Official Royce Hunt

[Sparkles]

I'm guessing what people are looking for in this 'mongrel' prop is someone who brings the intimidation to the contest. Someone who's tough enough to bend and bash (within legal limits...ish) the opposition. Kafusi is doing it for the Dolphins. NAS does it for the Storm. JWH and JFH are another couple of hard heads. They're a player who's near impossible to pull down, hits hard every time, seems to be nuclear powered and doesn't care or even notice if they come off worse than the other bloke. McGinness is that guy... he's just in the wrong body. Dale tries to be, but he's more heart than hard. Otherwise I don't think we have a guy who fits the mould... we could use one, though.

 

[andrew's_sharks]

I personally don’t think Finucane has anything on Gallen

I’m not sure if age is catching up to him or whatever but I kind of expected more from Finucane on the field , not saying he’s going bad but just thought he would bring a little more

He is good defensively and for defensive structure but not a meter eater.

 

[Western Sharkie]

I'm guessing what people are looking for in this 'mongrel' prop is someone who brings the intimidation to the contest. Someone who's tough enough to bend and bash (within legal limits...ish) the opposition. Kafusi is doing it for the Dolphins. NAS does it for the Storm. JWH and JFH are another couple of hard heads. They're a player who's near impossible to pull down, hits hard every time, seems to be nuclear powered and doesn't care or even notice if they come off worse than the other bloke. McGinness is that guy... he's just in the wrong body. Dale tries to be, but he's more heart than hard. Otherwise I don't think we have a guy who fits the mould... we could use one, though.

Yes
... we could use one, though.

this is what we are missing at the moment in my opinion

 

[bort]

I'm guessing what people are looking for in this 'mongrel' prop is someone who brings the intimidation to the contest. Someone who's tough enough to bend and bash (within legal limits...ish) the opposition. Kafusi is doing it for the Dolphins. NAS does it for the Storm. JWH and JFH are another couple of hard heads. They're a player who's near impossible to pull down, hits hard every time, seems to be nuclear powered and doesn't care or even notice if they come off worse than the other bloke. McGinness is that guy... he's just in the wrong body. Dale tries to be, but he's more heart than hard. Otherwise I don't think we have a guy who fits the mould... we could use one, though.

The thing for me is it consistently seems to be JFH, JWH, NAS, Kaufusi et al who are the examples.
I get the impression that people who say we need more aggression, or we need more mongrel, are just saying we need an elite international forward. Fits with your definition too. I have absolutely no issue with that opinion. I would love an elite international forward.

There are people just straight up saying they want a top prop. That's great, everyone knows what that is, very clear you just want to upgrade the position. Again, fully agree, it would be fantastic. Why do you want them? Because they are proven weapons. Great, no further questions.

There are people who say 'aggression' or 'mongrel' but they never seem to be asking for penalty/suspension machine Jack Hetherington who is aggressive as, but is pretty ****. Not a prop but Radley is angry as **** and either gets knocked out or knocks someone out every game but if anyone was saying we should get him I think they'd add the disclaimer he needs to get it right more.

But it just so happens a JFH - one of the probably top 3 props in the game for pretty much everyone I'd guess - is exactly what we need because he is 'aggressive'.
That's just where I am seeking some clarification. Is anyone purely after aggression that doesn't come in the physically gifted body of a proven performer? If yes I think that is an interesting viewpoint I'd like to hear more about. Any examples of a fringe guy who brings aggression that would improve us? They are probably more obtainable than JFH so interesting to talk about.
If no and they just mean they want another teams best forward then fine, wanting that makes sense.

Open to peoples thoughts on this one - does Rudolf improve more if he is 'aggressive' like NAS, or if he is built like NAS? I'd say the second one.
I'd love Rudolf to run harder and tackle harder, but that outcome would be more valuable to me than if he was angrier while he did it or not.
As you touched on McInnes can be high effort enough with little care for self preservation but lacks the elite physicality. Hell put him in the body of anyone you named as examples and that's a fucking beast.

