Turbo back.. at centre

[Jerry1]

It’s clear that young Hoppa will be the one to make way , bit sad really but his time will come I guess , just hope it’s with Manly.

Personally I’d play Koula & Tom in the centres , Hoppa at fullback , Garrick on one wing and then a toss up between Saab / Talou for the other wing.

I think the Garrick at center experiment didn't really work out well. So much better on the wing. OK as a center but..

 

[Seagles68]

Well then, that would be very stupid. Which is why you're probably right. If there's a dumb option, you can guarantee we will take it. Because that, my friends, is the Manly Way. From the owners, through the coaches, and down to the players. It's the only consistency we ever show.

I'd certainly like to be a fly on the wall when they're discussing who is in and who isn't.

 

[Frogz]

Maybe he’ll get a run through injury but we are having trouble fitting players with much higher profiles than Schoupp into the line up as it is.

Exactly, he will keep the pressure on the guys we have....They drop form we now have a back up centre.A position we have clearly been very short on options.

 

[hozza]

100% behind this. You simply cannot have a player on 1 mil+ that’s consistently injured, no matter how much everyone loves him. Far better to have a player on a mil+ in the centres as opposed to not playing at all. Hopefully the move prolongs his injury prone career..

Hoppa Jnr to fullback, shootout for the other spots.

 

[Sheikheagle]

We generally don’t carry a back on the bench but Talau is versatile. Just a thought.

 

[spider]

So we're the only team in the competition paying $1.1 mil for a centre. Really sums up where our recruitment, retention and clown circus we are.

We have been paying him year after year to sit next to the coach so we need to try something different because F/B is not working. Looks to me he's really worried about that shoulder aswell and dosen't use it to tackle so i'm not sure how he'll go at centre.

 

[mickqld]

We have been paying him year after year to sit next to the coach so we need to try something different because F/B is not working. Looks to me he's really worried about that shoulder aswell and dosen't use it to tackle so i'm not sure how he'll go at centre.

He's an injury liability that is killing us in being competitive. He needs to retire or go to England.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

I think the Garrick at center experiment didn't really work out well. So much better on the wing. OK as a center but..

Yep I think it’s been a failure , he was a superstar winger BUT!!!

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

It's a tough one but I just can't see how they drop Talua on form or Saab when they just made a big deal about extending him. I also think they drop Hoppa purely based on pecking order and not form or ability.

Yep , that’s how it will roll

 

[BOZO]

Turbo is our most talented back . Lets wish him good luck in his comeback from injury
He deserves a turn of good luck

 

[Cliffy's Jockstrap]

Turbo is our most talented back . Lets wish him good luck in his comeback from injury
He deserves a turn of good luck

Good on you @BOZO 100% agree with that.

If I had a totally fit Turbo there is no doubt I would play him at FB: because he is a game-winning Gun, end of story.

But he sounds shaken up. Poor guy, how awful for him must it be, these continuing injuries. So I am happy to play him at Centre, and TBH I don't care if he doesn't get a try or try assist for the entire rest of the year, if he just gets through the games and regains confidence in his body and love for RL.

I wonder if Manly has been guilty of over-thinking his training? When Manly had a theory of managing his hamstrings with a programme of consistent training at about 80% of full effort, that went well or seemed to. Then some actual idiot who should be taken out the back and shot in the head came up with the idea of putting him into sprint drills (if I have remembered this right) and he got a hamstring injury and that set off the whole drama of going to USA for treatment; and then he came back and didn't quite look himself; and now he has a recurrent hamstring injury; and now he is back but super down on confidence and I feel like Manly should revert to the Turbo training program of approx 80% effort, because it seemed to work well. But to be frank I really don't have confidence in the Manly fitness and conditioning staff.

Rant over, thanks for hearing me out.

 

[double hoops]

I think it’s a bit of both re Lehi form and protecting Turbo. I like the move and Lehi ain’t going anywhere. Either Talau or Saab could drop out tbh. Garrick back to wing.

Id drop Saab way before Tommy 2 lau on form. But I'm think Garrick the one who hasn't cemented their spot.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

I'll be surprised and disappointed if Koula gets the fullback spot over Lehi. Koula's form this year has been woeful, and he doesn't have the poise that Lehi has at the back. Be interesting to see how the team lines up.

If Lehi misses out, hope it’s not Big John’s excuse to start marketing him elsewhere.

 

[JBW]

I really hope that Tom can have a prolonged run without getting hurt.

I just hope having to defend regularly against big edge runners doesn't just shift the focus from leg injuries to upper body. He's prone for pec and shoulder injuries too.

But that's just the pessimist in me. Fingers crossed, as I really love watching him play footy.

 

[mickqld]

Hope he's not on DCE side. The amount of gaps he'll have to defend will blunt any attacking flair.

 

[HK_Eagle]

He's an injury liability that is killing us in being competitive. He needs to retire or go to England.

Harsh, but a real element of truth to this

 

[HK_Eagle]

Turbo is our most talented back . Lets wish him good luck in his comeback from injury
He deserves a turn of good luck

How many more pecs or hammies before you question his value to the team? How many more under-achieving campaigns that you so quickly want to blame on the coach, before we all wake up?

 

[Cameron]

I don't like this that much.
But if it means moving rubes back to wing I'm ok with it. Tom will tighten up our defense.

 

[Sheikheagle]

According to tomorrow’s tele Koula will be fullback. So I guess the hop misses out.

 

[HoldenV8]

Turbo at centre.....smh