Round 1 Team

[fibrodreaming]

We need a great year from the 7 or we are just making up the numbers again

First and foremost we need a great year from our pack. It's essential that we are able to roll up the field and contain the opposition's go forward. We need field position and our share of the ball. Without that foundation, the best halves in the game wont get us into the 8.

 

[twentyforty]

We need a great year from the 7 or we are just making up the numbers again

First and foremost we need a great year from our pack. It's essential that we are able to roll up the field and contain the opposition's go forward. We need field position and our share of the ball. Without that foundation, the best halves in the game wont get us into the 8.

Exactly! We need a hooker who can take our forwards up the high diddle diddle and just like a chess game, control the centre.

 

[JC99]

Should be talking about the halfback spot not the hooker.

We are good at hooker, at halfback we really need Brooks to step up this season.

He is under a fair bit of pressure as our chances this year revolve around the halfback position. We need a great year from the 7 or we are just making up the numbers again

He can't afford to have 3 try assists all season that's for sure

I think we have the talent in the halves. We just need to have them settled. I would have Brooks and Laurie with Madden next in line and AD at 3,4 or 13. Sure I understand we got rid of Benji so Adam could move to 6, but I’m still on the fence with that move. It’s the fullback spot where we are weakest imo. Not particularly excited about what I saw in the trial from our fb. Mbye could have a better season without injury and the captaincy responsibilities? But unless we get a new fb , I see that as our weakness.

I don't think Brooks is a halfback. He doesn't have the footy smarts to manage a game and turn momentum in favour for his team and that's been evident every time he's played for us. I think he's a good player at his best just not a halfback that should lead the team around

Laurie will be good at fullback, he's a game breaker.

 

[JC99]

We need a great year from the 7 or we are just making up the numbers again

First and foremost we need a great year from our pack. It's essential that we are able to roll up the field and contain the opposition's go forward. We need field position and our share of the ball. Without that foundation, the best halves in the game wont get us into the 8.

Field position also goes down to the halves. Of course forwards need to roll up the middle but if your halves can't put a good kick in and get you down the other end of the field it's pointless. All the best halfbacks on the game can find the grass in the corner of the field and turn momentum, brooks rarely finds the turf with his kicks and gives up a good 20-30 metres to the opposition.

Getting repeat sets are important too to build pressure and maintain field position and brooks is normally good at that but struggled last year with it

 

[sleeve]

Should be talking about the halfback spot not the hooker.

We are good at hooker, at halfback we really need Brooks to step up this season.

He is under a fair bit of pressure as our chances this year revolve around the halfback position. We need a great year from the 7 or we are just making up the numbers again

He can't afford to have 3 try assists all season that's for sure

I think we have the talent in the halves. We just need to have them settled. I would have Brooks and Laurie with Madden next in line and AD at 3,4 or 13. Sure I understand we got rid of Benji so Adam could move to 6, but I’m still on the fence with that move. It’s the fullback spot where we are weakest imo. Not particularly excited about what I saw in the trial from our fb. Mbye could have a better season without injury and the captaincy responsibilities? But unless we get a new fb , I see that as our weakness.

I have been mentioning this problem for many weeks. Laurie i think will be great at FB, but if inured or suspended the only option is Mbye, and that did not work last year. I hope he kills it this year,but i doubt it.There is also the uncertainty of his future with the club. Then we have many saying Laurie to be 5/8. With any of these scenarios it is obvious we need a quality backup for fullback. The fullbacks combination with the spine is crucial,it's one of the main reasons our halves struggle.

 

[Geo]

contain the opposition’s go forward.

This is more important...as scoring points won't help when the opposition scores 30+ a game..like 10 weeks in a row..

 

[TrueTiger]

We all have to agree that this has been a great off season recruitment wise..The hooker position is Liddles to lose in my opinion,he has an opportunity to show his undeniable skills within the role as long as he is injury free..
Mbye will be our fb as he has been training there all off season and no captaining responsibilities or injuries will allow him to play the way he did when he first played for us in 2018,I think he will have a much better year...
Madden,Laurie and many other young talented guys may be a little way off NRL selection,they will need time and games under their belts in CC this year..
If you look at the big picture,you can see why the club has extened Madge,he has quality young guys coming up and experienced NRL players to mentor them as they go along..
Madge will get us in the finals and establish a culture that is completely the opposite of what we the fans have seen for many years,it just takes time and hard work...none of us can doubt the integrity and passion that Madge has displayed while on this journey...he deserves a shot and much support from us...

