Garner

[jirskyr]

Problem I find for Brooks is he is happy to fire short hard passes when the runner is right in the teeth of the defence. Lawrence drops those, Aloiai drops those, Matto has dropped those. Again, they should not be bullet passes.

I think everyone is frustrated by Brooks hard hands at times, but both McQueen and Garner are a lot better at taking those balls. Lawry has to take some responsibility.

I don't entirely agree; my position is that Brooks throws different passes to different people. Does/did Benji throw bullets to Lawrence? No, he held the passes back ever so slightly when throwing to short runners. Benji rarely plays on the left any more, but in the old days Benji would very often look to pass to Lawrence, and I don't recall there being a particular issue with Rowdy catching the ball back as a hard-running centre.

IMO the whole "Lawrence can't catch" idea came into existence when Brooks came to first grade and spent much of his time on the left side, esp. being a leftie. Suddenly Lawrence is being thrown what are often these pre-meditated bullets, and he's running full-tilt in the teeth of the defence.

I came to this conclusion about 3 or 4 seasons ago at Leichhardt Oval, that match against the Raiders where we were leading 20-0 early but got run down; I think a late Wighton try made the difference. In that game, attacking the Bay End, Brooks gets the ball and runs across field looking for runners (i.e. no straightening up at all). Lawrence runs his backrow line against the grain and Tedesco is coming around the back; two of the Raiders defenders move into Lawrence's line and Brooks throws it anyway. Brooks is literally not looking at the defenders - he has picked out Lawrence and is going to pass regardless. I recall one of the defenders being Luke Bateman. The defenders both have their shoulders into Rowdy at the same time the ball arrives and he drops it. And I'll never forget that moment because of the angle I was sitting at the ground, watching Brooks and thinking "don't throw it mate the gap has closed" and he throws it anyway, and Lawrence puts his body on the line because that's what he does. And I don't blame Lawrence for that one bit.

I've YET to see Garner or McQueen running at anything near top pace in an attacking line.

 

[matchball]

Garner is something special. He will be our next Ellis. He needs to be locked up for a very long time.

 

[avocadoontoast]

Garner is something special. He will be our next Ellis. He needs to be locked up for a very long time.

He has potential but to compare him to Ellis is unfair to Garner. Ellis is one of the all time great second rowers.

 

[matchball]

Garner is something special. He will be our next Ellis. He needs to be locked up for a very long time.

He has potential but to compare him to Ellis is unfair to Garner. Ellis is one of the all time great second rowers.

It was supposed to be a compliment. That's how much I rate him.

 

[avocadoontoast]

Garner is something special. He will be our next Ellis. He needs to be locked up for a very long time.

He has potential but to compare him to Ellis is unfair to Garner. Ellis is one of the all time great second rowers.

It was supposed to be a compliment. That's how much I rate him.

Absolutely, and I rate him too. But Ellis is one of the best 2nd rowers i've ever seen. I'm not sure the kid is going to be that good (I hope he is though).

 

[happy_tiger]

Garner is something special. He will be our next Ellis. He needs to be locked up for a very long time.

He has potential but to compare him to Ellis is unfair to Garner. Ellis is one of the all time great second rowers.

It was supposed to be a compliment. That's how much I rate him.

Absolutely, and I rate him too. But Ellis is one of the best 2nd rowers i've ever seen. I'm not sure the kid is going to be that good (I hope he is though).

Unless he can find a way to add some beef to that frame he will struggle meeting the Ellis tag

They said he had the flu .....I don't remember him coming back on

 

[voice_of_reason]

They said he had the flu .....I don't remember him coming back on

I hope they quarantine him away - I couldn't stand the thought of being this close to finals and then have it snatched away by a flu epidemic.

If there's a quirky way to miss the finals we'll find it.

