movement. I'm not the coach.

 

[Peter C]

Every so often a different type of player comes along and changes the perception of how certain positions are best played. Wombat Eadie for example, I doubt there were many heavily-built power running attacking fullbacks before he came along (at a guess... I wasn’t around then). Tom has the ability to re-write the fullback blueprint yet again. Slater did it and was far from perfect. Errors don’t mean you aren’t an exceptional player.

You're correct most fullbacks then were rather slight, like Bob Batty before Eadie, also Les Johns, Dennis Preston, Eric Sims, but a fullback's role was a lot different in those days, but then again your average player then was at least fifteen kilos lighter than the players of today.

 

[Peter C]

Playing Tom at centre in rep works because there's no pressure to move him to fullback because of his pay grade. Nor is he under pressure to get his hands on the ball more often since there are other attacking players to come up with the plays. At Manly, he's our greatest attacking asset (alongside DCE). He needs to be in a position where he has the most significant input.

That's right he'll keep on playing fullback unless a better player comes along.

 

[NZEaglesFan]

We have no other contenders at this stage so Tommy needs to be at fullback. Injuries happen but he will still young and he will learn as he gets more experienced.