 

[avocadoontoast]

We all have to agree that this has been a great off season recruitment wise..The hooker position is Liddles to lose in my opinion,he has an opportunity to show his undeniable skills within the role as long as he is injury free..
Mbye will be our fb as he has been training there all off season and no captaining responsibilities or injuries will allow him to play the way he did when he first played for us in 2018,I think he will have a much better year...
Madden,Laurie and many other young talented guys may be a little way off NRL selection,they will need time and games under their belts in CC this year..
If you look at the big picture,you can see why the club has extened Madge,he has quality young guys coming up and experienced NRL players to mentor them as they go along..
Madge will get us in the finals and establish a culture that is completely the opposite of what we the fans have seen for many years,it just takes time and hard work...none of us can doubt the integrity and passion that Madge has displayed while on this journey...he deserves a shot and much support from us...

I agree that the recruitment this offseason has been really, really good. But I think a lot of the credit for that needs to go to Hartigan. Since he joined in Mid 2019 we've added AD, Tamou, Roberts, Luciano, Ofahengaue, Musgrove, Blore, Laurie, Simpkin, Simpkins, Stefano, BJ and AJ. We've also managed to move on Reynolds.

Prior to him arriving we signed Jennings and were looking to sign Mannah.

Also I think Laurie is absolutely ready for NRL.

 

[Russell]

Laurie
Nofoaluma
B Leilua
Roberts
Talau
Mbye
Brooks
Tamou
Liddle
Twal
Tuilagi
L Lailua
Ofahengaue

Mikalele
Utoikamanu
Simpkins
Seyfarth

Can w3 confirm its Jake simpkins or tuki simpkins on bench

I would have Jake Simpkin on the bench after re;watching the trial, I would be close to having Simpkins as well.

Simpkin and Tuki should be on the bench. Seyfarth drops out. Garner will be starting I'd say, Tuilagi and Tuki may battle it out for a bench spot. Back coverage is a worry though, but hopefully that doesn't matter 1st game

Jake Simpkin looked better than Liddle think the 9 is still open for performance on next week trial

He was definitely better at hogging the ball and running on the fifth tackle, I'll give you that.

Haha oh dear

Look I don’t think a reserve grade trial is going to have a lot of team structure going, it’s more than likely madge told them to treat it as a game of back yard footy because I did not see a clear game plan out there

What was clear to me was he was a level above the opposition & he’s only 19 years old

Laurie
Nofoaluma
B Leilua
Roberts
Talau
Mbye
Brooks
Tamou
Liddle
Twal
Tuilagi
L Lailua
Ofahengaue

Mikalele
Utoikamanu
Simpkins
Seyfarth

Can w3 confirm its Jake simpkins or tuki simpkins on bench

I would have Jake Simpkin on the bench after re;watching the trial, I would be close to having Simpkins as well.

Simpkin and Tuki should be on the bench. Seyfarth drops out. Garner will be starting I'd say, Tuilagi and Tuki may battle it out for a bench spot. Back coverage is a worry though, but hopefully that doesn't matter 1st game

Jake Simpkin looked better than Liddle think the 9 is still open for performance on next week trial

He was definitely better at hogging the ball and running on the fifth tackle, I'll give you that.

Haha oh dear

Look I don’t think a reserve grade trial is going to have a lot of team structure going, it’s more than likely madge told them to treat it as a game of back yard footy because I did not see a clear game plan out there

What was clear to me was he was a level above the opposition & he’s only 19 years old

It was clear to me that there was more structure and a semblance of a game plan when Liddle came on.

May have just been a coincidence say the Simpkin barrel pushers. Lol

In a reserve grade trial I doubt that’s to be expected. Majority of the players in that game had barely even trained together yet alone played a single game together, case in point Laurie

Why is it bad if Simpkin plays well anyway?

Don't get why people have to make it liddle vs Simpkin. They both play for us and both played well in the trial game, can't we just be happy they did well without comparing them and making crap up about how good/bad they played? ? keen to see how they go this week

I thought a Forum (by definition) was a great place to promote discussion on various topics. I would have thought that comparing Liddle with Simpkin (especially as they both play the same position) would have been a reasonable subject for discussion. I have spent many weeks reading on here how Simpkin was the next Messiah or at the very least the new Harry Grant without even having played a single NRL game. I have read how he will be the starting Hooker and Liddle will be on the bench. I have read if we buy Branden Smith or player 'X' and we have Simpkin it will be "see ya" Liddle. I have read how fit and solid Simpkin is and how injury prone Liddle is. I have read that maybe his contract won't be renewed, that he will go to "The Dogs" or we could swap him for various players we may need.

Many of these thoughts have been expressed by you jc99 and now you ask "why people have to make it Liddle vs Simpkin?"

Would have thought the answer was obvious.

Hahahaha what? Please show me where I've said anything like that. Every single time I've talked about either of our hookers I've tried my best to stay balanced. In fact every time I've predicted our team I've had Liddle as our starting hooker, I'm a big fan of his. You can literally check this thread and see I've rated Liddle over Simpkin. Other people have had over the top expectations of Simpkin but I've stayed quite reasonable, you must have me confused with someone else champ, so please don't make things up and put words in my mouth with no evidence.

