Blocker

[owley_girl]

I can't believe some comments on this thread. For years we've been crying out for a decent and dominant forward pack. We have one now and the bloke who is titled "Forwards Coach" gets a caning.. He is obviously having some effect on the players. And Potter must think he is valuable to the coaching setup otherwise he would be gone. Crickeys, even we something good happens some of you blokes carry on like sheilas!!!! (dramatic irony intended)

And can we please, just once, have a thread where the Wests/Balmain thing is not brought up. So boring…yawn.

 

[Chainlink]

Whatever works for the boys. I get the feeling the boys dont take him all that seriously. So if the pep
Talks work…great!

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[cqtiger]

I wonder how many here saw him play. He was some player. I never saw someone like Artie Beetson play but Blocker could carry a team. He had an unbelievable offload. I haven't seen a more skillful prop forward. There might be better metre eaters out there than him but when it comes to skills he was the best I've seen.

Block wasn't in Beetson's class, (very few - if any - were), but yes, he had a pretty good offload. He was also pretty quick when in the clear and was definitely as aggressive as any prop going around - that did lead to a number of 'dumb' penalties though. But the same could be said for all of the front rowers of that ilk - Beetson, Sattler, O'neill, Donnelly etc and in the modern game, Waerea-Hargreaves.

Different era. Props back in the day were enforcers, they looked after the halfback, hooker and the newbies. They would give away penalties just to get their man.

The ones that impressed me most were Beetson, O'Reilly, Sattler, O'Neill, Ryan, Kelly & Randall. Others not far behind were 'Dallas', Wittenberg, the pommie Watson. I'm sure I've missed some good ones in there. I also think Ian Roberts deserves a mention being a latter day player.

Being an old Balmain guy, I always admired Garry Leo who played well above his weight and his front row partner who I think played for Australia Barry McTaggart. They were good enough to win a comp together in the days of some very tough packs.

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[happy_tiger]

I wonder how many here saw him play. He was some player. I never saw someone like Artie Beetson play but Blocker could carry a team. He had an unbelievable offload. I haven't seen a more skillful prop forward. There might be better metre eaters out there than him but when it comes to skills he was the best I've seen.

Block wasn't in Beetson's class, (very few - if any - were), but yes, he had a pretty good offload. He was also pretty quick when in the clear and was definitely as aggressive as any prop going around - that did lead to a number of 'dumb' penalties though. But the same could be said for all of the front rowers of that ilk - Beetson, Sattler, O'neill, Donnelly etc and in the modern game, Waerea-Hargreaves.

Blocker was a good prop Probably the one that comes readily to mind who was the best I've seen in my era was Lazarus Hard to judge Beetson as I only remember his last 3 years

 

[cktiger]

I can't believe some comments on this thread. For years we've been crying out for a decent and dominant forward pack. We have one now **and the bloke who is titled "Forwards Coach"** gets a caning.. He is obviously having some effect on the players. And Potter must think he is valuable to the coaching setup otherwise he would be gone. Crickeys, even we something good happens some of you blokes carry on like sheilas!!!! (dramatic irony intended)

And can we please, just once, have a thread where the Wests/Balmain thing is not brought up. So boring…yawn.

In all the threads about Roach you are the first to remind everybody of this.
Roach is the forwards coach - Kidwell is the defensive coach.
All the talk is about how good the forwards are going but, for whatever reasons, some people won't give credit where it is due.

 

[Magpie_Magic]

Roach is a divisive figure and his comments in the media prior to his employ put him by the measure that many here use a " dinosaur".

He consistently called them Balmain.

And wonder how his apologists rate his comments last Friday in the tele and his failure to promote our home match while talking up brookie which by the way drew 9k against another Sydney club.

And on his playing ability he was one of the best in his position in the 80s.

However I can't see much in his style in todays pack.

 

[ferret]

😱pen_mouth: didn't Blocky coach the Manly forwards some time ago?

