Probation period for players

[Wolfmother]

Usually by now (8 rounds in) a special player would have made an impact.

Meany has yet to score a try

Okenbor had a great game against storm and I thought hello a special player here but has since made so many fuckups I'm wondering if he is actually a special needs player

No one else apart from lachlan Lewis has genuine potential , yeah he's making some poor decisions but that's due to the pace of the game and lack of support.. it's also not costing us tries or giving away penalties at crucial times yet instead of nurturing that talent he's being kicked out.

Meany and okenbor haven't shown any improvement in fact okenbor has become a nightmare of a liability with poor ball handling at crucial times and repeated positioning errors

What actual criteria is our coach looking at for decision making when selecting players??

I think there needs to be a probation period with open and clear requirements for all new players

 

[JUNKYARD DOGS]

Personally I hope Lewis isn’t out for long.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Idk wtf you're watching, Meaney shows far more potential than Lewis and has well and truly outperformed him this season.

Look at it this way, Meaney has already nailed some of the basics of fullback play like positional play in defence, safety under the high ball, ability to break tackles, pace, etc. Yh there's still plenty of improvement but a lot of it will come off the back of him learning when to inject himself in this team and/or having the systems in play to allow him to be a key cog. Improvement in the halves will also help him settle while the constant team changes is also a hindrance to him and other players imo.

Lewis on the other hand is getting almost everything wrong, game management is rubbish, kicking game is shit, no ball playing, no running, etc. Deadset the only play he has is a long ball to the winger or centre when there's space on the edge. He needed to be dropped.

I won't comment on Okunbor lol.

 

[Bulldogs09]

I gotta back Marley. Meaney has been good enough for what you can expect from a kid in a shit squad in a key position learning nrl level.

 

[_G-Dog_]

Ive seen more potential In Meaney than Lewis..

Jackson Hastings was a gun junior when the Roosters signed him.. they give him 34 games to prove himself then dropped him when he made a few crucial errors in the 2016 Anzac game.. was never seen in FG for them again..

 

[Spoonman84]

So you think Okonbur and Meaney should be dropped? I can see your point with Okonbur but Meaney?

What do you do drop him and put Hoppa there? Great move seeing our awesome depth in the backs!

Did you ever think that Meaney's lack of tries might have to do with Lewis' play-making ability or lack there of!

 

[Daustin]

meaney has been great, hes safe and has genuine pace. If he has scored 10 tries but made errors all the time we would be saying hes shit. As long as hes playing a roll in attack then i think hes going well which he has when he set up reimis in that tigers game and his ball to CHN against the cowboys. Yes theyre only a few involvements but hes showing promise

 

[Boxer]

Usually by now (8 rounds in) a special player would have made an impact.

Meany has yet to score a try

Okenbor had a great game against storm and I thought hello a special player here but has since made so many fuckups I'm wondering if he is actually a special needs player

No one else apart from lachlan Lewis has genuine potential , yeah he's making some poor decisions but that's due to the pace of the game and lack of support.. it's also not costing us tries or giving away penalties at crucial times yet instead of nurturing that talent he's being kicked out.

Meany and okenbor haven't shown any improvement in fact okenbor has become a nightmare of a liability with poor ball handling at crucial times and repeated positioning errors

What actual criteria is our coach looking at for decision making when selecting players??

I think there needs to be a probation period with open and clear requirements for all new players

Meaney is actually our most consistent player and still young, remember barba he couldn’t catch a ball but after 3 years became a star,
Meaney is already better than barba when he started.

 

[Shire Dog]

Idk wtf you're watching, Meaney shows far more potential than Lewis and has well and truly outperformed him this season.

Look at it this way, Meaney has already nailed some of the basics of fullback play like positional play in defence, safety under the high ball, ability to break tackles, pace, etc. Yh there's still plenty of improvement but a lot of it will come off the back of him learning when to inject himself in this team and/or having the systems in play to allow him to be a key cog. Improvement in the halves will also help him settle while the constant team changes is also a hindrance to him and other players imo.

Lewis on the other hand is getting almost everything wrong, game management is rubbish, kicking game is shit, no ball playing, no running, etc. Deadset the only play he has is a long ball to the winger or centre when there's space on the edge. He needed to be dropped.

