McIllwrick vs Ballin

[Tiger4life]

Yes calling ballin a myth bc the guy has had to endure two knee reconstructions is a bit rich. If you couldn't see the potential of his impact in the 40mins he played for us vs the broncs last year you obviously didn't watch the game. He was superb….hopefully the 2nd knee reconstruction hasn't dulled him too much

Its hillarious that people are basing their opinion on 40 minutes of football played in 2 years. I will base my opinion on a guy who has just signed with us and already played more minutes in his first game then Ballin has. We are not talking about Ballin from a few years ago, we are talking about Ballin now 2 knee reconstructions later.

 

[larrycorowa]

well it's all we got to go on. Any presumptions on 40mins of footy in two years are fraught with danger. But don't be calling him a myth either

 

[TrueTiger]

well it's all we got to go on. Any presumptions on 40mins of footy in two years are fraught with danger. But don't be calling him a myth either

Good call Larrycorowa,Mat Ballin doesn't deserve to be called a myth,over the years he has been superb at Manly and is a real workhorse on the field..his injuries have been diabolicle to say the least,he is also a very good mentor and community person off the field…let's not forget how great our Rowdy was going before he had a terrible injury,however he has been given the chance to keep playing in the top grade albeit in the second row and is doing well I feel.Give Ballin the chance to see if he can come good this year,he deserves that at least...

I think he will...

 

[balmain boy]

Can't judge McIlwrick after one game with us. Ballin has 200+ first grade games and has been a proven quality performer in that time. Yes he's had injuries so he now needs to be re-judged based on current levels of fitness and performance.

McIlwrick has been at something like 4 clubs in 5 years playing mostly reserve grade. He still has to prove himself as a consistent performer in the NRL. How will he go if the pack isn't as dominant as we were against souths?

At the very least we can be happy to have the best 3rd choice hooker in the league

 

[jirskyr]

Can't judge McIlwrick after one game with us. Ballin has 200+ first grade games and has been a proven quality performer in that time. Yes he's had injuries so he now needs to be re-judged based on current levels of fitness and performance.

McIlwrick has been at something like 4 clubs in 5 years playing mostly reserve grade. He still has to prove himself as a consistent performer in the NRL. How will he go if the pack isn't as dominant as we were against souths?

At the very least we can be happy to have the best 3rd choice hooker in the league

Do you reckon MMc could be one of those blokes who just finds the right club / opportunity and clicks?

I've never seen him play before Tigers, so I had no opinion, but so far I like what I see. Tigers do have a decent track record of signing under-performing players from other clubs and getting them to a good FG quality - guys like Hodgo, Richards, Scott Prince, Marty Taupau, Bodene, Aloiai, Ava, Shane Elford, Whatuira etc.

MMc was behind Glen Buttris at the Raiders for 3 years (signed with them when he was 20, they also tried out Waddell, Berrigan and McCrone from the rosters), then behind Jake Friend, then behind Ennis… they aren't slouches as footballers.

 

[Tigerdon]

Going by the number of players we had in the hooker/DH role in 2016, both should get plenty of games in 2017.
Last year we had JLJ, Farah, Rankin, Halatau, Liddle, ET and maybe more.

 

[greatodensraven]

Can't judge McIlwrick after one game with us. Ballin has 200+ first grade games and has been a proven quality performer in that time. Yes he's had injuries so he now needs to be re-judged based on current levels of fitness and performance.

McIlwrick has been at something like 4 clubs in 5 years playing mostly reserve grade. He still has to prove himself as a consistent performer in the NRL. How will he go if the pack isn't as dominant as we were against souths?

At the very least we can be happy to have the best 3rd choice hooker in the league

Do you reckon MMc could be one of those blokes who just finds the right club / opportunity and clicks?

I've never seen him play before Tigers, so I had no opinion, but so far I like what I see. Tigers do have a decent track record of signing under-performing players from other clubs and getting them to a good FG quality - guys like Hodgo, Richards, Scott Prince, Marty Taupau, Bodene, Aloiai, Ava, Shane Elford, Whatuira etc.

MMc was behind Glen Buttris at the Raiders for 3 years (signed with them when he was 20, they also tried out Waddell, Berrigan and McCrone from the rosters), then behind Jake Friend, then behind Ennis… they aren't slouches as footballers.

Good point J. Hopefully he gets a bit more time to prove himself.

 

[goldcoast_tiger]

I think we need to see more than 1 game for MM.

To be honest I hope he gets the gig.

Is this Ballans last year on contract???

As far as MC is concerned, I think your completely right, I'd Ike to see him in a couple af games against an inform pack or two.
Trials mostly mean nothing much . And Souths forwards didn't ask him any questions last week.they has 12 and a passenger on the field for most of the games, which meant that there were a lot more holes to be exploited.
If he can put two or three good ones together, fine , keep him there. He doesn't have much opposition here at the moment

 

[goldcoast_tiger]

I fell sorry for Ballin, he still has about 50 years to survive on those troublesome knees. He should be light duties only. Can he be given a job in the club or coaching children? But strictly speaking he should be Manly's concern.

We,ve made him our problem..

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I fell sorry for Ballin, he still has about 50 years to survive on those troublesome knees. He should be light duties only. Can he be given a job in the club or coaching children? But strictly speaking he should be Manly's concern.

