Centre's star shines - Rhys Pritchard

I think it may be a case of one or the other and not both.

Lets face some simple facts. Marshall and Moltzen appeared to be locked in to our halves for a while at least and Lui is being groomed as the replacement for injury. That and considering that Lawrence is a far superior centre and IMO Ayshford is a far superior NRL centre to Pritchard and Davis (a closer call). That at best leaves a wing spot they can fight for.

Add to that that our top squad is already overly geared towards backs and I just do not see it happening.

Would they have been better signings than Brown Daniella and Toupu? Maybe. But they are signed and for mine that all but rules out a NRL squad spot for these two. A call up on a second tier arrangement due to injury or poor form of starters is a real option though
 
Sorry mate dont agree Pritchard in my opinion is a better center than Aysford at this time quicker and more solid in defence and is been wasted on the wing he is a center 5/8 and for me a center combination of Lawerence and Pritchard would be great. Blake might devlope into a lock i think Sheens put in the centers from that position if i am not mistaken
 
Sorry smeg ,i dont agree either,Pritchard is one of the top try scorers in the nsw cup,and a lot of those tries come from 20 to 60 m out,individual brillance ,knows his way to the line,,Ayshford is a good footballer ,no doubt about that, but not in the same class as rhys..
 
Fair enough.

I just don't think Pritchard has the ability or size to cover the defensive position of 5/8 in the NRL squad. This is where he will have to defend because we defend our halves one in from the sideline.

I do not doubt his talent though.
 
Dont doubt his ability to tackle , ive seen games this year where hes topped the tackle count.. oh and hes been in the centres nearly all year ,defending strongly?? so why would standing there defending as a 5/8 be any different..??
 
And what does size have to do with it,,we have the smallest player in first grade ,playing in the last line of defence , SHANNON GALLANT,,FULLBACK
 
I do not dout his defensive ability in State Cup.

As you are well aware though there is a big step up to NRL level from any feeder comp. The attack sent his way in State Cup is not of the calibre of an NRL attacking side.

5/8 is a very different game defensively. For example using Ayshford he is a average defender at centre in the NRL squad but a very good defender at 5/8.

Playing tight is a very different kettle of fish. It is why I think Akeripa, if used at centre, will benefit no end from his experience in the back row with the Pies this year.

Tomcat size has everything to do with defending in the front line. Lawrences offseason work to put on muscle mass and retain still retain his speed are the reasons he is a succesful defensive centre.
 
The muscle mass is the problem.

It can be and should be worked on in the off season.

If there were a way to remove Ryan from the Top 25 and replace him with Pritchard it may be worth while.

However as it stands with the players under contract for next year and the higher injury turnover of forwards to backs as a rule of thumb it would be folly to promote another back to a backs heavy top 25.

Ryan's contract finishes next year. Than it is an option.

Unless he has a Top 25 offer from another club he should stay. But there is always the option of doing a Taylor and being stuck behind a Millard at the Dogs by shifting clubs.

He has been playing against a few first graders all season.Massive difference between a side with a few first graders in it and a well drilled NRL squad
 
Smeg how many magpie games you been to this year?? PRITCHARD played for the NSW RESIDENTS team 3 weeks ago as a centre..
 
I have only made it to 5 and caught the Bulls game on the tube.

Yes he did play Residents and did not have a great game against Qld Cup players. But that could also have been due to his late call up.
 
There's obviously a lot of us on here who rate Pritchard to some degree. He's had an excellent year in the State Cup and hasn't been called up to FG for one reason or another. I don't know what the reason could be and I'm not sure anyone else here knows either. Should Pritchard get a spot over the likes of Daniela and Brown who we have on 2 year deals? Well I'd definitely take him over Daniela, but my opinion counts for nothing. Unless Sheens and co. see something in Rhys that warrants a call-up, the poor bloke could be stuck playing for the Magpies again next season. I'm not saying it's right, but it's the way this club works at times it would seem.
 
Smeg i was there and although NSW lost ,PRITCHARD defended strongly..no breaks were made down his side of the field,he also made one of his trade mark runs.which eventually led to a try, from memory..
 
No great judges just the 5 people I know who were at the game. They went early so they could tell me how Gower and Pritchard both went.

I described both players styles, their strengths and weaknesses and asked them to let me know.

The said Gower was the standout player on the field and Pritchard was quiet in comparisson to my description. They also commented that Ryan Tandy played well but his ill discipline at the ruck (and a few others) put the Blues behind the 8 ball from the 3rd minute of the game
 
I will buy into this one by saying that players including Moltzen, Ayshford and Dwyer came from the Under 20's and in my opinion are not yet up to NRl standard week in and week out. Sure they have their moments but you can see they are tentative and lack confidence. I believe they should serve their apprenticeship in the State Cup. Davis and Pritchard are confident footballers and have done that and have outplayed recognised NRL players encountered this year, both will handle the step up.
The league should go back to having Reserve and Third grade It is too big a step for young players to come out of the Toyota Cup into First Grade, not many handle it successfully.
 
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