2016 Strongest Line-Up

[Harry Sack]

Foordy just jizzing it up all over the place right now.

 

[Foordy]

Foordy just jizzing it up all over the place right now.

Right up until he said that Reed will be one center ... That statement made me lose wood :tongue:

I've been saying it all year ... Copley needs some consistency on the one position on the one side of the field ... And now it appears Bennett will give him, we will see the best of Copley. And it will be a beautiful site. IMO Copley at his best has the ability to be one of the best centers in the NRL. And I for one can't wait to see it.

 

[Morkel]

Only a few months ago they were anointing Kahu as Hodges' replacement. That's the media for you.

 

[Alec]

Who's going to be the other winger? Will Bennett stick with Oates or try to develop him in the forwards now?

 

[Foordy]

Who's going to be the other winger? Will Bennett stick with Oates or try to develop him in the forwards now?

I'd personally go with this backline next year .

1. Boyd
2. Anderson
3. Kahu
4. Copley
5. Oates.
6. Milford
7. Hunt.

But if Bennett is intent on giving Reed the left center spot then i would have Kahu and Oates as my wingers

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

By far the best choice. **** i love Benett. Instead of dicking it along and doing the whole "no guarantee... See who has a good preseason" crap. .. He makes a call and says " now it's yours to lose.

Reed is by far the best centre in the squad. With experience and skill, top notch defensive tactics and a great attitude. .. He will be missed in the opening rounds.

Excited to see Kahu have his day at left Centre in the meantime to put pressure on spots. Competition is imperative to a healthy roster.

You lot need to rewatch the highlights of this year and see how potent his attack was (especially compared to Hodges - god love and rest him) but damn he pulled off some good shit. Scored some great tries and provided wingers with superb ball out wide.

No more reed hate. Time to move on

 

[Porthoz]

I wouldn't be surprised if this is more about the lack of capable wingers, than anything else, making Kahu the "victim" of his own ability on the wing.
I'd rather see Kahu and Copley as the centre pairing, but can't argue with the decision until we have a strong pair of wingers.

Curious as to what WB is planning with Oates.

 

[Big Pete]

No more reed hate.

How about indifference?

 

[Unbreakable]

Kahu and Copley will be the Centre pairing for the opening ~1-2 months of next season if Jack Reed is out for the expected time frame. With that being said, this is what I'm hoping / expecting.

Round 1 -

1. Boyd
2. Oates
3. Kahu
4. Copley
5. Anderson

Round 4-8 - (When Reed returns)

1. Boyd
2. Oates / Anderson (Whoever has played better early in the season, Oates can shift to bench role if Anderson is owning)
3. Reed
4. Copley
5. Kahu

 

[broncoboy]

can wait to oates moves to the second row but i believe one more good season for him will do enormous good and give him time to get his skill set complete then in 2017 season let him lose right now just believe its too early and their would be nowhere for him to go.

and i also believe that although reed inst the best offensive player in the game he brings a good attacking game and an experienced head if the two centres were Copley and kahu it would leave us a pretty bad second choice with maranta and Anderson who im both not fully confident with yet.

 

[broncoboy]

im going to go for an interesting bench

boyd
anderson
reed
copley
kahu
milford
hunt
McCullough
mcguire
blair
glenn
gillet
parker



nikorima
thaiday
oats
Wallace

 

[Syklone]

There's a courier Mail article saying Bennett has declared its a certain players time to take over from hodges in jersey #4. I can't read the article though as its for subscribers :( any help?

 

[Big Pete]

BRONCOS coach Wayne Bennett has declared Dale Copley’s “time has come” after formally installing him as the centre successor to retired skipper Justin Hodges.
The Courier-Mail can reveal Copley will wear Hodges’ coveted No. 4 jumper next season — giving the luckless three-quarter a ray of hope after a nightmare 2015 campaign at the Broncos.
Boom utility Jordan Kahu was a frontline contender to succeed Hodges after an outstanding season in which he played a grand final and won selection in New Zealand’s Test squad.
But Bennett confirmed Copley will start at right centre next season, which shapes as a crucial year for the 24-year-old, who is off-contract at the end of 2016.
Copley fell out of favour last season, due largely to a series of injuries which restricted him to just nine NRL appearances, but Bennett says the classy flyer’s patient wait is over.
“Dale Copley is Justin Hodges’ replacement. I’ve made my mind up, Dale will be in Justin’s position next year,” Bennett said.

