7 and 9 are our weak spots

[Ray Stehr]

Pearce and Friend are ordinary.

Don't let your loyalty to individuals overwhelm your loyalty to the club...

We can stack the club with superstar backs (like MJ) and global hero forwards (like SBW)...

But we won't win a comp with Friend and Pearce as the 9 and 7 respectively.

Pains me to say it, but I am being honest.

The best thing to do, to set the change in motion, is move Pearce to 9, drop Friend altogether, move Maloney to 7 and consider our options for 6... for season 2014.

Also, it's time to start thinking about "moving on" some other players who have been, alongside Pearce, mainstays in the underperforming seasons since 2007.

SKD, Kennedy, FPN, Friend, Pearce... clean them out... of course Mini is well past his use-by date as well.

Historically speaking, the biggest revolutions happened at Easts under Jack Gibson and Gus Gould. Both cleaned out as many players as they could from previous eras, and rebuilt entirely new teams.

This Roosters team cannot keep going on with the same failed players from the 2007-12 era.

Build a new team involving Maloney, RTS, Jennings, SBW, JWH, Cordner, Guerra... Mitch Aubusson is one of the few I would keep from the previous era.

Tonight we found at that we won't win a comp with Pearce at halfback and Friend at hooker.

Great post, well done and my sentiments exactly.

[kurtsherlock6]

I thought one of our wingers struggled defensively tonight

But that was SKD's fault.

[Guest]

Compare the way Reynolds handles the ball to Pearce.
Reynolds holds the ball out front, moves forward and has runners coming from deep. He can dummy or pass on each play.
Pearce takes the ball deep, going sideways and shovels the ball wider.
Reynolds always has the defence guessing.
Pearce can be read every time. I've no idea why he's rated so highly.

[Guest]

Compare the way Reynolds handles the ball to Pearce.
Reynolds holds the ball out front, moves forward and has runners coming from deep. He can dummy or pass on each play.
Pearce takes the ball deep, going sideways and shovels the ball wider.
Reynolds always has the defence guessing.
Pearce can be read every time. I've no idea why he's rated so highly.

Also look at the field position Reynolds has, look at the go forward his forwards give him, look at greg Inglis.... He does have a much better kicking game however. Reynolds is a great half and is ahead of Pearce, but I really dont think Mitchell is as bad as everyone says he is.

[Rooster_6]

Compare the way Reynolds handles the ball to Pearce.
Reynolds holds the ball out front, moves forward and has runners coming from deep. He can dummy or pass on each play.
Pearce takes the ball deep, going sideways and shovels the ball wider.
Reynolds always has the defence guessing.
Pearce can be read every time. I've no idea why he's rated so highly.

Must be why he had one linebreak assist for his season tally last year. The defence obviously can't read him.

It's amazing how overrated some players become by playing in a good side.

[Guest]

Must be why he had one linebreak assist for his season tally last year. The defence obviously can't read him.

It's amazing how overrated some players become by playing in a good side.

You're on the record a couple of weeks back as saying Friend is a better 9 than Isaac Luke, and you want to talk about other people overrating players??

[The Brain]

yep one game.....and the chookpen falls apart lol
Look at thse players coaches in the past Stuart /Anderson/ Freddy/Brian Smith ......apart from a little attacking flair from Freddy all flat type coaches.......it has to be coached out of them by TR.....may take some time but if TR is as good as they say then be it.

[TDK]

Also look at the field position Reynolds has, look at the go forward his forwards give him, look at greg Inglis.... He does have a much better kicking game however. Reynolds is a great half and is ahead of Pearce, but I really dont think Mitchell is as bad as everyone says he is.

Pearce is a better runner of the ball and has a longer kicking game, Reynolds has a better short kicking game and looks to have a better overall read of the game. The only thing that separates the two is one has had a very good coach and the other (Pearce) hasn't.

[Guest]

They should try Friend at FB & Pearce at lock.

[Guest]

I thought Luke carved us behind a big forward pack. They definitely won the ruck.

I can't judge attack when playing behind such a beaten pack. Reserve judgement until possession and field position are a bit more even.

Exactly! The only forwards matching theirs was JWH and Moa with any real comparison.. Swap the forwards and we'd have put 50 on them with Pearce and company looking like world beaters..Our backs still did well considering the amount of possession they had. Kennedy's our weakest/slowest at the moment and should no way be in FG once Cordner/LOD gets back.

[Parkway_Drive]

They should try Friend at FB & Pearce at lock.

Are you Tim Sheens??

[Guest]

When will people realise that in the modern game that unless you are a out and out superstar (Smith, Farrah, Thurston, Inglis, Slater) your 7 and 9 are pointless if your forwards don't do there job and you don't have near to 50% possession during the game.
Lets give them a chance to get the new combinations and structures going before we right our chances off for the year

[Guest]

They should try Friend at FB & Pearce at lock.

You used to be somewhat amusing, now you're just sad.

Chook.

[melon....]

When will people realise that in the modern game that unless you are a out and out superstar (Smith, Farrah, Thurston, Inglis, Slater) your 7 and 9 are pointless if your forwards don't do there job and you don't have near to 50% possession during the game.
Lets give them a chance to get the new combinations and structures going before we right our chances off for the year

And yet you want to drop Kennedy for Alomai....go figure! Easts fans are ****ing bi-polar!

[Bansai Pipeline]

You're onto it Edge, based on a Round 1 match we should start rebuilding our side that we've just re-built.

I'd laugh if it wasn't so sad.

I wouldn't say he's basing it on one round. More like the last 3 seasons.

We have major structural issues. They won't be meaningfully corrected by recruiting a gun second rower and another representative centre.

Our hooker, half and fullback are completely unremarkable.

I suggested Pearce to 9 last year. He doesn't have the brains to marshall the team about, but he's got to go somewhere as we've signed him for five years.