Broncos need to bank on Wallace

[lynx000]

I have pretty much stayed out of this debate other than to suggest I am not yet giving up on him, but there does appear to be something that is holding him back from developing into a better play making half. I agree with you though, that if it is something in his head that someone would have had the insight to send him to see someone.

 

[Coxy]

I have pretty much stayed out of this debate other than to suggest I am not yet giving up on him, but there does appear to be something that is holding him back from developing into a better play making half. I agree with you though, that if it is something in his head that someone would have had the insight to send him to see someone.

You would hope. It'd have to be pretty poor attention to detail and individual player welfare if there was a major crisis of confidence with Wallace and they weren't aware of it.

 

[RedHillGuy]

Aside from his run at the end of last year, Wallace's best games were when he first came to the club and he played about 5 or 6 games without Lockyer who was out injured. He look like a world beater at that stage and was leading the team around like a seasoned professional. Of late though, without Lockyer you would swear there were 13 headless chooks on the field.... especially when we get in the attacking 20m zone... our attack has no shape and all of the runners seem to get in each other's way....

That said, Wallace has not been helped recently by McCullough who is either too slow or overplaying his hand around the ruck... McCullough has definitely not kicked on from the fine form he finished 2009 in.

The ticker the 2010 broncos have shown all season means I am confident they will be in with a shot of winning each of the 3 remaining games... but Wallace is definitely going to have to step up for us to go from being competitive to actually winning games... Norman also has to start this week to give us some more options in attack... but he will need a Tonie Carroll like "minder" in defence as he was making Steve Michaels look like Trevor Gillmeister in the final 30mins against the Eels last Friday.

 

[Alec]

Everything about that article is spot on IMO.

 

[Professor47]

Yeh just quickly if you think about it before he had the confidence to throw some good cut outs to the wing and even some nice short balls to the centres. I don't think I've seen it this year at all?

Without awakening the anti-K Hunt fans but K Hunt also helped that pressure off Wallace as well - so maybe getting exposed a bit there?

 

[Jeba]

Without awakening the anti-K Hunt fans but K Hunt also helped that pressure off Wallace as well - so maybe getting exposed a bit there?

This is a good point IMO. Hoffman is a great player and we don't lose much with him there instead of Karmichael, but Karmichael was a lot more effective with our pet play, the second man play to the left. Wallace loves to start that play but it just hasn't been as effective this year and this is one reason why Winterstein hasn't gotten many 4 pointers.

 

[Flutterby]

OK, after much thought - my 2 cents.

Personally I don't think Wallace is a poor halfback or player, in fact I think he is quite good. However I do not think that his style of halfback play suits the Broncos - given the other players they have. Similar to Ben Walker who I still believe was a very talented halfback, just not the style of halfback the Broncos needed at the time he was here. Therefore he appears to be playing poorly because his style doesn't fit in with / bring out the best in the team overall. With Locky alongside him it doesn't impact as much as Locky has such a dominant game and style that suits the team (or that the team is built around). Given this, my preference would be to see the Broncos move Wallace on and for him to go to a team where he is better suited and will be able to show himself to the best of his abilities.

 

[Nashy]

OK, after much thought - my 2 cents.

Personally I don't think Wallace is a poor halfback or player, in fact I think he is quite good. However I do not think that his style of halfback play suits the Broncos - given the other players they have. Similar to Ben Walker who I still believe was a very talented halfback, just not the style of halfback the Broncos needed at the time he was here. Therefore he appears to be playing poorly because his style doesn't fit in with / bring out the best in the team overall. With Locky alongside him it doesn't impact as much as Locky has such a dominant game and style that suits the team (or that the team is built around). Given this, my preference would be to see the Broncos move Wallace on and for him to go to a team where he is better suited and will be able to show himself to the best of his abilities.

Ivan should be able to coach that.

 

[Jeba]

OK, after much thought - my 2 cents.

Personally I don't think Wallace is a poor halfback or player, in fact I think he is quite good. However I do not think that his style of halfback play suits the Broncos - given the other players they have. Similar to Ben Walker who I still believe was a very talented halfback, just not the style of halfback the Broncos needed at the time he was here. Therefore he appears to be playing poorly because his style doesn't fit in with / bring out the best in the team overall. With Locky alongside him it doesn't impact as much as Locky has such a dominant game and style that suits the team (or that the team is built around). Given this, my preference would be to see the Broncos move Wallace on and for him to go to a team where he is better suited and will be able to show himself to the best of his abilities.

I don't agree with this.

He is a good halfback and a good player who is just out of form at the moment.

Look at our pet plays - the out-ball-in-ball and the second man play - he plays critical roles in those. When he's on his game his kicking game is up there with the best in the comp (particularly his short kicking game), and defensively he is one of if not the best halfback in the comp in that department - and a key to the Broncos success is their defence.

 

[Porthoz]

OK, after much thought - my 2 cents.

Personally I don't think Wallace is a poor halfback or player, in fact I think he is quite good. However I do not think that his style of halfback play suits the Broncos - given the other players they have. Similar to Ben Walker who I still believe was a very talented halfback, just not the style of halfback the Broncos needed at the time he was here. Therefore he appears to be playing poorly because his style doesn't fit in with / bring out the best in the team overall. With Locky alongside him it doesn't impact as much as Locky has such a dominant game and style that suits the team (or that the team is built around). Given this, my preference would be to see the Broncos move Wallace on and for him to go to a team where he is better suited and will be able to show himself to the best of his abilities.

What is Wallace's halfback style?
What is the halfback style suitable to the Broncos?
And of the current NRL halfbacks, who would you see as the best suit to fill the role at the Broncos?

 

[Anonymous person]

I don't agree with this.

He is a good halfback and a good player who is just out of form at the moment.

what is your definition of 'form' jeb?

my definition of form would be how a player plays the majority of their games. Wallace, over his career - especially with the broncos, has played the majority of his games at a pretty average level. to me, him being 'in form' is him playing a regular match where he does nothing special in attack, takes pressure off lockyer, does a few good kicks (along with some dreadful attacking ones), and tackles well.

his form over his whole career suggests that how he has been playing this year is pretty much how Peter Wallace plays football, with the odd really good game thrown in two or three times a season.

theres only so long you can play the 'hes just out of form' card before you have to admit that maybe this is his 'form'.

 

[Jeba]

If the level he is playing at now was his normal level, he would not have a massive thread dedicated to how he is playing. He is obviously a good halfback, he has proven that before.

When a player is "in form", he is playing at his best IMO. We've heard it all year with "Thaiday the form player of the competition".

I think what you've eluded to is what is the frustrating thing about Wallace - his inconsistency. I remember in 2008, he got man of the match in 2 of our first 3 matches. Start of 2009, he was man of the match in our first 3 matches. Then his form in our streak at the end of last year was outstanding. His problem so far is that he hasn't been able to produce that form all throughout a season.