I know a lot of people say that it was what worked in 09, but Anderson proved in '10 with his attempt to play a more structured style of play (much like it seems Kearney wants in the coming years), that these two are not at all the halves that we need.
Neither of them can be faulted on their effort and enthusiasm, but they play more as opportunist individuals, not team organisers.
They are great runners of the ball and support players, which was the key in'09 because every man in the 17 was offloading the pill like the globetrotters. But last year when the offloading dried up, so did the points and so did the image of the two halves.
They didnt play any different to '09 its just that the flaws in the way that they play were exposed.
A few years back Tim Smith was ripped off by the commentators for not running the ball enough, his whole game revolved around great kicking and long passing,
If we still had this 'problem' now, we would be killing it...and all be pretty excited about next year. I dont know much about this new young bunch they have at the club, the likes of Murray and Barba and of course Humble, but all we need is one of them with a good kicking game and a good leadership head on his shoulders and we will go really well
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Just give the guys a break, season hasn't started and already putting their heads on the block! Tahu first, now Mortimer and Robson. Whats next? Hayne no good either?
I think it will work.
We saw in 2009 that both Morts and Robson were perhaps the unsung heroes of our charge to the grand final, and yes, they didn't have a great 2010, but we've seen the ability there from both of them, and I believe that we'll see better seasons from them both.
Mortimer will have known that 2010 was a year to forget for him personally on the footy field, and he's already sought to prevent it from happening again by bulking up, and training with intensity.
The kid has talent, and he's going to show it in 2011.
Robson is perhaps one of the best defensive halves you'll see right now.
He may only produce a decent attacking blitz every now and then, but you can see that he gives it his all every game, and for a halfback, he racks up quite a lot of tackles.
From what we've seen, he's not a bad runner of the ball, and he too will only improve under a new system implemented by SK.
I think that experience will benefit them a lot. They needed to be brought back down to reality after such a good run home last year.
I see where your coming from, but I just think that maybe all the bad things from this year will be improved under the guidence of SK, and you should see a different combination next year.
100% agree with you on this
we are in massive trouble with this half pairing of mortimer and robson
the club thinks so too as we have tried to sign every halfback possible and now that we got none of them and are stuck with this pairing that cannot create any points, they have to try and sell this combination.
we will not be a top 8 team with this pairing - they both try their guts out and admire them for that but simply dont have the creative side in them to rack up points
Does Humble have a kicking game?? if so he could be the answer somewhere in the halves as he does have a running game.
You can't doubt the effort that either exudes and they are both strong competitors. However as a unit neither has a strong kicking game in any facet (long or short) or a strong passing game and both have average running games. These duties are left to Hayne, who although often completes them with aplomb thus strengthening our halves play, he weakens his own attacking threat from behind as a tradtitional fullback would offer.
Humble I believe has a decent passing game and potentially a great running game. Long kicking I beleive he could also complete better than Morts or Robson however his short kicking game is questionable.
Murray may be the answer imo. I understand it is a massive step up for him however I have no doubt that from the vision I have seen from him, he has a stronger kicking game than anyone else at the club. His passing would also at minimum be the equal to any of the other halves. His weakness is his running game however I believe if partnered with Humble we may be on decent little combination that could most importantly compliment Hayne to a tee.
Mcquire at 9 for experience however he also offers more of an attacking outlet than Keating. Mitchell on the bench for spark and allows Mcguire to be moved into the halves if necessary. Thus for mine I wouldn't have Robson or Morts in the 17 for the start of the season, If Humble and Murray failed to fire then atleast we know the quality of the players we have to come in.
If Robson is to be our halfback this is what needs to happen:
Improved short and long kicking game
Robson is a stocky guy run the ball more and use a dummy alot more kinder like JT does
Improve long Pass
Robson is already a good defender and has a good short ball on him. I dont have a probelm with Mortimer at five eighth.
For most, Mortimer is also the best five-eighth we have at the club, and the only proven half in our younger players. You have to at least stick with him, his running game and short passing and short-kicking games are his strongest attributes; he barely ran this year (his strongest attribute) so it's no wonder he struggled. He does need to improve his passing and kicking, at times this year he has shown he does have the talent with some beautiful short passes and short kicks.
Long-kicking game has to go to people like Jarryd Hayne or Luke Burt, whoever our halfback is should definitely work a lot on their kicking so Mortimer isn't tasked with the long-kicking as well. Our three hookers also can kick well (Mitchell, Keating and Mcguire) from what we have heard and seen.
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