Headache - 1 to 7 Fully Fit

[Bring back the.... Biff?]

Before his injury, Cherry had kicked 21 / 26 at 80.77% this season.

Reuben Garrick has kicked 12 / 15 at 80%.

Statistically there is really only a poofteenth between them so far this year. But TBH, I kinda feel more confident when Garrick is kicking from out wide than I do when its Cherry. DCE can be very hit and miss from anywhere within about 10-15 metres of the sideline. He's deadly accurate anywhere else though.

You know, when DCE first played in 2011 he was handed the goal kicking largely because of his reputation in our U/20's and for the Sunshine Coast as an 80-90% goal kicker, and because Killer was always a reluctant kicker anyway so he was glad to let Cherry have the job. But I think with it being his rookie year and having to come in and play halfback in what really was a team of superstars, it affected his kicking which was just added pressure he probably didn't need, hence he only kicked 25 / 40 at 62.5% before handing the tee back to Killer. Now that he's the team leader, basically the elder statesman of Manly, he's a lot better at handling the pressure which is why in the last 3 years when he's taken on the goal kicking, he's doing it at a much better high 70s to low 80s percentage.

Its a pity in a way that he lost some of his goal kicking confidence early in his career. Killer would have been more than happy until the day he retired for Cherry to have been the kicker and I think that if he had been, by now he could have been among the highest point scorers in the game and even challenged Graham Eadie's club record of 1,917 points by the end of his career.

I think Garrick should kick the goals hes a winger and wont be as tired.. unless he runs the length of the field. Then dce can kick for him. Also dce coming back from injury would put unnecessary stress on his injury

 

[Shnorky]

It appears that DCE/Croker may be THE combination in the short term and expect Cust will jump Egley to battle Croker as DCE's partner in the not too distant future.

Why is that so oh wise one?

 

[John Nicholson]

Without offering my selections, I would like to look at our (good) problem another way, as a "Devil's Advocate" so to speak.

It's agreed that 1 and 7 are locked in with Garrick and Walker first choice. In relation to Walker, he is not the best read in defence and often in the past has been a turnstile.

Accordingly, it is necessary to have a reasonably strong defender by his side, apart from the edge forwards. Out of Suli, Elliott and Parker, Suli drops out on that score, despite having great potential as he matures.

Parker has had the tendancy of running up out of the line, with good results lately, however he has previously left big holes when he got it wrong.

Elliott has done a good job at 1; his potential as a centre is unknown.

Old friend Jorge on the wing! Love him and his 110% effort, his metres and post contact metres, not to mention his current hair style. But boy, is he slow compared to most wingers going around today!

Cust excited everyone this week, however it is only one game. I have watched him a few times in lower grades when he got a bit over confident and his decision making failed him. Still it is better to temper a good player down, rather than have to build him up.

Elegy has proven to be hot and cold. His last few games may keep him in 6, but he has to keep his head on.

Lastly, Croker has shown promise both this year and last. Downside - could still be injury prone?

Somewhere amongst these players we have the potential of a really great backline. Only Des can choose and develop them into a Grand Final winning combination.

 

[Sheikheagle]

Without offering my selections, I would like to look at our (good) problem another way, as a "Devil's Advocate" so to speak.

It's agreed that 1 and 7 are locked in with Garrick and Walker first choice. In relation to Walker, he is not the best read in defence and often in the past has been a turnstile.

Accordingly, it is necessary to have a reasonably strong defender by his side, apart from the edge forwards. Out of Suli, Elliott and Parker, Suli drops out on that score, despite having great potential as he matures.

Parker has had the tendancy of running up out of the line, with good results lately, however he has previously left big holes when he got it wrong.

Elliott has done a good job at 1; his potential as a centre is unknown.

Old friend Jorge on the wing! Love him and his 110% effort, his metres and post contact metres, not to mention his current hair style. But boy, is he slow compared to most wingers going around today!

