Is cogger the halfback we have needed?

[GDR]

Cogger reminds me a lot of Blake Green .. if he can contribute as well as blake green has, it will allow foran to do his thing..

 

[dogwhisperer]

Cogger is a Cronk type player, not saying he’s in the same class as Cronk but in regards to his game management.

 

[enoughsaid]

No

 

[Minix]

Cogger is the real prince of Belmore

 

[Straight18]

Is it only me that sees his long kicking game as a huge flaw. With a dummy half, 5/8, and fullback that dont kick. This kids days are numbered when we start beating sides and pissing them off......then watch the pressure come on him.
I bet bellamy hits us hard on 5th tackle this weekend if hes half as smart as i think he is.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Is it only me that sees his long kicking game as a huge flaw. With a dummy half, 5/8, and fullback that dont kick. This kids days are numbered when we start beating sides and pissing them off......then watch the pressure come on him.
I bet bellamy hits us hard on 5th tackle this weekend if hes half as smart as i think he is.

He has a small boot on him, every kick is also just a bomb because that's the safe play coaches want.

 

[Dognacious]

5 minutes ago Lewis was the half we needed. So not joining the Cogger cult just yet.

 

[Wally D]

He’s not exceptional. He’s been okay

 

[GDR]

The problem is, halves just ain't halves anymore.. and it probably stems from the way junior coaches try and teach there teams.. the halves options in the nrl are so poor because they are taught from such a young age to be robotic.... So essentially it's about finding the best half out of a bad lot..

It is also so common these days for a half to burst onto the scene have a few good games then turn out to be an average Joe blow.. there's just no consistency in a lot of young halves these days..

 

[Baseball Furies]

Cogger is a Cronk type player, not saying he’s in the same class as Cronk but in regards to his game management.

Not sure on that one yet mate, case in point Titans game, that last 15 he was absent.

Knowing Foran couldn’t kick, he should’ve grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and put some kicks into touch and slowed the game down.

Instead, he got caught out, kept putting up those deep high kicks to allow the chasers to come though, which wasn’t needed, also by getting caught on the wrong side of the field with that kick that Foran had to take that got charged down was a key error and nearly cost us the game.

I think he’s learning still and has got some attributes there but I’m still unsure on him, a long bow comparing him to Cronk - the Blake Green comparison is more fitting....

 

[Baseball Furies]

The problem is, halves just ain't halves anymore.. and it probably stems from the way junior coaches try and teach there teams.. the halves options in the nrl are so poor because they are taught from such a young age to be robotic.... So essentially it's about finding the best half out of a bad lot..

It is also so common these days for a half to burst onto the scene have a few good games then turn out to be an average Joe blow.. there's just no consistency in a lot of young halves these days..

That’s why Cody Walker stands out - epitomises “plays what’s in front of him” footy....

 

[dogwhisperer]

a long bow comparing him to Cronk...

Well of course! That's if your comparing a 21 year old Cogger to a 35 year old Cronk, but I'm not doing that and I'd be silly to do that.
I'm comparing a 21 year old Cogger to a 21 year old Cronk. 15 years ago Cronk was a fringe first grader with potential who had a lot of mistakes in his game. I even remember watching something on TV where Bellemey was stating Cronk was very young and needed to cut out a lot of errors in his game and needs to work hard on his game, which Cronk as the ultimate professional did and reaped the rewards.

As Pay once said in his press conference about Cogger, Cogger studies the game, lives and breathes it and is a true student of the game. Although he's not there yet and may never get there for all we know, but the early signs are there.

 

[dogwhisperer]

The problem is, halves just ain't halves anymore.. and it probably stems from the way junior coaches try and teach there teams.. the halves options in the nrl are so poor because they are taught from such a young age to be robotic.... So essentially it's about finding the best half out of a bad lot..

It is also so common these days for a half to burst onto the scene have a few good games then turn out to be an average Joe blow.. there's just no consistency in a lot of young halves these days..

Maybe that's because the NRL has played around with the rules of the game so much over the last 20 years. I mean it's all about the speed of the game now, a quick fast moving game and keeping the ball in play.
It's about hit up and quick play the balls, hit up and quick play the balls, hit up and quick play the balls. Do you remember the days of the 5 metre rule? Yeh sure the forwards did their job in trying to make meters and get over the advantage line, but your halves needed to be creative and work out ways to break the line with limited amount of space. As a result of the limited space there were deeper back lines with all different moves put on(creating an extra man with run around plays etc), Half backs and 5/8th's needed to be more creative. Your lock used to come into play alot as an extra creative ball player(Paul Langmack) roaming around and not just positioned in the middle third of the field with scrum plays and all. It's like we are watching a totally different game today. Soccer hasn't changed in hundreds of years. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Baseball Furies]

Well of course! That's if your comparing a 21 year old Cogger to a 35 year old Cronk, but I'm not doing that and I'd be silly to do that.
I'm comparing a 21 year old Cogger to a 21 year old Cronk. 15 years ago Cronk was a fringe first grader with potential who had a lot of mistakes in his game. I even remember watching something on TV where Bellemey was stating Cronk was very young and needed to cut out a lot of errors in his game and needs to work hard on his game, which Cronk as the ultimate professional did and reaped the rewards.

As Pay once said in his press conference about Cogger, Cogger studies the game, lives and breathes it and is a true student of the game. Although he's not there yet and may never get there for all we know, but the early signs are there.

