PRE-GAME DISCUSSION: Manly v Knights [Round 8, 2020]

[susan]

Is he going to jail?

Not from what I’m hearing . Likely downgrade of charges but his shoulder shot totally so unless it’s custodial he should be back but not till 2021. His shoulder was a mess. Never playing this year .
There is no Greenberg lurking in the bushes either which helps.

 

[lulubelle]

Garrick at fullback a disaster for the third time (one last year)
Funa anywhere a disaster.
Croker. I guess another chance.
Cherry. Better wake up and play like a half back.
Paseka. A waste of his significant space.
George. How many tries will they score kicking behind him?

Didn't get the lottery for tickets. Thank goodness.

Sadly don't think its going to be pretty.

 

[HoldenV8]

All I'll say about Reubs playing fullback is that I hope this week either Snake or Tom or both are working hard with him on his positional play at the back, both in attack and especially in defence.

As for Croker ... yes he had a shocker last week, but it was only the week before that where he was a standout playing 78 minutes at 5/8 after Walks got injured. One bad week shouldn't mean he gets marked as never to play there again. When the same thing happened with Tom Wright two years ago, people complained that he got dropped, yet now they want Croker dropped after history repeated?

With Suli back in the side I get that Jetski on the bench can cover in case he or one of the other backs go down. But as a forward he does't offer a whole lot and got manhandled by Cronulla last week, a continuation of the fact that he gets manhandled by just about every opposition pack. I honestly think we'd be better off with Boyle or even Sipley on the bench in his place and let Cust cover both hooker and the backs.

We were very flat last week and I think that had a lot to do with the previous few weeks. We had to come back to almost beat Doesn't-Matta, had to come back to beat Brisbane, and then had to play out of their skins to beat Canberra after losing 3 players to injury. I don't think we'll be flat this week. Not when we're back at Brookie.

We can win this. Its not doom and gloom time yet.

 

[susan]

Garrick is a skilful player but he has an obvious weakness that rules him out as a fullback in the modern game. He gets totally destroyed on kick returns! It’s amazing the floggings he gets. Happens to him as a winger too but he knows how to finish really well to make up for it.
Fullback requires a helluva lot more than finishing and getting smashed mercilessly doesn’t help. Dufty is finally working out how to do it after a long long time.

why he gets smashed I just don’t know . Decent sized kid.Same as Parker. Hard to fathom.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Garrick at fullback a disaster for the third time (one last year)
Funa anywhere a disaster.
Croker. I guess another chance.
Cherry. Better wake up and play like a half back.
Paseka. A waste of his significant space.
George. How many tries will they score kicking behind him?

Didn't get the lottery for tickets. Thank goodness.

Sadly don't think its going to be pretty.

Ouch!!

 

[joeboy]

He has no leg drive, runs too upright with little evasion, he is willing, but nothing more.

he has skills and can sometimes kick, but his hit ups are woeful.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Elliott was at least “ safe” at Fullback , Sandwich isn’t in the same stratosphere in that position AND that’s not suggesting Elliot is a superstar but defensively he’s not bad.

 

[winnyason]

Ah Reuben at fullback time to watch another crap performance or watch Levi show us why the knights let him go or lastly the bloke every one loves Lochie croker miss tackles every where

 

[madmax]

Yawn zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........thought it was only other supporters & the media that love Manly bashing, not our own!

 

[40 nil]

Elliott was at least “ safe” at Fullback , Sandwich isn’t in the same stratosphere in that position AND that’s not suggesting Elliot is a superstar but defensively he’s not bad.

Could it be that Suli is ruled out & there is a late switcharoo with Elliot returning to the team to play fullback?

 

[XV-1]

Not from what I’m hearing . Likely downgrade of charges but his shoulder shot totally so unless it’s custodial he should be back but not till 2021. His shoulder was a mess. Never playing this year .
There is no Greenberg lurking in the bushes either which helps.

So why doesn't he plead guilty now and serve his NRL suspension while still injured.

He must have reinjured his shoulder after climbing the fence in his arm sling after he stabbed the other guy - alleged 🙄

 

[Chip and Chase]

A week is a long time in footy. Cowboys showed a good tactic against Knights, kick away from Ponga as much as possible and starve him of the ball. Our pack is as good as theirs so we should match them there. Just a matter of whether our halves step up this week and do something. Ponga and Best are dangerous and I'm hoping Funa will be marking Edrick otherwise Horhay is going to see a lot of high balls. Suli being back is a plus, he's a big body to mark up on Best. I think Con needs a bit more time off the bench this week, I'd rotate Frog through 9 and spell Levi for the last 10 or 15 of each half, depending on whether we are chasing points or not.

