Squad named vs Warriors

[Eggspert]

It’s quite ludicrous that our coach sees fit to spend the time (and competition points) to develop Suaali into a centre in first grade when he’s pissing off to Rugby Union, yet he won’t let Walker further develop and mature in the position he’s bloody good at in firsts. His dopey decision then necessitates moving the world’s best centre to 5/8th and Keary to half. Then he persists in picking Hutchinson out of position or as the bench utility when everyone (except a peanut on this forum) believes he’s not first grade standard (but agree he’s a good bloke).

I think Coach Robinson ran out of ideas a couple of years ago and believes too much in his own “guru coach” status. His constant tinkering to attempt to outsmart the opposition only succeeds in outsmarting himself. Remember Toups on the bench for a final? Coach Robinson has been drinking his own Kool-aid for a while now and it could be that the players have had a gutful.

I think your pretty much bang on point.

Any talk of Walker spending months in reserves to improve his game is ludicrous.

His demotion lead to only a 1pt win over the Dragons in which they scored more tries than us.

These Warriors & Cowboys games will possibly expose Robbo's selections in a bad way.

[HunchoRooster]

I think your pretty much bang on point.

Any talk of Walker spending months in reserves to improve his game is ludicrous.

His demotion lead to only a 1pt win over the Dragons in which they scored more tries than us.

These Warriors & Cowboys games will possibly expose Robbo's selections in a bad way.

And I see Fox League articles (which are the standard of a high school journo assignment in Business class) saying how Manu and Keary played so well in the halves. The problem with a lot of league people is they only see the result. If it was a finals game, sure. But if we are nailing our colours to the mast and dropping Walker over our start to the season and the style of play, only to then play the same way or worse without him, it deserves to be called out.

Manu, who is one of my all-time favourite players, was not very good at 6. He made 1 good defensive effort in 80 mins and his run and try pretty much masked what was a quiet game from him. Not that it's his fault given he is playing out of position.

I said on a post a week or so ago that Robbo might not even have a plan in mind and was just panicking to get Joey on the ball as much as possible so he could cover for our shite attack with one of his trademark runs and solo tries. Which is exactly what happened on ANZAC Day. Give it to the big kid in U12s and hope he scores. That seems to be what the Supercoach is doing at the moment.

I think the Warriors have too many injuries this week for them to trouble us so we will win and Sam will travel to his hometown in Magic Round as a reserve grader and might not want to return to Sydney. Can't say i'd blame him.

[Roosterfarian]

All this Hutch bashing gets so boring. Haven’t you lot got anything else to talk about? Obviously the coach likes him and he’s going to keep picking him so it doesn’t matter what you think.

Because it's a public forum mun and people can say voice their opinion as long as its not libel, homophobic, racist etc.

[eddie]

Can this team win in NZ?
I think the backline will leak points......................and then Hutch comes on

[Rooster_6]

I can't agree with you re: Walker though. Yes it's not the end of the world for him to be in ressies for a bit but he has played 50 odd games for us already, including finals games that he has won for us in attack AND defence (Titans game), been in QLD camps and was apparently an outside chance at making the Australian World Cup side last year. He has won games for us at 6, 7 and 14 yet he is losing his place to the likes of Hutch the Handbrake and Momo. I can't see how him carving up ressies would make him better at game managing us in firsts or whatever area he needs to work on. He has already done too much in his career to benefit from playing in reserve grade long-term. 14 would be a suitable demotion where he can analyse the game and we get the best out of him against tiring sides as he has shown in the past.

My opinion is that the only think Sam needs to work on are his bench press and deadlift and his long-kicking game.

I disagree, and I made comments on this in the off-season - I thought the switch last season where he and Keary adjusted their roles saw a drop in Walkers performances so I dont believe this is just a 2023 issue. It became very apparent that Walker would own the last play of every set and that really seemed to hinder what he did on plays 3 and 4 as he is so concentrated on working to a position on the field and getting himself into an advantageous position for a kick.

So this leaves you with 2 options in my opinnion.

1) You either go back and alter his and Keary's responsibilities/roles so that Keary is the main organiser and in charge of last plays and let Walker go back to playing more ad-hoc footy or;

2) You continue to develop Walker as an organiser knowing that this a long process and he probably won't peak until his mid 20s so you've got to play the long game.

It's clear Robinson is going down the path of option 2, personally I would've kept him in first grade and altered his role to utilise his current skill set but admittedly I'll trust Robbo on this one.

