Broncos Player Movement and Rumours 2020

[broncsgoat]

His new deal is a reported $500k. He's a $300k player.

Yeah that’s what I meant

 

[Big Pete]

At the risk of sounding like a Bennett sycophant, I believe had he not left we’d be running with SOS at 7 and niko would be at 14 and last year was a holding pattern.

Would that really be a viable solution based on what O'Sullivan has shown in the past two years?

 

[broncsgoat]

Would that really be a viable solution based on what O'Sullivan has shown in the past two years?

I was pretty happy with how he was playing in his last stint tbh.

He wasn’t a world beater, but when people are talking like Townsend and Sezer are our saviours it’s a tough market

 

[Big Pete]

I was pretty happy with how he was playing in his last stint tbh.

What about his stint impressed you?

 

[broncsgoat]

What about his stint impressed you?

I like the way he engaged the line and his combination with Fifita. It’s a fairly small sample size to draw to much from but stacked side by side with our other options I thought he stood out.

I should also admit I didn’t watch his first couple of games with us and I heard he was pretty ordinary. But the first half of the game he got injured was probably the most likely we’ve looked all year until he went off and then his last two games we were pretty decent. I thought omitting him for the bulldogs game was a massive blunder.

 

[Big Pete]

I like the way he engaged the line and his combination with Fifita. It’s a fairly small sample size to draw to much from but stacked side by side with our other options I thought he stood out.

As Nikorima proved, you have to be able to do more than throw the odd short ball to your second row. His kicking game was ineffective, he rarely gave the backs any good ball and the only time he took on the line he had to come off with a bad hammy.

It isn't like the only games of football happened to be his six NRL games either. There's Jersey Flegg, NSW Cup and Qld Cup games to judge his performances on and it's clear he's still a work in progress.

Based on what he's shown, I don't see how anyone could think things would be hunky dory with O'Sullivan in the 7 in 2019.

 

[broncsgoat]

As Nikorima proved, you have to be able to do more than throw the odd short ball to your second row. His kicking game was ineffective, he rarely gave the backs any good ball and the only time he took on the line he had to come off with a bad hammy.

It isn't like the only games of football happened to be his six NRL games either. There's Jersey Flegg, NSW Cup and Qld Cup games to judge his performances on and it's clear he's still a work in progress.

Based on what he's shown, I don't see how anyone could think things would be hunky dory with O'Sullivan in the 7 in 2019.

Fair enough, as I said I’m only basing it off a small sample size, but the signs I saw were encouraging

 

[Thelmus]

Whatever halves pairing we have in 2019, it perfectly clear that at least one of them needs a not just good, but great kicking game.
SOS has a lot of promising signs but his kicking and it's improvement should be his main priority to make it as a regular half (he has that in common with EVERYONE on our books at the moment). A decent kicking would make us remiership threat. Until we have that, against a great kicker in the opposition, we may as well play 6 macca's in the pack as all they will be are tackling machines that get bashed working it out of a corner.

 

[broncsgoat]

Whatever halves pairing we have in 2019, it perfectly clear that at least one of them needs a not just good, but great kicking game.
SOS has a lot of promising signs but his kicking and it's improvement should be his main priority to make it as a regular half (he has that in common with EVERYONE on our books at the moment). A decent kicking would make us remiership threat. Until we have that, against a great kicker in the opposition, we may as well play 6 macca's in the pack as all they will be are tackling machines that get bashed working it out of a corner.

2020?

But that’s a weird thing to me as well as milf was a gun last year with his kicking game and it was completely cooked this year

 

[Big Pete]

I should also admit I didn’t watch his first couple of games with us and I heard he was pretty ordinary. But the first half of the game he got injured was probably the most likely we’ve looked all year until he went off and then his last two games we were pretty decent. I thought omitting him for the bulldogs game was a massive blunder.

So his first two games, O'Sullivan was always around the ball but just about everything went against him. Against Cronulla he got some good early touches and showed what he was capable of but it wasn't an immaculate half of footy and he did go off injured.

Worked his way back through with Norths, combined well with Frei on the right and once again showed that he liked being around the footy.

Got his chance against Souths. Souths just ran at him all evening and he was too tired to contribute in attack.

Then he was uncharacteristically quiet against Parramatta. Again, he had a lot of traffic directed towards him, but this time he barely went looking for the ball and was virtually a non-factor. It made the decision to bring back Turpin easier than it should have been.

Last year, his form was up and down in both Flegg and NSW Cup. Seemed like the move was made to give Lodge some more stability and have a decent alternative if something was to happen to Nikorima. I feel the plan would have been 6. Bird 7. Milford.

ACL tear, 2019 over and 2020 in jeopardy. Seibold didn't see him as a long term option in the club and if they're going to invest time into a player, Dearden is considered the option. Dearden is the stand-out of that 2001 group, but it's obviously a huge gamble to put so many eggs into his basket.

