2014 Halves Pairing

[Danoz Direct]

I think we should worry about Strasser, if & when he gets more than just half a season of QCup under his belt.

Long way to go for him ......so far he's shown "some" potential. A lot of players have fizzed out for us over the last couple of years after showing "some potential".

Strasser has already played a full season of QCup.

 

[Painin the Haas]

Exactly right like I said earlier either an ok fill in or a future star which hence would cause that problem when Milford arrives

 

[Broncoman]

Just watched highlights of a Queensland schools final from 2009 where Jordan Kahu played fullback and was awarded MOM for Keebra Park.

He showed some qualities of a five-eighth, backing up his halfback in support and creating opportunities in attack for his team. He scored a magnificent try, catching a high-hanging bomb on the fly and sprinted through the defence in an instant running 78 meters to score. He struck the ball pretty well with the boot landing 5/6 while landing some great kicks from touch.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

Exactly right like I said earlier either an ok fill in or a future star which hence would cause that problem when Milford arrives

I would rather have a situation where we have 2 young proven stars to fill 1 five eighth position than to piss away the 2014 season on a player who isn't a natural number 6.

 

[Foordy]

I would rather have a situation where we have 2 young proven stars to fill 1 five eighth position than to piss away the 2014 season on a player who isn't a natural number 6.

It is a much better headache for Hook to have going into 2015, where we have both halves star in 2014 and have Milford to come into the team.

 

[Socnorb]

I really belive hunt is a better halfback than 5/8th. And strasser played half the year at halfback himself when Cullen came into the team from u20 it was at 5/8th which makes me question their plans, why swap positions of the two, Cullen was purely a halfback/hooker in u20's.

kahu seems to be like inglis, plays centre, can do 5/8th well but is suited for fullback but I just dont see him doing what we need in that role. It should be strasser, although if anyone saw Cullen in u20's he plays a similar style to strasser I wouldn't rule him out either

what annoys me is what happens when Milford comes. Part of me hopes we will need him and one of these guys do ok but are there just to fill in for a season

but another part says if they explode onto the scene set the comp on fire then that sucks because we can't keep them, someone will buy them and there goes another bit of talent because why would they stay to be a back up, Milford will get his role, we've paid too much for him not to

So we have too many 5/8's . Sounds like one of those good problems.

 

[broncos4life]

Agree with what Fourex was saying earlier.

Why are we all so concerned about a possible selection headache. I know we haven't had one for years so we are probably scared of the unknown but that's how most teams operate.

The best thing that could happen is whoever gets the 6 next year absolutely rips it up and when Milford arrives we have a selection headache, it means we have the absolute best players on the park. I don't see it happening but if it did it would be fantastic

 

[GCBRONCO]

It's really not a problem to see out just a season till a player of the quality of Milford arrives, if anything its a good opportunity to blood some insurance(by that I mean someone who has had regular first grade experience in such position), besides for someone like Kahu who is pretty versatile, I'm sure if he makes such an impression there could be room for him somewhere in the side.

 

[bazza]

I don't like the fact that the five-eighth position is only for one season, and in the end, the player chosen will most likely have to miss out in 2015 with Milford's arrival...

I know having depth is a good thing, but what worries me is if the five-eighth chosen for 2014 becomes a star, yet most likely won't be rewarded with a position in the team for 2015. He's talent, in a sense will be wasted in the QLD cup, or even worse another club will pick him up...

What happens if, say Strasser is given the opportunity and makes the most of it, establishing a very solid combination with B.Hunt...? What happens with Milford...? Why would you break a proven combination that actually works...?

For all we know, Strasser or whoever gets the position may well be "better suited" to five-eighth than Milford, who still is relatively unproven as a playmaker... Who knows, perhaps Milford is "better suited" to fullback than five-eighth.

In my opinion, I prefer Strasser at five-eighth over Kahu and I also think that although Milford is a gun, a B.Hunt and Strasser halves pairing seems "stronger" than B.Hunt and Milford. I'm not saying that either B.Hunt or Strasser are better players than Milford, but perhaps they seem to suite the requirements of playing in the halves more than Milford at this stage of his career.

Milford's strength lies in his running game. He's a player that would be most effective when given quality ball, rather than being the one creating the plays. He seems more effective as a fullback, however still possesses ball playing skill from playing in the halves...

I'm confused as to where its best to play him, without weakening a particular position to accommodate everyone...

 

[GCBRONCO]

You may not like the situation but the club can't decide to just go against signing a player of the talent like Milford who is rated(and has already shown in first grade and in the world cup might I add) much higher a talent then either of those 2 players and has shown so far that to be the case, all because the current club his at is in a disagreement of releasing him for 2014, for too long the club has refused to go to the market to sign playmaker's of this potential(and people complained of this, now it seems its a problem), since Langer's original retirement we have relied on the likes of the so called next generation young halves in Ben Walker, Brett Seymour, Corey Norman etc to be the next big thing to take pressure off Lockyer and for the future and they have failed to deliver and though they were rated highly, none as much so as Milford is and I wouldn't be in rush to put Kahu or Strasser in his league just yet. The club can no longer afford to rely on the mentality she will be right, the next big thing is coming through the development doors next season, theres far too much competition for talent in SE QLD let alone Queensland to seriously think otherwise.

