Just a question I’ve been pondering.
If, as many are saying, we can’t make the 8; I think we can but it’ll only be at number 8, if lots of results go our way, and probably an early exit from the finals; I’ll be very happy to be proven wrong on the early exit; should we save our strike weapon for next year?
Tom is still a young man, he’s had a history of hamstring injuries and seems to have an ongoing problem; he started playing with the big boys at a reasonably young age(yes, I know the old adage of “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough”) and may not have been physically developed enough to withstand the rigours of 1st grade in the NRL.
Personally, I didn’t stop physicality developing until I was about 23-24; men can continue to develop until they’re about 25, I’ve been informed. True, you might be tall as a kid, and Tom is quite tall, but you may not be really filled out or physically tough; as my Dad used to say “ a kid might be tall but he doesn’t have any gristle on him”, i.e. he hasn’t grown into a man yet.
We often see young players being injured early in their careers but after they mature slightly they can seem to withstand the physical rigours of 1st grade more easily.
So, should we put Tommy’s longer term physical health and development before Manly’s, and our own, short term wants and needs? Let him have a good spell in the fattening paddock and really come back next year, super-fit and strong.
Just my thoughts and I’m going to guess, many won’t support them.
If, as many are saying, we can’t make the 8; I think we can but it’ll only be at number 8, if lots of results go our way, and probably an early exit from the finals; I’ll be very happy to be proven wrong on the early exit; should we save our strike weapon for next year?
Tom is still a young man, he’s had a history of hamstring injuries and seems to have an ongoing problem; he started playing with the big boys at a reasonably young age(yes, I know the old adage of “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough”) and may not have been physically developed enough to withstand the rigours of 1st grade in the NRL.
Personally, I didn’t stop physicality developing until I was about 23-24; men can continue to develop until they’re about 25, I’ve been informed. True, you might be tall as a kid, and Tom is quite tall, but you may not be really filled out or physically tough; as my Dad used to say “ a kid might be tall but he doesn’t have any gristle on him”, i.e. he hasn’t grown into a man yet.
We often see young players being injured early in their careers but after they mature slightly they can seem to withstand the physical rigours of 1st grade more easily.
So, should we put Tommy’s longer term physical health and development before Manly’s, and our own, short term wants and needs? Let him have a good spell in the fattening paddock and really come back next year, super-fit and strong.
Just my thoughts and I’m going to guess, many won’t support them.