NEWS Jake Turpin: the happy hooker

[Sirlee oldman]

How many minutes can we expect from Turpin at hooker? Was he able to play 80 at ISC level? I know we are expecting Paix or possibly Macca to back him up as the bench utility but neither of them is really ideal. Paix is inexperienced and Macca isn’t dynamic. If Turpin could play somewhere close to 80 then Perese could be an effective bench utility. He could come on at centre and take some dummy half runs and free up Bird to close out games in the middle creating havoc. Just an idea.

 

[Sproj]

How many minutes can we expect from Turpin at hooker? Was he able to play 80 at ISC level? I know we are expecting Paix or possibly Macca to back him up as the bench utility but neither of them is really ideal. Paix is inexperienced and Macca isn’t dynamic. If Turpin could play somewhere close to 80 then Perese could be an effective bench utility. He could come on at centre and take some dummy half runs and free up Bird to close out games in the middle creating havoc. Just an idea.

What about putting Perese at centre when he comes on and Bird moves to 9?

 

[McHunt]

What about putting Perese at centre when he comes on and Bird moves to 9?

Or Coates.

 

[Sproj]

Or Coates.

Yeah could do. I have a sneaking suspicion he might make wing round 1 though. Just a gut feel.

 

[theshed]

Segyr...never mind.

 

[Sirlee oldman]

What about putting Perese at centre when he comes on and Bird moves to 9?

Something like that but it depends how many minutes we need. If Turpin can only play 50-60 then we probably need a proper dummy half to make up the difference. If he can manage 70 then Bird and Glenn (maybe) can get us the other 10 and we can get a bit more creative with how we play.

 

[john1420]

Good point.

Look at Alex Glenn, the other journeyman of the club. Both outstanding clubmen that quite obviously put in their all every game, both are winding up on their careers, and neither likely to be named an Immortal any time soon. No where near as much vitriol surrounding Glenn though

I'm pretty sure you don't understand the meaning of "journeyman" (either that or I don't!)

 

[Huge]

I'm pretty sure you don't understand the meaning of "journeyman" (either that or I don't!)

This prompted me to do a little research on 'journeyman'. Was an interesting read. Every day is a school day, huh?

 

[lynx000]

This prompted me to do a little research on 'journeyman'. Was an interesting read. Every day is a school day, huh?

I treat it like that, learning opportunities around every corner.

 

[john1420]

Well, how about that?
I've only ever heard the term 'journeyman' used in reference to a player who has played for several clubs, which is why I would not have used the term to describe Glenn.
But a quick Google and there you go, I was wrong, and learned something :)

 

[McHunt]

Good point.

Look at Alex Glenn, the other journeyman of the club. Both outstanding clubmen that quite obviously put in their all every game, both are winding up on their careers, and neither likely to be named an Immortal any time soon. No where near as much vitriol surrounding Glenn though

Glenn played 12 Tests for NZ, and was the youngest player to ever captain the Broncos. Hardly a journeyman.

 

[Wolfie]

Turpins game even in the ISC let alone the NRL has never really allowed him to play 80 mins. He is 100% high impact all the time, and thats also why every so often he hits a wall in terms of his performances and then he goes quiet for a few games. We need to manage him better at hooker so this doesnt happen.

 

[Huge]

Glenn played 12 Tests for NZ, and was the youngest player to ever captain the Broncos. Hardly a journeyman.

No, he fits the bill alright. It really comes down to the way it's used. I take as being used the way they use it in boxing. I could understand someone saying he's better than that though. It's almost like he's between that and superstar.

 

[Kooly87]

Turpins game even in the ISC let alone the NRL has never really allowed him to play 80 mins. He is 100% high impact all the time, and thats also why every so often he hits a wall in terms of his performances and then he goes quiet for a few games. We need to manage him better at hooker so this doesnt happen.

This is why, love it or loathe it, it probably makes sense to keep Macca around. We're almost certainly going to need him at various times this year.

 

[Wolfie]

This is why, love it or loathe it, it probably makes sense to keep Macca around. We're almost certainly going to need him at various times this year.

As long as he is only getting a 20 min spell I don't see the issue. Unless Paix steps up of course that is to give us an option

 

[Kooly87]

As long as he is only getting a 20 min spell I don't see the issue. Unless Paix steps up of course that is to give us an option

Yep, my thoughts exactly.

Strategically, there may even be instances where he's better starting for the opening 20 minutes or so. It really depends on Turpin and his own form and fitness. At this stage he's not an 80 minute player and without Segeyaro, Macca is the only genuine option left, and still far more preferable than using a fill in like Glenn etc.

Happy to wait and see on Paix but without really playing decent minutes at Hooker for Redcliffe yet, it seems far fetched to think he could slot straight in to doing it for the Broncos by Round 1?

 

[McHunt]

This is why, love it or loathe it, it probably makes sense to keep Macca around. We're almost certainly going to need him at various times this year.

When we want to lose.

 

[Kooly87]

When we want to lose.

He is without question the second best Dummy Half on our roster. If our first best option is unable to play 80 minutes or for whatever reason becomes unavailable at any stage during the season, we simply don't have a better alternative. Blame Seggy for that one.