NRL Round 6 - Knights V Tigers - McDonald Jones Stadium - 4:05pm Sunday 13th April

Gamble started last year in very poor form and was dropped back to reserves.
He won't have been able to do much training and no ballwork.
Even if he gets a clean bill of health as soon as today, he won't be ready to ride in on a white horse and save us till he's put in a fair bit of training and maybe a few games of reserves.
 
Seano said:
Can come on a do a job in multiple positions and potentially change a game but if you need him to consistently run the team you're in trouble.
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With the exception of changing a game you have perfectly described Crossland.

Seano said:
Pheonix hasn't reached his ceiling at 7.
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Absolutely has, which is why he is now a hooker. The last time he was semi-regularly playing halfback was in 2021. If he was any good at it he probably would have been slotted in more since then with our halves merry-go-round.
 
Billy said:
Gamble started last year in very poor form and was dropped back to reserves.
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I actually disagree with that. It was the one halves move I didn’t agree with AOB on last year.

I think there was a lot of external pressure to get Cogger in the team, Hastings hadn’t been doing his job, and Gamble was the collateral damage when AOB changed it up.

He did have one bad game I recall, but I wouldn’t say overall he was in very poor form, I actually thought he was holding things together while Hastings and Cogger struggled, and was probably trying a bit too hard in the bad game he had.
 
slotmachine said:
Absolutely has, which is why he is now a hooker. The last time he was semi-regularly playing halfback was in 2021. If he was any good at it he probably would have been slotted in more since then with our halves merry-go-round.
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That's just patently incorrect. Phoenix was moved to hooker out of necessity forced by Brailey's injuries. The fact Crossland did a great job in 9 doesn't mean he can't play 7 or hit his ceiling as 7, that's not why he was moved.
 
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I’m concerned about this game. Tigers pretty well have full strength squad. Where as we have probably six regular starters out.

Being at home will help. Interesting to see how Phoniex will go being the main man. He will need to do most of the kicking anyway.

Main thing we need to cut the handling errors out. Good completion rate and fair share of possession.
 
Would be nice to see a response from the team after the last two results.

I think we were on for one given our first half against the Dogs but with two players out in basically the first minute it was too much to overcome.

Given the changes to the Knights and the Tigers near full strength I am surprised that we're still $1.67.
 
Seano said:
I disagree. Gamble is a journeyman half, whereas I can see him being a very good utility a bit like Dylan Walker or Kurt Mann. Can come on a do a job in multiple positions and potentially change a game but if you need him to consistently run the team you're in trouble.

Pheonix hasn't reached his ceiling at 7.

PS. I like Gamble a lot, he's a competitor. He'd be in my squad if fit but mostly at 14.
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I actually see it as the opposite.

To me Crossland isn’t really a half. While you wouldn’t want Gamble to be your main half in the team, he has a better kicking game and pass selection than Crossland.

Crossland is the perfect 14 though. He can rotate 9 but also fill in the halves for a short period if there’s an injury. He also brings a lot of energy which you need from your bench utility.

I’m hoping long-term Arthur kicks on because I think Crossland’s best position is 14.
 
Seano said:
That's just patently incorrect. Phoenix was moved to hooker out of necessity forced by Brailey's injuries. The fact Crossland did a great job in 9 doesn't mean he can't play 7 or hit his ceiling as 7, that's not why he was moved.
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That is how it started, but do you think he’d still be at the club if he hadn’t gone well at 9? I think he was on the way out and that saved his career. He wasn’t being entrusted to play in the halves except for the odd injury crisis.
 
jamesgould said:
That is how it started, but do you think he’d still be at the club if he hadn’t gone well at 9? I think he was on the way out and that saved his career. He wasn’t being entrusted to play in the halves except for the odd injury crisis.
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Given he was the first choice at 14 before this, yes. "Saved his career" is complete nonsense.

Chaister said:
Crossland is the perfect 14 though. He can rotate 9 but also fill in the halves for a short period if there’s an injury. He also brings a lot of energy which you need from your bench utility.
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I can see this argument, but I still don't think we've seen Crossland's ceiling as a 7. He'll likely get a couple of weeks here to show what he can do, I hope he proves some doubters wrong.

We're a weird mob Knights supporters, a couple of weeks ago Pheonix walked on water and I'm sure there were calls for AOB to be anointed God King, after last week some people apparently now think Pheonix can't play and AOB should be sacked (for god knows who).

Chaister said:
I’m hoping long-term Arthur kicks on because I think Crossland’s best position is 14
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Me too because that would lock in our spine positions and our utility for next season (ie. Ponga, Sharpe/Brown or Brown/Sharpe, Arthur, Crossland). But that likely also puts Gamble in the reserves.
 
Crossland is a great effort player, leads the line speed and rips in defensively.

As a halfback his skills are very basic. I’d say on par with Cogger but with a bit more speed and strength and therefore more of a running threat. Neither of them are ever gonna be a FG standard half but they’re a solid back up option. Gamble is a significantly better half than both of them.
 
mozza said:
Crossland is a great effort player, leads the line speed and rips in defensively.

As a halfback his skills are very basic. I’d say on par with Cogger but with a bit more speed and strength and therefore more of a running threat. Neither of them are ever gonna be a FG standard half but they’re a solid back up option. Gamble is a significantly better half than both of them.
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But than I can't see any other side where Gamble is a first team starter either? Crossland says himself he is a hooker now! So a reluctant half with a raw five eighth against Galvin & Laui . A big ask?.
 
slotmachine said:
Absolutely has, which is why he is now a hooker. The last time he was semi-regularly playing halfback was in 2021. If he was any good at it he probably would have been slotted in more since then with our halves merry-go-round.
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He played our last 7-8 games at halfback at the end of last season.
 
Seano said:
Given he was the first choice at 14 before this, yes. "Saved his career" is complete nonsense.
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It’s not that hard to find a 14 though, and personally I don’t think he was playing at a level where he wasn’t replaceable by a younger, cheaper option. Remember we also had Kurt Mann playing a similar role at the time. Would we have kept him instead? Just my view, maybe it is complete nonsense.

Seano said:
We're a weird mob Knights supporters, a couple of weeks ago Pheonix walked on water and I'm sure there were calls for AOB to be anointed God King, after last week some people apparently now think Pheonix can't play and AOB should be sacked (for god knows who).
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I don’t think anyone is saying this? Phoenix is great! I just don’t rate him at halfback. He’s a senior member of the team now, an international. very well respected and will be a regular for years to come.

Haven’t even seen anyone say AOB should be sacked …
 
Sarge said:
But than I can't see any other side where Gamble is a first team starter either? Crossland says himself he is a hooker now! So a reluctant half with a raw five eighth against Galvin & Laui . A big ask?.
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I think he walks into the 6 jersey at Penrith, Roosters, Raiders, Warriors and Dolphins. He’s much better than both of the Dragons halves too.
 
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