Lawarence and the Future

[barra]

I think a few are forgetting the positive OK his hands were crap , but they have only been bad the last few weeks

He found some space v Penrith and some holes , if he gets his hands right and hangs onto those balls

And the drop when he was about to score , unless you have been in the situation when you land with the ball under yourself at full steam and slid forward and see how hard it is to hang onto cleanly you'll never understand

Happy, I always respect your opinion but can't agree. Chris has always had hands like flippers. I was gob-smacked when Sheens tried him at 5/8 because he struggles to catch let along catch and pass. For that reason there is no other position for him in the backline either.

I was one of Chris' biggest fans but unfortunately a couple of good games over a long, long time is not good enough. It's time to sink or swim as he is dragging the team under with him. Chances need to be taken by the backs, it's what they are there for, and try as he might he just can't do it so I still say a prolonged spell in reserves.

 

[tigermaniac]

Watch his last 5 games and you'll see him missing tackles, dropping off tackles, charging up in defence to only create a hole or over lap. That try he bombed was also one of many that close to the line. People say it's because of previous injuries, well that was then, how does that in any way justify what he is dishing up now. He was never a rep standard player, considering all the other centres available in his time. And what makes me laugh is so many on here had him as a future captain and even as a fill in captain this year. Lol.

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[barra]

I reckon that's a bit tough maniac!

Chris was an awesome player but he's lost it. If it is due to confidence a long spell to dominate in reggies is what is needed. Not just a game, I'm thinking the rest of the regular season. He needs to understand just how far he has fallen.

 

[happy_tiger]

I think a few are forgetting the positive OK his hands were crap , but they have only been bad the last few weeks

He found some space v Penrith and some holes , if he gets his hands right and hangs onto those balls

And the drop when he was about to score , unless you have been in the situation when you land with the ball under yourself at full steam and slid forward and see how hard it is to hang onto cleanly you'll never understand

Happy, I always respect your opinion but can't agree. Chris has always had hands like flippers. I was gob-smacked when Sheens tried him at 5/8 because he struggles to catch let along catch and pass. For that reason there is no other position for him in the backline either.

I was one of Chris' biggest fans but unfortunately a couple of good games over a long, long time is not good enough. It's time to sink or swim as he is dragging the team under with him. Chances need to be taken by the backs, it's what they are there for, and try as he might he just can't do it so I still say a prolonged spell in reserves.

Barra You can't put anyone else in the centres on debut against Lyon and Matai

The only option might be we play Santi as 13 and tell him to tackle his butt off for as long as possible and move Blair to the second row and play Thompson in the centres

But Blair's best footy has been at lock

As hard as this it for many to understand we are better off hoping Lawence can play better and lift playing v Matai and hope Thompson can shut down Lyon

If we can produce heaps off line speed we might prevent the ball getting wide cleanly , but then you are asking DCE and Foran to run and that could even be a worse scenario if the inside defenders don't work

I can tell you one thing , I'd hate to be in Potter's shoes at the moment trying to work which will be the be of a worst case scenario

Lyon and Matai would be the best combination in the world at club level and people are wanting to put NSW Cup rookies up against them

 

[hobbo]

I think a few are forgetting the positive OK his hands were crap , but they have only been bad the last few weeks

He found some space v Penrith and some holes , if he gets his hands right and hangs onto those balls

And the drop when he was about to score , unless you have been in the situation when you land with the ball under yourself at full steam and slid forward and see how hard it is to hang onto cleanly you'll never understand

Happy, I always respect your opinion but can't agree. Chris has always had hands like flippers. I was gob-smacked when Sheens tried him at 5/8 because he struggles to catch let along catch and pass. For that reason there is no other position for him in the backline either.

I was one of Chris' biggest fans but unfortunately a couple of good games over a long, long time is not good enough. It's time to sink or swim as he is dragging the team under with him. Chances need to be taken by the backs, it's what they are there for, and try as he might he just can't do it so I still say a prolonged spell in reserves.

