Re: Broncos 2014 Stats thread
It's not that we don't remember. Who could forget some of those tries? It's just that this is 2014 and based on his form this year when compared to that clip it is like looking at a completely different player. You've mentioned a few of the reasons/excuses from the laundry list that has been handed out to chalk up to his performances this year but am not sure how valid they are. His injuries were a problem, no arguments there, but the guy was in the newspaper a few months back saying he was injury free and should be playing better. If he was gunning it at fullback, there's no way he would've been switched - regardless of how poor Hoffman was playing.
Another thing, how do we know Boyd wasn't injured this season? Wayne Bennett during the year came up with a plan to change the scheduling of Origin to reduce the impact on players. I can't remember if he specifically mentioned Boyd but seeing players return from Origin duty busted up is what prompted him to come up with ideas on how to change it. . .
I believe he was moved to 5/8 when Hook finally realised how useless Hoffman was in the position. Undoubtedly, his recent form and dropped bombs also contributed to it.
Now let's look at the reasons / excuses:
- Dealing with psychological issues we all have read about, and led to his departure from the Bulldogs.
- Having to adapt to a new team with completely different structures, or whatever those Griffin tactics were called.
- Made to play both fullback and five-eight at the same time, to compensate for Hoggman's deficiencies (confirmed by Hook and Barba), prior to being moved to 5/8.
- Possible ankle injury lmiting his speed and freedom of movement, thus severely impacting his play style.
- Bulked-up, thus compounding the previous point
- Coached by Griffin... need I say more?
With the above in mind, answer these questions:
- Which of those do you think are not valid, and which of these do you think can't be addressed/fixed by Wayne Bennett?
- If you believe Bennett can bring Boyd back to his best, why wouldn't he be able to do the same with Barba?
- Do you think Boyd at his best even holds a candle to Barba at his best?
- Even if you do believe Boyd is better than Barba at his best, is it worth the extra large amount of salary cap?
- Do you believe Wayne will drop Boyd from fullback, if one of the young kids coming through is breaking down the door?
Once you've answered those questions, you'll have the answer to whether Boyd's recruitment is justified.