Nathan Merrit

[Fade_To_Black]

Did matter - Merrit useless like we all thought .
As usual in QLD the referees gave the game to the home side

haha trust you to trot out the same dribble about the refs…did you notice we had a bloke sin binned for getting punched in the head?
You are a sore loser pal.

:unamused: The little 4-0 leg-up in the penalty count at the beginning of the game was more than helpful I woulda thought. Didn't win you the game but is a bloody good start.

Hodges should of got sent off, gutless 3rd bloke in punching a bloke who isn't looking…he is a coward.

 

[WestsSupporter]

When you have lots of possession of course you're going to get penalties.

 

[Fade_To_Black]

When you have lots of possession of course you're going to get penalties.

Yep. But the ref's conveniently couldn't see the strip on Hoffman I think it was that resulted in a turnover early in the game. Home-town Harry Hayne got QLD off to a good start, hope he stays true to form and affords NSW the same bias in Sydney.

 

[underdog]

oh wow, someone has cut his game to ribbons on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR26h9s4OH8

it's a bit harsh in some aspects, but plain as day on others.

 

[Marshall_magic]

Who would you have chosen instead of Merritt? The other wingers in the frame, Uate and (?), have highly noticeable flaws as well and are just as useless.

Personally Tafua was a much better alternative.

The best idea would have been playing a Morris on each wing and bringing in Idris

I think Josh has to stay on Inglis, he has proven he can contain him. He just needs a winger outside him who has faith in him handling GI. We need a big winger in to help ease the workload on the forward. Tafua would be great, as would Uate or Ferguson (if his case gets resolved before the committal somehow). Another alternative

1\. Stewart
2\. Hayne
3\. Jennings
4\. Morris
5\. Morris

Hayne and Stewart can interchange between fullback and wing in attack.

 

[Fade_To_Black]

Idris to centre and Josh Morris to the right wing. Idris has the size to go with Inglis and would be a handful for G.I in defence, people forget that defence is hardly Inglis' strongpoint either. If he can't overpower his opposite with his size he isn't nearly as effective.

Not sold on Dugan at fullback but perhaps keep him there and have Hayne coming off the bench as a strike-weapon.

 

[Marshall_magic]

Morris doesn't let you down in the centres, his career at NRL level only really took off when he was moved off the wing and into the centres.

Hayne off the bench is a waste, he is the best attacking player we have, play him for the full 80.

 

[system]

Some here were blowing up about Ferguson being selected ahead of him in game one. Chalk and cheese.

O

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[system]

Who would you have chosen instead of Merritt? The other wingers in the frame, Uate and (?), have highly noticeable flaws as well and are just as useless.

Personally Tafua was a much better alternative.

The best idea would have been playing a Morris on each wing and bringing in Idris

haha, FMD, his D is just as turnstile like under pressure…in fact, a lot of NRL wingers would have struggled with that last night.

He would have provided more then the meek surrender of Merritt on kick returns. So that alone makes him a massive upgrade.

Merritt was utter garbage

 

[slick]

Who would you have chosen instead of Merritt? The other wingers in the frame, Uate and (?), have highly noticeable flaws as well and are just as useless.

Personally Tafua was a much better alternative.

The best idea would have been playing a Morris on each wing and bringing in Idris

haha, FMD, his D is just as turnstile like under pressure…in fact, a lot of NRL wingers would have struggled with that last night.

He would have provided more then the meek surrender of Merritt on kick returns. So that alone makes him a massive upgrade.

Merritt was utter garbage

B Morris did no matter in bringing it out. Actually, neither did any of the forwards to be fair. I wouldn't have Merrit there if Hayne/Ferguson were available, but Uate and Tafua are bigger turnstiles then Merrit…

 

[tig_prmz]

lol he looked like a 5 yo playing with grown men.

 

[Flippedy]

Some here were blowing up about Ferguson being selected ahead of him in game one. Chalk and cheese.

Yep, have to admit I probably got it wrong calling for Merritt ahead of Ferguson. He did look out of his depth for much of the game the other night.

That said, I still question whether Ferguson would've fared much better under the same circumstances of that game. He is also prone to silly mistakes that directly lead to tries and I reckon with the way Qld dominated the match the other night we may have been saying the same things about Ferguson that are being said about Merritt now, if he had been playing.

The first game was all NSW and it's a lot easier to ride the wave when you're on the end of a backline in the dominant team. Wed night was a whole new set of circumstances. It was a terribly difficult game for a player to make his debut in. The coach's tactics were clearly wrong and the whole NSW side were shell shocked by the onslaught and weight of possession against them, even some of the more experienced heads.

I'm not trying to make excuses for Merritt's bad performance, it is what it is, but I'm just throwing up the question of whether Ferguson, or any other winger for that matter, would've made much of a difference to the outcome on the night.

I still believe Merritt is a better player than what he displayed the other night and I hope he will get the chance to play Origin again one day. He will definitely learn from this experience and hopefully he will improve his defence and adjust his game accordingly. Much the same way Farah has learned from his dismal performance in game 2 in 2009\. Remember, he too was deemed as not up to Origin standard, for many years, after that game.

 

[Black_n_White]

I think the most solid answer we could have for Inglis is to have both Morris boys on the same side of the park, they work well together and are big enough if isolated to at the very least slow him down. I feel sorry for Merrit, he was never going to be able to contend with what was on his plate that night.

 

[WestsSupporter]

The Morris boys are good defenders, and would obviously have great communication with each other. I'm sure that Brett can play right wing, as Josh is playing right centre, specifically for Inglis, when he plays left for the Dogs.

 

[Peaches]

Merritt came in when he didn't have to. Whether he was directed to or not by Daley is the question. If so, I would maybe give him another chance as he is a better player then the other night. Josh Morris has kept Inglis very quiet compared to previous years when Inglis would run riot. The winger and directions from Daley should be to trust that Josh will do the job like he has in the past.

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[cqtiger]

Merritt came in when he didn't have to. Whether he was directed to or not by Daley is the question. If so, I would maybe give him another chance as he is a better player then the other night. Josh Morris has kept Inglis very quiet compared to previous years when Inglis would run riot. The winger and directions from Daley should be to trust that Josh will do the job like he has in the past.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

Too much has been said that he was following the coaches instructions! Hell, I don't think that Daley meant "rush in any time you like and if they score it's my fault, not yours".

For heaven's sake, there was a reason he never played origin before and it's nothing to do with the club he plays for or his heritage.

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[slick]

Merritt came in when he didn't have to. Whether he was directed to or not by Daley is the question. If so, I would maybe give him another chance as he is a better player then the other night. Josh Morris has kept Inglis very quiet compared to previous years when Inglis would run riot. The winger and directions from Daley should be to trust that Josh will do the job like he has in the past.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

Too much has been said that he was following the coaches instructions! Hell, I don't think that Daley meant "rush in any time you like and if they score it's my fault, not yours".

For heaven's sake, there was a reason he never played origin before and it's nothing to do with the club he plays for or his heritage.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

But he hasn't been defending that poorly at club level for the last 2yrs at least. He used to do it a lot pre Maguire as Souths defence was poor and there was often an overlap. Actually, the Storm loss in the 1st semi last year was a good example. Maguire has fixed their structures, resulting in far less overlaps, and his defending has improved immensely. I supect Daley's defensive structures were a BIG part of the problem…