What is going on in Schusters head?

  • We had an issue with background services between march 10th and 15th or there about. This meant the payment services were not linking to automatic upgrades. If you paid for premium membership and are still seeing ads please let me know and the email you used against PayPal and I cam manually verify and upgrade your account.
There is little doubt the guy is a solid player, and I think we can see that Des considers him to be a ball playing back rower. But he has thrown several stupid "no look" or even no thought passes the last few weeks, has taken some horrible options, and he doesn't seem to consider it a problem because he continues to do it.

There was a period in the second half after his third or fourth rubbish ball that he was wrapped up and went for another miracle offload - what is wrong with passing along the backline, or tucking the bloody thing under your wing and making some straight forward meters.

Not every play has to be scored from
Totally agree as it would reduce our mistakes and hopefully complete most of our sets. I can see the benefits from your comment. Also there is other players in our side that should take a leaf from that book too.
 
This is a bit like the ' lets offload Tom thread back at the beginning of the season'.
The kid is young. He will learn. He will be a superstar of the highest order. He is the future.

Also dont underestimate the fact he has new players around him not used to his slight of hand. Up until now hes been in a pertty dominant junior side surrounded by the same players for a number of years. Looking back at his you tube highlights its easy to see the guys around him had been tuned to his game. They knew where to be and how to catch his passes which is a big thing.

I would say his footy brain works a bit faster than most around him so its just a matter of time before most of those passes stick mostly because his supports will know where to be and when.
 
He is a tremendous talent and will be a great player by the end of his career; however, he had his worst game in first grade today.

His decisions were poor and his execution was sloppy. In the past his execution allowed him to get away with some unnecessarily risky plays. Today his poor execution exposed these poor decisions.

He is learning and will be a better player for it. Des, the team and the fans will need to be willing to ride out the bumps along the way. He will be a star, but he will soon learn that you can’t get away with things in the NRL that you could in lower grades. You don’t have the same eyes on you coming up in the grades as you do in the big time.

He will be told to smarten up and I’m sure by the end of the year he will be better for it.
 
Schuster and Jake are the only two forwards who play the full 80 minutes in a game. The only game Schuster played less was when promoted in Round 2 (as a replacement) when he was on the bench and played 74 minutes.

For such a new comer to the game its amazing he's doing as well as he is. What can be expected of a new boy on the block who usually plays 5/8 and is now doing a tonne of grunt work for the full game. Most other forwards are out there for 50-60 minutes. Little wonder that he makes mistakes.

I think we need to step back and see him in perspective based on what he is doing on the field for the full game, not the occasional mistake, which all newcomers make, and possibly partly the result of exhaustion
 
Firstly - Josh could easily star at 5/8....the truth to the matter is not always trying to kill the prey with the first spear....
As a youngster, does not comprehend how to break down the opposition patiently.
Schu has every skill - but lacks patience...he is a star back rower, but anyone who thinks he can't deliver as a 5/8 is short sighted IMO....the bloke is an instinctive footballer with every abilty number 1 - position 2nd....
Well Maxta I think you have perfectly described what is in his head. That's the exact crap he is thinking right now.

Look, he is good in the role he has now but has simplify it a bit and be more selective. I don;t care how much he wants it he will not get Forans job this year. Would Foran have thrown that dumb flick pass on tackle 1 that led to an 14 point swing (8 points down vs 6 point up at half time), or would he have been there steaming onto that great pass from Sipley that turned the game in Manly's favour in the second half?.

Let's hope the noise in his head quietens down a bit.

NYEagle
 
Schuster and Jake are the only two forwards who play the full 80 minutes in a game. The only game Schuster played less was when promoted in Round 2 (as a replacement) when he was on the bench and played 74 minutes.

For such a new comer to the game its amazing he's doing as well as he is. What can be expected of a new boy on the block who usually plays 5/8 and is now doing a tonne of grunt work for the full game. Most other forwards are out there for 50-60 minutes. Little wonder that he makes mistakes.

I think we need to step back and see him in perspective based on what he is doing on the field for the full game, not the occasional mistake, which all newcomers make, and possibly partly the result of exhaustion
Agree but he has to eliminate the fancy plays at the most critical times of play. I don't know why he has to no look pass every time. He's going to be an awesome player but he's costing us big time at the moment.
 
No look passing is a bad habit of his that’s for sure. Even the ones he pulled off against the Tigers made me feel uneasy. Usually behind the player and against tigers dce nearly dropped it but managed to juggle and regrip the ball before running away and scoring.

He’s a little too flashy but if he could be more selective it’d be great. He just needs to simplify some things, but that he will learn from bad experiences like today. For the next few weeks focusing on combinations and team-orientated plays would help him, he tries to shine a bit too much on his own.

Fair enough though he is young and only going to get better with time. No pressure on him in 2021, although I sense he is getting wrapped up in the media hype on himself and trying to force it. For the most part he has been great
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Let the kid play nothing more refreshing than seeing him play the game he plays ,so many young players told to reel it in then end up not making it , he will make mistakes but let's not hinder his development
Let him play
Gee imagine if Phil Blake played in today's game would you hinder his game ......
 