“His time has come, there is no more waiting for Dale. Jack Reed will be on one side (at centre) and Dale will be on the other.
“Dale needed to know he had a career at this club and a future here. I have told him he will be replacing ‘Hodgo’ and that’s reassuring for him.
“Now that he knows it’s his position, he will have the opportunity, it’s up to him to make sure he keeps the position until he wants to retire.”

Currently holidaying in America, Copley was dubbed a future Queensland Origin star after emerging as a tryscoring machine in the Broncos’ under-20s ranks.
Quick and strong, Copley is rated one of Brisbane’s most exciting attacking weapons, having scored 31 tries in 72 games since his NRL debut in 2009.
He was Brisbane’s leading tryscorer in 2014, crossing 16 times in 25 games, but lost ground to Kahu, Jack Reed and Lachlan Maranta last season due to calf and hamstring problems.
There were fears for Copley’s future when he languished with Norths Devils in the Intrust Super Cup, but Bennett praised the Aspley junior’s attitude during a turbulent period.
“Dale has done well this year actually,” he said.
“It was a difficult year for him, he is a talented player but for one reason or another the opportunities didn’t come for him on a regular basis.
“His attitude was great all the way through. It was important for him to know he had a future at the club and that his time out of the team was only a short-term situation.
“Long term, I always saw Dale as being a key part of our team.
“I hope he’s a better centre than he was a winger. He was a very good winger but I hope he is even better as a centre because that’s where he is heading.”
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...464e38e8bf7e08

I posted this earlier in the thread, hope it helps!

 

[Syklone]

That's great! Thanks Pete!

 

[Old Mate]

im going to go for an interesting bench

boyd
anderson
reed
copley
kahu
milford
hunt
McCullough
mcguire
blair
glenn
gillet
parker



nikorima
thaiday
oats
Wallace

Interesting hooking option as well.

 

[abashii]

Interesting hooking option as well.

McGuire did alright as hooker for Samoa. I'd be more concerned about McCullough in the front row. Tackles his guts out but for some reason whenever he gets his hands on the ball he's looking for someone to pass it on to. Rarely takes a hitup unless he's right on the try line. The bloke's like some kind of anti-Hoffman.

 

[Alec]

I could see McGuire being a better hooker.

 

[CaptainHook]

A real vote of confidence from Bennett.

What I find interesting about this article is how quick Bennett is to anoint Copley. In scenarios like this, sometimes coaches like to see where the cards fall but Bennett has seemingly made up his mind. I'm not sure if it's a great tactic in general as you can fall in love with a set 17, preventing you from making necessary changes but in this case I agree with Wayne 100%.

Interesting point about Bennett's tactics. I think it's what makes him such a terrific man manager. He just seems to know the right approach to get the best out of his players.

A good example was in the aftermath of the opening round of 2009. Bennett's first game in charge of the Dragons. It was an unhappy night for Jamie Soward being exposed by the likes of Inglis. Bennett's response was to just stick with him and it paid off in spades. He backed him publicly and some players would get a massive boost of confidence if they're copping it in the press.

I hope by Bennett backing Copley in the media accomplishes several things. Mainly that it ends speculation, gives Copley some confidence after an injury hampered season and motivates him to work hard and reward his coach's faith in him.

Personally, I've always been curious about what motivates professional sportsmen.

A contrasting example might be Andrew McCullough. He's had an outstanding season and proved me wrong but you could easily make the case he only seems to play well when a replacement is in the team. He went up a gear with the arrival of Granville and showed no sign of slacking off with Nikorima on the bench. Considering also he was only signed to a 2 year deal - nothing to be smirked at I think but still not exactly a huge vote of confidence and also a year below his previous deal. It could be an example of a player who doesn't respond to a guaranteed position and needs things in place to ensure he plays his best.

On another note, I know Kahu would make an awesome center but I'm tempted to leave him on the wing as he is pretty good there too. I like Copley - I thought he played really well for us in 2012 before his knee injury. I hope he gets some solid game time under his belt and shows us what he can do.