RUMOUR James Roberts to Broncos

[Foordy]

Does Roberts play left centre? If not, can he?

Because then we can have

Boyd
Oates
Roberts
Copley
Kahu

Reed gone = automatic positive. Dude tries hard, but he's more shit than not unfortunately. People may argue for Anderson (untested rookie, no starting spot for you) or say Kahu deserves a centre spot, but as was posted in other threads, he's probably our best all-round back and currently serves us best on the wing. Copley+Kahu > Kahu+Copley/Maranta/Anderson (until we know otherwise)

You can put Copley on the left... Left center is his best position

 

[tommy]

Depth wins premierships. Copley is probably toast, his hearts not there and he's got a solid future ahead off the field. I think he will struggle for motivation.

Maranta went ahead ten fold in 2015, improved so much.

If we've got cap space, keep them and keep competitive spirit going for places

What do you mean ? What are his off-field oppurtunities ?

 

[Unbreakable]

What do you mean ? What are his off-field oppurtunities ?

He's smart af, got an OP3 in High School, has a Pharmacy degree and is half way through a Law degree.

 

[Allo]

You can put Copley on the left... Left center is his best position

Copley played 2014 at RC with no Hodges and killed it. He has a great step off his right, which admittedly can work on the left as well as the right, but only if he has the room and it doesn't force his winger too wide. I can't ever recall him playing left side in any position (correct me if I'm wrong of course). By all means see if it's an option for both players, but I think he's better suited to the right personally

 

[Unbreakable]

James Roberts becomes No.1 choice for clubs after joining Peta Hiku, Tim Lafai on market

The opportunity to play fullback could be the clincher for James Roberts as clubs immediately began circling the Dally M centre of the year.

Just hours after news broke that Roberts had severed ties with the Gold Coast over the contract forgery scandal, Parramatta, St George Illawarra, South Sydney, Brisbane and Cronulla began jockeying for his signature.

Roberts isn't the only high-profile centre on the open market, with former Bulldog Tim Lafai and former Sea Eagle Peta Hiku also looking for new homes for 2016.

"The one thing James has up his sleeve is that his preferred position is fullback," Donovan said.

"We know he can play centre and perform at the highest level, but he's in a position where, if he doesn't play fullback next year, he could eventually transition out there.

"He's strong enough to do it too, his defensive game has improved considerably in the past 12 months. He knows with his running game and his positional game, he has that really natural gift.

"I believe he really can become one of the best fullbacks in the game."

 

[Foordy]

Copley played 2014 at RC with no Hodges and killed it. He has a great step off his right, which admittedly can work on the left as well as the right, but only if he has the room and it doesn't force his winger too wide. I can't ever recall him playing left side in any position (correct me if I'm wrong of course). By all means see if it's an option for both players, but I think he's better suited to the right personally

IMO, one of the biggest problems he has had is that he has never been able to get much consistency in the one position.

Depending on need, he has been moved between left and right, center and wing.

 

[Morkel]

James Roberts becomes No.1 choice for clubs after joining Peta Hiku, Tim Lafai on market

The opportunity to play fullback could be the clincher for James Roberts as clubs immediately began circling the Dally M centre of the year.

Just hours after news broke that Roberts had severed ties with the Gold Coast over the contract forgery scandal, Parramatta, St George Illawarra, South Sydney, Brisbane and Cronulla began jockeying for his signature.

Roberts isn't the only high-profile centre on the open market, with former Bulldog Tim Lafai and former Sea Eagle Peta Hiku also looking for new homes for 2016.

"The one thing James has up his sleeve is that his preferred position is fullback," Donovan said.

"We know he can play centre and perform at the highest level, but he's in a position where, if he doesn't play fullback next year, he could eventually transition out there.

"He's strong enough to do it too, his defensive game has improved considerably in the past 12 months. He knows with his running game and his positional game, he has that really natural gift.

"I believe he really can become one of the best fullbacks in the game."

That works against us TBH. With Dugan moving to centre, he's a better chance of playing fullback for the Dragons than with us. If Bennett is able to give Roberts a bit of long-term vision, maybe he'll be happy to play fullback when Boyd's away on rep duties and eventually take over the spot when he retires?

 

[Allo]

IMO, one of the biggest problems he has had is that he has never been able to get much consistency in the one position.

Depending on need, he has been moved between left and right, center and wing.

Yeah I agree. He's done what's asked of him, but he's a specialist centre. Unlike, someone like Kahu, who has the ability to play all backline positions and has done so fairly regularly and at the least, competently.

 

[Allo]

That works against us TBH. With Dugan moving to centre, he's a better chance of playing fullback for the Dragons than with us. If Bennett is able to give Roberts a bit of long-term vision, maybe he'll be happy to play fullback when Boyd's away on rep duties and eventually take over the spot when he retires?

Give him this year to watch and learn from Boyd, do the rep relief, then switch in '17 with Boyd to the wing maybe? I doubt he'll wait til 2018 or beyond for Boyd to retire if he really wants the fullback spot now

 

[Danoz Direct]

From Tony Webeck

@TonyWebeck: If any club thinks they are getting a fullback when they sign James Roberts they haven't seen him in pre-season.

 

[GCBRONCO]

I wouldn't rule out the possibility that Bennett may even have other plans for Roberts if he came to the club Morkel, people make the assumption that Boyd has a monopoly at fullback when really all Bennett said was currently he felt Boyd was the best option at fullback, which at present is fair enough. The introduction of say Inglis or Roberts would for example open the door for different possibilities, Boyd isn't limited to fullback, he certainly would be welcome on the wing or in the centre's and Bennett has been prepared to move players to other positions if he felt it benefited the side in doing so.

But even if the Broncos do have him in mind for the centres for a direct replacement for Hodges, that doesn't close the door for him in the long-term at fullback and I would say the opportunity to not only play under one of the best coaches in the games history but also a side that are real contenders for a premiership enticing.

 

[Dash]

From Tony Webeck

@TonyWebeck: If any club thinks they are getting a fullback when they sign James Roberts they haven't seen him in pre-season.

I'm not really sure what he's implying here. Anyone?

 

[bazza]

1. Boyd
2. Kahu
3. Copley
4. Roberts
5. Oates/Anderson
6. Milford
7. Hunt

Now that has to one of the strongest backlines in the competition. Copley needs stability and he will shine when not moved between various positions. I am a huge fan of Oates, but I wouldn't mind giving Anderson a shot on the wing and dropping Oates to the bench. Anderson and Roberts on the same side is mouth watering. Both have pure speed and blistering acceleration. I'm excited.

 

[Unbreakable]

I'm not really sure what he's implying here. Anyone?

Sounds like he might be a little bit on the chunky side

 

[Morkel]

I'm not really sure what he's implying here. Anyone?

Maybe with all the uncertainty he's lost a bit of motivation and gained a few kegs. Not that 4 months of fitness drills won't fix that. Or maybe he has Burgii hands and can't catch?

 

[GCBRONCO]

I wouldn't be totally against Anderson in the side if he was to have an impressive off-season but hard to find room for Oates on the bench atm and quite frankly I prefer him to be playing 80 minutes. We got enough backrower's starting and on the bench as it is and with the changes to the interchange you still want a decent amount of prop's on the bench. I get the feeling he will make his debut during the SOO period.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Maybe with all the uncertainty he's lost a bit of motivation and gained a few kegs. Not that 4 months of fitness drills won't fix that. Or maybe he has Burgii hands and can't catch?

Agreed, Bennett likes to maintain a high level of fitness amongst his players and well known for intensive off-season preps.

 

[Unbreakable]

I wouldn't worry about fitness being an issue, we have Corvo.