2016 Strongest Line-Up

I called it last year as well that Milford looked fat in pre-season, it took him a good 6-8 rounds to get to a reasonable game weight, really hope it doesn't take that long this season..
 
kingpest said:
Milford's just hungover from the Emerging Origin Squad bender
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That too, but his Aerobic system isn't the best but managers it fairly well throughout the game, it just takes him twice as long as everyone else for a quick play the ball.
 
After watching the highlights of our trial game, I must say Eden deserves debut for round 1
 
Thaiday Set For Positional Switch - Broncos

Indigenous All Stars forward Sam Thaiday has hinted that his surprise start in the second row for Saturday night's Harvey Norman All Stars game may not be a one-off this season.

Thaiday's selection in the back row follows the withdrawal of South Sydney's Chris Grevsmuhl from the fixture.


30 year-old Thaiday has represented his state and country in the second row, and a return to the position at club level looks like it may be on the cards.


Brisbane has an embarrassment of riches up front following the return of Josh McGuire from a severe Achilles injury.


With McGuire returning and interchanges reducing from 10 to 8 – it seems a positional move for Thaiday may be inevitable.


Thaiday, who has worked remarkably hard on his fitness in the off-season, may move to the edge in a bid to become an 80-minute man – a valuable asset with just eight interchanges per game.


Thaiday says he is open to a permanent move back to the second row, but ultimately it will be World All Stars and Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett's decision.


"Hopefully Wayne will be watching from the other coaching box. He can watch the game and make his judgement off that," said Thaiday.


"We've discussed a few things at the Broncos about how we're going to work this new interchange and who's going to go where.


"Over the next couple of weeks while we're playing trial matches we'll go from there and by Round 1 we'll know who's playing where and what is happening with the team."


Thaiday had a standout 2015 season for Brisbane in the front row, averaging just over 100 running metres and 35 tackles per game – a great return that ultimately resulted in the Townsville-born workhorse being rewarded with a new three-year deal at Brisbane.


It leaves master coach Bennett with a tough decision on where to play the versatile forward.


Thaiday's focus is firmly set on Saturday as he plans on making the most of the move back to the position where he started his career.


"I played one or two games in the second-row last year for the Broncos and I have played a bit of representative football there," said Thaiday.


"It's been a little while since I've played second-row so I'm looking forward to getting back there and running at smaller guys.


"Hopefully I don't have to make as many tackles as I usually do in the middle of the field.


"I am definitely looking forward to playing out on the edge again. I feel a lot fresher after I have played there.


"It's a tough old slug when you're playing in the middle of the field and having to make a lot more tackles and a lot more runs.


"I still get excited out on an edge and try to make as many tackles as I can but they're different decisions that you have to make. On the edge I am more defending movement rather than bodies. I think that's what I am looking forward to the most."
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Not sure what to make of this.. I'd rather start Glenn & Gillett I think..
 
He's just talking smack. Bennet won't play him in the backrow...he deadset sounds so lazy in this article.
 
That's the sort of talk I want to see.

Either way, Sam is going to play backrow, so why shouldn't he want to be in the starting line-up? Gillo and Glenn are quality players, but there's always room for improvement and a player of Thaiday's experience can certainly provide that difference.

My biggest concern with Sam is that he can be lazy in defence. Sure, he'll make a ton of tackles but there will be an effort somewhere whether it's the first or seventy-eighth that leaves you shaking your head. While I don't believe Gillo is faultless in defence, he is constantly keeping busy and it's easy to lose track of the number of try-saving tackles he pulled off.

I remember that Round 24 clash against Sydney where he pulled about 3 in the opening 20 minutes. If he hadn't have been there, RTS would have had a field day down that right fringe.

If Thaiday can meet that, or if heaven forbid Gillett or even Glenn fail to mantain that, then Sam can have that spot.
 
I don't buy he isn't a good prop, last season he showed he is more then upto the task under a coach who can motivate and use him effectively and personally there are better options in the backrow who can play longer minutes which is far more suitable with the changes to the interchange.
 
I think he's a good prop personally, a better prop than back rower, 100 metres a game with 30+ tackles off the bench is nothing to sneeze at. It's what's best for the team as well, because Glenn would be useless off the bench much like Oates was, and Gillett is probably our best back rower, and has to start.
 
Big Pete said:
That's the sort of talk I want to see.

Either way, Sam is going to play backrow, so why shouldn't he want to be in the starting line-up? Gillo and Glenn are quality players, but there's always room for improvement and a player of Thaiday's experience can certainly provide that difference.

My biggest concern with Sam is that he can be lazy in defence. Sure, he'll make a ton of tackles but there will be an effort somewhere whether it's the first or seventy-eighth that leaves you shaking your head. While I don't believe Gillo is faultless in defence, he is constantly keeping busy and it's easy to lose track of the number of try-saving tackles he pulled off.

I remember that Round 24 clash against Sydney where he pulled about 3 in the opening 20 minutes. If he hadn't have been there, RTS would have had a field day down that right fringe.

If Thaiday can meet that, or if heaven forbid Gillett or even Glenn fail to mantain that, then Sam can have that spot.
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Gillett may not be faultless but if you look at his workrate last season it was quite impressive for someone not noted as being a workhorse and he is also one of the few experienced forwards who I would say capable of playing an enforcer role in his hits(Thaiday can be too at times), particularly highlighted in the trial against the Cowboys.

I think your right about Thaiday tackling wise, personally I think his tackle rate is often inflated by the amount of group tackles he is involved in, I'd actually like to have a look at the one on ones. Your right about the Roosters match but performances like that are often far and few between, consistency is what we need from him.
 
The Broncos aren't exactly short on replacement props. With guys like Wallace, Ofahengaue, Ese'ese, Molo, Fai, Hipgrave etc. they're well covered.

On the other hand, the Broncos are really skinny on edge backrows. After Gillett and Glenn, you're starring at the likes of S'ua, Timu, Barr and so on.

Which is why Sam's versatility is so handy and why you can't discount him as an edge backrow. He generally plays his best footy there for Australia and Queensland, and when he was given a shot last year (well after Round 1...) he proved that he can still be valuable. One game that instantly comes to mind is the Round 18 clash where he spent a fair portion of it playing down the left with Milford. Now, I thought Glenn and Milford developed a nice combination but in a short amount of time, Milford and Thaiday looked really good.

I think it's good that Sam is keeping himself available and hope he continues to push Glenn and Gillett to do better.

Your right about the Roosters match but performances like that are often far and few between, consistency is what we need from him.
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Just to be clear, I was talking about Gillett. Sorry for the confusion, I was just giving an example so it didn't seem like I was pulling the observation from thin air.
 
We are however short on experienced props, if your pushing for Thaiday to be extensively used in the backrow then there is a considerable drop after Wallace in that sense, over time that will improve but at least in the short term it's something concerning. If you want to argue for him to play in the backrow then personally I think he is better off playing from the bench in an impact role where he can play either position and be injected depending how the game is travelling. Leave the early workload to the likes of Gillett, Glenn and Parker, you will get more out of Thaiday that way if your intention is for him to play backrow.
 
And thanks for clearing up the Gillett comment, I have to say though it still stands for Thaiday. I give him credit for dominating against the Roosters but it's those performances you really want to see more of from him.
 
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