More talk of SBW to Roosters

[Guest]

Pearce has packed on weight and slowed down heaps. He needs to decide if he wants to be a forward or a halfback.

[Cockadoodledoo]

Where do you get this idea that Pearce is slow?

He's pretty bloody quick for a halfback. Could work on his acceleration, but he's quick once he hits top speed.

Acceleration is everything when you are a halfback.. It is the difference between being able to make a break when he does his telegraphed right foot step and not making a break.

[Guest]

Acceleration is everything when you are a halfback.. It is the difference between being able to make a break when he does his telegraphed right foot step and not making a break.

The first step to Pearce making breaks is not telegraphing his step. This is something that could, and should, be coached into him.

Pearce's speed isn't his problem. His problem is his footwork. Marshall and Cooper make defenders look ordinary because defenders can't tell where they're going to go. Pearce makes himself look ordinary because everyone knows where he's going to go.

[Rooster_6]

His kicking game is one of the worst and his running game is dreadful.. I think you don't understand the role of the halfback. Creativity especially when Anasta has so little is vitally important.. He was able to hum along whilst Carney sparked the attack but alongside someone like Anasta who also has a poor running game and creativity he is like a deer in front of a set of headlights.

His short kicking game is dreadful, his long kicking game is actually quite good. But yeh his ability to get repeat sets from close range or sustain pressure is really woeful. I'll agree with you there.

Creativity should come from your 5/8, after all he's the one receiving the ball 2 wide of the ruck in a shit load more space than the first receiver, that much I thought was obvious. If Anasta isn't creating enough then that's hardly Pearce's fault. Pearce's main roles are to move the forward pack around, get his backrowers running into holes, play direct and steer the side around with his kicking game. That last I will agree with you certainly lets him down but the rest he is all very accomplished at. Even in a woeful season he still ranks 3rd of all halfbacks in try assists and 2nd of all halfbacks in linebreak assists.

He's never going to tear teams up with his running game and he's never going to throw flick passes, chip kicks and score freakish tries... people need to get over that and understand the role he plays. Pearce and our front rowers are the foundation of our team, the creative players fit in around that and compliment it but they become irrelevant if there's no foundation.

Look at the teams to win the recent grand finals... all have hard working props an organsier at halfback (or in the Storm's case at Dummy Half) and then surround them with creative players who get all the plaudits. Pearce is arguably the best organising halfback in the game we only need to surround him with an ounce of flair and creativity for this team to be a good one.

If the likes of Shane Perry and Jeff Robson (both average organisational halfbacks) can get their teams to Grand finals then we've hit the jackpot with Pearce, some people just don't realise and appreciate it yet.

[Rooster_6]

what, like Kevin Hastings?

Guess what 6? The game's changed since then

Pearce's lack of creativity simply means we have a half who is not creative, and if anything adds weight to claims he is OVERRATED, you muppet

Combine that with your old mate the 5/8 who isn't creative either, and you have a shit set of halves (the slowest halves combo in the comp) who don't threaten the opposition themselves and don't create space for their outside men

Our attack struggles, and we need spark from our halves. From Pearce and Anasta, we simply don't get it. That's why we can't score more than 12 points a game - our attack is farked

Pearce is a complete myth

Why can't we score 12 points a game with Pearce? Just a few stats for you to keep it simple rather than confusing you with too many big words.

Sydney Roosters 2011

Average Scores

In 2011 - 16.4 points per game
When Mitchell Pearce doesn't play - 9.3 points per game (down 7.1 points per game on season average)
When Mitchell Pearce plays - 17.5 points per game (up 8.2 points per game on when Pearce doesn't play and up 1.1 points on the season average)

Combinations
When Braith Anasta & Mitchell Pearce didn't play together - 14.9 points per game
When Braith Anasta & Mitchell Pearce played together - 19.7 points per game (up 4.8 points per game when they didn't play together)

Win Percentages

In 2011 - Win 39% of games
When Mitchell Pearce doesn't play - Win 33% of games (down 6% on season average)
When Mitchell Pearce does play - Win 40% of games (up 7% on when he doesn't play)

Combinations
When Braith Anasta & Mitchell Pearce didn't play together - Win 31% of games
Braith Anasta & Mitchell Pearce play together - Win 57% of games (up 26% on when they didn't play together.

[bondi-boy]

His short kicking game is dreadful, ....

Surely a good coach, and a good kicking coach could help him improve that.

[Guest]

No more bulldogs

[Guest]

We have no control..SBW in place of Todd?? I'll take SBW.

