Blair

[GNR4LIFE]

Its too late now, but if i had it my way i'd have appointed him Captain ahead of Anasta. I think this yr he's reveling the fact he's one of the senior players, and imo is playing the house down. Would have been good to see how he went with the added responsibility of the Captaincy.

Regardless, he deserves big raps, he's finally found his niche. Here's hoping he owns the no 13 jumper for the next couple yrs. Its essential he continues playing in the middle. Out wide he catches pneumonia.

 

[Goose]

id have been happy with that, however, Anasta has had alot of captaincy experience and did lead us to a pretty gutsy win on the weekend, Also happy enough with the way Potter went.

 

[Demps]

So, whats the reasoning behind why Blair is playing so well ?

There was rumours from the NZ camp that he & Benji didn't get along….

I personally think that Potter was unlocked the beast.
Blair is around blokes he genuinely likes.

Islander guys that he gets along with.
Instead of the boys group (gronks) we had in the past.

Simona, Nofo, Kapow, Gavet, Sue, etc.

He's playing for the boys, like he should.
He's a beast and I hope he kills it for years to come with the oiiz!

 

[Doc_Tiger]

I thought Benji was the main reason he came to the tigers in the first place. Did things turn sour between those two for some reason?

 

[Tiger_In_The_Gong]

So, whats the reasoning behind why Blair is playing so well ?

There was rumours from the NZ camp that he & Benji didn't get along….

I personally think that Potter was unlocked the beast.
Blair is around blokes he genuinely likes.

Islander guys that he gets along with.
Instead of the boys group (gronks) we had in the past.

Simona, Nofo, Kapow, Gavet, Sue, etc.

He's playing for the boys, like he should.
He's a beast and I hope he kills it for years to come with the oiiz!

I think the mateship with those guys are helping but i put it down to the side playing more direct.

He has a role now and it doesnt change every week.

A Sheens failure.

A Potter success.

A Bellamy success.

Pick the odd one out!

 

[southerntiger]

Sheens won a couple of premierships didnt he? Wish I was a failure if Sheens is your yardstick.

Blair had one year with Sheens and one year with Potter. He was the same for both of them. Nothing special.

The difference this year is we finally have a forward pack. Blair is still playing the same game he always has with us. It just far more effective now that we have a pack that dominates.

Potter deserves credit for improving our pack. Not for unlocking the beast.

It has nothing to do with Benji. I can say that as a fact.

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[laufoofan]

Don't forget the family factor. Blair 's family and daughter, something for him to be happy and to play for.He has found his niche and settled well with the Tigers, now he will play well for many years to come. I find him looking for the ball and breaking the line and able to pass the ball when tackled. He does have the make of a future captain and he can stand in anytime for me. He leads by example and we are all very proud of him.

 

[vlad]

Blair was a victim of Benji's sideways run & inside dummy for the previous 2 seasons .

its not a co-incidence that he now runs for 100m ( 138m against the eels ) in games . Hard to rack up those stats when you keep getting cut out .

 

[russelldp]

Blair is one of those guys who is 'more a supporting actor than the leading man'.

Struggles in a struggling team (tigers 12/13) and lifts in a good team. (Storm and tigers 14)

He does a lot of good little things like off loads and clean ups, but he's not a game or team changer, which is what Sheens was looking for.

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[pHyR3]

Sheens won a couple of premierships didnt he? Wish I was a failure if Sheens is your yardstick.

Blair had one year with Sheens and one year with Potter. He was the same for both of them. Nothing special.

The difference this year is we finally have a forward pack. Blair is still playing the same game he always has with us. It just far more effective now that we have a pack that dominates.

Potter deserves credit for improving our pack. Not for unlocking the beast.

It has nothing to do with Benji. I can say that as a fact.

_Posted using RoarFEED V.4_

there were periods last year when blair was playing decently, hunting for the ball and making dirty metres. I think some were in games we still got outmuscled in.

You're right that blair, like many players, looks better in a winning team. But Potter and co. still have had a moderate input into his success this year.

 

[galea_11]

Don't forget at the storm he could just do his job and had reliable teamates that did there job
he came to tigers our defence and go forward was terrible . he was running around trying to PLUG holes and was diving everywhere trying to save trys and we wondered why he wasn't the PLAYER he was at the storm .

Now he has teamates doing there job he is playing like a champion ! .

 

[Tim Sheens]

Pretty well spot on galea. I have always appreciated his value and could not understand why so many could not see it particularly from about a third into last season. No fault of his that a coach wanted him to play at a low weight and in a role that was foreign to him.

He is still plugging those holes and pressuring the kicker etc, with his play the ball even faster as others are also bending the line. Good to see that even some of his biggest detractors on here are finally seeing the light.

About time he received some love on here and that is well shown by being selected in all bar one side in the "Your full strength side" thread.

 

[Spartan117]

My question is .. Will he be resigned if he maintains current form ???

 

[pHyR3]

My question is .. Will he be resigned if he maintains current form ???

yes.

