OFFICIAL Luke Garner [Discussion]

[TieDye]

Already got a thread heh

 

[Sabre]

Already got a thread heh

There you go.
Didn't look past the Koroisau thread.

 

[tiger_one]

And we have Luke's little bro on board next season too.

 

[TieDye]

@tiger_one if his bro can solve our wing dilemma’s even partially well, we’d be halfway to being fixed up for next year before the fat lady has even sung for this season. Madge has been great but this group of players, typified by garner seem to have each others backs

Backs always against the wall with our luck about the referees and with a few upgrades in the engine room I’d be tempted to have a dabble at us to make the 8!

 

[Geo]

https://weststigersforum.com/topic/29897/garner

 

[Toowoomba_Tiger]

His front on one-on-one is solid. He has a hard frame even if not the biggest. He hits and sticks. Its his lateral defence thats been shown up, but imo thats fitness. He'll fix that with more games and match fitness

 

[diedpretty]

Rowdy shut down Pongo when he came on…

100%, he was all him, most people won't see it though.

Most people only see what they choose to see with a lot of our players

For example Nofoaluma was also great tonight but apparently he only runs sideways is too slow and can't defend..

So true. Another example is Brooks and Marshall. Our forwards stood up tonight and gave them a platform to work off. They both had excellent games. Those on the forum who think halves can control a game without the forwards doing their job are in dreamland.

 

[Telltails]

I like Lawrence off the bench. Quality instead of quantity - and agree Garner had a real good game

 

[mike]

I like Lawrence off the bench. Quality instead of quantity - and agree Garner had a real good game

Lawrence defence was excellent. Stopped Ponga cold on a number of occasions.

 

[gallagher]

Garner was excellent. I'd be turning Rowdy into a middle forward, no one works harder than him.

 

[Russell]

Great game.

He runs Lawry's lines but can stand and pass.

And is bigger, more mobile and younger.

Would be huge for us if he can become 'that' player every week.

And, unlike Chris, he catches the flat bullet pass from Brooks. He had a top game.

And as @diedpretty said above....
"So true. Another example is Brooks and Marshall. Our forwards stood up tonight and gave them a platform to work off. They both had excellent games. Those on the forum who think halves can control a game without the forwards doing their job are in dreamland."

The second rower running through has an easier job of taking a well directed pass rather than the rushed offload Brooks was forced into giving Rowdy.

It's called repercussions.

 

[jirskyr]

And, unlike Chris, he catches the flat bullet pass from Brooks. He had a top game.

Honestly, I think it's as much about the passes as the players running onto it.

Does Chris Lawrence have a reputation for dropping the footy in regular play, say during a hit-up? No he doesn't. So if the reputation comes from catching "flat bullet passes from Brooks" only, it tells us something about the quality of those passes.

For starters, nobody should be throwing flat bullets to a hole runner just a few metres away. Soft hands for those runs, bullet passes for the cut-outs.

As Russell noted, we got a proper forwards platform after 20 mins, which makes all hole running easier.

However I will put it to you that it's the quality of the passes and also the type of hole running that Garner and Lawrence do.

Lawrence runs hard lines and aims for early gaps in the line. He doesn't really deviate from his line once he starts, so if the defence closes on him, he's not going to find a new line. He's not as agile as he used to be, but honestly he's never been a light stepper, he's always been about power generated whilst sprinting in a straight line / arc. So if Lawrence runs a line and the defenders go to him, he needs to catch and bust the tackle, or better have the half cut him out. And that's not a problem because drawing in defenders is a perfectly legitimate running line, you don't always need to be taking the ball.

Problem I find for Brooks is he is happy to fire short hard passes when the runner is right in the teeth of the defence. Lawrence drops those, Aloiai drops those, Matto has dropped those. Again, they should not be bullet passes.