You’ve got a better memory than me, 15 years ago, yikes I’m happy if I can remember 15 minutes ago...

The connotation was comparing Cronk’s game management to Cogger’s, you didn’t give the context of a 21 year old Cronk v 21 year old Cogger, you did in your next post, now it makes sense...

I still think the Blake Green comparison is a bit more suited.

Cronk did have the benefit of the other great game manager in C.Smith as his offsider to kill games at the end, they turned it into an art form. They could suffocate a team and they didn’t even know it was happening...

I hope Cogger continues to improve,.

 

[CaptainJackson]

He has a small boot on him, every kick is also just a bomb because that's the safe play coaches want.

He's kicked our 1 40/20 this season, no one else has kicked it

 

[Baseball Furies]

Maybe that's because the NRL has played around with the rules of the game so much over the last 20 years. I mean it's all about the speed of the game now, a quick fast moving game and keeping the ball in play.
It's about hit up and quick play the balls, hit up and quick play the balls, hit up and quick play the balls. Do you remember the days of the 5 metre rule? Yeh sure the forwards did their job in trying to make meters and get over the advantage line, but your halves needed to be creative and work out ways to break the line with limited amount of space. As a result of the limited space there were deeper back lines with all different moves put on(creating an extra man with run around plays etc), Half backs and 5/8th's needed to be more creative. Your lock used to come into play alot as an extra creative ball player(Paul Langmack) roaming around and not just positioned in the middle third of the field with scrum plays and all. It's like we are watching a totally different game today. Soccer hasn't changed in hundreds of years. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

There’s actually been quite a few rule changes in soccer but the difference is it has improved the spectacle of the game significantly.

I mean you used to be able to back pass to your keeper, it was a defenders wet dream and an attackers nightmare...

Was near impossible or fruitless to play a high press in those days as you couldn’t number up.

Probably the best rule change ever...

Potential hyperbole statement but you get my drift..

 

[Novdoggie]

With a horrible team around our halves, Foran and Cogger have been exceptional.

But while Foran is injury prone and not getting any younger, Cogger is 21 years of age and already playing exceptionally. Have we found our long term number 7?

We thought Lewis was our long time half, he well could be but these kids are still raw. We will get a few good games here and there from them then I'd expect their form to slump before it rises again, understandably. But inconsistency will creep in from time to time.

So let's not put too many expectations on these guys just yet. If we can get an experienced half once Forans contract expires then Cogger and Lewis might be our answer to our long time halves but the answer to this won't come to fruition for another year or two.

 

[dogwhisperer]

There’s actually been quite a few rule changes in soccer but the difference is it has improved the spectacle of the game significantly.

I mean you used to be able to back pass to your keeper, it was a defenders wet dream and an attackers nightmare...

Was near impossible or fruitless to play a high press in those days as you couldn’t number up.

Probably the best rule change ever...

Potential hyperbole statement but you get my drift..

I get your drift, but soccer hasn't had no where near the changes Rugby League has.

1. A try was worth 3 points, now it's worth 4 points
2. A field goal was worth 2 points, now it's worth 1 point
3. The scrum was a contest and a hooker was an actual hooker. The hooker was picked in the side according to how well he could rake the ball in the scrum.
4. The marker was allowed to play at the ball in the ruck.
5. The player playing the ball in the ruck used to be able to tap the ball forward and run again if there was no marker.
6. The 10 metre rule used to be a 5 metre rule.
7. If the defending team caught the ball on the full in their own in goal area it was play on, no 20 metre tap(used to be 22 metre line as well)
8. There was no 40/20
9. There was no 7 tackle set to the oppositon if you kicked the ball dead.
10. There was no interchange. Once you were taken off you couldn't come back on.
11. Shoulder charges aren't allowed anymore
12. There was no Golden point - a draw was a draw.

And there are probably more that I haven't mentioned. This is just what came to mind.

My point is Rugby League positions and the way the game is played has changed.
But the focus of my intial post in reply to G_Dog_Rota was about the Halves, and to why halves just ain't halves anymore with the bag of tricks they used to have and why they aren't coached like traditional halves. And why the skills are not there anymore for most halves. They are trained to be robotic. Why? Because of all the changes that have been made over the years to make the game more entertaining. End to End footy, quick play the balls, with the aim to get to the opponents red zone followed by a 5th tackle cross field bomb to your wingers. Then press repeat and start again. Not saying it's a bad thing to make the game more entertaining and appealling to a wider audience and generate revenue from memberships, tv rights and sponsors. But in the process some of the skills of great positions like in the halves have been lost along the way.

Also, the interpreation of the rules by refs change as well from year to year and coaches and players seem to be getting confused as much as the fans.

 

[Kempsey Dog]

Is it only me that sees his long kicking game as a huge flaw. With a dummy half, 5/8, and fullback that dont kick. This kids days are numbered when we start beating sides and pissing them off......then watch the pressure come on him.
I bet bellamy hits us hard on 5th tackle this weekend if hes half as smart as i think he is.

Needs quicker play the balls and needs to play into the line more... this would allow him to drive his long kicks low and hard through the defensive line like Kimmorley use to do.

 

[KLil]

Still hanging on the prediction Coggar and Lewis will win us the next premiership...


Build the right team around these kids and they could do the job.