NRL Round 1, 2018 - Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks vs. Nth QLD Cowboys. Friday 9th March, 8.05PM @ 1300Smiles Stadium

[Sir Chadley]

Well.

The 2018 Rugby League Season is almost upon us.

Just over a week away on a lovely Friday night up in Townsville we open our account against last year's grand finalists the North Queensland Cowboys.

What do you think our side should be for Round 1?
Has Katoa done enough to grab that wing spot?
Will Moylan continue his good early season form?
Can we stop JT?

And finally, do you think we can win?

Welcome to season 2018 folks.

Here we go!

 

[Thresher]

Very exciting.

1. Good
2. Yes
3. Has his early season form been good? Hope he fulfills his potential as our 5/8 but think it will take a while for things to click.
4. JT will still be a bit rusty I reckon. Probably have to watch more for his halves partner.
5. Maybe, would be a good effort but stranger things have happened.

 

[HaroldBishop]

Very tough winning up there at the best of times but super tough in March with the heat and humidity.

I rate the Cows as Premiership favourites this year so would be a great effort to knock them off.

 

[slide rule]

I'm already pumped to yell at the refs again.

 

[Capital_Shark]

JT's 300th too. No sentimental **********s in our squad so I reckon we'll be pretty keen to spoil the party.

 

[Thresher]

JT's 300th too. No sentimental **********s in our squad so I reckon we'll be pretty keen to spoil the party.

Wadeo to send him into early retirement

 

[snowman]

Well.

The 2018 Rugby League Season is almost upon us.

Just over a week away on a lovely Friday night up in Townsville we open our account against last year's grand finalists the North Queensland Cowboys.

What do you think our side should be for Round 1?

Holmes, Katoa, Ricky, Dugan, Feki (sigh), Moylan, Chad, Fifi, Brailey, Prior, Wade, Lewy, Gal - Bukuya, Ava(pending injury), Segy, Uele (pending injury) - Capewell, Dillon, Gray, Lee

Has Katoa done enough to grab that wing spot?

Yes, it is Feki who should be under question

Will Moylan continue his good early season form?

season hasnt started

Can we stop JT?

yes, just depends if we will though

And finally, do you think we can win?

50/50

Welcome to season 2018 folks.

Here we go!

cheers

 

[slide rule]

I like the way the Feki hate has grown over the off-season without any actual games being played.

 

[snowman]

I like the way the Feki hate has grown over the off-season without any actual games being played.

to be fair, i have wanted him upgraded for a while

seeing a young, talented winger on the opposite flank has only increased that want

 

[Capital_Shark]

I like the way the Feki hate has grown over the off-season without any actual games being played.

Good fun, isn't it?

On the flip-side Katoa hasn't played a minute in the NRL and he's a must.

 

[FLEETY]

I like the way the Feki hate has grown over the off-season without any actual games being played.

Not hate, just indifference.

I'm sure the majority of us love Feki. He has done us proud as a solid 1st grade winger, but is in no way an accomplished and "athletic" finisher.

 

[CrazyMatt]

* Holmes, Feki, Dugan, Leutele, Grey/Katoa, Moylan, Townsend, Fifita, Brailey, Prior, Lewis, Graham, Gallen (c), Bukuya, Ava, Uele/Dillion/Capewell, Segeyaro. Still some question marks as we’ve got guys fighting tooth and nail for spots, I think we’re in pretty good shape.

* I can take it or leave at this point. I’m happy either way if he gets a run or they decide to give him a stint in reserves to fine tune his game. I don’t like comparing this to the Holmes/Mitch Brown situation from a few years ago because Brown is no Aaron Grey. I have full confidence that Grey will do a top notch job on that wing if he’s picked. So yeah, either way is fine with me. Ultimately the coaching staff know better then us whether Katoa is ready or not, I’ll trust their judgement.

* I think he’ll, along with the team start the year a bit slow as the new combination works itself out. As long as there’s patience and no knee jerk changes I think we’ll be fine, especially Moylan.

* JT looks good in the trials so I don’t think they’ll be worried about rust with him. You’ll never ‘stop’ him during games, you can just limit his impact. Just limit his impact the same way we limit Cronk’s. Plenty of pressure and get in his face, step forward Captain Graham, we have a job for you.

 

[BlackWhiteBlue]

to be fair, i have wanted him upgraded for a while

seeing a young, talented winger on the opposite flank has only increased that want

Same, i remember there was a time we were a 2 man army on that mate. And its never been about thinking Feki is ****, its that we need to look at upgrades because Feki is as good as he'll be, and that shouldnt be what we aim at for a starter

 

[sharkyboy]

You happy with the trial form of Sione and uele enough now snow?

I remember you weren’t too impressed with uele after the first trial. He looked a lot better

 

[Wiz]

Not hate, just indifference.

I'm sure the majority of us love Feki. He has done us proud as a solid 1st grade winger, but is in no way an accomplished and "athletic" finisher.

So true - those types of wingers are key, the top teams have figured that out ...competition for his wing spot is only a good thing it's just the nature of the beast

 

[Gards]

I like the way the Feki hate has grown over the off-season without any actual games being played.

He hasn't got any less average over the off season either - trials shouldn't be completely discounted either just cause there's no comp points on offer. Feki's spot should 100% be up for grabs, we need to bite the bullet at some stage, might be better to do it before we are too many rounds into the season proper. I think i would prefer Grey there with Eddy a massive smokey

Good fun, isn't it?

On the flip-side Katoa hasn't played a minute in the NRL and he's a must.

His skill, talent, ability and massive potential drive this along with good trial form - it's not an unfounded desire to want him picked in NRL

Feki gives us good hitups, not much else. He hasn't gotten much better in the last few seasons or added any new attributes to his game either.

