Dearden

[broncsgoat]

Might be a bit premature but im not sure about this bloke.

The kid has a crack but his stats aren’t much to get excited about. I know he’s young but young halves have come in and crushed it previously.

Tom has one try assist to his name this year, one try and one line break (likely the same movement) and two line break assists.

I know the game isnt SuperCoach and acknowdge he’s tried hard in a dumpster fire team but I would like to have seen more offensive output from the bloke everyone’s hanging our future on.

 

[BroncsFan]

Uh oh bgoat has a new target

 

[Alec]

Halves are the one position that you just don't know if the players are going to come good until some way into their 20s. You sometimes have halves that take time to develop their games and you VERY often have halves that look like the shit early on... until "the" gets removed after a couple of years.

Dearden has plenty to work on, which is expected given his age. If the Broncos had quality replacements, the best approach would have been to give him another year or two in QLD cup IMO, where young players get a bit more freedom to be creative and evolve. At this point, it's probably all guess work. He could turn out to be a gun, he could turn out to be another hyped rookie that went to shit, and pretty much everywhere in between.

 

[the_next]

Tom is 19, still very very green to the NRL.
Has forwards not going anywhere. The spine he is playing with is shit, whether that be Milford, Darius, Croft, SOS, Luke etc.
You cannot expect this bloke to walk in and be D.Locky the 2nd.
He gives 100%, defends well and seems to be able to kick (our rubbish field positioning has not helped him one bit here).
I like the kid, offers x10000000 more then what that million dollar flop in Milford offers the team and well under 1/4 of the price..
Give him some decent field position and I think the kid will flourish, not to mention what a complete offseason in the 7 will do for him, this team and his confidence.

 

[Sproj]

It is a fair enough point and time will tell. He has a few things in his favour though, he's still very young, he competes as well as anyone, he's clrarly trying but he gets absolutely nothing from his team, he gets nothing to work with whatsoever and is constantly playing behind not just a beaten pack but a surrendering one. He also has had as many halves partners as games he has played. Give him time.

 

[Wolfie]

I dont think he has done enough to warrant the hype about him, but he is very young for a half playing NRL. We wont see the best from him for a good 3 or 4 years.

 

[rnabokov]

Might be a bit premature but im not sure about this bloke.

The kid has a crack but his stats aren’t much to get excited about. I know he’s young but young halves have come in and crushed it previously.

Tom has one try assist to his name this year, one try and one line break (likely the same movement) and two line break assists.

I know the game isnt SuperCoach and acknowdge he’s tried hard in a dumpster fire team but I would like to have seen more offensive output from the bloke everyone’s hanging our future on.

Just wait till a fully fit and firing Milf returns next year and then we will see. (Man I'm brave)

 

[Sproj]

Just wait till a fully fit and firing Milf returns next year and then we will see. (Man I'm brave)

He will fire next year, its a contract year.

 

[BroncsFan]

To me he looks like a 2014/15 BHunt lite, which is a good thing. He likes to take on the line and use his strength to get through. He has a bit of ball playing about him and takes the defensive line on (an absolute must have for a half)... and he has a passing game as evidenced by the 30m bullet he threw a few weeks back

His kicking is obviously nowhere near what a Moses or Cleary is bringing to the table at a similar age but I dont think that's enough to just write him off.

I want to see how he goes with a full strength team and a competent spine around him.... every good judge in the game rates him so he must have something, it's just unfortunate that he's a rookie 7 in probably the worst team of the last 20 years...

 

[Alec]

His kicking is obviously nowhere near what a Moses or Cleary is bringing to the table at a similar age but I dont think that's enough ti just write him off.

I remember Moses being a poor kicker early on. He had one of the weakest boots in the competition at one point.

 

[Unbreakable]

Cleary wasn't anything exceptional when he first came in either, was just a competitor with an accurate kicking game. It takes a good 3-4 years for halves to start flourishing consistently. I'm backing Dearden all the way.

 

[BroncsFan]

I remember Moses being a poor kicker early on. He had one of the weakest boots in the competition at one point.

Yeah exactly... I dont recall rating his kicking at all and now all of a sudden he's pumping it 50m down field and putting up towering torp bombs!!

Same with BHunt... his long kicking was absolute trash at the Broncos and then in one preseason at dragons he's kicking low daggers that pull up on a dime like he's Brett Kimmorley.

I dont know what goes on in Brisbane, but I feel like we haven't had a decent kicking half since Lockyer... Even PWall was just a drop punt specialist with every long kick finding the chest of the back 3 on the full

 

[broncsgoat]

Just wait till a fully fit and firing Milf returns next year and then we will see. (Man I'm brave)

That’s the point, milf was tearing teams to pieces playing 1,6 or 7 at 18. Tom’s not won a game this season and has little to no offensive output.

I hope he comes good though as he seems like he wants to win (he just can’t atm)

 

[broncsgoat]

Cleary wasn't anything exceptional when he first came in either, was just a competitor with an accurate kicking game. It takes a good 3-4 years for halves to start flourishing consistently. I'm backing Dearden all the way.

I remember him starting fairly strongly tbh. Could definitely be wrong though.

 

[pagey]

Might be a bit premature but im not sure about this bloke.

The kid has a crack but his stats aren’t much to get excited about. I know he’s young but young halves have come in and crushed it previously.

Tom has one try assist to his name this year, one try and one line break (likely the same movement) and two line break assists.

I know the game isnt SuperCoach and acknowdge he’s tried hard in a dumpster fire team but I would like to have seen more offensive output from the bloke everyone’s hanging our future on.

You gotta be kidding me, fmd !

 

[Scorchie]

Alfie was probably rubbish too at 19, and I’m sure if we kept the low level stats like we do these days it wouldn’t be favourable.

 

[The Don]

I remember him starting fairly strongly tbh. Could definitely be wrong though.

In 2016 he played 15 games for 3 tries, 8 try assists and 5 forced drop outs. Couldn't find line break stats. They were also 10-5 with him though so played behind a monumentally better team. Dearden is 1-10 for perspective. If the team itself starts performing next year then he would warrant judgement. Until then time will tell.

 

[rnabokov]

Yeah exactly... I dont recall rating his kicking at all and now all of a sudden he's pumping it 50m down field and putting up towering torp bombs!!

Same with BHunt... his long kicking was absolute trash at the Broncos and then in one preseason at dragons he's kicking low daggers that pull up on a dime like he's Brett Kimmorley.

I dont know what goes on in Brisbane, but I feel like we haven't had a decent kicking half since Lockyer... Even PWall was just a drop punt specialist with every long kick finding the chest of the back 3 on the full

I concede I look at Milford through rose coloured glasses (so said the other cloudshouter on here) and I accept it is a bit of blind optimism to expect him to be at his very best next year, however I really rate Milford's kicking game. In the very few matches he was on this year with his kicking, he controlled those games. Both long and short, kicking for Coates and behind the line.

I also believe he did work really well with Dearden, they clicked, and for mine, a half is at his best, shows his best, in combination with his 5/8. I feel Dearden will come along in leaps and bounds with a firing 5/8, and importantly, behind an effective pack. As posted above, it is hard on Dearden to be overly critical of him playing in the rabble we are this year. I feel next year, all things being equal, he will show if he can live up to expectations.