Year in review.

Billy

Billy

Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
It's all over bar the shouting, so my thoughts on the year.

I'm pretty happy with it, overall.

After the trainwreck we have been since the Tinkler years, a one year turnaround to make the finals is as good as we can hope for.

The coach. I think he is very ambitious for us and won't settle for mediocrity. He got the best out of most of our players, including massive improvements to most of them.

Ponga - He has spent most of the year turning himself into a more complete player and for the last month or so we are seeing the results of that. He is now a threat all over the field and our best playmaker.

Hunt - He has bulked up and become a very safe winger, but i'd like to see him score more tries, or make way for a tryscorer like Toa.

Toa - Still a rookie. He has made very good progress on his various issues. He is now very safe under a high ball and his reads in defence are much better, but he still needs to work on that. He has shown he can find a way to score.

Shibasaki - Very hot and cold. His best games are very good and he is well worth a starting spot. His worst games are dreadful. If he can get a bit of consistancy he is better than Hunt, but Hunt can be relied on to always play well.

Tuala - The surprise success story of the year. He is rightly being talked about as a SOO chance.

Best - 10 games into his firstgrade career the 18 year old is being talked about as an outside chance to play SOO. I refuse to talk about injuries.

Lee - He had a few "unforced errors" in him last year. I haven't seen that this year. He seems a better player and I think a large part of our offseason was spent working on kicks to use Lee's size to effect. He now bats the ball back and wins the contest in the air like Tupou at the Roosters. I suspect O'Brien got the idea from his time at the Roosters.

Mann - our player of the year. Even yesterday, he was our best. I'm not sure how we use him next year, but he'll be one of our top players.

Pearce - I can't put my finger on what the issue is, but he isn't leading the team well. Maybe he has lost it - maybe the team just isn't on board with him - maybe he just needs a proper hooker and a proper 5/8 to work with.

Klemmer - New coach is letting him offload and even pass before the line and he has become a more complete player. A good year for him.

Randall - Spending the year working on his skills with the firstgrade squad has probably been the best thing for him. He has always been fit enough to play firstgrade but had the skills of a park footballer. I'd now say he is at least good enough to be our second choice hooker next year, and the more he plays the better he'll get.

DSaf - Injury stopped it being a great year for him, but you can see clear improvement in him.

Guerra - It's been a long, hard year for him, but he held the gloves up and battled on. he's been one of our biggest contributors.

Fitz - One of the few in the team who hasn't shown any improvement this year. He needs to lift or lose his spot.

Barnett - He has lifted to a new level, but I feel his kamikaze style will cut his career pretty short.

Sione - If he can stay fit next year I think he will be close to starting over Fitz, but Frizzel will have his spot on the right.

JSaf - by next season I expect him to be a rep standard prop. He is close already.

King - fringe forward is probably as good as he'll get, but happy to use him if we have injuries.

Saulo - Needs a good off season and I think he'll have a breakout year next year and be a solid replacement for Herman.

Crossland - The 19 year old has had a great development year. Another off season and he'll be ready to play regular firstgrade, if we can find a spot for him.

Hoy - same as Crossland

Watson - If the doctors can glue him back together he will be a force for us, but I don't know where or how we use him.

Brailey - Obviously he is the player we missed most this year and will make a big difference next year.

Frizzell - An upgrade on the aging Guerra who might even be our best forward next year.


I expect the coach has learnt a lot from his first year in charge and the players have certainly had a great year for development as individuals. We should have another great off season and start next year as a better version of "Knights2020".
 
Great review, our attack was lost once Bailey and Watson left.
Having them both back with the addition of Frizzell will help our attack.
Still think we need some more forwards & better depth in that department next year.
As for Pearce, we will see how he gos next season but what other better halfbacks are there available?
 
member 2299 said:
Our problem remains at 5/8. As good as kurt Mann has been, and he is a real trier, he is not a specialist 5/8.
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He could be if we decided to go that way. The more he played at 5/8 this year, the better he got.
Willie Peters is a former halfback, and Scott Dureau had all the playmaking skills.
If the plan is to go with Mann at 5/8 next year, i'd be confident that he'd grow into the role. He was already starting to look adequate to decent before they moved him to hooker.
 
I think if Mann is to be 5/8 then that should be his position, hit or miss. He shouldn’t be playing elsewhere, hooker, even if Brailey is unavailable that should be someone else like Randall. Mann might succeed if he specialises we have others that can fill in if needed. We have Watson, Hoy and Crossland with a bit of experience to cover injuries.
 
I posted in another thread that 5/8 really is the only position up for any real debate next year.

