NEWS Leaving shortly: final call for passengers Milford and Croft

[Dazza 92]

we do need a true 14 on that bench. Wierd about John needing a "rest".... did they rush him back last week....wouldnt surprise me, the things you do under pressure...

Dearden on the bench is another pressure related decision, he really needs more ISC run for me, but the fact we have literally nothing else, he gets thrown to the wolves again...

Would have preferred him stay where he is until this 4 game run of death is over....

 

[Morepudding]

I think the reason he’s playing dearden is so he can get a win. Don’t believe he has had a win in the NRL yet? Or at least didn’t last year.

 

[Foordy]

I think the reason he’s playing dearden is so he can get a win. Don’t believe he has had a win in the NRL yet? Or at least didn’t last year.

3 wins 2 losses in 2019

 

[Foordy]

He's had 3 wins from 17 starts, all in 2018 where he won 3 from 5.

he didn't debut until 2019

 

[Mr Fourex]

We’ll see how it plays out, and I’m reserving judgment but this my first red flag for Kev.

Yep........he seems to be giving an inordinate amount of latitude to Croft. I'm assuming they both spent some time together at the Storm.

Anyway....time will prove it to be a master stroke or not. I'm tipping the latter. It seems to me it has to be 2 of the 3....not all 3.

 

[007]

To cut a too long story short........you've got rocks in your head if you want to drop Milford, even if his form turns around.

Our first half of our first game of the year.......when Milford is on, we are on. Its that simple. He can and will win games for you. We/he just needs to find the way to bring his form up for every game

.......and I'm still waiting to hear of a name that would be a better replacement. Bodie Croft?.....please...

Give Milford and Deardon some serious game time together and I'll bet my left nut that we see a dramatic improvement in Milford and the Brisbane Broncos.

Clearly you are an old head, nothing of which i have a problem of.

However 1m. 1.000000000m per year? If i had that money in the bank clear, i still wouldnt play blackjack. The question is, who is the player to steer the team, and who is the flamboyant one? IF Milf is the flamboyant one, then he needs to prove this. 2015/2016 was long ago.

 

[rnabokov]

" .... Or you start Dearden from the beginning and at most put one of the squids on the bench (Croft probably) and keep it like that unless Dearden struggles."

Absolutely. I was surprised and disappointed Walters didn't start with Dearden. He's had good first grade experience and has shown he combines well with Milford. I don't see Croft as an organizing half at all, as @Mr Fourex said above.

 

[mstreet]

I'm with Kevvie on this. I suggested it in fact that we put Deardon at 14 a few weeks ago, but it got given short shrift by a few on here. It allows us to rest Turps and adds a fresh attacking option as I think Tommy has been happy playing as a running six so taking this game into the nine spot for short burst will (I'm sure) pay dividends. It also gives us another option to kick from dummy half and I can see him swap with Croft if things are not looking good. In short, there is more upside to this than down for mine.

I'm not denying the merit of your position. I just wanted from character point of view, how Deardon would take a spell in the Cup mentally. Would he be pissed and shop himself around, or see it in his best interests. The seven is for the taking. Bit like the one is. That's what we are missing from a lot of the crop coming through, character. He isn't the second coming of Langer, I just wanted him to develop his game, knowing what he needed to work on, in an environment that he can make mistakes in.

 

[Cult]

To cut a too long story short........you've got rocks in your head if you want to drop Milford, even if his form turns around.

Our first half of our first game of the year.......when Milford is on, we are on. Its that simple. He can and will win games for you. We/he just needs to find the way to bring his form up for every game

.......and I'm still waiting to hear of a name that would be a better replacement. Bodie Croft?.....please...

Give Milford and Deardon some serious game time together and I'll bet my left nut that we see a dramatic improvement in Milford and the Brisbane Broncos.

How many games has he lost for us in defence? Would be twice as many as he’s won for us. Milfords attitude is his problem. He’s a flat track bully and doesn’t want to do the hard stuff. Dropping him for a worse player who will do the hard stuff, or make a singular tackle on our line would be better for us, as he’s only one once a month, maybe even less.

 

[mstreet]

I don't see Croft as a organising half. I don't think he could organise a **** in a brothel.

Which one? Some of them are pretty stressful and barely speak english.

Disclaimer: sponsered by Carlton Draught.

 

[Mr Fourex]

How many games has he lost for us in defence? Would be twice as many as he’s won for us.

Nahh...you're reaching. Whilst I'm sure instances could be found where he actually was the last line of defence (last week for example) I'm also twice as sure he'd have scored more points..... scored/assisted/participated in.

I'm not saying some of your criticisms against Milford aren't valid, but you've got to keep it real if you want to be taken seriously.

 

[Mr Fourex]

Which one? Some of them are pretty stressful and barely speak english.

They all speak the universal language of (love).......

