Jacob Liddle #198

[851]

Really proud of him to keep persisting with numerous injuries last 5 years.

First time he played full 80 but he'll learn from this. He was quite good when backing up Harry in the few games they played together.

Looked a little slower and less fit than last year though, even at the start of the game.

He played 80 last year, it wasn't because he was gassed, his distribution from dummy half was poor from the get go, and his running game was non existent, a very poor showing in my opinion.

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

Some on here use the excuse don't drop Liddle for a player who has not played NRL
well Smith Thurston Inglis Farah etc all made debut at some point
#givesimpkinago

 

[voice_of_reason]

I'm not writing Liddle off as I'm a bit of a fan. His service from dummy half wasn't great on the weekend but I suspect a lot of it was Canberra's extraordinary, um, 'line speed'...

They were clearly targeting him with intent to disrupt our PTB speed and general flow. He got caught a couple of times by markers leaning around the ruck.

 

[watersider]

Also, while his performance was average, he still probably compared favourably to Damian Cook's 1st game of the season.

 

[nrlsurvivor]

The nrl app stats have Liddle with 8 missed tackles. Watching the game I must admit I didn’t notice that many from him, but if that’s the case then it’s a little concerning. For a comparison Tamou had 49 tackles with only 1 miss.

 

[clontarfkid]

IMO it was poor selection from Madge to not have some form of backup/plan B for liddle...it was a huge ask for him to play 80,particularly when we had 3 props on the bench and another in the 13 jersey
Simpkins shld be in 14 next w/e and be given 20/30 mins...doesnt mean Liddle is being dropped...just rested mid game and the opportunity to see if someone else can create opportunities which post Benji will be a little scarce

 

[JC99]

IMO it was poor selection from Madge to not have some form of backup/plan B for liddle...it was a huge ask for him to play 80,particularly when we had 3 props on the bench and another in the 13 jersey
Simpkins shld be in 14 next w/e and be given 20/30 mins...doesnt mean Liddle is being dropped...just rested mid game and the opportunity to see if someone else can create opportunities which post Benji will be a little scarce

I don't think him playing 80 was an issue, Tamou said he was the fittest bloke at training. The issue was quite simply he didn't play great and it was happening early in the game too. I would like Simpkin on the bench, but it's more for some spark off the bench than giving Liddle a rest.

 

[Needaname]

Happy with what the coach decides. But if it was me we have two young hookers with potential. Liddle is more battle hardened than Simpkins but only just.
Instead of looking at the 40 games Liddle has played, look at how many minutes he has played. He needs more time to build into an 80min hooker but it will come with match fitness. For those that don’t know. Match fitness is not something you build from training. He might be the fittest in the club but it doesn’t do anything for match fitness.

We’ve been guilty in this rushing Liddle / Brooks in too quick to first grade. Why on earth would we want to do the same with Simpkin if we have the opportunity to do it differently this time.

It’s not a write off season. But it’s a season of uncertainty. If we have banked on Simpkins being a career hooker with the tigers, why rush him into the team? Let him play long minutes in cup, not just for match fitness but so that he can get his timing right and fine tune his skills. Meanwhile we’d be giving Liddle plenty of time to do the same in first grade.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

The nrl app stats have Liddle with 8 missed tackles. Watching the game I must admit I didn’t notice that many from him, but if that’s the case then it’s a little concerning. For a comparison Tamou had 49 tackles with only 1 miss.

In real time didn’t notice but I watched the game a 2nd time and geez you could see some bad misses . He missed some really important tackles that led to the majority of mini breaks up the middle of the park and gave the Raiders momentum.

Look it’s an 80min game against a top 3 forward pack in the comp. He will be better for the run but if he is the front line defender he has no hope. I’m more concerned about him not being able to run out of dummy half. Thats his strength and we need it.

 

[balmain boy]

An utterly stupid OP. Anyone that knows anything about our players knows Liddle's biggest strength has always been his speed making runs from dummy half and his excellent and quick service from dummy half.

The speed of the ruck and the amount of defending we had to due to the idiocy of our players meant he was gassed. Not having a hooker on the bench meant he had to play 80. Very unlikely there won't be a hooker on the bench this weekend.

Also the forward pass was largely Brooks's fault. He plays far too flat and gets put under pressure. His game doesn't suit a flat attack and his kicking game suffers as does his running game. Smart halves will take that extra step back to give them the extra time to execute accordingly. Brooks awful kicking game can often be put down to being too flat and under pressure

 

[beachtiger]

I didn’t think Liddle was as bad as some are making out, wasn’t perfect but geez it’s round 1. Like many I had high hopes for the start of the season buts let’s put things into perspective....

- Brooks is the only regular player left from last years spine
- Our 5/8 that has trained in the position all pre-season was unavailable
- Forward pack has been completely changed and half of them have never played together

For those calling for Simpkin to be brought straight in to replace Liddle or even having him on the bench, take a breath and consider what that really means. Simpkin playing CC gives him the chance to play 80mins every week against hardened men to hone his skills and learn how to lead a team around the park.

You put him into first grade now without that prior-learning and you stifle his development, especially after being off the park all of last season.

