The season ahead

[Mark from Brisbane]

Well, no more cricket, and about 3 weeks to run to season 2017 kick off.

In between, some trials, the World Club Challenge (which we all couldn't care less about) and loads of conjecture about the starting line up for the mighty Sea Eagles.

One things for sure, we finally know for sure that B Stewart and S Matai won't feature in the team lists, which for all fans is very sad BUT that's another topic anyway.

Plenty of threads on here with a million YARTS as to who will feature in the run on for round 1 (although not many from Mr Yart himself @Ryan ) so I'm not going to bother posting another.

And we haven't heard much from the "Sack Barrett" thread lately, but you can bet if we lose round 1 that will rear its ugly head again (don't you just love controversy), personally I'd prefer if it didn't come up just let the poor bugger have a decent run for a while and then comment BUT I know you Silvertailers all too well.

Whipping boy or boys, not hard to pick already, Uate will be number 1 UNLESS he absolutely kills it in round one barging over for 3 tries and defending like the Great Wall of China, others will probably include Nate Myles and Lewis Brown.....guaranteed!!

Membership, well, yes I'm a member.....again....enough said!!

And seriously LOTTOLAND.......nice to have the money but we will cop barbs all year re that name, and yes Brookvale will probably be a lottery (as it was in 2016).

Pressure......well Baz isn't the only one under pressure, our illustrious captain will be under HUGE pressure, and with as 1.1 Million payday, deservedly so, time to step up young man!

As is usual the off season has provided about the same on Silvertails, lots of ****, lots of arguments, more ****, threatened resignations, personal vilifications and a bit of laughter BUT, thank the lord its almost over as **** I hate the off season.

Great to see so many of the regulars starting to post again BUT we all need to share the Silvertails love, so do your bit, share the link and promote the App on all your social media pages, especially Manly ones as @Dan knows I've been flogging them for weeks now, so do your bit everyone and help grow the site!.

Well that's my short overview of the important issues leading into round 1, although I didn't cover the warm beer and cold pies at Lottoland, perhaps that's another thread all on its own.

As to the season ahead well its three weeks and counting boys and girls, not that I'm excited.........much!

 

[robbiea]

Well said ,Bring on round one (with a W)....

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Well said ,Bring on round one (with a W)....

And let the festivities on Silvertails begin, its bad enough in the off season but once we get going, and if we aren't winning then god help us all!

 

[Eagles2nv]

Yeah well said indeed MFB. Looking forward to seeing how our new look side go on the park.

From all reports the team culture is good and dce has been training hard.

The 9s showed some promising signs. Hopefully injury free tonight against wabbits.

Side note: cricket season is still going. 3 T20 against Sri Lanka 😉

 

[pjayz]

And let the festivities on Silvertails begin, its bad enough in the off season but once we get going, and if we aren't winning then god help us all!

I think we will lose to Parra and then win a couple, lose a couple. I believe we will really hit our straps mid to late season and finish about 6th or 7th if injuries are kept to a minimum.

If injuries hit then we will miss the 8.

 

[davohan123]

I see us losing to parra dogs and cowboys with us beating Souths
TB is not going to have a happy 1st month.

If all things go our way we could slip into the 8 but think 10-12th place finish more realistic.

If we do make the 8 great ,but not expecting it.

 

[Captain Moondog]

As usual injuries will be a factor. If we can keep close to our best team on the paddock making the 8 is definitely achievable.

 

[The Who]

Mark may be right about cricket.
Did you realise that Sydney grade cricket was cancelled today because of the heat? Never happened before. Certainly not in the last 50 years, anyway.
How soft are these players?

 

[Freagle]

I think we will beat the Dogs... make it 2 and 2 from the first month, then a bit of a wave of good form from there.

 

[Deleted member 26876]

Can't wait till rd 1, bout the 1,000,000th time i've said that exact line

 

[mickqld]

No matter how well we play, we've already seen the hand of Greenturd strike at us before a ball is kicked. That slimey f**ker won't let us anywhere near the top 8 while scum Parra will get a golden shower from the pr**k.

 

[Jerry1]

Well, no more cricket, and about 3 weeks to run to season 2017 kick off.

In between, some trials, the World Club Challenge (which we all couldn't care less about) and loads of conjecture about the starting line up for the mighty Sea Eagles.

One things for sure, we finally know for sure that B Stewart and S Matai won't feature in the team lists, which for all fans is very sad BUT that's another topic anyway.

Plenty of threads on here with a million YARTS as to who will feature in the run on for round 1 (although not many from Mr Yart himself @Ryan ) so I'm not going to bother posting another.

And we haven't heard much from the "Sack Barrett" thread lately, but you can bet if we lose round 1 that will rear its ugly head again (don't you just love controversy), personally I'd prefer if it didn't come up just let the poor bugger have a decent run for a while and then comment BUT I know you Silvertailers all too well.

Whipping boy or boys, not hard to pick already, Uate will be number 1 UNLESS he absolutely kills it in round one barging over for 3 tries and defending like the Great Wall of China, others will probably include Nate Myles and Lewis Brown.....guaranteed!!

Membership, well, yes I'm a member.....again....enough said!!

