We can’t keep everybody for their entire career. We need to grow and the natural attrition of player movement is part of that formula. We need a balanced squad.
We do and Talau should have been part of that balance, a lot bang on about our backline, thing for me is we’re not really well balanced, especially across our three quarter line.
What’s the plan next year, Tolu and Garrick? Maybe, maybe Gaz gets a second shot without turtle on that side, it may make a difference.
Or is it Lehi and or when need Clayton, that’s a small pairing anyway you look at it, also puts Gaz back on the wing, which is his best spot for the team.
Our wingers, if Gaz goes back in, I’d assume it’s Saab and Lehi, perhaps Wilson or Clayton pending injuries and form, there’s not a lot of return in yardage there anyway you look at it and small targets in our D line, perhaps Gaz holds his own if he plays there.
FB, what can you say, if Tom was 21 Tom all good, but his not, his 5 years on and a few injuries too boot and while a gifted footy player, consistency is the worry and I believe his just lost that dynamic that’s needed from 1 for mine, thats Koula for me, anyway hope Tom has a good year, as our year always hangs on his contribution to some degree.
Our backline is a little underwhelming for all the ranting it gets, sure there’s plenty of speed there, but again the game is so lucid, you need to flow with it, sides with power and meters in their backline are what it’s all about. Yardage from your back 3 was essentially what was required, last season has seen that evolve to include the three quarters, actually pretty much the whole backline is now a forward pack coming off kick returns.
Basically your backs are a modern day forward pack while your big men who can no longer be big men get back to defend the subsequent set, it’s a game of field position and possession, our backline looks to be in all soughts, don’t believe it……
Look at the top 8, top 4 this years, look at the preliminary’s even the GF, the Riff kicked the change off and lead the way, relentless yardage from their backs in particular there back 3, they didn’t hack it this year, a few too many miles on To’o, Edward’s, interesting Jenkins kept Alomoti out all year, but Alomoti is the right type and stamped his work on their finals effort.
Take Melbourne, Meaney has been their weak link for mine for a while now, good with the ball, defensively, not so good, is that anything to do with his size? Their wingers bring the power game and yardage, although every team thinks if you smash Coates, you shut him down and maybe you do, they lost Howarth in the GF, his a big body and that hurt in context, then as brilliant as Paps is or can be, it’s self explanatory and even Melbourne know it now and are considering his future, there backline got owned, Brisbane on the other hand dominated them.
So the Broncos backline, let’s leave their 1 out of it, his the best in the game, but we a have a player that could offer something similar. Their wingers bring speed and strong yardage, I think Karapani is a superstar in the making, already said it, his a To’o Mark 2, with all the ingredients to be better, the young dog on the up, Marina and Arthur’s all bring strong running games. Their 3 and 4 there you have it all power and devastating ball running, even Mamm brings them mongrel from 6, speed and craftiness, he was trying to pull big hits off in the GF and helped get them up the week before with a similar effort.
So the side with the best backline won the comp, their pack obviously factors in, however their backline murders ours, we are regressing in that area while other sides evolve as an effect of the game moving away from our ideology of the weapons theory, which was always a shaky statement in the first place.
Saab, Lehi, Clayton, Wilson there’s not a lot there coming out of our end, even Tom and Gaz don’t bring the aggression even if they can carry with out getting dominated, our best option last year was always the 2 Toms in the centres and Tolu out back, had we stuck with that and develop our game around it we may have been able to build forward, who knows, but you can’t throw Tolu the FB and expect him to bring what Walsh does, Walsh is the player he is because his been given that opportunity at 1 to develop into what he is, anyway it’s not so much about any one player it’s a group dynamic.
So now we lack a bit of size, a bit mongrel and any quality depth, the Schoupp signing, I get it but letting Talau go and given Schoupp will miss the majority of the year, where’s our depth in the three quarter line, Clayton? We aren’t well served in the backline moving forward, our halves well there not the worst but gee their a pair of 30 year old who don’t set the world on fire, I guess they just have to do their job, but that’s the thing, they serve our outside backs, who off the back of a good platform, might get the job done when we’re on top, playing attacking footy, but in the grind and trying to come from behind, our game out of yardage and holding our own defensively against some of the monstering backlines, we’ll I think we’ll be up against it.
It’s a crazy balancing act trying to put a quality side together, we finally start to work on building a better pack while at the same time the backline now seems to be looking shaky, (it was always a little less impressive for mine, anyway we’ll see I guess) apologies for the rant, nothing better to do this morning, we’re a couple of robust signings and positional changes away from having the balance right in our backline.