So then if we are going down path number 2 I think there are benefits to giving him some time in reserve grade to develop. I imagine it would be very hard to develop in a first grade side where you've got Keary, Teddy and Radley all making organisational decisions to override them when you're still learning and making mistakes - that's a really tough environment. He can go back to reserve grade, call all the shots and make his mistakes there. I think we saw signs of this at the back end of last year when a few of the players had a go at him for some poor decisions.

He can learn how he can control the tempo of a game with his skillset, learn when he needs to play low percentage footy and when he can add a bit of flair, when he can get away with not being there for a last play kick and when it's imperative that he is, how to work to areas of the field with his style of play, not the pre-meditated methodical style of play that say a more traditional half like Cronk would. It's all about learning how he can control a game and at the same time still play his eyes up footy, still take a risk which he's lost over the last by my count 15 rounds or so.

But he's got to be allowed to make mistakes to learn, reserve grade is that opportunity. Then I'm sure the plan is to bring him back in a couple of months time. I don't think playing 14 gives him the opportunity to work on these parts of his game, I disagree.

[HunchoRooster]

I disagree, and I made comments on this in the off-season - I thought the switch last season where he and Keary adjusted their roles saw a drop in Walkers performances so I dont believe this is just a 2023 issue. It became very apparent that Walker would own the last play of every set and that really seemed to hinder what he did on plays 3 and 4 as he is so concentrated on working to a position on the field and getting himself into an advantageous position for a kick.

So this leaves you with 2 options in my opinnion.

1) You either go back and alter his and Keary's responsibilities/roles so that Keary is the main organiser and in charge of last plays and let Walker go back to playing more ad-hoc footy or;

2) You continue to develop Walker as an organiser knowing that this a long process and he probably won't peak until his mid 20s so you've got to play the long game.

It's clear Robinson is going down the path of option 2, personally I would've kept him in first grade and altered his role to utilise his current skill set but admittedly I'll trust Robbo on this one.

So then if we are going down path number 2 I think there are benefits to giving him some time in reserve grade to develop. I imagine it would be very hard to develop in a first grade side where you've got Keary, Teddy and Radley all making organisational decisions to override them when you're still learning and making mistakes - that's a really tough environment. He can go back to reserve grade, call all the shots and make his mistakes there. I think we saw signs of this at the back end of last year when a few of the players had a go at him for some poor decisions.

He can learn how he can control the tempo of a game with his skillset, learn when he needs to play low percentage footy and when he can add a bit of flair, when he can get away with not being there for a last play kick and when it's imperative that he is, how to work to areas of the field with his style of play, not the pre-meditated methodical style of play that say a more traditional half like Cronk would. It's all about learning how he can control a game and at the same time still play his eyes up footy, still take a risk which he's lost over the last by my count 15 rounds or so.

But he's got to be allowed to make mistakes to learn, reserve grade is that opportunity. Then I'm sure the plan is to bring him back in a couple of months time. I don't think playing 14 gives him the opportunity to work on these parts of his game, I disagree.

Fair enough argument. Respect your opinion. I do think a lot of it has to do with when to pull trigger vs when to manage a game. Having him play that role over Keary is advantageous in the long run because if we went with option 1 as you put it, we might be having the same issues in 2025 after Kez retires and he is tasked to run the show completely with a likely inexperienced halves partner in the 6 jumper.

I still hate to see him get punished for the the teams overall mistakes and lack of cohesion though. It can't all rest on his shoulders.

[NorfolkStreetKid]

Can this team win in NZ?
I think the backline will leak points......................and then Hutch comes on

Certainly doesn't fill me with confidence. Does our GURU coach really have all the answers?
It's like those old marketing adds...... BUT WAIT...... THERE'S MORE !!
To top it off, JWH looks wounded, is Handbrake going to play Prop, it that another position he covers badly?
Or should we have Baker on the bench?

[BillyBonkers]

It’s quite ludicrous that our coach sees fit to spend the time (and competition points) to develop Suaali into a centre in first grade when he’s pissing off to Rugby Union, yet he won’t let Walker further develop and mature in the position he’s bloody good at in firsts. His dopey decision then necessitates moving the world’s best centre to 5/8th and Keary to half. Then he persists in picking Hutchinson out of position or as the bench utility when everyone (except a peanut on this forum) believes he’s not first grade standard (but agree he’s a good bloke).

I think Coach Robinson ran out of ideas a couple of years ago and believes too much in his own “guru coach” status. His constant tinkering to attempt to outsmart the opposition only succeeds in outsmarting himself. Remember Toups on the bench for a final? Coach Robinson has been drinking his own Kool-aid for a while now and it could be that the players have had a gutful.

Agree enthusiastically..

