Best 19 in 2027

Billy

Billy

Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Ponga
Young
Hunt
Best
Marzhew
Sharpe
Brown
Hopwood
Crossland
Mooney
Manuleleua
Lucas
Croker

Hagan
Saifiti
Crouch
McEwen
Graham or Frizzel if he stays
Winter
 
1.Kalyn Ponga (C) (GK)
2.Greg Marzhew
3.Bradman Best
4.Fletcher Hunt
5.Dominick Young
6.Fletcher Sharpe
7.Dylan Brown
8.Jacob Saifiti
9.Phoenix Crossland
10.Trey Mooney
11.Dylan Lucas
12.Francis Manuleleua
13.Matt Crocker
14.Sandon Smith
15.Cody Hopwood
16.Tyson Frizell
17.Jermaine McEwen
18.Harrison Graham/Diesel Hagan
19.Toby Winter/Kyle Mccarthy

If Frizell moves on then I’d probably move one of mooney or J saf to the bench with Hopwood starting in their place. Crouch added onto the bench if so.

Sandon unlucky to not start (in a full strength side) but in my opinion hunt has a much higher ceiling and isn’t as much of a spot in defence.

Although he was actually quite good in this finals series I’m just not sure if you’d leave out hunt and move sharpe to centre just to accommodate him. He actually averaged 6 missed tackles in the finals which is another reason why he is on the bench for me.

He will still feature plenty next season and such a luxury player to have as a backup half.

Niukore probably regretting this signing given he is predicted to be on around 500-600k but adds a bit of depth to our middle and edges. Could be the next man up if friz moves on.

Probably the most excited I’ve been going into an offseason ever, another pre season under the belts of our young forwards, Hunt getting reps strictly at one position and Holbrook having more time with this group. Lots and lots to look forward to as a newy fan.

Just hope our boys go into 2027 with the same hunger and desire to get one back, don’t want to go from a GF to missing the 8!

The future is truly bright (I hope).
 
Stating the obvious but we will be without Brown for the few months of 2027. My team is named for when he gets back and flows against a few of the others on here….

I’m not blaming Greg for today but I’d really like to see two wingers with great aerial abilities in both defence and attack so I’m going for Hunt outside of Best. Sorry Greg. 😢

The other big call is moving Sharpe to right centre which allows Smith to play in the halves. Sharpe will kill it wherever he plays and I reckon Smith has done enough this season to deserve an extended run in our best team. Also, I think his kicking from the tee is better than KP’s. I would also like to see Brown return to the left side in attack where he was absolutely deadly for NZ in last year’s internationals.

I like McEwen through the middle on rotation who can play edge if needed. He could be our Lenui (without all the BS and other stuff).

Graham deserve the #14 for me but I’m sure Hagan will push him as the season progresses and there might even be a situation where Crossland moves to 13 so they can share hooking duties which will be tough on Crokes.

Ponga
Young
Sharpe
Best
Hunt
Smith
Brown
Hopwood
Crossland
Mooney
Manuleleua
Lucas
Croker

Graham
Saifiti
Crouch
McEwen
Hagan
Winter
 
Okay, with explanations for each contentious selection:

1. Kalyn Ponga
2. Dominic Young
3. Toby Winter
4. Bradman Best
5. Greg Marzhew
6. Fletcher Sharpe
7. Dylan Brown

13. Mat Croker
12. Francis Manuleleua
11. Dylan Lucas
10. Trey Mooney
9. Phoenix Crossland
8. Jacob Saifiti

14. Sandon Smith
15. Lachlan Crouch
16. Cody Hopwood
17. Jermaine McEwen
18. Marata Niukore
19. Harrison Graham

On Winter: If he has a really good pre-season give the lad a crack. I liked what I saw a lot and the earlier he gets a go the better he’ll be when it matters.

On Marzhew: Bit of an overreaction to dump him after one game lads. The dude is instrumental to our system.

On the halves: Not moving Fletch, I think this is his best spot. Owey was right all along that it’s a waste to have him anywhere but in the game as much as possible. And yeah I can’t wait for Dylan to be back he’s so hot.