With Garner on Friday, Brooks was giving him the ball a little earlier and Garner wasn't running hard lines, he was just stepping to the outside of his man (Kurt Mann) and trying to poke through the line just after he caught the ball. He's got pretty good bumpers once he's taken the pass and has a nice natural fend. There's much less pressure on these earlier softer passes and he's already committed to getting on the edge of his opponent, so what he needs to do is catch the footy and keep going through that half-hole.

Lawrence on the other hand has to content with defenders stepping into his run right as he catches the ball. And Brooks tends to pass it anyway, even if the gap closes.

 

[Russell]

And, unlike Chris, he catches the flat bullet pass from Brooks. He had a top game.

Honestly, I think it's as much about the passes as the players running onto it.

Does Chris Lawrence have a reputation for dropping the footy in regular play, say during a hit-up? No he doesn't. So if the reputation comes from catching "flat bullet passes from Brooks" only, it tells us something about the quality of those passes.

For starters, nobody should be throwing flat bullets to a hole runner just a few metres away. Soft hands for those runs, bullet passes for the cut-outs.

As Russell noted, we got a proper forwards platform after 20 mins, which makes all hole running easier.

However I will put it to you that it's the quality of the passes and also the type of hole running that Garner and Lawrence do.

Lawrence runs hard lines and aims for early gaps in the line. He doesn't really deviate from his line once he starts, so if the defence closes on him, he's not going to find a new line. He's not as agile as he used to be, but honestly he's never been a light stepper, he's always been about power generated whilst sprinting in a straight line / arc. So if Lawrence runs a line and the defenders go to him, he needs to catch and bust the tackle, or better have the half cut him out. And that's not a problem because drawing in defenders is a perfectly legitimate running line, you don't always need to be taking the ball.

Problem I find for Brooks is he is happy to fire short hard passes when the runner is right in the teeth of the defence. Lawrence drops those, Aloiai drops those, Matto has dropped those. Again, they should not be bullet passes.

With Garner on Friday, Brooks was giving him the ball a little earlier and Garner wasn't running hard lines, he was just stepping to the outside of his man (Kurt Mann) and trying to poke through the line just after he caught the ball. He's got pretty good bumpers once he's taken the pass and has a nice natural fend. There's much less pressure on these earlier softer passes and he's already committed to getting on the edge of his opponent, so what he needs to do is catch the footy and keep going through that half-hole.

Lawrence on the other hand has to content with defenders stepping into his run right as he catches the ball. And Brooks tends to pass it anyway, even if the gap closes.

Well summarised Mate - pretty much lays the truth bare. Hopefully Luke can adjust his passes for Rowdy.

 

[krayola]

@jirskyr Brooks certainly does have the habit of throwing the pass when it's too late.

 

[TYGA]

And, unlike Chris, he catches the flat bullet pass from Brooks. He had a top game.

Honestly, I think it's as much about the passes as the players running onto it.

Does Chris Lawrence have a reputation for dropping the footy in regular play, say during a hit-up? No he doesn't. So if the reputation comes from catching "flat bullet passes from Brooks" only, it tells us something about the quality of those passes.

For starters, nobody should be throwing flat bullets to a hole runner just a few metres away. Soft hands for those runs, bullet passes for the cut-outs.

As Russell noted, we got a proper forwards platform after 20 mins, which makes all hole running easier.

However I will put it to you that it's the quality of the passes and also the type of hole running that Garner and Lawrence do.

Lawrence runs hard lines and aims for early gaps in the line. He doesn't really deviate from his line once he starts, so if the defence closes on him, he's not going to find a new line. He's not as agile as he used to be, but honestly he's never been a light stepper, he's always been about power generated whilst sprinting in a straight line / arc. So if Lawrence runs a line and the defenders go to him, he needs to catch and bust the tackle, or better have the half cut him out. And that's not a problem because drawing in defenders is a perfectly legitimate running line, you don't always need to be taking the ball.

Problem I find for Brooks is he is happy to fire short hard passes when the runner is right in the teeth of the defence. Lawrence drops those, Aloiai drops those, Matto has dropped those. Again, they should not be bullet passes.

