Fullback 2007 and beyond

[Great White]

I like Simmons and I think he is a solid player, BUT I think he really is a winger myself. Mitch Brown for me is a fullback playing wing and I think he should be swapped with Simmons.

BUT my question is this, if we perservere with Simmons, and Brown either plays wing or PL, who is a realistic and worthy replacement fullback should Simmons or Brown not be able to play through injury,suspension or being re-positioned.

Albert is not a fullback and Covell is not either, Kearney maybe but needs lots of coaching. Our centres are not able either in y eye able to play there, sooooooooooooo...................

This is truly one position in the club we are very light on should injuries,form or suspension kick in.

I really think we should be chasing a decent fullback or blooding a reserve. What is everyone elses opinion on this................

 

[dannylee]

I reckon Simmons was one of our best players last season before being injured, and deserves anotehr go at fullback. But your right about depth, it is a problem there.

 

[Great White]

Don't get me wrong he is a great player, I just really question his fullback play. That's all.

 

[peachey]

as much as simmons was a decent player at the back last year , he didnt have that attack other fullbacks have, i think brown should be given ago, and if he puts in great performances weekin week out he will be number one, or if he shows he is a winger, jus leave him at the back till we can buy a fullback , but i think simmons will stay at the back cause we have to many wingers, it will be 1.simmons/brown/albert 2.albert/brown/simmons 5.covell

 

[the_prawn]

i'm interested to see how hard-core they have had Brown in the gym over summer.
remember simmo two years ago? he was scrawny as and now he's a big unit.
Brown needs to be much bigger than he was last year if he wants to nail the fullback position.
i think simmo will be more potent in attack this year too.
if ricky can bring some minichello style attack to his game he'll kill it.

 

[timmo]

i totally disagree. i think simmons was awesome at fullback. when he played there last year before he got injured he was our best player. knew where the ball was going, knew where to be in defence, was great under the high ball and i don't think he was all that bad at bringing the ball back. leave him there guys. he will be good there!!! he also followed the playmakers round in attack looking for a gap and can act as an extra winger

 

[Bronze Whaler]

I reckon Simmo will be much better this year and will thrive under Ricky's coaching. He hd a fairly solid year last year before injury and we must remember wing and fullback are very different, he just needs some time there to learn the position. He has one thing you can't coach, speed!!

 

[the_prawn]

that true. we do need some speed.
especially with covell on one wing and probably hannay in the centres.
yes, both great players, but you have to agree they are not the fastest of players

 

[sharks195]

i think it is do-or-die for simmons, he is a great player, but if he doesn't use his talent all the time, then we will use brown. simmons is a great player and so is brown, but we can't afford simmons to just lose the ball, like that time where he wanted to score a fancy try by placing it down with one hand and he screwed it up.

 

[Dutchie1983]

People lets not have another debate on who out of Simmons and Brown should play fullback, the question that Great White asked is who would play fullback if both were out due to various reasons, and I personally think that Fraser Anderson or even Stephenson could fill into that position, yes they would both need some instruction as to how to play the position, but I think our club has a lot of depth in the backs and these two could play there if needed

 

[peachey]

are there any juniors in flegg or PL that can fill?

 

[sharks195]

maybe albert or covell!

 

[Lettuce_Sharks]

i think simmons is a great fullback. if u look at the sharks wins and losses last season......a majority of our losses came when simmons was out injured. when he played, our defense was stronger and he is a talented cover tackler, much like peachey.
i think simmons is the future of the fullback position, and can hold the position for as long as peach did

 

[sharks195]

he is simular to peachey because peachey helped him to move into the role.

 

[peachey]

maybe albert or covell!

i meant like a junior - jersey flegg proper fullback not a makeshift one if simmo or brown are unavailable

 

[HrvatskaDomovino]

He showed glimpses of his brilliance in 06 so he justs needs to do it on a more consistent basis in regards to his attacking performance. As for his defence it's probably the best in the league so when he gets it all together he will be a super player. Don't forget that he is a practising and disciplined Christian so he can really improve as a player with some Devine intervention!

 

[Megashark]

As a fan of Simmo at fullback I agree completely with Lettuce, Timmo and Bronze Whaler, sure he is still learning the position but I am convinced he is our future back there. I agree that Mitch Brown could also do a good job of filling that position, but as Great White says we don't have too many other options at the moment. Albert and Covell are wingers only, and while Kearney has great utilty value he is best suited in the halves or at hooker, he is not a fullback by any stretch of the imagination. As Dutchie pointed out Fraser Anderson or maybe Stephenson could possibly cover fullback and I'd also throw Dustin Cooper's name in there, so we do have a few options - but why we let Toshio Laiseni go I have no idea, as he is a promising fullback talent for sure. Our loss, the Cowboys gain.

 

[j0rd0_ShArKs]

Bracken Henry can play fullback quite well
Dane Nielsen played a game in Prems there last year

Im sure there is a player coming through the ranks that is a genuine fullback

yeh Dustin Cooper is a great player
he is massive and very fast and has played a lot of fullback
quite injury prone but if he can get over injuries he will p[lay a lot of firsts next season

 

[HrvatskaDomovino]

No disrespect Megashark but Laiseni was absolute garbage. From what i can remember the kid did not look like he had any idea what was doing in defence in the game he played in against the Tigers. i think Raper agreed when he dropped him against the Storm the next week.

 

[Megashark]

Yes Hrvatska I remember the game you are talking about and I agree that he had a shocker that day. But he is only young and there's no doubt he has plenty of talent, I saw that at the Warriors and I believe he'll feature in the Cowboys first grade plans for the upcoming season, they have signed him as cover for Matty Bowen and I believe he'll get plenty of gametime in the event of Bowen being injured.