Barra You can't put anyone else in the centres on debut against Lyon and Matai

The only option might be we play Santi as 13 and tell him to tackle his butt off for as long as possible and move Blair to the second row and play Thompson in the centres

But Blair's best footy has been at lock

As hard as this it for many to understand we are better off hoping Lawence can play better and lift playing v Matai and hope Thompson can shut down Lyon

If we can produce heaps off line speed we might prevent the ball getting wide cleanly , but then you are asking DCE and Foran to run and that could even be a worse scenario if the inside defenders don't work

I can tell you one thing , I'd hate to be in Potter's shoes at the moment trying to work which will be the be of a worst case scenario

Lyon and Matai would be the best combination in the world at club level and people are wanting to put NSW Cup rookies up against them

We all understand the situation Happy we really do . But Lawrence is playing like reserve grader . How long can we HOPE for ? I've been hoping for Lawrence to come good for 3 years now . Id rather play a young and keen centre against Manly and have 60+ put on us as long as we have a go . Than bumble and fumble for 80 mins . I'm not saying the team isn't having a dig they are … The longer Lawrence keeps playing the more he's embarrassing himself and as barra said enough is enough !

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[barra]

The only option might be we play Santi as 13 and tell him to tackle his butt off for as long as possible and move Blair to the second row and play Thompson in the centres

I can tell you one thing , I'd hate to be in Potter's shoes at the moment trying to work which will be the be of a worst case scenario

The longer Lawrence keeps playing the more he's embarrassing himself

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And the more he digs himself deeper into the hole he's in.

Looking at things that way Happy, Bodene will likely be out so Chris may need to play, which shows how desperate we are in the backs right now. Potter earns his pay this week.

Don't know if I can watch all the bumbling and unravelling if it happens though.

 

[851]

Thompson defends as bad as Rowdy does at centre,he is not an option,give anyone a go,they can't go as bad as Rowdy is going,and Lulia offers jack,we need 2 centre's for this week.

 

[hobbo]

Thompson defends as bad as Rowdy does at centre,he is not an option,give anyone a go,they can't go as bad as Rowdy is going,and Lulia offers jack,we need 2 centre's for this week.

I honestly think (as previously posted somewhere else ) we'd go better playing just 12 players this weekend . Even that old hack Benji is gonna have a field day in round 20 putting through banana grubbers down our left side .

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[supercoach]

Thompson defends as bad as Rowdy does at centre,he is not an option,give anyone a go,they can't go as bad as Rowdy is going,and Lulia offers jack,we need 2 centre's for this week.

Siro,Bodine and Halatau are not centre options and would get flogged by Matia and Lyons. You could only replace them with a REAL centre or maybe move Richards or Nofo in one position.
I think its probably to late in the season and the horse has bolted to be blooding another youngster from the lower grades. Anyway its really a waste of time talking about it because Potter will not change a thing unless injury or suspension forces him

 

[tig_prmz]

I think goose mentioned it a few weeks ago. We tend to bunch up in the middle and are always a man short near the sidelines. Lawrence is not the best at making defensive read but a major part of it is due to the defensive structure we have in place.

Even when noffa and Simona were defending together we had the same problem.

Lawrence's issue is that usually he commits to the wrong man or doesn't commit at all. There is also a serious breakdown in communication betwen Lawrence and patty. Whares first try was embarrassing where patty stayed on the wing and Lawrence went in.

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[Newtown]

There always seems to be an excuse for playing Lawrence. This week it's because we are playing against Matai and Lyons at centre. The longer we choose Lawrence in the run-on squad the deeper the hole WT are digging for next year. I very much doubt that Lawrence can improve next year so start blooding another centre now like we did with Brooks last year. .

For those still wanting to give Lawrence a chance for the 15th time I say pick him on the bench and give another worthy aspiring centre (Fine etc) a run-on spot. If this doesn't appear to work during the match then bring in Lawrence later in the game. I know Potter won't go this way because he will have another excuse in that the short turnaround between Sunday and Friday has not given him a chance to train with a new centre. pairing.

