Official Blayke Brailey

[Sharkfox]

One of the things he does that is frustrating is his sudden stop to pass when he takes a scoot. He's made good metres and then just suddenly stops to pass...it's like dude keep going you have the defence on the back foot, but instead that sudden stop gives enough time for the defence to brace and limit his metres.

He's utterly frustrating.

Yep, annoying, just bolt out of there, keep running make more metres and expect to take the tackle then a quick play the ball. Could have Mcinnis or Hynes shooting out of dummy half straight after

Robson, Cotter and Dearden got a good thing going, because Robson does alot of dummy runs, cotter or Dearden will usually go into dummy half and keep things rolling

 

[HaroldBishop]

We could probably delete everything in this thread and just keep this.

Yep, let's see how Api goes at Wests next year.

 

[snowman]

Yep, let's see how Api goes at Wests next year.

you dont need to wait until next year, you can just look at his entire career

if you wanna use statistics, he was second best behind cameron smith in a year manly came second last

he was also a top level 9 in his first stint at penrith

he is class, brailey isnt

 

[HaroldBishop]

you dont need to wait until next year, you can just look at his entire career

if you wanna use statistics, he was second best behind cameron smith in a year manly came second last

he was also a top level 9 in his first stint at penrith

he is class, brailey isnt

I'm not denying Api is class, I'm a big fan. He hasn't played in a team as bad as Wests before, let's see.

 

[snowman]

I'm not denying Api is class, I'm a big fan. He hasn't played in a team as bad as Wests before, let's see.

he has, at manly

 

[Flanno]

It’s his birthday lads, go easy on him

 

[snowman]

hopefully he unwraps some talent for 2023

 

[Proud Shark]

he has, at manly

Api was so good at manly he got pushed out for the church stabbing rookie? I'm not saying he was awful but he definitely wasn't top of his field.

 

[snowman]

Api was so good at manly he got pushed out for the church stabbing rookie? I'm not saying he was awful but he definitely wasn't top of his field.

manly had salary cap issues and penrith paid him what he was worth
dont kid yourself, he was just as good at manly as he is now

 

[Proud Shark]

manly had salary cap issues and penrith paid him what he was worth
dont kid yourself, he was just as good at manly as he is now

Fainu was outshining him during the end of his stay there. At Manly he shared time at nine with guys like Lewis Brown and Matt Parcel as well, hardly world beaters. He was nowhere near the top tier guys at the time of Smith, Hodgson and Cook. Hell even Nathan Peats was more highly rated at one point during the time Api was at Manly. Until his second stint at Penrith he was a scoot first high energy hooker. Again he was good, don't get me wrong, but he was nowhere near the player he is now.

He has turned into a class 9 since his return, and for periods this year I think has been the in form hooker of the comp. He was simply not that player before.

 

[Tiger Shark]

Is Brailey going to live rent free in everyone’s heads for the next several years he’s going to be our hooker lol.

 

[Western Sharkie]

Is Brailey going to live rent free in everyone’s heads for the next several years he’s going to be our hooker lol.

Some are suggesting it’s a “Haunted house”

I think he has some great skill but for some reason doesn’t pull out his cards of tricks in some games.
Maybe fatigue from his tackle count or coaches instructions (which would seem odd given he has said to our halves to play what they see).
Hoping he becomes more of a threat more often next season as I reckon he has it in him.

 

[Sharkfox]

Need to try the two dummy half system, even Api as good as he is and can play big minutes gets a break so he can come on with energy second stint, he can also move to lock during game, when mitch Kenny comes on. We've seen it with Grant and Smith, seen it in origin for qld and nsw, it could work for us. May help unlock Braileys potentional

 

[MrDravid]

manly had salary cap issues and penrith paid him what he was worth
dont kid yourself, he was just as good at manly as he is now

Api is so good, Ivan doesn't even want to start him.

