NRL Round 1 - Knights Vs Cowboys - 1:15pm Sunday 1st March (AEDT) - Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
- Thread starter Lefty
- Start date
slotmachine
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
It's definitely the coolness factor (and not the $$$).
Brown and Ponga both prefer the left. Can’t have them both playing there. Is it preferable to have a constant of Brown on our best attacking side with Lucas and Best. Or keep the focus of attack on the right with the opposition knowing that Ponga is there chiming in on the left.
HarVeeGee13
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Why not
HarVeeGee13
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
TBF I was taking about it in the context of placating guys who could probably play fullback elsewhere
Predictability.
Put your biggest attacking weapons sitting on the same side of the field in each others pocket is a defenders dream.
Come on, you don’t need that explained to you.
Les Misérables
Adam Woolnough
Lets say he does play Brown on the right-hand side, why, what could be the thinking?
I'm sure Smith would have a simpler job and have better options on the right when Ponga is out there.
It has been said that Ponga will play both sides. It seems logical that despite this you just keep Brown on the left, though, as it's his preferred side, as the right is Smiths'.
Does anyone have a good theory?
I'm sure Smith would have a simpler job and have better options on the right when Ponga is out there.
It has been said that Ponga will play both sides. It seems logical that despite this you just keep Brown on the left, though, as it's his preferred side, as the right is Smiths'.
Does anyone have a good theory?
HarVeeGee13
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
I gotta say in all my years of watching footy, “having your best attacking players combine = bad” isn’t something I’ve observed be the case much if at all. I dunno maybe I missed a memo there.
frankLauda
Timana Tahu
As @Newygirl mentioned souths are the perfect example of having all the best players going left, all the time, everyone knew but they couldn’t stop them scoring tries.
Anyway Ponga will swing boths ways (in footy context) as he’s brought that into his game over the years. He’s not purely left all the time. Brown needs in be left in my opinion.
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slotmachine
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Given up trying to make sense of any of it. It feels like some sort of fever dream.
Time to kick back and wait for game day and hope it's not a complete schemozzle.
Defender1
Matthew Johns
The chat was mainly about Sharpe... I did make a remark about Gagai playing wing and wasn't corrected (for whatever that's worth).
Newygirl
Todd Bates
Pretty much every team favours the left because most players are right handed and pass better right to left (see screenshot below)
Broncos won a comp heavily favouring their left because Walsh and Mam link up well together. Just like Cody and Latrell, and I’d imagine the whole point of Brown is that he too would link up well KP as they both prefer the left side.
At least put them in their best and preferred positons first and see. Presumably it’ll be easier for them to gel in their natural spots
You can always change later. Why on earth would you pre-empt it not working before you’ve even seen it? Only to make things harder for everyone by putting players in unusual and uncomfortable positions to begin with
Attachments
In all my years of watching, it is when you have no forwards to put the defence on the back foot. Then it becomes predictable and easy to defend. Per the last few years.
On another note, what are we paying two of the better outside backs in Young and Gagai for (assuming Sharpe will take the left wing)if they are onlt there for show?
With our forward pack, we need attack across the park, not centred on one side. Defence will eat that up. Stack the left and watch us sit in our 40.
Anyway. Looking forward to seeing what happens.
Treadly
Todd Bates
Yep spreading the attack helped us outta the 40 in the trial. Wait. (Sorry super sarcastic but that was my initial though to your post)
MontyBrogan
Robbie McCormack
This is where I'm at.
We've been a basket case for years, and AOB's chopping and changing through the spine has left most of the fanbase and forum with PTSD. It's been a disrupted or variable off-season and pre-season with the spine given we've signed Brown and Smith, Ponga has been injured, and Fletcher is a bit of an enigma.
Go back to when we announced the hiring of Holbrook - the general mood was positivity about hiring a smart coach who knows how to structure good attacking football. Let's try (for our collective mental health) to retain that benefit of the doubt until we see counter-evidence in a real NRL game. There's been a lot of handwringing about a decision that has rationally looked pretty obvious for months - where Brown and Smith play 6/7 and Sharpe plays 80 minutes somewhere in the outside backs.
Perhaps people like @HarVeeGee13 do have good mail that this isn't the coach's plan, in which case disregard my calmness - but without that, I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt until I have real reason not to. My hairline will hang in there better that way...
Vegas Baby!
Greg Smith
I went and watched them train for a bit yesterday.
Kaylans looking fine and should be lining up in Vegas by all appearances.
Gags is training at right centre and looks fine too aside from some strapping on his thigh.
When I got there they started doing attacking drills with Brown on the right and sharpe on the left with some players sitting out of the drill: JSaf, Mooney, Smith, Friz
After about 5 or so minutes, I clearly heard Holbrook say “Sharpy you have a rest, Sandon you go to 6” and then Smith replaced Sharpe on the left side.
