Yes you have to take your chances against good teams.
I was wondering why Zane Farr-McKay was benched for today’s game as he is a big body who runs the ball hard.
Watching him closely today I would say it’s likely due to him carrying too much weight and struggling defensively because of it...
They matched a very good team for a large portion of the game.
If they continue to play with that commitment they will win their fair share of games.
The Eels lock Hayden Bell is as good as any young forward I’ve seen play Harold Matthews, looks an exceptional talent and they minimised his...
It looks like Balmain will be a little bit outclassed by a very good Eels team, but there is definitely some talent within this Balmain team.
They have a lot of willing forwards and I’m particularly impressed with 5/8 Matteo and fullback Thomas Aroyan.
Their right edge defence was a problem.
I’m surprised he is not already an immortal.
Once in a generation superstar was Darren Lockyer.
If we had a superstar fullback of that quality we would be serious threat of winning the Premiership as early as this year, but as much as I hope Bula improves and starts to dominate games regularly...
May likes playing on the left to utilise his sharp left foot step and Makasini demonstrated last night how lethal his right hip drop is which best suited when playing on the left.
That being the case I would hope we are trying Skelton at right centre.
What we might lose in way of quick hands we...
Tyrone May is a good player, always has been.
But we currently have 2-3 better halfbacks than him, so we couldn’t fit him in to unite him with his brothers as much as it would have been nice to see.
In my opinion Seyfarth is a very valuable workaholic bench middle forward and he never lets us down when playing that role.
But I think he’s now in direct competition with Charlie Murray for that role and I could not be more impressed with the improvement I’ve seen with CM in both trial games...
I’m an Alex Seyfarth fan, but if we are full strength for round 2 I don’t think he makes our 19 as Murray offers more variety with his deceptive short passing game and his jink and change of direction when running the ball. Seyfarth a slightly better defender, but not much in it.
With Afoa...
I’m confident we are strong in the forwards this season.
We have those 3 important players to come into the team and all of our forwards look a bit stronger and more physical this season, particular out younger and emerging players.
I reckon he could play 20-30min stints in NRL right now and he would not look out of place.
But with defence being our focus I just think a harder hitting defender will suit us best to interchange with Api in the short term.
No I’m saying if opponents look like beating him for speed he has the long levers to reel them in.
I knew he had talent from watching him play for Qld U/19’s last season, but he has far outweighed my expectations so soon.
I think he’s a must selection, his energy will be a bonus leading up to and after halftime and he’s definitely bulked up a bit from last season meaning he is now hitting much harder in defence.
He looks a very strong front on defender, but I haven’t really seen his lateral defence tested. He has a long reach which certainly helps with lateral defence.
Api looked to fatigue very quickly as plenty of players do as they get older.
There is no way we can play him for 80mins each week.
I’d be happy with Tristan Hope playing 15mins before and after halftime, he plays with high energy and hits hard in defence for a smaller man.
I agree that Javon Andrews is a very classy young player and with his size can skill he has a very high ceiling.
But just think how good Latu Fainu would look with the time and space Jock Madden creates for his 5/8.
We currently have 5 good halves which is very unlike Wests Tigers.