On Crokes: I’m not married to him starting there, would be open to Cody or Trey being tried there. I thought the Roosters really game planned to get after him physically and he got folded quite a bit. But his skill set has been very handy this year.

On the starting edges: Open minded about who out of Francis and Dylan starts on the left/right edges.

On Smith: I’m still keen to see him in this role. I think he’s a more talented player than Graham & I don’t know why you’d close the book on him being a real weapon out of acting half.

On McEwen - Would use him the way Penrith have used back rowers in the past, come on as an impact middle then give one edge forward a breather, as he plays out games there.

On Niukore: The way footy works, he’ll probably play 17-21 games even if he’s not in our best 17 on game day.
 
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Dropping Marzhew for one bad game is a huge overreaction. He genuinely had a great season. Realistically how many teams that matter will totally abuse him in the air the way Marky Mark did? The guy catches or makes a play on every high ball. Maybe Warbrick with Warriors, can't think of many others. His positives far outweigh his negatives for this team.
 
My rationale for moving on from him is wasn’t to do with today’s game per se. He’s had a great season as per the ratings he’s received in our own 3-2-1 comp but I do think that we would gain more in both attack and defence by having Hunt on the wing to chase and defuse bombs. Greg’s yardage for most of the season was a big part of our game plan but I do think teams got wise to it as the season wore on.

Anyway, in Holbrook we trust!
 
Didn’t think Marzhew even had a bad game, it was just Nawaqanitawase doing what he does to every team and opposition winger. Don’t think the Roosters even make the GF without him.

Hasn’t been mentioned but Marz equalled Dom’s try scoring record for us last night with 25 for the season, so well done to him on that milestone. Not many would have scored his last minute try, either.

As for Sharpe, I thought his class shone through in the halves last night, he was our biggest threat, threw the beautiful pass for Manuleleua‘s try and a quick second to last pass for Marzhew’s one. We have really relied on his long kicking game throughout this finals series too. Personally really looking forward to him linking up in the halves with Brown next year.
 
Something i think could elevate our attack next year to work on in off season is to develop a show and go in Fletcher Sharpe's game. We are already dangerous on the left setting up in shape with Sharpe making the decision of short to the back rower (whoever it is, they are going to be a threat for him) or out the back to Ponga. Always dangerous but the good teams are working on ways to counter it. So now the variations have to come. Sharpe has a choice between those two options, give him a third, dummy and run yourself. Running the ball in those situations is just something he doesn't think of at this point. If he learns to sense the space when it is on he would be very dangerous at it. It also makes planning to shut down that side of the field a lot more complex. There are drills you can run all preseason to have him aware of the option.
 
I think Harv’s just about hit the nail on the head with that team.

Losing the experience of Frizell is gonna hurt but our young forwards have shown that they are more than capable to fill his shoes and now have experience in the big games.

Our second row combination could come close to one of the best in the competition and I think we don’t lose much at all is McEwen finds himself in the prop rotation.

I’m so excited for 2027.
 
Just thinking about our attacking style and guys we have coming through that might contribute;

Mel Nonu - a winger who scored nearly 2 tries a game in the SG Ball season - basically a Temu version of Dom - not as tall or fast as Dom, but nearly. He went up to Flegg and was scoring a try a game and was one of our best, then up to reserve grade where he was still scoring tries, but not so often. He improved nearly every game all season and hasn't done a firstgrade pre-season yet, so signs are there that he will be a weapon next year.

Deisal Hagan - reads the ruck really well and makes big breaks from dummy half runs when the markers get lazy. A real attacking weapon.

Toby Winter - footwork and speed from a standing start makes him very hard to defend against.

Jack Hilliar - a ball playing lock or prop with great vision. For a big middle forward, he gets a lot of tries and try assists.

Chase Butler - a half or 5/8 who always has a plan and can come up with a try assist from a kick or a pass at any time. He also scores a fair number of tries when the defence holds off him a bit when they expect him to pass or kick.

All those will be 18/19/20 and should get a pre-season and be a chance to make us an even more attacking side next year.
 
It's going to be extremely difficult to bench McKewen and Hopwood after what they have delivered this finals series. I think J.Saf and Mooney will need to earn their starting spots back
-This will be controversial, this is how I would start the year.

