2023 NRL Round 4 Cronulla Sutherland Sharks vs. St George Illawarra Dragons @ Jubilee Stadium Sunday 26th March @ 6:15pm

[Gumby]

What the actual **** is that bench.

 

[Gards]

Normally I wouldn't be overly concerned about a game against a Dragons side that has been mediocre a long time now and we have had their number for years now typically getting 2 wins each season at their expense

BUT even with Nicho back on board and the confidence and fluidity that brings we have so many issues in the defense and discipline departments it's not funny. If we don't fix it the Dragons just have to hold the ball, complete sets and wait and watch for us to **** the bed, especially once fatigue kicks in

Even so we might still outscore them though - almost did against the Raiders and we were atrocious

I think Tricky has been kept in the team less so for injury cover (Hynes should be 100%) and more so to keep him keen, motivated and reward him opposed to punting him back down to the plumbers league. How much more can he learn and develop at that level of competition? He is too good for reggies and frankly what else can he do to warrant first grade selection?

Maybe 20 mins in first grade will be just as beneficial as 80 mins in Cup at this point of the season and his career, even if it's not in his regular position I would think he is high on confidence right now and is as good a chance as ever to make a better go of whatever role he is thrown into - he has less to prove to his coach and team mates now.

I doubt he is on the bench to keep Moylan honest and looking over his shoulder, I mean Mozza would have to being having an absoulte stinker to get hooked and replaced with Tricky @ 6 and if we are talking more about future games then Tricky doesn't need to be on the bench for that.

I also question whether Moylan is a player that responds positively to pressure but he did find a resurgence back from obscurity in 2022 after over coming some injury and form obstacles. If it gets him to lift its a bonus.

Ofcourse the main reason Tricky should be selected is that Fitz has a plan for him come game day and that he is considered in the best 17 players otherwise any other reason becomes relatively trivial, even misguided. We need to win games now, not just plan for a future that may or may not include a particular player.

Fitz sees the value in it, same as he did last year so we will just have to see how it all plays out and hope for the best outcome.

 

[Tightywhitey]

There may be a risk with Nicho

Honestly dont think they would be playing Nicho if he wasnt 110% ready to go

 

[bort]

Honestly dont think they would be playing Nicho if he wasnt 110% ready to go

Yeah but he hasn’t played yet this season so be good to get him on the bench early once he has us 40-mil up

 

[sharks2010]

Yeah but he hasn’t played yet this season so be good to get him on the bench early once he has us 40-mil up

Is 30 minutes enough to test his calf though?

 

[Capital_Shark]

40 mil up. Regardless where we finish the year our F/A oughta hold up

 

[bort]

40 mil up. Regardless where we finish the year our F/A oughta hold up

just hoping we keep them to zero as 40mil & 4 to 4 just doesn’t have the same ring to it

 

[Proud Shark]

I think Tricky would rather be on the bench than at the Jets. I'm also pro Fitz rewarding good performances which this does.

However his track record as a utility forward hasn't been good.

Double however Jack Williams barely played last week so it's maybe not the worst thing.

I'm torn. Just hope it does provide an opportunity to dent Trickys confidence.

 

[bort]

I think Tricky would rather be on the bench than at the Jets. I'm also pro Fitz rewarding good performances which this does.

However his track record as a utility forward hasn't been good.

Double however Jack Williams barely played last week so it's maybe not the worst thing.

I'm torn. Just hope it does provide an opportunity to dent Trickys confidence.

Seems harsh!

(Hey, I got called out for my typo! Haha)

Combo of his good form and Nicho returning from injury is perfect timing for him show what he can do in this jersey and redeem previous struggles off the bench

 

[The Punisher]

There may be a risk with Nicho

Was there a risk in round 2 when he had Tracey sit on the pine for 80 min??

 

[Paul C]

Was there a risk in round 2 when he had Tracey sit on the pine for 80 min??

Nicho didn't play in round 2.

