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Round 24: TITANS v KNIGHTS (2022)

The fans deserve that win, as do most of the players today. A few questions/observations:
1. Does that lock Jojo in as centre next week (and beyond)? I hope so. I thought he was outstanding for a first crack.
2. Was Turner injured? He looked ok when we had the ball but his lack of effort from the inside in defence was criminal if fit. His service at DH is also a long way short. If that performance is who he is, then we're better off without him.
3. What was Mo on today? He was unstoppable.
4. Tino punched out as good an 80 as any prop this year (any contenders?).
5. JC's no look hospital passes at the line do him a discredit.
6. Haas looked like he belonged and hopefully earns a place in the 17 each week.
7. Greg was better defensively this week, with a lot left to do. Kelly looked good but that tackle was a brain snap.
8. Liu and Ese were both good today. Joliffe too.
9. So many players looked so much better for us this week. Does that indicate just how poor Newcastle were?
10. The refs hate us, especially Cummins. 5-1 penalty count. Really?

And last, what is the NRL thinking with this half-****d approach to high shots? They seem to be trying to punish players for lying down by not giving the penalty, then the footage shows high contact, the bunker and ref ignore it and then have the player removed for an HIA. So the victim is punished and the offender doesn't get penalised or put on report. This obviously rewards the offender. It sounds counter to what they say they want to do in relation to player welfare.
 
I have some thoughts too:

1. Jojo played left centre with Spry outside him in preseason, is he more comfortable on the left? Put Sami outside him.
2. Francis plays right wing in QCup is he a right centre? Put Marzhew outside him.
3. D. Fifita had a good crack and that edge looked pretty good defensively with Fifita/Haas.
4. Marzhew is an enigma but can’t be ignored.
5. Been watching Foran very closely and don’t think he’s a 7.
6. Ese’ese is beginning to earn some belief (until we promote a development player during next season but I would waste money replacing him).
7. JC looks a lot better behind a winning pack but needs more meat and dairy but less veges.
8. Verrills should change our go-forward a lot.
9. Has JB proposed to Fermor yet?
10. When we offload sensibly we look so much better.
 
Jojo Fifita is a centre long-term, special, special player. Needs more variety in his attacking game but his detail on defense coupled with his power and strength make him a formidable unit out there in the centres.

Greg Marzhew is possibly the biggest enigma i've ever seen, 99th percentile ball-carrier and post-contact metre eater, but god is his defense just stinky. Absolutely no idea how to feel about him.

Klese, very good, definitely big enough to play NRL that's for sure.
 
Titanic said:
I have some thoughts too:

5. Been watching Foran very closely and don’t think he’s a 7.
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He is a pure 6 IMHO, we will cruel ourselves if we play him at 7.
I have found it very interesting that we are being linked to Bunt. If there is any "truth" to it then that is very interesting.
I can't wait for Verrils to get here, he will make such a massive difference.

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MaroonTitan said:
9. So many players looked so much better for us this week. Does that indicate just how poor Newcastle were?
10. The refs hate us, especially Cummins. 5-1 penalty count. Really?
.
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Unfortunately I think that Newcastle were so bad defensively that we were able to play fast and loose. The top defensive teams just don't give us that freedom and then we struggle to even get out of our end.

I thought this as well so I looked up the stats for Penalties conceded.
Para are the least penalised team in the comp with 112. We are the next best with 118....
The worst team is the Storm with 159 then the Roosters with 145....
I know we cop some very questionable ones at times but I also think that we have a number of dumb and selfish players that give referees no option but to blow the whistle.
 
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Titanic said:
I have some thoughts too:

1. Jojo played left centre with Spry outside him in preseason, is he more comfortable on the left? Put Sami outside him.
2. Francis plays right wing in QCup is he a right centre? Put Marzhew outside him.
Click to expand...

Hey T, Jojo's played left centre twice - in that pre-season trial, and in the U19 Qld v NSW match. Otherwise in Qcup he's played exclusively on the right wing. In his 3 game stint for Tweed U21's last year before injury, he played a mixture of left and ring wing. I think he and the coaching staff are still figuring out which side he's more suited to

Francis has played a mainly at left centre coming through the grades but like Jojo has played exclusively right wing in Qcup (which is also to accommodate Lofi playing on the left wing for Burleigh). I think he's capable playing either side but he was scouted, signed and promoted to his NRL Dev contract while playing as a left centre
 
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Titanic said:
I have some thoughts too:

1. Jojo played left centre with Spry outside him in preseason, is he more comfortable on the left? Put Sami outside him.
2. Francis plays right wing in QCup is he a right centre? Put Marzhew outside him.
3. D. Fifita had a good crack and that edge looked pretty good defensively with Fifita/Haas.
4. Marzhew is an enigma but can’t be ignored.
5. Been watching Foran very closely and don’t think he’s a 7.
6. Ese’ese is beginning to earn some belief (until we promote a development player during next season but I would waste money replacing him).
7. JC looks a lot better behind a winning pack but needs more meat and dairy but less veges.
8. Verrills should change our go-forward a lot.
9. Has JB proposed to Fermor yet?
10. When we offload sensibly we look so much better.
Click to expand...

