I've said this before but I'm going to blog it again because I thought last year made it very apparent.
For all of you that have been concerned that Jarryd Hayne hasn't exactly set the world on fire at five-eighth yet, consider the difference that Joseph Paulo has made particularly over the last month in terms of linking as an extra ball-player in the middle of the park.
It has enabled us to play with far more width and if structured correctly it means Hayne can play a game not too dis-similar to the one he has played as fullback. I feel where Jarryd has been let-down as a six in the past is that he's basically been forced to be a first receiver. It's crazy for him to play that way because his natural strength is his running game and he needs to be hitting the ball wider but still with options on his outside.
The thing I love most about Paulo is he is quite showy yet still remarkably controlled. He doesn't throw a lot of stupid passes, appears to have good communications skills and is a good thinker. I've been worried that between Sandow and Hayne we'll have two halves who don't really take control but I think Paulo can take a lot of that responsibility as a mid-field director.
With Jarryd at fullback we've had to steal from Peter to pay Paul. We get an awesome running fullback who can also create a lot of try-assists but we have suffered in other areas like support play and that dart around the middle of the ruck that you saw from Mullaney last night.
With Paulo in the side providing the middle link, you can get let Jarryd play his natural game - he won't have to dramatically increase his touches and he can still float about the field, but you get a more traditional fullback and all the advantages you get from a player like Mullaney or Marmin Barba at the back.
You saw last night, how Ben Roberts fit into that structure with a lot more ease than he has previously when he had more responsibility. Roberts only had 40 gets last night, where a busy five-eighth might generally rack up 60 (as Norman did). Sandow didn't have that many more, whereas Paulo was up with 29. Given he was only on the field for 60 minutes that means his involvement was on par with both Roberts and Sandow.
If Paulo is allowed to continue to play this role, Hayne can transition to six without the pressure he has had in the past where he has been forced to take on a very dominant role. He can play a role that is pretty similar to his fullback game, but which makes greater use of his excellent kicking game. No doubt as he grows in confidence and composure he'll take on more responsibility but the stage is absolutely set now for him to take that leap.
We're also wonderfully set-up with our roster for next year. Luke Kelly is a strong understudy to Sandow and Ben Roberts can slip in for Hayne and play a similar game or I'd even have him ready to jump into Paulo's position at lock if need be so that the structures didn't have to be totally re-worked in the case of injuries.
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It was never going to be that difficult for Parra to find a young player with the spark to play fullback once they bothered to have a look and they have found that in Mullaney.
There is now no reason, based on roster, to keep Hayne at fullback.
he won't offer much more than mullaney did last night from that position (arguably less from a positional point of view) but his ability to set up outside supports is arguably only second best to Joanthan Thurston.
Well said.
I've been impressed with Delaney but Marmin Barba is basically a clone of his brother. If we are going to move Hayne out of his favoured position to play as a link man in the attacking line, is it worth putting a super explosive player like Marmin at the back or is he not ready yet?
He is best suited at 1 for the team. Look at last night with mullaney and his kick returns. Getting trapped twice in goal where you can bet your left nut hayne would have got out. These little things can turn games and just the fact that his kick returns get us on the front foot is enough for me.
Kelly will do a job at 6, so it is crazy to put hayne there when he adds more at 1.
Just imagine he was on the field last night......oooooh boy
Never!
Hayne at six gives you so much more variety. When he plays at one we basically have one play. Hayne chiming into the line, going to an outside support or cut-out ball to the winger or running himself. Do you think there is a reason that Parramatta has looked so predictable in attack for the past three years under two different coaches?
If Hayne is to play one, he has to basically pack away the playmaking. I don't think there is any coincidence that we've not had a single half fire in the past three years since Hayne has taken on the role of dominant provider. Your number one shouldn't be calling for the ball and getting it. Your halves and nine should be making those decisions. As just a running fullback, Hayne isn't providing the value based on what we're paying. And as Mullaney has shown having a fullback with greater acceleration gives you something different in attack.
Kelly isn't a guy who is going to set up a heap of tries. He'll guide you round the park and give you good direction but I see him as a dominant first receiver. He'll never be that playing outside Sandow.
I wrote a blog before Sandow joined that Hayne and Sandow could be the best halves pairing in the comp. With Sandow not exerting as much control as is really needed to make that combination work as a more traditional pairing, I was about ready to give up on that idea. But as I say, Paulo as the extra piece in the puzzle just makes it all snap together.
Good take on this Phil I tend to agree mostly with what youve said here and this blog. More importantly...I think that Ricky Stuart will also share you point of view. Especially about the running fullback he has proved that he is a big fan of that with Dugan in the past and I'm sure he would prefer to see Hayne adding his value to the halves.
Paulo does take the ease off and has an uncanny ability to run lines which teammates, if read properly, can benefit from. An off season of training running plays with Sandow, Hayne and either of our fullback or hooking options will see us be better off in attack from the start of next season.
The only problem I foresee is Hayne and his ability to want to play 6. It is detrimental that Stuart convinces him where others have not. We have more dynmaics and a better range within our attacking structure having a Hayne / Sandow combo instead of Kelly / Sandow. If Hayne can see the long term benefit from his transition to 6 than that will help the team a hell of a lot.
Yeh I tend to agree with Miatch that we need to see a bit more of Nathan.
He's a young guy, who's still prone to making mistakes and falling off tackles. If MK had thrown the forward passes Smith threw against Melbourne or fallen off a tackle like the one that led to one of the Brisbane tries he'd have been crucified. Smith is in that honey-moon period of his first few games where fans see he can do no wrong because he's the great hope, not unlike Anthony Mitchell was at, at a similar stage a couple of years ago. All that said what Smith has over MK is speed and I think Stuart in particular will value that. I like that he can play in the halves and his performance for Wentworthville the week before he got the call up showed that he is very much a footballer.
Kearney and Nolan need a heap of credit for getting Smith to this point. They took a kid who was an outside back at NYC level at the end of this year and have moulded him into a very promising prospect in less than a season.
As I've said I thought Brisbane were beyond terrible this week, there line speed was non-existent and we walked them up the park with ease. It's pretty easy to look good when your forwards are making such easy metres. There is probably an argument to be made that Smith helped that, but lets see that happens next week against a hungry Tigers outfit with a strong forward pack.
1. Mullaney
6. Hayne
7. Sandow
9. Smith
13. Paulo
MK could be out of a job also because Kelly plays well at hooker and could also be a link player.
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