Mona who?

[Garts]

[quote author=Garts link=topic=177625.msg186515#msg186515 date=1212970368]
I would hardly call Monas a chump,

I do.  He was the worst passing hooker in the NRL last year. 
[/quote]

Might be true but he made up for it other areas.  However without him we may not have made the GF.

 

[The Wheel]

We cant everyone, after becoming a starting NRL player Ballin probably due a reasonable pay rise.

Having said that we look to have more option without Monas as our attack was concentrated around him last season

 

[Canteen Worker]

Hooker is one of the most vital parts of the team. He probably handles the ball more than any other player. Cam Smith, Farah, Buderus etc. Any coincidence in that their teams have all won Grand Finals in the past 7 years.

 

[Jatz Crackers]

At the start of the season i suggested Le Snack might be headed for a utility half role, similar to Monas. Ballin leaving would put a dent in that theory without another quality 80min hooker coming on the market.

So far he has been a great dummy half but i would love to see how the next off season allows him to develop that utility half role.

 

[Matabele]

[quote author=Matabele link=topic=177625.msg186517#msg186517 date=1212974775]
[quote author=Garts link=topic=177625.msg186515#msg186515 date=1212970368]
I would hardly call Monas a chump,

I do.  He was the worst passing hooker in the NRL last year. 
[/quote]

Might be true but he made up for it other areas.  However without him we may not have made the GF.
[/quote]  I think we'd have made the GF without him.  In my mind we might have had a chance to win the GF if he wasn't there - Ballin may have sparked our go forward with appropriate passing. 

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

LOL, 1 of your best Mata

 

[Nutzcraw]

Ahhh mata.

You really are a tosser.

Great win last night by the boys. Ballin had his best game yet I thought.

 

[Chip and Chase]

I think we'd have made the GF without him.  In my mind we might have had a chance to win the GF if he wasn't there - Ballin may have sparked our go forward with appropriate passing. 

Just like he did in the first two rounds against Sharks and Knights eh ?? He wouldn't have made any difference in the GF. Even the most ardent fan (or stalker in your case) would have to admit that his form hasn't been all that it was cracked up to be this season. He has started to offer something in the last two games, and I thought he was particularly good against the Raiders. He is however frustrating me with his poor decision making on when to run himself inside the attacking 20. He is turning into a Piggy Riddell and backing himself every set of six to get over from dummy half.

 

[Guest]

I've heard that Chad randall wants to come back to Manly.  He might be a good replacement for Ballin. 

Apparantly he has improved a lot since he left and doesn't run the blindside as much now. 

 

[Matabele]

[quote author=Matabele]
I think we'd have made the GF without him.  In my mind we might have had a chance to win the GF if he wasn't there - Ballin may have sparked our go forward with appropriate passing. 

Just like he did in the first two rounds against Sharks and Knights eh ?? He wouldn't have made any difference in the GF. Even the most ardent fan (or stalker in your case) would have to admit that his form hasn't been all that it was cracked up to be this season. He has started to offer something in the last two games, and I thought he was particularly good against the Raiders. He is however frustrating me with his poor decision making on when to run himself inside the attacking 20. He is turning into a Piggy Riddell and backing himself every set of six to get over from dummy half.
[/quote]

So you're noticing improvement as he settles into his role?  Imagine where he'd be if he hadn't endured two wasted years?

 

[Matabele]

Ahhh mata.

You really are a tosser.

Did your village decide to adjust its IQ levels upwards and throw you out again did it?

 

[The Wheel]

I've heard that Chad randall wants to come back to Manly.  He might be a good replacement for Ballin. 

Apparantly he has improved a lot since he left and doesn't run the blindside as much now. 

I hope this is a huge gee up, next thing Luke Dorn wants a 2nd chance  :-\

 

[Chip and Chase]

So you're noticing improvement as he settles into his role?  Imagine where he'd be if he hadn't endured two wasted years?

I wasn't any sort of Monas fan so I'm not lamenting his departure. The only exposure I had to Ballin was his NRL game time last year, which showed me he looked likely at times. However given the hype surrounding him from some on here I was expecting that he'd take this season by storm and be the next Smith, Farah or Buderus. TBH I'm a little underwhelmed by his contribution. You might say he is warming to the role, some might suggest he is putting in because a contract is in the wind. I'm not knocking the guy as I think he is a solid enough footballer and probably has some improvement in him as evidenced by the last two games (and maybe it's no coincidence that our forward pack has totally dominated those two games either), but you must admit to being a little disappointed by his impact to date.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Mata, wasn't Ballin supposed to be Cameron Smith's backup right around this time

I think Ballin has gone OK, nothing more, nothing less, but if we use your hype and assessments of him the past 2 seasons as a barometer, then Ballin has under performed this season

 

[Matabele]

The "hype" you referred to is no different to what I have said in this thread.  We need to put him in First Grade as he is a better all-round hooker than Moanaghan and will prove to be so. 

He is already a better player than the other cretin despiute being hogtied for two years.

 

[Fluffy]

Normally you start threads like this when orford has a shocker to take the heat off.

Whats with the change in tactic?

 

[KaZa]

Mata,

Ballin has been **** this season...

Reason we have shut up over Monaghan is because he left last year.... we moved on.. I suggest you leave the guy alone.. hes gone... geez.. get over it.

Ballin ruins our attack with his hero plays trying to score from dummy half.

14-0 when he was on.. then 28-0 when Heath was on.

 

[Jatz Crackers]

It seems to me that Ballins valueless try attempts from dummy half have been predominantly in the last 3 weeks. Obviously its a playing for contract initiative.

 

[byso]

Ballin is adequate, Lesnack offers far more for our attack.

Monas was far more versatile in all areas.

 

[willstyles]

L'Estrange has been excellent, but don't downplay Ballin's role. He's been slow to start this year, certainly, but his form has picked up in the last month.

He's showing versatility by switching to the backrow at times during the second half so guys like Glenn Stewart/Beaver/Willow can get a rest and L'Estrange can stay on.

Make no mistake, L'Estrange's job would be a whole lot more difficult if he had to start and didn't have the advantage of Ballin making 15 tackles in the opening stages.

Monas was a very, very good player for Manly. Our best last year in my opinion, and we have missed him this year - you'd be naive to think otherwise, because look at how slow we started. It took an entire off-season and eight rounds before we probably "clicked" this year (despite the thrashing of the Warriors, I don't think we played particularly well until the Broncos game - although both the Eels and Dogs games were good, gritty wins). And that is despite having a transition involving a bloke who played 10+ games last year and has been training with the top squad for roughly three years now?

We were always going to adjust without Monas, as all teams eventually do when they lose a key player, and it was always going to take time.

Personally, I'm pretty happy that we've been able to do most of the adjusting by the half-way mark of the season.

Also, to my knowledge the Broncos can't afford Ballin. Whether or not he wants to go there is irrelevant, they've still got plenty of offloading to do to stay under the cap (Boyd and Moon both being told to leave, even though they both want to stay and the club wants to keep them...they just can't afford it).

So Ballin might move somewhere, but the Broncos are no certainties at this stage unless some drastic changes (ie Lockyer retirement or a move overseas) come about.