Is Lachlan Maranta Really That Bad?

[GCBRONCO]

Yes origin started off as an exhibition but it had a lot of emotional drive behind not just for the Queensland players but the entire state that were sick of the fustration of seeing their own players beating their side and considered a draw a win. That first game had more credibility going it purely from that, the only ones who took it lightly were south of the border. All-stars will never be at that level, I doubt it will have even be more then city vs country and personally the appeal of the 9's has already outgrown it IMO.

As for selecting fringe first graders for rep games please, we have seen a bloke with 8 games in total make his SOO debut that very same year, if he could handle that level, I don't see why Maranta can't handle an exhibition match that has nowhere near the intensity SOO has. For a "fringe first grader" who played 20 games and scored 15 tries who nearly won a premiership he didn't look out of depth.

 

[Big Pete]

It isn't as intense and it won't be because the people involved (eg. Bennett) treat it like a joke.

The World All-Stars is about the profile of the players and who they represent. People aren't interested in watching a fringe first grader run around.

 

[GCBRONCO]

It isn't as intense and it won't be because the people involved (eg. Bennett) treat it like a joke.

The World All-Stars is about the profile of the players and who they represent. People aren't interested in watching a fringe first grader run around.

You could pick all the great players in the world for it, it won't change how people view it as because only one side has any emotional attachment to it at all, the other is just there to make up the numbers for a meaningless match. The concept will eventually die and it won't be from a single player.

 

[Big Pete]

Such a NSW thing to say.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Such a NSW thing to say.

Not really, NSW only say that because they are sick of getting thumped but the emotional is still there for them. I'm not going to lose sleep any time soon if the indigenous or world all stars lose and this is true for the majority of the league fan base.

 

[tommy]

I only watch it because it's in the off season and usually haven't seen any footy in a while . If it was on during the regular season I probably wouldn't bother .

 

[Big Pete]

It was a joke.

Even so, NSW were saying it before a ball was even kicked in Origin. You would think those involved in the game would learn and would be eager to promote the game. Instead they're making a mockery by selecting players who have done very little.

 

[Broncoman]

Comparing State of Origin games to the All Stars is like comparing a Ferrari to a scooter

 

[GCBRONCO]

I wasn't offended Big Pete, I knew you were joking mate.

 

[GCBRONCO]

So what is Ben Barba doing these days? good to see the cream of the crop being picked.

 

[Big Pete]

The Indigenous don't have as big a pool to choose from.

It's pretty clear to see why people are upset about this. In a year where they're trying to revamp the competition, with some clubs giving up their best talent to support the concept, its strange that the head coach picks a player who wasn't good enough to make his best 17 at club level.

It won't kill the concept, but it has enough trouble getting over. This selection doesn't help and just makes Bennett come across as selfish.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Granted but even Tyrone Roberts deserved to be there ahead of him. As for Maranta not being in our top 17 for 2015, going into it I would agree, hindsight on form definitely not. But then who would have predicted Kahu and Kodi would be playing for New Zealand either?

How about we agree to disagree mate?

 

[Morkel]

The only way I can see the All Stars game survive is if you have an Indigenous vs an Islander match.

 

[bazza]

For a very long time I've wanted Rugbly League's equivalent of Rugby union's Pacific Islander team. For those who aren't familiar with this team, It was a team consisting of players from Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa, with the team having a combined war dance, created from each nation having a small part of their respective nations war dance being represented in the combined war dance.

Since PNG is a major League nation, we could add them to the team and have the best players from these four countries playing a tournament against the Indigenous All Stars and a Maori All Stars team. Or we could alternate games between these teams each year depending on scheduling.

Either way, no doubt those teams will gain a larger audience who actually want to see these games. It will actually mean something for the people being represented.

Let's be real, the NRL/World All Stars game will never grow, or mean anything to the non-Indigenous community as long as the general attitude towards the game is that it is a waste of time, which in my opinion is quite sad.

 

[Charmamba]

Bennett had to pick someone from us and didn't want ti risk our best players in a nothing match ... Smart

Bennett wanted someone who could slot in anywhere in the backline and Maranta can do that, might not be a game breaker but he can slot right in.

 

[GCBRONCO]

All Star's pledge to prove doubters wrong - NRL.com

He's heard the sniggers regarding his World All Stars call-up but Broncos winger Lachlan Maranta is determined not to disappoint the man he has known since birth, coach Wayne Bennett.
When it was discovered that Brisbane half Ben Hunt was ineligible for All Stars selection due to the suspension he incurred following the 2015 Grand Final, Bennett went back to the complicated criteria that is World All Stars selection looking for a solution.
As his lone Broncos representative he decided to name Maranta, a 23-year-old who failed to make Brisbane's grand final team and whose grandfather, Barry Maranta, was one of the co-founders of the Broncos.
Coming off the most fruitful of his four years in the NRL to date where he scored 15 tries in 20 appearances, Maranta said the return of Bennett in 2015 both intimidated and excited him and has vowed to prove any doubters wrong when he faces the Indigenous All Stars at Suncorp Stadium on February 13.
"We've got that tie from before football but now that he's the [Broncos] coach I find myself just not wanting to let him down and that's the same with the All Stars," Maranta told NRL.com.
"Obviously there's been a bit of backlash that I got picked but I've grown to get used to that and not worry about it.
"My main goal is to not let him down and myself down. Repay the faith I guess."
Admitting that he will be in awe spending a week alongside the players the calibre of Cameron Smith, Paul Gallen, James Graham and Sam Burgess, such was his own surprise at his selection that Maranta refused to believe Bennett at first.
Hoping he wasn't about to incur the wrath of the master coach, Maranta sent a member of the Broncos' conditioning staff over to Bennett before the coach made it clear that it was in fact him with whom he wanted to speak to.
"I ran over there and my first instinct was, What have I done wrong?, thinking I was in trouble and then he said, 'I'm going to play you in the All Stars,'" Maranta recalled.
"I thought it was a joke and didn't take him too seriously and then he said he was serious. So I went back to do my warm-up and still was a bit unsure whether it was true. I turned to Darius [Boyd] and said, 'Wayne just told me I'm in the All Stars. Surely that's a gee up!'
"I went up to him after training and he said he needed an outside back and I can play all three positions so he thought I would be good for that versatility and for the experience.
"The players I'll be training with and playing against are the top players in the league so obviously it's going to be good for me and I'm still young enough to take their habits and the way they train and try and copy them and better myself."
When it was announced at the end of the 2014 season that Bennett would be returning to Red Hill in 2015 Maranta was one of the few players to receive a phone call from the man himself and the message was simple: 'I guess I finally get to coach you.'
"When I heard those words there was something inside me like a warm feeling but I was definitely intimidated by him," said Maranta, who used to catch the bus from school to where his mother, Robyn, worked at Broncos HQ, his earliest memories of meeting Bennett.
"He instilled a lot of confidence in me and made some early calls, putting me in some games at the start of the year and then he played me at fullback which said to me that he obviously trusted me and knew that I'd do the job for him.
"That obviously filled me up with the confidence that I needed."

 

[M.B.88]

Good on him. Hope he takes a lot out of it

Doubt he'll get a run, but it's an awesome opportunity for the guy to gain a little

 

[sus]

yep for sure, i mentioned earlier i thought Wayne mghtve been window shopping him, but given it seems inevitable Copley's the cap space we need to sacrifice (hopefully coz Maranta is on sweet F all) then whomever mentioned it was the least risky choice as a Broncos rep makes sense now, and funnily enough might do wonders for the kids confidence and abilities and serve us well down the track

..heres hoping anyways