Been thinking for a while that giving Junior and RCG long minutes is too much quantity and not enough quality. Now we have Evans and Nuikore on the bench we should not need to keep our starting props out there for nearly all the game. Especially this week when there will likely be extra effort required from RCG against his Penrith mates. RCG should face them full throttle and not pacing himself. Also shorter time may allow less tired errors and more gas in the tank for more post contact metres.
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Disagree.
It doesn't have to be either / or. Greater quantity doesn't automatically equate to lower quality. Some players thrive on longer minutes, I suspect Junior is one of those guys. He usually seems to get his second wind at around the 15 minute mark and then he finds his tempo. He obviously likes to have a long first shift, usually around 50 minutes, and then a short 2nd shift at the end of the game.
RCG is a bit different as he tends to have two shifts of similar length, about 25 minutes each. It may be that BA is still figuring out the best way to use him, but I actually really like the way we are using them. It brings greater continuity on the field than chopping and changing.
I get what you are saying but they seem to be pacing themselves. Would prefer to see them go go harder and come off earlier. When our bench props were of lesser standard it made sense. But - for example, Evans is playing well and I don't think we lose anything when comes on for RCG. So why not give them 40 each.
What's wrong with them pacing themselves ? Going a million miles an hour all the time is not automatically better. At this stage of his career Kane Evans might be better suited to shorter, sharper shifts, whilst RCG is better suited to longer shifts. Each player is different. Finding the right balance in terms of what they give you as opposed to how many minutes they play is what the coach has to find.
Right now BA obviously believes that he is getting more overall value from playing RCG for 50 & Evans for 30 than he would get from a 40/40 split.
Some Penrith fans i know laugh about RCG making our starting side. They say our middle forwards have nothing on theirs when considering RCG was having so much trouble in the end even making their bench. Interesting logic.
They're just saying that because they don't want to admit they let a good forward go and are paying a good chunk of his wage. RCG has run for over 200m in both round three and four. That's impressive against any opposition, but even moreso against a pack like Manly's with Taupau, Trbojevic and Fonua-Blake in the middle. It shows the size of his motor and his quality. Obviously he needs to cut down on the errors but he's far from the bench forward he finished up as at Penrith. You don't lose your ability overnight. And to add to that, Waqa Blake seems to be a much more consistent player since joining us. There are some concerns in defence on his edge but I think that has more to do with the fact he hasn't had a lot of time to adjust given he was injured over the off-season and Ryan Matto is a different defender to Manu Ma'u on that side of the field.
It seems that Penrith rely on raw talent and can't refocus players once they stray into bad habits. Certainly Parra had the same problem until recently. BA has taken quite a few players who needed to refocus and over the past 12 months or so we have seen them playing more to their potential.
I'd have James Fisher-Harris anyday, he would have to come off the bench for us, but's good, real good.
can't fault rcg at top buy
I suspect that BA is getting them match fit by playing longer minutes. Surely as the season progresses their time in the middle may need to be reduced as injuries and niggles set in.
Could be, but Junior was playing big minutes last year as well.
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