tEAM FOR 2013

[Super Impose]

The game is different. Jacks gameplay today is useless. gards is simply too small for anywhere but FB.

Jacks game plan was a simple one.

Pick your best 13 players.

Controll the football.

Dominate possesion.

No cheap penalties.

Do not miss first up tackles.

Play good field position allowing a quality half back to dictate.

Of course the game has changed. These fundamentals will always apply however.

 

[Blair]

gards got flattened by Matty Bowen. lets not put him in the line to defend.

 

[Gow's Scissors]

Yep fundamentals sure. Gards still cant tackle.

 

[Super Impose]

Yep fundamentals sure. Gards still cant tackle.

I am just saying it is worth a trial.

If his defence is not up to it, then look elsewhere.

No big deal.

 

[HaroldBishop]

I am just saying it is worth a trial.

If his defence is not up to it, then look elsewhere.

No big deal.

I don't think it will work but like you say, there's no harm trying it in a trial game.

 

[josh11223344]

I realise I am pissing into the wind with this opinion on this forum, however, i believe Gards deseves a shot on the wing in the trials.

I understand the negatives. Size, positional play, defensive reads etc...

My argument is from the Jack Gibson manual.You pick your best 17 players and then find a position for them.Given Gards is fit and committed, he is among our top 17.

This is what trials are for.See if he is capable of handling it.He has history on the wing and despite popular opinion here , he is a tough committed player.

Give him a shot . If it does not work out , then go back to Stapo.

We are gambling in a trial, not a semi final.He deserves that chance.

Try something different , it could give us even more attacking potency.

Worth a look as a minimum I reckon.

Yes, of course it is worth a crack! Just because a couple of people are saying he can't play there, everybody else is believing it.

He played NSW under age teams as a winger and we'll never know what he'll be like until we try it. I'm not saying he'll be great but he might turn out to be, we wont know until we try it. We are shorthanded at winger and if we're going to use stapo gards definitely deserves a good crack.

The criticism of his defence was his positioning, had nothing to do with his tackling. Once again people on here are just guessing that he can't tackle, maybe he can't but there isn't enough evidence to say that he's a turnstile. Why is anyone actually using his tackling as a negative for him on the wing anyway? How many tackles are wingers required to make? How often are wingers actually isolated with a backrower running at them? Not very often! Defensive positioning is the important thing for wingers and if he can show that he's adequate at that it'll be a big step in becoming a winger.

Before anyone uses the height excuse for not playing him as a winger, look who the centre will be... Jonno wright, one of the taller outside backs around who can difuse the high kicks.

 

[slide rule]

Yes, of course it is worth a crack! Just because a couple of people are saying he can't play there, everybody else is believing it.

He played NSW under age teams as a winger and we'll never know what he'll be like until we try it. I'm not saying he'll be great but he might turn out to be, we wont know until we try it. We are shorthanded at winger and if we're going to use stapo gards definitely deserves a good crack.

The criticism of his defence was his positioning, had nothing to do with his tackling. Once again people on here are just guessing that he can't tackle, maybe he can't but there isn't enough evidence to say that he's a turnstile. Why is anyone actually using his tackling as a negative for him on the wing anyway? How many tackles are wingers required to make? How often are wingers actually isolated with a backrower running at them? Not very often! Defensive positioning is the important thing for wingers and if he can show that he's adequate at that it'll be a big step in becoming a winger.

Before anyone uses the height excuse for not playing him as a winger, look who the centre will be... Jonno wright, one of the taller outside backs around who can difuse the high kicks.

They might not have to make many tackles, but when they do, they need to be effective otherwise they will be scored against. It's a very unforgiving position in defence.

Look at the size of some of the wingers going around these days. Most of them are like second rowers, but with speed.

 

[josh11223344]

Tackling doesn't worry me in the slightest for a winger, they always have a centre there. Aslong as they wrap up the ball and wait for the centre they have done there job imo.

 

[slide rule]

They often dont have that time when defending their own tryline though.

 

[Great_White_Shark]

Yes, of course it is worth a crack! Just because a couple of people are saying he can't play there, everybody else is believing it.

He played NSW under age teams as a winger and we'll never know what he'll be like until we try it. I'm not saying he'll be great but he might turn out to be, we wont know until we try it. We are shorthanded at winger and if we're going to use stapo gards definitely deserves a good crack.

The criticism of his defence was his positioning, had nothing to do with his tackling. Once again people on here are just guessing that he can't tackle, maybe he can't but there isn't enough evidence to say that he's a turnstile. Why is anyone actually using his tackling as a negative for him on the wing anyway? How many tackles are wingers required to make? How often are wingers actually isolated with a backrower running at them? Not very often! Defensive positioning is the important thing for wingers and if he can show that he's adequate at that it'll be a big step in becoming a winger.

Before anyone uses the height excuse for not playing him as a winger, look who the centre will be... Jonno wright, one of the taller outside backs around who can difuse the high kicks.

Could you imagine Gards Having Vatuvei opposite him?

 

[Weaponhead82]

Could you imagine Gards Having Vatuvei opposite him?

Vatuvei wouldn't be a problem because he'd drop the ball anyway. I'd be worried about Uate or even SBW running in his direction

 

[HaroldBishop]

Is Gards any smaller than Merritt?

Edit: No weight/height data for Gards on the Sharks website. Merritt listed as 181cm/90kg. I think that's bull$hit considering Wade Graham is 184cm/93kg.

 

[blacky]

Is Gards any smaller than Merritt?

Edit: No weight/height data for Gards on the Sharks website. Merritt listed as 181cm/90kg. I think that's bull$hit considering Wade Graham is 184cm/93kg.

Big bones mate lol

 

[ABshark]

Most of the height/weight etc data on the Club websites isn't updated from year to year. So that's probably long before Graham bulked up for the forwards.

As for Gards, I think he's 176cm from memory. Very short.

 

[JimBob]

Quick question, sho was the last successful short winger in the NRL?

Only player I can think of is Utai (Dunno how to spell his name).

Giving Gards a shot on the wing in the trials can't hurt. May as well give him a crack.

 

[deano the p]

The nugget Utai would have to have been.

 

[sharkboy1995]

Hassan el Masri wasnt another little winger to be succedsful, (Mostly due to his goal kicking).

 

[Thresher]

If you could transport Chicka Ferguson or Kerry Boustead into today's game they'd still kill it, both small players. I'd put Ben Barba on the wing as well if Billy Slater was in the same team.

As josh said above, if you've got a good defensive centre next to them the small guys are generally ok eg ET next to Matty Rogers in his first season

Shame we don't have an ET in our team, if we did I'd be chucking Gards next to him

 

[A.Snowden]

Luke burt wasn't the heaviest winger out there. But I don't know about putting Gards out there.

As for the talk of not wanting him in the halves because of defence, he would probably have more confidence defending knowing he has big blokes next to him. I know I did. I was a hopeless winger knowing it was one on one, but when I moved to hooker I carved up and loved the defence.

 

[Thresher]

I was thinking we could put Gards directly behind Gallen in defence,

imagine the look on Manu Vatuvei's face if he saw Gallen coming at him waving 4 arms!