The Halfback Conundrum

[bremsstrahlung]

I get why the club did it but I have huge concerns about it working out given a) we don't have a Harry Grant and b) I just watched a 21 year old genuine halfback smoke the storm.

Rumours Katoa wants to return to Sydney.

Reckon we could zoom out a little and show him how close we are to Sydney


Edit: nevermind, he came out last week and said he has no intention of leaving Dolphins.

 

[Les Misérables]

Rumours Katoa wants to return to Sydney.

Reckon we could zoom out a little and show him how close we are to Sydney


Edit: nevermind, he came out last week and said he has no intention of leaving Dolphins.

He'd walk to Newcastle barefoot for $1.3m x 10 years.

 

[Kurriboy]

I get why the club did it but I have huge concerns about it working out given a) we don't have a Harry Grant and b) I just watched a 21 year old genuine halfback smoke the storm.

I still think Melbourne are the favorites for the title this year.

I'm not thinking you can draw too many conclusions from that game and say Melbourne need a genuine halfback.

Off night in defence, and 16 errors, 46% completion rate makes it pretty difficult.

 

[slotmachine]

They don't need a genuine halfback because they have Grant. But he was missing last night and they looked a directionless rabble.

 

[Roundtable]

New Roosters halfback has a good kicking game

 

[Celticman98]

We are going need more than a good halfback to improve.

 

[Seano]

I was in and out during the Titans game. How did Tom Weaver go? He's off contract.

 

[HarVeeGee13]

They missed Jayden Campbell big time

 

[Warbs]

With Sexton going to hooker when Galvin finally came on for the Bulldogs, could Sexton be a 7 that POS should be pursuing. I can't imagine he would be happy to lose his position to a blow-in mid season. Is it too late now for mid season moves of players? Isn't that June 1st?

 

[krustykraz]

With Sexton going to hooker when Galvin finally came on for the Bulldogs, could Sexton be a 7 that POS should be pursuing. I can't imagine he would be happy to lose his position to a blow-in mid season. Is it to last now for mid season moves of players? Isn't that June 1st?

I'd be happy to take him now.
Would need to get it done before June 30.

Not sure he'd want to come here though, could end up in the same position next year with Brown coming and Sharpe in the 6.

 

[OnTilt]

With Sexton going to hooker when Galvin finally came on for the Bulldogs, could Sexton be a 7 that POS should be pursuing. I can't imagine he would be happy to lose his position to a blow-in mid season. Is it too late now for mid season moves of players? Isn't that June 1st?

Toohey has already said we are not looking for a half.

 

[Frank McWilliams]

2026 we will have Brown 7, Sharpe 6 with Cogger and Gamble still here along with Williams and Loza in Flegg, think we are strong enough for next season or two barring our famous injury crises.

 

[Les Misérables]

2026 we will have Brown 7, Sharpe 6 with Cogger and Gamble still here along with Williams and Loza in Flegg, think we are strong enough for next season or two barring our famous injury crises.

We're gonna need to ditch AOB ball if this 3-pronged Ponga-ball set up is to work, because their ain't a halfback in site between those 3.

 

[Frank McWilliams]

Think we have to give Brown a chance and rather than a halfback we need good hard props for any halfback to shine

 

[Chaister]

The traditional requirement to have an out and out halfback isn’t really relevant in the modern game as it stands now. Previously your halfback was the organiser and game manager but now every club has their structures and systems that everyone knows and it negates the need for someone significantly organising the attack during play. That’s why the clubs with smart people in charge like Melbourne have been happy to run with a spine lacking a traditional organiser. Likewise the Dogs being happy to punt Sexton to run 2 5/8s together.

I think people get way too locked into “Browns not a halfback”, “Sharpe’s not a halfback”, “Ponga’s not a halfback”, etc. when it doesn’t really matter in the modern game as long as they can be effective within the teams’ structures. Now not saying our structures are good because they’re obviously not, but that’s besides the point. The game has gone in a direction where the structure is way more influential to the attack than the individual playmaker.

My biggest concern is the long kicking game next year, but having a “halfback” doesn’t automatically = good long kicking game. Our 2 most traditional halfbacks in the side are Hastings and Cogger and they have the worst long kicks in the team. Sharpe definitely needs to start doing it more by next season. He gets good distance on kick offs so there’s some potential there.

 

[Les Misérables]

I like the idea of not needing a traditional 7. But I think that relies on your other ball players being super pragmatic and creative with the desire and ability for high quality involvement on every play, type of thing.

Galvin is an example of that. He isn't a traditional 'game manager' but he has good vision, lots of ideas and demands the ball when the going gets tough and usually comes up with an effective play. Not sure Brown fits into that category, he seems to prefer to pick and choose his moments and doesnt seem to force himself onto games, though Ponga certainly does and we're seeing more from Sharpe on that front.

But the issue isn't willingness from Ponga its quality. Ponga is most effective when he can pick and choose his moments.

Next year I reckon we're gonna have 3 blokes in the kitchen wearing Chefs hats and sometimes the customer simply won't get what they ordered.

 

[Chaister]

I like the idea of not needing a traditional 7. But I think that relies on your other ball players being super pragmatic and creative with the desire and ability for high quality involvement on every play, type of thing.

