Some Team News/Info

[Bronterooster]

I don't often post but I thought I'd share some stuff. Some of it might seem obvious and some of it you might already know but here goes.

- Injuries aside, the plan is definitely to play Latrell at left centre. The feeling is that he needs a few more pre-seasons to truly be fit enough for the demands of fullback.

- Obvious to some/most but Michael Gordon will be first choice fullback. Apparently a great communicator and organiser at the back, something Robbo values highly, particularly in defense. Also worth noting is that Gordon led the league last year in stats relating to backing up after breaks/half breaks. Not sure how they measure this exactly but the point is that although he obviously doesn't have that natural brilliance and game breaking play in him he is very good support player.

- Going against what some on here think and feel should happen youngsters Manu and JTS have not jumped Tupou in the pecking order. They have wraps on Manu but he's not ahead of Toups at this stage.

-Therefore the first choice backline will be:
FB: Gordon
LW: Tupou
LC: Latrell
RC: Fergo
RW: SKD
5/8: Keary
HB: Pearce

- If all goes to plan Connor Watson will be in the 17 every week. They have no problem with Jake spending some time on the bench and apparently Jake doesn’t mind either. And they don’t just mean garbage time at the end of the game. Connor will play a significant role in this team, they value him. There is also the option of Connor coming on at dummy half and Jake staying on and defending in the middle.

- Nat Bucher, who is planned to play a fair bit of first grade this year, has had off season shoulder surgery and is still doing rehab which is a setback.

- New recruit Paul Carter knows he’s on his last chance in the NRL. He’s on bottom dollar, has a point to prove and has been super competitive at training so far.

Cheers guys that's all, looking forward to the abuse

[player 1]

No abuse from me BR, thanks for the insight. You would have to think from the look of that backline that we have a brighter season ahead of us than last season!

[eddie]

The common-sense backline....................good to see.

Hope the giraffe finds some form , coz Manu deserves a shot.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

Thanks Bronte Rooster much appreciated.

I'm disap with the Latrell news...most other clubs wouldn't cuddle their stars like we do, show more faith.

Great to hear Joey Manu firmly in the picture though...hes our other star in the making potentially although a step behind Latrell at present.

[eddie]

I'm disap with the Latrell news...most other clubs wouldn't cuddle their stars like we do, show more faith.
.

i dunno if this would just be about being over-protective, although we could question his fitness at times.
Playing Latrell in the centres is a worthy experiment, and Gordon at fullback is best for the team. imo

[Bigchook]

How does he get get fitter abd become a better fb by playing centre is my question. Unless they are planning on bringing another fb to the team next year. Latrell might not have been fit enough last yr but still close to our best. How bad is butchers injury? I reckon Carter will kill it for us next season.

[HEGtheROOSTER]

Hope the giraffe finds some form...

Yeah at his best he's an absolute handful, bordering on unstoppable; at his worst he's simply awful and a liability.

Hopefully with Manu breathing down his neck he'll produce more of the former......

[The Axe]

Thanks mate for sharing. Good insights. Backs up what I heard re Latrell and Gordon but I'd put more faith in what you said re JTS as even I did not believe it.
MAnu's time will come. He's too classy and Toupou, SKD and Fergo have plenty of errors between them.

Hope you don't get abused for your insights.

[Mickie Lane]

I don't often post but I thought I'd share some stuff. Some of it might seem obvious and some of it you might already know but here goes.

- Injuries aside, the plan is definitely to play Latrell at left centre. The feeling is that he needs a few more pre-seasons to truly be fit enough for the demands of fullback.

- Obvious to some/most but Michael Gordon will be first choice fullback. Apparently a great communicator and organiser at the back, something Robbo values highly, particularly in defense. Also worth noting is that Gordon led the league last year in stats relating to backing up after breaks/half breaks. Not sure how they measure this exactly but the point is that although he obviously doesn't have that natural brilliance and game breaking play in him he is very good support player.

- Going against what some on here think and feel should happen youngsters Manu and JTS have not jumped Tupou in the pecking order. They have wraps on Manu but he's not ahead of Toups at this stage.

-Therefore the first choice backline will be:
FB: Gordon
LW: Tupou
LC: Latrell
RC: Fergo
RW: SKD
5/8: Keary
HB: Pearce

- If all goes to plan Connor Watson will be in the 17 every week. They have no problem with Jake spending some time on the bench and apparently Jake doesn’t mind either. And they don’t just mean garbage time at the end of the game. Connor will play a significant role in this team, they value him. There is also the option of Connor coming on at dummy half and Jake staying on and defending in the middle.

- Nat Bucher, who is planned to play a fair bit of first grade this year, has had off season shoulder surgery and is still doing rehab which is a setback.

