2011 Possible Line-Ups?

[Guest]

I think next year Smith will change the side with only one prop on the bench. And more second rowers with explosive running and using the offload. Kennedy, Ryles and JWH will play big minutes and Myles can do hit ups from lock. With JCarney, Perrett, Mini and Skd doing the first 2 or 3 hitups!!

[Guest]

I think next year Smith will change the side with only one prop on the bench. And more second rowers with explosive running and using the offload. Kennedy, Ryles and JWH will play big minutes and Myles can do hit ups from lock. With JCarney, Perrett, Mini and Skd doing the first 2 or 3 hitups!!

I hope not. I think we need to keep doing what we were doing this season with a few changes/extras. It works so why fix it? The longer we stick with one style the better we will be. Look at the Dragons. They have changed very little since Bennett arrived.

[BUDDY]

I think we need to get players like Kennedy and Masoe to play more minutes. The one thing we have lacked this year is guys that bend the line. These two had most success at that but need to be able to rotate with each other.

[crikey chris]

If Graham becomes an Eel, and JCarney has issues due to injuries, I would consider putting JB into centre, and Linnett on the wing. JB is still growing and has pace, and we have a shit-load of second-rowers. Could become as destructive as Inglis (ok, I can dream!) Linnett has pace, but needs to bulk up big time to be an explossive centre.

Kennedy and Ryles to start. FPN and Nate are more second-rowers than props these days.

Selection headaches for Smithy: Mose/Tasi/Cordner/Cherro/Symonds/Arona to push for first grade via the Jets.

Need one extra big bopper to improve.

The backs is where we will be tested with depth again.

Crikey

[Guest]

In terms of getting the right balance, this is what i see as our ideal side:
1. Miniciello
2. Carney/Naughton
3. Linnett
4. SKD
5. Perrett
6. Carney
7. Pearce
8. Kennedy
9. Friend
10. JWH
11. Maubs
12. Anasta
13. Myles

14. Watts
15. Ryles
16. FPN/Tasi/Masoe/Conn
17. Leilua/Cherrginton/Symonds

Only suprises really are Kennedy and JWH starting props, Ryles onto the bench. I think kennedy and Ryles are very very similar style frontrowers so although starting both of them would be a good idea, in terms of the balance of our bench, having JWH there as the genuine prop i think means that we would lack go forward off the bench so i think out of kennedy and ryles one has to come off the bench to ensure we have good go forward throughout the game and not just impact. I think kennedy should start because ryles' days are numbered for a start and he has shown enough ability. JWH would complement him perfectly with his aggression as well. It also serves to put a bit more experience onto the bench.

As for the other 2 bench spots i have allocated one spot (16) to a prop/backrower who in masoe/tasi/FPN you have powerful destructive players that can make an impact from the bench either on the edge of the ruck or up the middle and in conn you also have a backrower frontrower just without a bit of the flair the other 3 provide but essentially the same sort of build and capabilities.

The other spot should be preserved for a genuine backrower imo - that be either cherrington, symonds or leilua. All offer something different to our backrow but considering the glut of backrowers we have it would be a waste to leave all 3 of them out of the squad completely.

In summary the only prevailing problems for our side are as follows:
the balance of our backrow and the left wing.

In terms of the backrow, i feel as if maubs and anasta dont quite give us sufficient go forward and anasta in particular can crowd his outside men at times and stunt some of our spread plays. the reality is that until anasta retires, we will not be able to put a bigger backrower or at least a player better suited to the backrow who can give us better go forward and contribute to the workload of the forwards a little better. maubs isnt really an issue its just the fact that like braith, he has been a back for most of his career so he doesnt quite give us the yardage however defensively he certainly does get his hands dirty and i think playing him as a wide running backrower on the same edge as SKD and pez who are players that make stacks of yardage for our team, that is not really an issue at all and he offers us plenty in there.

Hopefully we can settle on a left winger because we do have a few players that could play there aside from naughton and carney like blair, kherrillah and moeakiola who have all shown plenty of ability. alternatively, i wouldnt even mind shifting linnett to the wing and playing either leilua or symonds or even carney in the centres for a bit more power and size to compensate for our relatively slight backrow.

I think we are also a prop forward short that is unless myles and/or FPN rekindle their likeness/frontrow ability because those 2 aside, we are really only left with kennedy and ryles as genuine frontrowers who can get us consistent yardage etc. JWH is developing but is mainly impact and can be a bit hot and cold. same goes for masoe, tasi and conn. in terms of young props coming through, maliota is probably the only one with a real possible first grade future imo and his game is athough impact, yardage so down the track he could well fill that void but again aside from him, considering ryles may well retire at the end of next season, we may need to try and find ourselves an extra prop. I still maintain that we really missed out when matt scott was off contract early last year and the cowboys were reluctant to re-sign him until he hit form - he always had the potential and goods and could have been a real steal like weyman has been for the merge but its that sort of player we need not really any more impact props

EDIT: just on that prop, i actually recently read somewhere that john mannah (tims brother who is at the sharks) may well be off contract at the end of this year. if that is the case then is suggest we go in there are get him. he has massive potential and in the first grade he had played prior to contracting cancer, he was awesome. he would not be an expensive purchase and i would back smith to get him back to his best so there is an option. other players to consider would be ones that dont quite yet have the raps and thus the price tag of gibbs, galloway, rapira, packer, mannah (tim), snowden and douglas but a prop like dan hunt, tamou, grant or even fifita

[Guest]

is guerra gone ??

