Pearce

[ism22]

To each their own but Maloney imo brings more to the table than Pearce ever did, good hole runner , good passing game and lets not forget probably the best goal kicker this club has ever had.

I don't get why Pearce can't do a respectable conversion attempt. Dead set, you'd think that with his pedigree and training he'd be able to curve it like a champ naturally, and nail his technique with some practice.

Name another half in the comp who physically can't do a solid conversion attempt. I struggle to think of any...

[Bigchook]

I think expectations of Watson need to be tempered greatly. I'm really happy we signed keary as I think he's a good 5/8 and will go well with us. But Carter is the recruit I'm most looking forward to seeing. I think he will give us what we lack.

[Cockadoodledoo]

I don't get why Pearce can't do a respectable conversion attempt. Dead set, you'd think that with his pedigree and training he'd be able to curve it like a champ naturally, and nail his technique with some practice.

Name another half in the comp who physically can't do a solid conversion attempt. I struggle to think of any...

The best I can think of is a lack of ability.. Looks like he got his goal kicking prowess from his dad.. After all seeing his field goal attempts removed any hope I had of his goal kicking ability.

[Cockadoodledoo]

I think expectations of Watson need to be tempered greatly. I'm really happy we signed keary as I think he's a good 5/8 and will go well with us. But Carter is the recruit I'm most looking forward to seeing. I think he will give us what we lack.

I was thinking about Carter the other day and I am convinced now he will be in the 17 for round 1, barring injury or contract termination lol.. With SST out, we need a guy in the middle third with a high workrate and he fits the bill to come off the bench and give the team a lift.

[Rooster_6]

People want Pearce to be something he's not and never will be, this elusive ball running, creative ball playing clutch player that all mainstream commentators go on and on about. These types of players are measured by how many points they can provide a team and are encourage to try low percentage plays. Often their lack of game management, direction of the team and defence will be ignored because their value to the team is far greater.

Pearce falls on the opposite side of the spectrum, he is the organiser, the one who provides structure and plays the percentages. These players are measured by how successfully they can implement a game plan, how easily they can manipulate the tempo of the game, how much structure they can provide a side in attack and how successfully they can control territory. Often their weaknesses will be creating points outside of structured plays, coming up with game breaking plays and breaking the line on their own.

No one player in the competition is all the way an organiser or a creator and there's plenty who fall somewhere in the middle. Players also develop through their career, for example by the time Darren Lockyer retired he was just about the best organising half the game has ever seen despite being a very creative player when he first made the switch from Fullback. Jonathan Thurston is one of the most creative players the game will ever see yet even he has developed some organising skills that he just never had in his game for a long time.

There's two problems with organisers when it comes to perception and appreciation

1) It's a lot harder to notice the influence a good organsier is having unless you know what to look for and are watching intently. On the other hand you don't need to know much about the game or watch the game very closely to realise Jonathan Thurston's creativity with ball in hand.

2) The best organisers will make other plays look better, the best creative players make themselves look better. To expand on this point and to give you some food for thought I created this table earlier in the year;



Consider also that if you added Boyd Cordner into this table he would rank in between Aubusson & Guerra at number 2 with 0.42 linebreaks per game. That's the top 3 linebreaking second rowers in the game all at one club. Coincidence?

I'm not making an argument that either (creative players or oragnisers) are move valuable than the other becasue I think any successful side needs a balance of the two. In the absence of creativity a side will lack points and a half like Pearce would be the target. In the absence of an organiser a side will lack organisation and a half like Shaun Johnson would be the target. In their own right both are tremendous players, put them together and they'd be a formidable combo but alone without that balance somewhere in the rest of the side they are both sitting ducks for what I believe is extremely unfair criticism.

Trent Robinson and numerous other excellent judges aren't just plain wrong about Mitchell Pearce. There's just a lot of ignorance out there around what his role is.

It will be interesting to see what Luke Keary provides to the team because I thought Connor Watson was doing a good job of providing that spark to the team when he was paired with Pearce.

[Rooster_6]

I was thinking about Carter the other day and I am convinced now he will be in the 17 for round 1, barring injury or contract termination lol.. With SST out, we need a guy in the middle third with a high workrate and he fits the bill to come off the bench and give the team a lift.

Yeh I said similar when we signed him, it's only a 1 year contract. Just like Matt Mcillwrick he's here to cover an injury and if he doesn't impress then he simply wont be here in 2018. I like it because there's so much upside to Paul Carter if he can add some polish to his game, the ball is 100% in his court now though.

[Nathan Aboud]

I find Pearce always performs when there is no expectation.... It's the little and important things in games he does right that most people don't notice. I think with the lost of the captaincy and also a quiet pre-season I think Pearce will continue the great form he showed at the back end of last year when he returned.

We shouldn't expect so much form him after all he is still young and not as wise as like a Cooper Cronk or Thurston.

[Guest]

People want Pearce to be something he's not and never will be, this elusive ball running, creative ball playing clutch player that all mainstream commentators go on and on about. These types of players are measured by how many points they can provide a team and are encourage to try low percentage plays. Often their lack of game management, direction of the team and defence will be ignored because their value to the team is far greater.

