Manly need THAT Leader

[maxta]

Looking back to the turn of the tide mid 2000's - Manly made 1 of the smartest, rewarding signings in its history - Ben Kennedy !!
The bloke could play - was tough as nails- amazing unload and opposition avoided running at his destructive shoulders....a defensive warrior.
The thing that was greater than all of his ability was his leadership....many times he showed the talented young squad about the fight - taking the game by the scruff of the neck against the odds and belting the opposition into submission - the 2008 GF win 40-0 was a massive reflection on the BK effect that did not get the recognition it deserved.
Lets face it - its unlikely we will get another player of these lofty standards, but really feel Manly need a leader with these elements.
DCE in 2017 went up 3 notches as a great Captain and Green was a cool head under pressure.
Kapow was winning Every collision with power along with AFB, Jake T cutting players in half with textbook defence....but still missing that motivator who screams the house down and really revs up the troops, things just seemed a little quiet when under the pump a few times this season including the knockout against Penrith....this is the element to go to the next level imo.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Agree BUT WHO?

 

[Ryan]

I honestly think Trent Barrett could coach those leadership skills into Jake Trbojevic. He was a little more vocal this season with the refs, and wears his heart on his sleeve like BK used to.

I personally don't think there is a better leader in the team.

 

[brad]

Thompson may fit the required leadership.

 

[The Who]

Agree BUT WHO?

Nick Kyrgios?

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Thompson may fit the required leadership.

If we actually get him!

 

[Harvies elbow]

If we actually get him!

Next week...

 

[pjayz]

If we actually get him!

I have it on good authority that we absolutely and unequivocally might maybe get him.

Glad I could clear that up...

 

[tookey]

Tony Abbott?

 

[manlyfan76]

Kim Jong

 

[Chip and Chase]

Killer has filled that role the last few years and it was sadly missed at the end of this season when we needed a cool head to lead and someone willing to get in there and change game momentum with a big play. Personally I don't see those qualities in DCE, but I might be wrong. Jake Turbo is passionate but a little inexperienced and still growing into his game, long term I think he'll be an option, but over next couple of seasons probably not.

I look at the current squad and there isn't a standout. We don't have that experienced hard head, forward or back.

 

[desreturnoftheking]

Looking back to the turn of the tide mid 2000's - Manly made 1 of the smartest, rewarding signings in its history - Ben Kennedy !!
The bloke could play - was tough as nails- amazing unload and opposition avoided running at his destructive shoulders....a defensive warrior.
The thing that was greater than all of his ability was his leadership....many times he showed the talented young squad about the fight - taking the game by the scruff of the neck against the odds and belting the opposition into submission - the 2008 GF win 40-0 was a massive reflection on the BK effect that did not get the recognition it deserved.
Lets face it - its unlikely we will get another player of these lofty standards, but really feel Manly need a leader with these elements.
DCE in 2017 went up 3 notches as a great Captain and Green was a cool head under pressure.
Kapow was winning Every collision with power along with AFB, Jake T cutting players in half with textbook defence....but still missing that motivator who screams the house down and really revs up the troops, things just seemed a little quiet when under the pump a few times this season including the knockout against Penrith....this is the element to go to the next level imo.

api is a rev up man but yeah I agree we need more of that. We need a hard bastard like watmough

 

[Technical Coach]

Lyon might have been the leader but Matai was the motivator with his actions.

 

[ManlyMatt]

We need a hard bastard like watmough

Lyon might have been the leader but Matai was the motivator with his actions.

It's settled then. Lets bring the old team back!

 

[BOZO]

When we talk about tough leaders they don't come any tougher than this guy who learned his trade from the school of hard knocks
Here is our man feathered friends.....

NRL >COM
St George Illawarra Dragons star Joel Thompson is shaping lives with his tough background story
JOEL Thompson admits he’d be in jail right now — or worse — if it wasn’t for an intervention that saved his life.
As an “angry” young boy who had a rough upbringing, he was headed down a dark path where many have been lost, including his own relatives.

