PLAYER Ezra Mam

theshed said:
Yeah we have. Mam comes straight back into 5/8…for the magpies
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You guys are down on Ezra because he had an under-par season last year. Fair enough. Can't argue with that. But even last year he managed to score 9 tries. Hunt hasn't scored that many in a season for ten years, back when he was with the Broncos. And that was from a lot more games.

I'm not dissing Ben Hunt, but Ezra isn't as shithouse as you guys seem to have convinced yourselves.
 
McHunt said:
You guys are down on Ezra because he had an under-par season last year. Fair enough. Can't argue with that. But even last year he managed to score 9 tries. Hunt hasn't scored that many in a season for ten years, back when he was with the Broncos. And that was from a lot more games.

I'm not dissing Ben Hunt, but Ezra isn't as shithouse as you guys seem to have convinced yourselves.
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It's not about being pessimistic or down. Hunt is just better than Mam in the halves imo. I'm actually optimistic about the teams chances now we have an upgraded half who is more experienced and better at passing, kicking, defending and organising.
 
McHunt said:
You guys are down on Ezra because he had an under-par season last year. Fair enough. Can't argue with that. But even last year he managed to score 9 tries. Hunt hasn't scored that many in a season for ten years, back when he was with the Broncos. And that was from a lot more games.

I'm not dissing Ben Hunt, but Ezra isn't as shithouse as you guys seem to have convinced yourselves.
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I’m a big fan of Mam. I’m mostly just stirring.

I do think it won’t be as easy as just walking back into the team if the spine is firing. Which means he’ll need to play off the bench - but at the cost of who?
 
McHunt said:
This is what I meant by pessimism. Ezra is a brilliant player. He was Dally M 5/8th in 2023 and almost the Churchill medalist. Ideally we can squeeze both Hunt and Mam into the team.
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Only as good as your last season and he was trash in 2024. Will need to show something in qcup before he displaces hunt or mozer for me. Not to mention he's turned into a bit of a ratbag. Happily proven wrong though, I loved him in 2023
 
I hope that Ezra is about to go through a big upskilling now that we have Bhunt and Barrett, on top of having Reynolds already. Madge is also all about repetition to drill the structure into players.

I've felt like NSW halves are just better at some of the basics compared to Qld halves... Qld halves are generally more talented, but it's like NSW halves are dragged into systems and structures way earlier in their development, so they look more polished when they hit first grade... or at least better at the cooker cutter style of footy.

I daresay that is a symptom of the coaching of lower grades in NSW... Joey and others talk about how young halves are coached into the split halves systems way too early, which probably sees some of the heads up footy coached out of them for pure structure.

Qld halves seem to have less structure, but the talented ones coming through are great heads up footy players.

Ezra will be getting some upskilling in the basics from Barrett (who by all reports is a great halves coach) and Madge's relentless repetition style coaching (straight out of the Bellamy coaching manual), which will mean that he gets structure and basics drilled into him.
 
Fernando said:
Hunt had 4 try involvements in the first half and would've been 5 if Arthars had managed to ground his kick. Again, I don't see how Mam takes his spot.
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I think he'll be made to earn his way back through QLD cup.

But to answer your question, it would be because we would significantly improve the hooker position, while bringing in a class player to replace him at 6. our spine would simply be much better overall.
 
Foordy said:
I think he'll be made to earn his way back through QLD cup.

But to answer your question, it would be because we would significantly improve the hooker position, while bringing in a class player to replace him at 6. our spine would simply be much better overall.
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Unless hooker is an absolute disaster, I just can’t see a good coach changing their halves mid season if they’re clicking - no matter who’s waiting in the wings.
 
theshed said:
Unless hooker is an absolute disaster, I just can’t see a good coach changing their halves mid season if they’re clicking - no matter who’s waiting in the wings.
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As i said, I think he'll be made to earn it through the QLD cup ... of course if we're playing poorly or in the middle of an injury crisis, then all bets are off.

but there is also no denying that Hunt is better than every other hooker on our books ... maybe even better than all other hookers combined.
 
Foordy said:
As i said, I think he'll be made to earn it through the QLD cup ... of course if we're playing poorly or in the middle of an injury crisis, then all bets are off.

but there is also no denying that Hunt is better than every other hooker on our books ... maybe even better than all other hookers combined.
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Agreed but you could almost also argue that he’s the best half at the club. Not by as great a margin, sure.

But you’d also say a good half is more important than a good hooker
 
I'd like to see Esra have a few games at Qld cup to get up to speed. Then we have Benny at 6 and Esra 14 and after 15 minutes or so into the second half we bring Esra on. Benny goes to hooker and Esra to 5/8 and hopefully his extra speed will give the opposition real headaches..
It's obviously dependent on how the game is panning out..
 
BroncsFan said:
Ezra will be getting some upskilling in the basics from Barrett (who by all reports is a great halves coach) and Madge's relentless repetition style coaching (straight out of the Bellamy coaching manual), which will mean that he gets structure and basics drilled into him.
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He`s been in elite systems since he was a teen ager .
I reckon he has had the basics well and truly drilled by now .

Old high light reels show he has all the skills a half might ever need .
If anything he has played conservatively .

Anyone remember the trick he pulled going to ground on his hip keeping the ball off the ground and offloading for a try assist ? That was very special .

The flick pass for a Reyno try ?

Fit and hungry he`s a match winner .
 
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