You seem to think that only Simpkin or Liddle can be on the team and let favouritism cloud your judgement continually. They can both have a role in our team but you don't see that and for some reason Insist on rubbishing Simpkin to make Liddle seem better, and it's just as annoying when certain people (I think we know who) rubbish Liddle for no reason at all to make Simpkin seem better.

Just don't get why it's one or the other for some People! I like them both!

The point I was making - People were comparing the both of them, one or the other etc. even you as shown below.

Cam Smith 75283
Not sure signing the best hooker in the game needs much explaining besides ‘we want to win games’

Comparison 46 Round one team
Stef was one I was really keeping and eye on and he was excellent. I thought Simpkin was better than Liddle in the game but Liddle still played well, Simpkin did well at lock too.

Comparison 52 Round one Team
Liddle was definitely just cruising because he only ran the ball properly twice and one of those times he lost us a few metres. Again he didn’t play bad but Simpkin showed way more out there yesterday.
Running hookers are the way of the future, even Madge mentioned he liked what Simpkin did and Liddle looked good when he did run so I reckon that’s what he wants.

Comparison 55 Round one Team
He did it once and I’m sure he learned his lesson. Besides that he was making good metres and getting us rolling with his runs and his passing was good too, the only concern I had with him was the fact he fell off one or two tackles. Sounds like the starting position is up for grabs but they’ll probably share the role anyway playing similar minutes

Have not the time or the inclination to endlessly scroll through pages of.....

 

[JC99]

Laurie
Nofoaluma
B Leilua
Roberts
Talau
Mbye
Brooks
Tamou
Liddle
Twal
Tuilagi
L Lailua
Ofahengaue

Mikalele
Utoikamanu
Simpkins
Seyfarth

Can w3 confirm its Jake simpkins or tuki simpkins on bench

I would have Jake Simpkin on the bench after re;watching the trial, I would be close to having Simpkins as well.

Simpkin and Tuki should be on the bench. Seyfarth drops out. Garner will be starting I'd say, Tuilagi and Tuki may battle it out for a bench spot. Back coverage is a worry though, but hopefully that doesn't matter 1st game

Jake Simpkin looked better than Liddle think the 9 is still open for performance on next week trial

He was definitely better at hogging the ball and running on the fifth tackle, I'll give you that.

Haha oh dear

Look I don’t think a reserve grade trial is going to have a lot of team structure going, it’s more than likely madge told them to treat it as a game of back yard footy because I did not see a clear game plan out there

What was clear to me was he was a level above the opposition & he’s only 19 years old

Laurie
Nofoaluma
B Leilua
Roberts
Talau
Mbye
Brooks
Tamou
Liddle
Twal
Tuilagi
L Lailua
Ofahengaue

Mikalele
Utoikamanu
Simpkins
Seyfarth

Can w3 confirm its Jake simpkins or tuki simpkins on bench

I would have Jake Simpkin on the bench after re;watching the trial, I would be close to having Simpkins as well.

Simpkin and Tuki should be on the bench. Seyfarth drops out. Garner will be starting I'd say, Tuilagi and Tuki may battle it out for a bench spot. Back coverage is a worry though, but hopefully that doesn't matter 1st game

Jake Simpkin looked better than Liddle think the 9 is still open for performance on next week trial

He was definitely better at hogging the ball and running on the fifth tackle, I'll give you that.

Haha oh dear

Look I don’t think a reserve grade trial is going to have a lot of team structure going, it’s more than likely madge told them to treat it as a game of back yard footy because I did not see a clear game plan out there

What was clear to me was he was a level above the opposition & he’s only 19 years old

It was clear to me that there was more structure and a semblance of a game plan when Liddle came on.

May have just been a coincidence say the Simpkin barrel pushers. Lol

In a reserve grade trial I doubt that’s to be expected. Majority of the players in that game had barely even trained together yet alone played a single game together, case in point Laurie

Why is it bad if Simpkin plays well anyway?

Don't get why people have to make it liddle vs Simpkin. They both play for us and both played well in the trial game, can't we just be happy they did well without comparing them and making crap up about how good/bad they played? ? keen to see how they go this week

I thought a Forum (by definition) was a great place to promote discussion on various topics. I would have thought that comparing Liddle with Simpkin (especially as they both play the same position) would have been a reasonable subject for discussion. I have spent many weeks reading on here how Simpkin was the next Messiah or at the very least the new Harry Grant without even having played a single NRL game. I have read how he will be the starting Hooker and Liddle will be on the bench. I have read if we buy Branden Smith or player 'X' and we have Simpkin it will be "see ya" Liddle. I have read how fit and solid Simpkin is and how injury prone Liddle is. I have read that maybe his contract won't be renewed, that he will go to "The Dogs" or we could swap him for various players we may need.