OB could make a radical change and go with Ponga at 5/8, or spend the trials seeing if Hoy has what it takes and play him there. Mann could be there also.

If Hoy isn't working out and Crossland doesn't seem to be regarded as ready for NRL yet, really just the option of Ponga or Mann.

Agree the 9 should be played by a specialist unless we have nobody left. Brailey and if injured Randall.

Whilst I am very disappointed in the lackluster games we turn in, overall the year has been a step forward, and a pass mark for OB.
 
Disappointment- attack relies too heavily on the go forward and quick play the balls, if they get matched at the breakdown and have slow play the balls and the opposition kicks longs and force the Knights to ruck it out, Knights are easily contained. They are not using all the strengths in the side- look at the way Best is being used- not getting early ball, Toa came into the side with a reputation for speed, did we ever see it used, the forwards tuck the ball under there wing a go forward seems to be the only play they have - can with have some touch on's and stepping into the gaps instead of running into the defenders. I get the feeling the NRL has changed and it's the sides playing football and responding to what's in front of them are most successful.
 
Coach says he hasn't considered Crossland at 5/8 because he needed him at hooker, which was weird when he had Randall twiddling his thumbs every weekend.

Not sure what to make of it, but Hoy and Mann don't have a pass between them, and if Pearce is our half our 5/8 needs a ball playing game.
 
Agree slots. Still don't know if Mann has got enough to offset Mitch's slowing game. Surely we will not extend his contract? Certainly need our 5/8 to kick as at the moment Mitch switches from right to left if he decides a kick down the left is needed.

Next season Obi really needs to decide Hoy's, Crossland and Mann's future at the Club in these spine positions.
 
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Billy said:
It's all over bar the shouting, so my thoughts on the year.

I'm pretty happy with it, overall.

After the trainwreck we have been since the Tinkler years, a one year turnaround to make the finals is as good as we can hope for.

The coach. I think he is very ambitious for us and won't settle for mediocrity. He got the best out of most of our players, including massive improvements to most of them.

Ponga - He has spent most of the year turning himself into a more complete player and for the last month or so we are seeing the results of that. He is now a threat all over the field and our best playmaker.

Hunt - He has bulked up and become a very safe winger, but i'd like to see him score more tries, or make way for a tryscorer like Toa.

Toa - Still a rookie. He has made very good progress on his various issues. He is now very safe under a high ball and his reads in defence are much better, but he still needs to work on that. He has shown he can find a way to score.

Shibasaki - Very hot and cold. His best games are very good and he is well worth a starting spot. His worst games are dreadful. If he can get a bit of consistancy he is better than Hunt, but Hunt can be relied on to always play well.

Tuala - The surprise success story of the year. He is rightly being talked about as a SOO chance.

Best - 10 games into his firstgrade career the 18 year old is being talked about as an outside chance to play SOO. I refuse to talk about injuries.

Lee - He had a few "unforced errors" in him last year. I haven't seen that this year. He seems a better player and I think a large part of our offseason was spent working on kicks to use Lee's size to effect. He now bats the ball back and wins the contest in the air like Tupou at the Roosters. I suspect O'Brien got the idea from his time at the Roosters.

Mann - our player of the year. Even yesterday, he was our best. I'm not sure how we use him next year, but he'll be one of our top players.

Pearce - I can't put my finger on what the issue is, but he isn't leading the team well. Maybe he has lost it - maybe the team just isn't on board with him - maybe he just needs a proper hooker and a proper 5/8 to work with.

Klemmer - New coach is letting him offload and even pass before the line and he has become a more complete player. A good year for him.

Randall - Spending the year working on his skills with the firstgrade squad has probably been the best thing for him. He has always been fit enough to play firstgrade but had the skills of a park footballer. I'd now say he is at least good enough to be our second choice hooker next year, and the more he plays the better he'll get.

DSaf - Injury stopped it being a great year for him, but you can see clear improvement in him.

Guerra - It's been a long, hard year for him, but he held the gloves up and battled on. he's been one of our biggest contributors.

Fitz - One of the few in the team who hasn't shown any improvement this year. He needs to lift or lose his spot.

Barnett - He has lifted to a new level, but I feel his kamikaze style will cut his career pretty short.

Sione - If he can stay fit next year I think he will be close to starting over Fitz, but Frizzel will have his spot on the right.

JSaf - by next season I expect him to be a rep standard prop. He is close already.

King - fringe forward is probably as good as he'll get, but happy to use him if we have injuries.