[bondi-boy]

The joint would turn into a 'circus'.

[Cockadoodledoo]

Why can't we score 12 points a game with Pearce? Just a few stats for you to keep it simple rather than confusing you with too many big words.

Sydney Roosters 2011

Average Scores

In 2011 - 16.4 points per game
When Mitchell Pearce doesn't play - 9.3 points per game (down 7.1 points per game on season average)
When Mitchell Pearce plays - 17.5 points per game (up 8.2 points per game on when Pearce doesn't play and up 1.1 points on the season average)

Combinations
When Braith Anasta & Mitchell Pearce didn't play together - 14.9 points per game
When Braith Anasta & Mitchell Pearce played together - 19.7 points per game (up 4.8 points per game when they didn't play together)

Win Percentages

In 2011 - Win 39% of games
When Mitchell Pearce doesn't play - Win 33% of games (down 6% on season average)
When Mitchell Pearce does play - Win 40% of games (up 7% on when he doesn't play)

Combinations
When Braith Anasta & Mitchell Pearce didn't play together - Win 31% of games
Braith Anasta & Mitchell Pearce play together - Win 57% of games (up 26% on when they didn't play together.

This unfortunately is flawed analysis. When Pearce is not playing, we do not have a recognized (Carney is a 5/8 not a half) First grade halfback in his place. Rather than compare these stats to when he is not playing, compare them to other top halfbacks. The stat that we win 40% of our games when Pearce plays is hardly encouraging either or scoring 19.7 points. I think Pearce tries very hard and gives his all but surely you can see he lacks pace, class and finesse.

[Guest]

This unfortunately is flawed analysis. When Pearce is not playing, we do not have a recognized (Carney is a 5/8 not a half) First grade halfback in his place. Rather than compare these stats to when he is not playing, compare them to other top halfbacks. The stat that we win 40% of our games when Pearce plays is hardly encouraging either or scoring 19.7 points. I think Pearce tries very hard and gives his all but surely you can see he lacks pace, class and finesse.

As Rooster_6 has pointed out, he ranks 3rd in try assists, and 2nd in linebreak assists.

Impressive, considering he's been playing for a team that hasn't turned up half the year, and has had no support from a five eighth or fullback.

[bondi-boy]

We have one 'bad boy' left [he's not all that 'bad']...I say he should be kept now, to see if he makes it to the start of next season in form.

I'm not convinced Anasta/Pearce is any better than Carney/Pearce with Anasta as lock or second row, and playing inside or outside Carney in attack.

They all make too many mistakes for mine...dumb passes, dumb kicks, dropped ball, forward passes, kicks out on the full from the kick-off, penalty kicks not finding touch.

[Guest]

As Rooster_6 has pointed out, he ranks 3rd in try assists, and 2nd in linebreak assists.

Impressive, considering he's been playing for a team that hasn't turned up half the year, and has had no support from a five eighth or fullback.

I tend to agree. He does lack creativity, but his assist stats, defence and the fact our pack has been going forward for most games makes me thinks he's not the lost cause most make him out to be. He has the worst fullback in the comp behind him and a drunk/disinterested/useless 5/8 next to him for the year but busts his arse anyway. 2012 is a write off given we'll have Anasta and Mini in their respective positons so it's a building year imo. I'm willing to give Pearce till the end of 2013 to prove to me he's not worth keeping. In 2013 he'll have a decent 5/8 and fullback and a pack that's been working together for two seasons, that's when we'll have a run at a title and Pearce will show whether he's got it or not.

Chook.

[Guest]

With Todd Carney leaving, I am reminded of the Gospel According to Tim Rice.

The opening song "Heaven On Their Minds" has a lyric thus.

"They think they've found their new messiah but they'll hurt you when they find you've lied"

My interest in this stemmed from a now aborted attempt to write Kevin Rudd Superstar.

It fell through for a lot of reasons, including an inability to get clearance from Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber but the hardest was casting Mary Magdelene because the logical choice, Penny Wong (Mary Magdelene being played by an Asian chick in the movie) was out because she doesn't countenance penises, hence her femme getting turkey basted awhiles back, and what with Julia having less to do with Salome, who wanted John The Baptist's head anyway (so she could be played by Prue Goward) and more in common with a troll one might encounter under a particularly fetid bridge, it fell through.

Judas Iscariot was easy: that's Swan.

Anyway, the club crucified Carney. And if they're looking for a replacement Messiah in SBW, they might as well find another David Koresh.

[Guest]

Who we should be chasing is Quade Cooper!