 

[dazza65]

Who cares if he is a dribbler in person or comes across as a numbskull on radio.
He's not hired by the club for either of those roles.
He was a top line player who lived and died for whatever team he was playing in (tigers, blues, Roos) and seems to have a knack of getting his knowledge and passion across to other players. At the moment seems like a smart move from the club to get him involved.
Divisive? Well maybe to us here who have way too much time to waste and think we know it all in relation to the team and what they are doing, saying thinking and discussing - but if the forwards are responding and the WT are winning games, I couldn't give a rats what others think….

 

[Black_n_White]

what a thread… funny though, if i could put a combo of pretty much the worst in this thread, also the best, and everything in between, thats my opinion of him... One eyed Balmain stalwart, passionate, dribbler, top notch player with inspirational qualities, terrible beyond belief in the media almost intentionally divisive, yet still doing a amazing job this season with our pack.

Its funny how many different people see the same figure... I didnt really think anybody had him wrong no matter how far you swung either way, the bloke is a unique unit that is for sure.

 

[yeti]

I wonder how many here saw him play. He was some player. I never saw someone like Artie Beetson play but Blocker could carry a team. He had an unbelievable offload. I haven't seen a more skillful prop forward. There might be better metre eaters out there than him but when it comes to skills he was the best I've seen.

Block wasn't in Beetson's class, (very few - if any - were), but yes, he had a pretty good offload. He was also pretty quick when in the clear and was definitely as aggressive as any prop going around - that did lead to a number of 'dumb' penalties though. But the same could be said for all of the front rowers of that ilk - Beetson, Sattler, O'neill, Donnelly etc and in the modern game, Waerea-Hargreaves.

Different era. Props back in the day were enforcers, they looked after the halfback, hooker and the newbies. They would give away penalties just to get their man.

The ones that impressed me most were Beetson, O'Reilly, Sattler, O'Neill, Ryan, Kelly & Randall. Others not far behind were 'Dallas', Wittenberg, the pommie Watson. I'm sure I've missed some good ones in there. I also think Ian Roberts deserves a mention being a latter day player.

Being an old Balmain guy, I always admired Garry Leo who played well above his weight and his front row partner who I think played for Australia Barry McTaggart. They were good enough to win a comp together in the days of some very tough packs.

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McTaggart played in 1 world cup side. Leo was a real hard worker - as you said, played well above his weight. Sheens was similar for Penrith. Randall didn't play a lot at prop forward - he was an incredibly hard working bone crunching second rower for most of his career. A noted 'hit man'. Anyway, enough of the reminiscing!

 

[jirskyr]

He's just opinionated. Passion + big mouth = controversial opinions. That is true of every media personality in the game, they all raise controversy in some way, that is their job.

I echo owley girl, dazza65, Black'n'White. He's the forwards coach, forwards are going great. You can do all the conspiracy nonsense you want, but if he gets results, in my book he is doing a good job.

It's like the other thread on retaining Potter. Somehow the head coach is to blame if things aren't going right, but if things are going well, some people sit on the fence and wonder if there is some other non-head-coach force making things go well.

 

[NT_Tiger]

""F*<&ing Wombat!""

 

[innsaneink]

Ive read he is the driving force behind motivating the forwards verbally, I find that hard to imagine listening to him in the media….but if its correct good on him - he and all the coaches are doing a great job with the players

 

[happy_tiger]

The forwards are performing for the first time and seem to have some consistency

Blocker and Kidwell are obviously doing their job

 

[stevetiger]

The forwards are performing for the first time and seem to have some consistency

Blocker and Kidwell are obviously doing their job

The credit in my opinion goes to Potter. I think he has changed our style to one where we consistently have good go forward and that is predominantly because of the team that he chooses.

 

[Doc_Tiger]

It's hilarious that so many around here know so much about the team, the staff, what's being said, who is deserving of credit and who isn't etc. Some carry on like they have inside info - hidden mics or perhaps are stalkers. Fact is, the team's going ok currently in pretty much all facets on the field. Time to cheer and be happy.

