Why is halfback suddenly the better of the two halves?

[ism22]

I'm no footy guru (and definitely no halves expert) but why is moving Keary to #7 a 'step up' rather than a horizontal move?

My thoughts are:
- Flanno wasn't the dominant half last year. He just wasn't and I don't think that was ever a realistic expectation given he's a youngster who was paired with a rep-grade 5/8...
- Other than 'one owns the left side and the other owns the right', I can't really get any clarity around what the difference is. I mean if Lam's on fire, making 30m every time he runs the ball then he's the 'dominant half' but isn't magically the halfback.
- Lam will do more running than Keary. A few have said that a HB does more running but I dunno if that's necessarily true. Lam's pretty much purely a ball runner whereas Keary's more of a tech player with his kicking...etc. In my mind that's often the distinction (i.e. 5/8 does more of the tech work with silky passing/kicking... halfback is a bit more boring but does more ball distribution).
- The distinction is artificial and a good half often plays on both sides. Realistically, you'll want your better half to be scheming against the stronger side as well.
- Lam's a left-footer so that's the only real reason I'd be thinking he's better off on the left. The game's not played on the right-hand side of the field and you'd get dominated if it was like 'ooooh ooooh Keary has it... you can guarantee that the ball's going to the right!!' I just don't think the game's played like that.
- With examples like Cronk/Thurston and Joey/Freddy... the 5/8's often the more dominant of the two. Carney and Pearce! I know Joey has his stupid 'the halfback owns the result' quote but he was probably high on happy pills when he said that (and Pearce probably wants to punch him in the face for that one). Why are we suddenly?

[Lamb shank]

I would say most likely the pressure, flanno experienced it first hand, maybe robbo wants to take the pressure off lam (let him play his game). It is the formation/setup almost every team uses so it must work, e.g. walker with reynolds, luai with cleary, brown with moses and probably the best example taylor with fogerty. The switch seemed to have worked for him.

[Johnny73]

Last year's failure...failure being the Roosters made it to the semis and were only beaten by a combined 5 points...had nothing to do with Kyle Flanagan not being 'protected by' Keary.

[FREEMAN89]

I think it tends to get over complicated because of the skill sets of particular playmakers as opposed to others as to who is the 'dominant half'.

Take our squad last year for example:
Keary wore 6, while flanno wore 7.
Keary was often our 1st receiver in a predominantly ball running position.

Take this season for example.
Keary will wear 7, while others wear 6.
Keary will often remain 1st receiver making him the 'dominant' half still.

Then you have other clubs like:
raiders (Wighton)
Melbourne (Munster)
souths (Walker)
Bronco (Milford)
Warriors (Nikorima)
Titans (Taylor)
cowboys (Morgan)

who all have a fairly 'dominant' 5/8th compared to Half Back.

Whilst teams like:
Roosters (Keary)
Manly (DCE)
Parra (Moses)
sharks (Townsend)
Dragons (Hunt)
Dogs (Flannagan)
Knights (Pearce)
Panthers (Cleary)
Tigers (Brooks)

Will all rely on a more dominant half than a 5/8th.

Just my opinion.

[The Skeez]

Manage the attack and game as a whole. Rather than just screaming for the ball when you see somethin on.

[zac]

traditionally the half has played more first receiver so having 7 on your back meant you were the general. i remember ricky stuart used to say that the half back controls the result. yeah, it's just a number but i like keary having the 7 on his back

[Waylander]

It’s based on the historical structure of the backline all lining up together. The halfback received the ball from the dummy-half (hence the name), who made the decision of how each play would unfold. The 5/8 played outside the half. The centers played side by side. The half was the chief decision maker and controlled the play, including directing the forwards to obtain the desired field position.

These days, with a half and Center on each side all the time, the distinction is less obvious, but in most cases the halfback remains the chief decision maker.

[Paddo Colt 61]

The modern evolution of the game means that distinctions are now hazy to say the least. At times in a game there will be the traditional formation where the pivot clears the ball as second receiver either by on passing or kicking (previously a specialist role). In the modern formation there is little to distinguish the two as both can, ideally, kick, run and ball play as first receiver. If anything the (scrum) half is the main tactician and, as such, most often first receiver but, again, not always the case, In recent years research showed that Hooker and 5/8 had the most use of the ball. Keary's upgrade is to main tactician and presumably the Cronkster has had a role in that. Keary played both sides brilliantly in the 2018 GF but I'd always thought of him as a playmaker wide of the ruck like Cody Walker. Time will tell. Freeman (above) puts it very nicely.

[zac]

last year we said keary runs the show and the number on his back doesn't matter. maybe one reason we've changed our tune is to put less pressure on whoever is 5/8

[The Brain]

our halfback was lame last year ..most of us had hope for him earlier on....only need half a brain he ha none...saw 3 times in the semis we had overlaps ..he was given the ball to get it out he threw short passes or inside balls..we were not good in the semis but good enough to win them. Lam at the moment is not the complete half either but at least we know he will back up and run at the line ...Good to see Keary at half because the starving Man can get some good ball instead of sitting flat too wide on the wing.

[Steakface]

When Cronk was out for periods in the past Keary did an exceptional job at game management and as chief tactician.

Keary has a good objective brain on him and is perfect for the role.

It's possible Robbo will go with a more traditional setup with Lam as a more traditional 2nd recieving half rather than playing one side.

I personally think that is the better move, as i'm not a fan of stacking the attacking plays on the side of the field of the dominant half. I think that's where we came undone a bit last year in terms of a bit of predictability in attack.

Remains to be seen though.

[Paddo Colt 61]

Agree Steak re the predictability factor. The opposition knew which side to attack though. Flanno wasn't a bad player but wasn't a manager at this stage and we all lamented the skill chasm between him and the Cronkster especially in D. Be interesting to see how things pan out at the Dogs.

[Mickie Lane]

The modern evolution of the game means that distinctions are now hazy to say the least. At times in a game there will be the traditional formation where the pivot clears the ball as second receiver either by on passing or kicking (previously a specialist role). In the modern formation there is little to distinguish the two as both can, ideally, kick, run and ball play as first receiver. If anything the (scrum) half is the main tactician and, as such, most often first receiver but, again, not always the case, In recent years research showed that Hooker and 5/8 had the most use of the ball. Keary's upgrade is to main tactician and presumably the Cronkster has had a role in that. Keary played both sides brilliantly in the 2018 GF but I'd always thought of him as a playmaker wide of the ruck like Cody Walker. Time will tell. Freeman (above) puts it very nicely.

Well said.

[The Skeez]

I like that both of our halves, Keary and Lam, are run first, pass second players.

[stringaz]

Biggest issue in the halves this year is their linking in defense with the second rower next to them. I still see Sitili Tupouniua's miss next to flanno in the semi against penrith.