NRL Round 1 - Knights Vs Cowboys - 1:15pm Sunday 1st March (AEDT) - Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas

Why did we buy Sandon Smith for? Could’ve used that money to buy a forward. I just don’t see two running halves working. Dylan Brown showed at Parra he isn’t a halfback. Watch more pressure be put on Kalyan to do more work now we don’t have a proper halfback.
 
I don’t mind the starting 13. There’s potential there. 3 shades of vanilla on the bench is a boner killer though.
 
Probably doesn’t get on the field but Manuleleua getting the nod over the other three players is good to see. Clearly Holbrook has some belief in him. He’s maybe as naturally skilled as anyone at the club not named Ponga or Brown, if he can push his way into the regular team it can change things.
 
mullenmagic said:
Probably doesn’t get on the field but Manuleleua getting the nod over the other three players is good to see. Clearly Holbrook has some belief in him. He’s maybe as naturally skilled as anyone at the club not named Ponga or Brown, if he can push his way into the regular team it can change things.
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He he the one with the blonde top?
If so, he looks like a real player of the future.
 
mullenmagic said:
Probably doesn’t get on the field but Manuleleua getting the nod over the other three players is good to see. Clearly Holbrook has some belief in him. He’s maybe as naturally skilled as anyone at the club not named Ponga or Brown, if he can push his way into the regular team it can change things.
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Given this year is most likely going to be ride off anyway. Hope if nothing else they do what the Roosters did last year and get plenty of game time into the young guys they planning on being here long term eg Hopwood, Manuleleua, ESL, DeCourcey etc. At least then, they’ll be good to go in 27
 
waynesworld said:
There’s a video on the Knights website that he does in pretty good detail. I get the concerns but I think Sharpe being on the field instead of playing some gimmicky impact lock role is much better for the side.
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He would have to show *marked* improvement in his ability to get any kind of effective ball to his outside men for it to be "better for the side" to play him in the halves. His starting point is "very little feel for it".

Everyone zeroes in on the best interests of Sharpe when they insist he has to be crowbarred into the halves, but what about Bradman Best, what about Dylan Lucas? Or indeed, Kalyn? If Fletcher hasn't come or doesn't come along a massive amount very quickly, that's more of those guys not getting effective ball. Makes rep jerseys way less likely for Lucas and Best. More of the peanut gallery going "gEe i WonDeR wHy BrAmDaN BsEt pLaYinG sO baD". Very cool. Good stuff, no notes.
 
What I liked about Smith was his quick thinking vision. That is required in the halves and my concern here is Sharpe in the halves will lack that vision. Last season all it took to completely kill our attack was to watch the ball movement and as it gets to our halves, shoot a defender out at them and they just were not quick thinking enough to do anything but tuck the ball and die with it.

Again this is all to placate KP in the 1. And I hope he sticks to playing the fullback role. But with Sharpe in the 6 and Brown in the 7 it looks like coach is doubling down on KP creativity and having runners in the halves to play off the back of that.

I wish I could view an alternate universe where KP wasn't here, Sharpe in the 1, and Smith 7, Brown 6 and see how that is going over there.

Nothing to do but buckle up and start a sack Holbrook thread in round 4. :lol:
 
Hopefully Holbrook just wants to 'see how to goes' before yielding to the 'safer option' which still lacks in its own way.

Hopefully if its looking clunky and wrong after 2-3 weeks he changes it up.

But hopefully none of that is necessary and it works great from the outset, where Brown suddenly knows how to play halfback and Sharpe suddenly knows how to play 5/8th
 
Les Misérables said:
Hopefully Holbrook just wants to 'see how to goes' before yielding to the 'safer option' which still lacks in its own way.

Hopefully if its looking clunky and wrong after 2-3 weeks he changes it up.
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This will happen. And it’s different to AOB chopping and changing, he had a pile of **** to deal with in the halves. We at least have talent to go with now.
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
He would have to show *marked* improvement in his ability to get any kind of effective ball to his outside men for it to be "better for the side" to play him in the halves. His starting point is "very little feel for it".

Everyone zeroes in on the best interests of Sharpe when they insist he has to be crowbarred into the halves, but what about Bradman Best, what about Dylan Lucas? Or indeed, Kalyn? If Fletcher hasn't come or doesn't come along a massive amount very quickly, that's more of those guys not getting effective ball. Makes rep jerseys way less likely for Lucas and Best. More of the peanut gallery going "gEe i WonDeR wHy BrAmDaN BsEt pLaYinG sO baD". Very cool. Good stuff, no notes.
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Sure and it’s a good counter point and what clearly a lot of people on here feel. I just don’t think it’s something Holbrook and the club have their head in the sand about.

Also I’ve never watched a lot of Smith so it’s a blind spot for me, but from the two trials I have not seen a player who is a clean 7 that just gets the best out of everyone. He just looked a bit scattery with great skills. We’ve got all 3 of these options here under contract for a long time, I’d say on potential these 2 have the highest ceiling and I get why the coach would want to see this team play together first.
 
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