Agree but he has to eliminate the fancy plays at the most critical times of play. I don't know why he has to no look pass every time. He's going to be an awesome player but he's costing us big time at the moment.
I wouldn't say he's costing us big time - we won today. In fact, I'd say the opposite is true. He has done way more good things than he has bad. Including playing the full eighty in a depleted back row.
 
We all have the same opinion on him. Freakish young player who is going to make mistakes from time to time. Let’s not get too harsh on him - he’s one of the best young players I’ve ever seen and with experience his decision making will only get better. He’s a million times better than Sironen and Gosiewski so let’s be grateful he’s around
 
He's young and talented and sometimes takes the wrong option. But he'll keep learning and keep getting better and better. He calmed down enough at the back end of the game to have good involvement in a couple of the tries, once with a very nice run and then again with a great cut-out pass from dummy half. Joey Johns wasn't the world's best decision-maker either when he was starting out either (and then there were his questionable decisions off the field as well).
Young and dumb and full of rocks and diamonds. I am actually impressed that Des has given him some real licence to create. Obviously not everything is coming off, but I prefer that to Des suppressing and diluting his talent and potential. He will work it out ..... or he won't. I think he will. He is a future superstar in the making. It's just a matter of time.
 
I started a thread on this earlier in the season. Be prepared to get smashed on here by most for pointing that out :)
Disagree..... isn't that a given on any post? BTW I commented on the no look pass about a month ago and asked the question "when would clubs catch on and then cause us to have points scored from intercepts". Cost us momentum today. Also, I'm a huge Saddler fan but have to admit I was happy that Des hooked him to give him a spray after the play the ball fiasco.
 
I said this once before as a bloke eating popcorn and drinking bourbon in his lounge chair, Schuster will be better for rolling up the sleeves and digging into the opposition....then thinking about playing more footy off the back of it....never restrict his natural talent, Simply get him playing ugly before pretty and we'll see the best of him
 
No look passing is a bad habit of his that’s for sure. Even the ones he pulled off against the Tigers made me feel uneasy. Usually behind the player and against tigers dce nearly dropped it but managed to juggle and regrip the ball before running away and scoring.

He’s a little too flashy but if he could be more selective it’d be great. He just needs to simplify some things, but that he will learn from bad experiences like today. For the next few weeks focusing on combinations and team-orientated plays would help him, he tries to shine a bit too much on his own.

Fair enough though he is young and only going to get better with time. No pressure on him in 2021, although I sense he is getting wrapped up in the media hype on himself and trying to force it. For the most part he has been great


You know Harry. I recall a radio announcer saying almost the same thing about Cliff Lyons when Manly were struggling and some of his plays were not coming off, especially with his passes in the early 90s, and that was when he was much older. He castigated Lyons and virtually suggested he was not good enough.

What Josh does is quite special and to try to change his style would be a serious mistake. He's one of those special X Factor players who make things happen. He just needs to refine it and other players need to be ready for it.. He's 19 and he's going to make mistakes, but like with Lyons, other players need to be prepared for his plays.

Despite the flaws at times with his flick passes, he is easily the best forward for setting up plays, and has set up several tries already. Not bad for a player who has to do all the grunt work, defence etc, stay on the field for an entire game and still set up some plays that others cant do.

This guy will end up being as important in his role as Turbo is with his role.
 
Not sure where you get unfairly pushed into the halves...pretty sure he has said in the past that he wants to be in the halves and not the forwards.He is only in the second row due to injuries,he is a half and is playing as you would expect a half to play when moved into the forwards.
He has shown enough willingness to do the tough stuff and as you would expect from a young playmaker being asked to play closer in,he is probably trying to do a little too much,it is all part of th
Not sure where you get unfairly pushed into the halves...pretty sure he has said in the past that he wants to be in the halves and not the forwards.He is only in the second row due to injuries,he is a half and is playing as you would expect a half to play when moved into the forwards.
He has shown enough willingness to do the tough stuff and as you would expect from a young playmaker being asked to play closer in,he is probably trying to do a little too much,it is all part of the learning curve.
He was a kid when he was moved into the halves and young footballers do what is asked of them. Lots of development coaches were scratching their heads with the move because it was obvious to most that he was carrying the frame of an edge forward. Just because he likes the position, doesn’t mean it’s his best position. How many wingers want to play fullback?!
The best thing development coaches can do for their players is give them much needed guidance and experience in the position they are most likely to excel in later in their professional careers. It’s just my opinion, but I think Josh would have benefited from 4-5 years of development in the position he is currently playing for us. I don’t see him as a half.
 

Latest posts

Team P W L PD Pts
6 5 1 59 12
6 5 1 20 12
6 4 2 53 10
6 4 2 30 10
7 4 2 25 9
7 4 3 40 8
7 4 3 24 8
7 4 3 -8 8
7 4 3 -18 8
7 3 3 20 7
7 3 4 31 6
7 3 4 17 6
6 2 4 -31 6
7 3 4 -41 6
7 2 5 -29 4
6 1 5 -102 4
6 0 6 -90 2
Back
Top Bottom