Many of these thoughts have been expressed by you jc99 and now you ask "why people have to make it Liddle vs Simpkin?"

Would have thought the answer was obvious.

Hahahaha what? Please show me where I've said anything like that. Every single time I've talked about either of our hookers I've tried my best to stay balanced. In fact every time I've predicted our team I've had Liddle as our starting hooker, I'm a big fan of his. You can literally check this thread and see I've rated Liddle over Simpkin. Other people have had over the top expectations of Simpkin but I've stayed quite reasonable, you must have me confused with someone else champ, so please don't make things up and put words in my mouth with no evidence.

You seem to think that only Simpkin or Liddle can be on the team and let favouritism cloud your judgement continually. They can both have a role in our team but you don't see that and for some reason Insist on rubbishing Simpkin to make Liddle seem better, and it's just as annoying when certain people (I think we know who) rubbish Liddle for no reason at all to make Simpkin seem better.

Just don't get why it's one or the other for some People! I like them both!

The point I was making - People were comparing the both of them, one or the other etc. even you as shown below.

Cam Smith 75283
Not sure signing the best hooker in the game needs much explaining besides ‘we want to win games’

Comparison 46 Round one team
Stef was one I was really keeping and eye on and he was excellent. I thought Simpkin was better than Liddle in the game but Liddle still played well, Simpkin did well at lock too.

Comparison 52 Round one Team
Liddle was definitely just cruising because he only ran the ball properly twice and one of those times he lost us a few metres. Again he didn’t play bad but Simpkin showed way more out there yesterday.
Running hookers are the way of the future, even Madge mentioned he liked what Simpkin did and Liddle looked good when he did run so I reckon that’s what he wants.

Comparison 55 Round one Team
He did it once and I’m sure he learned his lesson. Besides that he was making good metres and getting us rolling with his runs and his passing was good too, the only concern I had with him was the fact he fell off one or two tackles. Sounds like the starting position is up for grabs but they’ll probably share the role anyway playing similar minutes

Have not the time or the inclination to endlessly scroll through pages of.....

There big difference is I have no bias about my opinions between the two, and I'm not of the thinking that both can't be in our team every week, some people seem to think it's one or the other and tear down one of them for no apparent reason.

While I thought Simpkin did better in the trial I think Liddle will be our starting 9. Please do not put words in my mouth cause I never had of those other opinions you mentioned.

Comparing how they played is fine. Making it a battle saying oh Simpkin sucks and Liddle is great or vice versa because of personal bias is just stupid because they're both our players and they both have heaps of potential

Anyway I'm keen to see how they go this weekend and how they go for us in the regular season, it's exciting to have them both fit and playing

 

[JC99]

We all have to agree that this has been a great off season recruitment wise..The hooker position is Liddles to lose in my opinion,he has an opportunity to show his undeniable skills within the role as long as he is injury free..
Mbye will be our fb as he has been training there all off season and no captaining responsibilities or injuries will allow him to play the way he did when he first played for us in 2018,I think he will have a much better year...
Madden,Laurie and many other young talented guys may be a little way off NRL selection,they will need time and games under their belts in CC this year..
If you look at the big picture,you can see why the club has extened Madge,he has quality young guys coming up and experienced NRL players to mentor them as they go along..
Madge will get us in the finals and establish a culture that is completely the opposite of what we the fans have seen for many years,it just takes time and hard work...none of us can doubt the integrity and passion that Madge has displayed while on this journey...he deserves a shot and much support from us...

I agree that the recruitment this offseason has been really, really good. But I think a lot of the credit for that needs to go to Hartigan. Since he joined in Mid 2019 we've added AD, Tamou, Roberts, Luciano, Ofahengaue, Musgrove, Blore, Laurie, Simpkin, Simpkins, Stefano, BJ and AJ. We've also managed to move on Reynolds.

Prior to him arriving we signed Jennings and were looking to sign Mannah.

Also I think Laurie is absolutely ready for NRL.

The big thing for me is that everyone that's left has been replaced with someone who's better or who has way more potential. Sure they're not star players but it's a consistent upgrade of the overall squad

 

[avocadoontoast]

We all have to agree that this has been a great off season recruitment wise..The hooker position is Liddles to lose in my opinion,he has an opportunity to show his undeniable skills within the role as long as he is injury free..
Mbye will be our fb as he has been training there all off season and no captaining responsibilities or injuries will allow him to play the way he did when he first played for us in 2018,I think he will have a much better year...
Madden,Laurie and many other young talented guys may be a little way off NRL selection,they will need time and games under their belts in CC this year..
If you look at the big picture,you can see why the club has extened Madge,he has quality young guys coming up and experienced NRL players to mentor them as they go along..
Madge will get us in the finals and establish a culture that is completely the opposite of what we the fans have seen for many years,it just takes time and hard work...none of us can doubt the integrity and passion that Madge has displayed while on this journey...he deserves a shot and much support from us...