And seriously LOTTOLAND.......nice to have the money but we will cop barbs all year re that name, and yes Brookvale will probably be a lottery (as it was in 2016).

Pressure......well Baz isn't the only one under pressure, our illustrious captain will be under HUGE pressure, and with as 1.1 Million payday, deservedly so, time to step up young man!

As is usual the off season has provided about the same on Silvertails, lots of ****, lots of arguments, more ****, threatened resignations, personal vilifications and a bit of laughter BUT, thank the lord its almost over as **** I hate the off season.

Great to see so many of the regulars starting to post again BUT we all need to share the Silvertails love, so do your bit, share the link and promote the App on all your social media pages, especially Manly ones as @Dan knows I've been flogging them for weeks now, so do your bit everyone and help grow the site!.

Well that's my short overview of the important issues leading into round 1, although I didn't cover the warm beer and cold pies at Lottoland, perhaps that's another thread all on its own.

As to the season ahead well its three weeks and counting boys and girls, not that I'm excited.........much!

Are you having a pop at me Mark.... 🙂

 

[maxta]

Mark Brisbane.....pure class
A legit Manly man
Hope to catch up for a beer either Brisbane/GC in 2017....

 

[qldeagle]

Mar

Well, no more cricket, and about 3 weeks to run to season 2017 kick off.

In between, some trials, the World Club Challenge (which we all couldn't care less about) and loads of conjecture about the starting line up for the mighty Sea Eagles.

One things for sure, we finally know for sure that B Stewart and S Matai won't feature in the team lists, which for all fans is very sad BUT that's another topic anyway.

Plenty of threads on here with a million YARTS as to who will feature in the run on for round 1 (although not many from Mr Yart himself @Ryan ) so I'm not going to bother posting another.

And we haven't heard much from the "Sack Barrett" thread lately, but you can bet if we lose round 1 that will rear its ugly head again (don't you just love controversy), personally I'd prefer if it didn't come up just let the poor bugger have a decent run for a while and then comment BUT I know you Silvertailers all too well.

Whipping boy or boys, not hard to pick already, Uate will be number 1 UNLESS he absolutely kills it in round one barging over for 3 tries and defending like the Great Wall of China, others will probably include Nate Myles and Lewis Brown.....guaranteed!!

Membership, well, yes I'm a member.....again....enough said!!

And seriously LOTTOLAND.......nice to have the money but we will cop barbs all year re that name, and yes Brookvale will probably be a lottery (as it was in 2016).

Pressure......well Baz isn't the only one under pressure, our illustrious captain will be under HUGE pressure, and with as 1.1 Million payday, deservedly so, time to step up young man!

As is usual the off season has provided about the same on Silvertails, lots of ****, lots of arguments, more ****, threatened resignations, personal vilifications and a bit of laughter BUT, thank the lord its almost over as **** I hate the off season.

Great to see so many of the regulars starting to post again BUT we all need to share the Silvertails love, so do your bit, share the link and promote the App on all your social media pages, especially Manly ones as @Dan knows I've been flogging them for weeks now, so do your bit everyone and help grow the site!.

Well that's my short overview of the important issues leading into round 1, although I didn't cover the warm beer and cold pies at Lottoland, perhaps that's another thread all on its own.

As to the season ahead well its three weeks and counting boys and girls, not that I'm excited.........much!

Mark, as they say in motor racing.... The bull****e stops when the flag drops. Bring it on.

 

[sheridanstand78]

This season will be the next step for the Turbo clan to cement their greatness. I see Manly scoring more points this season, my concern is our defence. We must improve in that area. The team over the last 2 years have really been in disciplined and it has cost them many games.

It will be nice to see a more structured team where our halves can set things up and we have a bit of speed in the centres which is nice. Our wingers have much to prove and improve on. I as a fan want to see them attacking bombs rather than standing there and watching them. It has been a massive weakness in our game.

I think we will shock a few teams as we will be under the radar and considered also rans.

This is the year that DCE MUST shine! He is the leader, there are no distractions for him and there are no more excuses!! I believe he will be a star this season, not origin distractions just focus on the team and build the combinations with Green and we will be set.

I think it could well be a tough start as it will take time for the team to gel. We must win at least 5 of the first 10 games. Anything less will put huge pressure on the coach.

2017 is an opportunity to start again, this new team to forge its own identity without the baggage of the past. Our culture is strong, we all know that and now its time for this new team to grow and ultimately deliver!

 

[HoldenV8]

I think the biggest problem that we are going to face is the fact that for all intents and purposes, we will only have a 23 man squad. The NRL have already said get stuffed to the request that Snake be medically retired and his salary come off the cap and with Greenturd calling the shots I fully expect the league to do the same with regards to Steve Matai.

Injuries happen in a physical sport like rugby league. Its very rare for a team to go through a season with almost the same 17 each week. Some players will have injuries that require time off. And then there are the almost inevitable games missed through rep (Origin) duty.

Theoretically we could lose up to 5 or 6 players during Origin alone. Although unlikely, this means we could easily lose the Turbo's, DCE, Walker and Myles at least. That alone would put us straight to the end of our 23 man squad before any injuries force us to use other players. Thankfully the Kiwis like Taupau and Brown aren't forced to stand down from club duty before tests.