 

[CTigersWinComp]

Garner Was Great Last Night
,im certainly a fan, he has always been a good line runner and hard hitter in defence . If You noticed last weeks game against the knights, off a line drop out by us, full steam ahead at his full pace GAVET james Gavet, whom we tigers know is also a hard hitter himself. Garner jolted him stop him in his tracks, really rocked him. if you fellas get a chance check it out and watch as the play goes on, next play James Gavet on his haunches Whew goes to his kness thinks holy sheet. check it out (2nd Half)

 

[Needaname]

I’d be very surprised if Garner gets off tomorrow night.
Seems the NRL are making an example of late hitters.
This reminds me of the time Simona got 3 weeks for a Crusher that was nothing compared to one by Manu Man’u in a corresponding match and didn’t get charged.

Article in NRL.com
Gone soft? NRL reveals referee memo behind surprising sin bins

Head of football Graham Annesley has laughed off a suggestion the NRL has “gone soft”, while explaining the recent referee crackdown and increased use of the sin bin.

August 12, 2019 3:54pmSimon Brunsdon@simonbrunsdonSource: FOX SPORTS
Aug 15 20197:50PM

Fans and commentators were left bemused during Round 21 when Wests Tigers player Luke Garner and then his Canterbury opponent Chris Smith were both binned for separate incidents in the same game.

Both binnings were for respective hits, or tackles, on an opposition player which the officials judged to be late.

Penrith star Viliame Kikau was also sin binned three weeks earlier for a similar hit on a Dragons player.

Annesley on Monday revealed a mid-season memo was issued to the referee department to crack down on contact being made after a player had released the ball.

He said the directive had come from the competition committee through the Australian Rugby League Commission, and was a result of an outcry over NRL playmakers being targeted by defenders.

“These things are always going to divide opinion. There was a note that came from the commission that was derived from a meeting of the competition committee halfway through the season,” Annesley said.
“It talked about the need for much greater focus from the match officials and the match review committee and the judiciary on players who were tackled not in possession of the ball.

“These are judgment calls, first by the on-field officials and the bunker as well, but then also judgment calls by the match review committee and ultimately the judiciary.

“Has the game evolved? Has it changed? Yeah, it has.

“There are lots of things that were once an accepted part of the game that no longer are. Is it everyone’s cup of tea? Of course it isn’t. There are plenty of people who see that as part of the rough and tumble of the game.

“This game is hard enough to play when you’ve got the ball. It’s tough.

“When you haven’t got the ball and you’re not expecting to be hit, that’s an issue that from the commission down, people are concerned about.

“I’ve seen any number of occasions since that directive was given, where you can see (players) make a conscious decision not to go on with either a kicker or a passer and they pull our or veer away.

“Prior to that direction they may have gone through with those tackles.”

A number of punters and pundits have accused the NRL of making rugby league soft by cracking down on rough play.

Annesley simply laughed off that suggestion when asked by a reporter.

“What about you put your boots and jersey on and go out next weekend, and then you can tell me after 80 minutes on the field whether the game has gone soft or not,” Annesley joked.

“The one criticism that I don’t think anyone has any credibility in claiming about our game is that it’s soft.

“I challenge anyone to put the boots on and run out there and last five minutes.”

 

[Harvey]

Isn't Annesley a failed former NSW politician? Seems a requirement to hold a job a the NRL these days

 

[fair dinkum]

I am a pretty harsh judge of our players. I actually rate very few of our guys, so this isn't a usual post overrating our players (I don't think anyway).

But Garner ran really hard tonight. He actually looked somewhat "dynamic". Had a great combination with Brooks. Looked far more effective than CL has over the last 6 weeks and with Matterson, was far and away our best forward.

Well done Luke.

He's no Kyle Lovett but he's a decent player.

 

[rustycage]

“This game is hard enough to play when you’ve got the ball. It’s tough.

“When you haven’t got the ball and you’re not expecting to be hit, that’s an issue that from the commission down, people are concerned about.

This makes little sense to me. If one turns his back to offload late, under the existing no late tackle policy, then he won't be expecting to be hit so if he does actually get hit, then the chances of injury will be higher. Previously he would expect that it's likely that he would be targeted and therefore would likely brace for impact to a degree. Once again, all that matters is more tries front of mind and less contact thus appeasing the mums of children who are selecting which code to get involved with.