I agree that the recruitment this offseason has been really, really good. But I think a lot of the credit for that needs to go to Hartigan. Since he joined in Mid 2019 we've added AD, Tamou, Roberts, Luciano, Ofahengaue, Musgrove, Blore, Laurie, Simpkin, Simpkins, Stefano, BJ and AJ. We've also managed to move on Reynolds.

Prior to him arriving we signed Jennings and were looking to sign Mannah.

Also I think Laurie is absolutely ready for NRL.

The big thing for me is that everyone that's left has been replaced with someone who's better or who has way more potential. Sure they're not star players but it's a consistent upgrade of the overall squad

Our lineup this year is substantially better than last year imo, and 2022 should be much better again. We're not in a position to be pushing for a premiership, but we need drastic improvement this year.

 

[JC99]

We all have to agree that this has been a great off season recruitment wise..The hooker position is Liddles to lose in my opinion,he has an opportunity to show his undeniable skills within the role as long as he is injury free..
Mbye will be our fb as he has been training there all off season and no captaining responsibilities or injuries will allow him to play the way he did when he first played for us in 2018,I think he will have a much better year...
Madden,Laurie and many other young talented guys may be a little way off NRL selection,they will need time and games under their belts in CC this year..
If you look at the big picture,you can see why the club has extened Madge,he has quality young guys coming up and experienced NRL players to mentor them as they go along..
Madge will get us in the finals and establish a culture that is completely the opposite of what we the fans have seen for many years,it just takes time and hard work...none of us can doubt the integrity and passion that Madge has displayed while on this journey...he deserves a shot and much support from us...

I agree that the recruitment this offseason has been really, really good. But I think a lot of the credit for that needs to go to Hartigan. Since he joined in Mid 2019 we've added AD, Tamou, Roberts, Luciano, Ofahengaue, Musgrove, Blore, Laurie, Simpkin, Simpkins, Stefano, BJ and AJ. We've also managed to move on Reynolds.

Prior to him arriving we signed Jennings and were looking to sign Mannah.

Also I think Laurie is absolutely ready for NRL.

The big thing for me is that everyone that's left has been replaced with someone who's better or who has way more potential. Sure they're not star players but it's a consistent upgrade of the overall squad

Our lineup this year is substantially better than last year imo, and 2022 should be much better again. We're not in a position to be pushing for a premiership, but we need drastic improvement this year.

If our new signings all perform there's no reason we couldn't sneak into the 8. Biggest issues are defence and whether our new spine will work.

 

[avocadoontoast]

We all have to agree that this has been a great off season recruitment wise..The hooker position is Liddles to lose in my opinion,he has an opportunity to show his undeniable skills within the role as long as he is injury free..
Mbye will be our fb as he has been training there all off season and no captaining responsibilities or injuries will allow him to play the way he did when he first played for us in 2018,I think he will have a much better year...
Madden,Laurie and many other young talented guys may be a little way off NRL selection,they will need time and games under their belts in CC this year..
If you look at the big picture,you can see why the club has extened Madge,he has quality young guys coming up and experienced NRL players to mentor them as they go along..
Madge will get us in the finals and establish a culture that is completely the opposite of what we the fans have seen for many years,it just takes time and hard work...none of us can doubt the integrity and passion that Madge has displayed while on this journey...he deserves a shot and much support from us...

I agree that the recruitment this offseason has been really, really good. But I think a lot of the credit for that needs to go to Hartigan. Since he joined in Mid 2019 we've added AD, Tamou, Roberts, Luciano, Ofahengaue, Musgrove, Blore, Laurie, Simpkin, Simpkins, Stefano, BJ and AJ. We've also managed to move on Reynolds.

Prior to him arriving we signed Jennings and were looking to sign Mannah.

Also I think Laurie is absolutely ready for NRL.

The big thing for me is that everyone that's left has been replaced with someone who's better or who has way more potential. Sure they're not star players but it's a consistent upgrade of the overall squad

Our lineup this year is substantially better than last year imo, and 2022 should be much better again. We're not in a position to be pushing for a premiership, but we need drastic improvement this year.

If our new signings all perform there's no reason we couldn't sneak into the 8. Biggest issues are defence and whether our new spine will work.

Defence is a huge issue. I think our spine will go ok but i'm very worried about Brooks.

 

[Russell]

Laurie
Nofoaluma
B Leilua
Roberts
Talau
Mbye
Brooks
Tamou
Liddle
Twal
Tuilagi
L Lailua
Ofahengaue

Mikalele
Utoikamanu
Simpkins
Seyfarth

Can w3 confirm its Jake simpkins or tuki simpkins on bench

I would have Jake Simpkin on the bench after re;watching the trial, I would be close to having Simpkins as well.