1.Ponga
2.Young
3.Winter
4.Best
5.Marz
6.Sharpe
7.Smith (Brown when fully fit, bench until fully fit).
8.Hopwood
9.Crossland
10.McKewen
11.Lucas
12.Manu
13.Croker

14.Graham
15.Saf
16.Mooney
17.Crouch
18.Hunt
19.Cant

20.Saulo
21.Hagan

All of a sudden we have great middle depth, how good.
 
krustykraz said:
It's going to be extremely difficult to bench McKewen and Hopwood after what they have delivered this finals series. I think J.Saf and Mooney will need to earn their starting spots back
-This will be controversial, this is how I would start the year.

1.Ponga
2.Young
3.Winter
4.Best
5.Marz
6.Sharpe
7.Smith (Brown when fully fit, bench until fully fit).
8.Hopwood
9.Crossland
10.McKewen
11.Lucas
12.Manu
13.Croker

14.Graham
15.Saf
16.Mooney
17.Crouch
18.Hunt
19.Cant

20.Saulo
21.Hagan

All of a sudden we have great middle depth, how good.
Click to expand...
Id switch out and have saf start over Hopwood but besides that, id agree with that side
 
Newygirl said:
1. Ponga
2. Marzhew
3. Winter
4. Best
5. Young
6. Sharpe
7. Brown
8. Mooney
9. Crossland
10. McEwen
11. Lucas
12. Manuleleua
13. Hopwood
14. Smith
15. Saifiti
16. Crouch
17. Nuikore
18. Hunt
19. Graham
Click to expand...
Think I'd go with this, except swap Hopwood and McEwen, I reckon Jermaine would excel playing there for 80 minutes. And that gives the option of Crossland moving there if McEwen needs a break, or Phoenix can play 80 at hooker, Smith can come on somewhere else if needed. A lot of options.

That forward pack and bench looks great suddenly, and Croker and Saulo still there as a back up beside all this!
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
Okay, with explanations for each contentious selection:

1. Kalyn Ponga
2. Dominic Young
3. Toby Winter
4. Bradman Best
5. Greg Marzhew
6. Fletcher Sharpe
7. Dylan Brown

13. Mat Croker
12. Francis Manuleleua
11. Dylan Lucas
10. Trey Mooney
9. Phoenix Crossland
8. Jacob Saifiti

14. Sandon Smith
15. Lachlan Crouch
16. Cody Hopwood
17. Jermaine McEwen
18. Marata Niukore
19. Harrison Graham

On Winter: If he has a really good pre-season give the lad a crack. I liked what I saw a lot and the earlier he gets a go the better he’ll be when it matters.

On Marzhew: Bit of an overreaction to dump him after one game lads. The dude is instrumental to our system.

On the halves: Not moving Fletch, I think this is his best spot. Owey was right all along that it’s a waste to have him anywhere but in the game as much as possible. And yeah I can’t wait for Dylan to be back he’s so hot.

On Crokes: I’m not married to him starting there, would be open to Cody or Trey being tried there. I thought the Roosters really game planned to get after him physically and he got folded quite a bit. But his skill set has been very handy this year.

On the starting edges: Open minded about who out of Francis and Dylan starts on the left/right edges.

On Smith: I’m still keen to see him in this role. I think he’s a more talented player than Graham & I don’t know why you’d close the book on him being a real weapon out of acting half.

On McEwen - Would use him the way Penrith have used back rowers in the past, come on as an impact middle then give one edge forward a breather, as he plays out games there.

On Niukore: The way footy works, he’ll probably play 17-21 games even if he’s not in our best 17 on game day.
Click to expand...
I’d go this

I also think the fancy idea of Sharpe in centre is over knowing Brown is still out so you leave Sharpe at 6 all season and let Hunt/Winter battle out the 3. The other on the bench.

Mckewen can be our star mr.fix it, prop rotation and rest Manu/lucas/croker for small spells so we can last the season. Still plays 50-60mins. Hopwood and Mooney don’t care who has the 10. Saf is starting no matter what, we lost Friz and Gags, you need a vet or 2 to start.

Dropping Croker is an controversial call I think
 
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