I won't comment on Okunbor lol.

I remember watching Meaney play in reserve grade and he didn’t look that crash hot to be honest
Seemed lost at times
But I totally agree has come on in leaps and bounds in the top team
Always comfortable taking bombs and backing himself
His back up play will come in time
Good young kid

 

[CrittaMagic69]

I remember watching Meaney play in reserve grade and he didn’t look that crash hot to be honest
Seemed lost at times
But I totally agree has come on in leaps and bounds in the top team
Always comfortable taking bombs and backing himself
His back up play will come in time
Good young kid

He was actually a very good support player while playing with the Knights, barely sighted during his times with us though..sounds like our previous fullbacks lol.

Honestly my biggest issue with the team is our lack of system and it's why I'm so harsh on Pay and willing to cut some players some slack. The players simply know what their role is or what's required from them in certain situations. We react slowly because of this, because of our lack of confidence and belief in the system. Players don't have the chance to express themselves because the fundamentals are wrong and/or poorly drilled into them, so this heads up footy that Pay supposedly thinks we're going to play just isn't going to happen.

You watch some of the top teams plays and they're organised, they run their lines, get their spacings right, timing, etc...we just aren't close. People will keep carrying on about our roster and say we don't have the quality players across the park that these teams do, and yes they're right, but that isn't an excuse for us not to get the basics right and have a strong system to work off. If we did have these things implemented then the likes of CHN, Meaney, Hoppa, Smith, etc could shine and come up with big plays because the system would get them into these positions where they can express themselves and come up with big plays.

 

[Dingo]

He was actually a very good support player while playing with the Knights, barely sighted during his times with us though..sounds like our previous fullbacks lol.

Honestly my biggest issue with the team is our lack of system and it's why I'm so harsh on Pay and willing to cut some players some slack. The players simply know what their role is or what's required from them in certain situations. We react slowly because of this, because of our lack of confidence and belief in the system. Players don't have the chance to express themselves because the fundamentals are wrong and/or poorly drilled into them, so this heads up footy that Pay supposedly thinks we're going to play just isn't going to happen.

You watch some of the top teams plays and they're organised, they run their lines, get their spacings right, timing, etc...we just aren't close. People will keep carrying on about our roster and say we don't have the quality players across the park that these teams do, and yes they're right, but that isn't an excuse for us not to get the basics right and have a strong system to work off. If we did have these things implemented then the likes of CHN, Meaney, Hoppa, Smith, etc could shine and come up with big plays because the system would get them into these positions where they can express themselves and come up with big plays.

Yep the heads up footy generally comes off the back of structured play as a second phase but we need those systems in place first.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Yep the eyes up footy generally comes off the back of structured play as a second phase.

Exactly. You look at Mitchell at the Roosters and a lot of his big plays come simply off the back of the players on the inside doing a job and just throwing him some early ball with some space to work with. We could easily do something similar with CHN, give him some space and you'd back him to come up with try scoring opportunities. Yet we don't do it, drives me mad lol.

 

[Scoooby]

Meaney has done VERY well, he has been a very good find for us, leaps and bounds progression every week. Love his determination for the team also!

Would love to see him get his first today and have a missive game against his old club.!!!!!

 

[cookieman909]

Meaney has been rock solid at the back. He’s a genuine FB. Something we honestly haven’t had since Patten retired.

 

[Straight18]

He was actually a very good support player while playing with the Knights, barely sighted during his times with us though..sounds like our previous fullbacks lol.

Honestly my biggest issue with the team is our lack of system and it's why I'm so harsh on Pay and willing to cut some players some slack. The players simply know what their role is or what's required from them in certain situations. We react slowly because of this, because of our lack of confidence and belief in the system. Players don't have the chance to express themselves because the fundamentals are wrong and/or poorly drilled into them, so this heads up footy that Pay supposedly thinks we're going to play just isn't going to happen.

You watch some of the top teams plays and they're organised, they run their lines, get their spacings right, timing, etc...we just aren't close. People will keep carrying on about our roster and say we don't have the quality players across the park that these teams do, and yes they're right, but that isn't an excuse for us not to get the basics right and have a strong system to work off. If we did have these things implemented then the likes of CHN, Meaney, Hoppa, Smith, etc could shine and come up with big plays because the system would get them into these positions where they can express themselves and come up with big plays.

