No room for T Wright

[nightster]

no I was referring to the great Phil Blakey

 

[BOZO]

Off course its only 2 games into the season, but from what we have seen particularly from Brian Kelly and Lachie Croker, and to a lesser extent Brad Parker, where does this leave Tom Wright in the puzzle both short and long term?
I must admit i was one advocating for his inclusion in round one (in centres), but in hindsight cant fault T Baz's selections - albeit probably should have had Parker for M Wright last week.
Injuries, suspension and form do play their part in a long season, but my gut feeling is a precocious talent like Tom Wright isn't the type happy to bide his time in reserves..
Can someone remind me how long he is signed for? Not that it matters much these days..

In terms of raw speed and ability Tom Wright is unmatched by the others . What he does with his raw talent is the $64 question . Tom is contracted till the end of 2019
The young Monster Moses Suli is a player that nothing will stop him from making the grade but only himself .

 

[Deleted member 26876]

Problem is Harry that when we judge someone like Tom Wright, we are judging him on the spectacular elements we see and assume that is on par with what we should expect from him. The flaws you refer to are to do with lack of involvement at times, but that's because we expect the same outstanding performances all the time. When he is quiet he isnt that much different from other players.

I watched Parker and Croker closely for example in their last game and stated they were solid. But their performances were no better than Tom Wright's performances when Wright is less involved. We get used to seeing the freakish performances of Wright, but then criticise him when he just performs solidly.

What I've seen of Parker and Croker so far, I'll say I'm impressed by their commitment and solid performances. But there is no way they are match winners like Tom Wright. Unfortunately we expect match winning performances from him every time he's on the field.

All i'd want from Tom Wright is consistency and simplicity, big game plays will come after that, although we've got enough talent in attack

 

[Stevo]

It is a very long season. He'll get a shot at NRL this year (and is good enough to seize his chance).

Really??

At this point he is 5th choice centre at best.

Walker
Kelly
Parker
M.Wright
??
**** i hope we are not that desperate

 

[Bearfax]

All i'd want from Tom Wright is consistency and simplicity, big game plays will come after that, although we've got enough talent in attack

Missed the point Harry. No player plays consistently, though more experienced players play more consistently than younger players. And it depends on what you mean by simplicity. I've seen nothing to suggest Wright could be accused of playing poorly or making the wrong judgement calls. As I see it the only criticism regards involvement. Sometimes he makes the big plays that win games. Other times he's quiet but he still does his job competently. For example in the U20s semi he was the game breaker. In the grand final he was covered closely by the opposition so it left the door open for Cust to take the lead. But what I saw of his play was still competent...he did his fundamental job in attack and defence, just had the Parra side watching him closely.

As I said we raise the bar with this kid and anything less than some spectacular plays and he's supposedly quiet. But the point is that he still does his job. His performance is that grandfinal for example was I would suggest, no less competent than Parker's game against Parra last week. But Parker's bar of expectation is lower than Wright's, because he doesnt have the attacking ability. Check the game and tell me how many breaks he made...none. How many tackles did he make. Total 7 compared to Kelly's 9. He made around 40 metres, Kelly 80 metres, including a couple of big breaks. Parker in fact made the equal least metres with Croker of the back line other than DCE. If Wright had performed in such a manner he would have had a quiet game. For Parker it was a good game. Its all in the expectations

 

[XV-1]

Would have Tom Wright played better than his 2 brothers today at fb or wing?

I really don't know what Barrett is waiting for. Tom to be signed by another club?

 

[The Who]

If Tom Wright was in Gladstone (did he travel there?) and wasn't picked over Johno Wright needs an explanation.
We know J Wright is barely of reserve grade standard. T Wright? We may never know how good he'll be until the Rorters recruit him.

 

[smithy]

If Tom Wright was in Gladstone (did he travel there?) and wasn't picked over Johno Wright needs an explanation.
We know J Wright is barely of reserve grade standard. T Wright? We may never know how good he'll be until the Rorters recruit him.

He played NSW cup so didnt travel.

 

[Bearfax]

I think Barrett is worrying too much and is developing an inflexible mindset about where he positions players. I remember a few top coaches in the past saying you pick the best 13 players and then you worry about their position on the field. Though I think this is an over simplification...would you pick 13 backs for example?...I think there is some truth regarding a degree of flexibility concerning where you position a player.

There are several examples of this inflexibility that we're seeing with Barrett's selections. He has Hastings playing out of his skin as a bench player, but he only selects him at hooker, when at the Roosters he quite competently played in the halves. Api is a hooker and doesnt have the same overall skills that suit a 5/8, yet he places Api at 5/8 when Croker is off, and Hastings at hooker. I know he wants to give Api a breather and probably rightly so. But he's had many opportunities to play Hastings in the halves, where he has succeeded, and yet he wont budge.

