Turbo back.. at centre

[Waz13]

I think he held his own against Staggs, rather than got the better of him. I also saw him miss Lomax a couple of times, who was pretty dangerous in that game. Lots of players struggle to make good contact on him though.

I like his yardage carry and he has been safe under the high ball. I’ve seen him finish some tries off nicely but does he have a try assist this year? Has he lit up the NRL with feats of brilliance that gets the commentators and fans talking?

To me, he has been very good but not brilliant. The expectations were low and has exceeded them but he is still just a decent first grader.

For mine I thought he got the better of Staggs when we played them LC. What I noticed watching the Phins game at Suncorp was his size. Certainly looks a lot bigger live than on TV.

 

[Ryan]

Pick the best 17players and find a spot for them. Talaus in the best 17 currently for mine. If not a 13 or elsewhere an interchange sub.

01. Lehi Hopoate
02. Jason Saab
03. Tom Trbojevic
04. Tolu Koula
05. Reuben Garrick
06. Luke Brooks
07. Daly Cherry-Evans
08. Jake Trbojevic
09. Jake Simpkin
10. Ethan Bullemor
11. Haumole Olakau'atu
12. Ben Trbojevic
13. Tommy Talau

14. Lachlan Croker / Karl Lawton
15. Josh Aloiai
16. Toff Sipley
17. Nathan Brown / Corey Waddell

 

[Waz13]

01. Lehi Hopoate
02. Jason Saab
03. Tom Trbojevic
04. Tolu Koula
05. Reuben Garrick
06. Luke Brooks
07. Daly Cherry-Evans
08. Jake Trbojevic
09. Jake Simpkin
10. Ethan Bullemor
11. Haumole Olakau'atu
12. Ben Trbojevic
13. Tommy Talau

14. Lachlan Croker / Karl Lawton
15. Josh Aloiai
16. Toff Sipley
17. Nathan Brown / Corey Waddell

Is that for this week @Ryan? I’d have Paseka in the best 17.

 

[LeonardCohen]

They were certainly talking after his 4 tries at Penrith.

The real point for me is he has been our best back this season, so he doesn't deserve to miss out.

I've been on here saying i think Saab can eventually make SOO...but given the players relative form this year I would select Talua in front of him for Manly right now given the choice.

I agree he doesn’t deserve to miss out but I didn’t hear too much said about those four tries, given three were all basically gimmes.

I don’t disagree with you per se but I think his exploits are starting to become mythical, based on the low expectations we had of him to start the year. Sure, he probably shouldn’t miss out but he has had half a season of good solid football. The remaining members of our backline are pretty serious and seasoned first graders with enough runs on the board to hold their spot when they haven’t been at their best. It’s just the way it works. We see it when rep sides are picked and it happens at club level.

 

[LeonardCohen]

For mine I thought he got the better of Staggs when we played them LC. What I noticed watching the Phins game at Suncorp was his size. Certainly looks a lot bigger live than on TV.

I thought he fluffed some decent chances that night with his lack of speed. Koula got him into some nice positions and he meekly surrendered on a couple of occasions. I thought he was fantastic in defence though.

I’ve really liked his physicality this year. More so than probably all of our other backs, he has made it personal and really gone after contact. We need more of that.

 

[47MVEagle]

How good is this? Flexibility in our backline & a glut of good backs presenting us with a selection dilemma we haven’t had for how many years?

The amount of injuries necessitates having the depth we finally have.

Turbo returning at centre, while often discussed in here, was unheard of in reality up until now.

It’s refreshing to see we have options like this.

 

[joeboy]

The one thing I just don’t like about this centre move is that neither lehi or tolu have a pass in them, most tries in the nrl are scored with the fullback creating the extra man and delivering cut out passes to the winger or skinning them. On the outside through the hands.

Garrick and Saab became so prolific in the wing primarily because of Tom’s ability in this area, he also commanded more attention given if you hung off him he was good enough to drag you over.

We lose a hell of a lot and I’m not sure what we gain, especially if the analysis of him playing centre vs fullback was so similar.

Just play him at fullback. There is no time for silly buggers.

 

[mickqld]

The one thing I just don’t like about this centre move is that neither lehi or tolu have a pass in them, most tries in the nrl are scored with the fullback creating the extra man and delivering cut out passes to the winger or skinning them. On the outside through the hands.

Garrick and Saab became so prolific in the wing primarily because of Tom’s ability in this area, he also commanded more attention given if you hung off him he was good enough to drag you over.

We lose a hell of a lot and I’m not sure what we gain, especially if the analysis of him playing centre vs fullback was so similar.

Just play him at fullback. There is no time for silly buggers.

Yeah I agree. Stop pussy footing around with this bloke. Play him at fullback at 100% and if he throws a rod again then so be it. We're stuck with him either way , the inevitable injury will come at some stage. A turbo at 60% is useless.

 

[Ryan]

Is that for this week @Ryan? I’d have Paseka in the best 17.

