[Resurrected] Lachlan Croker

[Ohgeez]

If Croker does end up being ruled out for up to 3 rounds it should be Simpkin’s spot to lose going on the rest of the year. Id hate to see us winning & him playing good just to be dropped because Croker is ‘tough’

 

[The Wheel]

Froggy injury troubles early in his career where knee related from memory??

 

[silvereagle]

If Croker does end up being ruled out for up to 3 rounds it should be Simpkin’s spot to lose going on the rest of the year. Id hate to see us winning & him playing good just to be dropped because Croker is ‘tough’

I liked the way Jazz Tevaga played recently against the Poms....at hooker. While Croker is out he will likely start at 9 with bench backup from Gordie / Simkin. With Croker back, I think he will be our 14 as he can also cover lock. Seibold obviously likes him also.

“Jazz has played in finals and has had a lot experience over there in New Zealand. He has also represented Samoa,’’ said Manly Coach Anthony Seibold.

“He brings that grit and toughness to what we have already got here. We feel like he will be a good addition to our group.”

 

[Ohgeez]

I liked the way Jazz Tevaga played recently against the Poms....at hooker. While Croker is out he will likely start at 9 with bench backup from Gordie / Simkin. With Croker back, I think he will be our 14 as he can also cover lock. Seibold obviously likes him also.

“Jazz has played in finals and has had a lot experience over there in New Zealand. He has also represented Samoa,’’ said Manly Coach Anthony Seibold.

“He brings that grit and toughness to what we have already got here. We feel like he will be a good addition to our group.”

I agree Jazz will definitely play some hooker, front row & lock across the year from the bench but why would Simpkin not start? He played well when given chances last season & put in 80 minute performances when we we won some tough games.

 

[lsz]

So we have had someone for years at 9 who was a good defender but lacked the dynamic ball playing / running of other 9's.

If we have Jazz playing there I would think it is a downgrade compared to what we have had with Croker

 

[rmd]

I think it has to be Simpkin to start with, unless GCKT really stands out in the pre season games. Tavega would be a 'standby'.

 

[47MVEagle]

Yep, Simpkin should get the start, he provided an instant improvement in our play the ball/ruck speed when he debuted for us last year & went on to perform solidly until the Roosters game, & even then he wasn't that bad, probably was due a spell for playing several 80 minute games at hooker.

He's also young & can be developed further as a gun hooker, while Tevaga is in the twilight of his career.

I hope Siebold has got Tevaga mentoring Simpkin & is planning to start Simpkin with Tevaga at #14.

 

[Blake]

Confirmed by the club, out for the first 3 rounds.

 

[BOZO]

Id hate to see us winning & him playing good just to be dropped because Croker is ‘tough’

The Thing is all players playing NRL are Tough
This is a given .You have to be tough to play this Brutal game
If you are not tough you dont play NRL . You play touch footy .

The other Thing is some players are naturally more Talented than others
Sure you can learn the Trade through hard work but the Natural Gifted ones become Terrific at it .

The NRL Nine Spine Position in one that requires Toughness
as well as The Essential Talent which is The Critical thing that Lachlan Croker Lacks .

The Moral of the Story is a Simple one
With Upgrades the only Way is Up

 

[BOZO]

Confirmed by the club, out for the first 3 rounds.

Injury has forced Seibolds Hand

 

[JakeyB789]

All the best to Croker but his injury is definitely a boost to the team. Had a few instances in recent years (especially under Des) where an injury has forced a change for the better of the side and that will certainly be the case here.

Hopefully Simpkin can get off to a good start with a relatively soft start to the year and 2/3 games at Brookie. One of Seibold’s biggest failures last years was bringing Croker back after injury so will be very interesting to see if he’s learnt anything there!

 

[Rackets]

Isn't Ennis still part of the coaching staff? I'm sure he'll have some say also in who should fill that role. He would've done plenty of work with the boys and put them through the tough process to get the best from them. I too think Simpkins should start. He's young, eager, great pass and has enough potential to be the mainstay with either Gordie or Jez as the backup.
Time will tell, and us fans may be asking for a lot, but there's enough coaching brain staff in the club this year, as well as backup cover where there should be minimal excuses for not having a successful premiership winning year.