Liddle deserves the chance to work into the first few rounds in what’s essentially a new team and Simpkin needs the opportunity in CC to develop his skill and then push for a spot in the top grade.

Both scenarios are a positive for our team moving forward.

 

[Blake]

Hodson illegally terrorized Liddle all game, swinging arms, elbow on his head when on the ground, attacking Liddle from offside or not square. Liddle needs to learn how to deal with grubs trying to put him off if the refs are turning a blind eye.

I think Grant attacked way too often, Liddle did not attack enough against the Raiders.

 

[Lauren]

Every game is a chance to get 2 premiership points and having the best team available only increases our chances.
We're not writing Jacob off but rather suggesting in order to maximise his input, and therefore help the team performance, we simply need to be using two hookers (especially against the top teams) to counter against the possibility of fatigue.
We aren't gonna be winning too many games if one of our key players isn't as effective with his service due to this.

 

[turkeytiger03]

Look the way the game has sped up since last year, I think it’s silly for Jacob to be playing 80 ( just yet). Really thought Mbye would have gone there after 50 and given Talau a run at 6. The coach has a lot to blame for as do the players from rd 1. Just hope both parties learn from them 🤞

 

[TigerWest]

Look the way the game has sped up since last year, I think it’s silly for Jacob to be playing 80 ( just yet). Really thought Mbye would have gone there after 50 and given Talau a run at 6. The coach has a lot to blame for as do the players from rd 1. Just hope both parties learn from them 🤞

I think it was his first 80min game and it was R1, he can only improve from here, if they can get him doing a full game, it allows them to use the bench better IMO.

 

[turkeytiger03]

Look the way the game has sped up since last year, I think it’s silly for Jacob to be playing 80 ( just yet). Really thought Mbye would have gone there after 50 and given Talau a run at 6. The coach has a lot to blame for as do the players from rd 1. Just hope both parties learn from them ?

I think it was his first 80min game and it was R1, he can only improve from here, if they can get him doing a full game, it allows them to use the bench better IMO.

Remember Walters was subbing for Grant for a month or so last year. Until he found his feet.

 

[barra]

All the talk about passing from the ground and now not from the ground... I am actually intrigued by it.
For a player that seems to have always passed crisply from the ground to start standing with the ball is not something that has manifested itself overnight, there just has to be reason for it.
Is the coach asking him to do it in order to engage the markers? Is Robbie telling him to do it to slow the defensive line?
Getting out-wrestled in the ruck and the ball player not being able to stand and step forward to give him room?
Or is the lack of a decent ruck plan making it unclear to him who is actually getting the ball? Certainly, our attacking line was atrocious - all standing in a straight line almost on the ad' line and very little in the way of hard running. We were literally dis-organised in attack for most of the second half. I'm sure he had to look to see who was supposed to be getting the ball and those scrums where he looked and there was literally no one running... life can't be easy for a #9 in our team.

 

[Russell]

IMO it was poor selection from Madge to not have some form of backup/plan B for liddle...it was a huge ask for him to play 80,particularly when we had 3 props on the bench and another in the 13 jersey
Simpkins shld be in 14 next w/e and be given 20/30 mins...doesnt mean Liddle is being dropped...just rested mid game and the opportunity to see if someone else can create opportunities which post Benji will be a little scarce

Please - the spelling is Simpkin.......there is no "S" unless you are talking about Tuki.

 

[Russell]

I didn’t think Liddle was as bad as some are making out, wasn’t perfect but geez it’s round 1. Like many I had high hopes for the start of the season buts let’s put things into perspective....

- Brooks is the only regular player left from last years spine
- Our 5/8 that has trained in the position all pre-season was unavailable
- Forward pack has been completely changed and half of them have never played together

For those calling for Simpkin to be brought straight in to replace Liddle or even having him on the bench, take a breath and consider what that really means. Simpkin playing CC gives him the chance to play 80mins every week against hardened men to hone his skills and learn how to lead a team around the park.

You put him into first grade now without that prior-learning and you stifle his development, especially after being off the park all of last season.

Liddle deserves the chance to work into the first few rounds in what’s essentially a new team and Simpkin needs the opportunity in CC to develop his skill and then push for a spot in the top grade.

Both scenarios are a positive for our team moving forward.

Very sensible post Mate - agree with you totally.

 

[Speed2burn]

IMO it was poor selection from Madge to not have some form of backup/plan B for liddle...it was a huge ask for him to play 80,particularly when we had 3 props on the bench and another in the 13 jersey
Simpkins shld be in 14 next w/e and be given 20/30 mins...doesnt mean Liddle is being dropped...just rested mid game and the opportunity to see if someone else can create opportunities which post Benji will be a little scarce

I don't think him playing 80 was an issue, Tamou said he was the fittest bloke at training. The issue was quite simply he didn't play great and it was happening early in the game too. I would like Simpkin on the bench, but it's more for some spark off the bench than giving Liddle a rest.

There’s a significant difference between being fit and match fit though. You can run laps all day around the park, do all the sand dunes in the world but it still won’t prepare you to cop hits for 80 gruelling minutes , as well as make 40+ tackles a game, run up and back to get on side, kick chase etc.

Like some others have said I think he’d be glad to just get through 80 mins. Now to build on that