 

[snowman]

Api is so good, Ivan doesn't even want to start him.

i wouldnt want my most effective ball running spine player to take on the initial 20 minutes either

smart play from the best coach in the game

 

[Wiz]

You want to win a comp ? You need your players especially those in the spine to be wanting to win at all costs. We are not a team that can afford to have a 9 that isnt looking to manipulate the oppositions ruck especially when we have seen how creative Brailey can be, especially if your 6 and 7 constantly like to play eyes up footy that makes our 9 going at holes even more effective.

This is why Mahoney,Robson,Api,Cook,Grant etc are different and are much better

Kennedy, Ronaldo, Uele, Rudolph, Katoa, Nikora are all in the same boat as Brailey, they should by now know there is another level they need to regularly be at to win the comp

 

[HaroldBishop]

You want to win a comp ? You need your players especially those in the spine to be wanting to win at all costs. We are not a team that can afford to have a 9 that isnt looking to manipulate the oppositions ruck especially when we have seen how creative Brailey can be, especially if your 6 and 7 constantly like to play eyes up footy that makes our 9 going at holes even more effective.

This is why Mahoney,Robson,Api,Cook,Grant etc are different and are much better

Kennedy, Ronaldo, Uele, Rudolph, Katoa, Nikora are all in the same boat as Brailey, they should by now know there is another level they need to regularly be at to win the comp

Disagree on Ronaldo mate, he has gone to a whole new level this year, up there with the best wingers now. That coming from someone who was a massive doubter last year.

 

[Proud Shark]

You want to win a comp ? You need your players especially those in the spine to be wanting to win at all costs. We are not a team that can afford to have a 9 that isnt looking to manipulate the oppositions ruck especially when we have seen how creative Brailey can be, especially if your 6 and 7 constantly like to play eyes up footy that makes our 9 going at holes even more effective.

This is why Mahoney,Robson,Api,Cook,Grant etc are different and are much better

Kennedy, Ronaldo, Uele, Rudolph, Katoa, Nikora are all in the same boat as Brailey, they should by now know there is another level they need to regularly be at to win the comp

Doesn't look to manipulate the ruck? Brailey does this well. He regularly catches lazy markers and gets in behind or a 6 again. The issue others have raised is how he can stop once he gets the advantage to look for a pass. He's not much smaller than the hookers you mentioned, other than Robson, so I don't think size is the issue. I'd say the main issue with this is our support game through the ruck is dog ****, so he has to slow up more to find that pass.

Bold part I think is a huge issue too. We didn't get enough hit outs against good sides to find that level. Fitz and Wade spoke through the year about "working out what kind of team we were". I think we worked it out on bad data, constantly playing poor sides glossing over our weaknesses and winning games with tonnes of errors. Hopefully next year we get some more opportunities to develop that grit and desire.

 

[HaroldBishop]

Doesn't look to manipulate the ruck? Brailey does this well. He regularly catches lazy markers and gets in behind or a 6 again. The issue others have raised is how he can stop once he gets the advantage to look for a pass. He's not much smaller than the hookers you mentioned, other than Robson, so I don't think size is the issue. I'd say the main issue with this is our support game through the ruck is dog ****, so he has to slow up more to find that pass.

Bold part I think is a huge issue too. We didn't get enough hit outs against good sides to find that level. Fitz and Wade spoke through the year about "working out what kind of team we were". I think we worked it out on bad data, constantly playing poor sides glossing over our weaknesses and winning games with tonnes of errors. Hopefully next year we get some more opportunities to develop that grit and desire.

For me he just needs to go in that situation at times, I know he's not as fast as some of the other hookers but when he slows down and almost submits, I find that infuriating if I'm honest.

 

[Wiz]

Disagree on Ronaldo mate, he has gone to a whole new level this year, up there with the best wingers now. That coming from someone who was a massive doubter last year.

I’m not having a go at anyone on that list just saying hopefully by now that group of players know what it takes ..