Billy Smith

[Timmah]

Brett Papworth 2.0....
poor bugger.
All the best for a speedy recovery Billy boy

[King Salvo]

Do you want to see them doing ballet at training?

So when players do their ACL/Shoulder/Break jaws/ankles etc in these so called "opposed" training session and are ruled out for the long periods or the season is it worth it though?

[King Salvo]

Tackle bags teach poor technique, they don't really do anything other then help improve fitness. You seem to be anchored in the 70/80's King!

There were a lot of good defenders in the teams back in the 70 and 80's though.

What do these so called "opposed" sessions do for defence though when players are not 100% committed as you would hope they in a real game - can only teach players poor techniques/ bad habits and laziness as after all it is just training not a real game and who would wan to get injured in a training mishap for no real reason.

It's daft having "opposed" training sessions simulating defence and offence against your own team mates and then think the attacking moves etc will work against your next opponents as it worked in the simulated opposed sessions and or the defence will hold up as it did so in the simulated opposed sessions.

[King Salvo]

Agreed. It's unlucky but IMO highlighted an underlying weakness. Better that he's done it now rather than during his first game (probably for the bears).

Practicing touch footy won't prep you for copping Latrell Mitchell's palm in your face or a solid run into space from Taumalolo/Papalii. You've gotta practice taking those hits somehow, or teams will just run straight through the middle of us and we'll be watching replays of that bloody Souffs pre-finals game every week. I'd prefer a few unlucky injuries over that shyte...

Also as with Radley/Verrills... anything can break you. You can be in a situation where you're running straight, literally nobody touches you and then there goes your ACL. You're always running the calculated risk of hurting yourself when you exercise. Usually you don't (or it's nothing serious). S*x when you do though...

Not sure if there is anyone in the Chooks that you can practice tackling whilst they are palming you off though- Don't think the Chooks have players that run likeTaumalolo/Papalii either.

Anyway, players should study the video's more closely on how their opponents play as a team and individuals (strengths and weaknesses) to know their style of play in various situations etc. As an Example you see time and time again players doing the same thing week in week in creating tries and some how this surprises the opposition although if the players watched the previous video of that teams games they would see that the player(s) did the same thing in those games.

How much time is put into studying the video's of the next opponent by coaching staff and players?

Use to annoy me how teams would let Cliff Lyon drift across the field week in week out - the defence would be like stunned mullets or in some sort of trance seemingly not knowing what to do and sure enough he would do the same play and put a runner through a gap to score like he did the previous week and week before that and before that etc

In simulated opposed sessions are players going to run with the ball as they would in a game or tackle as they would in a game - no - that is when injuries in such sessions can occur as the players are not 100% committed in any of these activities as neither would want to injure their team mate.

Training should be for preparing for the next opponent and working on combating their strenghts and exploiting their weaknesses- individuals may have to do extra's to correct some issues in their game from the previous one - video work too

I would like to know when these so called opposed sessions came into vogue though as what do they really do.

[Thirteen]

So when players do their ACL/Shoulder/Break jaws/ankles etc in these so called "opposed" training session and are ruled out for the long periods or the season is it worth it though?

Certainly not. But it’s a contact sport and they need to practice physicality. With many recent premierships I’d say they know what they are doing.

[Headless Chook]

There were a lot of good defenders in the teams back in the 70 and 80's though.

What do these so called "opposed" sessions do for defence though when players are not 100% committed as you would hope they in a real game - can only teach players poor techniques/ bad habits and laziness as after all it is just training not a real game and who would wan to get injured in a training mishap for no real reason.

It's daft having "opposed" training sessions simulating defence and offence against your own team mates and then think the attacking moves etc will work against your next opponents as it worked in the simulated opposed sessions and or the defence will hold up as it did so in the simulated opposed sessions.

It's dafter running against thin air thinking that it will simulate your up coming game in anyway shape or form

[NorthChook]

I’d encourage some posters on here to practice human contact more often - most times it’s worth the risk

[King Salvo]

It's dafter running against thin air thinking that it will simulate your up coming game in anyway shape or form

McInnes did his ACL in an opposed training session attempting to tackle a team mate - I think Cartwright broke his jaw in an opposed training session as well. I'm not sure when this opposed training came in although i don't see players from the 60's70's80's for an example training like this.

As daft as the Cricketers playing footy before the days play begins - i think during one of these muck around's with a footy McGrath treads on a cricket ball and does his ankle and is ruled out of the 2nd test which was to start that morning and the third test in the 2005 Ashes tour - gave the Poms the momentum after that to go on and win the series and regain the Ashes as the Aussie bowling struggled with the loss of their main pace strike bowler in McGrath for those 2 tests after he too a 9 fa in the 1st test - all the Pom players received MBE's

The point being is it worthwhile losing some of your main players for the season perhaps as a result of a training injury suffered in these opposed sessions - no - sure you can say it could have happened in a game but that is different as they are actually playing a proper game.

