I've commented a few times on the situation I feel Parramatta is struggling with presently, in that I believe our structures have been designed to make best use of Jarryd Hayne, but without Hayne there we simply don't have a player who can fill the void he leaves. I believe Kearney's back-up strategy has been to have Casey McGuire come on and playing a floating role as the kind of extra link that Hayne would play in his usual role up in the line.
This isn't working. McGuire doesn't threaten the line at all and subsequently our attack falls apart without Hayne. Neither Burt, not Sio can do what Hayne does, Burt doesn't worry the defence with his running and Sio doesn't have the ball-skills to play a Hayne-like role.
I believe the strategy that Kearney should now consider when he doesn't have Hayne on the park is to move Joseph Paulo into five-eighth and Ben Roberts to fullback.
For me, Paulo has been a revelation this year. He has excellent skills and really threatens every time he touches the ball. However, his inclusion in the side makes the balance of our pack even worse - both Maitua and Hindmarsh can play that role in the middle as an additional ball-distributor and they're automatic inclusions.
Ben Roberts is playing pretty well in attack, but quite frankly he has now let in three tries though one-on-one misses in two weeks. That's unforgivable at NRL level. You move him back to fullback though, and his defence is a big step up on either Burts or Sio - you have a last line of defence again, that is at least a chance of stopping a player on the line.
Roberts as a natural six is the player in the side who has the closest game to Hayne's. He has a strong running game - obviously not in Hayne's class - but like Hayne he'll be able to chime into the attack from the back with the goal of delivering that final ball. Paulo doesn't have the kicking game to play six, but Roberts can step up into the kicking role from the back to fix that issue. I think Paulo's size will give opposition defences something to worry about and he would stiffen the defensive line.
As a side benefit, I think it would force a little more responsibility on Sandow, who really has to become a little more dominant so I think there would be a longer-term benefit in that.
It's a little left off-field, but right now Parramatta is trying to settle into a new set of structures with new halves and I believe the best way to do that is to try and find the closest suitable alternative straight swaps when our first choice players are unavailable. For me, Ben Roberts is the closest alternative to Hayne and Paulo's emergence has given us that additional option at six that I think could allow Roberts to drop back into that role.
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1 eyed, love your positive outlook, but Hayne will not solve 36 let in against the warriors and 42 against the cowboys, 1 eyed what are your comments in Kearney wining 6 out of 27 games ? The worst record of any Parramatta coach? Is this acceptable at NRL level , let alone schoolboy football? Wasn't 3P elected on PRIDE, PASSION, PARRAMATTA, is that reflected in coach wining 6 out of 27 games and losing first three games of 2012 not since 1991 with a for & against of minus 60 already? Everything is pointing to the coach and management? Should bob bentley be making statements of contract extension with these damaging stat's? I am not saying to sack the coach now, let him see the year, but with the big signings of Sandow & Tonga & a good roster at Kearney disposal, surely a good coach can make the top 8! He has his side, there is no excuse, if you can't make the eight , he must go!
Hayne has always made that big a difference to our side - we have won ONCE in three years without him in the side. For the only fifteen minutes he was in our side, we looked a million dollars. I seriously can't understand how people think just because we've got a few other players in the side that Hayne's importance to this side has been in anyway diminished.
Those players coming into the side are going to make Jarryd Hayne look a lot better because they take pressure off him, but you remove Jarryd Hayne from the side and you still have a young half-back who has gotten by on his act of individual brilliance rather than his ability to guide a ateam and a five-eighth who has been in-and-out of first grade for the past three years because he hasn't been able to perform at NRL level. And to boot you have either a fullback who's best years are behind him, playing in a side that doesn't play to his strengths or a rookie who has played almost no NRL fullback. You take Hayne out of our side and we still have the worst 1,6,7 in the competition, without a ball-playing hooker to compensate.
We should've made a bloody big play for Tim Sheens when he was off-contract last season. I don't care if we had to pay Kearney out $450,000 we'd have a premiership winning coach on board and he has an ability to get the best out of basic, NRL level players. Sheens has really only had Farah, Marshall, Galloway and Ellis at his disposal. No dis-respect to the other players at Wests but Benji is their version of Hayne, and Farah is the orchestrator. Galloway and Ellis both provide grunt and mungrel up front and the rest of the team follows. In a way they are very similar to Parramatta. They've got a good crop of young backs such as Lawrence, Ayshford and Humble and forwards such as Groat and Woods mixed in with experienced players such as Farah, Marshall, Ellis and Galloway. Their real difference is in the way they are coached. Sheens allows his players to play both a structured and ad-lib style of play whereas Kearney is too structured in his approach. Allow our forwards leaniency to play ad-lib and we will see more results in the positive.
If you are going to move Roberts I would put Matua at 6 and get some size and mobility into our back row over 80 minutes. But I wouldn't move Roberts for now as he is a confidence player and offering something in attack.
The other nght we were condensed because of the wet and were outsmarted by Nth Qld. We need to work on defensive structure. if Roberts can't improve, I cannot move him. He simply get's dropped.
I wouldn't take much at all from the loss the other night, but use our 2nd half against the warriors as a marker of where we need to improve. Our bench rotation is wrong IMO. Fui should start... Allgood is mobile and could perhpas spend some time at 13 late in the game. I like your idea of Mannah being a natural 15.
We are never going to be an offloading team and I agree the attacking structure is designed for Hayne. We need to develop our short passing game. Sandow and Roberts look like they are working on this but we need to improve tenfold. I have no doubt responsibility lies at our forwards for now. We are losing the ruck too easily and it is exposingour weaknesses (bad backline defense).
Maitua is our only backrower who poses a real threat on the fringes. If you move him to six, you further weaken our fringes which is already the worst aspect of our game.
Joseph Paulo played a significant amount of his junior football as a five-eighth. I'll point to that play of the game where he floated across field, if he'd have had a straight runner he'd already opened up the defensive line but nobody on his outside straightened.
I like what you have suggested, but I'd prefer Roberts to move into hooker and see how much more go forward we can get and bring MK on from the bench.
Will McGuire play halfaback if Sandow is out this week or will burt be 2 from 2 in the position come Saturday morning? Or maybe Roberts to 7 and Paulo to 6?
Did you know that Glen Fisiiahi scored 6 tries for the Vulcans on the weekend?
I thought (or maybe hoped) that roberts was getting picked up to play fullback with Hayne playing 6.
I think Paulo looks a good option at 6 the only place we lose out would be the kicking game but we can have Roberts come in a kick from fullback to take pressure off Sandow.
I thought Mateo was a good number 6 and I think Paulo could be one too.
I still lament that Anderson never gave Mateo a shot at six when we had that dearth of halves. An organising seven with a good straight running game, with Mateo as a traditional pivot and Hayne out the back would have provided for a really nice balanced 1,6,7. Mateo, like Paulo is a better lock than he is five-eighth but that doesn't mean when you don't have quality options available, they aren't better than the specialists.
Paulo to five eight ? tell you what phil your the smartest guy on here bar none , how your not on the coaching staff is a joke , joseph paulo at five eight hey ? your a genius phil
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