Broncos Player Movements and Rumours 2013

[Coxy]

Probably because we don't have a better option at fullback.

 

[1910]

Just because I love firing up the rumour brigade...

So there's a few people here that consider the Wallace move to hooker as more than meets the eye. That it's being done because Wallace is leaving, and it's giving Hunt & Prince an opportunity to gel as they're our likely 2014 halves. My question then is this - why is Norman being kept at fullback? If Hook is looking towards 2014, why is this heartless, lazy bum still our #1? Playing Devil's advocate, consider this. He's being kept there because... dun dunnnn... our #1 for 2014 isn't part of our squad yet. Yeah, get them fires burning!

There are no smoke and mirrors- It has been trialled at different stages during the year incase it was needed. It was given a brief run against the Dragons.

 

[Mister Wright]

That was a little bit different. For starters, Ben Hunt wasn't in the side that night. Hodges went to fullback & Norman to 5/8. Also, McCullough was off the field. The only constant is Wallace to hooker. Although in saying that, McCullough did get a go in 2nd row against Titans.

 

[pennywisealfie]

Denan Kemp should be halfback.

and captain.

and coach.

 

[subsbligh]

Everyone views Kahu as a fullback so unless a fullback falls into our laps why chase one and risk losing Kahu before he has had his chance?

Because to get a pass mark at fullback (or anywhere in first grade) means not dropping the ball cold 0.5 times a game.

 

[subsbligh]

That was a little bit different. For starters, Ben Hunt wasn't in the side that night. Hodges went to fullback & Norman to 5/8. Also, McCullough was off the field. The only constant is Wallace to hooker. Although in saying that, McCullough did get a go in 2nd row against Titans.

That's the annoying fucking thing about Hook.

Shuffling similar players around the same structure and gameplan of percentage play, one off hit ups, second man shift on the 4th and bomb on the last isn't going to produce a better result.

The Broncos are just a boring football team at the moment. And the Origin period just sucks the life out of club football for me. I'm struggling to muster the motivation to out there in the cold tonight to watch a training run.

 

[Anonymous person]

I might be alone in this one but Alex Glenn has gone backwards at a rate of knots this year. The lines he ran in previous years, nowhere to be seen, doesn't seem to be making a dent in the line, just basic hitups and tackling. He's turned into a robot instead of a player we can rely on in the opp 20.
....
I don't buy into the theory at all that we have the talent. I think we're closing our eyes and hoping that when we open them, the situation will have changed. We've recruited badly and now the realization has set in.

completely agree, especially on these 2.

glenn was our leading try scorer the last 2 years. halfway through this year hes on what, 1 try? hes gone missing in attack. i blame a lot of that on how hes been used though. the last 2 years he was an 80 minute player, this year hes not just so we can give gillett 80 minutes.

and yeh, we've recruited dreadfully. i wouldnt even call what we've done recruiting lol. i cant see us becoming a force unless we shed at least half of our current roster. thaiday/hannant/hodges are our 3 big players and they all underperform regularly for their standing and pay cheques. none of them are gamebreakers either, with hodges being the closest but unable to stay on the field for successive weeks.

 

[Splinter]

That was a little bit different. For starters, Ben Hunt wasn't in the side that night. Hodges went to fullback & Norman to 5/8. Also, McCullough was off the field. The only constant is Wallace to hooker. Although in saying that, McCullough did get a go in 2nd row against Titans.

He was also playing 2nd row against the Dogs towards the end of the match and looked totally lost. I initially thought he was playing 5/8 but realised later it was 2nd row on the left fringe

 

[tkday]

completely agree, especially on these 2.

glenn was our leading try scorer the last 2 years. halfway through this year hes on what, 1 try? hes gone missing in attack. i blame a lot of that on how hes been used though. the last 2 years he was an 80 minute player, this year hes not just so we can give gillett 80 minutes.

and yeh, we've recruited dreadfully. i wouldnt even call what we've done recruiting lol. i cant see us becoming a force unless we shed at least half of our current roster. thaiday/hannant/hodges are our 3 big players and they all underperform regularly for their standing and pay cheques. none of them are gamebreakers either, with hodges being the closest but unable to stay on the field for successive weeks.

