Barrett's selections. Never thought I'd see DWZ play fullback again

B-Train

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Yeah I can, mate. You have a right to your opinion, but I have a very different one on this issue.

Don't get me wrong, I am far from writing Barrett off at this stage and hope he will succeed here, but some changes he makes seem to be a knee jerk reaction and frustrate the hell out of me. He signed Allan as a long term fullback. What do you think it does to a player's confidence signing him to play a position and then shifting him after three games? He looked pretty damn solid under the high ball in the first two games in abysmal conditions. The only game in which he looked shaky was the Brisbane game.....even the very best fullbacks have bad games....If Barrett wanted explosive kick returns in the position, he needn't have signed Allan and played him there in the first place. He knew what type of player Allan was and what he could offer the team before signing him. As far as DWZ being a better support player, I'm not sure of that at all. Allan showed he was more than capable of backing up a break last year. As far as his attack goes, the whole team has been struggling to click in attack, so singling Allan out seems to be a case of scapegoating to me.

Sure, DWZ did well at fullback when he first arrived here....but for the majority of the time he has played in the position for us, he has been poor....and was VERY dicey under the high ball. On the other hand, Allan was one of the form fullbacks in the comp as recently as the second half of last year. Allan may not recapture that form....maybe he just benefitted from being part of a great backline.....but from my memory he initiated many a movement himself last year. I am a firm believer that if you make a key signing as a coach, you should show a willingness to stick to your plan by giving them a decent opportunity to prove themselves. Allan was given a grand total of three games at the back, two of them in abysmal conditions....and it was only one of those games in which he had shocker. At least he is playing centre now....he could end up doing very well there....moving him to the wing was ludicrous. He can showcase literally none of his best attributes from the wing.
You're more than entitled to your opinion, I never said you weren't and I thought I was very respectful of your arguments in my replies.

I understand what you're saying with chopping and changing but I also think those players obviously are struggling mentally and form wise in the first place so early in the season when we've scored 0 points in three weeks, I can see the logic in some of the changes. If Baz is still chopping and changing this much week to week later in the season, then I'd start to worry more.
 

Flanagun

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You're more than entitled to your opinion, I never said you weren't and I thought I was very respectful of your arguments in my replies.

I understand what you're saying with chopping and changing but I also think those players obviously are struggling mentally and form wise in the first place so early in the season when we've scored 0 points in three weeks, I can see the logic in some of the changes. If Baz is still chopping and changing this much week to week later in the season, then I'd start to worry more.
Don't get me wrong....I don't think you were disrespectful in any way and have no issue with your tone....I was just responding to you saying I can't blame Baz for making the change. The thing is, while I am still hoping he will succeed, I kind of do blame him for making a key signing (whether it's the right player or not) and then abandoning his plan so quickly. I don't think that is going to give players confidence in themselves or their coach....

But not trying to start a fight or get personal, mate. I have no issue with you at all and judging from many other comments you have posted, I think we agree on a lot of things. Just not this particular decision by Barrett. I'm not saying Barrett should be like Hasler and stubbornly resist change at every turn.....but I think three games (and only one of them a really bad one) is too soon to be shifting supposed key signings.
 

wendog33

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What is funny is that us fans continue to pick a better team, with players in their best positions, far better than our previous 3 coaches lol
 

Headmix

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I’d rather DWZ at fullback then in the centres
 

B-Train

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Don't get me wrong....I don't think you were disrespectful in any way and have no issue with your tone....I was just responding to you saying I can't blame Baz for making the change. The thing is, while I am still hoping he will succeed, I kind of do blame him for making a key signing (whether it's the right player or not) and then abandoning his plan so quickly. I don't think that is going to give players confidence in themselves or their coach....

But not trying to start a fight or get personal, mate. I have no issue with you at all and judging from many other comments you have posted, I think we agree on a lot of things. Just not this particular decision by Barrett. I'm not saying Barrett should be like Hasler and stubbornly resist change at every turn.....but I think three games (and only one of them a really bad one) is too soon to be shifting supposed key signings.
Yeah it's definitely not ideal and clear that Baz had buyers remorse! Hopefully he goes well in the centres for now
 

Flanagun

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Yeah it's definitely not ideal and clear that Baz had buyers remorse! Hopefully he goes well in the centres for now
Yeah, probably....but I think it's a little early for buyers remorse. If he doesn't learn to trust his instincts and stick to his plan a little more, he may be the one who ends up causing the buyers remorse. No sign or remorse over Waddell yet....lol
 

DinkumDog

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The thing that worries me most about Barrett is how quickly he gives up on certain plans.
He probably wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for the triple donut and all not just losses but big losses. He’s clearly trying new things, just to see what shakes out.
 

DinkumDog

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Would be great if topine developed into the 13 and we were able to move Jackson on and use his money elsewhere.
Jacko is 6 months into a 3 year deal.
He’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
 

Flanagun

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He probably wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for the triple donut and all not just losses but big losses. He’s clearly trying new things, just to see what shakes out.
Positional changes aren't going to solve those problems....although smart changes like Cotric to wing may help a little. I see no sense in shifting a supposed long term solution from his preferred position after three games..... the most recent of those donuts came after he made the change, anyway. What we are lacking is experience and confidence. I don't think excessive chopping and changing is going to improve that.
 

DinkumDog

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Positional changes aren't going to solve those problems....although smart changes like Cotric to wing may help a little. I see no sense in shifting a supposed long term solution from his preferred position after three games..... the most recent of those donuts came after he made the change, anyway. What we are lacking is experience and confidence. I don't think excessive chopping and changing is going to improve that.
Fair enough. My view is he’s seeking to kick start that confidence by at least closing the gap between us and our opponents and get closer to a win. Hopefully what he’s doing doesn’t further dent confidence.
 
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