 

[pHyR3]

It's hilarious that so many around here know so much about the team, the staff, what's being said, who is deserving of credit and who isn't etc. Some carry on like they have inside info - hidden mics or perhaps are stalkers. Fact is, the team's going ok currently in pretty much all facets on the field. Time to cheer and be happy.

no it's called making an educated guess from 2nd hand reports.

e.g. numerous people such as current players saying that blocker has been giving speeches to fire the team up pre game (and probably half time too) or the reputation david kidwell had as a player and many saying that he's a harsh and smart coach too.

 

[jirskyr]

It's hilarious that so many around here know so much about the team, the staff, what's being said, who is deserving of credit and who isn't etc. Some carry on like they have inside info - hidden mics or perhaps are stalkers. Fact is, the team's going ok currently in pretty much all facets on the field. Time to cheer and be happy.

no it's called making an educated guess from 2nd hand reports.

e.g. numerous people such as current players saying that blocker has been giving speeches to fire the team up pre game (and probably half time too) or the reputation david kidwell had as a player and many saying that he's a harsh and smart coach too.

Are you being ironic?

"Educated guessing" from "2nd hand reports" is still guessing.

 

[pHyR3]

It's hilarious that so many around here know so much about the team, the staff, what's being said, who is deserving of credit and who isn't etc. Some carry on like they have inside info - hidden mics or perhaps are stalkers. Fact is, the team's going ok currently in pretty much all facets on the field. Time to cheer and be happy.

no it's called making an educated guess from 2nd hand reports.

e.g. numerous people such as current players saying that blocker has been giving speeches to fire the team up pre game (and probably half time too) or the reputation david kidwell had as a player and many saying that he's a harsh and smart coach too.

Are you being ironic?

"Educated guessing" from "2nd hand reports" is still guessing.

course it is, same as pretty much everything we do on this forum. should we just stop making 'team list threads' and 'rumoured player movement' threads?

he was saying we all have some kind of hidden sources in the team when it's clear none of us do, and i dont think anyone said that. We're looking at what players have said about how Blocker is firing them up this year, and the reports of kidwell's coaching which is in line with how he was as a player; tough and uncompromising. no one's saying they have hidden mics or moles inside the team

 

[Doc_Tiger]

It's hilarious that so many around here know so much about the team, the staff, what's being said, who is deserving of credit and who isn't etc. Some carry on like they have inside info - hidden mics or perhaps are stalkers. Fact is, the team's going ok currently in pretty much all facets on the field. Time to cheer and be happy.

no it's called making an educated guess from 2nd hand reports.

e.g. numerous people such as current players saying that blocker has been giving speeches to fire the team up pre game (and probably half time too) or the reputation david kidwell had as a player and many saying that he's a harsh and smart coach too.

Are you being ironic?

"Educated guessing" from "2nd hand reports" is still guessing.

course it is, same as pretty much everything we do on this forum. should we just stop making 'team list threads' and 'rumoured player movement' threads?

he was saying we all have some kind of hidden sources in the team when it's clear none of us do, and i dont think anyone said that. We're looking at what players have said about how Blocker is firing them up this year, and the reports of kidwell's coaching which is in line with how he was as a player; tough and uncompromising. no one's saying they have hidden mics or moles inside the team

No, I said some carry on like they have…..

Nobody knows what the reason is, as it's all in house stuff. It would be a team effort behind the scenes imo rather than one guy with all the answers. But some here would have us believe so. And as far as I recall, Kidwell had a bit of a reputation (an unfair one in my opinion) of only ever running over small blokes. I'm stoked he's on board with us. Same goes for Blocker - what a great motivator. And given he played for such a long time at the top, he's no mug. Todd Payten was one of my all time favourite players. As for Mick Potter, loved him as a player and again, Im really happy he's achieving results for us. Well done all round.