You’ve literally just described Fletcher Sharpe perfectly though.

Because he’s obviously a natural fullback I think people only see him so far as a good support player, but there a genuine signs of a creative ball player there. Have a look at some of our tries on Thursday. His work for Schiller’s try was excellent. The play was obviously to get the ball to the right quickly, but instead of just continuing to throw it wide quickly like everyone else did he ran into the line a bit and paused just long enough to draw in the Manly defenders which gave Gagai the space he needed. Right after that he saw that the Manly winger was isolated and he went down the blind side to Schiller. His plan was obviously to support back on the inside but he got held back, but the vision was there. He knows where to be in support so often because he reads the play.

He’s a VERY good player, and that’s with half a season in the halves while he’s still a rookie. He obviously still has a lot to learn about playing in the halves, but he just sees things. If his name was Galvin, Fox would also be doing cringey voice over pieces about him.

I do definitely agree with your take on Ponga. Ponga in particular at 27 I think we just need to accept he is who he is and he’s probably not going to be someone who consistently wants his hands on the ball. We just need to let him do his thing when he sees something.

Brown is the big unknown. Obviously watching his Eels form at the moment he isn’t going to be someone that’s going to come in and make a huge difference, but it’s also obvious his career is going nowhere at the Eels. To me he stopped developing in 2023 but so did their entire squad basically, so it’s hard to know if he’s just hit his ceiling or he needs a change. Time will tell. What I will say though is POS has a knack of seeing something in players that might not have been brought out yet. So I’m not going to write Brown off as never getting better than he is now as a 24 year old.

 

[Les Misérables]

You’ve literally just described Fletcher Sharpe perfectly though.

Because he’s obviously a natural fullback I think people only see him so far as a good support player, but there a genuine signs of a creative ball player there. Have a look at some of our tries on Thursday. His work for Schiller’s try was excellent. The play was obviously to get the ball to the right quickly, but instead of just continuing to throw it wide quickly like everyone else did he ran into the line a bit and paused just long enough to draw in the Manly defenders which gave Gagai the space he needed. Right after that he saw that the Manly winger was isolated and he went down the blind side to Schiller. His plan was obviously to support back on the inside but he got held back, but the vision was there. He knows where to be in support so often because he reads the play.

He’s a VERY good player, and that’s with half a season in the halves while he’s still a rookie. He obviously still has a lot to learn about playing in the halves, but he just sees things. If his name was Galvin, Fox would also be doing cringey voice over pieces about him.

I do definitely agree with your take on Ponga. Ponga in particular at 27 I think we just need to accept he is who he is and he’s probably not going to be someone who consistently wants his hands on the ball. We just need to let him do his thing when he sees something.

Brown is the big unknown. Obviously watching his Eels form at the moment he isn’t going to be someone that’s going to come in and make a huge difference, but it’s also obvious his career is going nowhere at the Eels. To me he stopped developing in 2023 but so did their entire squad basically, so it’s hard to know if he’s just hit his ceiling or he needs a change. Time will tell. What I will say though is POS has a knack of seeing something in players that might not have been brought out yet. So I’m not going to write Brown off as never getting better than he is now as a 24 year old.

Sharpe is a wildly talented footballer. But how he is able to impact a game directly correlates to the position he plays on the field.

Don't intend to be needlessly inflammatory here but imo Dylan Brown wouldn't play the '7 role' as well as Jack Cogger played it on Thursday. And let's be honest, Cogger played a very different role to Sharpe.

 

[Warbs]

I still say we need a quality 7. Yes, I've heard all the talk of modern games not needing the traditional 7, but answer this one question, When has AOB's Gameplans ever worked before. He's only had 6 years, or 7 to get it right. I stopped counting after 2. I like Fletcher in the 6, KP in the 1, but I don't see Brown doing halfback stuff. He's proved that before. He's a running 6 who drifts in and out of games. Is that what we want in our "half"?

 

[Chaister]

Sharpe is a wildly talented footballer. But how he is able to impact a game directly correlates to the position he plays on the field.

Don't intend to be needlessly inflammatory here but imo Dylan Brown wouldn't play the '7 role' as well as Jack Cogger played it on Thursday. And let's be honest, Cogger played a very different role to Sharpe.

I understand your point, but also I didn’t really see Cogger playing any sort of special halfback role on Thursday or anything Brown or hell Gamble or Hastings couldn’t do. It wasn’t a game controlling performance. He supported when he needed to and passed when he needed to. I was proud of him, but I also have a very low bar for Jack sadly.

I also don’t think we can assume that Brown will be pushed into Cogger’s “role” as we have no idea what sort of style we’ll play come 2026. If it’s to double down on AOB ball with him as the “halfback” then yes he will struggle, but I really hope that’s not the style we opt for. Cogger seems to play a different role every game. Whether that’s the coaching or his own limitations as a player I don’t know, but his first grade performances have been acceptable to good for maybe 3-4 halves of footy all season. I’m not convinced D Brown will be a great signing for us either, but saying he can’t replace the role Cogger is currently offering in the team is a bit overly negative IMO.