Cust excited everyone this week, however it is only one game. I have watched him a few times in lower grades when he got a bit over confident and his decision making failed him. Still it is better to temper a good player down, rather than have to build him up.

Elegy has proven to be hot and cold. His last few games may keep him in 6, but he has to keep his head on.

Lastly, Croker has shown promise both this year and last. Downside - could still be injury prone?

Somewhere amongst these players we have the potential of a really great backline. Only Des can choose and develop them into a Grand Final winning combination.

Re walker, one of mates son in law is good mates with Chad Randall. Apparently walker has been having some difficulty learning the new defensive structures and has let numerous tries in when they have been doing opposed sessions at training. Correct me if I am wrong but him shooting out of the line resulted in a try to the sharks last weekend.

 

[manlyfan76]

For me two things stand out.
1) everyone is getting better making it hard to pick the top 1-7

2) hard to pick the 5/8 that will best suit turbo (our main attacking weapon) with turbo out so much.

 

[BOZO]

Re walker, one of mates son in law is good mates with Chad Randall. Apparently walker has been having some difficulty learning the new defensive structures and has let numerous tries in when they have been doing opposed sessions at training. Correct me if I am wrong but him shooting out of the line resulted in a try to the sharks last weekend.

I was at the game and also watched the full match replay and that try you are talking about was the result of our winger coming in field as he failed to cover and stop his opposition scoring out wide .

Dylan was very good defensively in his first game back and only missed one tackle . He also used his advantageous speed and skill to soccer a kick a loose ball and score untouched .

 

[Sheikheagle]

I was at the game and also watched the full match replay and that try you are talking about was the result of our winger coming in field as he failed to cover and stop his opposition scoring out wide .

Dylan was very good defensively in his first game back and only missed one tackle . He also used his advantageous speed and skill to soccer a kick a loose ball and score untouched .

Yep he made a solid return considering first hit out of the season.

 

[Dankseagles]

My backs:

Parker
Parker
Parker
Parker
Parker
Parker
Parker

 

[robbiea]

I was at the game and also watched the full match replay and that try you are talking about was the result of our winger coming in field as he failed to cover and stop his opposition scoring out wide .

Dylan was very good defensively in his first game back and only missed one tackle . He also used his advantageous speed and skill to soccer a kick a loose ball and score untouched .

Walker made 15 tackles,missed two & had two ineffective tackles.
Yes ,had a decent game for his first game back ,well on track to match his five good games a year average.

 

[MuzztheEagle]

I was at the game and also watched the full match replay and that try you are talking about was the result of our winger coming in field as he failed to cover and stop his opposition scoring out wide .

Dylan was very good defensively in his first game back and only missed one tackle . He also used his advantageous speed and skill to soccer a kick a loose ball and score untouched .

Pretty sure Garrick came in to cover the gaping hole that Walker left behind. He didn't just rush up, he ran 10-15m in field (and past the halfback and second rower) to put on half a tackle.
Not entirely his fault, but it does show the hotheadedness he shows at times.

 

[BOZO]

Walker made 15 tackles,missed two & had two ineffective tackles.
Yes ,had a decent game for his first game back ,well on track to match his five good games a year average.

The Silvertails game stats show Walker making 12 tackles and missing only one .

He also scored a try where he used his superior speed and skill to soccer kick the ball and beat every one to the try line in his decent first game back

One needs more than just 5 good games a year to be NRL best centre of the year

The other years Trent had him playing out of position at 5/8

I believe Des is a fan of Dylan and I hope we extend his contract

 

[BOZO]

Pretty sure Garrick came in to cover the gaping hole that Walker left behind. He didn't just rush up, he ran 10-15m in field (and past the halfback and second rower) to put on half a tackle.
Not entirely his fault, but it does show the hotheadedness he shows at times.
View attachment 11480

As far as hot head goes I thought Dylan was very well composed through out his very good game .

I was at the game and there were jeers from the crowd every time he touched the ball and I am sure the players were niggling him as well to get the competitive edge knowing his past .

