2017 Line-up

[Danoz Direct]

Hopefully someone like Issako or Shibasaki can step up and take that centre spot if Kahu can't fix up his defence.

 

[BroncsFan]

The recent slide in our goal line defence appears to have coincided with the addition of Roberts and subsequent loss of hodgo to retirement.

Hodgo was a fantastic defender at centre lost his speed as the years went on but rarely did he get beaten on the outside (by shepherding his man to the touch line) or coming up and in to cut down attacks.

Roberts and kahu were both beaten quite easily in the WCC and it is hard for your goal line defence to be effective when a simple sweep play brings you undone due to poor defence in the centres... And before the hunt and milf need help comments come out our goal line defence was the cornerstone of our 2015 and has completely disintegrated since

 

[Porthoz]

Kahu needs a little bit of time to adjust, but his defense has always been solid, and he is actually a surprisingly hard hitter.
Hopefully his body doesn't betray him...

 

[holdzy]

True, Hodgo's defence is often pretty under rated. I loved his one arm over the side line tackle, Jennings copped it a fair bit.

Definitely need to try and get back to '15 standards for defence.

 

[pagey]

Didn't oates slot in at centre every now and again in wcc game?

 

[Wolfie]

Kahu has big concerns defensively and Opacic has big concerns offensively. I'm not sold on either of them being a long-term fixture at centre for us.

Kahu has all the skill required to be a great centre, but he's always seemed extremely frail, constantly getting injured and absolutely beasted on hit-ups, in defence and attack.

Opacic has potential to be a very good centre defensively, but has major issues when it comes to speed and quickness off the mark, he was slower than Jack Reed last I saw him, which is a MAJOR concern at his age.

Tbf, he is a lot better than he showed last season in attack. The shoulder operations will free up his movement quite a lot. Its not easy to run or pass when you have very little movement in your shoulder. You are right though when you say he isnt quick off the mark. He isnt slow, but he doesn't have great acceleration, which can be an issue at times.

I dont know if it is just me, but in the nines and against Warrington, i thought Roberts looked slower than normal. I was shocked to see how that Warrington player got so close to him from so far away.

 

[Morkel]

Tbf, he is a lot better than he showed last season in attack. The shoulder operations will free up his movement quite a lot. Its not easy to run or pass when you have very little movement in your shoulder. You are right though when you say he isnt quick off the mark. He isnt slow, but he doesn't have great acceleration, which can be an issue at times.

I dont know if it is just me, but in the nines and against Warrington, i thought Roberts looked slower than normal. I was shocked to see how that Warrington player got so close to him from so far away.

Pretty sure Roberts hit cruise once he was in the clear. The Pom gained on him fast but then Roberts made sure he wouldn't be caught.

I'm expecting Opacic to get the #3 back by Origin time and Kahu back in the #5. Mead misses out unless Wayne lets Oates move in to the forwards (off the bench).

 

[Sproj]

It didn't look like Roberts was slowing down, he just looks slower. He really isn't offering anything to the team, I hope he pulls something out.

 

[Mightybroncs2k17]

How many games did it take Roberts to score his first try for us last year? And correct me if I'm wrong but I think it was just a fall over the line try? At least this year he's pulled a bit of something out of nothing and ran 90 metered for a try. Hopefully a sign he will be an attacking weapon?

If his defence is going to remain weak and he just falls off tackles (he makes contact but never sticks) he's going to need to score some serious point for us to make up for the tries he lets me in!

 

[Super Freak]

It didn't look like Roberts was slowing down, he just looks slower. He really isn't offering anything to the team, I hope he pulls something out.

It was a wet field and from what I've heard the fields are different over there.

But even in the 9's, he looked slower and bigger.

 

[pagey]

It didn't look like Roberts was slowing down, he just looks slower. He really isn't offering anything to the team, I hope he pulls something out.

I think it was pretty obvious that he shut down as soon as he made the break. I also think most of the guys were at 3/4 speed , bar Hunt on his chase .

 

[ZTop]

Kahu did pull off a huge hit in WCC match

 

[Aldo]

Yeah, it was a beauty

 

[_noosh]

Tbf, he is a lot better than he showed last season in attack. The shoulder operations will free up his movement quite a lot. Its not easy to run or pass when you have very little movement in your shoulder. You are right though when you say he isnt quick off the mark. He isnt slow, but he doesn't have great acceleration, which can be an issue at times.

I highly disagree. Opacic isn't just slow, he's really slow. Even with non-injured shoulders.
I previously mentioned how clear it is to see in the following youtube clip:


It honestly looks like he's at full flight with no shoulder impediment. He gets burned by every other back in that clip, even by a forward like Guerra. A few weeks ago, someone here mentioned Copley was slow. I don't know if that was sarcasm, but he destroys Opacic in that sprint.

Opacic does have some positive points, but his lack of speed and acceleration are major detractions and may prevent him from ever being a regular fixture in the backs - it's just that bad imo. Especially considering how young he is. He's only going to get slower.

 

[Sproj]

It was a wet field and from what I've heard the fields are different over there.

But even in the 9's, he looked slower and bigger.

Hopefully he's saving himself for the season proper because if he has lost his speed, he is pretty useless. His defends positioning last year was horrid and the only reason he wasn't beaten almost every play was because of his ability to cover his own erroneous reads due to said speed.

 

[Mitch06]

I highly disagree. Opacic isn't just slow, he's really slow. Even with non-injured shoulders.
I previously mentioned how clear it is to see in the following youtube clip:


It honestly looks like he's at full flight with no shoulder impediment. He gets burned by every other back in that clip, even by a forward like Guerra. A few weeks ago, someone here mentioned Copley was slow. I don't know if that was sarcasm, but he destroys Opacic in that sprint.

Opacic does have some positive points, but his lack of speed and acceleration are major detractions and may prevent him from ever being a regular fixture in the backs - it's just that bad imo. Especially considering how young he is. He's only going to get slower.

That's ridiculous, are you basing your opinion off of that footage? The whole team is a mile behind Oates because they're stuffed, including Opacic. I think you're over reacting - he isn't really slow. He's probably around Reed's level if not faster.

 

[_wwong]

True, Hodgo's defence is often pretty under rated. I loved his one arm over the side line tackle, Jennings copped it a fair bit.

Definitely need to try and get back to '15 standards for defence.

Hodgo had ridiculously long arms.

 

[_noosh]

That's ridiculous, are you basing your opinion off of that footage? The whole team is a mile behind Oates because they're stuffed, including Opacic. I think you're over reacting - he isn't really slow. He's probably around Reed's level if not faster.

This is just a clip I managed to find uploaded online with him at seemingly full flight.

I've actually got every round downloaded and just re-watched that set to see if there is any reason for him to be 'stuffed' as you claim. There is none. The entire set is virtually played within our 20 with the bulk being off our goal line. Not a single play went near him on that side of the field. It was all on the other side or middle. If you still think he's 'stuffed' after doing nothing at all for this set+, then he's clearly not fit enough for first grade by far.

I confess I may have embellished my description of his lack of speed a little, but not by much. He's quite clearly trying at his sprint - just look how hard he is pumping those legs and arms. Especially look at how slow his acceleration is. For a centre, this is a major flaw, which is a shame because we need a solid defensive centre like him to help cover for Milford's terrible defence.

Look at how he's barely keeping up with Guerra who was 28yo in this match.

Jack Reed was always criticised for being slow towards the end. He lost a fair bit of pace over his career. Opacic being barely his speed as a young chap versus Reed just before his retirement is a terrible sign.

Watch it again and see!