what would be your top 17 next year

[Mark^Bastard]

It's from De Gois. In some languages De Gois would be pronounced De Gwah

 

[Jigsaw]

newcastle didnt make the finals in 2010 though

2009 my bad. man seems ages ago. which ever one it was when he killed himself in the first tackle

 

[Great_White_Shark]

1. Nathan Gardner
2. Stewart Mills
3. Sam Tagataese
4. Colin Best
5. John Williams
6. Todd Carney
7. Chad Townsend
8. Ben Ross
9. Isaac De Gois
10. Bryce Gibbs
11. Jeremy Smith
12. Wade Graham
13. Paul Gallen

14. Andrew Fifita
15. Anthony Tupou
16. Mark Tafua
17. Allbert Kelly

i would consider switching kelly with townsend and robson for kelly

 

[bluey]

Townsend is not ready, he needs a good year of nsw cup

 

[azzah72]

NRL:

1.Gardener
2.Stapleton
3.Best
4.Pommeroy
5.Williams

6.Carney
7.Robson

8.Gibbs
9.De Gois
10.Ross

11.Smith
12.Gallen
13.Graham

14.Tupou
15.Tagatese
16.Fifita
17.Kelly

NSW Cup:

1. Isaac Gordon
2. Stewart Mills
3. Matthew Wright
4. RickY Leutele
5. Luke Pickherd
6. Jason Mcgrady
7. Chad Townsend
8. Jon Green
9. John Morris (regrettably)
10. Josh Cordoba
11. Tyson Frizzell
12. Jason Bakuya (regrettably)
13. Tyrone Peachy

14. Mark Taufua
15. Kose Lelei
16. Duncan Reilly
17. Callum Tauhuta

 

[sharkiesfreak]

1. Nathan Gardner
2. John Williams
3. Ben Pomeroy
4. Colin Best
5. Matthew Wright/Stapo
6. Todd Carney
7. Albert Kelly
8. Ben Ross
9. Isaac De Gois
10. Bryce Gibbs
11. Jeremy Smith
12. Wade Graham
13. Paul Gallen

14. Andrew Fifita
15. Anthony Tupou
16. Mark Tafua
17. Sam Taga

 

[Great_White_Shark]

Townsend is not ready, he needs a good year of nsw cup

ok but then after his year then what? we still have the same problem! as we will still have carney, kelly, graham, robson competing for a halves spot, then if we wait another year he may get fed up, i think he will be a good halfback in the future and if we keep overlooking him for a spot in the 17 he will eventually sign somewhere that will play him in the halves,

i wanna keep this kid, i think his kicking game in our little 4 win streak last season is what won us those games, he was the only half last year that when he kicked it found grass and not the fullback of the opposition,

he is our halfback of the future he is a local junior who wants to play for us but if we keep overlooking him he will sign elsewhere

 

[Mr Ryan]

OK but then after his year then what? we still have the same problem! as we will still have carney, kelly, graham, robson competing for a halves spot, then if we wait another year he may get fed up, i think he will be a good halfback in the future and if we keep overlooking him for a spot in the 17 he will eventually sign somewhere that will play him in the halves,

i wanna keep this kid, i think his kicking game in our little 4 win streak last season is what won us those games, he was the only half last year that when he kicked it found grass and not the fullback of the opposition,

he is our halfback of the future he is a local junior who wants to play for us but if we keep overlooking him he will sign elsewhere

This idea keeps getting thrown up. Play Townsend in Round 1 or he signs with someone else. Maybe St George.

You make him sound like some big head thats demanding to be in 1st grade.

Anyway, for all we know Townsend may be happy with where he is at the moment. How old is he? 19-20.

He played first grade this year. He'll probably play a bit more at some stage next year.

Doesn't mean he has to be the half back in Round 1.

 

[sharks2010]

Azz I Would keep pickerd in the 20's

 

[andrew's_sharks]

There is no way Boogie wont be in the side somewhere. He will be poached for sure if he isnt in the team.

