@Citizen Tiger said:
There seems to be a lot of opinion in this thread based on gut feel or stats that don't quite add up. I think someone suggested that Galloway was there or thereabouts in terms of average metres per game? I wish he was, but that's just not the case. Every team with the exception of Manly, the Warriors and Newcastle have better props in term of that stat. Leaving the premium 'metre eaters' like Thaiday, Shillington and Hannant to one side, even honest old Dan Hunt and the recycled Jason Ryles have better average performance in that area than Keith G.
The point may be that Galloway is some significant distance behind Ellis and Heighington in total and average metres. You could be forgiven for thinking that many of those metres come later in the tackle count, but from my perspective this last Sunday, the back rowers were called upon to do way too much, too early
Galloway has missed 42 tackles in 16 starts, Fifita 30 in 18 starts. That's an interesting one, because more than one poster has suggested, not just in this thread, that Fifita constantly makes errors, either in defence, or in understanding which channel he should be protecting. I do accept that the stat may be coloured by respective minutes played. The reality of Galloway's shortcomings in that area were all too apparent in the Hoffmann try, Sunday. A miserable effort that.
There's not much discussion to be had about line breaks, since Keith hasn't made one this season, whereas Fifita has made either 9 or 10.
In 18 starts Fifita has made 285 tackles, Galloway 343 in 16\. Again, that stat may be better represented by minutes played, which is more relevant than games played.
Fifita's stats were superior on Sunday, no question. Fifita was on the park for 34 minutes, compared to Galloway's 60\. Made 7 tackle breaks, zip to Galloway, the same number of tackles (18),returned 177 metres from 10 runs, compared to Galloway's 142 from 17\. Excellent game from Fifita, should be rewarded with at 50 minutes this week.
I have to say that I'm disappointed with Galloway's progress over a period of five seasons. He is adequate, shows glimpses of intent, yet so often seems to retreat to his default position. While he isn't blessed with inherent ball skills or great athleticism, he is capable, given his size, of fulfilling a similar role to Thaiday, Hannant or Civonoceva. Pace multiplied by body height. Cub referred to his concussion against Souths and you know he was 100% correct. It never would have happened if he hadn't collided with the defenders in such an upright position.
I'm a Fifita fan, think, as does the great man Big Arthur, that he will be a special player. His rate of improvement this year suggests that in spades
Finally! An attempt at being objective, although I’d suggest checking some of those stats, they’re off. Looking at Galloway and Fifita side by side, there are some positives and negatives to both players. Both players have the ability to bend the line, both players have an offload in their game, both are prone to some poor defensive reads, but then just about every player in the game comes up with a bad read here or there. Galloway was poor in his attempt on Hoffman last weekend, but Fifita doesn’t go unscathed either, with poor reads against the Eels and moreso against Manly where he was hooked after a terrible defensive read. Galloway also has it over Fifita in spades as far as discipline is concerned. Fifita has conceded 12 penalties this season, Galloway 2, a significant difference, and penalties can lead to points.
Galloway is averaging 104 metres per game, Fifita 78, and last weekend he made 117, not the far fetched 177 you mentioned. No argument whatsoever when it comes to tackle breaks, line breaks and tries scored, Fifita is doing an excellent job off the bench in this regard and having the desired impact the team needs. Despite that, Sheens will not play Fifita for 50 minutes, not unless the props drop like flies and there is no alternative, he just doesn’t have the stamina in him yet to play those minutes in FG, next season he should build on this though. The call on Galloway being a significant distance behind Ellis and Heighington is also not really applicable here due to the massive difference in minutes played. Galloway is averaging 48 minutes per match, Heighington almost 74 and Ellis 75\. Fifita is averaging 30 for the record.
