I love BA because he is Parra through and through.....at various times I have suggested that he should be managed out, probably in circumstances like this, then he goes and wins a lot of games, has emotional breakthroughs with his son and honestly I don't know the answer but I do understand the anguish!
Now his record is 9 from 11 this year and that is hard to argue with. BUT
He has bigger problems on the horizon, his wingers are too slow (as are all our three quarters) and I think that Fergs is playing busted, his turnarounds on Sunday were terrible.
I believe the opportunity was there to spell Fergs and play Waqar on the wing, where his pace may be very useful against a side like Souths. Obviously Marata would have gone into his spot on that basis, that would have also presented the opportunity for Waqar to watch Marata from the outside....teaching/learning?
Then we have the situation of Jake Arthur playing this game, all the signs last week was he was tired and the overwhelming nature of his debut was to bring him back to Reserves, he was going there anyway. It would have been easily explained.
The next move I would have made was Guth to 5/8, he too is tired and very predictable at the moment.....5/8 would have been a refresher and he would have been covering Cody Walker which is a big ask for JA to do.
Almost an impossible one from my perspective.
Who would the full back then be, well I asked about Perham and I obviously haven't seen him, but he has I believe played FG for Warriors, alternatively Jordan Rankin has played a lot of fullback and a big part of this game against Souths would be his ability to read and call plays from back there. Playing Rankin as a half would leave us top heavy with playmakers, but suit his vision from the back! His experience and ability to handle the stream of bombs that Reynolds will be putting up would be perfect. Saves Guth getting smashed bringing them back, which is happening most of the time.
All these moves can be facilitated with the 21 squad selected with the exception of Perham which was probably always a bridge too far..... how much better would our defence be with Guth at 5/8 and Jordan at the back......Maranta in the centres and Waqar on the wing?
just saying.....and I realise BA doesn't think that way, he never has! and that's the great shame of having such a wonderful Parra man as our coach.
Now I say all this with a degree of logic and minimal criticism, its also a shame that some of the other posters on here couldn't come up with a different approach than the total lack of respect presented to BA........I noted some who posted two or three times and said the same thing another way each time.....don't worry I'm frustrated as well. My wife tell's me that you catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar.....Most of you know, I am a slow learner!
Replies
Take your warm cheers and shove them where the sun never shines Fcukwit, I am surprised you even know what an IQ is.
Player is singular and them is plural. When you figure that out remove your post because I see no value in your reading mine because you don't understand what you don't understand. You must live in a vacuum Dreggsie if you can't see what is happening then you should withdraw to your rock hole and crawl back in.
Just thought I might explain something to you, the point you are trying to say is you don't weaken one position at the risk of weakening two......what I am saying is that you will weaken one position but strengthen another to the point of outweighing the move. It is a calculated risk that most tacticians weigh up when making decisions, my guess is Dregg's you have never been a position to do so. ie Guth & Rankin outweigh Arthur & Guth....the strengthening of the 5/8 position outweighs the weakening of the fullback. BA made a similar decision when he played Marata in the centre's when Waqar got injured, did not the strengthening of the centre's outweigh the weakening of the bench?
Good blog Poppa. All very worthy considerations. I would love to see Gutho have a full game as a replacement for Dylan. Have you considered Dylan as a fullback? Great defence. Still young enough to mould him into this role .Has good speed as Well which is a necessary requirement for fullback. BA took a creative risk with Nuikore and it worked.
Not really Tad, but he is such a natural fullback he maybe another Ponga in waiting.
who do you think is the better organiser/game manager Pops. Moses or Gutho. I would think it would be Gutho. Moses as a back up similar to Lui{sp} with Nathan Cleary Both complements each other very well.I think both Moses and Gutho could define their roles according to their strengths. The more I think about it I would like to see how Dylan would fit into a fullback position.
Tricky one Tad because any permanency in such a move could cause conflict ie Moses/Norman
I was looking at it as a temporary move and not convinced one way or another about Dylan being a fullback.
That's not ruling it out, a good coach would consult with the players for their preferences, its really just academic at this point.
Darren Lockyer was moved from fullback to half and was a huge success Pops. Any similarities with Gutho doing the same job? Langer and Locks worked well in their individual roles.
Good point Tad. Looking at the individual players, I think Dyllan is a more natural half than a fullback, I am not convinced that Guth has the silky like skills as say a Lockyer, my view would be Guth's long legs would be some hinderance.
If you had to tie me down, I suspect Phil Sim is right and that hooker at a stage of his career i.e. when he has lost even more pace would be the way to go. I honestly didn't think Guth looked that comfortable at centre in last years origin.
Guth is such a whole hearted and generally skilful player, he is one I would always want in my team regardlesss of where I played him. I honestly think in the circumstances going into this weeks game that 5/8 is best for the team and the circumstances of Souths attack. I also think Rankin is a forgotten option as a fullback. he is an experienced and wily footballer.
Pops IIRC Guth was used or seemed to be more on the wing last years SOO, may well be totally wrong though and for me was totally wasted in whatever position he was in, same with all the eels players picked.
As for a move, I don't believe he should be at this point of time as he generally is VG at the back as he has enough pace, but also vision in his reading of how the game is moving from side to side he is usually also good at getting into position in time to generally stop a try but not at all times, only time he seems to miss is when the ball is turned back to the other side through long and quick passes.
The other aspect in Guth's play in his reading of it is when he jumps into DH when the eels have the momentum, he also is reading Papa well also, and is getting the ball to Sivo, which often scores the side line though.
I have only seen Rankin a few times, and two of them he was VG but playing as half, goal kicking is sometimes mixed. Have not seen him at the back as yet.
I think you missed my point Colin, the switch was only proposed for this game, until Dyllan Brown reappears.
The circumstances of this game was our right side defence against a team like Souths, probably the best team in the comp to exploit such a weakness.
Guth at 5/8 would effectively replace Jake Arthur, Marata to the centres and Waka on to Fergs wing (fergs having a spell).
The decision to do this leaves us with Rankin, ideally a playmaking half but also a very experienced fullback that will handle very well the bombs that Reynolds (sths half) will put up regularly. Rankin will also read the game well from fullback and allow Guth to cover defend against the Souths backline.
The current status of JA being at 5/8 and Waqar Blake being in the centres is as big as a disaster as anyone could imagine in a game structured the way this one is shaping. Personally I am expecting Souths to pour through the middle as I suspect BA has a cover defending army set up to counter the expectations on our right. Look for Cook to cut us to ribbons going through the middle.
I don't think I missed your point Pops, as replacing Jake would not achieve anything much except for more abuse from many on this site, besides its entirely possible that the Coach may have some idea as where Jakobs head space is along with his team mates.
I would not mind seeing Fergs rested or go onto the bench with Marata coming on his place and see how Waqa adjusts to the wing.
As for the match, I wonder the affect that Bennetts walking away from the sheds at full time and saying nothing to his players might have, A typical reactionary aspect with him and how are the players going to respond, my thoughts are it may not be too positive, as it signals to the team "so what, you're leaving end of year so why not go now?"
Come Saturday night we may know more. Both teams have a lot to fight for on the paddock. But I am more concerned with a loss being generated by the 27th man on the paddock.
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