Round 1 Team

[Speed2burn]

I think in these sorts of trials the youngins tend to overplay their hand to impress (well duh) and come across as way too enthusiastic. They haven’t got a foot hold in NRL so they do everything they can in power to rate a mention, hence the dynamic of play in both Liddle and Jake’s game play last night was noticeably different . No matter which side of the fence you sit on, both will be a valuable asset to the team and will be in the 17 together at some time I feel

And also did anyone catch Blore with the heavily strapped wrist? Looks like the rumours of him having a broken hand were true. Tuki could maybe be a Smokey for round 1 with that news

 

[Geo]

I put it down to Simpkin not playing in a long time and super keen to impress the strengths of his game..which is getting out of dummy half..looked like he was going for glory over team ..

Funnily enough it reminded me of a guy in 2003 who did the exact same thing early in his career..that bloke Robbie Farah ended up pretty good..

 

[Speed2burn]

I put it down to Simpkin not playing in a long time and super keen to impress the strengths of his game..which is getting out of dummy half..looked like he was going for glory over team ..

Funnily enough it reminded me of a guy in 2003 who did the exact same thing early in his career..that bloke Robbie Farah ended up pretty good..

There was a lot of Farah in his game last night, it'll be super interesting to see how he squares up with the 1st graders next week

 

[Deleted member 3518]

On last nights performance Laurie goes to 6 for round 1 imo. I think Tuki and Stefano were really impressive.

I also don’t think Liddle is a shoe in, Simpkin looked good..

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.

Nah , disagree there. The team lacked direction and were all over the place . Exactly how Simpkin was playing. Liddle looked like , he was just cruising, and the team relaxed around that.

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.

Ok, but it affected the game plan. He ran on the last a couple of times . That’s not ok . I reserve judgement till next week , but I can see him getting a bollocking if he does that .

The ends of our sets in the opening half were terrible, we took the wrong option a number of times.

Did madden have a general field play kick ?

 

[cochise]

On last nights performance Laurie goes to 6 for round 1 imo. I think Tuki and Stefano were really impressive.

I also don’t think Liddle is a shoe in, Simpkin looked good..

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.

Nah , disagree there. The team lacked direction and were all over the place . Exactly how Simpkin was playing. Liddle looked like , he was just cruising, and the team relaxed around that.

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.

Ok, but it affected the game plan. He ran on the last a couple of times . That’s not ok . I reserve judgement till next week , but I can see him getting a bollocking if he does that .

The ends of our sets in the opening half were terrible, we took the wrong option a number of times.

Did madden have a general field play kick ?

Put up a mid field bomb on our own 20 lol.

 

[Deleted member 3518]

On last nights performance Laurie goes to 6 for round 1 imo. I think Tuki and Stefano were really impressive.

I also don’t think Liddle is a shoe in, Simpkin looked good..

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.

Nah , disagree there. The team lacked direction and were all over the place . Exactly how Simpkin was playing. Liddle looked like , he was just cruising, and the team relaxed around that.

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.

Ok, but it affected the game plan. He ran on the last a couple of times . That’s not ok . I reserve judgement till next week , but I can see him getting a bollocking if he does that .

The ends of our sets in the opening half were terrible, we took the wrong option a number of times.

Did madden have a general field play kick ?

Put up a mid field bomb on our own 20 lol.

I must admit, I not a big fan of the Chad Townsend , type half . Who has a strong kicking game and not much else . I’d much rather a brooks type , strong running game / passing game and the kicking needs work .

 

[JC99]

I said it before but I'd much rather a young player overplay their hand once or twice instead of being too scared to play what's in front of them. He'll learn with experience how to balance his game more but he looked dangerous plenty of times, plays a lot like Harry (obviously not as good though) but that style suits how the game is played now.

