I'm confident going into Rd 1

BrotherJim05

New member
A lot of us would be thinking, "will this year be any better than 2013?". I believe it will be, and I think our Rd1 team will be a lot stronger than our Rd1 team in 2013.
So for discussion's sake, here is what I think the team will look like Rd1:

Tedesco
Nofaluma
Leila
Lawrence
Richards
Anasta
Brooks
Woods
Farah
Blair
Thomson
Sironen
Fulton

Tupau
Gavet
Sue
Patterson

You will notice I've left out Galloway and Simona, I'm thinking they won't be 100% fit come round 1 but I'd include them if they were.

So when you compare apples with apples, I personally feel we have a much better squad available for Rd1 than we did last year:

Backs -
Tedesco is a much better option at Fullback than Moltz was last year, and with Richards and Nufo on the left and right wing we will be a legitimate threat. If Lawrence can show better form than last year and if Leila proves to add more value than Reddy did, just there we have a much improved back line.

Halves -
Last year we had Miller and Marshall, this year we will most likely have Brooks and Anasta. Based on Marshall's form last year only, Anasta is just as capable as Marshall at 6 but Brooks is miles ahead of Miller and will really make a difference in our attacking structure. I think Brooks form at halfback will lift Anasta's form at 6 and thus our whole team will lift.

Front Row -
Blair has shown good value in the front row and Woods will smash it for us like he always does. We most likely won't have Galloway which is a negative, but I feel much much better about the impact we will have coming off the bench in Tupau and Gavet (if not Gavet than Ava or Buchanen). Potter would have had the time now to also instill discipline and aggressive attitude into our Front Row, which I think we severely lacked last year.

Back Row -
I'm still unsure if my predictions for the Back Row (as seen above) is correct, however I like the look of our back row a lot more than I did Rd1 2013 for a number of reasons: Siro and Sue will be in there, Fulton is a tackle monster, Patterson is looking to shape up as a quality player for us, Blair and Anasta have moved away from Back Row to positions where they can add much more value.

Even if we don't set the world on fire come Rd1, I'm very confident that we will see vast improvement that will set the groundwork for a much more successful season.
 
@GNR4LIFE said:
We're not basing this off a trial win against a half depleted Penrith i hope

Yeah, I think I'll be looking toward round 1 to gauge how the boys are looking.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_
 
I couldn't leave Austin out. He was good. Gavet and tapau were also very good. I also liked the look of that Dallas graham dude.

I agree that penrith were without players but so were we. Brooks, farah, and Simona will make up the difference.

And are we rating soward and Wallace. I'm not sure if they would make that much difference.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_
 
Obviously there were some good signs last night , but you would of been more confident if we'd kept them to 0

The 9's aren't going to give us a good read either how we are going

I think after the Titans game we will get some idea of what we are all about in 2014
 
It's hard not to get excited after a trial win like that , but I agree let's judge when the comp starts .
After 4 to 6 games we will get an indication of how we are going to travel.
Also injuries need to stay kind if not we are gone
 
@foreveratiger said:
It's hard not to get excited after a trial win like that , but I agree let's judge when the comp starts .**
After 4 to 6 games we will get an indication of how we are going to travel.
Also injuries need to stay kind if not we are gone

I feel the opposite. Penrith were at half strength, plus it was the first hit of the yr. You can't take anything that happened last night as any kind of guide. You're second sentence is what will tell us.
 
@GNR4LIFE said:
@foreveratiger said:
It's hard not to get excited after a trial win like that , but I agree let's judge when the comp starts .**
After 4 to 6 games we will get an indication of how we are going to travel.
Also injuries need to stay kind if not we are gone

I feel the opposite. Penrith were at half strength, plus it was the first hit of the yr. You can't take anything that happened last night as any kind of guide. You're second sentence is what will tell us.

I'm not saying I'm overly excited by the win it's encouraging but means nothing , it's only natural people will get excited by it , on the other hand what would of happened if we got flogged last night we would of had people on here being all negative , it's just the nature of the beast.
 
I think plenty of us will be confident but with a few new faces, there will be some combinations to work on and timing and match fitness will always take a few games. Still, for round 1 I'll be hoping we show some real intensity and improvement in defence. Sounds like last night was a step in the right direction. Farah and Galloway will certainly improve the forward pack and Brooks, well who knows, but there's a few key players to return who will add to the side.
 
@tigsta said:
I couldn't leave Austin out. He was good. Gavet and tapau were also very good. I also liked the look of that Dallas graham dude.

I agree that penrith were without players but so were we. Brooks, farah, and Simona will make up the difference.

And are we rating soward and Wallace. I'm not sure if they would make that much difference.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_
 
maybe feeling a little better, but we were playing against a Panthers side minus their starting halves….....mind you, I don't think much of their starting halves, but nonetheless, their attack was off.

Still, maybe in the last couple of years, we would have gone in thinking we were going to win automatically and not do the hard yards first.
 
Guys, I think we are all getting carried away with the trial.

The trial only have me a further indication of the team Potter will be putting forward Round 1\. Based on this, I have put together my own guesstimate. From this I compared this to what we put forward Round 1 2013 and I'm confident that we will have a stronger team.
 
trial score lines are not important, but what you produce on the field is important. If the structures look improved and combinations work better that is a good sign.
it doesn't mean we will win the comp, but it is a nice sign
 
Yes thats right it was only a trial, But they had a go & there Defence looked good, but as we keep saying it was a Trial. The other good thing is we still have Galloway, Simona, Fulton, Farah, & maybe Brooks & big Ben still to come back for Round 1 or 2.
 
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