Jamal Fogarty

[LeonardCohen]

You make some fair points, but I think you’re still overplaying it massively. Every halfback can have games where they go quiet or get exposed defensively, especially against the top sides. The difference is DCE has had far more of those games than Fogarty over the years. Singling out Fogarty for two games out of a season where his team finished first is clutching at straws.

Also, don’t forget that we’ve had one of the worst right-edge defences in the comp for years now — and that comes primarily down to DCE and his defensive approach. His reads are erratic, he often rushes in with no communication, leaves Haumole stranded in no man’s land, and the centre (usually Garrick) ends up looking like the one to blame. The lack of cohesion on our right side has been a glaring issue that opposition teams have targeted for a long time. So if you’re going to bag Fogarty out for being caught a couple of times this season, then you’ve got to acknowledge the same thing with DCE. Otherwise, it’s just not a fair or balanced take.

And yeah, I watched the Raiders v Broncos game — no denying Fogarty got burnt, but Walsh is one of the hardest players in the comp to contain when he’s on. He almost single-handedly dragged Brisbane back into that match. Even the best defensive units get carved up by him.

On the “rattled and spooked” point, I was clearly talking about DCE — the headless chook routine he serves up week after week, running figure eights or circles because he refuses to take on the line or get tackled. That’s been a huge issue for us in attack for years, and it’s exactly why a composed half like Fogarty will be a breath of fresh air.

On the “it’s more impressive to do it in a beaten side” argument — I don’t buy that at all. Fogarty is literally one of the main reasons Canberra went from 9th last year to 1st this year. He played 23 games this season compared to just 14 last year due to injury, and you can see the difference his control and consistency made to the team. That’s not him riding on the back of success — that’s him creating it.

At the end of the day, I know you’re a big DCE fan, so I don’t expect you to change your mind. But making a reactionary call based on one game this year doesn’t line up with how Fogarty’s actually played across the season. If you’d watched him week to week, you’d see his defence is usually solid, his reads are good, and he brings the consistency and control Manly have been crying out for.

Based on your reply, we are not really having the same conversation. You’re asserting things I haven’t said and/or done.

It’s not about a DCE bias or bagging Fogerty; it’s just about opinions I hold. They’re unpopular opinions on these boards for a number of reasons, so you’ll get plenty of validation from others, but I stand by them.
1 - DCE is a better 7 than Fogarty.
2 - Jamal is a good signing
3 - Jamal did not have his best game and got caught out in defence (that’s not me ‘bagging’ him, it’s just an appraisal of his recent game; further, whether DCE gets caught out at times or not is irrelevant in my appraisal of Fog’s game on Sunday. You’ll see I’ve been critical of Daly’s defence on many occasions over the years).

I just love talking footy and am always happy to have healthy debate but I’m also wary of getting into discussions where the peripherals of what I’m actually asserting are skewed by the responder, I.e. I’m bagging Fog, I’m protecting Daly, etc. I don’t engage in that sort of fandom. My perspective of these two footballers is entirely emotionless and entirely based on my perception of a 352 game premiership winning halfback and SOO captain, vs the no frills late bloomer. They’re chalk and cheese in the fair dinkum footy department, but that’s subjective up to a point. I’m also aware that it’s not everyone’s opinion and that’s totally OK.

Also, since we are talking footy, I’m not daft and I get that Walsh will burn many an edge, but people were also trying to pass the blame onto others in an attempt to protect Fog (me thinks lots of hope for next season clouding judgement), but the reality is he was a spot defender in the Broncos game plan because he is a slowish half. Fullbacks play both sides of the ruck but notice Ethan Strange was not a target for Walsh…

 

[Cochrane]

Dce is a better 7 than Fog?
Looking at their careers, most certainly, no brainer!!
At rhe moment looking at 2025, hmmm, I cant be convinced.
Daly had 4 or 5 games where he was one of the better players on the day, the rest were quiet or appalling.

Fog in 2025 was never one of the best players on the day, but was never quiet or appalling and instead was instrumental as a 7 at Canberra and their success.

I'd love a gun 7, but hopefully that comes with the development of Walsh. For now, im more than happy for a 7 who is a worker/tradesman like in his role like Fog, and do the job week in week out as a 7 of a team and accept there will be games where he makes wrong decisions or misses tackles, as does every player.

 

[Rocky]

Haumole should clearly be the most dominant attacking edge forward in the game. And often he is, despite getting a crash ball from DCE with 3 or 4 defenders ready for him.

Hoping Fog can unlock Haumole to maximize his destructive talents.

 

[Ohgeez]

Haumole should clearly be the most dominant attacking edge forward in the game. And often he is, despite getting a crash ball from DCE with 3 or 4 defenders ready for him.

Hoping Fog can unlock Haumole to maximize his destructive talents.

