2018 halves combination

I feel like I've typed this before, but i'll give it another go.
We don't really know how good the halves we have are - and we won't till we see what they can do behind a quality pack next year.
Towards the end of last year we won 3 in a row. what happened was that Jake Saifiti, Josh King and Fitzgibbon all started playing like firstgraders, and for the first time all year we held our own against opposition packs - and suddenly Lamb and Hodko were good enough to get the job done - surprize, surprize.
Hodko could be every bit as good as Maloney - we wouldn't know because we have been playing him behind a reserve grade pack.
Lamb could be the next big thing - we wouldn't know because we have been playing him behind a reserve grade pack.
Cogger could be only 20 years old and have played for NSW and Australia at every level imaginable, and looked brilliant doing it (oh wait - we know that - it happened)

In short, these guys have been playing with one hand tied behind their backs. Next year we'll see how they go when the forwards give them a platform to work from.
 
I didn’t think Mitch Moses was all that good to see the difference a good pack and backline made to his game was unreal


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I expect big things from all our half candidates. Browny will have a bit of a problem as all will look good behind the Saifiti's, Ese'ese, Lillyman, Guerra, Barnett, Hieghington, Buhrer, Fitzy, Levi, Griffin and company. What a pleasant headache fitting them all in.
 
I feel like I've typed this before, but i'll give it another go.
We don't really know how good the halves we have are - and we won't till we see what they can do behind a quality pack next year.
Towards the end of last year we won 3 in a row. what happened was that Jake Saifiti, Josh King and Fitzgibbon all started playing like firstgraders, and for the first time all year we held our own against opposition packs - and suddenly Lamb and Hodko were good enough to get the job done - surprize, surprize.
Hodko could be every bit as good as Maloney - we wouldn't know because we have been playing him behind a reserve grade pack.
Lamb could be the next big thing - we wouldn't know because we have been playing him behind a reserve grade pack.
Cogger could be only 20 years old and have played for NSW and Australia at every level imaginable, and looked brilliant doing it (oh wait - we know that - it happened)

In short, these guys have been playing with one hand tied behind their backs. Next year we'll see how they go when the forwards give them a platform to work from.
well said.
And Pierce has played behind a great pack for years and hasn't looked that good imo.
 
Could be we will be discussing 17-20 players and who should be in or out instead of 10 certainties and 7-8 discussions, we are going to be busy tossing all the possibilities AND loving it
 
Apparently the Rorters were $200K under the cap this year, which allowed them to front end some contracts for 2018??????:lol:;):brickwall:
Nikorima is on $350K and will go back to the Bronco's!
Cronk will play half, Pearce will move to 6 and Keary will play off the bench.
Aaaahhh the good ole' salary cap!:applause:
I wonder how much Uncle Nick's private salary cap is??????????:fist:

I can't believe nikorima was on that much money


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I sincerely hope our pack churns through the metres and that way if Hodkinson gets his chance again, we can finally put to bed this notion that he could be good again. The guy has failed time and again in every aspect of a halves game. Regardless of how the forwards are going he goes missing even when the forwards are not involved, and shovels his workload on to the rookie virtually every time.

I must have watch a different Hodkinson stinking it up every chance he got for us in the NRL.
 
Nah he's great cause he goes OK playing third rate opposition.

Still don't know if Brown can coach or not but he's obviously got half a brain telling Hodko he's fourth in line behind Lamb/Watson/Cogger.
 
Unless we buy someone, we only have 4 halves, and 3 of them are 20 or 21 year old kids with a handful of firstgrade games between them.

If someone gave me 600k and told me to go out and buy a halfback, I wouldn't come home with Hodko (I wouldn't come home at all if that was the best I could do), but we have him, and like it or not, he is the only experienced half we have.

I won't say i'm full of confidence about it, but i'll be keen to see how he goes behind our new forwards, because if he hits the sort of form that got him into the SOO side, it will be a big boost for our chances.
 
What good is experience though that isn't applied. There is no point putting him on the field if all he is doing is taking up space on the field and not contributing to the teams performance positively. I'd rather stick with our young halves and rely on the experience in the forwards we have brought in to lead the way on field.

An inexperienced half who tries his heart out but makes some mistakes is better than an experienced half that does nothing. The net gain from playing Lamb or Watson over Hodkinson will outweigh any mistakes, or experience issues.
 