[The Pelican]

is guerra gone ??

I'd assume that he will be a fulltime Newtown player next year.

[Guest]

In terms of getting the right balance, this is what i see as our ideal side:
1. Miniciello
2. Carney/Naughton
3. Linnett
4. SKD
5. Perrett
6. Carney
7. Pearce
8. Kennedy
9. Friend
10. JWH
11. Maubs
12. Anasta
13. Myles

14. Watts
15. Ryles
16. FPN/Tasi/Masoe/Conn
17. Leilua/Cherrginton/Symonds

Only suprises really are Kennedy and JWH starting props, Ryles onto the bench. I think kennedy and Ryles are very very similar style frontrowers so although starting both of them would be a good idea, in terms of the balance of our bench, having JWH there as the genuine prop i think means that we would lack go forward off the bench so i think out of kennedy and ryles one has to come off the bench to ensure we have good go forward throughout the game and not just impact. I think kennedy should start because ryles' days are numbered for a start and he has shown enough ability. JWH would complement him perfectly with his aggression as well. It also serves to put a bit more experience onto the bench.

As for the other 2 bench spots i have allocated one spot (16) to a prop/backrower who in masoe/tasi/FPN you have powerful destructive players that can make an impact from the bench either on the edge of the ruck or up the middle and in conn you also have a backrower frontrower just without a bit of the flair the other 3 provide but essentially the same sort of build and capabilities.

The other spot should be preserved for a genuine backrower imo - that be either cherrington, symonds or leilua. All offer something different to our backrow but considering the glut of backrowers we have it would be a waste to leave all 3 of them out of the squad completely.

In summary the only prevailing problems for our side are as follows:
the balance of our backrow and the left wing.

In terms of the backrow, i feel as if maubs and anasta dont quite give us sufficient go forward and anasta in particular can crowd his outside men at times and stunt some of our spread plays. the reality is that until anasta retires, we will not be able to put a bigger backrower or at least a player better suited to the backrow who can give us better go forward and contribute to the workload of the forwards a little better. maubs isnt really an issue its just the fact that like braith, he has been a back for most of his career so he doesnt quite give us the yardage however defensively he certainly does get his hands dirty and i think playing him as a wide running backrower on the same edge as SKD and pez who are players that make stacks of yardage for our team, that is not really an issue at all and he offers us plenty in there.

Hopefully we can settle on a left winger because we do have a few players that could play there aside from naughton and carney like blair, kherrillah and moeakiola who have all shown plenty of ability. alternatively, i wouldnt even mind shifting linnett to the wing and playing either leilua or symonds or even carney in the centres for a bit more power and size to compensate for our relatively slight backrow.

I think we are also a prop forward short that is unless myles and/or FPN rekindle their likeness/frontrow ability because those 2 aside, we are really only left with kennedy and ryles as genuine frontrowers who can get us consistent yardage etc. JWH is developing but is mainly impact and can be a bit hot and cold. same goes for masoe, tasi and conn. in terms of young props coming through, maliota is probably the only one with a real possible first grade future imo and his game is athough impact, yardage so down the track he could well fill that void but again aside from him, considering ryles may well retire at the end of next season, we may need to try and find ourselves an extra prop. I still maintain that we really missed out when matt scott was off contract early last year and the cowboys were reluctant to re-sign him until he hit form - he always had the potential and goods and could have been a real steal like weyman has been for the merge but its that sort of player we need not really any more impact props

EDIT: just on that prop, i actually recently read somewhere that john mannah (tims brother who is at the sharks) may well be off contract at the end of this year. if that is the case then is suggest we go in there are get him. he has massive potential and in the first grade he had played prior to contracting cancer, he was awesome. he would not be an expensive purchase and i would back smith to get him back to his best so there is an option. other players to consider would be ones that dont quite yet have the raps and thus the price tag of gibbs, galloway, rapira, packer, mannah (tim), snowden and douglas but a prop like dan hunt, tamou, grant or even fifita

My side would be:

NRL

1. Anthony Minichiello
2. Steve Naughton
3. Kane Linnett
4. Shaun Kenny-Dowall
5. Sam Perrett
6. Todd Carney
7. Mitchell Pearce
8. Jason Ryles
9. Jake Friend
10. Martin Kennedy
11. Nate Myles
12. Mitch Aubusson
13. Braith Anasta (c)