We,ve made him our problem..

He's a problem? Heard nothing but good things about him from the club.

 

[goldcoast_tiger]

I fell sorry for Ballin, he still has about 50 years to survive on those troublesome knees. He should be light duties only. Can he be given a job in the club or coaching children? But strictly speaking he should be Manly's concern.

We,ve made him our problem..

He's a problem? Heard nothing but good things about him from the club.

I think the point was that he was supposed to be bought to play football, not to be a nice guy around the club and we have to pay him whether he plays or not.
Nothing about how he's behaved,

 

[southerntiger]

Why is he our problem? I understood Matty B took up very little of our cap. Didn't Manly contribute to his salary to get him of their books?

 

[Tiger4life]

I fell sorry for Ballin, he still has about 50 years to survive on those troublesome knees. He should be light duties only. Can he be given a job in the club or coaching children? But strictly speaking he should be Manly's concern.

We,ve made him our problem..

He's a problem? Heard nothing but good things about him from the club.

I think the point was that he was supposed to be bought to play football, not to be a nice guy around the club and we have to pay him whether he plays or not.
Nothing about how he's behaved,

Exactly, id be a top bloke if i was getting paid to pretty much do nothing lol. For all accounts he is great to have around, but when he is chewing up some of your salary cap and has a busted knee then its not much use.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

We,ve made him our problem..

He's a problem? Heard nothing but good things about him from the club.

I think the point was that he was supposed to be bought to play football, not to be a nice guy around the club and we have to pay him whether he plays or not.
Nothing about how he's behaved,

Exactly, id be a top bloke if i was getting paid to pretty much do nothing lol. For all accounts he is great to have around, but when he is chewing up some of your salary cap and has a busted knee then its not much use.

Not sure if you keep up with the lower grades but he's been named to play this week. No busted knee.

 

[Pawsandclaws]

He's a problem? Heard nothing but good things about him from the club.

I think the point was that he was supposed to be bought to play football, not to be a nice guy around the club and we have to pay him whether he plays or not.
Nothing about how he's behaved,

Exactly, id be a top bloke if i was getting paid to pretty much do nothing lol. For all accounts he is great to have around, but when he is chewing up some of your salary cap and has a busted knee then its not much use.

Not sure if you keep up with the lower grades but he's been named to play this week. No busted knee.

That clarifies the matter nicely GNR. We signed him to sit on the bench in NSW Cup. Another astute buy.

 

[TCL]

He's a problem? Heard nothing but good things about him from the club.

I think the point was that he was supposed to be bought to play football, not to be a nice guy around the club and we have to pay him whether he plays or not.
Nothing about how he's behaved,

Exactly, id be a top bloke if i was getting paid to pretty much do nothing lol. For all accounts he is great to have around, but when he is chewing up some of your salary cap and has a busted knee then its not much use.

Not sure if you keep up with the lower grades but he's been named to play this week. No busted knee.

I hope he goes well and gets through it injury free and does push for a FG spot again. Depth is always the key now days and the more players we have available at 9 is better given its a specialised role.

Same with JLJ playing these rounds while ballon and Liddell are out, it gives us game experienced players to slot in if needed in the halves. Nofo's returns make him a good option for when/if teddy plays origin and we need some one to develope and fill in for woods.

 

[Nelson]

We,ve made him our problem..

He's a problem? Heard nothing but good things about him from the club.

I think the point was that he was supposed to be bought to play football, not to be a nice guy around the club and we have to pay him whether he plays or not.
Nothing about how he's behaved,

Exactly, id be a top bloke if i was getting paid to pretty much do nothing lol. For all accounts he is great to have around, but when he is chewing up some of your salary cap and has a busted knee then its not much use.

Yeah you don't seem like you'd be a top bloke no matter how much you were being paid…

 

[happy_tiger]

He's a problem? Heard nothing but good things about him from the club.

I think the point was that he was supposed to be bought to play football, not to be a nice guy around the club and we have to pay him whether he plays or not.
Nothing about how he's behaved,

Exactly, id be a top bloke if i was getting paid to pretty much do nothing lol. For all accounts he is great to have around, but when he is chewing up some of your salary cap and has a busted knee then its not much use.

Not sure if you keep up with the lower grades but he's been named to play this week. No busted knee.

All I know is I'm happy to keep Ballin on the bench for my Fantasy side $214 k will be a bargain basement buy in a few months time …......

 

[TYGA]

Why is he our problem? I understood Matty B took up very little of our cap. Didn't Manly contribute to his salary to get him of their books?

Manly only paid for one year. He is on the books at full freight this year,His deal was signed 3 years ago so it probably good coin. It was a strategic signing to oust Farah. One of the fe every very and decisions made on emotion.

 

[Russta]

He's a problem? Heard nothing but good things about him from the club.

I think the point was that he was supposed to be bought to play football, not to be a nice guy around the club and we have to pay him whether he plays or not.
Nothing about how he's behaved,

Exactly, id be a top bloke if i was getting paid to pretty much do nothing lol. For all accounts he is great to have around, but when he is chewing up some of your salary cap and has a busted knee then its not much use.

Yeah you don't seem like you'd be a top bloke no matter how much you were being paid…

Hahahaha :laughing: exactly what i was thinking. Well said Nelson.