The same applies in the backs. He has Matt Wright pigeon holed for wing or full back. Jonno Wright wing only. Both are not first grade material or at best are fair first graders. Yet he has speedster Tom Wright, who he had in his extended squad only 2 weeks ago, not being considered on the wing for this game, despite having played wing and full back in the past. It almost feels like he's pigeon holed him for 5/8 or maybe centre and nothing else. Parker is competent as centre but nothing special, but you can see he would make an excellent bench player for backs and forwards, yet no movements in the direction. Then we have another speedster in Anderson, a developmental player, who has played all his career at full back or wing, and not even a mention

Barrett seems to me to be in a mind set, probably based on fear, that you use players in positions they play the most even if they are only safe and offer no inspiration. I would have Hastings on for example for most of the match. He's a terrier. I would have Tom Wright on one wing at least. He has speed and creativity. If Tom T is out I would have Anderson at full back. He always looks strong and confident in that position. Barrett needs to start looking outside the box. He's killing DCE when TT is out because other than Kelly (and Walker when he's fit) he is the only inspiration for attack out wide in the side. Close him down and you close Manly down.

 

[The Who]

That last sentence is telling. We need more attacking options which we'll never have unless we explore our fast young backs.

 

[mave]

I remember a few top coaches in the past saying you pick the best 13 players and then you worry about their position on the field

Otherwise known as fullback syndrome.

It appears to be contagious amongst NSW coaches especially, and has been the cause of many a loss, even resulting in one fullback being named as Captain off the bench.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

I have never been a fan of picking players out of position. It should be an absolute last resort. It really gets to me when they do that in state of origin. It's short sighted dumb ****. I saw a quote about the Tigers yesterday - a champion team beats a team of champions. How true.

 

[Bearfax]

I have never been a fan of picking players out of position. It should be an absolute last resort. It really gets to me when they do that in state of origin. It's short sighted dumb ****. I saw a quote about the Tigers yesterday - a champion team beats a team of champions. How true.

I agree if its a major move that negates their skill type. But Hastings was a half before he came to Manly, not a hooker. Anderson plays full back or wing only. Tom Wright has played in many postions and each often from five eighth to centre, wing and full back. So none of those moves is using a player out of position. Some players have the ability to play well in multiple roles. But I agree that I wouldnt play a second rower in the centre or most halves in the centre. It works for some not for others.

 

[mutley]

Despite supercoach trent stating he sees t wright more as a centre than a 6 he has played every game for blacktown this year as the 6. the fact is we have him under contract for 2 more seasons unlike croker who will be gone at seasons end, Time to blood him in first grade and let him learn his craft at 6 at the highest level.
If hes not up to 6 in first grade he needs to learn to play centre for blacktown otherwise hes just another hastings making squad numbers, destined to never get a go in his rightful position

 

[The Who]

Surely it is obvious that Froggy is not helping our team. This is desperate stakes time.
Give Tom Wright a shot. He does try things, and while he makes errors at least when he has the ball in his hands the opposition will not know what he'll do, unlike Froggy who you know will pass it.
We need a spark and, if Hastings is unavailable, what other option do we have than Tom Wright?

 

[Althewomanspal]

I agree with Barrett I think he’s a center/wing, I guess the reserve grade coach wants to use him at 6. I’d love to see him have a run as an outside back, I don’t see why he couldn’t be a very good center or winger, surely he couldn’t go worse than uate.

 

[XV-1]

I agree with Barrett I think he’s a center/wing, I guess the reserve grade coach wants to use him at 6. I’d love to see him have a run as an outside back, I don’t see why he couldn’t be a very good center or winger, surely he couldn’t go worse than uate.

And we wonder why he looks lost / bored.
Is anyone actually coaching him in one position? If so - what is it?

 

[KNUCKLES]

I have never been a fan of picking players out of position. It should be an absolute last resort. It really gets to me when they do that in state of origin. It's short sighted dumb ****. I saw a quote about the Tigers yesterday - a champion team beats a team of champions. How true.

I agree with you mostly especially with the origin comment, but in a competition you can get by trialling players out of position as they have time to learn the trade. For the life of me I don’t understand why they do so in origin when they have a matter of 2 weeks together and one game to sort their **** out

 

[KNUCKLES]

Well said and good point

 

[Mr Manly 007]

Tom Wright should be given an opportunity soon - he couldn’t go any worse then a few of the players at the moment. Wright to 1.
Tom Turbo to centre then he won’t have to turn and chase kicks or have to take a bomb on the full .