Ripley
Kennel Established
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2020
- Messages
- 509
- Reaction score
- 953
Everybody wants a running darting #9 like Damien Cook or a game managing #9 like Cam Smith. Problem is, there’s only one of each in the game and a handful of others that do some of one or both without never really getting close.
Thing is though, that’s not the most important thing you need out of your #9 to win comps, and I’ll provide proof of such.
What you need out of your #9 is the things they’re gonna spend 90% of the game doing above all else. Passing off the ground and hitting a moving target one and two wide, preferable three, and defending in the middle all day every day. I’d also throw in a kick from DH but even that’s not as important as the previous two. Everything else, the darting, the game management, is a bonus that you want, but don’t necessarily need dependant on the rest of your spine.
And that proof I was talking about - Easts won two comps in a row and three in a decade with a #9 who’s main and maybe only strengths were hitting moving targets one and two wide, with the odd kick, and tackling all day in the middle and not much else. When he did run 9/10 he’d get bowled over within half a dozen steps. Sure he got some metres sometimes, but only sometimes. That wasn’t what he was selected every week for.
Cronulla also won a comp with a #9 who did more of the fancy things with us under Des Hasler than he ever did at Cronulla. His main task at Cronulla was to hit the forwards and feed the backs and give everyone the shits.
So......
I guess I haven’t given up on JMK in a team with the rest of the spine shining. He can defend in the middle all day, he can kick from DH when he’s shown it, wether he can hit a moving target one, two, three wide passing from the ground I’m undecided about. And if he can run a few times a game, there’s that, maybe.
I just don’t think the bar is as high as everyone who wants Cook/Smith clones would have it.
Just do what has to be done 90% of the game competently, and review at the end of ‘21.
But give him that chance.
Thing is though, that’s not the most important thing you need out of your #9 to win comps, and I’ll provide proof of such.
What you need out of your #9 is the things they’re gonna spend 90% of the game doing above all else. Passing off the ground and hitting a moving target one and two wide, preferable three, and defending in the middle all day every day. I’d also throw in a kick from DH but even that’s not as important as the previous two. Everything else, the darting, the game management, is a bonus that you want, but don’t necessarily need dependant on the rest of your spine.
And that proof I was talking about - Easts won two comps in a row and three in a decade with a #9 who’s main and maybe only strengths were hitting moving targets one and two wide, with the odd kick, and tackling all day in the middle and not much else. When he did run 9/10 he’d get bowled over within half a dozen steps. Sure he got some metres sometimes, but only sometimes. That wasn’t what he was selected every week for.
Cronulla also won a comp with a #9 who did more of the fancy things with us under Des Hasler than he ever did at Cronulla. His main task at Cronulla was to hit the forwards and feed the backs and give everyone the shits.
So......
I guess I haven’t given up on JMK in a team with the rest of the spine shining. He can defend in the middle all day, he can kick from DH when he’s shown it, wether he can hit a moving target one, two, three wide passing from the ground I’m undecided about. And if he can run a few times a game, there’s that, maybe.
I just don’t think the bar is as high as everyone who wants Cook/Smith clones would have it.
Just do what has to be done 90% of the game competently, and review at the end of ‘21.
But give him that chance.
Last edited: