The Mullen Hate...

R

Rubbish Binney

Matt Hilder
In the last month or so I've noticed a massive uptake in bagging Jarrod Mullen on newspaper websites particularly The Herald, which has cooincided with the rise of young Tyrone and The Stig.

Thankfully it hasn't really infiltrated here as much (obviously because of the truer blooded fans), but it's a massive frustration for me as a long time supporter of both the Knights and Jarrod himself.

I understand that in the most part the rugby league knowledge and general intellect of people who post on the Herald and Daily Telegraph website is three fifths of SFA - but even still I cannot believe some of the dribble that is appearing on there.

I have been absolutely loving the efforts of Tyrone and The Stig in the face of a massive injury toll, but anyone who believes that they are already better than Mullen or more deserving of the 6 or 7 jersey is absolutely kidding.

Before he got injured he was easily our best performer this year and lead the Dally M after three rounds. He has been one of the most consistent defenders as a half over the last decade and has contributed to pretty much all our positivity on the field in the last four years.

I think generally across sport people have a short memory, but I would hope that our own (supposed) fans would at least be able to remember efforts from before round 10.

At 17 Jarrod was kicking winning field goals in semi-finals, played Origin at 20 - and deserves a lot more respect then he is getting. I understand the philosophy of not changing a winning team but at full fitness he is still the best half or 5/8 in the club and deserves to be picked first.

Discuss.
 
I for one am not a hater of Jarrod Mullen, he is one of my favorite players.

I think it is rubbish if they have to bag Mullen, just because he isn't the best player in the game doesn't mean he isn't a rubbish player. I think either Roberts or Stig, preferably Stig IMO will be named along side Mullen when he's back and ready to play, possibly against Cowboys, both have shown massive amounts of potential in the past few weeks and they haven't let anyone down.
 
I dont hate the bloke at all, but i understand the frustration that fans are getting from his lack of consistancy although this year has been ok, not brilliant but passable to stay in FG.
A few ingoal grubbers would be nice to see when he comes back, i think he will work well with stig helping him, I think they will be as good as manlys halves.
 
First thing, by round 3 this year he was leading the Daily M, then he got injured and has played every game since with injury, which will always impact your performance.

Secondly I think that had he continued to play well he would be being considered for Origin (Yes he is that good) and given the Jamie Soward injury cloud he may possibly be there in the extended squad.

I also predict that when he comes back he is going to play the house down and put himself into a position where he can contest for the halves for Origin next year.

I feel a good vibe from the way we are playing this year and having guys ith Mullen's experience coming back now, fully fit, makes it all that more promising.
 
I think the hate is more like frustration. We all know that Mullen has alot of potential and when he is firing he can destroy any opposition, but the problem is we really see it. This could be due to the injuries he has sustained, a lack of confidence or through a lack of a stable environment around him e.g. never constantly having the same halves partner.

As for the media, they will attack any player that is inconsistent but with the rise of Stig and Roberts it hasn't helped and if they continue to play well, Mullen is only going to be attacked more and more. Also the media loves to stir things up because it sells papers and gets people talking about them.
 
It's no surprise really, Mullens not the first. You jsut have to look at Henry, gets injured, Roberts debut and everyone forgets Henry's decent debut. Roberts gets injured, Stig replaces, and everyone forgets Roberts.

McManus makes origin, gets injured, Vuna replaces, and noone wants McManus. Same with him recently, gets injured after being one of our best all year, Mata'utai replaces, and we have threads about who should be in the team.

I'm sure if Adams hadn't of broken his arm, there'd be talk of him being better then De Gois.

MacDougall was in his best form of the past 5 or so years, and he's been injured so far this year, and most don't want a piece of him.

Sure Mullen has his problems, he doesn't go for repeat sets, and he runs it at the wrong times, but he has one of the best kicking games around, and was the best long kicker this year.

Not to mention our forwards were the best we've seen them by far last week, Stig and Roberts had far more to work with then Mullen has had all year.
 
knights22 said:
It's no surprise really, Mullens not the first. You jsut have to look at Henry, gets injured, Roberts debut and everyone forgets Henry's decent debut. Roberts gets injured, Stig replaces, and everyone forgets Roberts.

McManus makes origin, gets injured, Vuna replaces, and noone wants McManus. Same with him recently, gets injured after being one of our best all year, Mata'utai replaces, and we have threads about who should be in the team.

I'm sure if Adams hadn't of broken his arm, there'd be talk of him being better then De Gois.

MacDougall was in his best form of the past 5 or so years, and he's been injured so far this year, and most don't want a piece of him.

Sure Mullen has his problems, he doesn't go for repeat sets, and he runs it at the wrong times, but he has one of the best kicking games around, and was the best long kicker this year.

Not to mention our forwards were the best we've seen them by far last week, Stig and Roberts had far more to work with then Mullen has had all year.
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Thats a good post mate, well done.
 