As for Milford not being suited at 5/8th, I have to disagree with that, the modern game still suits a ball runner with ball playing ability like Milford will slot in well there and the need for one at fullback isn't required with a player of the caliber of Barba there and if there's one thing this club has seriously lacked in the spine is the dominance factor which both of these players provide, I'd be lying if I said I thought McCullough, Kahu, Strasser or even Hunt has that, having Barba and Milford improve that dramatically.

 

[Smokin' Joe]

For what it's worth, all things going accordingly, Kahu will wear the 6 in round 1.

 

[Grimmiq]

I understand where you're coming from, if Hunt and his partner perform well in 2014, we'll have 3 quality players competing for 2 positions, one of them will be stuck in reserve, which does suck for them.. But I'd much rather risk having too many quality halves than potentially having none if neither Hunt nor his partner can step up.

Even if both our halves next year perform great, the guy stepped down to QCup will still have shown his potential and will attract offers from other clubs, so he won't go completely unrewarded.

With Hunt's apparent love of grubbers and chip kicks and Parker's offloads..having Barba and Milford on the field is mouth watering.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

It seems a lot of people have a lot more faith in Hunt developing into a good halfback than I do. He's had 2 or 3 good games in the position. He has proven nothing.

If Strasser explodes in 2014 and Hunt is just decent, put Hunt back as bench utility and have 6 Strasser 7 Milford or the other way around.

 

[Painin the Haas]

It seems a lot of people have a lot more faith in Hunt developing into a good halfback than I do. He's had 2 or 3 good games in the position. He has proven nothing.

If Strasser explodes in 2014 and Hunt is just decent, put Hunt back as bench utility and have 6 Strasser 7 Milford or the other way around.

Thats true it does come down to the faith of hunt performing well but you got to like what we saw from him. He is direct, counts numbers, plays what is in front of him and you can see that with his short kicking game, plenty of chances just need to work on execution. Last year he came into the pre season as a bench hooker, this year is it, a preseason for number 1 choice halfback.

 

[Foordy]

I for one hope that both our halves (and Milford) dominate this season... we will be better off having 2 quality halves in first grade and a capable back up ... if players have no one in the reserves pushing for their spot, then it invites complacency.

if you have no one capable of stepping up to first grade, then regardless how our halves perform, we would have no way of dropping them, because we would be worse off

 

[GCBRONCO]

It seems a lot of people have a lot more faith in Hunt developing into a good halfback than I do. He's had 2 or 3 good games in the position. He has proven nothing.

If Strasser explodes in 2014 and Hunt is just decent, put Hunt back as bench utility and have 6 Strasser 7 Milford or the other way around.

And that's a good point too, Hunt may have first shot at halfback but his not rock solid locked in there for 2015 just yet either, someone impresses enough at 5/8th and Hunt fails to deliver may see that door open for Milford at halfback. Regardless I want whoever is in the halves next season to be playing their best football, competition and options are always available.

 

[bazza]

Couldn't agree more champ!

However at this stage because of the fact we don't have an experienced or dominant half (like a Thurston, Cronk or DCE) and with B.Hunt only given his opportunity now, still very much finding his feet, the better option would be to partner Hunt with another natural playmaker to lighten the load or responsibilities.

At this stage or even when Milford arrives, the viable option in my opinion would be Strasser because of the fact he has at the very least played a complete season in the QCup directing the team around the park. The fact we don't have an established halfback, would mean Milford would have a greater playmaking role. I don't think he needs the added responsibility or pressure of directing play this early in his career.

We all know he will be a superstar, honestly, even that is an understatement, but we have to be patient. He is still young and we have to be careful it doesn't stunt his development. If we had a dominant half as mentioned above, it would allow Milford to play his natural game without any restriction, playing what's in front of him with individual brilliance. But since we don't, its probably a bit much to ask for Milford to lead our team around the park so early on.

Just because he is talented, doesn't mean he can handle being a full time playmaker. The fact that he is still a rookie, makes it that much harder. Even D.Lockyer struggled at five-eighth initially after making the transition, so to expect miracles from Milford straight away is unfair on the kid.

Milford may struggle with the added burden of being playmaker, without the support of an established halves partner. We all saw how Benji Marshall's career deteriorated due the lack of an established halfback. Benji's flair and attacking prowess was taken away from him the moment he took on the added responsibilities of not having a halfback to direct the plays. I fear that giving Milford those responsibilities, when the Broncos are struggling in the halves department already may hinder Milford's development.

Thats not to say that Milford won't or can't be a superb five-eighth... I'm sure he will be, but he has yet to play as a full time playmaker. He has to be eased into it, and I wouldn't mind him coming off the bench as that explosive x factor player, just roving around like DCE does in origin.

 

[Alec]

If we also signed Smith, a lot of the pressure would be completely lifted. Smith is like a halfback and hooker all in one.