Of the 6 wins we had before the bye in R12, Jackson played in 5 of them. A number of those wins were without Ponga.
Jackson is also probably the slowest half in the comp
Agreed. I’ve said previously that if his fitness allows him to then he should look to drop some timber and bring some zip back into his game. I do think though that he’s got more game intelligence than most halves in the comp and as we all know the first few yards are played in the head. If his body can catch back up to his mind (and not contribute to his temper tantrums) then he could be a real force for us again. Here’s hoping…..!
There is no way he stays beyond his current dealAgreed. I’ve said previously that if his fitness allows him to then he should look to drop some timber and bring some zip back into his game. I do think though that he’s got more game intelligence than most halves in the comp and as we all know the first few yards are played in the head. If his body can catch back up to his mind (and not contribute to his temper tantrums) then he could be a real force for us again. Here’s hoping…..!
So if he sorts his **** out, becomes our 7 again and gets a contract extension, and Will Pryce grabs the #6 jersey and let’s say he’s at least a good first grade five-eighth who comes up with about 1 key try involvement per game, does that retroactively mean the club did a good job of sorting out the halves situation?
It was posted on here that, because we have so many options at hooker now, he was told to find a new position for himself.
Not that we need many more of them, but he could be a decent ball-playing lock. He's tall and just needs a bit more weight perhaps.
Damn because with his size, gas tank and speed if he could develop into a 6 that would be really good or even a winger.
The club signed Hastings, a player with a history of drama and hoped that it'd be different for us. The club signed Pryce, a raw fullback teenage talent and hoped to transition him to 5/8th in the NRL. Both signings were risky with high potential return.
I agree strongly that risks need to be taken when signing unproven players. That comes back to the Scouts of the club. I’m sure all club Scouts would like to have a Crystal Ball, as we or anyone else, doesn’t have this, it comes back to the Scouts ability to spot potential, but let’s face it, some risk is essential. If we wait too long for a player to show their potential, one of the richer clubs will swoop, especially those clubs that don’t seem to have a Salary Cap! The other problem is that some players may choose to go to a club that has better potential to win a Competition, so it’s important as a club to not over pay for such potential. The only way we can lure players to the club, other than throwing the cheque book at them, is to improve our standing on the ladder, which means taking a punt on potential. Unfortunately I don’t think our present coach has the ability to bring the best out of our current players & as far as the coaching ranks go at the moment, I don’t think there is a better option coming through. So I think we are stuck between a rock & a hard place at the moment unless some real risks are taken, which includes blooding some potential we already have. As the saying goes, the definition of madness is using the same unsuccessful methods & expecting a different result.
And strongly agree with most of this offering.
I think this is all already happening? We’ve blooded plenty of young talent since AOB has been at the club, and most of it has gone pretty well.
