Huge Young Pack - Can they Dominate?

[bringbackbeaver]

Going on stats is fair enough, but Stats are often misleading.
In actual fact we had the 4th best ball control rate in the NRL which is a stat over 26 rounds that helped very little.
Stats don't give a feel for the real game....just a few reasons imo -
Say Thurston kicks 21 from 25 from the sideline at 84% and Api kicks 25 from in front for 100% - Api is not the better kicker....as example also, I think Buhrers running stats were built up massive with the St George and Newcastle games, as he missed many of the Physical games - again leading to a false average gain....I personally liked Buhrer but seen him often ragdolled and steamrolled against the Bigger, Physical packs.
Agree the spine last year was all over shop but I retain though the ball control was high, rarely bent the line and won the play ball area and apart from some Lussick/Jake/Kapow moments....lost the physical battles that the stats don't show but the body language does.
Sorry to add Disco - Buhrer IS a speed/Agile backrower - not your Robust Physical type - the metres were not barnstorming line benders, more breaks on the edge or behind the ruck with quick feet....against the lower teams.

Yep, can't compare JBs metres to that of a prop where the metres are much tougher to come by. May as well compare Turbo's av running metres then and put an 8 on his back...

 

[Mal Cochrane]

I am getting comfortable with the pack, but with a young pack will come times this year when they get a few lessons from teams.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

I expect a big year from young Sironen. He is huge, strong and a good ball playing second rower. Our pack will be powerhouse but we need creativity. Good go forward will give Green and DCE the time and room to create havoc. The talent is there we just need it utilised appropriately. Over to you Bazz!

 

[Loobs]

It's a pack with potential. My concern is our defence. Last 2 years we have been consistently smashed around the ruck and we have lost quality defenders in Ballin and Buhrer. This must improve if we are to challenge for the 8.

We had a bunch of fat ****s and old guys in there. Mason took 15 minutes to get off the ground. Vave couldn't move sideways.

 

[double hoops]

I've got AFB starting with Darcy. Myle's job is now to be that experienced elder states off the bench, footy sucks getting old, but when your body can't do it, your voice, and experience can get those young or inexperienced bulls doing it.

Don't discount Charlie Faingaa. If NRL training gets that bloke fit. Look out. I just love watching him hit the ball up. He may just show everyone what a wrecking ball is.

 

[Deleted member 26876]

Good post, optimistic but still realistic

 

[Lord Eagleton]

theres big and then there is huge,i reckon big is better than huge,also young and hard with everything to prove.
B.Fulton starting to weave his old magic

Careful mate. That sounds like a positive statement regarding Bob Fulton. Remember the popular sheep vote around here: he's a past it old geriatric, has lost touch with the game and is not doing any good for the club

 

[Killer03]

I expect a big year from young Sironen. He is huge, strong and a good ball playing second rower. Our pack will be powerhouse but we need creativity. Good go forward will give Green and DCE the time and room to create havoc. The talent is there we just need it utilised appropriately. Over to you Bazz!

Sironen could be the forward X factor we have been missing since Gifty left. I think he has shed loads of potential, just needs to show us what he can do.

I always like having a back rower who can throw good passes and create something.

 

[winnyason]

love to be over optimistic guys but we are gonna do it tough this year. that said the pack if people are given opps could pose problems on there day.
front row wise we have lussick, afb, myles, meehan, perrett, bj while backrow wise we have jake, marty, lane, sironen, hopa.
Out wide is where i think we have issues without a blue chip centre whoever takes matai spot is not ready or just not up to it. Brian kelly has not played firsts is only around 85kgs while matt wright is deadset too slow.

 

[midsteyne]

Careful mate. That sounds like a positive statement regarding Bob Fulton. Remember the popular sheep vote around here: he's a past it old geriatric, has lost touch with the game and is not doing any good for the club

The popular statements in here will never sway my opinion of the Best player Manly have ever had,regardless of all the other best players, Fulton was better than all of them and we have had some crackers,luckily I was around to see just how good he was as a player,then as a coach,i still rate him as the best player I have seen play in the world ever!!!!

 

[The Indian]

Ok so lets go and sign Kasiano, George Rose, Mose Masoe, Tony Williams, Dave Taylor and Junior Paulo ??? We could have the biggest forward pack in the history of the world....and probably run 14th.


We've signed a handful of people who have mostly been let go by other clubs.....just cause they are "big" seems irrelevant.

I hope our recruiters have it right and I have it wrong...but I don't see how all of a sudden we have some amazing forward pack and will steamroll all.

It's what you do with it as they say in the classics.

