Harper, Schuster & Olakau'atu

  • We had an issue with background services between march 10th and 15th or there about. This meant the payment services were not linking to automatic upgrades. If you paid for premium membership and are still seeing ads please let me know and the email you used against PayPal and I cam manually verify and upgrade your account.
Agree its a different game but more so than ant other including speed is the the ability to read and stop (tackle) the play. Currently Justin Olam is the foam centre. Hard runs at pace, and strong tackling highlights you done need to be the fastest in the field.
I did mention Superior Power is also a dominant factor

Olam is not a Saab but he is not slow as Parker either

Slow without line breaking power or evasive skill is an easy target

Its like sitting duck shooting practice
 
I did mention Superior Power is also a dominant factor

Olam is not a Saab but he is not slow as Parker either

Slow without line breaking power or evasive skill is an easy target

Its like sitting duck shooting practice

Agree mate regarding our centres. They are surrounded by quality talent which is masking their flaws, but the better teams are destroying them. That's why while they are good, we can get better.

We always excelled with LEADING centre pairings:

Lyon - Matai
Bell - Matai (with Lyon at 5/8)
Innes - Hill
Williams - O'Connor
Gartner - Knight
Gartner - Fulton
Branighan - Fulton

compare all that to Harper - Parker
 
Agree mate regarding our centres. They are surrounded by quality talent which is masking their flaws, but the better teams are destroying them. That's why while they are good, we can get better.

We always excelled with LEADING centre pairings:

Lyon - Matai
Bell - Matai (with Lyon at 5/8)
Innes - Hill
Williams - O'Connor
Gartner - Knight
Gartner - Fulton
Branighan - Fulton

compare all that to Harper - Parker
When we could have Walker - Suli. If we lose this due to lack of center attack/defense then it's on Des for continuing to pick them.
 
When we could have Walker - Suli. If we lose this due to lack of center attack/defense then it's on Des for continuing to pick them.

Problem with Suli, is he also fits the mould in that his worst game is very far apart from his best, and that's the issue with Harper, Olakau'atu and Schuster.

Look at the Storm. All their players worst games and best games aren't too far adrift.
 
When we could have Walker - Suli. If we lose this due to lack of center attack/defense then it's on Des for continuing to pick them.
I love Walker and love Suli's brute strength and power. Walker has been superb over the last 5/6 weeks. I just have grave doubts about both of their defensive reads/abilities out wide. Walker's defence has been really good in the role he is playing but at Centre you have to be able to make the right decisions. I am just not sure one or both can do that. So we have two pretty damn good defenders in Parker and Harper - but not great attackers and two damn good attackers in Walker and Suli but not great defenders!
 
I love Walker and love Suli's brute strength and power. Walker has been superb over the last 5/6 weeks. I just have grave doubts about both of their defensive reads/abilities out wide. Walker's defence has been really good in the role he is playing but at Centre you have to be able to make the right decisions. I am just not sure one or both can do that. So we have two pretty damn good defenders in Parker and Harper - but not great attackers and two damn good attackers in Walker and Suli but not great defenders!
If we are worried about defending their centers and losing the game because of them then we are in real striffe. Morris is slow and past it without his brother while Keighran is a good player but seriously not a match winner. I said before the Storm game that we needed to change up our attack and use Tom as a foil to go wide while we use inside balls from Foran to Suli. Des needed to out think and out coach Bellamy but he got schooled. He's going to have to out think and out coach beady eyes or we'll be gone.
We need to have more variety to our attack. It's too easy to just target Tom and shut us down. Schuster is clearly struggling and is providing no variation or indecision to defenses lately and Olak has also succumbed to long 1st season itis. I fear we are going to go down this year in a screaming heap unless they can conjure up something unexpected. "Just Give it to Tom" isn't going to win finals.
 
If we are worried about defending their centers and losing the game because of them then we are in real striffe. Morris is slow and past it without his brother while Keighran is a good player but seriously not a match winner. I said before the Storm game that we needed to change up our attack and use Tom as a foil to go wide while we use inside balls from Foran to Suli. Des needed to out think and out coach Bellamy but he got schooled. He's going to have to out think and out coach beady eyes or we'll be gone.
We need to have more variety to our attack. It's too easy to just target Tom and shut us down. Schuster is clearly struggling and is providing no variation or indecision to defenses lately and Olak has also succumbed to long 1st season itis. I fear we are going to go down this year in a screaming heap unless they can conjure up something unexpected. "Just Give it to Tom" isn't going to win finals.
agreed but I also think we didn't have much ball and when we did the forwards didn't go forward and nor did we play to the game plan which is all about getting us to a particular spot on the field. We were very ill-disciplined with our hands but more with not sticking to the game plan. By not getting to the spots we needed ie left or right upright etc we were always struggling and just seemed totally dis-organised.
 
