Official 2019 Position Breakdown: Halves

Blue&whiteAxe

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Seen wakeman ,not much ,bit of a niggler, overrated if you ask me , tries hard ,but who doesn’t?
He didn’t impress me in his few ISP games, but then again it was his first few games at that level so gotta give him some time I guess
 

Howard Moon

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I like to think so too, however I cant seem to get my head around the logistics of how he will adapt when he’s a stand still kicker and the defence will rush up and pressure him. How do you adapt to kicking with precision with half the time your use to?

I've seen him kick fine whilst in motion... he's not a one trick pony.... all halves are targeted, but the good ones can still work their magic.... Lewis is going to be one of those rare players who will always find a way to get the job done
 

K E

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Was reading through the list like, not JMK, not JMK, not JMK, not JMK, fuck.
Hahahaha. Honestly was going to say the exact same thing.

"JMK" and "halves" should not be in the same universe.
 

Blue&whiteAxe

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I've seen him kick fine whilst in motion... he's not a one trick pony.... all halves are targeted, but the good ones can still work their magic.... Lewis is going to be one of those rare players who will always find a way to get the job done
I love the bloke, I hope so. Would burn me to see him get drilled by all the fans after being promoted as our saviour
 

dogwhisperer

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I've seen him kick fine whilst in motion... he's not a one trick pony.... all halves are targeted, but the good ones can still work their magic.... Lewis is going to be one of those rare players who will always find a way to get the job done
I agree, very old head on young shoulders.
He’s going through a full offseason in the first grade squad, he’ll be another year older, I just can’t see him choke.
The kid is a star!!
 

CrittaMagic69

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Hahahaha. Honestly was going to say the exact same thing.

"JMK" and "halves" should not be in the same universe.
I hope we never see him there again.
 

Howard Moon

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I agree, very old head on young shoulders.
He’s going through a full offseason, he’ll be another year older, I just can’t see him choke.
The kid is a star!!

oozes confidence, super competitive, nothing really seems to phase him, can take a hit and not afraid to take on the big boppers... he really is an old head on young shoulders..... you simply don't see rookie halves going after the TPJs of the game... and that's not even the kids job.... He is a Dog of War.
 

TwinTurbo

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I’d be very happy watching defenders rush up out of the defence to try and cut Lewis’s time. That will give Jackson and Martin opportunities to run their lines. Nice

Go Dogs
 

DogBreath

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I like to think so too, however I cant seem to get my head around the logistics of how he will adapt when he’s a stand still kicker and the defence will rush up and pressure him. How do you adapt to kicking with precision with half the time your use to?
I agree. The pressure will be on him. Hopefully Lewis can make that rushing defence look foolish...if they are rushing him it will generally create some opportunity elsewhere. Someone like Thurston thrives on this type of attention. Lets hope he can study these freaks and make the right choices. He is tough and talented with royal blood....
 

Alan79

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I think that Foz, Lewis and Cogger are going to feature heavily for us.

It all comes down to fitness for Foran. If he's anywhere close to full fitness he will provide great service for us. But obviously his fitness is questionable. Fingers crossed he proves durable this year.

Lewis showed four things that impressed me last season. 1. He's super competitive. He won't let a game slip away because he's going to get lazy. 2. He's displayed some tougthness. His defensive efforts were all pretty solid and in attack he's not afraid to take on the line. 3. He's got a pretty good long kicking game and a decent short kicking game. If he's able to keep improving this aspect of his game he'll be a real asset for us. 4. He seems to keep his options open in attack. Players that have made their mind up what they're doing as soon as they get their hands on the ball can be very easy to read, but Lewis seems to have the vision and ability to change the play he's making as the defensive line moves. As others have said he will be under some pressure to perform since opposing coaches will have studied his playing style. But I think he will still perform well for us.

Cogger isn't a player I've seen a lot of. But from what I've read about him last year he's an organizer. Our last half with organizational skills was Hodkinson. But obviously by the time he got to our club his knees were already pretty dodgy, so aside from the odd run he usually had plenty of defenders cutting down his options. If Cogger can provide us a decent kicking game and occasionally take on the line thats good. But A halfback doesn't always need to be the one making the line breaks and making the flashy plays. If he can time his passes and kicking game well it boosts the ability of our backs and the forwards.