Following the drills, the halves started kicking practice putting up bombs for the backs to catch. Within about 5 minutes of that, Sandon went to the sideline, took boots off and was having his foot looked at which is a bit of a worry.
All of the training I saw was of both Smith and Sharpe playing 5/8 on the left.
Although the weird thing is Sandon plays 1st receiver when he’s on but they are calling it 6. With the swap of Brown to the right, is he meant to be playing 7 but they aren’t putting that jersey on him yet to protect him from the media???
In an interview before the 1st trial game they were asking Brown about halves combos and he was joking and saying they are still working it out and “ya never know, Maybe KP will play 5/8” which also says to me Brown is 7.
All in all, we are less than two weeks from Vegas and still swapping halves around at training.
Kaylans looking fine and should be lining up in Vegas by all appearances.
Gags is training at right centre and looks fine too aside from some strapping on his thigh.
When I got there they started doing attacking drills with Brown on the right and sharpe on the left with some players sitting out of the drill: JSaf, Mooney, Smith, Friz
After about 5 or so minutes, I clearly heard Holbrook say “Sharpy you have a rest, Sandon you go to 6” and then Smith replaced Sharpe on the left side.
Following the drills, the halves started kicking practice putting up bombs for the backs to catch. Within about 5 minutes of that, Sandon went to the sideline, took boots off and was having his foot looked at which is a bit of a worry.
All of the training I saw was of both Smith and Sharpe playing 5/8 on the left.
Although the weird thing is Sandon plays 1st receiver when he’s on but they are calling it 6. With the swap of Brown to the right, is he meant to be playing 7 but they aren’t putting that jersey on him yet to protect him from the media???
In an interview before the 1st trial game they were asking Brown about halves combos and he was joking and saying they are still working it out and “ya never know, Maybe KP will play 5/8” which also says to me Brown is 7.
All in all, we are less than two weeks from Vegas and still swapping halves around at training.
bremsstrahlung
Dave Woods
I was listening to Bye Round with James Graham and Luke Keary (episode is post trial vs dragons) . Keary does say he hasn’t spoken to Holbrook about it, but idk, seems to have that experience with Holbrook and remember we did try to bring him in, so wouldn’t surprise me if he got the “general gist” of what we were planning to do.
He seemed to have the opinion that Smith would be that first receiver type player dishing it off to the forwards. ‘Justin’s got sandon up on ball, he’ll play in front of the line and give it off to the middles inside and outside. Freeing up Brown and Ponga on both sides. I know holbrooks system, and this is what he likes to do’
Interestingly Keary makes a comment re his trial game vs Dragons “he did exactly what he did at the Roosters, 6 good moments and then 3 or 4 errors, and you can’t do that as a 7”. Which may explain why they were content to let him go.
‘He needs to play the percentages more, and be calmer, but he’s a punter, takes risks, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Some you encourage, some you say, dial it back. Ponga punts as well, but he’s generally got better odds than smith’ paraphrased.
He brings up a stat. 21 errors in 17 games for smith, Ponga had 18 in 7. (Documented by NRL stats). I guess he was trying to prove that Ponga is a high risk player too.
Keary also of the opinion Sharpe will be Right centre.
1:03:00
He seemed to have the opinion that Smith would be that first receiver type player dishing it off to the forwards. ‘Justin’s got sandon up on ball, he’ll play in front of the line and give it off to the middles inside and outside. Freeing up Brown and Ponga on both sides. I know holbrooks system, and this is what he likes to do’
Interestingly Keary makes a comment re his trial game vs Dragons “he did exactly what he did at the Roosters, 6 good moments and then 3 or 4 errors, and you can’t do that as a 7”. Which may explain why they were content to let him go.
‘He needs to play the percentages more, and be calmer, but he’s a punter, takes risks, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Some you encourage, some you say, dial it back. Ponga punts as well, but he’s generally got better odds than smith’ paraphrased.
He brings up a stat. 21 errors in 17 games for smith, Ponga had 18 in 7. (Documented by NRL stats). I guess he was trying to prove that Ponga is a high risk player too.
Keary also of the opinion Sharpe will be Right centre.
1:03:00
frankLauda
Timana Tahu
Hollbrook playing Brown on the right is thinking long term it’s better for the team. Either way I think we all need to be prepared for some growing pains this year.
I mean look at Parra from the start of last year to the end. The dogs in 23 when Ciraldo started were not good.
All new combinations in the spine what ever way he goes with it will take time to gel. Our forwards are mainly young guys, so they will take time.
We do need to work on ball security. I have the feeling the start of the year we will have more losses. Just hope to see improvement as the year goes on, building to 27.
I mean look at Parra from the start of last year to the end. The dogs in 23 when Ciraldo started were not good.
All new combinations in the spine what ever way he goes with it will take time to gel. Our forwards are mainly young guys, so they will take time.
We do need to work on ball security. I have the feeling the start of the year we will have more losses. Just hope to see improvement as the year goes on, building to 27.