 

[Flippedy]

Bloody good club man. Hope they give him a few of the Gallen pills and turn him into a front rower. He has the 'speed' for it and the willingness. A centre he is not.

If he was such a 'bloody good club man', then he would acknowledge his non-contribution to the team, stand himself down from first grade for the rest of the season and work on his game in State Cup, instead of taking his place in first grade every week, playing terribly and constantly making schoolboy errors that demoralizes the team!

It's alright for these blokes, who have been out of form for long periods of time to pipe up and say they are going to improve and make up for their poor performances next week, then the week after, then the week after that, but never actually doing it (like Benji did ad nauseum). Meanwhile the team continues to suffer, eternally waiting and hoping for a once decent player to come good again, yet it may never happen.

If a player has been out of form for the period of time that Chris has been, then he needs to be dropped down a level to work on his game, cause at the moment, Chris' presence in first grade is only harming the team's chances of playing in the finals this season, as well as his own chances of personal improvement.

 

[supercoach]

Chris burst onto the scene as a big young kid with pace to burn, who ran into massive gaps created by Benji's passing game. He was essentially only a great hole runner, he did not have a great step,fend or any other skill.

He has now lost his pace,his defence is hot and cold, he is slow as the Queen Mary at turning around, he has the jumping ability of a bag of cement and he has hands like Donald Duck. On the plus side he has a heart as big as Texas, great club man and always has a go.

Maybe things can improve, but its very hard to turn things around when the team is going bad and when what skills you have start to decipate

 

[jirskyr]

I'm with Happy on this one. Rowdy may be playing at reserve-grade level, but are the reserve-graders truly playing at first grade level?

You put in a debutant this week and we have run out 3 debutants in 2 weeks, with the centre pairing of New Guy and Lulia.

First we need Simona back, then we can make decisions about what to do with Rowdy. But the backrowers are not centre solutions.

I also support the position that lots of Rowdy's apparent defensive lapses are as much a fault of the whole left side defence as of just one player. Penrith purposefully ran in and behind our ruck all game, drawing the defenders in. Once they had us bunched in, they swung it wide and Moylan created the overlap; he just had to wait for the defenders to commit and choose his runner. Every left-side try Whare was on the outside of Lawrence and Naiqama outside Richards, he could take his pick.

The left-side defensive combo of Siro, Brooks, Lawrence and Richards struggles to work as a cohesive unit. They often get caught flat-footed and I don't think the outside men trust the cover of Brooks or Siro.

 

[Black_n_White]

People are talking as if Halatau was never a centre…

If there is a problem with the left side who do you can? The goal kicker, the halfback, the hard running backrower or the guy that makes Manu look like a slips fielder...

 

[Newtown]

This week's future for Lawrence is again first grade.

 

[alexaki]

This week's future for Lawrence is again first grade.

And for the remainder of 2014….we should all get over him being potentially dropped..it won't happen!

 

[supercoach]

IMO if we had a ball playing forward like most of the good clubs things would improve out of sight for all the backs, their is no one creating space at present. To have a forward like the big Pom at the Dogs would be so good. When you think of it Tod Payten was our last quality ball playing forward. Lawrence dosnt create space he needs players inside to create the space and if they are not doing their job he is a sitting duck

 

[rex2ce]

Only guessing , but reckon a similar story to this one is the reason that Fine is not debuting this week
http://leagueunlimited.com/news/hawkins-denied-nrl-debut

 

[TurnStyle]

IMO if we had a ball playing forward like most of the good clubs things would improve out of sight for all the backs, their is no one creating space at present. To have a forward like the big Pom at the Dogs would be so good. When you think of it Tod Payten was our last quality ball playing forward. Lawrence dosnt create space he needs players inside to create the space and if they are not doing their job he is a sitting duck

from what i have seen, i think Lodge could develop into this type of player. big wraps on this kid - i think he is going to be great.