2014 Ladder predictions/season talk

Yeah agreed. The work from their own end is what I weighed against taking kick returns which is a form of defence, in my view. And like you even if there is a disparity I try to weigh them fairly evenly.

The fact is a lot (probably most) tries are scored out wide so having a bloke who can prevent them is just as important as having one who can finish them. It's a shame this view isn't as common as I think it should be; most people have a sort contempt for wingers and think they're just out there to score them.

 

Yep couldn't agree more. I've been critical of it for quite some time. I used to say coaches should tether their wingers with rope so they can't go any more than 7 or 8m in-field. The way most wingers actually defend is as if they're tethered to their centre/inside man and it's just a crappy way of diffusing difficult situations, especially if the centre is poor at reading or has poor technical ability.

What I've noticed is that up-and-in tends to work against backlines that have a bit of disjuncture or a fullback who can't pass for shit, but a quality first and second receiver (half and fullback) will eat that shit up all night. The Thurston's and Hayne's and even Stewart with his quick hands, or Slater from right to left, will massacre that sort of edge defence.

 

Of course it goes without saying that you can't just stay back and slide; you have to get up off your own line but the persistence of racing in to cut off the movement results in a lot of tries being scored even when they're numbered up.

The other thing is in cover defence. 9 out of 10 wingers in the game show too little faith in their inside men to come across.

 

I definitely think it's partly due to coaching but there's just so many wingers who do it that I start to feel like it must just be the pressure. You can see sometimes a winger will want to stay put but they're just like a moth to the flame.

 

Their positioning is only needed on each play to the extent that it allows them to organise though. They could be sitting in the stands behind the goal posts with a megaphone and still tell blokes where to go. I certainly agree positioning is important for a fullback but it's much more about being in position when a break is made or a kick is put in and that's not on every single play.

 

I didn't avoid the point in any way, shape or form. Organisation is both highly important and highly undervalued. I couldn't agree more. Positioning on each and every play as you said, though, really isn't in my view. It only becomes important when the line is broken, or a kick is put in. It's a bit like saying the positioning of a winger is important. Yeah it is but not so much to the extent that it matters on every play.

I'm quibbling a bit of course. But as I said, I agree with you, organisation is an important and undervalued part of fullback play and one that doesn't get a lot of attention because as you rightly point out, it's very hard to quantify and judge. Even if you're at the game, it's extremely difficult because we can't hear what's being said. We can only surmise based on how well the line adjusts and even that is still problematic because it's one thing for the fullback to tell blokes where to go. It's another thing for them to listen and get where they need to be.

 

Well, he's donated my 50 to charity so yes, in a manner of speaking. Have you Pm'ed him?

 

Well, the Cowboys did and the Broncs really should've, so I'm not too unhappy with that prediction. It turned out to be wrong, but I think if Barba had played half decent instead of turning out to be the worst buy probably in our history, we would've. Had we used Hoffman or Hodges at the back earlier instead of playing the former in the halves, I do think we would've been in comfortably.

We lost quite a few games that we should've won, and not for any reason that I think was evident or apparent before the season. Even if we'd just beaten Cronulla after leading 22-0 we would've finished 7th.

 

Well, I think he made a post addressing us three winners saying PM him your details.