I did not listen to the Foz interview and if that was the case it was good insight of Parker to notice the gap and call for the ball to run through it .To be fair and impartial have you listed to the Foz interview on 2gb (or triple m) footy show last weekend where he said it was all Parker that called that play. Foz said Brad had noticed the defence peeling off and directed Him to run the play so sure many a centre would have scored frombthat sublime pass but how many would have demanded Foz run the play in the first place.
In the fast game I believe slow backs can be a liability in both attack and defence .
1. Defence ... You cannot stop a player you cannot catch. They just run around you .
2. Attack .... In close encounters between 2 dominant teams the open gaps are not as common and the team with the more skillful and speedy backs have more chance to break the close game wide open .
In our previous dominant Manly teams we had the Snake at fullback as well as 2 dominant strike centres in Matai and jamie . When teams shut down the Snake . Jamie or Matai would still open the opposition up . We had strike centers on each side of the field .
I have watched great Manly Grand final winning teams evolve over the years with talented players coming into the team and making it it more dominant.
The moral of the story is
Spots in a competitive team are not owned they are leased
Because without competition we cannot progress
