Will Bird make NSW as lock??

[scott17]

yes, theyre all **** too.

i still wouldnt pick sims in my team

 

[brad]

hannant. nsw or qld?
should be selected for either

 

[Shark Crazy]

He's QLD

 

[chunk67]

ur off ur fukn head peachey, did sims give u anal sex or sumthin

 

[brad]

hes a very consistantly good player but not enough to be taken over some other blokes in contention

 

[peachey]

ah **** off chunk, just cause i have a different bloody opinion doesnt mean you have to pull your hands out of your arse to drop your load all over the keyboard because i wrote something you didnt like..dropkick of the highest order

if its picked on form..he is playing better then some of the other drifters that continually fail at origin level..KITE - SH!T..O'MELEY - SH!T..MASON - SH!T..

they get smashed by the qld forwards every bloody year, yet still get picked..there the ones giving the selectors free sex

 

[Capital_Shark]

ashton sims and ben hannant should be the forwards for NSW..both have shown up the usual suspects for NSW..and the rest are completely ordinary or injured

better then kite,o'meley,mason,white..hell the bloody lot of them!

Sims is playing well but not Origin well. Hannant is playing well too and probably should earn himself a spot for whoever the hell he's eligible for (QLD I think). One thing with Hannant though is he seems to find a hiding more than anyone I've seen in a while. He has a great work load and is tough as nails, but seems to cop a hell of a lot of bell ringers. To his credit though he plays on and doesn't drop the intensity one bit.

Just on Mason; did you see the Roosters yesterday? Mason was fan-f*cking-tastic! Every time he got the ball he was in good position, broke the line and carried defenders 10m plus with some offloads and try assists to boot. He's certainly not past it and if he can churn out efforts 60% the quality of that on weekly basis and step it up for Origin people will soon remember why Mason gets the big bucks. Unfortunately he hasn't played like that since 2004. Hate the Chooks, dislike Mason, but love good football so I hope he can continue that form. If I were Bellamy I'd grab a copy of that tape, show Mason in game 1 camp and tell him thats the yard stick, anything less will see him replaced for game 2 and 3.

 

[bort]

Just on Mason; did you see the Roosters yesterday? Mason was fan-f*cking-tastic! Every time he got the ball he was in good position, broke the line and carried defenders 10m plus with some offloads and try assists to boot. He's certainly not past it and if he can churn out efforts 60% the quality of that on weekly basis and step it up for Origin people will soon remember why Mason gets the big bucks. Unfortunately he hasn't played like that since 2004. Hate the Chooks, dislike Mason, but love good football so I hope he can continue that form. If I were Bellamy I'd grab a copy of that tape, show Mason in game 1 camp and tell him thats the yard stick, anything less will see him replaced for game 2 and 3.

he was tearing it up thats for sure. if he can play like that for NSW we(...?) will be in with a real good chance, especially with the awesome backrow

 

[sandman77]

I wanna see Bird as 5/8 and Anasta at lock.

 

[Sharks#1]

I think bird will play 5/8 instead of lock

 

[brad]

the players want birdy

PLAYER power will ensure Greg Bird is selected ahead of Braith Anasta when Blues selectors sit down tomorrow, despite a late push by Anasta supporters.
Anasta has been in superb form throughout the first eight rounds, but his NSW bid was undermined by a massive jolt before the recent City-Country game when Country players left no doubt they would prefer to play alongside Bird.

The reaction shocked Country officials, which further undermined Anasta when NSW selectors got wind of the discussion.

The result is Bird will be selected in the NSW No. 6 tomorrow. The decision goes back to the popular belief that NRL football is different to Origin football, with form not necessarily transferring from one to the other.

"It wasn't a heavy go but the impression you got was that people still have their doubts about him," a Country player revealed last night.

The airing came when the Country coach Laurie Daley asked his team what they thought of City's players as the countdown to the match got under way.

It is a common practice among representative teams.

Several years ago NSW players were shocked when Willie Mason and Mark O'Meley were particularly damning of their then-Bulldog teammate Steve Price during a similar think-tank before Origin.

The Country player said the opinions given on each of the City players were not unusual, and that they expected City had a similar think-tank on the Country team. Players are often brutally honest in their assessments of rival players, even if they are teammates in club football.

He said the support for Bird was strong even though he is not a natural five-eighth.

"When you're in these teams you're expected to be honest and open and give your own impressions on strengths and weaknesses of the players," the player said.

"The coach can give his input but so can the players.

"You get feedback and a guide on what players think about other players.

"The general feeling on Braith was that he has got errors in his game, that you can force him and he can be put under pressure.

"He isn't reliable."

The news will be a disappointment to Anasta, who since booming on the scene in 2000 when he represented Australia has worked hard to overcome criticisms, many unnecessarily personal.

Roosters teammate Willie Mason, along with coach Brad Fittler and club advisor Phil Gould, all came out in support of Anasta yesterday after he again played strongly for the Roosters on Saturday night.

It is unlikely to be enough, though.

While Bird more often plays lock for his club team Cronulla, he was five-eighth for Australia in last Friday's Test win over New Zealand and was man of the match in his previous two representative games, last year's Test win over the Kiwis and the final State of Origin game.

Both times he was playing five-eighth.

He said yesterday he wanted to be considered at five-eighth for the Blues.

"I am still adamant I really want to play five-eighth for NSW if that is the way selectors want to go," he said.

"I wouldn't say that I really put my claims forward after the Centenary Test because I didn't have quite as dominant game as I would have liked.

"If we (Kurt Gidley and Bird) both get selected then I believe that both him and I can work towards a strong combination."

Anasta's problem stems from the fact Origin football is viewed differently to NRL football.

The team will be announced at 10am tomorrow.

 

[Sharks#1]

Bird played tremendos at 5/8 last year and got man of the match

 

[bort]

thatll cut anasta deep

 

[sandman77]

Bird played tremendos at 5/8 last year and got man of the match

Sh!t yeah. He won gave us back some pride last year. We all know he will be in the side. Dont matter, 6 or 13, he will do basically the same job.

For the sake of the Blues, I would prefer to see Bird as 13 and Anasta at 6. I just think Anasta long driving kicking game is very important in Origen. Field position is everything.

Anasta has a good clearing kicking game. What the blues need is a clever number 7. Finich trys hard and is a top player. He gives it his all but I dont see him as a clever halfback. But he will do the job.

For me bird at 13 and Anasta at 6.
Either way I think we need both of them in the side.
Both are excelent defenders also. very important in S-O-O games

What do you guys think?

:cheers

 

[Shark Crazy]

I agree with you sandman, but i doubt that's what they'll pick.
I don't understand how if Bird is a better 5/8 than Anasta why we don't play him in that position at the Sharks? Why, because he is better at LOCK!

 

[Great White]

I agree with what they are saying, under pressure Anasta does tend to faulter. Birdie thrives on it, on the other hand, I am glad he admitted on Friday night he didn't do much.

 

[Sharks#1]

lock is similar to 5/8 anyway