I didn't see the game, so can't comment.
Again, there is a lot of hostility around JA's selection (when was the last time we had such a polarising/controversial player... Luke Kelly Joseph Paulo?.....
For those that watched the NSW Cup game yesterday, how did Jakob play?
Did his performance warrant being selected in the 17 this week?
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Watching it live, Jake was definitely solid. Did some really good things, still passes way before the line telegraphing what he's doing, but there's no doubt the kid has some ability. Threw some really nice passes that lead to tries.
In saying that, it was NSW cup and by no means did he stand out like dogs balls. Even if he had, even if he had a blinder, he is a halfback & his selection on the bench still wouldn't make sense unless Moses or Brown are injured.
Good on you for asking the question Bert, but honestly there was nothing to suggest he simply had to be selected in first grade.
That's only my take on it, interested to hear what others who saw the game thought though too.
How would you rate or compare Jordan Rankins?... (or whoever was his halves partner) performance v Jakob Arthur's yesterday? Did any other player stand out that you would have selected this week over JA to cover the "utility roll"
Thanks for the break down NOS.
Rankin was also also solid, he's lost some speed with age but he's always talking & organising, you can see him constantly getting players into position - which i assume was the reason he was brought over?
I felt Jake was the superior half though. He's doing everything in that grade we'd want him to, does little wrong & makes very few errors. Threw some great try assists as i say... But he's a half back. We dont need one of them on our bench with the idea of moving our 5/8 to cover injury. And not sure how that helps Jake either?
Honestly cannot see the value over Carty on our bench, Bert.
Again just my opinion, others may differ.
Rankin was playing fullback because Perham was in first grade by the way.
Sorry yep, the 5/8 I didnt recognise, who was he?
Rankin played FB, young Jack Williams played 5/8 and also looked good.
Passing way before the line giving the defense an easy read is an automatic you're not up to FG. What's the point of playing someone the halves if all there doing is giving the D nothing to defend.
I watched the game and i thought JA had a tremendous game, steered the team around fantastically, had 2 try assists, 1 line break assist, had 16 runs with a tackle break and his kicking was mostly spot on, getting two forced drop out repeat sets to boot, and his 6 bombs were spot on, putting heaps of pressure on the opposition nd kept them guessing. He took control in the second half and the team raced to 40points.
So many on this site will yell blue murder, but he did play very well, he did make 14 tackles with 3 missed tackles, which needs improvement, though, but for a young half, he is full of spirit and confidence. I dont see him doing much wrong, i really dont. He would of been MOM or at worst polled 2nd, thats up to debate which is cool. I actually see a classy young half emerging, he has the skills.
Sounds like he killed it Blue Eel, can see you went to a lot of effort to highlight his stats & skill set. Sounds like his selection was 100% warranted this week. Look out Knights 💪🏼💪🏼
look i dont know if his selection is warranted in first grade, i certainly dont subscribe to the nepotisim gang, but im not sure how we use him, in first grade whilst Dylan Brown is playing so well. I dont think Rein or Rankin are the answer, both have had their time and didnt make it, didnt step up. Carty a case can be made for him but he is so very erratic, and his skill set is completely different to JA.
1 thing im certain of, if we had Dylan or Moses go down in a game we would want JA on the bench. Next thing is opicic is solid but no match winner in the centres, Penisini is no winger either. With so many players down in the centres and wing spots, one really must ask can we get more out of the team with Dylan at centre, swapping with JA during a game. A lot of people say No, but im not convinced yet. It wasnt the halves that lost us the game yesterday, but our wing and centres did let us down, dropped ball not in position, over running , missing tackles, turning inside instead of sliding etc. the list goes on.
I think its a worthy debate, its just a shame that Nepotism is the focus instead of using our heads to put a competitive footy team on the field with the players available, and taking the injuries into consideration.
We should be getting a lot more recognition of our depleted side like the rorters did last year, but to date its been mainly glossed over by the media. We need to use our heads and really get every once of skill out of the players left standing, and that may just take some little "out of the box ' thinking.
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