The St George Illawarra star has become an NRL State of Mind ambassador with a goal of shaping the lives of younger generations who have had similar experiences to his own.

But to understand where that built-up anger came from as a youngster, the NRL star takes us back to his turbulent past.

“I come from a remote town in western NSW (Ivanhoe) ... I moved around a lot with different relations,” Thompson told League Life.

“I saw a lot of violence, I saw drug and alcohol abuse and different issues that affected me later on in life and shaped the person I am now.


“The battles I had, it had me in trouble at school. I had my first police interview at 13 (years old). I was definitely heading down the wrong direction.

“I was lucky enough to have (grandparents) come into my life that gave me some love and care and shelter and put me into a boarding school. That’s where my footy started.

“The battles I had early on, I didn’t deal with them the best way and that’s why I share my story and show people it’s OK to ask for help — and how life changing it was for me and to be where I am now and have a beautiful family and do what I do was because I took that step.
“It’s scary to think where I’d be without doing that. That’s why I’m so passionate about the State of Mind campaign and what it does out in the community.”

Thompson knows if it wasn’t for his wife, Amy, the demons from his past could have easily overcome him early on in his NRL career.

“If my wife didn’t come into my life at that stage — I was treating myself pretty bad. She pushed me, she made me go and speak to someone,” Thompson says.


“I went in there, she held my hand and I cried like a baby. It was the first time I’d cried since I lost my pop.

“It was a life-changing moment for me and it pushed me in that direction.

“I’ve had battles along the way where I’ve had to speak to someone.

“I’ve got two beautiful girls who give me even more motivation to be healthy and look after myself.”

A comment from a St George Supporter ...

Joel, stories like these are incredibly inspiring, you sound like you have become a fantastic role model both on & off the field, it's great to hear about any player from any club turning their life around but even more for me hearing it coming from a Dragons player.

 

[Holmsey]

Its simple... Jake T! Not now but give it a couple of years and he will be perfect. He is obviously going to captain Manly sometime in the near future full time (Already vice captain), and I also see him at higher honours as Australia skipper and NSW skipper. He is perfect, vocal player that isnt afraid to give a mate a spray for a bad play, leads with his actions especially in his defence and he is a junior from the area, someone the people respect and above all else he is a top bloke, nice and comes from a great family!

 

[The Wheel]

Scott Fulton

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Scott Fulton

Now you are just being ridiculous ......lol

 

[brad]

If we actually get him!

Well thats right.

 

[double hoops]

Looking back to the turn of the tide mid 2000's - Manly made 1 of the smartest, rewarding signings in its history - Ben Kennedy !!
The bloke could play - was tough as nails- amazing unload and opposition avoided running at his destructive shoulders....a defensive warrior.
The thing that was greater than all of his ability was his leadership....many times he showed the talented young squad about the fight - taking the game by the scruff of the neck against the odds and belting the opposition into submission - the 2008 GF win 40-0 was a massive reflection on the BK effect that did not get the recognition it deserved.
Lets face it - its unlikely we will get another player of these lofty standards, but really feel Manly need a leader with these elements.
DCE in 2017 went up 3 notches as a great Captain and Green was a cool head under pressure.
Kapow was winning Every collision with power along with AFB, Jake T cutting players in half with textbook defence....but still missing that motivator who screams the house down and really revs up the troops, things just seemed a little quiet when under the pump a few times this season including the knockout against Penrith....this is the element to go to the next level imo.

100 per cent agree.

Tis why James Graham would have been such a great pick up for us.

I do see Thompson's best years being ahead of him.

I'm confident enough to say, Thompson will be great for us. But not a BK.

For me the greatest forward leader in the NRL in 2017 was Paul Vaughn. He just went up 5 levels this year. New team, being an experienced hard head with a tough forward pack, but a team missing an alpha male. He was the best by a mile.

This is DCEs team. But we need a forward leader who gets playing not sent off when the chips are down (Jake may get there one day, but he has a long way to go yet)

I have high hopes Thompson has just received as good an education at the Dragons on what, moving to a new club as an experienced forward leader, is all about. Does he have that charisma to make blokes follow him. We will see.