Fletch
Well-known member
Where is he going to play and what is his best position?
It would be interesting to know what plans Madge has for Mbye for next season and beyond. Is he going to train him with a focus on one position, or a bit of everything, a utility? It will be difficult to excel if playing multiple positions during the course of a season.
Last season was hampered by that knee injury before the trials. Madge persisted with him at fullback but it was clear during the first part of the season his heavily strapped knee had too much of an adverse impact on his acceleration, top speed and lateral movement, and his confidence dropped to a point he was struggling to even catch high kicks, let alone have any great influence on games.
The move to centre was the right decision under the circumstances, it lighten his on-field responsibilities and workload, and he adapted reasonably well (particularly in defence) considering he was still affected by the knee. His 2019 season was finally finished off with his hamstrings giving way, probably as a consequence of the knee.
He’s on big dollars and is currently the captain, and I would think he needs to eventually shift into the spine if he is going to earn his keep and have a high level of influence on games. I also think he’s on too much money to be permanently shifted out onto an edge and play the rest of career at the Tigers as a center.
Some on the forum are in favor of offloading him, but he’s contracted for another three seasons, until 2022. There doesn’t appear to be any considerable interest from other clubs to secure his services as he simply doesn’t have enough recent quality performances to garner the interest, and if he does turn things around and starts playing well why would we get rid of him. If he was to moved on I suspect the Tigers would have to carry a substantial amount of the freight, for this reason I can’t see him changing clubs without it having a hefty negative impact on our salary cap - unless for some reason he instigates a move himself.
Mbye looked good at fullback for the Bulldogs and then the Tigers when recruited mid-season in 2018. The most desirable outcome for Mbye and the Tigers is for him to recapture some of his speed and lateral movement as these are the attributes that’ll make him a dangerous attacking weapon again.
The two big questions are...
Where is he going play next season?
and;
What is the longer term plan?
I’d like to know what position Mbye thinks he’s suited to, and maybe that’s where to start in finding a way of getting the best out of him. He played mostly in the halves and was making an impact as a junior at the Bulldogs. Is this where he should be playing, 5/8? Is the plan to shift him there when Benji retires? There has been plenty of debate and a variety of opinions on the forum, but for Mbye’s and the Tigers sake you would think a longer term plan is at least being considered if Mbye is to excel in his career. Otherwise he could end up as a utility that is shifted around season after season ending up the everywhere man, but the master of none!
It would be interesting to know what plans Madge has for Mbye for next season and beyond. Is he going to train him with a focus on one position, or a bit of everything, a utility? It will be difficult to excel if playing multiple positions during the course of a season.
Last season was hampered by that knee injury before the trials. Madge persisted with him at fullback but it was clear during the first part of the season his heavily strapped knee had too much of an adverse impact on his acceleration, top speed and lateral movement, and his confidence dropped to a point he was struggling to even catch high kicks, let alone have any great influence on games.
The move to centre was the right decision under the circumstances, it lighten his on-field responsibilities and workload, and he adapted reasonably well (particularly in defence) considering he was still affected by the knee. His 2019 season was finally finished off with his hamstrings giving way, probably as a consequence of the knee.
He’s on big dollars and is currently the captain, and I would think he needs to eventually shift into the spine if he is going to earn his keep and have a high level of influence on games. I also think he’s on too much money to be permanently shifted out onto an edge and play the rest of career at the Tigers as a center.
Some on the forum are in favor of offloading him, but he’s contracted for another three seasons, until 2022. There doesn’t appear to be any considerable interest from other clubs to secure his services as he simply doesn’t have enough recent quality performances to garner the interest, and if he does turn things around and starts playing well why would we get rid of him. If he was to moved on I suspect the Tigers would have to carry a substantial amount of the freight, for this reason I can’t see him changing clubs without it having a hefty negative impact on our salary cap - unless for some reason he instigates a move himself.
Mbye looked good at fullback for the Bulldogs and then the Tigers when recruited mid-season in 2018. The most desirable outcome for Mbye and the Tigers is for him to recapture some of his speed and lateral movement as these are the attributes that’ll make him a dangerous attacking weapon again.
The two big questions are...
Where is he going play next season?
and;
What is the longer term plan?
I’d like to know what position Mbye thinks he’s suited to, and maybe that’s where to start in finding a way of getting the best out of him. He played mostly in the halves and was making an impact as a junior at the Bulldogs. Is this where he should be playing, 5/8? Is the plan to shift him there when Benji retires? There has been plenty of debate and a variety of opinions on the forum, but for Mbye’s and the Tigers sake you would think a longer term plan is at least being considered if Mbye is to excel in his career. Otherwise he could end up as a utility that is shifted around season after season ending up the everywhere man, but the master of none!