 

[ABshark]

It's still to early to commit AB. I do know that we should be looking to play Peachey, Friz and Mills as much as possible. All three are capable of making big plays and will bring enthusiasm to the team. At this stage I'd be looking at something like;

Gards
Mills
Best
Pomeroy
Williams
Kelly
Carney
Graham
Gallen
Smith
Ross
DeGois
Gibbs

Fifita
Tagatese
Tupou
Peachey

I'd like to see Peachey get a run early because he is just too talented to waste. Friz could easily make the transaction into the centres and Bakuya may well be an unlucky exclusion. He is too injury prone for mine. And we still have players like Tafua, Green, Gordon, Luetele and Stapleton. If anything we recruited too much.

Yeah, not a bad side Tef. If I were Flano then I would be looking to bring Peachey in to the side in the same sort of way the Warriors did Taylor- mid way through the year, and more time if his form warrants it.

This is what I would run out at this stage:

8) Gallen (c)
9) De Gois
10) Ross
11) Smith (Tight forward)
12) Frizell/Bukuya (Right edge)
13) Graham (Left edge)

7) Carney
6) Kelly

2) ???
3) Best
4) Wright/Mills/Pomeroy/Bukuya
5) Williams

1) Gardner


14) Fifita
15) Gibbs
16) Tagataese
17) Tupou

For me, that side has an inherent structure. The forwards are all playing in their best positions. Gal's form in the Four Nations is demonstrating that he is better at prop than he is on the fringe. Smith is a tight-forward too. Between those two and Ross we would have one of the strongest, toughest ruck combinations in the comp. Gibbs to come on for Smith or Gal, and Fifita for Ross. Gibbs on the bench offers us some consistency, experience and grind and I think he would compliment the other three who will really explode on to the field and give great impact.

Graham is playing in his natural channel on the left edge. He likes to play short, close to the line and I think lock will suit him down to the ground. However, he needs a strong centre who can offload and help him a bit in defence- Best is that. Plus, the Graham/Best combination was probably our most effective one last year, and interestingly most of the opportunities that they created together down the left side were ones where Graham had taken the ball wider of the second rower (usually Gal or Toops) and played short to Best who offloaded to his winger.

Frizell and Bukuya would be decided by form, but I really rate Frizell's hole running. He plays smart and is exactly the sort of guy our running halves need to straighten the attack and create space for our outside men- in fact, a lack of angle runners like Friz has been our No. 1 weakness IMO since Reece Williams and Anderson departed. All the other forwards want to footwork or wrestle their way through the line.

Tupou and Taga to come on in their preferred slots for Graham and Friz/Bukuya respectively. I would also look to get Toops some time on the right and see how that combination with Kelly comes along.

I'm very confident that Carney will start at 7 unless Flano decides to start with:

6) Carney
7) Graham

14) Kelly

With Graham to left edge backrow and Kelly to the halves.

I think Carney will appreciate the responsibility. It will be his team. And to be blunt, we need the ball in his hands as often as possible and trying to pen him up on one side of the field would be a waste. Let him play what he sees.

The backs are difficult because there simply isn't enough proven talent. I think Williams and Best are walkup starts at least to begin with unless the younger guys really step up. Best for his leadership, his combination with Graham and experience with Carney, and Williams because he's our best defensive winger and the best option to babysit whoever plays right centre... because whoever it is, they'll probably need babysitting. Right centre would be decided by form with an eye to the future. Bukuya would do a job for us, Wright may be ready after a good 2011, Pomeroy may get some new life with Carney and Kelly feeding him the ball. I think Mills could use at least half a year in the NSW Cup to work on his reads and just to get some finesse in his game. But he may improve hugely- he's must be still getting back in to the swing of things after that busted leg.

Left wing is our biggest concern IMO. Stapleton and Wright at the obvious candidates but neither are first string wingers at any other Club. That's where our last squad spot should go- unless we can fill it with someone from the second tier.

Gards and De Gois are automatic picks. I really dislike the prospect of two hookers. Picking Morris or Robson would be an asbsolute waste of a good bench forward. Graham would cover hooker in my 17 (he spends enough time lurking around DH anyway).

 

[Born&bred]

Yeah AB - I can run with a fair bit of that - but some questions...

Can we teach graham to kick accurately? He has a massive boot on him. That won't matter if he goes to lock.