Saulo - Needs a good off season and I think he'll have a breakout year next year and be a solid replacement for Herman.

Crossland - The 19 year old has had a great development year. Another off season and he'll be ready to play regular firstgrade, if we can find a spot for him.

Hoy - same as Crossland

Watson - If the doctors can glue him back together he will be a force for us, but I don't know where or how we use him.

Brailey - Obviously he is the player we missed most this year and will make a big difference next year.

Frizzell - An upgrade on the aging Guerra who might even be our best forward next year.


I expect the coach has learnt a lot from his first year in charge and the players have certainly had a great year for development as individuals. We should have another great off season and start next year as a better version of "Knights2020".
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Good Review
About the only things i would Add is Sione although his defence is better in the b/row than centre , compared to a lot of other b/rowers in the comp his attack is no where near where we need it to be ..Personally i would have Fitzy there on his worst day than Sione on his best day .
We said last year that King was probably as good as he was going to get and then he improved out of sight this season , nothing says he cant improve again next season .
IMO Saulo needs to step up a bit next season because if King improves in the attack department again like this season Saulo may get passed by King .
I was really looking forward to seeing Sasagi and Momisea play but next season will do .
 
slotmachine said:
Coach says he hasn't considered Crossland at 5/8 because he needed him at hooker, which was weird when he had Randall twiddling his thumbs every weekend.

Not sure what to make of it, but Hoy and Mann don't have a pass between them, and if Pearce is our half our 5/8 needs a ball playing game.
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Maybe we should have tried a game with Lino at 7 and Pearce at 6.
I watched the game where Lino was in for the Warriors and Johnson was injured and Lino ran the team well even the commentators said you didnt even know Johnson wasn't playing and they were right Lino played a great 7s game . Pearce to 6 would have fixed that problem .
Hoy plays ok but i havent seen enough from him to understand all the raps he gets especially as a 6 .
 
I get the impression from the interviews done a few weeks ago that Hoy has been playing 5/8 against the main squad for a few months and pretty much burning them.
Several of them made a point of saying Hoy had impressed them and they had full confidence in him, which could only mean they were impressed as he blew past them at training. (like he was a Titan or something - too soon?)
 
Billy said:
I get the impression from the interviews done a few weeks ago that Hoy has been playing 5/8 against the main squad for a few months and pretty much burning them.
Several of them made a point of saying Hoy had impressed them and they had full confidence in him, which could only mean they were impressed as he blew past them at training. (like he was a Titan or something - too soon?)
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Oh Billy, WAY too soon

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk
 
Billy said:
I get the impression from the interviews done a few weeks ago that Hoy has been playing 5/8 against the main squad for a few months and pretty much burning them.
Several of them made a point of saying Hoy had impressed them and they had full confidence in him, which could only mean they were impressed as he blew past them at training. (like he was a Titan or something - too soon?)
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Nice lol
 
[QUOTE="Billy, post: 538195, member: 243. (like he was a Titan or something - too soon?)[/QUOTE]

This is great!
 
Comment on Sione at 2nd row compared to Fitz etc, wasn’t it Sione who passed under stress for Lee to score and didn’t he also pass another that Lee dropped or couldn’t take with opportunity to score. Not saying Sione is better but Fitz has shown little ability to pass or create he is more a receiver and scorer, depends on what you want or need. Think Sione also runs more lines to create space rather than be the receiver. His tackling is strong, stops a lot, yes I know he can be a bit slow getting back on side. Even when we are going bad he is flat out trying his best
 
Frank McWilliams said:
Comment on Sione at 2nd row compared to Fitz etc, wasn’t it Sione who passed under stress for Lee to score and didn’t he also pass another that Lee dropped or couldn’t take with opportunity to score. Not saying Sione is better but Fitz has shown little ability to pass or create he is more a receiver and scorer, depends on what you want or need. Think Sione also runs more lines to create space rather than be the receiver. His tackling is strong, stops a lot, yes I know he can be a bit slow getting back on side. Even when we are going bad he is flat out trying his best
Click to expand...
Sione is always giving 100% for sure but out of the 2 i would take fitzy .
 
Billy said:
I get the impression from the interviews done a few weeks ago that Hoy has been playing 5/8 against the main squad for a few months and pretty much burning them.
Several of them made a point of saying Hoy had impressed them and they had full confidence in him, which could only mean they were impressed as he blew past them at training. (like he was a Titan or something - too soon?)
Click to expand...

Playing a ball running game I assume?

Not what we need in 1st grade while Pearce is there.
 
Billy said:
It's all over bar the shouting, so my thoughts on the year.