Can't wait to see him and Liddle sharing that role because I think they'll work very well together

 

[JC99]

I think in these sorts of trials the youngins tend to overplay their hand to impress (well duh) and come across as way too enthusiastic. They haven’t got a foot hold in NRL so they do everything they can in power to rate a mention, hence the dynamic of play in both Liddle and Jake’s game play last night was noticeably different . No matter which side of the fence you sit on, both will be a valuable asset to the team and will be in the 17 together at some time I feel

And also did anyone catch Blore with the heavily strapped wrist? Looks like the rumours of him having a broken hand were true. Tuki could maybe be a Smokey for round 1 with that news

Blore definitely has some sort of wrist/hand injury but club unsure how serious right now. If Tuki can perform in our next trial he deserves a run off the bench come round 1

 

[Deleted member 3518]

I think in these sorts of trials the youngins tend to overplay their hand to impress (well duh) and come across as way too enthusiastic. They haven’t got a foot hold in NRL so they do everything they can in power to rate a mention, hence the dynamic of play in both Liddle and Jake’s game play last night was noticeably different . No matter which side of the fence you sit on, both will be a valuable asset to the team and will be in the 17 together at some time I feel

And also did anyone catch Blore with the heavily strapped wrist? Looks like the rumours of him having a broken hand were true. Tuki could maybe be a Smokey for round 1 with that news

I think tuki is a lock . Last night proved it to me . It caught me off guard to be honest , how fit he was , how much venom he hit with , and how involved he was .
I wouldn’t be surprised if it is Garner / Luci back row . Twal lock . And Tuki finds his way to the bench .
So basically
Joe
Liddle
Tamou
Garner
Luci
Twal

Simpkin
Stefano
Simpkins
Mikalele

With packer and cheekam filling out the 21. (The other 2 spots are usually backs)

 

[Russell]

Do we go with either Madden or Laurie in the 14 with one playing 6. IMO our fullback would be a great 14 but apparently he’s trained well there. Without the c beside his name might be a godsend.

Madden is a long way from 1st grade.

He lacks deception with his ball playing . It seems really robotic. I’m sure he wouldn’t play like that at training . He just needs to relax.

It's not just that, at this level I'd like to see him take more control of the game. It would be nice to have a half that could push the team around the park and follow an explicit gameplan.

It would be nice, if you (not you especially) were in Maddens position last night and could see a gap out wide, decided to get the ball out there, only to see players in between being ball hogs and going themselves. That did not help the gameplan or people saying that he was not ready.

Not saying he is ready or not ready but players like Laurie and Simpkin invariably going themselves a lot of the time didn't help. He was helped later on when Liddle came on and they tended to play like more of a team. The last quarter (whoever most of those guys were) was pretty much a rabble.

Thought Zach Dockar-Clay showed promise at this stage of his career, Tuki Simpkins did some really good things. Wouldn't be worried about cutting Tyronne Roberts-Davis and Allan Fitzgibbon for all the hype didn't impress me, very limited opportunities however and deserves another go next week with a few players inside that could set him up.

 

[Speed2burn]

I think in these sorts of trials the youngins tend to overplay their hand to impress (well duh) and come across as way too enthusiastic. They haven’t got a foot hold in NRL so they do everything they can in power to rate a mention, hence the dynamic of play in both Liddle and Jake’s game play last night was noticeably different . No matter which side of the fence you sit on, both will be a valuable asset to the team and will be in the 17 together at some time I feel

And also did anyone catch Blore with the heavily strapped wrist? Looks like the rumours of him having a broken hand were true. Tuki could maybe be a Smokey for round 1 with that news

I think tuki is a lock . Last night proved it to me . It caught me off guard to be honest , how fit he was , how much venom he hit with , and how involved he was .

There was a reason why Tuki was basically one of the hottest prospects in NZ rugby only a couple years ago, and what baffles me even more with how easily Cowboys were willing to give him away after they essentially moved heaven and earth in the first place to get him

He still has a bit of filling out to do, but he looks like he will be very very good

 

[Deleted member 3518]

I put it down to Simpkin not playing in a long time and super keen to impress the strengths of his game..which is getting out of dummy half..looked like he was going for glory over team ..

Funnily enough it reminded me of a guy in 2003 who did the exact same thing early in his career..that bloke Robbie Farah ended up pretty good..

Good point Russ. It’s hard cause everyone knows there’s 3 positions in the top 30 sitting there , and 2 HAVE to be filled by round 1 . It’s all good for people like me to say , put the team first , but at the end of the day it’s livelihood that’s at risk . I’d give most of the train and trials a contract somewhere . Fitz needs a development year I think , Cooper might be worth a shot , I though Edene Smith , made it known he wants the top 30 spot . Same for Docker -clay .

Every guy will probably get at least 1 game , as the nature of the beast , is most clubs use around 30 players each year due to injuries , suspensions, rep teams etc.

Docker - clay showed to me he can fill in at a pinch . He’s not going to win you a game , but he can do a job . And really at positions 28,29,30 in the squad , what more do you want there . You want guys who can do a job , but don’t keep you up at night worrying if you’re ruining their careers .