Even Milkys example is not someone adding more aggression it is (top rep forward) Gallen learning to control his aggression.
Dale's hit which was reckless due to headclash, Grahams big hit which was high, Royce throwing a sad little punch. All of these are players trying to be aggressive but lacking control/execution.

 

[Sparkles]

The thing for me is it consistently seems to be JFH, JWH, NAS, Kaufusi et al who are the examples.
I get the impression that people who say we need more aggression, or we need more mongrel, are just saying we need an elite international forward. Fits with your definition too. I have absolutely no issue with that opinion. I would love an elite international forward.

There are people just straight up saying they want a top prop. That's great, everyone knows what that is, very clear you just want to upgrade the position. Again, fully agree, it would be fantastic. Why do you want them? Because they are proven weapons. Great, no further questions.

There are people who say 'aggression' or 'mongrel' but they never seem to be asking for penalty/suspension machine Jack Hetherington who is aggressive as, but is pretty ****. Not a prop but Radley is angry as **** and either gets knocked out or knocks someone out every game but if anyone was saying we should get him I think they'd add the disclaimer he needs to get it right more.

But it just so happens a JFH - one of the probably top 3 props in the game for pretty much everyone I'd guess - is exactly what we need because he is 'aggressive'.
That's just where I am seeking some clarification. Is anyone purely after aggression that doesn't come in the physically gifted body of a proven performer? If yes I think that is an interesting viewpoint I'd like to hear more about. Any examples of a fringe guy who brings aggression that would improve us? They are probably more obtainable than JFH so interesting to talk about.
If no and they just mean they want another teams best forward then fine, wanting that makes sense.

Open to peoples thoughts on this one - does Rudolf improve more if he is 'aggressive' like NAS, or if he is built like NAS? I'd say the second one.
I'd love Rudolf to run harder and tackle harder, but that outcome would be more valuable to me than if he was angrier while he did it or not.
As you touched on McInnes can be high effort enough with little care for self preservation but lacks the elite physicality. Hell put him in the body of anyone you named as examples and that's a fucking beast.

Even Milkys example is not someone adding more aggression it is (top rep forward) Gallen learning to control his aggression.
Dale's hit which was reckless due to headclash, Grahams big hit which was high, Royce throwing a sad little punch. All of these are players trying to be aggressive but lacking control/execution.

For me it's not so much straight out aggression. Gal's temprement wasn't exactly 'aggressive'... it was more attitude, grit, perseverence, competitveness, stuff like that. That's probably the difference between say a Geyer and a Lewis... if you can get a guy with that killer instinct but a modicum of self control, you've got a top line prop with longevity.

 

[Western Sharkie]

Someone who has some clout about them to lead our pack and put fear in the oppositions.

Someone to replace Fifita.

Fifita was respected by the other teams and they knew they would be in for a full on battle and that he wouldn’t take a backward step.

The 4 mentioned share that and that’s what I hope we can find (or steal).

 

[Six Again]

I personally don’t think Finucane has anything on Gallen

I’m not sure if age is catching up to him or whatever but I kind of expected more from Finucane on the field , not saying he’s going bad but just thought he would bring a little more

Maybe age is catching up with me , because I am agreeing with you .

 

[bort]

For me it's not so much straight out aggression. Gal's temprement wasn't exactly 'aggressive'... it was more attitude, grit, perseverence, competitveness, stuff like that. That's probably the difference between say a Geyer and a Lewis... if you can get a guy with that killer instinct but a modicum of self control, you've got a top line prop with longevity.

Someone who has some clout about them to lead our pack and put fear in the oppositions.

Someone to replace Fifita.

Fifita was respected by the other teams and they knew they would be in for a full on battle and that he wouldn’t take a backward step.

The 4 mentioned share that and that’s what I hope we can find (or steal).

