Paul Gallen - Help or Hindrance?

[samshark]

This should make for interesting debate.

I thought Gallen was woeful yesterday and in general in my opinion he hurts the teams attack more than he helps it. I watched him closely from a good position in the Burns stand yesterday and he just tries to get into every play acting like a half back. He is hindering the team more than he is helping it. Some of the passes and off loads he threw yesterday were terrible and at other times the team looked like headless chooks in attack.

The thing is, Gallen is being built up into this iconic figure, the next sharks legend so how dare we criticise the great man. But I ask, is he yet worthy of this status just becuase he plays 80 minutes, makes 30 hit ups a game and never gives in. I dont think so. What is the teams win/loss ratio under Gallens leadership? Id imagine around the 15/50 mark.

Gallen is a very good player but he is not a great player, no where near it. For him to be considered great and for this team to improve he needs to get his team achieving at club level like all the other great players have done. And playing three different roles, making 30 hit ups and sticking his nose into every play is not going to do it.

Over to you Flanno.

 

[since1967]

I agree. The best games we have played so far this year have been trials! and guess what, there was no paul gallen. He is a great player (i tend to disagree a bit with you here) because as a forward he gets through more work then anyone else in the comp. But you know what, that's where it stops for him. He needs to be a workhorse, and workhorse only. Take a look back at our last 4 week winning streak, all gal did was hit it up, just like he did in origin. Its time he is told to butt out of the attacking plays and leave that to de gois, carney, gardner etc...... And it can't happen quick enough....

 

[Parko]

I remember Phil Gould saying something very similar to that a couple of years ago. It makes our attack very predictable.

 

[A.Snowden]

I believe this thread will get pretty interesting.

 

[bluey]

Been saying this for years, blind man freddy can see it happens

 

[samshark]

Ive been saying it for 3 years as well.
Some of our plays are so predictable and structured and they usually involve Gallen. One is the inside ball in the ruck usually to Gardner, another is the play a bit wider where he passes to a player wrapping out the back, usually Gardner again. I tell ya, you can see these plays happening a mile away and I am in the grandstand. Gallen is not a natural ball player, occasionally he gets a good one away but mostly you can advertise his plays in the yellow pages.

Just play a role Gal, FFS.

 

[slide rule]

We need more organisation, for sure.

Other teams are simple and predictable too, but their set plays work. (St George for example). We completely waste plays when we are close to the try line. We are too forward orientated in general. We need more set plays that involve backline movement. If we are going to use our forwards near the line, they need to be used wider as decoys, or given the money ball out wide. Not standing where the half should be.

 

[Tiger Shark]

I agree to some extent. I think with our depth in the backrow the sooner he moves to prop the better. That will keep him in the middle and out of the way.

 

[squiddy]

Agreed

I've been saying it for years too

Furthermore I'd be starting Gallen off the bench for us

Note : I'm not saying he isnt a good or indeed great player - just that his style of play and his invovlement does not suit us

 

[SF]

Firstly I think he is a great player, I'd argue he has been the best player for Australia that the Sharks have produced. I don't think win-loss ratio is fair given our last ten years. Snowden had a poor ratio here but he showed again yesterday how good he is.

I do agree he should stay out of the set attack when we are attacking in the opposition 40, at least in the first half. I don't think he'll be able to score the skittle type tries he could 5 years ago. There is no reason he can't play a support and decoy role though. Late in the game I think he can still offer a lot, like he did in last ten minutes yesterday.

In the end though, say he took ten less hitups yesterday... Would anyone else have done any more?

 

[snowman]

This should make for interesting debate.

I thought Gallen was woeful yesterday and in general in my opinion he hurts the teams attack more than he helps it. I watched him closely from a good position in the Burns stand yesterday and he just tries to get into every play acting like a half back. He is hindering the team more than he is helping it. Some of the passes and off loads he threw yesterday were terrible and at other times the team looked like headless chooks in attack.

