Our massive front row problem and why we need to offload some backs to fix it

  • We had an issue with background services between march 10th and 15th or there about. This meant the payment services were not linking to automatic upgrades. If you paid for premium membership and are still seeing ads please let me know and the email you used against PayPal and I cam manually verify and upgrade your account.

cf2 is back

Reserve Grader
It doesn't matter how good our back line is there is simply no way on earth we will be top 4 (and lucky to be top 8) unless we add to our very thin front row depth for 2011.

With Perry gone we now have:
* King - great trier but not getting any younger
* Kite - awesome servant but 3 years past his best '08 form
* George - love him but 30 min at best bench player and gotta lose the pies
* Cross - honest trier but barely above NSW Cup standard
* Guluvao - love him too but come on he's a veteran back rower

And if one or more of those get injured we are in huge trouble.

Forwards win premierships - we've got to find a couple a couple of young gun props now and if our cap is full we need to go to the step of offloading some backs to do it.

I would absolutely hate to lose someone like a Matai or a Wolfman but history shows it's way easier to find a new Whare or an Oldfield than it is a Learoyd-Lahrs. If we can get our hands on someone like pommy James Graham it should be our no 1 priority right now.

Mark my word unless we solve this fast we will be very lucky to make the 8. When we won the comp our pack was awesome and King and Kite were on fire plus we had awesome back ups like Hall all of whom were at the prime of their careers. In fact so good was our pack that Cuthbo and Willo couldn't even make the bench.
 
If we go back to the start of 2008 Bryant and Hall wouldn't have gotten much higher praise than Cross has been given there, and King is playing better now than he was in 2008

Kite is the man the onus is on, if he goes well, our pack goes well

Rose was great in 2009, and at the start of this season, prior to injury, he was going great guns as well.
 
Unfortunately I think it'll cost us Kite to get Graham.

If we can somehow swing Graham to play for us someone else I would be looking at getting is Josh McGuire who was great for Samoa in those two test's. McGuire has the potential to be a Origin player and it'll be interesting to see how the Broncos treat him.
 
Before Rose got injured he was awesome.
Cross was going well early on before he was made 18th man and didn't get a lit of game time for weeks on end.
But I agree it appears we are short a front row forward next year. If injuries hit we will definitely struggle.
 
Agree with cf2.
We seem to have plenty of 2nd rowers now, maybe Des is thinking of using smaller more mobile forwards in the way that Bennett did this year? I doubt though we have got the right sort of backrowers though that can move up into the front row?
 
Disagree guys - sorry. We need to start looking at injecting:-

James Cunningham
Darcy Lussick
Daniel Harrison
Jamie Buhrer
Tony Williams
Junior Palau

all into the forwards. Heck, if we want more speed / mobility, add Matai in, because I'm sure one of Oldfield / Hoppa / Whare could slot in at centre.
 
Wasnt really impressed with Palau & Lussick in Q cup - I guess they did the job but didnt dominate other packs - Lussick was guilty of some lazy defence up the middle and Palau seemed only to be used sparingly. Big step up for them to firsts - hope they prove me wrong though.
 
Kite
King
Watmough
Rodney
Stewart

Possible FR reserves
T Rex (or Backrow)
Joe (or Backrow)
Cunningham (Front)
Cross (front with more gustom,to slow for back)

Backrow Reserve
Buhrer

And moving Matai into the backrow would just kick Rodney off the team,Slight bias being a former teammate but i think he was one of our best in 2010
 
I agree that we've got plenty of cover in the outside backs and the forwards stocks don't quite have the same depth.  Thats why I was quite surprised we ended up keeping Matai.  I wanted to keep him but in this day and age I thought it was a gamble we needed to take and use that money elsewhere.

So many variables for our props in particular next year.  Rose needs to find the hunger (not literally) he started this season off before he got injured.  That form was devastating.  Kite, I think gets a little unfairly targetted, I think bar the first half of last seasons which was fairly understandable why, his form has been pretty solid for us.  King, is kinda strange, he has limitations to his game but they get more exposed when other people aren't playing well.  If everyone else is on their game he can still contribute.  Cross, I was severly disappointed in his efforts when recalled to the side this year after missing quite a few weeks.  Gualavo played well when finally given some quality minutes.  I like Buhrer but he needs to put on some kilos, I definitely rank him in front of our off season signing from the Dogs in Harrison.  People are picking him for a first grade start next year on what I don't know.

Rodney, Choc & Glenny are all automatic picks.  Fingers crossed they produce their best next season.


Matt Ballin is interesting.  I definitely though he started to look like the season had started to get to him, which is understanable as it was his first playing a full 80 minutes every week.

T-Rex is a wild card.  Purchased to be a backrower, I wonder if they still have that in mind for him?

Anyway so many unanswered questions including the x-factor of what our new 7 will bring to the team.  Fingers crossed it will be DCE as I like the way he plays and IMO his style I can really see him forging a great combination with Choc, who actually seemed to miss Ox and his crossfield running so much he took it up himself!

BRING ON 2011!!!!!
 
Shane Rodney will move up front and one of the younger blokes will fill the back row. Rodney is a big man, very mobile, makes good yards and will figure in our prop rotation next year i reckon
 
Des team to start the year will be:-

01. Brett Stewart
02. Michael Robertson
03. Tony Williams
04. Jamie Lyon
05. David Williams
06. Keiran Foran
07. Daly Cherry-Evans
08. Jason King
09. Matt Ballin
10. Brent Kite
11. Anthony Watmough
12. Shane Rodney
13. Glenn Stewart

14. Jamie Buhrer
15. George Rose
16. Matt Cross
17. Joe Galuvao

there will be no surprises.
 
If Tony Williams is centre then we have lost the first game already.
 
Props:
1.Jason King
2.Brent Kite
3.Matt Cross
4.James Cunningham

Back Rowers:
1.Anthony Watmough
2.Shane Rodney
3.Glenn Stewart
4.Jamie Buhrer
5.Darcy Lussick
6.Daniel Harrison
7.Tony Wiliiams
8.Joe Gulavou

Surely someone can convert to being a prop, no problems in the forward stocks !
 
James Graham must be our next forward target, possibly for 2012. The idea of having a more mobile pack is fine with me, it just means either Matai or TRex may have to move into the backrow at stages during 2011. And I agree wih Kiwi, Kite has to step up as it could be his last season with us.
 
Round 1

B Stewart
Robertson
Whare
Lyon
D Williams
K Foran
DCE
Kite
Ballin
King
Watmough
Rodney
G Stewart

Cunningham
Cross
T Williams
??? A hooker i hope!
 
Central Coast Eagle link said:
That's a weak bench shane

We could of had Tasi and JWH on the becnh but the roosters got them first.
 

Members online

Latest posts

Team P W L PD Pts
3 3 0 48 6
3 2 1 45 4
3 2 1 28 4
3 2 1 22 4
3 2 1 15 4
3 2 1 14 4
2 1 1 13 4
3 2 1 10 4
2 1 1 6 4
3 2 1 -3 4
3 1 2 0 2
3 1 2 -5 2
3 1 2 -15 2
3 1 2 -22 2
3 1 2 -36 2
2 0 2 -56 2
3 0 3 -64 0
Back
Top Bottom