This is what pisses me off most. How completely inconsistent our biggest players are. It's unacceptable, but unfortunately at the Broncos it's not only acceptable but rewarded. I can't think about it because it makes me rage it up.

 

[Alec]

Parker > Thaiday and Hannant IMO. And Hodges too, for that matter.

 

[Big Pete]

Boys are going to have to pull their fingers out if they want to reach the top of the mountain again. I'm fine with Thaiday and Hannant playing on - but Hodges' days are numbered. Talented player and deserves all the acclaim in the world for 06 but we can't afford to pay him the amount we do when he gets injured every 3rd game, misses a week, has a crap game on return before he gets right again. Doesn't help he's prioritised the World Cup over paying back the club, although that's completely understandable.

Young guns haven't stepped up either. That was our focus last year, retaining the farm and in the end we didn't even do a fantastic job of that. We showed faith in Hoffman, McGuire, Glenn, McCullough and Wallace and they haven't repaid us nearly enough.

Not a fan of our current recruitment either. While I didn't expect us to announce a huge signing by this point (half-way through the season, why the distraction?) but a signing or two by now would have been nice - at least to give us fans an idea that we have a chance next year. Our re-signings that exactly fill me with inspiration. Gillett isn't as good as made out, Reed is a solid centre no more, no less and Hunt is honestly just Daniel Mortimer with some more upside.

Fans are going to hate this idea, but given our strength in the backrow both in first grade and coming through the ranks, maybe it would have been an idea to move Gillett on and bring through an Oates, Timu (albeit, he could be off on his mission, if so that's a kick in the guts from our perspective), Gibb or dare I say Whitchurch? But that's spilt milk really, Gillett won't have his contract torn up this early and all we can hope for is that he delivers on his promise.

 

[Bucking Beads]

One issue is we've got a fair chunk of cash sitting on the sideline and we have no idea how good he will be if/when he returns. Our half situation is dire. Lets hope some of these kids we have coming through are good.

 

[tkday]

I agree with everything Big Pete except Hunt, still too early to start comparing him to anyone. I really though Hannant and Thaiday were going to start kicking on after having a good couple of games, but as usual they taper off and decline back down to mediocrity. When will we see the players start to play to their potential again? Except for Hoffman, Wallace and Parker (cannot think of any else) not many are playing to their potential and definitely not justifying what we are paying them.

 

[Unbreakable]

Out of our highest paid players, 1 is injured (Yow Yeh), 2 are injured every second week (Hodges, McGuire), 1 is inconsistent (Wallace) and 1 is injured at the moment but usually pretty safe (Hannant)

Oh and also our best and most consistent player for the past few years (In my opinion) Corey Parker probably only has a couple of years left.

I dare say we're in a bit of trouble unless we make some moves.

 

[Big Pete]

I agree with everything Big Pete except Hunt, still too early to start comparing him to anyone.

I agree but his profile right now is that of a bench utility so it wasn't like he was a difficult player to re-sign.

I'm glad we kept him though. Out of the three, he's the one player I would have prioritised.

 

[tkday]

Out of our highest paid players, 1 is injured (Yow Yeh), 2 are injured every second week (Hodges, McGuire), 1 is inconsistent (Wallace) and 1 is injured at the moment but usually pretty safe (Hannant)

Oh and also our best and most consistent player for the past few years (In my opinion) Corey Parker probably only has a couple of years left.

I dare say we're in a bit of trouble unless we make some moves.

Yep, although I think Wallace is pretty consistent if you ask me. He's giving us about all he will ever give us. Sure he has some ups and down like most, but for the most part he's consistently mediocre.

 

[Unbreakable]

Yep, although I think Wallace is pretty consistent if you ask me. He's giving us about all he will ever give us. Sure he has some ups and down like most, but for the most part he's consistently mediocre.

This year I agree, he's probably having close to his best year as a Bronco this year (Certainly his best without Lockyer).. but without sounding rude, it's just not good enough.

 

[tkday]

It's good enough to get a starting position at the Broncos every week :)