Plenty of times.
 
Some observations on the Knights game.

1. AJ was sensational at 5/8. He needs the ball in hand and close to the action and I think that being in the halves next year will be the best outcome for the Titans.

2. JC was very good at fullback and saved 2 tries with great goal line defence. He is quickly learning the craft of goal line defence for a player of his size. With 2 try assists and 125 metres, he is developing very quickly on both sides of the ball and should be our fullback for next year.

3. Some good support to Tino from our middles with Jolliffe, Mo and Ese having their best games for a long time.

4. Klese had a great debut and was strong with his carries and was great in the effort areas. Will have a great future and should be part of the NRL squad from now on.

5. Jojo should be a starting centre next year and is strong on both sides of the ball. He was one of the best yesterday with strong carries and hitting hard in defence.

6. Defence overall was better although Newcastle did not throw much at them except for the last 10-15 minutes. Our edge defence structure has changed and it seemed to work better. I note in an article by Tino during the week that they have changed their defensive structure to be used for next year.

7. Whilst he is destructive in attack, Dave needs to get fitter for the defensive part of the game where he can get caught out defensively due to fatigue as happened yesterday.

8. The only poor performance was Turner who was horrendous and should not be anywhere near the 1st grade squad. He is not a hooker and I cannot fathom why Holbrook persists with it. He is a real liability in defence
 
Thanks WD and Titanic. I'm still scratching my head about Turner's performance. Surely he doesn't play like that in Q Cup???

I'm with Titanic and Ozynorts on Foran though. He's an out and out 6. They tried him at 7 at Parra and it removes his impact. He's a classy player and on his day a textbook 5/8.

I've also swayed from week to week on who our fullback should be next year and if Tannah can do a job like he has been, Brimmo is the best choice. JC would be a great 14 for us. I'm not sure if Toby can gain pace, learn to marshal his edge and hone his kicking better over the offseason but let's hope so. Weaver might be too light for the early rounds next year too, depending on how he develops.

I hope we keep both fullbacks though as I can see Brimo developing into a Munster style 5/8 once Foran retires, and JC should be at the peak of his powers around then.
 
Turner doesn't play like that in Qcup because he isn't a hooker in Qcup so doesn't get exposed for some of his major flaws. He was poor yesterday and has been every time he's taken the NRL field for us. The defensive work required playing as a 6 and then in the middle is much different to that of a fullback, let alone at cup level.

He's one of those guys that has some good offensive traits (even though we haven't seen them in NRL, they're there in Qcup when he's at FB) but unfortunately lacks some key fundamentals required at NRL level and gets really exposed. Unfortunately with our injuries, we don't really have a choice unless you want to remove Boyd from 7 where he's going well.

Turner is going to need a huge off-season because he isn't much of a 5/8 IMO and and can't really be trusted as a 14 in the middle because he can't defend there. He's not going to get a gig at fullback at top level with our stock in that position and has pressure coming from the other direction with the development of De Groot and Kini. He's a depth piece in any case so no sweat really, but even in that capacity I'm not sure where he fits in going forward.

edit: your observations pretty much summarises my thoughts too WD
 
Hail Sezer said:
Hey T, Jojo's played left centre twice - in that pre-season trial, and in the U19 Qld v NSW match. Otherwise in Qcup he's played exclusively on the right wing. In his 3 game stint for Tweed U21's last year before injury, he played a mixture of left and ring wing. I think he and the coaching staff are still figuring out which side he's more suited to

Francis has played a mainly at left centre coming through the grades but like Jojo has played exclusively right wing in Qcup (which is also to accommodate Lofi playing on the left wing for Burleigh). I think he's capable playing either side but he was scouted, signed and promoted to his NRL Dev contract while playing as a left centre
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Cheers HS ... I think that we have squeezed most of what we can out of our more established outside backs and think this weekend we could run with Francis (I know it's a dream at this stage of the year) and Jojo as our centers with Kelly out. Marzhew gets one wing (I just wish it was the right side) and that leaves Sami on the left wing if he's available?
 
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