Again we are still just listing elite forwards though - aggression was just a part of some of these guys games.
If someone said we could have peak Lewis right now, or Jack Hetherington 100% are suddenly not that interested in aggression.
Obviously not a very 'fair' comparison, I'm not pretending it is. Also that's just me continuing my clarification around what people are looking for with aggression - agree with what you both are saying.

Gals temperament was aggressive when he was pulling out stitches and squeezing testicles - he still had attitude, grit, perseverance, competitiveness but actually got better when he learnt control. He didn't have no aggression, but I wouldn't say it was his defining characteristic.

I fully agree with the concept though - improve the forward pack.
I would say from our current forward pack we need more consistency (Rudolf, BHU and Hunt have all had good spells) and ideally if (at least) one could step up to be someone whose name got mentioned when people are rattling off props they want their club to sign that would be great - except obviously they can't sign them now they are good, that's our player. If we can't achieve that I'd like to sign someone, the better they are the better, but if it needs to be an up and comer to fit availability & budget we might just have to cop that.

 

[Sparkles]

Again we are still just listing elite forwards though - aggression was just a part of some of these guys games.
If someone said we could have peak Lewis right now, or Jack Hetherington 100% are suddenly not that interested in aggression.
Obviously not a very 'fair' comparison, I'm not pretending it is. Also that's just me continuing my clarification around what people are looking for with aggression - agree with what you both are saying.

Gals temperament was aggressive when he was pulling out stitches and squeezing testicles - he still had attitude, grit, perseverance, competitiveness but actually got better when he learnt control. He didn't have no aggression, but I wouldn't say it was his defining characteristic.

I fully agree with the concept though - improve the forward pack.
I would say from our current forward pack we need more consistency (Rudolf, BHU and Hunt have all had good spells) and ideally if (at least) one could step up to be someone whose name got mentioned when people are rattling off props they want their club to sign that would be great - except obviously they can't sign them now they are good, that's our player. If we can't achieve that I'd like to sign someone, the better they are the better, but if it needs to be an up and comer to fit availability & budget we might just have to cop that.

I was comparing two different styles of player to make the point that a Lewis style player is better than a Geyer (imho)

 

[bort]

I was comparing two different styles of player to make the point that a Lewis style player is better than a Geyer (imho)

I agree although wonder what neutrals would say, as both were great players.
Actually - would any sharks fans prefer Geyer over Lewis?

Geyer brought more enforcer value but funnily enough one's behaviour probably cost him a Clive Churchill while another's demeanor (compared to teammate) probably gained him one.

 

[Capital_Shark]

Horsbrough doesn't try that on JWH. JWH has lots more experience & reputation than Royce & wouldn't have let Horsbrough think of getting that fucken cheeky.

Royce is our biggest bloke & was doing a bit of damage. He's gonna get targetted like that. He's not even played 40 NRL games yet so good time to learn.

 

[Western Sharkie]

Horsbrough doesn't try that on JWH. JWH has lots more experience & reputation than Royce & wouldn't have let Horsbrough think of getting that fucken cheeky.

Royce is our biggest bloke & was doing a bit of damage. He's gonna get targetted like that. He's not even played 40 NRL games yet so good time to learn.

Also a good time to make your mark.

Interesting fact.

Mark Webber (early on in his F1 career) wouldn’t yield to drivers trying to overtake him into a turn which sometimes caused damage to both and also a few retirements.
BUT, after a season or so, the other drivers knew that Webber wouldn’t “just cave” and knew they had to respect him a bit more and not take it for granted that he would yield to them.

Maybe a lesson there for Royce and a few of our younger Forward pack to learn from???

 

[bort]

Also a good time to make your mark.

Interesting fact.

Mark Webber (early on in his F1 career) wouldn’t yield to drivers trying to overtake him into a turn which sometimes caused damage to both and also a few retirements.
BUT, after a season or so, the other drivers knew that Webber wouldn’t “just cave” and knew they had to respect him a bit more and not take it for granted that he would yield to them.

