Well played Parker

[maxta]

Personally when I seen his name on the team list ....prefer others.
First carry - first set - drops it in a tackle and I’m blowing up.
Could easy stuck the head in sand and went to pieces but was quite the opposite.
Then for the next 79 minutes the kid played the best game as a Manly player and proudly state he is a better player than I gave him credit for.
Defused many Penrith attacking raids with good reads and tough contact, was safe under the high ball at critical stages and took plenty of pressure runs in ugly situations.
Also scored a great FAIR try that was disallowed.
In simple terms - well played Parker and on that performance proved his worth.

 

[Clay]

Never saw a replay, did he actually drop the ball or was there a hand in there?

 

[The Wheel]

That was a very ordinary call to disallow his try

 

[Woodsie]

....... well said Maxta ...... some of us like the kid ...

It is easy to forget this is a kid that Baz had enough faith in to debut him as an 19yo in 2016 ... a poor run of injuries has meant that he has since only managed 16 games in the next 2 years .... not much footy in what should of been his biggest years ...

He may look like an over-used toothbrush but the kid can play ..... not your star ..... but will be a real good footy player ....

 

[HappilyManly]

Batting the ball down for Chez in the 66th minute, almost resulted in a try and got Cleary binned

Manly's inexperienced 2-5 really stood up yesterday against a very strong Riff backline

Deano's hit on Turbo was a classic too

 

[pjayz]

Batting the ball down for Chez in the 66th minute, almost resulted in a try and got Cleary binned

Manly's inexperienced 2-5 really stood up yesterday against a very strong Riff backline

Deano's hit on Turbo was a classic too

A great hit, and one of many lately on Tom. What has really impressed me is that he has held onto the ball every time he has been belted.

 

[eaglebuzz]

He was very strong yesterday - s
Played with the defensive steel that he shows every game and for the first time looked like he could have some real impact in attack. It was definitely his best ever game for us.

 

[Paw93]

At centre, he doesn't have the strike power of a Kelly or Walker, nor the power of a Suli. But as a winger he is more than solid. A Michael Robertson type of player.

 

[Top End Eagle]

At centre, he doesn't have the strike power of a Kelly or Walker, nor the power of a Suli. But as a winger he is more than solid. A Michael Robertson type of player.

I'd have Parker over suli any day of the week. He's only a year older than suli and a year younger than turbo. Wait till he fills out. Too many of you posters only see highlight reel plays and make a judgement on that. He will be a very very good centre in three years time and injuries being kind will play rep footy in that position. Defensively excellent has speed and size. Is a boy against men still and handling it.

 

[Class of 96]

Great post Maxta giving credit to a player that you wouldn’t normally rate.

I’ve always rated Parker and could never quite understand the criticism that came his way. He doesn’t stand out as a player with flair, but I always like a couple of solid reliable players in a team, which we have with Thompson in the forwards and Parker in the backs. Also preferred him over Kelly at centre, and haven’t really changed that opinion, but I’ll also admit Kelly has played some better games after I wrote him off, and accept I am in the minority with this view.

 

[Bearfax]

I still maintain Parker would make a fine bench player covering backs and forwards. At 6'4" and 100+ Kgs he could make a great player covering forwards and backs, maybe even a Menzies type

 

[mave]

Not sure of their respective $ cap impact, but Parker is a poor man's Corey Oates.

The biggest asset Parker has is the local junior factor.
He is serviceable, but an average First Grade quality player.
That is not a critical opinion, every squad needs a couple of Parkers.

And yes, he is capable, and probably more valuable as a benchie/2nd rower/ centre/ mr fix it type.

 

[HoldenV8]

I'm the first to admit that I've been saying for a while that Parker doesn't offer much as a first grade player. I think we have better options.

However, I couldn't really fault the kid yesterday. Not flashy, but he was solid and did his job very well and you can't ask much more than that from a fringe player.

 

[Bearfax]

In my opinion Parker will improve with age (nothing surprising here) but he'll also get bigger given his height. He's reasonably fast but not enough for a top centre or wing. But as a roving forward he could be dynamic in a year or two. He's tough, good defence, doesn't make many mistakes and doesn't mind getting into the tough stuff. More aggressive than Lane, and I think he has the potential as a similar type of player, only better. Could be a great match with Sirro, if Sirro stays and they could share that roving forward role.

 

[EagleFlys]

Personally when I seen his name on the team list ....prefer others.
First carry - first set - drops it in a tackle and I’m blowing up.
Could easy stuck the head in sand and went to pieces but was quite the opposite.
Then for the next 79 minutes the kid played the best game as a Manly player and proudly state he is a better player than I gave him credit for.
Defused many Penrith attacking raids with good reads and tough contact, was safe under the high ball at critical stages and took plenty of pressure runs in ugly situations.
Also scored a great FAIR try that was disallowed.
In simple terms - well played Parker and on that performance proved his worth.

I share the same view, that of Parker being a reggies quality back, but agree he played like a 1st grade winger.
My view was, and still is, that he is destined to become a slightly better Matt Wright player, and to be honest that really hasn't changed.

But the boy did great after a horrible start, and with a bit more size, speed and games, may break out of that mould like Robbo did all those years ago.

Nice to see a critic (like I am) fess up to acknowledge a good game. Worthy post mate.

 

[eagerbeaver]

I also haven't been the biggest fan of Parker, mostly due to offering nothing in attack. Defensively he has always been solid.
But others have stated would be good utility value off the bench.
A lot of Chris Lawrence about him, who's probably played his best football in the backrow since switching there many moons ago.

 

[Fluffy]

Parker defends like a players with 100 games under his belt but attacks like a 5 gamer.

guess it depends what you value more but titles are usually built on defence

 

[Deleted member 26876]

Personally when I seen his name on the team list ....prefer others.
First carry - first set - drops it in a tackle and I’m blowing up.
Could easy stuck the head in sand and went to pieces but was quite the opposite.
Then for the next 79 minutes the kid played the best game as a Manly player and proudly state he is a better player than I gave him credit for.
Defused many Penrith attacking raids with good reads and tough contact, was safe under the high ball at critical stages and took plenty of pressure runs in ugly situations.
Also scored a great FAIR try that was disallowed.
In simple terms - well played Parker and on that performance proved his worth.

Maybe it was just him not playing on the wing that threw his game last week but geez he was poor. Great turnaround against Penrith, although he can play second-row i believe so strange he had such a shocker at centre last week.

 

[BOZO]

Well done Parker . Was robbed of a try but never stopped trying hard