I know that a huge portion of the kennel don't rate halves unless they're explosive runners or at least good ball runners. But looking back a little way we've had running halves pairings that never shone for us. Reynolds/Keating (hardly any kicking ability but both good support runners if our forwards set a platform), Reynolds/Mbye (both able to take advantages of defensive lapses, but neither was great at getting the attack firing regularly). So I really don't care if our halves don't both fit the ideals of a lot of kennel members. I'd love to see one half that can attack the line while the other one is able to selectively get good ball away to support runners. I really hope that between Foran Cogger and Lewis we can get a balanced halves pairing firing for a big portion of the year. JMK will hopefully have worked his way into the hooking role by providing the passing game we've lacked since Ennis left. A lot of people want flashy plays from the hooker here, but first and foremost a hooker needs to allow the rest of the team to start playing with full intensity. And Wakeham should have to earn his stripes in reserves and adjust to playing against bigger opponents. If he gets blooded too early it could harm his progress.
 
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doggieaaron

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I guarantee this season players will be running out of the line at him more before a kick because of his slow technique, its not sustainable
They did it this year too him
 

doggieaaron

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He didn’t impress me in his few ISP games, but then again it was his first few games at that level so gotta give him some time I guess
Hes young ,a year in isp against men we will see if hes got it or not
 

Kelpie03

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I think that Foz, Lewis and Cogger are going to feature heavily for us.

It all comes down to fitness for Foran. If he's anywhere close to full fitness he will provide great service for us. But obviously his fitness is questionable. Fingers crossed he proves durable this year.

Lewis showed four things that impressed me last season. 1. He's super competitive. He won't let a game slip away because he's going to get lazy. 2. He's displayed some tougthness. His defensive efforts were all pretty solid and in attack he's not afraid to take on the line. 3. He's got a pretty good long kicking game and a decent short kicking game. If he's able to keep improving this aspect of his game he'll be a real asset for us. 4. He seems to keep his options open in attack. Players that have made their mind up what they're doing as soon as they get their hands on the ball can be very easy to read, but Lewis seems to have the vision and ability to change the play he's making as the defensive line moves. As others have said he will be under some pressure to perform since opposing coaches will have studied his playing style. But I think he will still perform well for us.

Cogger isn't a player I've seen a lot of. But from what I've read about him last year he's an organizer. Our last half with organizational skills was Hodkinson. But obviously by the time he got to our club his knees were already pretty dodgy, so aside from the odd run he usually had plenty of defenders cutting down his options. If Cogger can provide us a decent kicking game and occasionally take on the line thats good. But A halfback doesn't always need to be the one making the line breaks and making the flashy plays. If he can time his passes and kicking game well it boosts the ability of our backs and the forwards.

I know that a huge portion of the kennel don't rate halves unless they're explosive runners or at least good ball runners. But looking back a little way we've had running halves pairings that never shone for us. Reynolds/Keating (hardly any kicking ability but both good support runners if our forwards set a platform), Reynolds/Mbye (both able to take advantages of defensive lapses, but neither was great at getting the attack firing regularly). So I really don't care if our halves don't both fit the ideals of a lot of kennel members. I'd love to see one half that can attack the line while the other one is able to selectively get good ball away to support runners. I really hope that between Foran Cogger and Lewis we can get a balanced halves pairing firing for a big portion of the year. JMK will hopefully have worked his way into the hooking role by providing the passing game we've lacked since Ennis left. A lot of people want flashy plays from the hooker here, but first and foremost a hooker needs to allow the rest of the team to start playing with full intensity. And Wakeham should have to earn his stripes in reserves and adjust to playing against bigger opponents. If he gets blooded too early it could harm his progress.
Great post, from what I've seen of Cogger it appears to me that he is an organising half, something which we haven't had for a few years now.
 

speedy2460

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Great post, from what I've seen of Cogger it appears to me that he is an organising half, something which we haven't had for a few years now.
Cogger has great potential. He will find it difficult to cement a position as Foran and Lewis seem to have the 1/2's sewn up.
Whilst the usual suspects are shit canning him without ever seeing him, he is a great back up half who may even transition to hooker.
 

CrittaMagic69

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Great post, from what I've seen of Cogger it appears to me that he is an organising half, something which we haven't had for a few years now.
His best game at NRL level was playing as a running half outside of Pearce. Overall he looks like an underwhelming NRL prospect.
 

Malla

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Wouldn't count on Cogger to be anything at NRL level. Looks average
 

BELMORE

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I like to think so too, however I cant seem to get my head around the logistics of how he will adapt when he’s a stand still kicker and the defence will rush up and pressure him. How do you adapt to kicking with precision with half the time your use to?
There’s about a million things he can do and has already done. When close to the line all you need to do is sit deeper and not run onto the ball. An example when he put a grubbed through for Morris against the dragons. Pressure also opens up other opportunities for other plays and players. Lewis is a guy that can actually execute these plays because he’s not a slow retard like mbye and is smarter than Reynolds.
 

Howard Moon

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Cogger got his start at a team that until this year could only manage spoons..... let's see him in blue & white before writing him off
 
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