Hosking, Nicholson & Sasagi have all looked great outside him this year. All good players but they aren’t in Haumole’s league. Excited to see that combination over the next few years 🤩

 

[Cliffy2Beaver]

Fog gives me Matt Orford vibes

 

[mave]

Fog gives me Matt Orford vibes

Another one who cant use a pen?

 

[Brookie1973]

Have to laugh whenever the topic of DCE comes up on NRL360, they seem to think he is the game manager type halfback the roosters need. I must have been watching a different game for the past 15 years. To me, he is an older version of what they already have in walker.

 

[Cliffy2Beaver]

Another one who cant use a pen?

I prefer the qwerty keyboard

 

[LeonardCohen]

Have to laugh whenever the topic of DCE comes up on NRL360, they seem to think he is the game manager type halfback the roosters need. I must have been watching a different game for the past 15 years. To me, he is an older version of what they already have in walker.

Agree. The only advantage is Daly’s long kicking game but other than that, they’re both creative types that play ‘eyes up’ footy.

 

[susan]

I agree there’s been no overt messiah references but I think people are letting their distaste for DCE as a person, cloud their judgement on his footballing ability.

He’s clearly in another league to Jamal Fogarty. I don’t have to list the comparative accolades to make my point. He’s so far ahead of Fog it’s not funny.

I’m holding out a bit of hope that Fog’s control will be a good thing for our game plan but I don’t think that’s a fait accompli like Many suggest.

Fingers crossed.

He took a team predicted to get the spoon to minor premiers. DCE took us to 9th again. His tenure , although littered with individual highlights, has been an abject 10 mill plus failure. 3 or 4 winning finals in a decade.

Not sure what Fog will bring other than professionalism and a TEAM mindset but I doubt it could be worse than the last decade.

I want a team that wins and talent is unlocked across that team, not a decade long highlight reel from a very talented player who wins meaningless games and fails to bring the best out in othes, Ola bring a classic example.

 

[Highflier]

I’ll take what you say with a grain of salt, as I’ve noticed over the years you’re a pretty avid pro-DCE fan on here. But I still want to put these stats out there for everyone else to see, because they clearly dispel the idea that DCE is “so far ahead it’s not funny.”

Fogarty is the halfback of the team that just won the minor premiership, while Manly finished 10th — captained by yours truly, DCE. The numbers speak for themselves:

Category	Fogarty	DCE
Tries	2	5
Try Assists	23	21
Line Break Assists	15	16
Forced Drop Outs	21	18
40/20s	1	3
Average Kicking Metres	485.1	415.4
Line Breaks	2	5
Tackle Breaks	19	35
Total Tackles	530	415
Avg Tackles/Game	23.0	18.0
Tackle Efficiency	89.2%	90.2%
Missed Tackles	64	45
Errors	22	16

On top of that, DCE is 36 and only going to decline from here, whereas Fogarty is 31, in the peak form of his career and still improving.

The key difference between them is the style of halfback. Fogarty isn’t flashy, but that’s exactly why he’s been so valuable for Canberra this season — he’s consistent, reliable and keeps a steady head. He doesn’t get rattled or spooked and try to pull off low-percentage “hero” plays. He sticks to his role, controls the game, and gives the real strike players around him like Strange, Young and Weekes the platform to dominate.

And that’s exactly what Manly need. With guys like Tom and Koula in our team, our go-to players who need early ball and space, a composed halfback running the show makes all the difference. Fogarty gives you that balance and doesn’t overplay his hand.

I also genuinely believe Fogarty is the one who will finally unlock Haumole. For years he’s been getting the ball flat-footed from DCE and forced to do everything himself. Fogarty actually plays to his forwards, knows how to put a big edge runner through a hole, and that’s going to make a huge difference.

Not to mention, after 15 years in first grade, DCE still can’t execute a proper cross-field kick for a 6’7 winger like Saab. That’s the sort of basic play you expect from a first grade halfback — something other quality No.7s like Sam Walker do consistently every week. Fogarty’s arrival can fix that.

There are also plenty of attributes to Fogarty’s game that don’t show up in stats but will have a noticeable impact on the way we play next year. As others have said, he’s not a match-winning or game-breaking halfback with freakish natural talent like a Cleary or Moses. But for under $700k a season, he’s about as good as you’ll get — and he plays the complete opposite style of game to DCE, which, let’s be honest, hasn’t worked for us for the last 15 years. So why not try something new?

For 2026, Fogarty is exactly the halfback we need — steady, controlled, and the perfect foil for the strike weapons around him. Like many others on here have previously stated, I agree that it is going to be so refreshing and exciting to watch a DCE-less Manly team in 2026. Most of all, I am relieved I won’t have to watch another one of those painful second-tackle kicks that swing the momentum back in favour of the opposition when we are in front or on the attack, or a botched short drop-out attempt as he still hasn’t figured out which side to kick the ball to.

Looking at those stats I feel that Fog comes out looking pretty good ,and way better value.
Attempts more tackles same sort of TAs,LBAs, and more forced drop outs at approx 36% discount cost.
I feel our lack of success has come down a lot to the fact that our "weapons" never seem to get the ball in positions like they should .Guys like Hamole ,and Koula,hoppa,Turbo etc getting put into space is what we should be aiming for ,instead playing DCE ball they usually got the ball with half the opposing team waiting or hanging off them .I feel the Fog is a lot more structured and will play the team game to get the ball to the weapons in good position and then hopefully attack and or good field position will follow .Plus he hopefully has a better chance of getting the ball some where near where our 7ft winger can catch the ball!!.
I also think that he is different in that he is not a run out of the liner in D ,leaving gaping holes that others get blamed for. As for Walsh beating him last weekend ,Im not sure how much shame there is in that ,Walsh was on fire big time in that 2nd 1/2 and in those situations hard to stop, esp when Raiders appeared to stop playing thinking about the week off and how good they were.
Anyways looking forward to the Fog in 26 and hopefully they win this weekend and go onto make the GF and win it !!!!
Anyways Go Manly and go the Fog

 

[Brookie1973]

Hosking, Nicholson & Sasagi have all looked great outside him this year. All good players but they aren’t in Haumole’s league. Excited to see that combination over the next few years 🤩

Hopefully you are right. I actually think Haumole’s “style” is not that conducive to dynamic hole running, in say the Steve Menzies mould. He seems to prefer a standing start, then barge into the line, bumping defenders off rather than trying to hit a gap. I’ve always thought it was due to his limited junior league experience, where most young players would develop the skill to time a run, hit a hole etc. I understand he came to the game late, and was more a basketballer, which I think explains the “get the ball then do something” mindset, as opposed to “time my run so I get the ball at optimal speed/positioning”.

So yes, better service from the half may help, but I also think Haumole himself has to make adjustments if he wants to become the dynamic hole runner we seem to expect him to be.

 

[XV-1]

Hopefully you are right. I actually think Haumole’s “style” is not that conducive to dynamic hole running, in say the Steve Menzies mould. He seems to prefer a standing start, then barge into the line, bumping defenders off rather than trying to hit a gap. I’ve always thought it was due to his limited junior league experience, where most young players would develop the skill to time a run, hit a hole etc. I understand he came to the game late, and was more a basketballer, which I think explains the “get the ball then do something” mindset, as opposed to “time my run so I get the ball at optimal speed/positioning”.

So yes, better service from the half may help, but I also think Haumole himself has to make adjustments if he wants to become the dynamic hole runner we seem to expect him to be.

I got an idea. Maybe someone should coach him to become a better running player. 🤔

Imagine that 🤣

 

[Brookie1973]

I got an idea. Maybe someone should coach him to become a better running player. 🤔

Imagine that 🤣

Not sure that’s the Manly Way.

 

[Ohgeez]

Hopefully you are right. I actually think Haumole’s “style” is not that conducive to dynamic hole running, in say the Steve Menzies mould. He seems to prefer a standing start, then barge into the line, bumping defenders off rather than trying to hit a gap. I’ve always thought it was due to his limited junior league experience, where most young players would develop the skill to time a run, hit a hole etc. I understand he came to the game late, and was more a basketballer, which I think explains the “get the ball then do something” mindset, as opposed to “time my run so I get the ball at optimal speed/positioning”.

So yes, better service from the half may help, but I also think Haumole himself has to make adjustments if he wants to become the dynamic hole runner we seem to expect him to be.

On the money with this post 100%. If he starts hitting the line at speed I have no doubt he’ll be clearly the best back rower in the comp. I am hopeful that with Fog being less of a ‘off the cuff’ playmaker it might help him improve this part of his game. DCE could do great things but i’d imagine it was slightly confusing not knowing what he was going to do anytime he touched it 😂. time will tell

 

[Highflier]

On the money with this post 100%. If he starts hitting the line at speed I have no doubt he’ll be clearly the best back rower in the comp. I am hopeful that with Fog being less of a ‘off the cuff’ playmaker it might help him improve this part of his game. DCE could do great things but i’d imagine it was slightly confusing not knowing what he was going to do anytime he touched it 😂. time will tell

Also, I think that for Fog esp to succeed and unlock our weapons it all comes back to the space the pigs can create. Something we managed to do a fair bit this year even with our decimated pack, yet our halves were unable to capitalize on a number of times.
Anyways i'm hoping to be looking forward to no pointless 2nd or 3rd tackle kicks that hand back momentum to the opposition, no crabbing across field, no circle running and no running out of the line missing the target in D.

 

[LeonardCohen]

Fog is not renown for his short passing game to put back rowers into holes. A casual look at the highlights of our game vs Saint George and you’ll see some lovely ball playing from the Dollar Chaser to put Waddell and Talau over for tries.

I’m as pissed off as anyone at Daly, but he has Fog covered as a ball player by the length of a country mile.