With Garner on Friday, Brooks was giving him the ball a little earlier and Garner wasn't running hard lines, he was just stepping to the outside of his man (Kurt Mann) and trying to poke through the line just after he caught the ball. He's got pretty good bumpers once he's taken the pass and has a nice natural fend. There's much less pressure on these earlier softer passes and he's already committed to getting on the edge of his opponent, so what he needs to do is catch the footy and keep going through that half-hole.

Lawrence on the other hand has to content with defenders stepping into his run right as he catches the ball. And Brooks tends to pass it anyway, even if the gap closes.

Well summarised Mate - pretty much lays the truth bare. Hopefully Luke can adjust his passes for Rowdy.

I love Rowdy but apart from last season he has hands like feet. Brooks passing is too hard but he drops way too many passes.

 

[balmain boy]

He still lacks the power to break the line. He is a smart runner and makes half busts by running good lines but can't often make that clean break. If he can somehow improve his power then he could become a top player. As it stands he's an injury prone undersized back rower, who's a slight improvement on Lawrence but he can't rely on offloads to make breaks.

I hope he has a great off season

 

[innsaneink]

Was huge tonight
Spells the end of Lawrence.

Don't agree Lawrence off the bench was good


Can’t play forever ..
Can’t keep hanging onto senior citizens mate .

he's only 29..lol

Runs like he's 49

 

[The_Patriot]

And, unlike Chris, he catches the flat bullet pass from Brooks. He had a top game.

Honestly, I think it's as much about the passes as the players running onto it.

Does Chris Lawrence have a reputation for dropping the footy in regular play, say during a hit-up? No he doesn't. So if the reputation comes from catching "flat bullet passes from Brooks" only, it tells us something about the quality of those passes.

For starters, nobody should be throwing flat bullets to a hole runner just a few metres away. Soft hands for those runs, bullet passes for the cut-outs.

As Russell noted, we got a proper forwards platform after 20 mins, which makes all hole running easier.

However I will put it to you that it's the quality of the passes and also the type of hole running that Garner and Lawrence do.

Lawrence runs hard lines and aims for early gaps in the line. He doesn't really deviate from his line once he starts, so if the defence closes on him, he's not going to find a new line. He's not as agile as he used to be, but honestly he's never been a light stepper, he's always been about power generated whilst sprinting in a straight line / arc. So if Lawrence runs a line and the defenders go to him, he needs to catch and bust the tackle, or better have the half cut him out. And that's not a problem because drawing in defenders is a perfectly legitimate running line, you don't always need to be taking the ball.

Problem I find for Brooks is he is happy to fire short hard passes when the runner is right in the teeth of the defence. Lawrence drops those, Aloiai drops those, Matto has dropped those. Again, they should not be bullet passes.

With Garner on Friday, Brooks was giving him the ball a little earlier and Garner wasn't running hard lines, he was just stepping to the outside of his man (Kurt Mann) and trying to poke through the line just after he caught the ball. He's got pretty good bumpers once he's taken the pass and has a nice natural fend. There's much less pressure on these earlier softer passes and he's already committed to getting on the edge of his opponent, so what he needs to do is catch the footy and keep going through that half-hole.

Lawrence on the other hand has to content with defenders stepping into his run right as he catches the ball. And Brooks tends to pass it anyway, even if the gap closes.

All that aside if Luke Brooks ran the ball harder and more often himself the gaps would suddenly open up for Lawrence and Garner

 

[Snake]

@TYGA Brooks is robotic with his actions ... been watching him closely over the last month , it is interesting that his passing game has been highlighted to his outside men . Brooks has no idea on reading a game and unfortunately this separates the top halves from the rest , he runs to the line and regardless if the player he is passing to is covered he still passes and they get hammered or drop the pass .. the player that can read the game jinks and passes to the outside or inside player . This happens regularly and in every game, Brooks is a good player but will never be in the elite level of No7s.

 

[Geo]

Never fails..lol