 

[Tiger_In_The_Gong]

Don't forget at the storm he could just do his job and had reliable teamates that did there job
he came to tigers our defence and go forward was terrible . he was running around trying to PLUG holes and was diving everywhere trying to save trys and we wondered why he wasn't the PLAYER he was at the storm .

Now he has teamates doing there job he is playing like a champion ! .

Thats what i was getting at earlier. He now has a simple aand clearly defined role like he did at the Storm under Bellamy.

If Bennet was his coach people would be crediting his man management for turning Blair around.

Potter deserves the credit for finding out what makes him tick.

 

[alex]

The way he is playing he is becoming an integral part of our forward pack and would leave a hole if he wasnt there. That deserves a contract extension. At what price? That will be determined over the next 12 months.

 

[southerntiger]

Don't forget at the storm he could just do his job and had reliable teamates that did there job
he came to tigers our defence and go forward was terrible . he was running around trying to PLUG holes and was diving everywhere trying to save trys and we wondered why he wasn't the PLAYER he was at the storm .

Now he has teamates doing there job he is playing like a champion ! .

Thats what i was getting at earlier. He now has a simple aand clearly defined role like he did at the Storm under Bellamy.

If Bennet was his coach people would be crediting his man management for turning Blair around.

Potter deserves the credit for finding out what makes him tick.

I agree Potter deserves credit but I dont think it has anything to do with Blair. Potter just recognised what we all did for years - that our pack was too light especially after Ellis had left us. Fortunately with Benji gone we had the cap space to fix the problem.

Once Potter fixed that problem Blair automatically became effective.

The only change I have noticed in Blair is that he is less prone to do the grubby stuff this year. However, I see that more as the period of time since Blair has been away from the Master of Grubbiness, Bellamy.

_Posted using RoarFEED V.4_

 

[southerntiger]

Don't forget at the storm he could just do his job and had reliable teamates that did there job
he came to tigers our defence and go forward was terrible . he was running around trying to PLUG holes and was diving everywhere trying to save trys and we wondered why he wasn't the PLAYER he was at the storm .

Now he has teamates doing there job he is playing like a champion ! .

Thats what i was getting at earlier. He now has a simple aand clearly defined role like he did at the Storm under Bellamy.

If Bennet was his coach people would be crediting his man management for turning Blair around.

Potter deserves the credit for finding out what makes him tick.

I agree Potter deserves credit but I dont think it has anything to do with Blair. Potter just recognised what we all did for years - that our pack was too light especially after Ellis had left us. Fortunately with Benji gone we had the cap space to fix the problem.

Once Potter fixed that problem Blair automatically became effective.

The only change I have noticed in Blair is that he is less prone to do the grubby stuff this year. However, I see that more as the period of time since Blair has been away from the Master of Grubbiness, Bellamy.

_Posted using RoarFEED V.4_

 

[southerntiger]

Don't forget at the storm he could just do his job and had reliable teamates that did there job
he came to tigers our defence and go forward was terrible . he was running around trying to PLUG holes and was diving everywhere trying to save trys and we wondered why he wasn't the PLAYER he was at the storm .

Now he has teamates doing there job he is playing like a champion ! .

Thats what i was getting at earlier. He now has a simple aand clearly defined role like he did at the Storm under Bellamy.

If Bennet was his coach people would be crediting his man management for turning Blair around.

Potter deserves the credit for finding out what makes him tick.

I agree Potter deserves credit but I dont think it has anything to do with Blair. Potter just recognised what we all did for years - that our pack was too light especially after Ellis had left us. Fortunately with Benji gone we had the cap space to fix the problem.

Once Potter fixed that problem Blair automatically became effective.

The only change I have noticed in Blair is that he is less prone to do the grubby stuff this year. However, I see that more as the period of time since Blair has been away from the Master of Grubbiness, Bellamy.

_Posted using RoarFEED V.4_

 

[Tiger_In_The_Gong]

Don't forget at the storm he could just do his job and had reliable teamates that did there job
he came to tigers our defence and go forward was terrible . he was running around trying to PLUG holes and was diving everywhere trying to save trys and we wondered why he wasn't the PLAYER he was at the storm .

Now he has teamates doing there job he is playing like a champion ! .

Thats what i was getting at earlier. He now has a simple aand clearly defined role like he did at the Storm under Bellamy.

If Bennet was his coach people would be crediting his man management for turning Blair around.

Potter deserves the credit for finding out what makes him tick.

I agree Potter deserves credit but I dont think it has anything to do with Blair. Potter just recognised what we all did for years - that our pack was too light especially after Ellis had left us. Fortunately with Benji gone we had the cap space to fix the problem.

Once Potter fixed that problem Blair automatically became effective.

The only change I have noticed in Blair is that he is less prone to do the grubby stuff this year. However, I see that more as the period of time since Blair has been away from the Master of Grubbiness, Bellamy.

_Posted using RoarFEED V.4_

And i disagree.

Even to the point of the grubby stuff, surely Potter has to be given credit for that.

Try the Australian forum for the Sheens love in.