I agree with the majority of things said here - Mullen does has his faults, but what half doesn't. If his forwards are soft (unlike the Roosters game -they were the best I've seen them in years) he can't do it all himself. I'd like to see him paired with Stig and Kurt move to hooker.
 
Angelus said:
I agree with the majority of things said here - Mullen does has his faults, but what half doesn't. If his forwards are soft (unlike the Roosters game -they were the best I've seen them in years) he can't do it all himself. I'd like to see him paired with Stig and Kurt move to hooker.
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Great start to your posting career. +rep

And, welcome :p
 
He is only 24yrs old so his best years are ahead, Jarrad is all class and a future captain of our club.
I have no frustration waiting for this future Australian half to become the most sort after player in the league.
 
I'm not sure about the future Australian half, does he have the talent to be it, yes, but I think there are just too many ahead of him. You have Thurston Cronk Prince in the olders. With Pearce seeming to have the origin spot cemented, he looks to be favourite for next spot after the qld 3, while Mullen is better then him, he already has alot of rep experience. I'm just not sure he'll be able to push them out of the spot.
 
As others have said before, it's probably moreso continual frustration associated with the bloke rather than actual hate.

Not to mention he's been associated with failure over the past few years. Obviously thats not his fault alone - one man cant play every position - but through time the lines tend to blend and you get what you see now from some people.

But onto the younger guys coming through: Theyre actually playing constructive footy. Sure, they got probably the best platform last week from the forwards over a couple of seasons, but theyre not just getting to the other end and kicking it aimlessly across the field hoping for someone to construct a try from nothing.

But Mullens long-kicking and kicks in general play have been a highlight this season.
 
Although I agree his kicking in opp 20 hasn't been good, and alot have called for more repeat sets, the thing is, in seasons gone past, we would score from the exact same kicks Mullen is producing. Our wingers just don't seem to be able to catch the high balls this season.
 
Some of the hate he cops at times is warranted, but there are a certain few on here criticise him regardless of how well he is playing.

I can understand the frustration factor about his game a lot of the time, not going for the repeat set, playing almost robotic. But you have to think to yourself, our foward pack rarely performs or lays a decent platform, our backrowers at times don't attack the line or run into holes, our centres this year haven't passed the ball after Mullen has put them into space.

When our fowards go foward and we have runners taking the line on across the park, Mullo really starts coming into his own, not many times have I seen him play bad when we have those things going our way. You only have to look at great halves like Thurston and Lockyer that can perform on a consistent basis, they're teams respective foward pack goes foward nearly every match and they have they're backs coming onto the ball making they're job easier. What does Mullen have? A hit and miss foward pack, centres that hardly ever pass the ball, a rookie coach and most times an unexperienced halves partner or a reserve pairing him, the times he has Gidley playing with him he is at his best.
 
Bloody media. They do it to everyone and like you said coincides with the rise of the Stig & Roberts. They do it to the team in general like I've said before if the Knights are playing well they are "Our Newcastle Knights" and if they aren't going so well they are "THE Newcastle Knights" *grr*
 
Mullen has typically been a confidence player IMO. He was sensational early on this season but then injury seemed to hinder him and a few average performances seem to have had him second guessing himself. The negative press he cops would compound this and its impossible to ignore everything thats written about you.

Happy to hear that he wants to come back this week and is near a return but I really hope he takes the time to completely recover from his latest injury. The pectoral tear was meant to be season ending so to be coming back so soon is amazing and a credit to the Knights medical staff. But if he rushes and returns with any doubt in his bodies ability to perform I think he will struggle to perform to his best.

That being said, at 24 he has his best years ahead of him. I'd love to see him take Stig under his wing next season with Gidley moving to hooker and get back to playing confident football. Bennet is the kind of coach who instills confidence in his players so certainly the signs are good for the future. Lets hope he can finish off this season injury free.
 
NF_47 said:
Some of the hate he cops at times is warranted, but there are a certain few on here criticise him regardless of how well he is playing.

I can understand the frustration factor about his game a lot of the time, not going for the repeat set, playing almost robotic. But you have to think to yourself, our foward pack rarely performs or lays a decent platform, our backrowers at times don't attack the line or run into holes, our centres this year haven't passed the ball after Mullen has put them into space.

When our fowards go foward and we have runners taking the line on across the park, Mullo really starts coming into his own, not many times have I seen him play bad when we have those things going our way. You only have to look at great halves like Thurston and Lockyer that can perform on a consistent basis, they're teams respective foward pack goes foward nearly every match and they have they're backs coming onto the ball making they're job easier. What does Mullen have? A hit and miss foward pack, centres that hardly ever pass the ball, a rookie coach and most times an unexperienced halves partner or a reserve pairing him, the times he has Gidley playing with him he is at his best.
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Is it really Gidley though, end of last year we were great, but we also had De Gois finally back to fitness, and our forwards were finally bringing in some impact.
 
May I ask where it has been documented that Gidley will be playing Hooker next year?

If it hasn't been documented. Where is the evidence?
 
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