Pearce falls on the opposite side of the spectrum, he is the organiser, the one who provides structure and plays the percentages. These players are measured by how successfully they can implement a game plan, how easily they can manipulate the tempo of the game, how much structure they can provide a side in attack and how successfully they can control territory. Often their weaknesses will be creating points outside of structured plays, coming up with game breaking plays and breaking the line on their own.

No one player in the competition is all the way an organiser or a creator and there's plenty who fall somewhere in the middle. Players also develop through their career, for example by the time Darren Lockyer retired he was just about the best organising half the game has ever seen despite being a very creative player when he first made the switch from Fullback. Jonathan Thurston is one of the most creative players the game will ever see yet even he has developed some organising skills that he just never had in his game for a long time.

There's two problems with organisers when it comes to perception and appreciation

1) It's a lot harder to notice the influence a good organsier is having unless you know what to look for and are watching intently. On the other hand you don't need to know much about the game or watch the game very closely to realise Jonathan Thurston's creativity with ball in hand.

2) The best organisers will make other plays look better, the best creative players make themselves look better. To expand on this point and to give you some food for thought I created this table earlier in the year;



Consider also that if you added Boyd Cordner into this table he would rank in between Aubusson & Guerra at number 2 with 0.42 linebreaks per game. That's the top 3 linebreaking second rowers in the game all at one club. Coincidence?

I'm not making an argument that either (creative players or oragnisers) are move valuable than the other becasue I think any successful side needs a balance of the two. In the absence of creativity a side will lack points and a half like Pearce would be the target. In the absence of an organiser a side will lack organisation and a half like Shaun Johnson would be the target. In their own right both are tremendous players, put them together and they'd be a formidable combo but alone without that balance somewhere in the rest of the side they are both sitting ducks for what I believe is extremely unfair criticism.

Trent Robinson and numerous other excellent judges aren't just plain wrong about Mitchell Pearce. There's just a lot of ignorance out there around what his role is.

It will be interesting to see what Luke Keary provides to the team because I thought Connor Watson was doing a good job of providing that spark to the team when he was paired with Pearce.

You are deluded if you are suggesting Pearce makes those around him better players? i have read some crap on here before, including my own dribble but this is right up there as a 10/10

[Headless Chook]

I don't get why Pearce can't do a respectable conversion attempt. Dead set, you'd think that with his pedigree and training he'd be able to curve it like a champ naturally, and nail his technique with some practice.

Name another half in the comp who physically can't do a solid conversion attempt. I struggle to think of any...

Cooper Cronk, Blake Green, Ben Hunt, Michael Morgan, Blake Austin, Luke Brooks, Josh Reynolds, Luke Keary, Jarrod Mullen just off the top of my head. Why does wearing a number 7 or 6 mean you should be a good goal kicker?

[Guest]

You are deluded if you are suggesting Pearce makes those around him better players? i have read some crap on here before, including my own dribble but this is right up there as a 10/10

Fatboy are you in love with R6? You are so desperate for his approval it is sickening.

[Arties Pie]

Trent Robinson and numerous other excellent judges aren't just plain wrong about Mitchell Pearce.

You are entitled to your opinion ofcourse but are these the same judges that let Maloney go ?

[The ticket]

You are entitled to your opinion ofcourse but are these the same judges that let Maloney go ?

My understanding is that they let Maloney go on the basis he wanted three years and we were only prepared to give him 2 - it was one of thise decisons you make for the longer term roster while understanding there will be short term impacts.

I've never heard anyone suggest we let him go because we didnt rate him

[Cockadoodledoo]

My understanding is that they let Maloney go on the basis he wanted three years and we were only prepared to give him 2 - it was one of thise decisons you make for the longer term roster while understanding there will be short term impacts.

I've never heard anyone suggest we let him go because we didnt rate him

I will put this in proper context as the spin doctors are certainly out in force. Robbo and the team management let Maloney go as they saw more upside/potential in Hastings for the long term future. Hope that clarifies things.

[Tommy Smith]

Yeah that's one decision I wish we could have back. Well, that and the holding off on re-signing RTS until too late.

I saw a bit of Hastings in U20s and I never saw anything remotely exciting about his play. I copped a bit of flak for it towards the end of 2015 when he had a decent run but in the long run he's proven to be the biggest dud we've had for years.

[Vasco]

=

Yeah let's put the pressure on the benchie who will see sporadic game time to come up with the big plays and let Pearce fly under the radar. makes sense.. TBH I think the club was also hoping Fergo could provide X factor. Hoping he can somehow return to his form of a few years ago, however Pearce really needs to aim up this year. He has a very good passing and long kicking game but lacks the guile to utilize his pace in any form of running game. He had zero line breaks from 11 games last season and only 4 in 2015. Not good enough.. A guy like Adrian Lam gets bagged out here from time to time but he was consistently piling on seasons with 20+ line breaks and 20+ try assists.

Give me Lam any day.