 

[Russell]

On last nights performance Laurie goes to 6 for round 1 imo. I think Tuki and Stefano were really impressive.

I also don’t think Liddle is a shoe in, Simpkin looked good..

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.

Nah , disagree there. The team lacked direction and were all over the place . Exactly how Simpkin was playing. Liddle looked like , he was just cruising, and the team relaxed around that.

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.

Ok, but it affected the game plan. He ran on the last a couple of times . That’s not ok . I reserve judgement till next week , but I can see him getting a bollocking if he does that .

The ends of our sets in the opening half were terrible, we took the wrong option a number of times.

Did madden have a general field play kick ?

Was it Madden that put the kick in that Seyfarth scored from?
Memory not that great.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Can anyone confirm what the go is with Blore? Broken wrist, or no broken wrist.

 

[mike]

On last nights performance Laurie goes to 6 for round 1 imo. I think Tuki and Stefano were really impressive.

I also don’t think Liddle is a shoe in, Simpkin looked good..

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.

Nah , disagree there. The team lacked direction and were all over the place . Exactly how Simpkin was playing. Liddle looked like , he was just cruising, and the team relaxed around that.

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.

Liddle did what he was meant todo, distribute the ball and he did it very, very well. Because it was a trial and constant interchanges there really wasn’t the opportunity to take on tired forwards and so he didn’t. That’s a cool head right there.

 

[Deleted member 3518]

On last nights performance Laurie goes to 6 for round 1 imo. I think Tuki and Stefano were really impressive.

I also don’t think Liddle is a shoe in, Simpkin looked good..

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.

Nah , disagree there. The team lacked direction and were all over the place . Exactly how Simpkin was playing. Liddle looked like , he was just cruising, and the team relaxed around that.

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.

Liddle did what he was meant todo, distribute the ball and he did it very, very well. Because it was a trial and constant interchanges there really wasn’t the opportunity to take on tired forwards and so he didn’t. That’s a cool head right there.

Exactly . Plus it enables other guys to shine , as he’s not chasing glory . But to be fair he’s also the odds on favourite for the 9 come round 1 , so he would be looking at it as a way to blow out cobwebs . Especially , as he’s not playing with just about anyone who will be there round 1 starting side . Laurie , wouldn’t be there if AD wasn’t suspended . The real big boppers are yet to turn up. Look at Musgrove in the all stars game . That’s another level to what we saw last night .

 

[JC99]

On last nights performance Laurie goes to 6 for round 1 imo. I think Tuki and Stefano were really impressive.

I also don’t think Liddle is a shoe in, Simpkin looked good..

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.

Nah , disagree there. The team lacked direction and were all over the place . Exactly how Simpkin was playing. Liddle looked like , he was just cruising, and the team relaxed around that.

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.

Liddle did what he was meant todo, distribute the ball and he did it very, very well. Because it was a trial and constant interchanges there really wasn’t the opportunity to take on tired forwards and so he didn’t. That’s a cool head right there.

He did his job and played fine. There was definitely opportunity to run more though but he decided to just pass and there's nothing wrong with that, good hit out for him

 

[Harvey]

Musgrove facing 3 game ban

 

[851]

Musgrove gets 3 game ban, 2 with early guilty plea for shoulder charge

 

[Newtown]

On last nights performance Laurie goes to 6 for round 1 imo. I think Tuki and Stefano were really impressive.

I also don’t think Liddle is a shoe in, Simpkin looked good..

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.

Nah , disagree there. The team lacked direction and were all over the place . Exactly how Simpkin was playing. Liddle looked like , he was just cruising, and the team relaxed around that.

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.

Liddle did what he was meant todo, distribute the ball and he did it very, very well. Because it was a trial and constant interchanges there really wasn’t the opportunity to take on tired forwards and so he didn’t. That’s a cool head right there.

Exactly . Plus it enables other guys to shine , as he’s not chasing glory . But to be fair he’s also the odds on favourite for the 9 come round 1 , so he would be looking at it as a way to blow out cobwebs . Especially , as he’s not playing with just about anyone who will be there round 1 starting side . Laurie , wouldn’t be there if AD wasn’t suspended . The real big boppers are yet to turn up. Look at Musgrove in the all stars game . That’s another level to what we saw last night .

Musgrove is on report and could miss up to three matches for a shoulder charge.