Simpkin and Tuki should be on the bench. Seyfarth drops out. Garner will be starting I'd say, Tuilagi and Tuki may battle it out for a bench spot. Back coverage is a worry though, but hopefully that doesn't matter 1st game

Jake Simpkin looked better than Liddle think the 9 is still open for performance on next week trial

He was definitely better at hogging the ball and running on the fifth tackle, I'll give you that.

Haha oh dear

Look I don’t think a reserve grade trial is going to have a lot of team structure going, it’s more than likely madge told them to treat it as a game of back yard footy because I did not see a clear game plan out there

What was clear to me was he was a level above the opposition & he’s only 19 years old

Laurie
Nofoaluma
B Leilua
Roberts
Talau
Mbye
Brooks
Tamou
Liddle
Twal
Tuilagi
L Lailua
Ofahengaue

Mikalele
Utoikamanu
Simpkins
Seyfarth

Can w3 confirm its Jake simpkins or tuki simpkins on bench

I would have Jake Simpkin on the bench after re;watching the trial, I would be close to having Simpkins as well.

Simpkin and Tuki should be on the bench. Seyfarth drops out. Garner will be starting I'd say, Tuilagi and Tuki may battle it out for a bench spot. Back coverage is a worry though, but hopefully that doesn't matter 1st game

Jake Simpkin looked better than Liddle think the 9 is still open for performance on next week trial

He was definitely better at hogging the ball and running on the fifth tackle, I'll give you that.

Haha oh dear

Look I don’t think a reserve grade trial is going to have a lot of team structure going, it’s more than likely madge told them to treat it as a game of back yard footy because I did not see a clear game plan out there

What was clear to me was he was a level above the opposition & he’s only 19 years old

It was clear to me that there was more structure and a semblance of a game plan when Liddle came on.

May have just been a coincidence say the Simpkin barrel pushers. Lol

In a reserve grade trial I doubt that’s to be expected. Majority of the players in that game had barely even trained together yet alone played a single game together, case in point Laurie

Why is it bad if Simpkin plays well anyway?

Don't get why people have to make it liddle vs Simpkin. They both play for us and both played well in the trial game, can't we just be happy they did well without comparing them and making crap up about how good/bad they played? ? keen to see how they go this week

I thought a Forum (by definition) was a great place to promote discussion on various topics. I would have thought that comparing Liddle with Simpkin (especially as they both play the same position) would have been a reasonable subject for discussion. I have spent many weeks reading on here how Simpkin was the next Messiah or at the very least the new Harry Grant without even having played a single NRL game. I have read how he will be the starting Hooker and Liddle will be on the bench. I have read if we buy Branden Smith or player 'X' and we have Simpkin it will be "see ya" Liddle. I have read how fit and solid Simpkin is and how injury prone Liddle is. I have read that maybe his contract won't be renewed, that he will go to "The Dogs" or we could swap him for various players we may need.

Many of these thoughts have been expressed by you jc99 and now you ask "why people have to make it Liddle vs Simpkin?"

Would have thought the answer was obvious.

Hahahaha what? Please show me where I've said anything like that. Every single time I've talked about either of our hookers I've tried my best to stay balanced. In fact every time I've predicted our team I've had Liddle as our starting hooker, I'm a big fan of his. You can literally check this thread and see I've rated Liddle over Simpkin. Other people have had over the top expectations of Simpkin but I've stayed quite reasonable, you must have me confused with someone else champ, so please don't make things up and put words in my mouth with no evidence.

You seem to think that only Simpkin or Liddle can be on the team and let favouritism cloud your judgement continually. They can both have a role in our team but you don't see that and for some reason Insist on rubbishing Simpkin to make Liddle seem better, and it's just as annoying when certain people (I think we know who) rubbish Liddle for no reason at all to make Simpkin seem better.

Just don't get why it's one or the other for some People! I like them both!

The point I was making - People were comparing the both of them, one or the other etc. even you as shown below.

Cam Smith 75283
Not sure signing the best hooker in the game needs much explaining besides ‘we want to win games’

Comparison 46 Round one team
Stef was one I was really keeping and eye on and he was excellent. I thought Simpkin was better than Liddle in the game but Liddle still played well, Simpkin did well at lock too.

Comparison 52 Round one Team
Liddle was definitely just cruising because he only ran the ball properly twice and one of those times he lost us a few metres. Again he didn’t play bad but Simpkin showed way more out there yesterday.
Running hookers are the way of the future, even Madge mentioned he liked what Simpkin did and Liddle looked good when he did run so I reckon that’s what he wants.

Comparison 55 Round one Team
He did it once and I’m sure he learned his lesson. Besides that he was making good metres and getting us rolling with his runs and his passing was good too, the only concern I had with him was the fact he fell off one or two tackles. Sounds like the starting position is up for grabs but they’ll probably share the role anyway playing similar minutes

Have not the time or the inclination to endlessly scroll through pages of.....

