Matty Ballin

[KOMORI]

Agree, extending Matai for two more years is a mistake as well, they should've allowed him to go at the end of last year when he requested a release.
All it takes is one knock to the kneck/shoulder area and he become a passenger.

Be that as it may, Skivvy's been tremendous this year. And only once suspended for the heinous crime of touching a referee lightly, a crime for which lesser lights are let off completely. That's a story for another time though

 

[lsz]

So loyalty means a player never get's dropped and continues 2 get a new contract?

Just because you have been great for the last 8 years doesn't mean people can't question whether a 2 year extension was appropriate.

No it means that supporters should not look at things on a week by basis looking to chop and change without giving players a chance

It might be my memory but I fail to remember one negative post re the speculation about his contract or when he signed - but a quiet game (after two great wins) and suddenly the contract length is fickle. Maybe, just maybe we give a player a couple of games before we leap to a conclusion

 

[ShakeySeaEagle]

I think the problem is the game is moving towards running dummy halves, unfortunately Matt is not one of them. He and Hodges could have the perfect combination for the next 2 seasons. Ballin is a champion and I guarantee any player loves having him on the field next to them as they know he will continually turn up for them. The guy easily has 2 good years left in him he is a fitness fanatic and takes very good care of himself.

 

[hozza]

No it means that supporters should not look at things on a week by basis looking to chop and change without giving players a chance

It might be my memory but I fail to remember one negative post re the speculation about his contract or when he signed - but a quiet game (after two great wins) and suddenly the contract length is fickle. Maybe, just maybe we give a player a couple of games before we leap to a conclusion

Don't need to drop him, just spell him 20mins a game.
Get a youngster to learn from him.
Ballin has been a great servant of this club but his time IS coming. Next year or the year after...

 

[Beaver boy]

Matt Ballin's 2 year signing was conducted hastily at the time when Stewart had left, Watmough was creating chaos and the murmurs of DCE leaving were rife. The club wanted to show stability. Yes he's been a great servant. Realistically he does zero in attack, decent service from dummy half, way tooooooo slow.

We signed him one year too long. He is a liability.

 

[Loobs]

Matt Ballin's 2 year signing was conducted hastily at the time when Stewart had left, Watmough was creating chaos and the murmurs of DCE leaving were rife. The club wanted to show stability. Yes he's been a great servant. Realistically he does zero in attack, decent service from dummy half, way tooooooo slow.

We signed him one year too long. He is a liability.

Ballin has said that he will not play out the deal if he isn't up to it. He will retire if he feels he's slipping.

 

[HappilyManly]

NRL have reduced to 8 interchanges from 2016, so Matty's workrate is perfect for our bench

Manly could also have him on staff as a rehab specialist

 

[mjb136]

Matt Ballin's 2 year signing was conducted hastily at the time when Stewart had left, Watmough was creating chaos and the murmurs of DCE leaving were rife. The club wanted to show stability. Yes he's been a great servant. Realistically he does zero in attack, decent service from dummy half, way tooooooo slow.

We signed him one year too long. He is a liability.

Just because we extended for 2 years does not guarantee he will continue to be the main number 9.

 

[sheridanstand78]

His defence and service from dummy half are exemplary, I would like to see him be able to spend some time in the 2nd row or lock and give a faster guy a go at dummy half just to mix it up.

 

[Ryan]

I'm thinking he could be very quality depth.

 

[Fluffy]

He is as good as they come for the first 20 minutes, just need someone to balance that off with attack, looking like Api next year but should be running with Hodges this year.

 

[Shoe1]

Ballin has said that he will not play out the deal if he isn't up to it. He will retire if he feels he's slipping.

Coaching material. If he retires early give him the nsw cup team

 

[HoldenV8]

Lets be real here, Matty Ballin has never had a running game. In the past that hasn't been an issue because we had the players in the team who could more than make up for that. His game has always been based on solid service from dummy half and a tackling master class which just never stops.

This year unfortunately with a forward pack providing anything but go forward, his lack of running game is helping to make our attack predictable and at times pedestrian. Not that 2016 should be a problem in that regard because I'm sure Myles, Lussick and Brown will provide better go forward when combined with Jake Trbojevic, Ligi Sao and others.

Here is the problem though. Do you take Matty off for 10-15 minutes at the end of each half so that you can have a dummy half runner who can create problems for the opposition, while at the same time weakening what is already a pretty weak mid-field defence. Its an interesting problem and one I'm glad I don't have to answer.

 

[Loobs]

Coaching material. If he retires early give him the nsw cup team

WHAT ABOUT WILLO?!?

 

[Snake]

The 9 is more important than it ever has been in RL because the game has (for better or worse) morphed into wrestlemania. A roll on the ruck and momentum outweighs the old fashioned footballing nous of yesteryear. As mentioned by plenty on the forum, Ballin gives strong service and tackles his guts out, but the landscape has changed at Manly.

Next year we are down a million $$ half, and someone else is going to have to pose an attacking threat to pick up the slack. If we can offer more around the middle of ruck, it will take some of the heat of DCE and Foran's successor. I would be throwing Api into the starting line-up and giving him 60 minutes of football, and using Ballin to come on for 10 minutes either side of the half time for a cameo.

 

[Ripper]

And if our forward pack actually starts making some metres next year, you need a quick dummy half to take advantage of it.

 

[Spuds Bodyguard]

If I recall MB's comments at the time, he signed a 2 year contract with the 2nd year an option in his favour. He strikes me as the sort of bloke that would step aside if he didn't feel he was up to it any longer or that its in the best interests of the club at the time.

A 1 yr contract would have been an insult to a loyal servant both on and off the field at a time when everyone was up in arms about loyalty.

 

[EagleFromMay1967]

For the specifics of this issue, please read HoldenV8's post above. That sums it up nicely.

MB's game will look a whole lot better when we have some more nitty gritty forwards we now lack. Jake T needs help: Then the plain, solid, consistent, defending hooker, will have time and energy left over for more attacking runs. MB deserves our loyalty. He tackles like no one else. He cant' be everything. If it remains an issue by round 5 next year then, sure, cut his time down to 55 mins. For Right Now: Hodges should be getting 10 mins per half at least. You know it makes sense, to everyone except the coach.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

For the specifics of this issue, please read HoldenV8's post above. That sums it up nicely.

MB's game will look a whole lot better when we have some more nitty gritty forwards we now lack. Jake T needs help: Then the plain, solid, consistent, defending hooker, will have time and energy left over for more attacking runs. MB deserves our loyalty. He tackles like no one else. He cant' be everything. If it remains an issue by round 5 next year then, sure, cut his time down to 55 mins. For Right Now: Hodges should be getting 10 mins per half at least. You know it makes sense, to everyone except the coach.

We can all see it, but apparently 2V can't , that and his decision to run Hasplod all year is baffling to say the least .

 

[Jase Seaeagle]

I'm Really Good friends with Owen Cunningham and even he doesn't understand what Tooves is doing. Too many knocks when he was playing are taking their toll.