The thing is, Gallen is being built up into this iconic figure, the next sharks legend so how dare we criticise the great man. But I ask, is he yet worthy of this status just becuase he plays 80 minutes, makes 30 hit ups a game and never gives in. I dont think so. What is the teams win/loss ratio under Gallens leadership? Id imagine around the 15/50 mark.

Gallen is a very good player but he is not a great player, no where near it. For him to be considered great and for this team to improve he needs to get his team achieving at club level like all the other great players have done. And playing three different roles, making 30 hit ups and sticking his nose into every play is not going to do it.

Over to you Flanno.

ha! ive had this conversation for the last 6 weeks with a few people and you get blank stares and "dont you know what gallen does for the club"

im sure he does heaps, but he does not help our attack at all

 

[samshark]

Of course they would, you think Gallen is the only one wanting the ball. I watched him closely off the ball yesterday and he just pushes his way in and sticks his head in every play when he should stay out. You dont see this on TV.

Our whole structure of attack is way too forward oriented. You have Gallen and too a lesser extent Smith who play like halfbacks half the time. Flano is employing an outdated style of football based around his backrowers.

The reason the Storm are so successful even with average players is because the forwards know their roles and they just play them and let Smith, Cronk and Slater run the plays. DeGois, Carney and Graham are good enough if allowed to do this. I seriously cant remember any other team in recent years, probably not since Gavin Miller in the late 80's who used their backrowers as play makers as much as we do.

 

[Jasonstevenswedgie]

toatally agree. he needs time of the field so people can make the decisions they need to. The think that make melbourne so good is that everyone knows their job and they just do it over and over

 

[Mark^Bastard]

The Storm use that game plan because they have all of their money in three spine players and need to make do without class in their other positions. They do this by giving the unclassy players a simple job to do, something they can handle.

It is the exact opposite of the right game plan for the Sharks, and pretty much any other team. If you want to see an epic fail, watch Kearney trying to do the same thing at the Eels.

 

[samshark]

The Storm is just an example I threw out there. Obviously they have 3 of the best players in the world in the key positions. However, like I said there is not another team in recent memory that uses their backrowers as playmakers like we do or has a forward like Gallen who just has free reign to do what he wants on the field. Why, because it doesnt work and we are living proof of this.

If Gallen played like he does in the rep teams for the sharks the team would function better.

 

[BurgoShark]

I think that Gallen IS a great player, but he needs a role to play.

A couple of things to note:

- yesterday we were one prop short
- It's pretty hard to look good when Wade Graham is the playmaker on your side.

 

[Mark^Bastard]

Gallen actually features heavily in attacking set plays at the line for Australia and does very well. In the majority of tries off set plays Gallen has had a touch of the ball in the set play.

Snowden was ball playing a bit yesterday in a Wayne Bennett team.

We were actually carving up in attack for a while yesterday however the last pass didn't stick. The difference between carving Newcastle up and getting beaten was just little things like catching a ball, or throwing a slightly better pass, or making a slightly different decision. That game was nothing like say the game we played the Eels last year and were thoroughly dominated in every way.

I see the main issue we've had in the last two games is the lack of an organising half. Look at Mullen's kick metres compared to ours combined. Look at how he kicked for touch to slow the game down. We were diabolical at kicking, organisation and sticking to a game plan.

The only thing I'll blame the coach for is the team selection.

The things I'll blame Gallen for are the errors in defence first and foremost, and then the errors in attack (ie dropped balls). As for him getting too involved, it's not ideal but then neither is having no genuine first receiver or organiser in the team.

 

[A.Snowden]

I think his role should be to make good hard metres. He didnt top the comp last year in that aspect for no reason. Leave the ball playing to our ball players, Gal has a good pass in him every now and then, but that should be limited to the right opportunity, not just for the sake of throwing it.

 

[squiddy]

Snowden ...... showed again yesterday how good he is.

Close to best player on the pitch

Compared to last year ?

How much do you put down to the coach ?

 

[snowman]

not much. he played origin for us

go back and see how snowden started the year last year

only difference was he gave up after he signed for the junkies