Looking at Galloway’s performance from a wider perspective though, (and for the benefit of everyone reading this forum) let’s take a look across all the clubs in terms of how Keith stacks up as far as metres gained compared to other front rowers out there…
Brisbane Broncos – The main props used this year are Nick Kenny (82 metres per game) and Shane Tronc (90 metres per game). Lagi Setu, Ashton Simms and more recently Ben Teo have been used with even less success. In short I wouldn’t swap Galloway for any of these players based on what they are producing for the Broncos.
Canberra Raiders – One of the biggest packs in the comp, but only Shillington (117 metres per game), a Queensland and Australian rep no less, averages more metres than Galloway. Keith has TLL (95 metres per game) and Dane Tilse (102 metres per game) covered.
Canterbury – Chris Armit is averaging 93 metres per game, Ben Hannant 116, no arguments that Hannant makes more ground, but he also plays more minutes averaging 55, enough time for him to make an extra couple of hitups. Ryan Tandy has done well, averaging 102 while Michael Hodgson averages 91.
Cronulla Sharks – Luke Douglas (108 metres per game) and Kade Snowden (115 metres per game) both have a slight edge over Keith here. They both play on average 6 minutes more than Keith.
Gold Coast Titans – Luke Bailey leads the way here with a huge 128 metres per game but Michael Henderson (86 metres per game) and Matthew White (60 metres per game) are below average.
Manly – Jason King (104) and Brent Kite (107) are pretty well even with Galloway here, minutes played is also similar. Josh Perry (83) and George Rose (80), aren’t in the same ballpark as Galloway, although I would argue that Rose is used in a similar fashion to Fifita.
Melbourne Storm – Aiden Tolman (104 metres per game) is on par with Galloway Jeff Lima (93 metres per game) and Brett White (91 metres per game) don’t match Keith despite similar average gametime.
Newcastle – Ben Cross (86 metres per game) and Daniel Tolar (67 metres per game) don’t stack up sorry.
North Queensland – Willie Mason (107) and Matthew Scott (122) both have Keith covered here, Scott as we all know is a Maroon rep while Mason has represented at the highest level.
Parramatta – Only Moi Moi (116) averages more metres than Galloway. Nathan Cayless (104), Tim Mannah (103), and Justin Poore (99) are all thereabouts.
Penrith – Not surprisingly Petero (139) belts Galloway. Tim Grant (116) is also very strong. Matthew Bell (84) and Sam McKendry (74) don’t stack up to Keith.
South Sydney – Sam Burgess (127) has done the job all year in any position in the forward pack. Luke Stuart (115) has also been very strong but is out for the season. Asotasi (99) and Scott Geddes (83) don’t quite match Galloway though based on what they have done this year.
St George Illawarra – As you already mentioned, Dan Hunt (114) has done a good job this year, but he’s also out for the season. Weyman (95), Saffy (80) and more recently Costigan (78) aren’t matching Galloway’s go forward.
Sydney Roosters – Sorry to be a downer but Ryles is averaging 101 metres per game, not quite up there with Keith despite playing an extra couple of minutes. Paea (71) and Nuuausala (76) don’t match Galloway in the go forward department.
Warriors – Ben Matulino (85), Sam Rapira (99) Russell Packer (99) and Jesse Royal (82) don’t quite stack up to Galloway either.
At least you’ve made an effort at pointing out each players’ strengths and weaknesses rather than just point the finger with no hard evidence, but looking across the board at every other club, there are probably 6 front rowers who I would prefer over Galloway. Suffice to say they are all State rep or International players.
But again, as Geo pointed out, Galloway and Fifita are being asked to do two different things. Galloway takes the initial punishment and gets the team on the front foot while Fifita comes on when the starting front rowers are running low on juice and goes his hardest for two 15 minute stints, and yes, he’s making a positive impact, no doubt and no argument from me on that. I would suggest that if Fifita was starting that he would not offer the same impact. I daresay Sheens also knows this and realises that at this early stage of his career, it’s best to bring him off the bench and let him adjust to the rigours of playing first grade.
