Andrew McCullough - The Great Enigma

[Big Pete]

Are they ever going to get a chance though? Baptiste isn't even signed for next year and there have been talks of him leaving.

His departure was invietable. You cannot have two talents vying for such a key position without one pursuing greater opportunities - the news of Nathan Peats proves that.

Pending on how Wallace performs from dummy half I would not be surprised to see Granville make his return to the bench before the season is out.

 

[noisetheory]

im not saying we have to buy a hooker. we have decent ones coming through. i really do think macca needs to improve or someone else given a chance. if you watch closely his passing, while being slow, is so off the mark so often. its largely the reason wallace n hunt get put under so much pressure cos they're forever stopping/jumping/reaching to catch his passes.

it just seems like we've been waiting for 2+ years for him to take it up a level but he's stuck.

jake friend has been going great guns. something about him i dislike though.

 

[Kimlo]

im not saying we have to buy a hooker. we have decent ones coming through. i really do think macca needs to improve or someone else given a chance. if you watch closely his passing, while being slow, is so off the mark so often. its largely the reason wallace n hunt get put under so much pressure cos they're forever stopping/jumping/reaching to catch his passes.

it just seems like we've been waiting for 2+ years for him to take it up a level but he's stuck.

jake friend has been going great guns. something about him i dislike though.

He's had a lot of off field shit in his past, he was sacked by the Roosters in 2009 only to be re-signed, allegations of assault against a woman, drink driving, drug charges, altercation with a taxi driver including charges for swearing at police, the list is as extensive as it gets for an NRL player. Friend on prescription drugs charges Roosters hooker Friend charged No Cookies | Herald Sun

To his credit he seems to have cleaned up his shit which is a good thing for him because he wouldn't be an NRL player if he didn't.

 

[Mr Fourex]

jake friend has been going great guns. something about him i dislike though.

He's a grub for starters ........and gives away a lot of penalties.

 

[noisetheory]

had no idea about the stuff broncospwn mentioned, unless id just forgotten but managed to remember he was a proper grub.

but yeah, he has that grub vibe on field.

 

[Porthoz]

im not saying we have to buy a hooker. we have decent ones coming through. i really do think macca needs to improve or someone else given a chance. if you watch closely his passing, while being slow, is so off the mark so often. its largely the reason wallace n hunt get put under so much pressure cos they're forever stopping/jumping/reaching to catch his passes.

it just seems like we've been waiting for 2+ years for him to take it up a level but he's stuck.

jake friend has been going great guns. something about him i dislike though.

That bit in bold, absolutely spot on!

If we happen to pull the miracle of getting DCE here, he won't be half as good as he is now because of the difference in service he will get from Macca compared to Ballin.

 

[Alec]

That's one of the reasons why I'd want DCE to play on both sides. Then Macca's role will be to just locate DCE and pass him the ball. Get DCE doing the organising. It would hopefully negate some of his slow decision making.

 

[Kimlo]

That bit in bold, absolutely spot on!

If we happen to pull the miracle of getting DCE here, he won't be half as good as he is now because of the difference in service he will get from Macca compared to Ballin.

So Lockyer would have been more than twice as good if he finished his career with Ballin? :scared:

 

[broncos4life]

So Lockyer would have been more than twice as good if he finished his career with Ballin? :scared:

Yeah, no apparently macca just lost all his talent when locky retired. It definitely has nothing to do with the two halves that have just been given the arse, it's all maccas fault.

 

[Anonymous person]

watching mccullough give terribly poor service to his halves isnt the halves fault.

 

[Renegade]

Yeah, no apparently macca just lost all his talent when locky retired. It definitely has nothing to do with the two halves that have just been given the arse, it's all maccas fault.

yeah but keep in mind, even when lockyer was playing, everyone loved it when he'd get into DH because you'd know that 1) something was on (that only he saw) and 2) the service was going to be crisp and accurate.

so while mccullough didn't necessarily inhibit lockyer, it was still noticeable when someone else got into DH.

 

[noisetheory]

Yeah, no apparently macca just lost all his talent when locky retired. It definitely has nothing to do with the two halves that have just been given the arse, it's all maccas fault.

at no point did i suggest it was all maccas fault, nor did i say our problems had nothing to do with the halves.

macca needs to improve or someone else given a go. i think it should at least be on the table. macca wasn't/isnt the biggest concern, but it seems like he's a protected species - although lockyer did say a week or two ago we arent getting enough out of our hooker.

 

[Porthoz]

Yeah, no apparently macca just lost all his talent when locky retired. It definitely has nothing to do with the two halves that have just been given the arse, it's all maccas fault.

You do realise that the two aren't mutually exclusive.
The halves were lacking, but Macca's service definitely contributed to make things even worse.

Having better service would've gone a long way to improve things, as will have better and faster halves.
Having both will make us a contender!

 

[Anonymous person]

can we get a name change for the thread? i find it hard to believe that mccullough could be a great *anything*.

 

[Steve Renouf]

Re: Sack Griffin/New Coach Discussion

Whilst I agree that Griffin's use of the bench is absolutely horrendous (and always has been), I think Macca always gets a rest because his fitness levels just aren't up to scratch.

He is a young first grader, unless he is carrying an injury, why the hell are his fitness levels not up to scratch? Maybe his heart size is not up to scratch.

Technically he is a premiership winning centre.

Technically he is a premiership winning 2nd rower who played centre for the finals series that year.

Bronny4Life

Am I the only one who thinks that sounds gay? :laugh:

 

[Kimlo]

Re: Sack Griffin/New Coach Discussion

He is a young first grader, unless he is carrying an injury, why the hell are his fitness levels not up to scratch? Maybe his heart size is not up to scratch.

I'm no Macca fan but you can't say he has no heart, fitness levels aren't something that everyone is blessed with, regardless of how hard they work. Which under 25 year old hooker in the competition plays 80 regularly?

Technically he is a premiership winning 2nd rower who played centre for the finals series that year.

No, technically he is a premiership winning centre, there's no ambiguity here he won a premiership ring playing in the centre position.

 

[rnabokov]

Re: Sack Griffin/New Coach Discussion

I'm no Macca fan but you can't say he has no heart, fitness levels aren't something that everyone is blessed with, regardless of how hard they work. Which under 25 year old hooker in the competition plays 80 regularly?


No, technically he is a premiership winning centre, there's no ambiguity here he won a premiership ring playing in the centre position.

I'm one of those few who believe there is no excuse why a hooker can't play 80 minutes, unless they are built like George Rose.

Farah Ennis and Smith can do it. Why can't Macca? Maybe because Hook pulls him off as a planned bench rotation, a rotation which sucks big time?

 

[Alec]

Re: Sack Griffin/New Coach Discussion

McCullough does a lot of work in defence very quickly. Our pack is mostly just loaded with attacking players, so somebody has to do it. I can see why he'd get tired quickly.