 

[maxta]

Ok so lets go and sign Kasiano, George Rose, Mose Masoe, Tony Williams, Dave Taylor and Junior Paulo ??? We could have the biggest forward pack in the history of the world....and probably run 14th.


We've signed a handful of people who have mostly been let go by other clubs.....just cause they are "big" seems irrelevant.

I hope our recruiters have it right and I have it wrong...but I don't see how all of a sudden we have some amazing forward pack and will steamroll all.

It's what you do with it as they say in the classics.

Taylor , Williams and Masoe are myths -
Rose WAS good impact and Kasiano/Paolo would be welcome additions into most packs.
The point was the forwards in recent times lost MOST physical battles with only Jake, Kapow & Lussick matching the tougher, bigger rival packs.....
I think with Sironen, Lane, Kapow there is a little more added agility than a LAND of the giants pack also, which is mentioned by plenty of posters here.
Size is not everything in winning a game, but getting rolled through the middle and lacking intimidation is a big part of losing games....
Lets put it this way - if we ask DCE and Green about some big bodies winning that ruck area, they will be smiling from ear to ear, as will the outside backs who cash in on the extra space and time the Big boppers add by compressing opposition defence after plowing through the gates - with SIZE.

 

[Killer03]

Taylor , Williams and Masoe are myths -
Rose WAS good impact and Kasiano/Paolo would be welcome additions into most packs.
The point was the forwards in recent times lost MOST physical battles with only Jake, Kapow & Lussick matching the tougher, bigger rival packs.....
I think with Sironen, Lane, Kapow there is a little more added agility than a LAND of the giants pack also, which is mentioned by plenty of posters here.
Size is not everything in winning a game, but getting rolled through the middle and lacking intimidation is a big part of losing games....
Lets put it this way - if we ask DCE and Green about some big bodies winning that ruck area, they will be smiling from ear to ear, as will the outside backs who cash in on the extra space and time the Big boppers add by compressing opposition defence after plowing through the gates - with SIZE.

Yup no good just having a skilful set of forwards, there needs to be some size and above all intimidation.

I think that was what made our golden era teams so succesful, we had an intimidating pack of forwards. And they hunted as a pack! Watmough and Gifty weren't huge, but they feared no one and they more than made up for it with aggression. Add in the size of kite, king, perry, rose. And we had forward pack that was fairly impressive.

Add in backs like Matai who would chime in with some bell ringers and it made our defensive more than imposing.

 

[pjayz]

This team is starting to take the shape of our mid 90s side. Big aggressive front row (Carroll and Gillespie vs Lussick and AFB) tall back rowers with a mix of size and creativity (Gartner, Menzies, kosef vs kapow, sironen, jake), creative halves (tooves and Lyons vs DCE and green) and speed out wide (hill, innes vs turbo and walker). Similar type wingers in Uate/tafua vs hoppa. Not saying this side is anywhere near that side talent wise as yet, but the molds are very similar. Bozo knows.

This time we have two halves that can kick; however, nobody has the passing game and general magic close to the line that Cliffy had - pure magician.

 

[BOZO]

This time we have two halves that can kick; however, nobody has the passing game and general magic close to the line that Cliffy had - pure magician.

As well as having two halves that can kick we also have a hooker in Hastings that can kick as well . Barrett has plenty of options with his game plan .

 

[Hgbcds]

Since when

As well as having two halves that can kick we also have a hooker in Hastings that can kick as well . Barrett has plenty of options with his game plan .

since when was Hastings a first grade hooker?wow!massive statement bozo seeing how much impact a real hooker has on the game.

 

[BOZO]

Since when

since when was Hastings a first grade hooker?wow!massive statement bozo seeing how much impact a real hooker has on the game.

Hastings has all the skills and size to make a good hooker as well as a utility player and that is where the coaching staff will trial him.

 

[Hgbcds]

So we dont

Hastings has all the skills and size to make a good hooker as well as a utility player and that is where the coaching staff will trial him.

So we don't have a hooker in hastings. We are go to trial him as a hooker is what you mean?

 

[Sheikheagle]

love to be over optimistic guys but we are gonna do it tough this year. that said the pack if people are given opps could pose problems on there day.
front row wise we have lussick, afb, myles, meehan, perrett, bj while backrow wise we have jake, marty, lane, sironen, hopa.
Out wide is where i think we have issues without a blue chip centre whoever takes matai spot is not ready or just not up to it. Brian kelly has not played firsts is only around 85kgs while matt wright is deadset too slow.

Yeah agree. very difficult to replace killer, shoulders and potentially snake

 

[winnyason]

Yeah agree. very difficult to replace killer, shoulders and potentially snake

we need a centre walker good in patches very streaky not sure what we need in a rebuild