I have watched most of the isp games and sorry to say Mcqueen doesnt deserve to be anywhere near first grade. A player with his resume should be killing it in reserve grade as Sue and Aloiai have done when they were there. Has dropped the ball so many times with the line wide open he just doesn't have it anymore and has been a waste of money imo , sad but true.
Mcqueen
- Thread starter Nucky_Thompson
- Start date
The_Patriot
Well-known member
The only change we need is Taylor out of hooker and replaces MCK.
upthetigers
Well-known member
@ said:
And Kev to replace Tui.
The_Patriot
Well-known member
@ said:
And Tui or another utility to the 14.
Sorted!
Why can't Ivan see these obvious changes… :unamused:
happy_tiger
Well-known member
@ said:
Obviously Nathan is using his Jedi mind powers for evil , why can't you see that , your the Trekkie fan :brick: :brick:
earl
Well-known member
@ said:
This should be the first change that happens.
Won't see out his contract.
@ said:
x2
Dud.
Medically retire or released to CQ capras.
Never understood why we signed him as others have said puzzling. It is what it is and 3 more years on the books.
@ said:
Because we were desperately short of quality 2nd rowers at the time and he was an experienced former origin rep who was playing well for the Titans before his neck injury worsened. It wasn't necessarily a bad signing at the time (unless they were aware of the extent of his neck problem from a medical assessment).
ancient_magpie
Well-known member
I think ALOIAI could be the damaging backrower we are lacking but Ivan seems to prefer to use him ass abattering ram. I think he was far more dangerous last year when he was playing wider not in the middle.Everybody else has there big boys running at halves and 5/8s so why dont we.
jirskyr
Well-known member
@ said:
I can understand Cleary's hesitation, because I've seen a few ISP games and McQueen has not stood out as an obvious promotion, but also I would be ok with him being given more of a run in firsts.
You are right about McQueen vs Chee-Kam - McQueen is a much smarter footballer. Same with Chris Lawrence, who was much maligned up until this year, but Rowdy is a shrewd footballer beyond his pure physical capacity. In terms of pure power and explosiveness, then no neither Rowdy nor McQueen can match Aloiai, MCK, Sue. But those latter few players struggle to lay down the minutes, don't position themselves effectively on the fringes and have lots of mistakes in them.
Say what you will about Lawrence, most of his mistakes are from dodgy passes when he's in the teeth of the defence, because he actually puts his body on the line to run holes. Rowdy is also a great kick-chaser and proved it again on the weekend.
MCK has been given the opportunity to play bigger minutes, but frankly I see lots of dumb play in those minutes. He certainly has heart, but I saw a fatigued footballer against the Roosters, always half a step behind in defence, in retreating to his line, and taking fairly mundane options with the ball. His errors were from fatigue. Don't blame the coach and say he needed to be swapped - the starting backrowers need to play the minutes, that's the deal. That's why Rochow's been picked so often, not because he's a dynamic footballer, but because he can plug holes for 80 mins.
An example, apart from the obvious HT penalty that MCK gave away. When Ferguson put on the Roosters' second try, Benji raced up and MCK was forced to cover to the outside, so it's not MCK's fault. As play progressed he continued to come forward rather than across, then once he did adjust on Ferguson, he sort of grabbed him by the waist and pulled down - at which time Ferguson had already drawn Marsters and freed his arm for the offload. MCK could possibly have tackled the arm or aimed at the football, and without diving he did nothing to stop Ferguson's momentum.
So whilst it wasn't MCK's fault for the overlap, if you are a legitimate edge backrower, you need to be able to cover those situations, because the opposition are always running fullbacks into the edges to create the overlap. MCK just looked gassed to me, he was half a step short on the play.
The other thing I'll say about McQueen is that in ISP, if you are a edge hole runner, you rely on the service of your halves. So it becomes harder to be a "standout" if your service is ISP-level or worse. All fine for Aloiai and Sue to take some strong carries and drag defenders - ISP-level defenders from an individual run. That doesn't happen the same way in first grade.
Last comment: big ask, but I want to know why our backrowers don't run lines any more? Lawrence is the only one who does it. Part of the problem with a stuttering attack is lack of options. When Brooks and/or Benji run to the line, if the only pass available is the early one to the centre, then it's not that hard to deal with. Where are our players in motion? Tui has failed to insert himself here the past 2 weeks and the backrowers are often nowhere to be seen. I looked up a video of Gareth Ellis to explain what I mean. He's obviously an extreme talent, but if you are always making yourself available on these runs, then you put the opposition in two minds and the gaps start to appear:
https://youtu.be/QcWC5iqLG9k?t=247
balmain boy
Well-known member
MCK has struggled on the right. It's got to be worth a go, give him one game to start on the right and prove his experience and skills deserve his shot ahead of Rochow who should be returning soon.
851
Well-known member
@ said:
He was a JT signing, the gift that keeps on giving, Cleary might not rate the bloke, but secondrow is one of our problem area's
GNR4LIFE
Well-known member
@ said:
He was announced a month into Cleary's tenure.
