Carney too Fullback it's a Done Deal

[Guest]

Dude, we are soooooooooo winning the spoon.

Remember how we used to feel in Stuart's last year ? He kept selecting Funch instead of Soward or that other young half who was around at the time (his name escapes me). We all used to feel totally deflated before a ball had been kicked, right ? Well thats how i feel already before a ball has been kicked after hearing Carney will play fullback.

Anasta and Pearce have had enough time to get it right. They havent. Carney should be in the halves ... end of story. Carney at fullback is like playing Greg Inglis (or Anthony Minichiello) on the wing. An absolute waste.

I wish Smith would get this Gidley idea out of his head. Carney is ten times the player Gidley is. Gidley is utter rubbish, just like his brother, the Lord of OH Gawd

[Guest]

Has anyone been at training and can confirm they are focusing on training on these positions? Or could Smith be just talking out of his arse?

Is Anasta even training yet? The Sunday Tele said he was still injured but due to return round 1 - not that I would assume that this means they have checked for themselves...

[Cockadoodledoo]

Why the need for all the switching? This is a side coming off the wooden spoon, who are lacking in confidence, and who have a new coach. The article also talks about them wanting to abandon the old play types and "structure" they had under Fittler. That sounds like excellent news.

But why not just determine where everyone's best position is, pick them there, and start working towards developing some combinations? Just keep things simple, at least to start with. Why the need to make it all so confusing with "roving commissions" and picking guys out of position?

Reminds me of the last part of Stuart's tenure. All smoke and mirrors about who'd be played where, who'd be picked, and what team would be announced an hour before kickoff. All they did was confuse themselves

Exactly, they are footballers, not rocket scientists... Keeping things simple would be a good start.

[Cockadoodledoo]

IMO - An important role of todays fullback is to organise the team defensively. Minichello was excellent at it, Brett Stewart is the best at it, and Perrett was dreadful at it..

Carney obviously has the vision and the organisational skills to fill this role.

If you remember, the main problem with Anasta at full back was that he could not catch the bloody ball..

What is Carney like under a high-ball...???

Apart from the fact that he is slower than a 3 legged turtle.

[Vasco]

Remember how we used to feel in Stuart's last year ? He kept selecting Funch instead of Soward or that other young half who was around at the time (his name escapes me).

Josh Lewis?

[Headless Chook]

Carney looks to have the attributes to make a fist of playing fullback. He's got good speed, he's got a bit of height and size, reads a game well, can tackle and has good hands.

I think people criticising the Pearce Anasta combo are being somewhat harsh. They were very good in 2008 even though they had next to nothing outside them to finish off any half breaks etc. I can se Smith's thinking here as Carney will have free reign to bob up on the field wherever and whenever he wants. I certainly won't death ride the move until I see how it pans out.

[Guest]

Josh Lewis?

Thats him. Good one Vasco

[novice chook]

Why the need for all the switching? This is a side coming off the wooden spoon, who are lacking in confidence, and who have a new coach. The article also talks about them wanting to abandon the old play types and "structure" they had under Fittler. That sounds like excellent news.

But why not just determine where everyone's best position is, pick them there, and start working towards developing some combinations? Just keep things simple, at least to start with. Why the need to make it all so confusing with "roving commissions" and picking guys out of position?

Reminds me of the last part of Stuart's tenure. All smoke and mirrors about who'd be played where, who'd be picked, and what team would be announced an hour before kickoff. All they did was confuse themselves

If Smith is determined Carney is to play fullback then I guarantee he won't do it for 80 mins, so some shuffling mid game will be necessary.

But if there are switches, the key is to only switch players who are comfortable with it, accepted it, have trained for it and can play both positions.

Which is where Stuart and Fittler both failed. They experimented with players in positions they were unfamiliar with, with little or no forward planning. Those players panicked under game pressure, which is understandable.

You can be sure that meticulous planner that Brian Smith is, he has contingency set in place if Carney is a disaster at FB in the trials. We are playing some decent sides in Parra and the Tigers so that will give a good indication as to whether it may work.


NC

[elo]

I don't know where people get off saying Braith + Pearce has been a failure...they were 2 of very few that actually had a go most weeks last season, can't help it when you have blokes outside you that are either second rowers out of position, disinterested or can't catch a flipping ball or all of the above (*cough* Sa *cough*)

In 2008 with one genuine finisher out wide in Amos we had no issues coming 4th - time for the armchair experts to shut the **** up and leave the coaching to Brian thanks.

[Guest]

Is Anasta even training yet? The Sunday Tele said he was still injured but due to return round 1 - not that I would assume that this means they have checked for themselves...

Anasta has been at all the training swimming weights etc,but was excluded from doing any running up to the xmas break. Not sure whether he is has been running since we re-commenced last week though,but he would not be far away from it if not...

[Guest]

I don't know where people get off saying Braith + Pearce has been a failure...they were 2 of very few that actually had a go most weeks last season, can't help it when you have blokes outside you that are either second rowers out of position, disinterested or can't catch a flipping ball or all of the above (*cough* Sa *cough*)

In 2008 with one genuine finisher out wide in Amos we had no issues coming 4th - time for the armchair experts to shut the **** up and leave the coaching to Brian thanks.

great post, two years ago Anasta and Pearce were tearing it up and everybody was giving them great pats on the back. How quickly we forget.

[Guest]

I don't know where people get off saying Braith + Pearce has been a failure...they were 2 of very few that actually had a go most weeks last season, can't help it when you have blokes outside you that are either second rowers out of position, disinterested or can't catch a flipping ball or all of the above (*cough* Sa *cough*)

In 2008 with one genuine finisher out wide in Amos we had no issues coming 4th - time for the armchair experts to shut the **** up and leave the coaching to Brian thanks.

Braith and Pearce have undoubtedly been a failure as a halves combination

Just "having a go" isn't enough - that's expected

The Roosters have massive problems in attack, and have sought to remedy those problems (in part) by signing one of the more promising young halves in the game. The side still looks very pedestrian out wide, but the hope is (was) that the new promising young 5/8 would be able to provide, among other things, some much needed spark

Now he's arrived, and all of a sudden he's being moved to fullback, on a "roving commission", and the old, failed halves combination is being retained

Unbelievable

[Red.]

Unbelievable

You certainly are.

[elo]

Braith and Pearce have undoubtedly been a failure as a halves combination

Just "having a go" isn't enough - that's expected

The Roosters have massive problems in attack, and have sought to remedy those problems (in part) by signing one of the more promising young halves in the game. The side still looks very pedestrian out wide, but the hope is (was) that the new promising young 5/8 would be able to provide, among other things, some much needed spark

Now he's arrived, and all of a sudden he's being moved to fullback, on a "roving commission", and the old, failed halves combination is being retained

Unbelievable

In the one proper season together they finished 4th under mediocre coaching with a very ordinary centre pairing, that's a failure? 2009 don't even bother - the team was heartless, soft, every inept concept you can come up with. We could have scored 40 a match and still would have lost most of the matches with how pathetic that mob was.

I want to see Carney at 1 before writing it off, unlike the supposed experts on this place.

[Guest]

In the one proper season together they finished 4th under mediocre coaching with a very ordinary centre pairing, that's a failure? 2009 don't even bother - the team was heartless, soft, every inept concept you can come up with. We could have scored 40 a match and still would have lost most of the matches with how pathetic that mob was.

I want to see Carney at 1 before writing it off, unlike the supposed experts on this place.

Of course, the halves combination can accept no responsibility for the 2009 disaster

Nothing to do with them