Im strongly with u here marley. We have some good footy players. I think with a better coach we could be doing better than we are. Plain and simple. I also believe we could do with an experienced winger while meaney is working on his game, not okunbor. I was huge pay fan in believing giving him some time and i know him on a personal level. But i just dont think he has it in the big time. Its obvious to anyone with eyes the mistakes he is making. But hes not learning from them.

 

[Baby Blues]

Exactly. You look at Mitchell at the Roosters and a lot of his big plays come simply off the back of the players on the inside doing a job and just throwing him some early ball with some space to work with. We could easily do something similar with CHN, give him some space and you'd back him to come up with try scoring opportunities. Yet we don't do it, drives me mad lol.

Furner should be able to help fix our attack. Souths had some set plays that were pretty hard to stop last year

 

[Alan79]

Meaney hasn't scored yet but he asks questions of the defence, more so than Mbye did in numerous years. He seems to be unselfish given that he's set some tries up. In terms of nurturing Lewis, is keeping him in the pressure cooker when he's frustrated with the responsibility nurture? A week or two in the lower grades could be just what he needs to get his confidence back. I look at him and see a very frustrated player right now. Keeping him in the NRL could do more damage to his mentality than good.

I don't know what to say about Okunbor. I agree that his handling and positional play need work. But he hasn't hit a point where he looks like he doesn't want to be there like I think Lewis was starting to. And quality replacements are thin on the ground. If he has another dud week he will drop back to reserves for Chrighton in my opinion. And hopefully Chrighton feels the need to impress if he gets another chance.

People have to remember that we're investing in the future. Cutting the Morris twins from our roster was always going to hurt. But at the same time Meaney Cogger and Lewis still have the potential to be great. Mbye and Woods weren't impressive for the money they were on. So I'm glad the new board didn't stick with them like the old board chose to with duds like Williams. A lot rests on how we keep recruiting. In my opinion 5 youngsters right now are staking a claim in Meaney, Cogger, Lewis, JMK, CHN and Ogden. It's still early days of the season. We might still see more of our lower grades stand up as they earn promotion for good form in Canterbury cup. Toomaga for one possibly just needs an opportunity. Harper started poorly, but if his form improvement warrants it he could finish the year in the NRL. But to an extent throwing players into the NRL before they're in form doesn't always give them a good chance to establish themselves.

 

[Dogzzz of War]

Usually by now (8 rounds in) a special player would have made an impact.

Meany has yet to score a try

Okenbor had a great game against storm and I thought hello a special player here but has since made so many fuckups I'm wondering if he is actually a special needs player

No one else apart from lachlan Lewis has genuine potential , yeah he's making some poor decisions but that's due to the pace of the game and lack of support.. it's also not costing us tries or giving away penalties at crucial times yet instead of nurturing that talent he's being kicked out.

Meany and okenbor haven't shown any improvement in fact okenbor has become a nightmare of a liability with poor ball handling at crucial times and repeated positioning errors

What actual criteria is our coach looking at for decision making when selecting players??

I think there needs to be a probation period with open and clear requirements for all new players

So when your playmaker gives away 7 tackle sets, kicks the ball out on the full and can’t find the grass with his kick he is not costing us tries????????

These are the basics that a halfback needs to get right, because when you don’t your side is put under pressure and it COSTS THE SIDE TRIES.

 

[GrogDog]

I certainly wouldn't have dropped Lewis and some of you would rubbish the fuk out of Lattrell Mitchell if he was in our team....no doubt.

I perhaps would have moved him (Lewis) to centre for Holland or even see how he goes at Hooker. As for Holland, couldn't care less. Martin I don't think he deserved to be dropped and Pay is just pissing on an electric fence if Ogden get's dropped too.

Anyways it's a beautiful day here in Brissie, not a cloud, blue skies, mid 20's and I'm taking my two kids to the game so go Dogs!!!!

 

[Bull Terrier]

Meaney is an exiting player. Like what his doing just like him to get more involved. As fas as i am concerned he has earned his spot and this kid will only get better. When he finally connects with some passes and shoots away the tries will come. Lewis needs a bit in reserves but not long.