14. Anthony Cherrington
15. Jared Wearea-Hargreaves
16. Frank-Paul Nuuausala
17. Anthony Watts


Newtown Jets

1. Mark Kheirallah
2. Fine Moeakiola
3. Tu'u Maori
4. Ben Jones
5. Justin Carney
6. Johnathon Ford
7. Keith Peters
8. Mose Masoe
9. James Aubusson
10. Daniel Conn
11. Aiden Guerra
12. Brad Takairangi
13. Tom Symonds

14. Ray Moujalli
15. Isaac Maliota
16. Jerome Leolahi
17. Tinirau Arona

NYC

1. Henare Wells
2. Asipeli Fine
3. Joseph Leilua
4. Tau Tau Moga
5. Cheyse Blair
6. Jack Littlejohn
7.
8. Lepuha Paseka
9. Jared Allen
10. Adam Brent
11. Boyd Cordner
12. Ethan Lowe
13. Nick Eshman

14.
15. Samson Manu'a
16. Lou Goodwin
17. Dane Atkinson

There is plenty of depth right across all the grades next year. That Newtown side looks fantastic with plenty of first grade experience in there.

The only position I think that is genuinely up for grabs is that left wing position. I'm not sure if the Graham to Parramatta rumour is true but assuming so, there will be stiff competition for that spot, with Mark Kheirallah, Steve Naughton and Justin Carney all competing for it. Roz, is Fine Moeakiola signed for next year? If he is, I think he should get the spot. He has a big frame and has plenty of pace. He can turn out to be our next SKD, without the mistakes though. Steve Naughton is a very reliable player who can sniff out tries and is a great finisher. Looking at the forwards, we have a monster pack. With another year's experience under the belts of Kennedy, Wearea-Hargreaves, Masoe and Symonds, and under the leadership of Ryles and Anasta, the side is looking very, very strong. We also get Cherrington back from injury. Have a look at that bench, isn't that a huge bench? I have big hopes for next year. 2011 was always the year sounded out as the one we were targeting.

[Guest]

Far out roz, that is an essay of epic proportions that you have written there. How long did that take you to type out? Can you give me a brief couple line summary?

Footy - what have you done with Atkinson & miller from our under 20s? Aren't they with us next year?

[Guest]

Far out roz, that is an essay of epic proportions that you have written there. How long did that take you to type out? Can you give me a brief couple line summary?

Footy - what have you done with Atkinson & miller from our under 20s? Aren't they with us next year?

I'll help. "I want to win". Done

[Rooster_6]

The more I look at our squad the more I think Tasi is seen as a prop by the club, I've only seen a couple of games involving him but I certainly think he'll be more up to the task than JWH was this season.

[Rooster_6]

Far out roz, that is an essay of epic proportions that you have written there. How long did that take you to type out? Can you give me a brief couple line summary?

Footy - what have you done with Atkinson & miller from our under 20s? Aren't they with us next year?

Miller has gone to the Tigers...

[Guest]

Far out roz, that is an essay of epic proportions that you have written there. How long did that take you to type out? Can you give me a brief couple line summary?

Footy - what have you done with Atkinson & miller from our under 20s? Aren't they with us next year?

haha didnt take that long i suppose i got a bit carried away. my view is essentially the team list. the writing below is just a justification of a couple of things. In short, Ryles to the bench, Kennedy and JWH to start because they are younger/ryles gives us better stability on the bench. for the other 2 bench spots its between a genuine backrower (cherro/symonds/leilua) and the other, a prop backrower (conn/tasi/masoe/FPN)

[Guest]

haha didnt take that long i suppose i got a bit carried away. my view is essentially the team list. the writing below is just a justification of a couple of things. In short, Ryles to the bench, Kennedy and JWH to start because they are younger/ryles gives us better stability on the bench. for the other 2 bench spots its between a genuine backrower (cherro/symonds/leilua) and the other, a prop backrower (conn/tasi/masoe/FPN)

I think having Kennedy or JWH starting with Ryles is a good idea. I'd be looking at shorter minutes out of Ryles, say 15-20 and then bringing on JWH or Kennedy. That way you are managing Ryles's game time due to his age and you are giving JWH/Kennedy a semi-leadership role having them start. Ryles can keep the younger forwards focussed for that first 15 or 20 and then take a 15 minute break before halftime. He can come back on with 5-10 minutes to go for a quick rip and to lead us into the break and just after. I think we need to slowly build JWH and co to leadership roles this season.

[Guest]

Far out roz, that is an essay of epic proportions that you have written there. How long did that take you to type out? Can you give me a brief couple line summary?

Footy - what have you done with Atkinson & miller from our under 20s? Aren't they with us next year?

Forgot about Atkinson. He will definitely play first grade in the future but I doubt it'll be with us simply due to the number of quality backrowers at the club. Jacob Miller is off to the Tigers.