There big difference is I have no bias about my opinions between the two, and I'm not of the thinking that both can't be in our team every week, some people seem to think it's one or the other and tear down one of them for no apparent reason.

While I thought Simpkin did better in the trial I think Liddle will be our starting 9. Please do not put words in my mouth cause I never had of those other opinions you mentioned.

Comparing how they played is fine. Making it a battle saying oh Simpkin sucks and Liddle is great or vice versa because of personal bias is just stupid because they're both our players and they both have heaps of potential

Anyway I'm keen to see how they go this weekend and how they go for us in the regular season, it's exciting to have them both fit and playing

Laurie
Nofoaluma
B Leilua
Roberts
Talau
Mbye
Brooks
Tamou
Liddle
Twal
Tuilagi
L Lailua
Ofahengaue

Mikalele
Utoikamanu
Simpkins
Seyfarth

Can w3 confirm its Jake simpkins or tuki simpkins on bench

I would have Jake Simpkin on the bench after re;watching the trial, I would be close to having Simpkins as well.

Simpkin and Tuki should be on the bench. Seyfarth drops out. Garner will be starting I'd say, Tuilagi and Tuki may battle it out for a bench spot. Back coverage is a worry though, but hopefully that doesn't matter 1st game

Jake Simpkin looked better than Liddle think the 9 is still open for performance on next week trial

He was definitely better at hogging the ball and running on the fifth tackle, I'll give you that.

Haha oh dear

Look I don’t think a reserve grade trial is going to have a lot of team structure going, it’s more than likely madge told them to treat it as a game of back yard footy because I did not see a clear game plan out there

What was clear to me was he was a level above the opposition & he’s only 19 years old

Laurie
Nofoaluma
B Leilua
Roberts
Talau
Mbye
Brooks
Tamou
Liddle
Twal
Tuilagi
L Lailua
Ofahengaue

Mikalele
Utoikamanu
Simpkins
Seyfarth

Can w3 confirm its Jake simpkins or tuki simpkins on bench

I would have Jake Simpkin on the bench after re;watching the trial, I would be close to having Simpkins as well.

Simpkin and Tuki should be on the bench. Seyfarth drops out. Garner will be starting I'd say, Tuilagi and Tuki may battle it out for a bench spot. Back coverage is a worry though, but hopefully that doesn't matter 1st game

Jake Simpkin looked better than Liddle think the 9 is still open for performance on next week trial

He was definitely better at hogging the ball and running on the fifth tackle, I'll give you that.

Haha oh dear

Look I don’t think a reserve grade trial is going to have a lot of team structure going, it’s more than likely madge told them to treat it as a game of back yard footy because I did not see a clear game plan out there

What was clear to me was he was a level above the opposition & he’s only 19 years old

It was clear to me that there was more structure and a semblance of a game plan when Liddle came on.

May have just been a coincidence say the Simpkin barrel pushers. Lol

In a reserve grade trial I doubt that’s to be expected. Majority of the players in that game had barely even trained together yet alone played a single game together, case in point Laurie

Why is it bad if Simpkin plays well anyway?

Don't get why people have to make it liddle vs Simpkin. They both play for us and both played well in the trial game, can't we just be happy they did well without comparing them and making crap up about how good/bad they played? ? keen to see how they go this week

I thought a Forum (by definition) was a great place to promote discussion on various topics. I would have thought that comparing Liddle with Simpkin (especially as they both play the same position) would have been a reasonable subject for discussion. I have spent many weeks reading on here how Simpkin was the next Messiah or at the very least the new Harry Grant without even having played a single NRL game. I have read how he will be the starting Hooker and Liddle will be on the bench. I have read if we buy Branden Smith or player 'X' and we have Simpkin it will be "see ya" Liddle. I have read how fit and solid Simpkin is and how injury prone Liddle is. I have read that maybe his contract won't be renewed, that he will go to "The Dogs" or we could swap him for various players we may need.

Many of these thoughts have been expressed by you jc99 and now you ask "why people have to make it Liddle vs Simpkin?"

Would have thought the answer was obvious.

Hahahaha what? Please show me where I've said anything like that. Every single time I've talked about either of our hookers I've tried my best to stay balanced. In fact every time I've predicted our team I've had Liddle as our starting hooker, I'm a big fan of his. You can literally check this thread and see I've rated Liddle over Simpkin. Other people have had over the top expectations of Simpkin but I've stayed quite reasonable, you must have me confused with someone else champ, so please don't make things up and put words in my mouth with no evidence.

You seem to think that only Simpkin or Liddle can be on the team and let favouritism cloud your judgement continually. They can both have a role in our team but you don't see that and for some reason Insist on rubbishing Simpkin to make Liddle seem better, and it's just as annoying when certain people (I think we know who) rubbish Liddle for no reason at all to make Simpkin seem better.

