John Bateman #268

batboy said:
That's not true at all....
He had 1 good year at the Raiders, The 2nd was full of will he or won't he and a change of management I believe - Maybe after he discovered he was getting shorted.

He was really good in the WC games before he arrived....
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He was playing awful in the Super League before he came. In fact, that form was the only reason people were doubting the signing...they could see his form in real time and it wasn't good.
 
weststigers said:
He was playing awful in the Super League before he came. In fact, that form was the only reason people were doubting the signing...they could see his form in real time and it wasn't good.
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I didn't comment on his SL form.
I said he was good in the Internationals before he came, and he was.
 
Iron Fist said:
NRL pre-seasons are too long. The same teams who come back to training later in the year, or in the new year stay at the top. The same teams who say they're going to start earlier, train longer and harder than ever in the pre-season stay down the bottom, and burn out by May/June.
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100%.
Theres no need to flog the guys right throughout the heat of summer. Obviously they need to get fit and work on strength gains. However it seems very apparent that whatever we do during the pre season is not working.

I heard Mason talking about it on his Levels podcast. He stated that his career was lengthened because he missed the gruelling part of the preseason for 8 years in a row due to Kangaroo committments.
 
batboy said:
That's not true at all....
He had 1 good year at the Raiders, The 2nd was full of will he or won't he and a change of management I believe - Maybe after he discovered he was getting shorted.

He was really good in the WC games before he arrived....
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Now that is a matter of opinion.
 
batboy said:
I didn't comment on his SL form.
I said he was good in the Internationals before he came, and he was.
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And used it as the basis to prove your point that he was an astute signing.

His SL form was atrocious and that's the form we've been subject to. It's no surprise to me.

Many here, including me, were against it based on what he showed week to week.

If you judge players on international form, then let's get Tui Lolohea back?
 
Iron Fist said:
Half of the Penrith Panthers squad haven't returned to pre-season training before January in their premiership years. Must be why they've been diabolical.

Sure, it affects them early in the season in WCC and the early rounds of the premiership, but they sure don't look cooked and injured like WT do at the end of the season. They always manage to field their best 17 in finals and outlast their opponents.

NRL pre-seasons are too long. The same teams who come back to training later in the year, or in the new year stay at the top. The same teams who say they're going to start earlier, train longer and harder than ever in the pre-season stay down the bottom, and burn out by May/June.
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The continuity of the team, particularly in key positions is probably a more important factor here.

They didn't have premiership seasons because the squad had a shorter pre-season, they won in spite of having a shorter pre-season.

Aerobic and anaerobic conditioning takes months to develop. From a physiological standpoint, the pre-season is a good length.

But team and combination chemistry is just as, if not more important.

Penrith will feel that this coming season a little more than past years, where they've only had Api leaving as a key spine player to replace. Interesting to see how a shortened pre-season affects their combinations with a new five-eighth.
 
Kelce68 said:
Penrith will feel that this coming season a little more than past years, where they've only had Api leaving as a key spine player to replace. Interesting to see how a shortened pre-season affects their combinations with a new five-eighth.
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As with us.
 
I’m sorry, but I truly don’t see what he adds to a team, whether it be ours or England. Apart from the occasional offload, his temperament is a massive drawback, likely to leave his team short a man or constantly backpedaling through penalties. A shadow of his Canberra days.
 
innsaneink said:
Doesn't seem to fancy the collision/impact side of the game... Always crabbing across field, now if he was a half decent ball player I could understand it... But all he does is stunts the attack.
I'm sure that's not his role and been directed to play like that
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He was good for 20 matches, more than half a decade ago, so if you're in our football department, that means you make him a millionaire.
 
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