It is Schuster time

[SeaEagleRock8]

Cameron Smith has made a career out of it.. sure in the middle will be harder stamina wise but won't be caught out one and one on a rampaging backrower. 2 or three in the tackle should hide his defficiencies

Not sure you can use Cameron Smith as an example of how easy it is to defend at hooker. There have been hookers in rugby league since day dot but none have endured like he has. Not even Matt Ballin!

 

[XV-1]

Croker out
Cust to start at 6.
Schuster on the bench
Levi to start at 9
Levi comes off afta 25 - Cust goes to hooker and Schuster to 6.

I am excited if this happens.

 

[KNUCKLES]

Not sure you can use Cameron Smith as an example of how easy it is to defend at hooker. There have been hookers in rugby league since day dot but none have endured like he has. Not even Matt Ballin!

Because he is always 2nd or third man in..rarely takes the brunt of the impact. Thats why they say his the smartest player there has been

 

[Pittwater Legend]

I have a feeling that Josh Schuster might become one of my favourite players. I hope he debuts this weekend

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Because he is always 2nd or third man in..rarely takes the brunt of the impact. Thats why they say his the smartest player there has been

I doubt anyone can hide when you are stationed in the middle in NRL.
Especially when you are the one player every opposition giant would be trying to trample.
Two contracts, callous to McKinnon, etc etc etc, but credit where its due!

 

[KNUCKLES]

I doubt anyone can hide when you are stationed in the middle in NRL.
Especially when you are the one player every opposition giant would be trying to trample.
Two contracts, callous to McKinnon, etc etc etc, but credit where its due!

Im sorry I'm not exactly sure what your getting at.. cam Smith is a great player? Sure he is.. but fact is his strength isn't his defense, or I should say weakest attribute. he is protected in the middle. He is smart cause he knows where to position himself reading plays in d. It was even spoke about pre storm game with des about targeting smith coz his fresh back from injury and des simply said how? Cam always knows where not to be. Watch him closely in upcoming games and see how many times he is first in out of all his tackles

 

[KaZa]

Croker out
Cust to start at 6.
Schuster on the bench
Levi to start at 9
Levi comes off afta 25 - Cust goes to hooker and Schuster to 6.

I am excited if this happens.

Hoppa to full back.
Funa to centre
Schuster at 6
Cust at 9
Levi bench to come on with his pace against tiring forwards.

 

[XV-1]

Hoppa to full back.
Funa to centre
Schuster at 6
Cust at 9
Levi bench to come on with his pace against tiring forwards.

with Hoppa and Funa to swap positions after 10 minutes when Hoppa is gassed

 

[Bearfax]

with Hoppa and Funa to swap positions after 10 minutes when Hoppa is gassed

Worth a try. Swapping backline positions can open up potential attacking alternatives. Of course they need to be well drilled to not disturb team structure.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Im sorry I'm not exactly sure what your getting at.. cam Smith is a great player? Sure he is.. but fact is his strength isn't his defense, or I should say weakest attribute. he is protected in the middle. He is smart cause he knows where to position himself reading plays in d. It was even spoke about pre storm game with des about targeting smith coz his fresh back from injury and des simply said how? Cam always knows where not to be. Watch him closely in upcoming games and see how many times he is first in out of all his tackles

Fair enough I've never really noticed that, though I've not really ever focussed on watching him in defence. I have noticed his wrestling (der!) and I reckon he must be some sort of martial art expert because he is highly skilled at 'soft landings' or somehow avoiding the full impact collisions that so often occur. I assumed that was a skill rather than 'hiding'. In fact I've often wondered if over the years Storm have deliberately emplyed defensive techniques that reduce the collision factor, as a way of minimising injury? No idea really, but they do usually seem to enjoy a better run with injury than many other teams.

 

[Scorpio]

Fair enough I've never really noticed that, though I've not really ever focussed on watching him in defence. I have noticed his wrestling (der!) and I reckon he must be some sort of martial art expert because he is highly skilled at 'soft landings' or somehow avoiding the full impact collisions that so often occur. I assumed that was a skill rather than 'hiding'. In fact I've often wondered if over the years Storm have deliberately emplyed defensive techniques that reduce the collision factor, as a way of minimising injury? No idea really, but they do usually seem to enjoy a better run with injury than many other teams.

The Storm use a Martial Arts dojo in Melbourne run by an MMA guru.

It is referenced in this article:

This is a hard column to write. But the Storm have been getting away with their dark arts for too long

This is a hard column to write. But the Storm have been getting away with their dark arts for too long

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[KaZa]

with Hoppa and Funa to swap positions after 10 minutes when Hoppa is gassed

He's only going to get fitter as he plays. Centre there's more defending. He can get a few breathers during some plays. Less up and down in defence. He will be fine

 

[Bearfax]

He's only going to get fitter as he plays. Centre there's more defending. He can get a few breathers during some plays. Less up and down in defence. He will be fine

We'll probably see Schuster going through the same process of being gassed. I would suspect Des may then give him a breather and Cust takes over. Alternatively if he is on the bench he'll be used in staggered periods. Either way he'll need to get used to the pace of the game.

 

[The Who]

I await his NRL debut and the headline:
He's a Shoe-in

 

[Highflier]

I await his NRL debut and the headline:
He's a Shoe-in

see yourself out

 

[Cliffymagic]

Looking forward to shoe making his debut. Interested to see if the rest of the team is ready for the bamboozlement and unexpected passes.

 

[stoodamire]

Looking forward to shoe making his debut. Interested to see if the rest of the team is ready for the bamboozlement and unexpected passes.

Might be the next Feleti Mateo. Hopefully the diamonds version.

 

[EOL now nesting on the GC]

I await his NRL debut and the headline:
He's a Shoe-in

Post game headline. You shoe-d have been there. Birth of a superstar.

 

[Chip and Chase]

As long as he isn't like Schlossy's Shoe

 

[Shoe1]

Just so everyone knows, especially new people, I was called the shoe on one eyed eagle and the manly sea eagles site blog in the early days of the www. So the avatar isn’t associated with young schuster.