Heath Mason #288

[Vicious]

lol …Heath Mason ..13…

That’s where he played when making a positive impact in a trial game earlier this season and again when getting decent minutes for our NRL team and impressing everyone a few weeks back.
Similar in physique to Max Plath and Connor Watson.
Not everyone who plays 13 has to do ot for 80 minutes per game and I assume Benji thinks it could be a positional change that could work, otherwise he would not be trying it at all.
Most rugby league players are far from the finished product at age 21.
I bet Ronald Volkman is thankful that not everyone wrote him off because he wasn’t NRL ready at age 21. He is just one of countless examples.

 

[Bellend]

The question is who are we including in our top 30 as our back up or NSW Cup number 13?
I believe we have the promising Blake Van Drie and Siotame Havea Jr both on Development Contracts which is ideal as they both appear to need another 12 months to add a bit of size and further develop their game before being genuine NRL contenders.
That being the case do we keep Charlie Murray for another 12 months until our younger options are much more ready?
The concern with this option is that Murray has been one of our more consistent and reliable NSW Cup performers for the best part of 2 years, yet Benji does not seem to want to give him any NRL opportunities, so what would change over the next 12 months?
I would slightly prefer the smaller, but more aggressive Luke Jack as our back up 13, but he’s gone MIA in recent weeks, so I have a feeling we might have already cut him loose?
I mentioned in another post that I believe Ethan Roberts could transition into an exceptionally good 13, so is that an option and we possibly upgrade/promote or sign another back up/depth edge back rower?
I am dreading Kit Laulilli departing for Perth Bears and proving his value as a starting or top 17 number 13.
If our Jersey Flegg team goes deep into the finals, would there be any chance we could convince him to somehow backflip on the Perth deal and stay with us?
Or do we give Heath Mason a red hot crack at transitioning to a faster attack minded 13?

Both Blake Van Drie and Siotame Havea Jr need time to gain experience hopefully they do not need to be rushed.Bailey Hodges could be and should develop as a forward utility.

 

[Vicious]

Both Blake Van Drie and Siotame Havea Jr need time to gain experience hopefully they do not need to be rushed.Bailey Hodges could be and should develop as a forward utility.

I’m a fan of Bailey Hodges.
I don’t believe we give him the opportunities he deserved last season and I’m glad he has been given more opportunities this season.
If you compare Charlie Murray, Bailey Hodges and Luke Jack, they all have their differences, but are all smaller forwards who don’t have any exceptional talent, but play with plenty of toughness, grit and determination.
I believe all 3 are under rated and decent NRL prospects if given an opportunity.
Given Benji seems extremely hesitant to use Murray even when he selects him on the bench, it seems very little point in keeping him around.
I think the mad dog, aggressive playing style of Luke Jack has been very under utilised by us and I’m sure he will turn up and likely end up an NRL player at some rival club if we have not demoralised him. He is very Ray Stone like.
Bailey Hodges is probably the quickest of these 3 and the most comfortable at also playing dummy half when required.
It will be interesting to see if we keep Bailey and give him more opportunities at 13 next season, or if we move in another direction?
Blake Van Drie a somewhat similar type of player does appear to have a lot more upside as does Havea Jr, but as you say it could be the best option of keeping these younger players in Flegg for at least another season,

 

[Bellend]

I’m a fan of Bailey Hodges.
I don’t believe we give him the opportunities he deserved last season and I’m glad he has been given more opportunities this season.
If you compare Chsrlie Murray, Bailey Hodges and Luke Jack, they all have their differences, but are all smaller forwards who don’t have any exceptional take talent, but play with plenty of toughness, grit and determination.
I believe all 3 are under rated and all 3 are capable of getting NRL game time and could very well surprise on how well they adapt to it if given the opportunity.
Given Benji seems extremely hesitant to use Murray even when he selects him on the bench, it seems very little point in keeping him around.
I think the mad dog, aggressive playing style of Luke Jack has been very under utilised by us and I’m sure he will turn up and likely end up an NRL player at some rival club if we have not demoralised him.
Bailey Hodges is probably the quickest of these 3 and the most comfortable at also playing dummy half when required.
It will be interesting to see if we keep Bailey and give him more opportunities at 13 next season, or if we move in another direction?
Blake Van Drie a somewhat similar type of player does appear to have a lot more upside as does Havea Jr, but as you say it could be the best option of keeping these younger players in Flegg for at least another season,

A lot of fringe players currently in Koe cup and flegg are worth the wait to see how they develop.

 

[Papacito]

Bloke is barely 21 and has played a handful of games. Yet half the forum seems to have the self-appointed wisdom of Solomon and have written Heath's entire career off.

 

[tig_prmz]

I kinda like Mason. He's got the ticker from what I've seen.