TRIAL 1 - NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS V CANTERBURY BULLBOGS 21/2/2022

slotmachine said:
Would you prefer hoy who was trying lots of things, a couple worked but plenty didn't.

Or Crossland who may as well not have been out there he was that passive once he got a chance in the halves?

The best ball playing in the second half was the move hoy and Baker put on down the right hand side.

Hoy even did more kicking, although his first effort was a terrible up and under, and Crossland got a repeat set with his only kick.
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Crossland was playing the mann role at lock in the middle. Hoy took Clifford’s role on the right. Pythian playing Clune son the left.

When there were comments about not needing a genuine 7 in the pre season they weren’t wrong. Literally split the field into 3 parts with Ponga floating amongst them.
 
Hi, anyone heard any news on Bailey Hodgson’s elbow injury? Hope it’s only a minor one, thought he played well for the time he was on the pitch.
 
Thieves Like Us said:
Hi, anyone heard any news on Bailey Hodgson’s elbow injury? Hope it’s only a minor one, thought he played well for the time he was on the pitch
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Firstly, welcome to the forum…

No info as yet that I can find anywhere around here in the media…

It was obviously something he took into the game based on the way it was already strapped in the game to allow him to play.

The only thing I did see was somebody at the ground (I think) post that they saw him with “only a bit of ice on the elbow after the game” so hopefully 1) as something he took into the game, it would be something the medical staff have assessed as an injury that he can’t do any further/serious damage to and 2) he is likely able to recover from it fairly quickly and be fit to play sooner rather than later, even if it did flare up on the night.

Will let you know if we hear anything more
 
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Still_Nutty said:
Firstly, welcome to the forum…

No info as yet that I can find anywhere around here in the media…

It was obviously something he took into the game based on the way it was already strapped in the game to allow him to play.

The only thing I did see was somebody at the ground (I think) post that they saw him with “only a bit of ice on the elbow after the game” so hopefully 1) as something he took into the game, it would be something the medical staff have assessed as an injury that he can’t do any further/serious damage to and 2) he is likely able to recover from it fairly quickly and be fit to play sooner rather than later, even if it did flare up on the night.

Will let you know if we hear anything more
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Thanks for the warm welcome and the update!
 
Hey guys. I feel like some of our big name players were just there for match fitness and not to injured e.g safs, ponga and the centres. Which is why I thought they may of be quite
 
Sheldon said:
Hey guys. I feel like some of our big name players were just there for match fitness and not to injured e.g safs, ponga and the centres. Which is why I thought they may of be quite
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I expect most players who have locked down a spot already are just having a training run in trials.
On the other side, many of the Bulldog players were playing for a spot, so our young guys holding out fringe firstgraders who were actually trying was pretty impressive. Flanagan didn't exactly push his case by not outplaying Phythian and Hoy, or even our SG Ball playmaker Mitch Henderson when he came on.
Klem was interesting in that he seemed to be having a crack. Maybe it's just in his nature that he can't go easy, or maybe he feels he has to earn his starting spot back.
 
Having heard him interviewed several times Billy, I think it just isn't in his nature not to put in 110% once he crosses that white line...he loves his footy that much.
 
Abit late but I was impressed with Mac baker and his desire to get on the ball, something I wasn’t expecting straight away.
We’ve got some exciting juniors coming through the future is looking promising!
 
BETTERTHANLEGO said:
Abit late but I was impressed with Mac baker and his desire to get on the ball, something I wasn’t expecting straight away.
We’ve got some exciting juniors coming through the future is looking promising!
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I thought he'd be a liability at fullback last year because he is pretty short, but he is fearless under a high ball. Anyone who takes a high ball off him will have a fight on their hands. He goes for it with no thought of personal safety, and most times he gets a clean catch and they get his knees in their face.
 
The best thing for me was the pass by Klem that resulted in a try. That can really keep the defence in two minds. Tyson needs to work on the same thing, he runs an ok line but if the defence thought he could pass before or in the line, think of the possibilities.
 