What good is experience though that isn't applied. There is no point putting him on the field if all he is doing is taking up space on the field and not contributing to the teams performance positively. I'd rather stick with our young halves and rely on the experience in the forwards we have brought in to lead the way on field.

An inexperienced half who tries his heart out but makes some mistakes is better than an experienced half that does nothing. The net gain from playing Lamb or Watson over Hodkinson will outweigh any mistakes, or experience issues.
I keep hearing Brown should pick the side sight unseen and stick with it.
Every time I see that I think he will have a squad with a lot of depth, more than ever before, and the last two years he has picked round one sides that have been very surprizing to everyone, completely based on how they have trained and improved in the off season.
We have 4 halves. They should all be training as if they will play, and Brown should make a decision based on training and trial form.
 
While I understand your point Billy re there aren't any other options (at this stage), so he is likely to still be in the mix (as 4th in line)....I'm still with Kurriboy on what lack of value he offers our squad, even if we do get into injury troubles during the season.

Personally, I really like Hodko and think he is a genuine team player. I also think he had a few decent games at the back of thee season but last year was the time for him to step up as a senior leader/general with such a young team and control the game and organised the team on the paddock, even if he wasn't going to win a game for you by his skill and ability. But, for a bloke on one of the largest salaries in the squad, he went missing far too often and wasn't up to it any more when he did try to contribute. You talk about him behind a new pack but I don't think our go forward was the issue in several games last year....it was our ability to convert pressure and field position into points when we had 3 or 4 tackles in an opposition 20 and that was where his ability was lacking for mine. It was poor kicking and poor options that were things he opted for when we were in that position - for example I can't recall him getting us a repeat set on a 5th tackle option last year.

One of the improvements we have next year is a few more senior, experienced players and that further diminished one of the few benefits he could contribute to the squad.

Do I think he will end up playing some NRL next year if we don't pick up any new halves, yes. But it is only because of circumstance because I don't believe he will ever earn selection in front of those already slated above him. In fact, I even believe he may be pushed further down the pecking order if we get some decent development out of players like Pythian and others.
 
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I keep hearing Brown should pick the side sight unseen and stick with it.


I know why you say that but I think you misunderstand what they are saying.


I We have 4 halves. They should all be training as if they will play, and Brown should make a decision based on training and trial form.

I think he will also base it on how they have performed in proper NRL matches.




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The point is that Hodko is our only mature, senior, experienced half and due to his achievement, still not sure how he got to be SOO winning half, he deserves the respect of his teammates and supporters to be given the same opportunity as those 20-21yr old others. Way may very well need him in the trenches when others are finding the going tough. If he plays first grade or bench in reserves I am sure that his character will come to the front and he will do all he can to help/assist.
I hope that he will be reserve grade and that Lamb, Watson and Cogger do the job and I am also sure that if they do that Hodko will have had a hand in there success
 
What's exactly is he going to teach them? How to hobble around on one leg and avoid kicking? How to do nothing more than shovel the ball along in attack? He might be the nicest bloke in the world but put a fork in him, he's done.

Thankfully Coach Brown has two working eyes so also knows this.
 
Way may very well need him in the trenches when others are finding the going tough. If he plays first grade or bench in reserves I am sure that his character will come to the front and he will do all he can to help/assist.

We needed him last year in those trenches, the going was tough, we could have used his experience and game management. We could have used a lot of what theoretically he could deliver, and was expected to deliver when signed to play here.

Unfortunately he hasn't delivered anything. All last season, and the season prior he was a passenger.

But hey, lets give him a shot at a third season stinking it up in the halves.
 
If we keep Hodko, 1 season left on contract, he has to play somewhere even if it's bench for reserves and he might as well assist with development, I am sure he has already done that with Lamb and Cogger and 2018 it can continue including Watson, has nothing to do with bad knee/legs or not taking kicks. I don't see him playing firsts in 2018 and don't want to see it.
If we don't keep him then we need to sign another halve as backup.
 
If we keep Hodko, 1 season left on contract, he has to play somewhere even if it's bench for reserves and he might as well assist with development, I am sure he has already done that with Lamb and Cogger and 2018 it can continue including Watson, has nothing to do with bad knee/legs or not taking kicks. I don't see him playing firsts in 2018 and don't want to see it.
If we don't keep him then we need to sign another halve as backup.

Agreed. Despite the likelihood he won't see any / much 1st grade next season, he's still a solid backup. His real value is the impact he offers off the field.
The way he has handled his demotion down the pecking order whilst maintaining a sense of professionalism should be commended.
 
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