 

[Waz13]

Could it be that Suli is ruled out & there is a late switcharoo with Elliot returning to the team to play fullback?

Ha this would not be beyond Des. But he tried a similar path last week and look how that turned out. As others have said I really hope they do a lot of work with Garrick this week. Prob doesn’t make a lot of sense after last week but I have a feeling we win this and win well. Just think we will be dialed in more as a unit. And AFB hates the knights, can’t wait for him to destroy their pack and he will! I also wonder tgat the knights have prematurely started to believe their own hype. Will find out Sunday I guess.

 

[Waz13]

Our attack is largely insipid and uninspired and even more so with out Tom. Without his strike I fear we are headed for the stodgy and boring play des liked at the bulldogs. It won’t work with the quicker and more attack-centric game.

If Toms pass v Parra is called correctly, leading into last week we would have been 5/6 And had already played all the comps heavy weights! Sorry pal but you are a bit hard to please. Without Tom and Walks and dce coming in and out of games, I don’t give a s*** how we win as long as we do.

 

[Waz13]

Sorry I feel pessimist about this one also. Newcastle are a better side than the Sharks, and other than Suli, which is an improvement, this is the same team humbled by the gummies. Not convinced about our backline again. Too slow, too uncreative. Just my thoughts and no doubt I'll be criticised for showing apparent disloyalty. Cust may add something from the bench. See it as I see it.

I honestly think with a lot of these sides it comes down to attitude and application on the day. Knights were also humbled last week by a team that the week prior had 30plus put on them in one half. I truly believe if we got off to a better start (which has been a problem all year) we would have accounted for the sharks last week. Games change quickly. Lot of talk around Best but he’s not had a challenge like Suli this year. Lookin forward to that matchup.

 

[HoldenV8]

Garrick actually kinda reminds me a bit of both David Ronson and Stuart Davis.

Whenever Ronson or Davis would do a hit up they generally got smashed by the defence. They were willing and never shirked any responsibility in running the ball into the opposition line, but they did tend to get manhandled a bit. Same as Garrick.

Food for thought though. Ronson and Davis were good enough to be Bozo's first choice wingers and they won a Grand Final. And even at club level, Bob Fulton was not one to suffer fools. If he didn't think you were good enough, you didn't get picked. Reuben Garrick is a good player and if truth be told he's probably a bit faster than either Ronson or Davis were in their day. If Des didn't think he was good enough, he wouldn't be there.

Like I said before though, I hope they are working on his positional play at fullback this week because at times against Cronulla it looked like we didn't even have a fullback in defence. His positional play at the back is the only issue I have with him playing there right now though. Get that right and he could actually be a very handy backup for the position.

However, in saying that, the way things stand right now I would feel more comfortable if Garrick was back on his wing and Brendan Elliot was actually playing fullback. Obviously we'd feel a LOT more comfortable with Turbo there, but he won't be for at least a couple of months so we have to make do.

 

[40 years an eagle]

Lot of talk around Best but he’s not had a challenge like Suli this year. Lookin forward to that matchup.

Won't Parker be marking Best and Suli on Tuala? I think Sirro is going to have busy day.

 

[jbb/james]

Garrick is a skilful player but he has an obvious weakness that rules him out as a fullback in the modern game. He gets totally destroyed on kick returns! It’s amazing the floggings he gets. Happens to him as a winger too but he knows how to finish really well to make up for it.
Fullback requires a helluva lot more than finishing and getting smashed mercilessly doesn’t help. Dufty is finally working out how to do it after a long long time.

why he gets smashed I just don’t know . Decent sized kid.Same as Parker. Hard to fathom.

Absolutely. He is either too pretty , or maybe he runs too upright, or lacks leg drive but he has " chew toy" written all over him.


I think its speed. We just lack it , and with options afew maybe he was hoping garrick might slip through a little inside ball.
Elliott suits the Defence based game better at fb

 

[robbiea]

Next back to go down will open up a spot for Hoppa on a wing. Not that I wish an injury on any of our backs. Parker is the biggest concern because he gets belted high every single week. If he hadn't ducked and knocked himself out against the raiders Soliola would have taken his head clean off.

I bet we see Miski there before Hoppa unfortunately.
Repost / Actually, not unfortunate really! , Miski rips in.

 

[Shoe1]

O

The worst possible thing happened to Newcastle last weekend - they got bullied and smashed up in every facet of the game ....just like Manly.
Both teams will turn up with much enthusiasm and the team with the most want and resilience will get home....

Those hoardings will be In for a tough night with Chez giving them a peppering at the other end.

at least that would mean he penetrated the defensive line with the kick I spose