[DP1990]

You really do feel sorry for the kid. He just can't get a clean break. He'll have to rest up, do more rehab on his knee and maybe during mid-season he could act as cover for origin and/or injuries.


If we're being realistic Billy Smith was only going to be a depth cover option this season anyways for the Morris brothers and Joey Manu for exmaple. Unfortunately, I think Billy will now end up behind the likes of Joseph Suaalii, Matt Ikuvalu and even Adam Keighran (who can play both at 5/8 and centre) this season.


It's going to be a tough climb back but I hope he can get there and prove his mettle ... if not then the Chooks need to go shopping for next season and onwards potentially as we're going to end up losing both the Morris brothers at some point this year and Toops approaching 30 years of age. We will need to start looking for replacements, depth-cover and future planning (buy or promote from the Bears ... for example).


PS: Toops still can play and I'm not saying he needs to be replaced anytime soon but you always have to look towards the future.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

You really do feel sorry for the kid. He just can't get a clean break. He'll have to rest up, do more rehab on his knee and maybe during mid-season he could act as cover for origin and/or injuries.


If we're being realistic Billy Smith was only going to be a depth cover option this season anyways for the Morris brothers and Joey Manu for exmaple. Unfortunately, I think Billy will now end up behind the likes of Joseph Suaalii, Matt Ikuvalu and even Adam Keighran (who can play both at 5/8 and centre) this season.


It's going to be a tough climb back but I hope he can get there and prove his mettle ... if not then the Chooks need to go shopping for next season and onwards potentially as we're going to end up losing both the Morris brothers at some point this year and Toops approaching 30. We will need to start looking for replacements, depth-cover and future planning (buy or promote from the Bears ... for example).


PS: Toops still can play and I'm not saying he needs to be replaced anytime soon but you always have to look towards the future.

A clean break is the last thing he needs now.

[DP1990]

A clean break is the last thing he needs now.

LOL ... mate there was no pun intended ! ... What I meant to say was a clean break as in "a complete separation or clear run from all of his injuries etc"

[Headless Chook]

McInnes did his ACL in an opposed training session attempting to tackle a team mate - I think Cartwright broke his jaw in an opposed training session as well. I'm not sure when this opposed training came in although i don't see players from the 60's70's80's for an example training like this.

As daft as the Cricketers playing footy before the days play begins - i think during one of these muck around's with a footy McGrath treads on a cricket ball and does his ankle and is ruled out of the 2nd test which was to start that morning and the third test in the 2005 Ashes tour - gave the Poms the momentum after that to go on and win the series and regain the Ashes as the Aussie bowling struggled with the loss of their main pace strike bowler in McGrath for those 2 tests after he too a 9 fa in the 1st test - all the Pom players received MBE's

The point being is it worthwhile losing some of your main players for the season perhaps as a result of a training injury suffered in these opposed sessions - no - sure you can say it could have happened in a game but that is different as they are actually playing a proper game.

You are more likely to suffer an injury during a game if you're not physically prepared for the game. How do you physically prepare by playing against shadows? Or tackling a bag that doesn't move, doesn't have the shape or hardness of a human body. I can see you have a different opinion on this, but I think I trust the experts more than I trust your judgement. Ohh and by the way, McGrath was just walking back to the dressing room after warming up and just stood on a cricket ball. Maybe he shouldn't have warmed up that day!

[mightyrooster]

This is really bad news for young Billy. He really hasn't been able to take a trick injury wise the past few seasons. Hopefully he will get over this hump and become a long term Rooster. It's really affecting our backline depth now though, espceially after letting go that other young back Christian T to Manly. It will more than likely become a problem with the Morris twins being quite injury prone.

[DirtyHarry]

I remember when Tedesco was at the tigers, he had some serious injuries for the first few years.
He hasn't had too many since, hopefully Smith will be the same.

[NorthChook]

You are more likely to suffer an injury during a game if you're not physically prepared for the game. How do you physically prepare by playing against shadows? Or tackling a bag that doesn't move, doesn't have the shape or hardness of a human body. I can see you have a different opinion on this, but I think I trust the experts more than I trust your judgement. Ohh and by the way, McGrath was just walking back to the dressing room after warming up and just stood on a cricket ball. Maybe he shouldn't have warmed up that day!

Agreed - there are wrestling techniques in the game whether people want it or not, most tackles involve multiple players as this is the best 'legal' way to hold up players and slow down the play the ball (as much as possible before a six again call). You can't learn how to work arms, legs and necks on tackle bags - and if they didn't practice these techniques in sessions there would be even more very serious injuries. Often when appealing against a suspension charge, the club will present evidence that they taught safe tackling practice and back that up by showing that it was at least attempted in the tackle.

This is the modern day, full time game