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This is not a case of throwing the baby out with the dishwater. we still have plenty to prove, gain and achieve this season. imo if we can nurture some of our young talent through and really work on our depth this year - ie giving guys like arona, bosden, taka, symonds, tagive and co plenty of opportunities so that as our squad starts to develop whether it be by the odd marquee signing or by the progress of young players through into first grade, we have a squad that can produce some results.
On performances, the players wearing the majority of criticism atm are mini, anasta, perrett, pearce, BJ and friend. So here's my take on their performances to date. Anasta - disappointing. i agree that he is past it but you have your head in the clouds if you think he will be dropped and really, he doesnt deserve that imo. i do think that with the right role description he could be a positive force this year. smith should limit his role to the left hand side mixing predominantly as a ball runner. then allow pearce to run the right hand side exclusively and also wheel around to the left when we have a big open side to link up with anasta out-wider. mini - i think he is being very harshly judged. is he as fast as he used to be - no - but is he poor, no. his meters have been impressive, his support play and general work-rate in attack and defence is very high. he is also still very safe and dependable at the back. perrett - the issues with him are not new. he has always lacked the finishing and pace to really be a potent winger. a potential solution is switching him to the left wing outside moga who will complement his style of play better than SKD imo. he will also help moga transition into first grade with his experience. pearce - much like our team, an inconsistent start to the year. he is an asset not a liability, he just needs to be more patient and assume more responsibility because when he does, we succeed (see warriors game). BJ - young talent with all the skills who has been moved around a bit to date in firsts. plenty of ability we just need to show patience and trust and he will deliver. friend - see BJ. our best player by a country mile last year. not at his best this year but he is a bloody good player. lets reserve judgement for later in the season but for now, no doubt he should stay.
my other opinions: i know many on here are taka disciples but im not so convinced atm. yes he has an uncanny knack to slip an offload, is hard to tackle and has a bit of x-factor about him but to me, his general style of play and workrate of late for me has emulated the low workrate and efforts of braith when he played left side backrow in 2010. should go back to newtown and allow guerra to come back onto the left edge - he is a real prospect and has a bigger motor. his attack is also very effective as we saw last year in particular. he deserves it more imo. arona and bosden also deserve to be retained. bosden was impressive in a badly beaten side on the weekend and arona and tasi have been extremely consistent and effective off the bench so far this year. he is versatile and gives us plenty of flair. he also has a big motor. alofa is not ready and im not really sold on him as a long term prospect. i would like to see us sign slaimankhel from the warriors for next season and accommodate him by letting go of alofa.
What id like to see:
1. Minichiello
2. Tagive
3. Leilua
4. SKD
5. Perrett
6. Mortimer
7. Pearce
8. JWH
9. Friend
10. Kennedy
11. Anasta
12. Maubs
13. Guerra/Cordner
14. Mitchell
15. Tasi
16. Arona
17. Bosden
mose has been too inconsistent to deserve a recall. if we move anasta into the backrow, considering BJ is a backrow centre who is a strong ball runner/carrier, the combination of anasta and BJ as an edge would be a good combination imo with braiths ball playing skills combining with BJs powerful running and physicality. this also accomodates mortimer who provides us with an extra set of hands in attack which should help provide our attack with another dimension. tagive rounds off that edge really well with his speed and finishing ability. it is our best option imo to spark our left-edge and re-invent our attack in general.
For now, i would leave perrett outside SKD as their understanding and combination with pearce and maubs should not be underestimated. guerra or cordner should be starting at lock - both are very tough and aggressive and would lay a strong platform. the bench is fresh, and filled with a good mix of players. i think this team could definitely provide us with a refreshed side and platform going forward. when FPN returns, he will be contending with arona, guerra, bosden and cordner for a first grade birth but in a way, his injury is somewhat timely in giving these guys an opportunity to prove themselves in first grade.
On performances, the players wearing the majority of criticism atm are mini, anasta, perrett, pearce, BJ and friend. So here's my take on their performances to date. Anasta - disappointing. i agree that he is past it but you have your head in the clouds if you think he will be dropped and really, he doesnt deserve that imo. i do think that with the right role description he could be a positive force this year. smith should limit his role to the left hand side mixing predominantly as a ball runner. then allow pearce to run the right hand side exclusively and also wheel around to the left when we have a big open side to link up with anasta out-wider. mini - i think he is being very harshly judged. is he as fast as he used to be - no - but is he poor, no. his meters have been impressive, his support play and general work-rate in attack and defence is very high. he is also still very safe and dependable at the back. perrett - the issues with him are not new. he has always lacked the finishing and pace to really be a potent winger. a potential solution is switching him to the left wing outside moga who will complement his style of play better than SKD imo. he will also help moga transition into first grade with his experience. pearce - much like our team, an inconsistent start to the year. he is an asset not a liability, he just needs to be more patient and assume more responsibility because when he does, we succeed (see warriors game). BJ - young talent with all the skills who has been moved around a bit to date in firsts. plenty of ability we just need to show patience and trust and he will deliver. friend - see BJ. our best player by a country mile last year. not at his best this year but he is a bloody good player. lets reserve judgement for later in the season but for now, no doubt he should stay.
my other opinions: i know many on here are taka disciples but im not so convinced atm. yes he has an uncanny knack to slip an offload, is hard to tackle and has a bit of x-factor about him but to me, his general style of play and workrate of late for me has emulated the low workrate and efforts of braith when he played left side backrow in 2010. should go back to newtown and allow guerra to come back onto the left edge - he is a real prospect and has a bigger motor. his attack is also very effective as we saw last year in particular. he deserves it more imo. arona and bosden also deserve to be retained. bosden was impressive in a badly beaten side on the weekend and arona and tasi have been extremely consistent and effective off the bench so far this year. he is versatile and gives us plenty of flair. he also has a big motor. alofa is not ready and im not really sold on him as a long term prospect. i would like to see us sign slaimankhel from the warriors for next season and accommodate him by letting go of alofa.
What id like to see:
1. Minichiello
2. Tagive
3. Leilua
4. SKD
5. Perrett
6. Mortimer
7. Pearce
8. JWH
9. Friend
10. Kennedy
11. Anasta
12. Maubs
13. Guerra/Cordner
14. Mitchell
15. Tasi
16. Arona
17. Bosden
mose has been too inconsistent to deserve a recall. if we move anasta into the backrow, considering BJ is a backrow centre who is a strong ball runner/carrier, the combination of anasta and BJ as an edge would be a good combination imo with braiths ball playing skills combining with BJs powerful running and physicality. this also accomodates mortimer who provides us with an extra set of hands in attack which should help provide our attack with another dimension. tagive rounds off that edge really well with his speed and finishing ability. it is our best option imo to spark our left-edge and re-invent our attack in general.
For now, i would leave perrett outside SKD as their understanding and combination with pearce and maubs should not be underestimated. guerra or cordner should be starting at lock - both are very tough and aggressive and would lay a strong platform. the bench is fresh, and filled with a good mix of players. i think this team could definitely provide us with a refreshed side and platform going forward. when FPN returns, he will be contending with arona, guerra, bosden and cordner for a first grade birth but in a way, his injury is somewhat timely in giving these guys an opportunity to prove themselves in first grade.
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