Just don't get why it's one or the other for some People! I like them both!

The point I was making - People were comparing the both of them, one or the other etc. even you as shown below.

Cam Smith 75283
Not sure signing the best hooker in the game needs much explaining besides ‘we want to win games’

Comparison 46 Round one team
Stef was one I was really keeping and eye on and he was excellent. I thought Simpkin was better than Liddle in the game but Liddle still played well, Simpkin did well at lock too.

Comparison 52 Round one Team
Liddle was definitely just cruising because he only ran the ball properly twice and one of those times he lost us a few metres. Again he didn’t play bad but Simpkin showed way more out there yesterday.
Running hookers are the way of the future, even Madge mentioned he liked what Simpkin did and Liddle looked good when he did run so I reckon that’s what he wants.

Comparison 55 Round one Team
He did it once and I’m sure he learned his lesson. Besides that he was making good metres and getting us rolling with his runs and his passing was good too, the only concern I had with him was the fact he fell off one or two tackles. Sounds like the starting position is up for grabs but they’ll probably share the role anyway playing similar minutes

Have not the time or the inclination to endlessly scroll through pages of.....

There big difference is I have no bias about my opinions between the two, and I'm not of the thinking that both can't be in our team every week, some people seem to think it's one or the other and tear down one of them for no apparent reason.

While I thought Simpkin did better in the trial I think Liddle will be our starting 9. Please do not put words in my mouth cause I never had of those other opinions you mentioned.

Comparing how they played is fine. Making it a battle saying oh Simpkin sucks and Liddle is great or vice versa because of personal bias is just stupid because they're both our players and they both have heaps of potential

Anyway I'm keen to see how they go this weekend and how they go for us in the regular season, it's exciting to have them both fit and playing

I didn't say you said all of those things, some maybe, especially why are people comparing .

Anyway let's get on with what we all hope is going to be a positive season.

 

[Needaname]

We all have to agree that this has been a great off season recruitment wise..The hooker position is Liddles to lose in my opinion,he has an opportunity to show his undeniable skills within the role as long as he is injury free..
Mbye will be our fb as he has been training there all off season and no captaining responsibilities or injuries will allow him to play the way he did when he first played for us in 2018,I think he will have a much better year...
Madden,Laurie and many other young talented guys may be a little way off NRL selection,they will need time and games under their belts in CC this year..
If you look at the big picture,you can see why the club has extened Madge,he has quality young guys coming up and experienced NRL players to mentor them as they go along..
Madge will get us in the finals and establish a culture that is completely the opposite of what we the fans have seen for many years,it just takes time and hard work...none of us can doubt the integrity and passion that Madge has displayed while on this journey...he deserves a shot and much support from us...

I agree that the recruitment this offseason has been really, really good. But I think a lot of the credit for that needs to go to Hartigan. Since he joined in Mid 2019 we've added AD, Tamou, Roberts, Luciano, Ofahengaue, Musgrove, Blore, Laurie, Simpkin, Simpkins, Stefano, BJ and AJ. We've also managed to move on Reynolds.

Prior to him arriving we signed Jennings and were looking to sign Mannah.

Also I think Laurie is absolutely ready for NRL.

The big thing for me is that everyone that's left has been replaced with someone who's better or who has way more potential. Sure they're not star players but it's a consistent upgrade of the overall squad

Our lineup this year is substantially better than last year imo, and 2022 should be much better again. We're not in a position to be pushing for a premiership, but we need drastic improvement this year.

Replace ‘substantially with potentially’ and I will agree

 

[Tiger5150]

For all those recently questioning why we let Benji go, it is all on display here and in his video.

He says that he stayed on the field longer than he should have in the All stars game because "he wanted to win" (and by extension he is the only one that can make that happen.

He is teaching Damien Cook how to pass.

He is at Souffs to teach them how success works (I assume that he learned all about success at Tigers?)

Man his ego is all consuming, I am so glad Madge let him go.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/why-benji-marshall-sprayed-rabbitohs-star-damien-cook/news-story/36f911a2eff89b7e3987628df499f410

 

[tigerap]

For all those recently questioning why we let Benji go, it is all on display here and in his video.

He says that he stayed on the field longer than he should have in the All stars game because "he wanted to win" (and by extension he is the only one that can make that happen.

He is teaching Damien Cook how to pass.

He is at Souffs to teach them how success works (I assume that he learned all about success at Tigers?)

Man his ego is all consuming, I am so glad Madge let him go.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/why-benji-marshall-sprayed-rabbitohs-star-damien-cook/news-story/36f911a2eff89b7e3987628df499f410

As the song from Frozen goes..... "let it go, let it go, let it go".

 

[tony soprano]

Apparently roberts has pectoral issue but expected back at trials

 

[weststigerman]

Apparently roberts has pectoral issue but expected back at trials

He did that last year when he was at souths, I think they're talking about that.