Just this week mate

 

[Ryan]

How good is this? Flexibility in our backline & a glut of good backs presenting us with a selection dilemma we haven’t had for how many years?

The amount of injuries necessitates having the depth we finally have.

Turbo returning at centre, while often discussed in here, was unheard of in reality up until now.

It’s refreshing to see we have options like this.

So no more excuses, we "need" a win - THIS weekend. 6 from 9 is hard enough. 6 from 8 is near impossible.

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

The one thing I just don’t like about this centre move is that neither lehi or tolu have a pass in them, most tries in the nrl are scored with the fullback creating the extra man and delivering cut out passes to the winger or skinning them. On the outside through the hands.

Don't agree with this when it comes to Lehi. Tolu, sure, but Lehi has shown very good hands in his four games so far. He's thrown the final pass for tries a couple of times, and beyond that he makes good, quick decisions when he comes into the backline, passing the ball out immediately to the next man. In fact I reckon his passing is much better than Tommy's. When it comes to hands, I put Jurbo and Burbo ahead of Turbo.

 

[Pepi]

Don't agree with this when it comes to Lehi. Tolu, sure, but Lehi has shown very good hands in his four games so far. He's thrown the final pass for tries a couple of times, and beyond that he makes good, quick decisions when he comes into the backline, passing the ball out immediately to the next man. In fact I reckon his passing is much better than Tommy's. When it comes to hands, I put Jurbo and Burbo ahead of Turbo.

4 games, 3 try assists. Lehi will be a very good link man.

 

[joeboy]

4 games, 3 try assists. Lehi will be a very good link man.

I think with time he will be too, but I haven’t seen him throw any cut out passes, or barely leave a finger print on the ball and delivering it with supreme accuracy.

I’m not saying he can’t or won’t be able to do that in time, but the whips are cracking and we have got a proven game breaker returning who will nail far more opportunities than lehi or tolu will

 

[The Who]

So no more excuses, we "need" a win - THIS weekend. 6 from 9 is hard enough. 6 from 8 is near impossible.

Five wins from nine will get us into 7th or 8th position. There are so many clubs in a similar position to us that every match is a toss up. Apart from the Broncos and 'Boys I believe we have the best team of those currently mid-table to contest a finals berth. I think we'll scrape in.

 

[47MVEagle]

So no more excuses, we "need" a win - THIS weekend. 6 from 9 is hard enough. 6 from 8 is near impossible.

I was talking about our depth in the backs & the fact that we have flexibility in bringing Turbo back at centre, but instead of expanding on that (& even suggesting how strong our team might be with both Turbo & Young Hoppa in the backline) you’ve tried to change the subject to something you can moan about.

Is it deliberate or you completely unaware you’re doing it?

 

[Ryan]

I was talking about our depth in the backs & the fact that we have flexibility in bringing Turbo back at centre, but instead of expanding on that (& even suggesting how strong our team might be with both Turbo & Young Hoppa in the backline) you’ve tried to change the subject to something you can moan about.

Is it deliberate or you completely unaware you’re doing it?

I'm saying , with all the returns, the old, (we played bravely), or (we did well given XYZ was injured), or (we were never expected to beat ABC), or (it's the team selections), or (it was the refs fault), can no longer be valid or relevant.

It's very deliberate, we NEED a win before the season slips away.

 

[XV-1]

If Seibold does move Tommy to centre, will this decision make or break Seibolds future with Manly?

If it doesn't work, moving Tommy back to fullback in 3-4 weeks time may be too late to save our season and his career.

If we win the 2 or 3, he will be crowing for an extension.

 

[Dion Johnson]

If Seibold does move Tommy to centre, will this decision make or break Seibolds future with Manly?

If it doesn't work, moving Tommy back to fullback in 3-4 weeks time may be too late to save our season and his career.

If we win the 2 or 3, he will be crowing for an extension.

Good test against the Cows, than the following week with the Knights at home.

Hoping Ponga returns this weekend and both him and Gagai have outstanding games and force their way into the Queensland origin team.

 

[Waz13]

Five wins from nine will get us into 7th or 8th position. There are so many clubs in a similar position to us that every match is a toss up. Apart from the Broncos and 'Boys I believe we have the best team of those currently mid-table to contest a finals berth. I think we'll scrape in.

Broncs will miss out. They are really lost. We’ve also been dudded having to play two games without origin players and against teams that haven’t missed many. I mean knights will have nobody out. At least we will have Turbo in.

 

[Waz13]

I'm saying , with all the returns, the old, (we played bravely), or (we did well given XYZ was injured), or (we were never expected to beat ABC), or (it's the team selections), or (it was the refs fault), can no longer be valid or relevant.

It's very deliberate, we NEED a win before the season slips away.

We need to win this one for a few reasons. Mostly as the Cows are a team in the same spot as us. We lose these ones and teams get a double jump on us. Def no excuses tho. Our guys are well rested.