In the main our players have superb natural ability and instincts, that I suspect are being nobbled by over structured coaching by the incumbent deity, allow the players to back themselves, be spectacular with risk factor involved, the unpredictability a positive more often than not. I suspect the banishment of young Sammy Walker is the result of nullifying his ability

[eddie]

Certainly doesn't fill me with confidence. Does our GURU coach really have all the answers?
It's like those old marketing adds...... BUT WAIT...... THERE'S MORE !!
To top it off, JWH looks wounded, is Handbrake going to play Prop, it that another position he covers badly?
Or should we have Baker on the bench?

With your permission I will start referring to him as "handbrake"
It's very apt.

[Steakface]

I still hate to see him get punished for the the teams overall mistakes and lack of cohesion though. It can't all rest on his shoulders.

Part of being the no.7 in 1st grade is being accountable for teams results in attack. That's just the way it is mate. The no.7 is crucial to the attacking prospects of the team. He will always come into the crosshairs first if the attack isnt firing, as do most halves in a similar boat.

I still suspect highly this has happened because Walker has moved off the agreed upon game plan a lot for our losses this year, and the coaching staff (and probably at least some of the players too) believe that has resulted in losses.

He'll be right I think. But needed to learn from that.

The biggest issue is loudmouth family/parents calling Robbo with the whole 'why isnt my son allowed to play the way he wants' whining. Straight out of primary school sports that kind of thing. So there are some in his family with that childish 'not my Jimmy!' mentality...just hopnig they arent that influental on him.

[Rooster36]

And I see Fox League articles (which are the standard of a high school journo assignment in Business class) saying how Manu and Keary played so well in the halves. The problem with a lot of league people is they only see the result. If it was a finals game, sure. But if we are nailing our colours to the mast and dropping Walker over our start to the season and the style of play, only to then play the same way or worse without him, it deserves to be called out.

Manu, who is one of my all-time favourite players, was not very good at 6. He made 1 good defensive effort in 80 mins and his run and try pretty much masked what was a quiet game from him. Not that it's his fault given he is playing out of position.

I said on a post a week or so ago that Robbo might not even have a plan in mind and was just panicking to get Joey on the ball as much as possible so he could cover for our shite attack with one of his trademark runs and solo tries. Which is exactly what happened on ANZAC Day. Give it to the big kid in U12s and hope he scores. That seems to be what the Supercoach is doing at the moment.

I think the Warriors have too many injuries this week for them to trouble us so we will win and Sam will travel to his hometown in Magic Round as a reserve grader and might not want to return to Sydney. Can't say i'd blame him.

I love how you have hedged your bets here and warriors can’t win.

[Bowie79]

Judging by the comments, glad to see I'm not alone... Hutch taking up the spot of a hungry forward like Baker, Whyte or Brown or a specialist hooker deputy like Turps.

Especially Whyte.. There could be more consistency and reward from the coach for someone who's done well enough to boost our bench.

[Bondicigar]

And I see Fox League articles (which are the standard of a high school journo assignment in Business class) saying how Manu and Keary played so well in the halves. The problem with a lot of league people is they only see the result. If it was a finals game, sure. But if we are nailing our colours to the mast and dropping Walker over our start to the season and the style of play, only to then play the same way or worse without him, it deserves to be called out.

Manu, who is one of my all-time favourite players, was not very good at 6. He made 1 good defensive effort in 80 mins and his run and try pretty much masked what was a quiet game from him. Not that it's his fault given he is playing out of position.

I said on a post a week or so ago that Robbo might not even have a plan in mind and was just panicking to get Joey on the ball as much as possible so he could cover for our shite attack with one of his trademark runs and solo tries. Which is exactly what happened on ANZAC Day. Give it to the big kid in U12s and hope he scores. That seems to be what the Supercoach is doing at the moment.

I think the Warriors have too many injuries this week for them to trouble us so we will win and Sam will travel to his hometown in Magic Round as a reserve grader and might not want to return to Sydney. Can't say i'd blame him.

Manu could have played the same game from centre if he chooses or is allowed to get more involved with a licence to roam

[Bowie79]

Do senior players hate him?
Do senior players want him gone?
Valid questions.

Are you suggesting Hastings Jnr Mk 2?

[NorfolkStreetKid]

With your permission I will start referring to him as "handbrake"
It's very apt.

No worries. Honestly I don't like bagging any player.
I only went with HANDBRAKE because our resident KAKFA, Queen Sally persisted in refering to him as the HUTCHINATOR, which I felt implied that he was some indestructable warrior here to save us and destroy our opposition.
I get that he is a great guy and I really wish he played better, for his own sake, BUT,
I honestly feel having him in the team lowers the standard set for everyone else, stifles both our attack and defence and affects not only his position but players two either side of him.