 

[Thelmus]

2020?

But that’s a weird thing to me as well as milf was a gun last year with his kicking game and it was completely cooked this year

I think it was a case of him being found out at 5/8th. If your the primary kicker and the other only take one a half at most, it's pretty easy to pile the pressure on you. I think that's why the bomb is his "go to" kick in most sets. It's easy to get away.
It's further complicated when as fullback he would effectively stand out of position, telegraphing what was happening.
Its why I keep drumming on about others kicking. What we are doing is so one dimensional and none of kickers we have are great under pressure. We really need someone who is, and also to set up so to limit the pressure on whoever kicks., Milford included.
The fact that SOS could really do so concerns me but is symptomatic of a much larger problem that has persisted for years. I don't think we understand the value of kicking in the modern game.
When you think the last great proponent of it was lockyer, who was as dangerous if not more so if you committed to disrupting it, it shows that we have never really learnt to set up properly for them and defend the space needed to allow them to kick. That, and every half seems to think they can do a lockyer, and cause the kick disruption to become an attacking opportunity (they can't, as our backs are just not experienced enough, switched on for it, or frankly good enough).
Think of what St George did to let soward do his work. He stood miles back. They could do that because he was consistent.
We were trying it with Milford but he just isn't consistent.
A lot of the time poor kicks take all the hard work our forwards do getting us in position and tosses it in the bin. They deserve a medal for putting up with that, and our backs dropping it cold on 1st or 2nd tackle. I'd seriously struggle not to punch them if I was playing, and I never threw them at opponents let alone my team mates.

 

[broncos4life]

At the risk of sounding like a Bennett sycophant

You have to be kidding us with this.

 

[broncsgoat]

You have to be kidding us with this.

It was intentional lol

I know that’s how I’m perceived but I’m really not.

 

[ostin86]

It was intentional lol

I know that’s how I’m perceived but I’m really not.

I believe ya! I do think your bloody stubborn but

 

[Thelmus]

It was intentional lol

I know that’s how I’m perceived but I’m really not.

I respect your willingness to put forth your view, be it the minority as its the only way intelligent discussion can canvass all aspects.
I agree Bennet is often too easily made a scapegoat for all the broncos ills, but until we get past that idea, we can't really imagine how this team will find improvement.
Bennet has been gone a while now. He is doing pretty well down there at South's (they're two games away from a premiership) and I doubt we will ever see him, or his assistants here again, except as opponents. The fact that he is succeeding does not exclude criticism of his methods, but considering the year we have just had, blaming him for all our ills is delusional.
I think it would be far better for everyone to look at future change and how that might improve our chances, in particular how we might get the best out of what we have.
People talk like this side is a basket case when it miles away from that.
A couple of tweaks in the tactics could have made a world of difference this year. We may not have won it or even have made the top four but losing like we did, not once but twice going at the spoke volumes of what was wrong.
I wrote earlier how Boyd was instrumental in keeping the team together during the chaos last year. Like it or not he was always going to be in every game this year. He didn't have to play fullback or 5/8th. That was siebold's call but I was initially in favour of it as playing your captain in the halves is usually the perfect conduit to put the coaches words into action, especially regarding attack. That didn't happen.
Now that Boyd is gone Siebold can say he is clearing the decks of dead wood or "Boyd didn't buy into it".
The thing is Boyd is but one player. We have had numerous players there at 5/8th and none of them worked. Indeed Boyd was put there when Milford, on a million a year couldn't do it. Knik, SOS, all tried. Deaden is considered a success by not having enough time to be proven a failure.
To me this speaks to me that it may not be the execution but the method. What is our attacking strategy? What is it designed to do?
Canterbury have players that make macca and shibasaki look world class but they flogged us. They didn't all run through Boyd or macca. Their kicking game was better than ours and they had a game plan that fed into their strengths and our weaknesses. Where was ours?
The same old argument that it is just Bennet's legacy holding us back is starting to sound pretty hollow to me. Bennet stuffed up signing bird and not a half. True. He signed Boyd on too much for too long. Also true. None of those things made us crash out.
When Bennet took over from griffin we had two halves who were hardly any better than the two we started this year with. They could tackle, couldn't kick, and barely had it in them run a set play.
They got us to a grand final and 30 seconds of winning it.

 

[Painin the Haas]

Buzz is reporting that the Panthers have been in discussions with Glenn’s management

 

[Bucking Beads]

Throw the chequebook at Papenhayzen

 

[Wolfie]

Bennet stuffed up signing bird and not a half. True. He signed Boyd on too much for too long. Also true.

Going to have to pull you up on that mate. We signed Bird in early april 2017, and kept chasing Ash Taylor until he turned us down in late October 2017, so it wasnt one or the other. Its also unfair to pin Boyd all on Wayne.