I think they have all been given some license to use the ball, there was plenty of movement in the first half last week. Whether that is being "trialled" and some may have their license revoked, I'm not sure. Im looking forward to seeing if we can make Melbourne a bit uncomfortable.
 
Owey said:
I think they have all been given some license to use the ball, there was plenty of movement in the first half last week. Whether that is being "trialled" and some may have their license revoked, I'm not sure. Im looking forward to seeing if we can make Melbourne a bit uncomfortable.
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You would think if Joey is involved in the attack, he wouldnt be a fan of one out runs all up the field and recognises the importance of ball movement early in sets etc. Clearly he does, he is the 8th for a reason.

I guess what im saying is I doubt this new look is a trial. It will (and should) be the way we attack. To be honest I have to wonder about OB, 2 years of one out running from him given he was Melbourne attacking coach is just mind boggling.

I would have thought he would come in and change our structures straight away, not need Joey to be telling him how to structure the attack.

Im looking forward to watching us play all season if this is how we are going to move the ball around.
 
Kurriboy said:
I guess what im saying is I doubt this new look is a trial. It will (and should) be the way we attack. To be honest I have to wonder about OB, 2 years of one out running from him given he was Melbourne attacking coach is just mind boggling.

I would have thought he would come in and change our structures straight away, not need Joey to be telling him how to structure the attack.
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Yeah, it's strange, he was the Roosters attack coach his time there as well right? Maybe he just wanted us getting the basics right first. 🤷‍♂️
 
daniels said:
Yeah, it's strange, he was the Roosters attack coach his time there as well right? Maybe he just wanted us getting the basics right first. 🤷‍♂️
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I remember that’s what Bennett wanted when he came here, get the basics right.

That was the beginning of our decade of one out hit ups.
 
jamesgould said:
I remember that’s what Bennett wanted when he came here, get the basics right.

That was the beginning of our decade of one out hit ups.
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Yep and watching for that decade hurt! Brian Smith got us working alright but once he got shot into the clouds we went back to being mediocre again. It's weird you see juniors throw it around, chip n chase etc but as soon as they hit top flight the reset button is pressed.

It's a game of seconds in firsts and I guess they want them doing the basics 110% before moving onto free flowing attack. Hopefully joey is the one to get them pulling the trigger at the right times and even chancing their arms sometimes. Footy needs to get some excitement back!
 
danknights said:
Yep and watching for that decade hurt! Brian Smith got us working alright but once he got shot into the clouds we went back to being mediocre again. It's weird you see juniors throw it around, chip n chase etc but as soon as they hit top flight the reset button is pressed.

It's a game of seconds in firsts and I guess they want them doing the basics 110% before moving onto free flowing attack. Hopefully joey is the one to get them pulling the trigger at the right times and even chancing their arms sometimes. Footy needs to get some excitement back!
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I remember in Bennett's time he'd often say he wanted us getting all the basics right before we started trying fancy stuff. Problem was - we were never Melbourne ... we were never going to get that game 100% perfect. I don't think many teams ever would. So I personally think it was a pretty pointless quest ... and as you say about putting all that stuff away when you reach first grade, better to have kids playing their natural game, I reckon. It's a long time ago, but that's what happened with us in 1997 ... and more recently that's what Penrith do.
 
Not sure I totally agree with that. The Panthers played some of the most conservative and boring football in the NRL in 2018-19 and definitely eased Cleary into first grade as the secondary half, with Maloney more dominant. Luai had to wait in reserves for a lot longer than a lot of other talented halves. Definitely seems to me that they wanted to nail the basics first, didn’t wanna just toss their kids out there and just let them play and let the chips fall where they may. Quite the opposite.

Yeah they generate more highlights than us, but also that’s because they absolutely choke the life out of teams with insane defensive line speed and pinpoint kicking. So they have the ball more than other teams, in better spots than other teams, behind a very dominant pack… no wonder they get plenty of opportunity to express themselves.

I reckon you might be putting the cart before the horse tbh. They’re not good because they let their attacking players loose; they can let their attacking players loose because they’re so historically dominant at the basics.
 
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