- New recruit Paul Carter knows he’s on his last chance in the NRL. He’s on bottom dollar, has a point to prove and has been super competitive at training so far.

Cheers guys that's all, looking forward to the abuse

Have you been on the al capone to Turk -283 & his brother Turk-284?
Unless a board member has given you that info I dont believe it.
Anyway stuff all these rumours Im gunna ask the little Chinese lady who works in the Chinese restaurant cleaning the dishes at Easts Leagues what the real back line will be in 2017.

[Freddy]

I don't often post but I thought I'd share some stuff. Some of it might seem obvious and some of it you might already know but here goes.

- Injuries aside, the plan is definitely to play Latrell at left centre. The feeling is that he needs a few more pre-seasons to truly be fit enough for the demands of fullback.

- Obvious to some/most but Michael Gordon will be first choice fullback. Apparently a great communicator and organiser at the back, something Robbo values highly, particularly in defense. Also worth noting is that Gordon led the league last year in stats relating to backing up after breaks/half breaks. Not sure how they measure this exactly but the point is that although he obviously doesn't have that natural brilliance and game breaking play in him he is very good support player.

- Going against what some on here think and feel should happen youngsters Manu and JTS have not jumped Tupou in the pecking order. They have wraps on Manu but he's not ahead of Toups at this stage.

-Therefore the first choice backline will be:
FB: Gordon
LW: Tupou
LC: Latrell
RC: Fergo
RW: SKD
5/8: Keary
HB: Pearce

- If all goes to plan Connor Watson will be in the 17 every week. They have no problem with Jake spending some time on the bench and apparently Jake doesn’t mind either. And they don’t just mean garbage time at the end of the game. Connor will play a significant role in this team, they value him. There is also the option of Connor coming on at dummy half and Jake staying on and defending in the middle.

- Nat Bucher, who is planned to play a fair bit of first grade this year, has had off season shoulder surgery and is still doing rehab which is a setback.

- New recruit Paul Carter knows he’s on his last chance in the NRL. He’s on bottom dollar, has a point to prove and has been super competitive at training so far.

Cheers guys that's all, looking forward to the abuse

Cheers BR, no abuse here love the info. Backline looks awesome in attack but in defence a real worry. SKD and Fergo look so lost in defence especially when defending next to each other. Manu at Wyong makes sense to start with,hopefully his form is too good to keep him out of first grade for long.

[Tommy Smith]

Great post mate, cheers.

That backline looks devastating in attack.

But I worry greatly about the defence of the 3/4s.

Also I hope they're building their game around ball control. The Cows, Broncs and Storm do nothing exciting in their own half at all and I think we should follow the same blueprint.

[stephenj]

we dont follow others but run our own game plans! id rather a robbo plan than any other coach especially bennet! if we want to run it from our quarter and think we can do ot, then just do it! such plays win games, too hard to plan defences against!

[ism22]

Yeah at his best he's an absolute handful, bordering on unstoppable; at his worst he's simply awful and a liability.

Hopefully with Manu breathing down his neck he'll produce more of the former......

I feel that Manu's the better ball player and is probably faster. Tupou has the height, the vertical jump and the size to draw in a lot of defenders.

Maybe just my opinion but I feel that Toops will score a lot more tries, whereas Manu will setup more tries and linebreaks. For this reason I feel it's good to have some healthy competition - Manu might suit some games better, for example.

I'm disap with the Latrell news...most other clubs wouldn't cuddle their stars like we do, show more faith.

One thing that Flash mentioned in a recent interview is that compared with other clubs (Parra and Cronulla?) we base our training a lot more around recovery rather than just smashing the boys every week.

I sorta like to hear we're being a more 'protective' club in some respects because injuries and resentment can set in big time when you ignore the welfare of players. Yes they're getting paid and part of the job involves coping with pain... blah, blah, blah... but another part of professional sport is recovery (and periodisation). Being overly harsh achieves nothing because the quality of training goes down (you're just slogging it out rather than practicing good form) and players get worn out/resentful.

[Easts75]

If Mitchell gets early ball in the centres he will be hard to stop. My worry is they won't use him correctly, a bit like we wasted Jenko in the end.
I like Gordon at FB , i think it makes sense playing him there and letting Mitchell develop a little more

[redwhiteblue]

Have you been on the al capone to Turk -283 & his brother Turk-284?
Unless a board member has given you that info I dont believe it.
Anyway stuff all these rumours Im gunna ask the little Chinese lady who works in the Chinese restaurant cleaning the dishes at Easts Leagues what the real back line will be in 2017.

I can personally vouch for Bronte Rooster's credibility and inside knowledge as he is from my old neighbourhood and we have important people close to us in common..my hairdresser for one!