 

[Ralphie]

We cannot win a Premiership with Croker in the team. This injury may open the door for a permanent switch if Simpkin can step up and make a case that cannot be ignored.

 

[Disco]

Tevaga is fine a a bench 9 to spelll for 10-15 but he should never start hooker.

Simpkin for sure

 

[BOZO]

We cannot win a Premiership with Croker in the team. This injury may open the door for a permanent switch if Simpkin can step up and make a case that cannot be ignored.

Croker has been a loyal and Willing Servant
But We must not let Sentiment get in our Way to Winning
Winning is The Manly Way
and We need Winners to get us there !

 

[BOZO]

The Way to Winning is to Be Brutal
Just like our Premiership Winning Godfather who let no Weak Sentiment get in his way from Upgrading players and Keeping up with our Decade of Dominance
Loyalty must be a Priority to our Legendary clubs Premiership Winning Prospects

Have a Great Day Feathered friends
Focus on being Brutal along the way ...
SENTIMENTAL SOFT COCKS FINISH LAST
LIFE IS THE MOST BRUTAL SPORT OF ALL TIME
AND YOU HAVE TO BE BRUTAL TO BE SUCCESSFUL
Good luck !

 

[Scorpio]

All the best to Croker but his injury is definitely a boost to the team. Had a few instances in recent years (especially under Des) where an injury has forced a change for the better of the side and that will certainly be the case here.

Hopefully Simpkin can get off to a good start with a relatively soft start to the year and 2/3 games at Brookie. One of Seibold’s biggest failures last years was bringing Croker back after injury so will be very interesting to see if he’s learnt anything there!

Simpkin was displaced by not only Croker, but also by GCKT on the bench at the end of the season. This suggests to me that, in the opinion of the coach, he was not consistently executing his instructed tasks well enough to warrant keeping either of them out of the top 17. Maybe there are some other factors we don't know about. Errors are one thing, but to me he looked a bit "passive" in defence at times... this seemed to be a common theme among players that got dropped last year.

It might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think it is a case of Silvertails knowing better than the coach... The coach and staff see the players from November through September/October in pre-season training, weekly training, not just the 80 minutes per week for half the year that we do. It has to be up to Jake to force his way into the Top 13/17 and stay there.

 

[JakeyB789]

Simpkin was displaced by not only Croker, but also by GCKT on the bench at the end of the season. This suggests to me that, in the opinion of the coach, he was not consistently executing his instructed tasks well enough to warrant keeping either of them out of the top 17. Maybe there are some other factors we don't know about. Errors are one thing, but to me he looked a bit "passive" in defence at times... this seemed to be a common theme among players that got dropped last year.

It might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think it is a case of Silvertails knowing better than the coach... The coach and staff see the players from November through September/October in pre-season training, weekly training, not just the 80 minutes per week for half the year that we do. It has to be up to Jake to force his way into the Top 13/17 and stay there.

Gordon was picked over Simpkin because he is a different style of player to him and Croker with his running game and suits coming off the bench more. Simpkin either starts or isn’t in the team at all, it’s part of the reason things went south for him at the Tigers and why he ended up here. He struggled to play 14 behind Api and they’ve also had Da Silva coming through.

I personally like to look at it from a results perspective and we won 4/6 with Simpkin in the side. One loss was against Souffs with a Blacktown quality side and one against Roosters where admittedly his defence was not quite up to scratch. Did Croker’s defence help us when we got flogged by the exact same opposition in the finals? Heck even in his first couple games back we scored the majority of our points while he was off the field.

Croker can train as hard as he wants (and I don’t think that’s the main reason he keeps getting picked, moreso his relationship with the Trbojevic’s and status in the team) but we’ve got a 4 year sample size now that he won’t get us over the hump. Simpkin might not either, but he’s at least a younger option with less of an injury history, comparable defence and far better service having actually played hooker his whole career. Really looking forward to seeing how he goes with the chance to start the new year.