Players like Katoa are of even more importance with no Barba and a Holmes at fb who hasn't shown much zing. Moylan picks up some of the slack but he needs support from some livewires

 

[Capital_Shark]

He hasn't got any less average over the off season either - trials shouldn't be completely discounted either just cause there's no comp points on offer. Feki's spot should 100% be up for grabs, we need to bite the bullet at some stage, might be better to do it before we are too many rounds into the season proper. I think i would prefer Grey there with Eddy a massive smokey



His skill, talent, ability and massive potential drive this along with good trial form - it's not an unfounded desire to want him picked in NRL

Feki gives us good hitups, not much else. He hasn't gotten much better in the last few seasons or added any new attributes to his game either.

Players like Katoa are of even more importance with no Barba and a Holmes at fb who hasn't shown much zing. Moylan picks up some of the slack but he needs support from some livewires

Trial form? Same ones Katoa let in 2 shockers within about 12mins? You'll have to jog my memory on what Feki ****ed up - I recall him getting limited opportunities in both, taking a bomb, getting run into touch by Moylan and scoring a try. Nothing amazing but consistent and safe.

I'm not arguing against Katoa coming onto the wing but to endorse him over Feki on trial form is stupid.

Flanno obviously likes what Feki brings and I'll guarantee ya he's gonna have to ****up deluxe or be injured for anyone else to get a chance in his spot, and then they'll have to be exceptional to keep it.

Why do we need to bite a bullet at some stage on a GF winning player with 110 games under his belt? If we can make an obvious upgrade, sure, but I'm not sure Grey offers much more and Eddy certainly doesn't. I'd rather watch Feki do a solid nothing than that lanky prick put in a 5 star ****up.

 

[Thresher]

Gray wasn't even given a run on the wing in the trials was he?

 

[fishermanaxe]

I’m not responding to the questions asked in this thread but more on how I see our squad and the season ahead in general.

I am lot more confident heading into 2018 than 2017 or perhaps its just that I didn’t so much give a **** last year- content to bathe in our premiership glory for a season. Which leads me to my next point - Were some of players feeling a bit this way too? Personally I don’t think the term “ Premiership hangover “ was ever anymore evident than with the Sharks than last season - fans too perhaps.

There a few players last year that were just going through the motions. Maloney , Bird , Prior, Holmes and Chad all had below par seasons. We all know the talent is there, but the effort and consistency was not.

No doubt the loss of Barba and Ennis had a massive impact to our overall on field cohesion , but I believe it had an even greater impact on the teams self belief. I believe it kind of festered in an “oh well, we’re ****ed now” kinda way.

Now with 2017 excuses out the way , let’s look forward to 2018.

So, with a reasonable amount of turn over in our squad and real competition for positions have we ditched the “premiership hangover “ vibe? I think so.
Dugan, Moylan, Seumanafagai , Gray and to some degree (much lesser) Hodkinson and Uele have all come here for one reason - and that is because they believe they can be part of another premiership winning side. We desperately needed this change-over and the fresh attitudes it brings with it.

Add to that some real talent in Katoa and a now a BELIEF in Brailey to get the job done and all of sudden there’s a veritable breeding ground for the type of confidence that is required to win a premiership... that confidence is key , and it was palpable in 2016.

Now, the the most import ingredient of all. Our fullback Valentine Holmes. He’s looked pretty sharp in the Trials and he bloody well should do to. This guy had the opportunity to spend a whole World Cup in Camp with Billy Slater ! He should have been listening to his every word and watching his every move. If Val doesn’t come away from that experience a as twice the fullback he was last year, well I am afraid there is no future for him in the the no.1

Personally I reckon Val will have learned a lot and it will show with us this season. This is something to get excited about.

So , In summary, can we win next week ? damn straight. And we’ll win far more than we lose this season too. I have every confidence in Moylan and Chad forming a killer partnership , Brailey showing us what he can really do, Dugan being a beast, Our BENCH BEING BETTER THAN OUR 2O16 BENCH, and our overall quality of depth proving more than useful...

I loaded up on us to with the premiership in 2016 , didn’t lay a bet on us last year- now I’m off to load up again at $13.

Cheers.

Oh, by the way did anyone else notice how ****ing fast Katoa’s play the balls were coming out of our territory? FMD , Duges slipped into to dummy half and we straight on the front foot advancing out of our territory. Those quick PTB’s are a real asset and something you don’t often see in a young winger yet to play NRL...

 

[Wiz]

Trial form? Same ones Katoa let in 2 shockers within about 12mins? You'll have to jog my memory on what Feki ****ed up - I recall him getting limited opportunities in both, taking a bomb, getting run into touch by Moylan and scoring a try. Nothing amazing but consistent and safe.

I'm not arguing against Katoa coming onto the wing but to endorse him over Feki on trial form is stupid.

Flanno obviously likes what Feki brings and I'll guarantee ya he's gonna have to ****up deluxe or be injured for anyone else to get a chance in his spot, and then they'll have to be exceptional to keep it.

Why do we need to bite a bullet at some stage on a GF winning player with 110 games under his belt? If we can make an obvious upgrade, sure, but I'm not sure Grey offers much more and Eddy certainly doesn't. I'd rather watch Feki do a solid nothing than that lanky prick put in a 5 star ****up.

I think all he is saying is that Feki isn't all that great compared to other wingers in the comp and wouldn't mind an upgrade which I think is what everyone else is trying to say, a better winger means a better backline and who doesn't want that. Gray ,Eddie and whoever else will have to prove themselves too - on the other hand Katoa has big potential and coach has picked him over gray so let's see What he's got just like we did with val and bird .

I reckon we're going to have a killer season Bring it on !!!