Should Luke Keary return to 5/8th?

[ism22]

So do you drop him? Because it’s not like putting a 7 on Sam Walkers back is going to mean all of a sudden our kicking game is going to have more distance on them.

Fair point... today one of the commentators (Joey I think?) was saying that Walker's getting all the quality ball, regardless of their jersey numbers.

To me something bigger is off with our strategy and it's cramping players who would otherwise play far more natural/dominant games.

Dunno what it is but it's not just a matter of tweaking 1 or 2 players and I reckon it's gonna take time. I know that excuse s*x when the Drizz/Riff don't need it but IMO we're simply not the standard to beat right now. We're a very strong, second-tier club that will have a lot more frustrating games that simply get away from us this season because we're too darn clunky.

I think the good news is that we're a very capable team that has the capacity to with the comp if all the stars align. We just need to build the combos/character and sort out what works best because right now we look like we have NFI!!!

[Rooster_6]

Fair point... today one of the commentators (Joey I think?) was saying that Walker's getting all the quality ball, regardless of their jersey numbers.

To me something bigger is off with our strategy and it's cramping players who would otherwise play far more natural/dominant games.

Dunno what it is but it's not just a matter of tweaking 1 or 2 players and I reckon it's gonna take time. I know that excuse s*x when the Drizz/Riff don't need it but IMO we're simply not the standard to beat right now. We're a very strong, second-tier club that will have a lot more frustrating games that simply get away from us this season because we're too darn clunky.

I think the good news is that we're a very capable team that has the capacity to with the comp if all the stars align. We just need to build the combos/character and sort out what works best because right now we look like we have NFI!!!

Joey Johns was punted from the club as one of the reasons our attack was going so poorly in 2018.

He probably needs a little self-awareness because the current club he’s advising the Knights look rudderless at the moment.

[zac]

keary isn't winning games for us after seven games back from an acl ...
even is walker gets his hands on the ball more at first receiver there's no need to change the numbers on their backs. walker's progressing nicely and keary will come up to speed and they'll work it out.

[Thirteen]

No because he’s proven he’s a better organiser than Walker, Sam Walker just needs to be allowed to play his natural game without the pressure of having to lead a side around. That day will come in the future but not as a 19 year old.

Walker did a fair job at 7 last year and this year he has the benefit of an experienced 6 to help him. How has Keary proven he’s a better organiser than Walker? He may well be but how has he proven it? Yes of course he’s got much more experience but you tell me how Keary is a proven better organiser in the 10 odd games you have seen Keary at 7.

[Thirteen]

Our whole attack revolves around giving it to Joey, just let him play 6, 7 & 9.

But those are Teddy’s positions.

[Rooster_6]

Walker did a fair job at 7 last year and this year he has the benefit of an experienced 6 to help him. How has Keary proven he’s a better organiser than Walker? He may well be but how has he proven it? Yes of course he’s got much more experience but you tell me how Keary is a proven better organiser in the 10 odd games you have seen Keary at 7.

Walker may have well been wearing the 7 last year but there's no way he was the halfback of that side. Hutchinson played a very limited role but was the primary organiser and was supported by Tedesco and Radley but to suggest Walker was the organiser of that side last year because he had the 7 on his back is just dishonest.

Keary was the dominant playmaker in 2019, I made plenty of posts about it at the time but he was showing a lot back then that he would transition into the halfback role well and then into 2020 with Flannagan he pretty much ran that team by himself with minimal support. Now it unfortunately hasn't been that smooth for him since with an ACL injury but I'm not basing it on 2022.

[ism22]

Walker didn’t touch the ball more than Keary he just had more memorable touches because he’s being allowed to play with that freedom where he can just run and pass.

Put the 7 on his back and he can’t be running the ball on 4th or 5th play as he needs to be in position organising the side for his last tackle kick.

Sam Walker had 1 kick today to Keary’s 14. Maybe the argument needs to be about balancing that out a little better but to suggest that Walker can still play his game whilst taking on the responsibility of halfback is nonsensical. Just let the kid play and get the ball when and where he wants.

Bingo.

IMO the 6 and 7 talk needs to stop. They're just numbers and the coach decides what they want from their individual 6 and 7 players.

In our case, I think that Keary and Walker have distinct roles that are not attached to jerseys (and don't really need over-analysing - IMO they're pretty clear).

To me our overall clunkiness in the broader issue. One can blame individuals but we simply don't gel with each other in attack. Today we built so much pressure and simply couldn't engineer tries. Even with repeat sets on their line at various stages throughout the game, we looked slow and boring.

Now either the Dragons are the gold standard for defence in the NRL, or our attack s*cked. Aside from two disappointing defensive lapses, I think our defence was okay (Dragons were scoreless in the second half). The million dollar question is... how do we make our attack less clunky and more enterprising? I don't think that switching two jerseys around is gonna change that!

[ism22]

But those are Teddy’s positions.

Teddy ran 312m FWIW.