Team's Up

[Guest]

if were considering coivering jake for a short spell, look no further than sam brunton, a good hooker and tackling macxhine with a low mistake rate!

I don't think he is there to cover just Friend. He covers the backrow, and if someone in the backs gets injured, Maubs can shift out, and he can go into the backrow.

Hardly a spectacular player, but a handy player. If you need to choose from Jaubs, Jones, and Koops. I would take Koops.

[Pass the Ball]

Why do people not understand..???

Smith does not want a hooker and a hooker only as a bench spot with Friend playing so many minutes...So not yet to Brunton..

Same for Jaubs..

Same for Jones..

Smith wants a ball-playing backrower that can cover for Friend if necessary..

He also wants a good defender which Kouparitsas has shown to be..

Smith also thinks Kouparitsas has a footy brain..He wants three benchies with no brain and one with a brain...

Therefore Kouparitsas is Da Man...

(He was voted best player in the game on this site)...

[redwhiteandbluester]

Smith wants a ball-playing backrower that can cover for Friend if necessary..

He also wants a good defender which Kouparitsas has shown to be..

Smith also thinks Kouparitsas has a footy brain..He wants three benchies with no brain and one with a brain...

Therefore Kouparitsas is Da Man...

(He was voted best player in the game on this site)...

I can't tell if this section of the post is sarcastic or not

"Ball playing backrower" and "footy brain" are extremely generous descriptions of Kouparitsis

[Cockadoodledoo]

Kouparitsis aka future immortal is the first player picked each week.

[Guest]

Why do people not understand..???

Smith does not want a hooker and a hooker only as a bench spot with Friend playing so many minutes...So not yet to Brunton..

Same for Jaubs..

Same for Jones..

Smith wants a ball-playing backrower that can cover for Friend if necessary..

He also wants a good defender which Kouparitsas has shown to be..

Smith also thinks Kouparitsas has a footy brain..He wants three benchies with no brain and one with a brain...

Therefore Kouparitsas is Da Man...

(He was voted best player in the game on this site)...

if that is the case then how do you explain the logic behind the signing of anthony watts for next year? It is obviously more out of who he perceives to be the more capable option out of koops, brunton, jones and jaubs. i too would prefer to see jaubs on the bench as we could operate a dual hooker role with him there which would add some speed and spark

[Guest]

Why do people not understand..???

Smith does not want a hooker and a hooker only as a bench spot with Friend playing so many minutes...So not yet to Brunton..

Same for Jaubs..

Same for Jones..

Smith wants a ball-playing backrower that can cover for Friend if necessary..

He also wants a good defender which Kouparitsas has shown to be..

Smith also thinks Kouparitsas has a footy brain..He wants three benchies with no brain and one with a brain...

Therefore Kouparitsas is Da Man...

(He was voted best player in the game on this site)...

Well said.

[Pass the Ball]

if that is the case then how do you explain the logic behind the signing of anthony watts for next year? It is obviously more out of who he perceives to be the more capable option out of koops, brunton, jones and jaubs. i too would prefer to see jaubs on the bench as we could operate a dual hooker role with him there which would add some speed and spark

Speed and spark are not words I would use to describe Jaubs..

I was excited when he came back to Easts from Melbourne, but in all honesty, he has been nothing but a disappointment IMO...

Speed and spark are words to describe Watts though...

[Guest]

Speed and spark are not words I would use to describe Jaubs..

I was excited when he came back to Easts from Melbourne, but in all honesty, he has been nothing but a disappointment IMO...

Speed and spark are words to describe Watts though...

of course i totally agree i was more responding to your assertion that smith doesnt want a hooker and only a hooker on the bench. watts is no more versatile than jaubs or jones thats all i just tend to think that its more based on ability - for some reason smith things he is more capable than jaubs/jones and because he wants friend to pretty much play 80mins, at least koops can still play backrow and cover hooker if we need him to.

That still doesnt cut it for me - i certainly wouldnt have koops there ahead of those other 2 or even brunton

[Guest]

Mini plays his 200th game on Saturday! He deserves it, well done champ.

[Guest]

for the upteeth time now

Jaubs is a Halfback not a Hooker, never has been

[Guest]

It is a mark of how well Smith has done that the only selection we can now find to argue about is the last bench spot.

[Guest]

The framework is building for 2011!

1. Minichiello (experienced player - could be replaced by young gun in future)
2. Perrett
3. Kenny-Dowall
4. Linnett
5. Graham (experienced player - could be replaced by young gun in future)
6. Carney
7. Pearce
8. Ryles (experienced player - could be replaced by young gun in future)
9. Friend
10. Myles
11. Nuuausala
12. Aubusson
13. Anasta (experienced player - could be replaced by young gun in future)

14. Watts
15. Leilua
16. Hargreaves
17. Masoe

Loving that team, it is really developing well.

We already know how good a fully fit Tom Symonds is, and he can definitely push for Leilua's spot on the bench, or be in contention alongside Jason Baitieri, Ethan Lowe and Boyd Cordner to jump into that lock-forward spot that Braith MIGHT vacate if he leaves at sometime over the next two seasons. Having newly-signed powerhouse backrower Lama Tasi, and the consistent and effective Aiden Guerra as depth is also handy.

We have seen the tremendous talent of Martin Kennedy when he is on his game and he could really push to lead the pack after Ryles retires. Youngsters Tom Pelo, Isaac Maliota, Boyd Strickland and Blake Williamson have also forged one of the most fearsome and sizeable NYC packs going around. And it doesn't hurt to have someone like Daniel Conn around, who is an amazingly solid and whole-hearted player with tremendous value for money, much like Chad Robinson and Ned Catic were during our good years.

I am loving what I see from Linnett, and I think Graham and Minichiello provide experience to the backline that is necessary, but if they do leave at the end of their respective contracts, there is plenty of young talent like Cheyse Blair, Luke Towers, Steve Naughton, the newly signed Justin Carney, and with plenty of young speedsters going around the NRL that we can pick up if needed, we are in for a good few years I feel.

[Guest]

It is a mark of how well Smith has done that the only selection we can now find to argue about is the last bench spot.

We aren't scraping the bottom of the barrel for players this season either. There is a healthy competition for positions, unlike previous seasons. You must perform this year to hold your spot