That is my biggest concern for the season ahead, that we've been handicapped from the start simply because the NRL have this rules for some but not others thing going on.

That's the negative side. On the positive side of the coin I do think we are much better placed than we were in 2016. Barrett is no longer an untried rookie coach, and even without Killer, Snake and Skivy we have some decent (at least) replacements. In Green we've finally got a proper 5/8 replacement for Foran and Walker will be much better in the centres than fluffing around in the halves. Wings are as usual a concern but at least we have some speed with Uate and possibly Kelly or Schuster. And our forward pack at least looks to have some muscle and is fairly mobile.

I do think we can finish in the top 8 and with a bit of luck, maybe even top 4.

 

[Killer03]

I hope we all take the approach that we just want some improvement, and to me that means:

1) we have to be pushing for the 8. Sure things can happen and things go against us, but we must be at least in the hunt for the 8.
2) no blow out losses. Ok we may have the odd one. But in the last couple of years there have been far too many heavy losses which we rarely used to cop. We really need the attitude of 'you may beat us with skill, but we're going to hurt you physically and make you work'
3) better halves combos. We all saw what happened last year, so this year with Green in and a settled turbo at fullback (and walker in the centres) we should have some combinations. We need to see this, Barrett has started to get the team he wants so now he needs to be showing us how he can use them.
4) follows on from 3) is DCE. This is his team now. We need to see that. He needs to own every loss and every win, just like a Thurston or Joey. We need to see the leadership and game management from him and Green.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

I hope we all take the approach that we just want some improvement, and to me that means:

1) we have to be pushing for the 8. Sure things can happen and things go against us, but we must be at least in the hunt for the 8.
2) no blow out losses. Ok we may have the odd one. But in the last couple of years there have been far too many heavy losses which we rarely used to cop. We really need the attitude of 'you may beat us with skill, but we're going to hurt you physically and make you work'
3) better halves combos. We all saw what happened last year, so this year with Green in and a settled turbo at fullback (and walker in the centres) we should have some combinations. We need to see this, Barrett has started to get the team he wants so now he needs to be showing us how he can use them.
4) follows on from 3) is DCE. This is his team now. We need to see that. He needs to own every loss and every win, just like a Thurston or Joey. We need to see the leadership and game management from him and Green.

Can't disagree with any of that , as I've said in other threads in years gone by we may have lost a game but the other team knew they were in one.

If we can improve just to see this happen again it will be a big step forward into 2018-2020.

 

[court83]

Im hoping tommy turbo can ease my doubts this season...
Dont get me wrong, hes got a ton of potential, and i wouldnt swap him for any of the ponga,s or munsters out there, but theres a few areas i wanna see him improve on (as im sure he will)..

The standout with snake was his ability to connect with foran/dce/lyon/glenn /orford, and just dominate the opposition... turbo puts himself in the right spaces, but just doesnt seem like he has a natural attacking partnership with anyone besides his brother... (altho the rotating door in our halves last year obviously didnt help the kid)

He also finds himself out of position in defence quite a bit.. how many times were tries scored on us last year with no fullback in sight... would love for snake to stay on and help the kid read the play a bit better and work on being more vocal, organise the backline instead of just playing in it.. again, all this comes with experience...

My Main concern for him tho is his build.... hes a tall, lanky kid, and every season he seems to bulk up a bit more, but has these sticks for legs, and since his debut game, hes struggled to string games together due to constant ankle issues... i really hope the off season surgery has fixed that for good, but if he goes down again this year with more ankle drama its not gonna look great for his long term career...

Hopefully this season the kid is injury free and can grow to the superstar he should be for the next 8 years

 

[bringbackbeaver]

Im hoping tommy turbo can ease my doubts this season...
Dont get me wrong, hes got a ton of potential, and i wouldnt swap him for any of the ponga,s or munsters out there, but theres a few areas i wanna see him improve on (as im sure he will)..

The standout with snake was his ability to connect with foran/dce/lyon/glenn /orford, and just dominate the opposition... turbo puts himself in the right spaces, but just doesnt seem like he has a natural attacking partnership with anyone besides his brother... (altho the rotating door in our halves last year obviously didnt help the kid)

He also finds himself out of position in defence quite a bit.. how many times were tries scored on us last year with no fullback in sight... would love for snake to stay on and help the kid read the play a bit better and work on being more vocal, organise the backline instead of just playing in it.. again, all this comes with experience...

My Main concern for him tho is his build.... hes a tall, lanky kid, and every season he seems to bulk up a bit more, but has these sticks for legs, and since his debut game, hes struggled to string games together due to constant ankle issues... i really hope the off season surgery has fixed that for good, but if he goes down again this year with more ankle drama its not gonna look great for his long term career...

Hopefully this season the kid is injury free and can grow to the superstar he should be for the next 8 years

Re your main concern he's only 20 (late last year). The boy is still growing so give him a couple of years before he gets close to his peak physically. He's 102kgs according to Zero Tackle and I dare say that's an old figure. Could be a 6'4 105kg beast soon!