 

[Mr Fourex]

Absolutely. I was surprised and disappointed Walters didn't start with Dearden. He's had good first grade experience and has shown he combines well with Milford. I don't see Croft as an organizing half at all, as @Mr Fourex said above.

...and I think earlier theshed mentioned this .....as a red flag against Kevvie. The selection of Croft over Deardon was baffling from the get go.

and I don';t think I'm alone with saying some of our better performances last year (won & lost) was with Deardon & Milford as the half's. Surely Walters could see that......
I've got a bit of history on hating on Kev...when he was a player, not Peter Wallace type bias, but I could easily see the bad in him. I'm not sold on him as a coach either yet.....even before he came to Brisbane.

 

[Huge]

How many games has he lost for us in defence? Would be twice as many as he’s won for us. Milfords attitude is his problem. He’s a flat track bully and doesn’t want to do the hard stuff. Dropping him for a worse player who will do the hard stuff, or make a singular tackle on our line would be better for us, as he’s only one once a month, maybe even less.

The following is just my opinion, not neccesarily factual.

I like the way you swim against the current or buck the consensus if you'd like. I am tired of the Milford defenders making excuses. Milford has been useless for quite a long time and I believe there's quite a few team members who would like to see him gone although they may still like him as a bloke.

Milford can be seen in backplay shooting daggers at others when a missed tackle happens or someone didn't read his mind right when he wanted them to know what he wanted. He doesn't apply the same standards to himself. He is regularly very poor and uncommitted in defence. I think many in the team resent the fact he's paid a fortune and allows the opposition to stroll past him, particularly on his left side but in truth he's terrible on both.

Fortunately he'll be in reserves soon. I won't be surprised to see Dearden at 7 and either Croft or Asiata at 6 soon (or maybe even a surprise manufactured 5/8) I believe KWs had enough of Milford and I reckon tomorrow is really judgement day.

 

[Locky888]

Swap Walsh for Warriors utility Hayze Perham plus make Warriors take on Croft's contract.

 

[McHunt]

Ben Ikin writes off Milford and Croft:

“I think Milford has ability, but I just don’t know if he has the desire or the enthusiasm that maybe he had three or five years ago. I honestly don’t know anymore if Milford should be the dominant playmaker for the Broncos. After watching him in the 2015 grand final, he had the world at his feet. Since then, he hasn’t gone to the next level and the Broncos paid him to go to the next level."

“When you get the big bucks, you have to make the right plays in the most important moments and the last few seasons, he has been averse to putting himself in those moments, let alone controlling them. I’m not saying Milford isn’t capable. But I wonder whether or not his confidence is shot to the point where he doesn’t believe he can do it."

“Brodie Croft (halfback) is in the same boat. He hasn’t been going at it anywhere near as long as Milford, but he has been bought to own those moments, to manage that team, but he hasn’t shown me enough either.”

Scott Sattler piles on:

“Possibly a reduced contract will help Milford. It’s never easy to perform when you are being paid $1 million and the expectation is that you win games every week. I have always thought Milford was a fullback. The No. 6 jumper comes with a lot of responsibility, so I don’t think that is something that has sat comfortably with Anthony."

“He might say otherwise, but his body language tells me that he wants to be the kid in the backyard that’s playing like Kalyn Ponga or Preston Campbell. He doesn’t want structure, he wants to roam around the field and play what he sees."

“Maybe the Broncos need to find a way to alleviate the pressure on him."

“I don’t think he needs a change of clubs, I think he needs a change of position. It comes down to the number on his back. Kevin Walters was a free spirit as a player himself so I think he understands the type of player that Anthony is. The challenge for the Broncos is to find a halfback that can ease the strain on Milford. If anyone can make Milf feel relaxed, it’s Kevvie.”

Walters plays it down:

“We have spoken about his defence. Milf needs to be better and we need to be better across the park. He wasn’t the only guy missing tackles, he needs to be better and we’ve had that conversation.”

McHunt

 

[007]

such strange messages coming from the camp. Assitant caoch says contract reduced and fullback, coach says half.

 

[broncsgoat]

The following is just my opinion, not neccesarily factual.

I like the way you swim against the current or buck the consensus if you'd like. I am tired of the Milford defenders making excuses. Milford has been useless for quite a long time and I believe there's quite a few team members who would like to see him gone although they may still like him as a bloke.

Milford can be seen in backplay shooting daggers at others when a missed tackle happens or someone didn't read his mind right when he wanted them to know what he wanted. He doesn't apply the same standards to himself. He is regularly very poor and uncommitted in defence. I think many in the team resent the fact he's paid a fortune and allows the opposition to stroll past him, particularly on his left side but in truth he's terrible on both.

Fortunately he'll be in reserves soon. I won't be surprised to see Dearden at 7 and either Croft or Asiata at 6 soon (or maybe even a surprise manufactured 5/8) I believe KWs had enough of Milford and I reckon tomorrow is really judgement day.

You think he’s had enough after two games, one of which Milford was our best player? Seems unlikely.