 

[Mr Ryan]

With Tracey getting no minutes, then Williams get minimal, it’s pretty obvious that Fitz has the 4th interchange player for emergencies only

 

[The Punisher]

Nicho didn't play in round 2.

Yes I know that
Im just highlighting that he sat a bench utility for 80mins as an unused substitute which for me is a total waste.

With Tracey getting no minutes, then Williams get minimal, it’s pretty obvious that Fitz has the 4th interchange player for emergencies only

Or he doesn't know how to utilise his bench effectively to get the most ouf of his players

 

[Mr Ryan]

X3 to get the middles off
X3 to get the middles back on
X2 spare

 

[Gal The Goat]

Nicos first game of the season coming off a tricky calf injury that are hard to get right apparently. He could be over and done in 10 mins if things go awfully wrong. Could also get an early shower now as a precaution if we are up.

Tricky who plays his position and has been one of our best, I think is a no brainer to have sit on the bench until probably at least our bye, so just 2 weeks as cover.

I’ve always been against having him waste a bench spot, but under these circumstances and the fact our number 17 usually only plays like 10 minutes, I’m more happy going into this game having him there than not having him there this time around.

 

[Western Sharkie]

Nicos first game of the season coming off a tricky calf injury that are hard to get right apparently. He could be over and done in 10 mins if things go awfully wrong. Could also get an early shower now as a precaution if we are up.

Tricky who plays his position and has been one of our best, I think is a no brainer to have sit on the bench until probably at least our bye, so just 2 weeks as cover.

I’ve always been against having him waste a bench spot, but under these circumstances and the fact our number 17 usually only plays like 10 minutes, I’m more happy going into this game having him there than not having him there this time around.

I get it, But should our 17 be only getting 10 mins.

I think our rotations are out and we should be resting our forwards a bit more (meaning 17 gets more game time) to stay fresher out on the pitch.

 

[snowman]

should win this by 20 so we wont

 

[HaroldBishop]

Nicos first game of the season coming off a tricky calf injury that are hard to get right apparently. He could be over and done in 10 mins if things go awfully wrong. Could also get an early shower now as a precaution if we are up.

Tricky who plays his position and has been one of our best, I think is a no brainer to have sit on the bench until probably at least our bye, so just 2 weeks as cover.

I’ve always been against having him waste a bench spot, but under these circumstances and the fact our number 17 usually only plays like 10 minutes, I’m more happy going into this game having him there than not having him there this time around.

Yep agree with you. Don't want him on the bench under normal circumstances but in this case it makes sense.

 

[bort]

I get it, But should our 17 be only getting 10 mins.

I think our rotations are out and we should be resting our forwards a bit more (meaning 17 gets more game time) to stay fresher out on the pitch.

Okay I've crunched the numbers on last weeks benches and the stats show that either

• the more minutes you give your bench the higher chance you will win, or
• the better your bench the more minutes you can give them

Average 122 minutes played by bench, we were 16 minutes below average
Average played by winners 130
Average by losers 113 - we used our bench 7 minutes less than this*
17 minutes was the average for the lowest playing benchie, Williams played the 4th least minutes*.

The team who got more minutes out of their bench won 6/8 games

*But remember, Royce got binned, otherwise every chance that extra 10 mins gets distributed between him and Jack

Conclusion: there is some evidence having a good bench is good, or if we gave Jack an extra 30 minutes we'd have won

 

[Gards]

Is 30 minutes enough to test his calf though?

@ centre sure - not at half where the only thing he tests is how rigged Dally M voting is

With Tracey getting no minutes, then Williams get minimal, it’s pretty obvious that Fitz has the 4th interchange player for emergencies only

Yet our forwards are left out there sucking in the big ones while Fitz leaves his "emergency" player on the bench playing with their balls

Getting owned through the ruck seems like an emergency situation to me...

perhaps the unused minutes roll over to next month like a pre-paid phone plan - We will essentially have unlimited interchange time by seasons end

Brilliant coaching from the bald genie