agreed but I also think we didn't have much ball and when we did the forwards didn't go forward and nor did we play to the game plan which is all about getting us to a particular spot on the field. We were very ill-disciplined with our hands but more with not sticking to the game plan. By not getting to the spots we needed ie left or right upright etc we were always struggling and just seemed totally dis-organised.
Correct with the dis-organised statement. It was a pitiful display from the experience of Taupau, DCE and Foran. Our leaders failed badly. Time to put up and prove they're worth the accolades and the $$$.
 
Agree its a different game but more so than ant other including speed is the the ability to read and stop (tackle) the play. Currently Justin Olam is the foam centre. Hard runs at pace, and strong tackling highlights you done need to be the fastest in the field.

Players can come in and out of form. If you remember a couple of weeks back when Parra bashed Melbourne, Olam was disgraceful. 2 dropped balls and 3 missed tackles....remind you of anyone?
He most certainly redeemed himself and so will Morgs.
 
When we could have Walker - Suli. If we lose this due to lack of center attack/defense then it's on Des for continuing to pick them.
Someone on the screaming eagles podcast brought up a great point that counters this

If we swapped out Harper for Suli this week due to a few (1-3) bad games after working his ass off to make the side and contribute toward our top 4 run he'd be shattered, particularly if we still lost.

Especially considering Suli is leaving the club. Harper's loyalty has been earned and Suli failed to earn loyalty with his form over the years. Harper knows he must learn to get up for these big finals games and the only way to learn is to have games like he did last week. If we don't give him this opportunity to learn this year, I think it stands a big chance of affecting his 2022 confidence.

Besides, many of us remember suli's best game vs souths in the 2019 finals. However, looking back through the highlights his poor defencive reads still let in 2 tries that day. That risk offsets his attacking potential and we have enough strike as is when our forwards do the hard work up the middle and create both time and space through fatiguing the opposition

Suli is a good 18th man, and potentially a good number 4, but now is not the time, he left it too late to earn his spot for mine.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Someone on the screaming eagles podcast brought up a great point that counters this

If we swapped out Harper for Suli this week due to a few (1-3) bad games after working his ass off to make the side and contribute toward our top 4 run he'd be shattered, particularly if we still lost.

Especially considering Suli is leaving the club. Harper's loyalty has been earned and Suli failed to earn loyalty with his form over the years. Harper knows he must learn to get up for these big finals games and the only way to learn is to have games like he did last week. If we don't give him this opportunity to learn this year, I think it stands a big chance of affecting his 2022 confidence.

Besides, many of us remember suli's best game vs souths in the 2019 finals. However, looking back through the highlights his poor defencive reads still let in 2 tries that day. That risk offsets his attacking potential and we have enough strike as is when our forwards do the hard work up the middle and create both time and space through fatiguing the opposition

Suli is a good 18th man, and potentially a good number 4, but now is not the time, he left it too late to earn his spot for mine.
I agree with your thinking but only doubt I have in my mind is based on last week.Obviously it’s based on the teams they have left to play this season,but if a team manages to bottle up TomT,like the Storm did last week,by having Suli it gives them another point of attack.Parker and Harper are hardly going to punch holes in the opposition like Suli can
 
I agree with your thinking but only doubt I have in my mind is based on last week.Obviously it’s based on the teams they have left to play this season,but if a team manages to bottle up TomT,like the Storm did last week,by having Suli it gives them another point of attack.Parker and Harper are hardly going to punch holes in the opposition like Suli
Yeah that's the dilemma (Harper's recent form and injury concerns), hope that Harper has an absolute blinder.

Seeing as he did nothing last week hopefully his knees have had a rest!
 
Harper wont be marking up on Olam tonight, he will appreciate the drop in class. Harper to have a blinder for mine, and in doing so will reignite his partner in crime Cimo Saaby.
 

Members online

Latest posts

Team P W L PD Pts
3 3 0 48 6
3 2 1 45 4
3 2 1 28 4
3 2 1 22 4
3 2 1 15 4
3 2 1 14 4
2 1 1 13 4
3 2 1 10 4
2 1 1 6 4
3 2 1 -3 4
3 1 2 0 2
3 1 2 -5 2
3 1 2 -15 2
3 1 2 -22 2
3 1 2 -36 2
2 0 2 -56 2
3 0 3 -64 0
Back
Top Bottom