But the past is the past and that first game back for Dylan was a first step in the right direction

With every person and every situation we have a for and against and with our centre of the year I see a lot of positives as he progresses under Des

 

[Mataiforever]

1 trbojevic
2 suli - we should train him to be on the wing, he is a long term option unlike jorge and probably doesnt have the hands for a centre
3 walker
4 parker
5 garrick - lock for me, takes dce’s goal kicking responsibilities
6 croker - i feel all 3 are bang on evenly matched. Such a hard decision
7 cherry evans

Next year i would probably have cust at 6 and croker at 14, croker could play some hooker assuming api goes and fainu slots in at 9. We might need api’s coin for upgrades

 

[SeaEagle21]

How good it it to have some headaches for selection? At the end of the presser Des said "There's never and issue with having depth" replying to selection headaches

 

[MuzztheEagle]

As far as hot head goes I thought Dylan was very well composed through out his very good game .

I was at the game and there were jeers from the crowd every time he touched the ball and I am sure the players were niggling him as well to get the competitive edge knowing his past .

But the past is the past and that first game back for Dylan was a first step in the right direction

With every person and every situation we have a for and against and with our centre of the year I see a lot of positives as he progresses under Des

Walker had a brilliant game and should keep his spot. He also did very well to maintain composure given the reception he was getting from the crowd,as he often does.
My point was more in reference to @Sheikheagle's claim about having trouble with new defensive structures. If there is truth to this then it could be interesting what unfolds, I get the impression Des isn't too keen on those who like to deviate from the plan, especially defensive ones.

 

[CliffyIsGod]

1 trbojevic
2 suli - we should train him to be on the wing, he is a long term option unlike jorge and probably doesnt have the hands for a centre
3 walker
4 parker
5 garrick - lock for me, takes dce’s goal kicking responsibilities
6 croker - i feel all 3 are bang on evenly matched. Such a hard decision
7 cherry evans

Next year i would probably have cust at 6 and croker at 14, croker could play some hooker assuming api goes and fainu slots in at 9. We might need api’s coin for upgrades

In what world is Suli better than Jorge? Why isn't Jorge a long term option?

 

[BOZO]

Walker had a brilliant game and should keep his spot. He also did very well to maintain composure given the reception he was getting from the crowd,as he often does.
My point was more in reference to @Sheikheagle's claim about having trouble with new defensive structures. If there is truth to this then it could be interesting what unfolds, I get the impression Des isn't too keen on those who like to deviate from the plan, especially defensive ones.

I see no issue with Dylan and I base my view on this ....

I have seen players from every club including the very structured ones from the Melbourne Storm use their initiative to rush out and cut out a player .

Some times it works and sometimes it does not .

The truth lies on the field and I thought given the high possesion the Sharks had due to the aid of a heavy penalty count against us , they had plenty of opportunity to try and expose our backs and I thought they were all exceptional in defence

Another truth is Walker won a Grand final with Souths under another coach that is known for his structure and there were no issues there

Des is a fan of Walker and in the presser said he was happy with his comeback game

 

[ellakasmar]

In what world is Suli better than Jorge? Why isn't Jorge a long term option?

I presume they are meaning because Jorge is 27 (28 this year) and Suli is only 20

 

[Bring back the.... Biff?]

My backs:

Parker
Parker
Parker
Parker
Parker
Parker
Parker

And he could do it thats the scary thing.. scorpio!

 

[Snake]

Pretty sure Garrick came in to cover the gaping hole that Walker left behind. He didn't just rush up, he ran 10-15m in field (and past the halfback and second rower) to put on half a tackle.
Not entirely his fault, but it does show the hotheadedness he shows at times.
View attachment 11480

It was entirely his fault. It was a terrible “I’ll solve this on my own” moment and Des was furious about it. The team is coached to hold their line and width under Des...Walker ran past teammates to make that tackle which is absurd. Yes, he had a strong first game back but he better not do that again...dumb and invited the Sharks back in the game. I swore for 2 minutes after he rushed in.