Is AK going to be tough enough to handle 5/8? I have concerns about his ability to stay injury free. This worries me worse if he come off the bench.

Will flanno let Gal play front row?

 

[teflon77]

Good analysis as usual AB. I agree about not playing a hooker on the bench. DeGois is more than capable of playing 80 if he doesn't get injured. It would free up that bench spot for further impact (Peach or Friz). I'd love to get Frizell in the team somewhere. Your'e right about his hole running. He runs great angles and even when he doesn't get the ball he is big enough to get the defence interested.

Graham should be the lock no doubt and he would really threaten on that left side. He is like a young Trent Barrett when he takes the line on and he has enough skill with the ball to create oportunities out wide.

Interesting times ahead.

 

[greenie1957]

this is what i would go with
gardner
williams
mills
tagatese
best
carney
kelly/ robson ( undecided)
gibbs
degois
ross
smith
gallen
graham

toops
fafita
frizell
tafua

 

[occy shark]

1. Gardner
2. Gordon
3. Mills
4. Best/Pomm
5. Williams
6. Carney
7. Townsend
8. Ross
9. De Gois
10. Gibbs
11. Smith
12. Gallen
13. Graham

14. Kelly(quick and elusive)
15. Fifita
16. Tagatese/Peach
17. Toops/Bakuya

I think Toops is under enourmous pressure to prove the money we are paying him. Give him 6-10 rounds to prove himself and if he still playing like a bustard a$$ then I think we should shop him off to ESL or some other NRL club.

 

[sharks2010]

I think flanno will have carney at 6 and a organising half. That why i think he will go with robbo. With the peach jnr he only signed for one year right?? To me that's saying give me a chance in first grade or I'll go somewhere else

 

[Blix]

8) Gallen (c)
9) De Gois
10) Ross
11) Smith (Tight forward)
12) Frizell/Bukuya (Right edge)
13) Graham (Left edge)

7) Carney
6) Kelly

2) ???
3) Best
4) Wright/Mills/Pomeroy/Bukuya
5) Williams

1) Gardner


14) Fifita
15) Gibbs
16) Tagataese
17) Tupou

Like a few things here.

1) Gallen at prop, this for mine is massive, he plays absolutely awesome as a prop, as he gets in and grinds out metres and tackles like a machine, also deters him getting involved in the backline plays. Also it opens up the lock position.

2) Graham at lock, we all know we want him there, his' kciking isnt his' strength, his' ball running, tackling and to a lesser degree passing is, this also opens up the halves position.

3) Kelly, this one I am not sure about, I do want either him or Townsend in the halfs though. Robson is getting on and why try and make him a solid first grader with not the same ability or time left to improve. So....I am happy with either Kelly or Townsend, IF, Townsend though I do think Kelly has to be on the bench.

4) Best, this guy is super reliable, and can put away his' winger. Clearly our only autopick at centre.

Things I dont so much like

1) Degois as only hooker, I know that people will say that he didnt miss many games, but he gets niggling injuries HEAPS, lost of times Hilder had to come on and play big minutes. I would love to have this guy playing 80 minutes every game, but I think relying on it is at the very least risky, I would lean towards Kelly off the bench.

Also,

I think I would be happy to give Stapo that wing spot, he was very good under the high ball, and was highly involved as well.

Anyway a really good team. I do like Gal as prop and Grhaam at lock!

 

[sharks2010]

The good thing about putting Graham at lock is that if there is a injury in the halves during a game he can slot into there

 

[Blair]

Gal playing at prop seems to solve so many problems. It allows us to squeeze in all the backrow talent.
I think one of those backrowers needs to go into Poms centre position though. Either Taga, Boogy or Frizzel. I am leaning towards Frizz as it will ease him into 1st grade a little more comfortably rather than throwing him straight into the pack. Also I would love to see him running off Carney all day.

 

[Blix]

I am leaning towards Frizz as it will ease him into 1st grade a little more comfortably rather than throwing him straight into the pack.

Totally agree with a 2nd rower into centre, I would like either Tupou, Bukuya or Friz.

Not sure I would say comfortable introduction, if he gets found out of positions a couple of times though. Just think about Kelly last year at fullback...