Maybe a lesson there for Royce and a few of our younger Forward pack to learn from???

Are you saying Royce should or should not punch people who try to **** with him?

Certainly would have sent a lot more of a message if he wasn’t held and swiping at a bloke at arms length. Given circumstances he definitely shouldn’t have bothered.
Wasn’t quite Gal asking Nate Myles to pull his head in unfortunately.

Just had a quick look at the sets following Royce returning to see if Horse took any runs at him. Managed to take zero runs in the fours sets after Royce came back. Made himself available for runs again the next set after Royce went back to bench. Could be a just how game played out I guess.

Good battle between JWH and Thaiday a few years back which probably contributed to the kind of no back down rep JWH has had, which arguably has had some mixed results when he doesn’t get it right. He seems to throw a pretty piss week punch at Thaiday during it but that was before the bin days.

 

[Capital_Shark]

Also a good time to make your mark.

Interesting fact.

Mark Webber (early on in his F1 career) wouldn’t yield to drivers trying to overtake him into a turn which sometimes caused damage to both and also a few retirements.
BUT, after a season or so, the other drivers knew that Webber wouldn’t “just cave” and knew they had to respect him a bit more and not take it for granted that he would yield to them.

Maybe a lesson there for Royce and a few of our younger Forward pack to learn from???

Exactly. JWH has built a reputation over a long career in the biggest games against the biggest names. He also played some time in an era where the loose units could flex their muscle a bit more - its gotta be harder to build a "don't **** with me" rep now than when you were a legit threat of belting the **** outta someone.

 

[Western Sharkie]

Suggesting that he doesn’t back down and makes a concerted effort to look for the guy in future plays. Maybe looks to run over them next few hit ups or put more spice into a targeted tackle.

show a bit more intent to not back away.

seek and destroy.
Maybe he cops a week here and there but hopefully builds that type of reputation over time

 

[Capital_Shark]

Good battle between JWH and Thaiday a few years back which probably contributed to the kind of no back down rep JWH has had, which arguably has had some mixed results when he doesn’t get it right. He seems to throw a pretty piss week punch at Thaiday during it but that was before the bin days.

I was tryna remember who it was. Was thinking Thaiday but that didn't feel right. Was a great battle. Did it get pissed on by the refs "calm it down" bullshit? They gotta learn its the big boys jobs to go at it and stop trying to simmer tensions.

 

[Capital_Shark]

Suggesting that he doesn’t back down and makes a concerted effort to look for the guy in future plays. Maybe looks to run over them next few hit ups or put more spice into a targeted tackle.

show a bit more intent to not back away.

"Brails line me up on that ginger ****"

Drop the shoulder/bumpers up and fall forearms & elbows on top him - lotsa ways to legally hurt a bloke if you got the ball. Pay his **** no attention otherwise.

 

[Western Sharkie]

"Brails line me up on that ginger ****"

Drop the shoulder/bumpers up and fall forearms & elbows on top him - lotsa ways to legally hurt a bloke if you got the ball. Pay his **** no attention otherwise.

Yep!

 

[Capital_Shark]

Maybe he cops a week here and there but hopefully builds that type of reputation over time

This is something people will have to accept from that "enforcer" prop whether we buy him or grow him.

As Gus always says his old coach used to say "you need 6 props; 2 on the field, 2 on the bench & 2 suspended".

 

[bort]

I was tryna remember who it was. Was thinking Thaiday but that didn't feel right. Was a great battle. Did it get pissed on by the refs "calm it down" bullshit? They gotta learn its the big boys jobs to go at it and stop trying to simmer tensions.

Ref was trying but they kept finding each other

Royce had some goods runs when he came back on but Horse found himself always a bit to far away and could only ever get there 3rd or 4th man into the tackle. And took zero runs himself. Was happy to take his win for the cheap stuff and then stay out of the way.