NRL 2018: Chris Lawrence puts hand up for captaincy at new-look Wests Tigers

[king_sirro]

I believe there is a possibility of a real smoky being considered. Dont rule out Matt Eisenhuth. I know he's just half a season into his career, but you could see in his first game his maturity and ability to lead. Former state cup captain who came straight in and took on a leadership role in his very first game. At 25, he's at a good age, and was showing the ability to play 80 minutes, lead from the front and be one of the main talkers in the team. My guess is that if he gets close, he's more likely to go vice captain, but i wouldn't be shocked to see him with the top job. If this was his 3rd or 4th year in the top grade i think he'd be a certainty for the job.

I would be very shocked and surprised ….I agree maybe down the track but now?
No way

Your probably right.

But gee there is something that draws me to this guy. The way he talks, the way he plays, he ticks all the boxes except experience.

Its very hard for any outsider to judge who should be captain. Its imperative to know whats going on behind closed doors to make a true judgement. However my gut has every faith in Eiso being an outsanding leader.

 

[wmlmaster]

For the record I was under the opinion this time last year that Brooks was the least important of the so call “big 4” and should be the first to go out of the 4.

Right now I believe Brooks should be given the captaincy as this will either force the message from the coaching staff that it is his team to steer around. This will have one of two possible outcomes 1\. force positive responsibility on him and possibly make him realise that his no longer a kid, or, 2\. it may go south whereby it will determine that his time is up and that we need to go in another direction. For me it is a win/win situation

Ps I hope he is up for the task as only time will tell

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I just don’t see it in Brooks. If Moses was still here, I’d have been more inclined to have given to him, because he has the personality. Brooks doesn’t need the captaincy to give him ownership of the team. He should have it already being halfback.

 

[underdog]

I just don’t see it in Brooks. If Moses was still here, I’d have been more inclined to have given to him, because he has the personality. Brooks doesn’t need the captaincy to give him ownership of the team. _**He should have it already being halfback.**_

Thats's a fair call right there TBH.

Eiso is an interesting left field one.

 

[wmlmaster]

I just don’t see it in Brooks. If Moses was still here, I’d have been more inclined to have given to him, because he has the personality. Brooks doesn’t need the captaincy to give him ownership of the team. He should have it already being halfback.

You are right about the difference in personalities but this time around there is no best mates to worry about stepping on their toes, also, there are no more excuses of the past as we should have a more dominant forward pack assembled for him this year.

 

[Snake]

Rowdy has the the ability to be captain but realistically he will be struggling to make the side to be frank . I see no future except ISP and an injury replacement he is well and truly past it IMO.

 

[Masterton]

IF he makes the run on side then yes…But I don't think he will....our back row could be:

Taylor, Aloiai
Eisenhuth

or

Aloiai, Lawrence
Taylor

or

McQueen, Aloiai
Hooth

 

[Tacky]

Lawrence, Taylor Co-captains. It's honestly the only way I see it working.

 

[steve-o]

No for me as popular and respected as he is.

Can not have a captain that is not in your best starting side every week.

I would go ET as I think reynolds has enough on his plate at a new club.

I agree Eddie - Taylor for captain. Even if it's just for 2018, then Ivan can reassess next offseason. I think Reynolds will end up the next long term captain, but as a new recruit he's got enough pressure without the added burden of the captaincy.

 

[Mac_tiger]

We all agree that Rowdy will struggle to make the top 17, but even if he does i can't think of a reason to pick him. That said I like a captain who gets in the face of referees a la Geoff Toovey.

We need someone smart enough and quick witted enough to know when and how to take the refs on. Farah did it the best for us and while he got under the skin of some referees, I think he managed to achieve better outcomes than Woods did, who of course hardly spoke to the refs.

I'd be going for Reynolds, with ET and Packer as back ups. Rowdy club captain by all means.

 

[happy_tiger]

Lawrence is perfect…. IF he's in the starting 13, and it needs to be someone who'd almost be a walk up into the team.

Grub hasn't been there long enough, so in all honesty, it needs to be someone like Taylor, or dare I say it - Luke Brooks.

Brooks doesn’t have the temperament. Scared of his own shadow.

I agree with the immediate sentiment, however I think if he DOES take ownership of this team without the distractions, he may have it in him to be a captain.

Why not throw him in, and show the guy faith? I never would have thought Steve Smith could be a decent Australian cricket team captain, however he relished the opportunity, and his stats reflected a substantial lift in his game since becoming captain.

I'm for making Brooks a co captain along with Rowdy and someone else , or even make him captain of the backs

Comparing him to Steve Smith though …...after hearing how players are saying he is the hardest working cricketer of any player they have ever seen , I doubt Brooks has that dedication to his game , I vaguely remember someone mentioning which player from the squad was first to arrive and last to leave but it wasn't Brooks

 

[Geo]

We all agree that Rowdy will struggle to make the top 17, but even if he does i can't think of a reason to pick him. That said I like a captain who gets in the face of referees a la Geoff Toovey.

We need someone smart enough and quick witted enough to know when and how to take the refs on. Farah did it the best for us and while he got under the skin of some referees, I think he managed to achieve better outcomes than Woods did, who of course hardly spoke to the refs.

I'd be going for Reynolds, with ET and Packer as back ups. Rowdy club captain by all means.

The question for me is does Ivan Cleary believe Rowdy will struggle to make the 17..? …apart from McQueen who is similar to Lawrence.. we have the same back row options as 2017...

We fit Lawrence was picked every week..

 

[GNR4LIFE]

**We all agree that Rowdy will struggle to make the top 17,**but even if he does i can't think of a reason to pick him. That said I like a captain who gets in the face of referees a la Geoff Toovey.

We need someone smart enough and quick witted enough to know when and how to take the refs on. Farah did it the best for us and while he got under the skin of some referees, I think he managed to achieve better outcomes than Woods did, who of course hardly spoke to the refs.

I'd be going for Reynolds, with ET and Packer as back ups. Rowdy club captain by all means.

I don’t agree at all. He’ll be on the bench at the very least most weeks.

 

[Fibros]

I nominated Brooks a few weeks ago and thought I would be run outta town. If Brooks demands to be captain I would hand it to him for the above mentioned reasons.

 

[sheer64]

I would love Brooks to be the captain but I am not even sure he is our long term halfback. ET would still be my first choice, but I would love to see someone who stands up to the referees on the field when needed. The way I see it is if we are getting the rough end of the pineapple we don't need to be nice about it!

 

[bbobb]

If Ivan goes with co-captains, then I think you would want to have Sone diversity in the role. I am supporter of either Rowdy or Elijah getting the gig but they both bring similar skill sets. They are both intelligent, articulate with media, train well, seem to be good communicators and are good role models on and off the field.

If that is the case, we need some other skills in the other candidate. I'd like someone who wears their heart on their sleeve, shows passion and will get others to follow them when the chips are down. A type of character who isn't afraid to rip into someone for not doing their job or will pull off a massive tackle just to inspire their team mates. Perhaps I'm underestimating Rowdy and Elijah but they don't strike me as that sort of personality.

The most obvious choice for this role is Reynolds but I would also throw Noffa (a bit left field) and Rusty Packer into the mix as well.

If it is going to be co-captains, we have to get the balance right!

 

[sideline_eye]

With all those people going for candidates "out of left field" I can't see Ivan doing that. Brooks is still struggling to take any ownership of this side and has a lot to prove, even though I think he seems to be a nice bloke - but captain??

The captain will be someone who has plenty of experience and is highly respected by the players and the club. That, to me, rules out any newcomers and also Brooks, so I think it's between Taylor and Lawrence.