I'm pretty happy with it, overall.

After the trainwreck we have been since the Tinkler years, a one year turnaround to make the finals is as good as we can hope for.

The coach. I think he is very ambitious for us and won't settle for mediocrity. He got the best out of most of our players, including massive improvements to most of them.

Ponga - He has spent most of the year turning himself into a more complete player and for the last month or so we are seeing the results of that. He is now a threat all over the field and our best playmaker.

Hunt - He has bulked up and become a very safe winger, but i'd like to see him score more tries, or make way for a tryscorer like Toa.

Toa - Still a rookie. He has made very good progress on his various issues. He is now very safe under a high ball and his reads in defence are much better, but he still needs to work on that. He has shown he can find a way to score.

Shibasaki - Very hot and cold. His best games are very good and he is well worth a starting spot. His worst games are dreadful. If he can get a bit of consistancy he is better than Hunt, but Hunt can be relied on to always play well.

Tuala - The surprise success story of the year. He is rightly being talked about as a SOO chance.

Best - 10 games into his firstgrade career the 18 year old is being talked about as an outside chance to play SOO. I refuse to talk about injuries.

Lee - He had a few "unforced errors" in him last year. I haven't seen that this year. He seems a better player and I think a large part of our offseason was spent working on kicks to use Lee's size to effect. He now bats the ball back and wins the contest in the air like Tupou at the Roosters. I suspect O'Brien got the idea from his time at the Roosters.

Mann - our player of the year. Even yesterday, he was our best. I'm not sure how we use him next year, but he'll be one of our top players.

Pearce - I can't put my finger on what the issue is, but he isn't leading the team well. Maybe he has lost it - maybe the team just isn't on board with him - maybe he just needs a proper hooker and a proper 5/8 to work with.

Klemmer - New coach is letting him offload and even pass before the line and he has become a more complete player. A good year for him.

Randall - Spending the year working on his skills with the firstgrade squad has probably been the best thing for him. He has always been fit enough to play firstgrade but had the skills of a park footballer. I'd now say he is at least good enough to be our second choice hooker next year, and the more he plays the better he'll get.

DSaf - Injury stopped it being a great year for him, but you can see clear improvement in him.

Guerra - It's been a long, hard year for him, but he held the gloves up and battled on. he's been one of our biggest contributors.

Fitz - One of the few in the team who hasn't shown any improvement this year. He needs to lift or lose his spot.

Barnett - He has lifted to a new level, but I feel his kamikaze style will cut his career pretty short.

Sione - If he can stay fit next year I think he will be close to starting over Fitz, but Frizzel will have his spot on the right.

JSaf - by next season I expect him to be a rep standard prop. He is close already.

King - fringe forward is probably as good as he'll get, but happy to use him if we have injuries.

Saulo - Needs a good off season and I think he'll have a breakout year next year and be a solid replacement for Herman.

Crossland - The 19 year old has had a great development year. Another off season and he'll be ready to play regular firstgrade, if we can find a spot for him.

Hoy - same as Crossland

Watson - If the doctors can glue him back together he will be a force for us, but I don't know where or how we use him.

Brailey - Obviously he is the player we missed most this year and will make a big difference next year.

Frizzell - An upgrade on the aging Guerra who might even be our best forward next year.


I expect the coach has learnt a lot from his first year in charge and the players have certainly had a great year for development as individuals. We should have another great off season and start next year as a better version of "Knights2020".
Click to expand...


Great assessment Billy , your contributions are always well considered , even if I do not always agree.
 
Frank McWilliams said:
Comment on Sione at 2nd row compared to Fitz etc, wasn’t it Sione who passed under stress for Lee to score and didn’t he also pass another that Lee dropped or couldn’t take with opportunity to score. Not saying Sione is better but Fitz has shown little ability to pass or create he is more a receiver and scorer, depends on what you want or need. Think Sione also runs more lines to create space rather than be the receiver. His tackling is strong, stops a lot, yes I know he can be a bit slow getting back on side. Even when we are going bad he is flat out trying his best
Click to expand...

Frank, In my opinion Sione is a most perplexing, polarising bloke I have ever watched -He does tackle strong; if he makes contact, he is forever shooting out of the line and leaving others exposed and the line undermanned and his recovery lacks urgency.
It is obvious the boys around him are in 2 minds what he will do and that leaves them vulnerable and indecisive.
He does run heaps of lines but offers the opposition no threat.
He gives 100% , but is that what is best for the defensive line?

There is no doubt there is a footballer in there , but are we using him correctly or what his best position is in this team is evades me.
 
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