NEWS Oates wants forwards switch, but not that much

[Browny]

He’s fast becoming Hoffman Mark 2

 

[Morkel]

I have two thoughts on the matter

1) Bennett is clearly testing Oates on how badly he wants it, and it doesn't reflect well that on Oates that he'd rather play wing than fight for his spot by proving himself at Q Cup level, seems like he's taking the easy way out so to speak and I wonder whether Bennett thinks that sort of attitude is the reason why he won't make it as a 2RF.

2) If he does leave however and signs with another club at to play 2nd row, he will kill it. I think we will seriously regret him leaving if he does. I hope we re-sign him and say ok, next season once Thaiday is out, you'll start from bench and come on as a 2rf and eventually build him from there. He can't expect to walk into our second row at this stage because Gillett and Glenn are better players than he is and for the balance of the team, there is no point Glenn coming off the bench as he's a workhorse, not an impact player.

I don't know if the second part of your post is a certainty, but the first point makes a lot of sense, and is not a good sign. If it is indeed true, and is an accurate reflection of his attitude, then he can piss off.

 

[Unbreakable]

I think he'll be a very good backrower wherever he goes, but not an Origin level / do whatever you have to do to re-sign him type of backrower. The tall, hard running edge back rowers are becoming more and more dime a dozen these days, I'd argue that Isaah Yeo is just a better version of Oates, in terms of what they can do from that position (Oates obviously has the edge as a player because he's versatile enough to play wing and is great at finishing in the corner, but if he's dedicated to being a fulltime backrower, he loses that edge.)

 

[Danoz Direct]

We simply can't afford to pay Oates big money to be a back rower when we already have Gillett and Glenn for at least another couple of years and have Fifita and Su'A coming through. We also don't have great depth in the outside backs and he is our best winger.

 

[BroncsFan]

This is a key issue for the coaching staff. We have so many young back rowers coming through and they need to identify and lock down which ones they want. They also need to plan out the transition. Teams like the storm identify a long term plan for their team and recruit/retain accordingly... look at Kaufusi went from a bit part prop getting 10mins off the bench into an 80min second rower. They clearly identified the potential and sent him to qcup to work towards it. Yet what kind of assurance or plan do we have in place for Sua, Oates, TPJ, Offa, etc.

At the moment the forwards rotation is a dog's breakfast.

- Lodge played 57mins last week in his first game back in 3 years, meanwhile Sims and Offa played 30-33 mins. How can our bench props be playing such limited time??
- Sammy's first stint was 30mins straight. Are we that reliant on a 30+ year old that he has to play out of position and then extended time on the field in a different position.
- TPJ played 47 mins and looked strong throughout, albeit question marks on his defence. The game time indicates he could take on a larger role in the team yet he could come out this week and play 15-20mins. This guy is off contract and is going to have offers coming at him left right and center. Yet I can't even tell if his future at the broncs is prop, lock, second row or impact bench. Coaching staff need to identify and lock him down before he gets swooped up.
- Sua appears to be next inline but how long will he be sitting behind Glenn.
- Bird is also apparently transitioning to the forwards but who makes way.

From the outside it looks like there is no plan. We have soooo much depth at second row, but so little in literally every other position. Why??

Why have we not had a standout outside back come through or if there are none go and recruit one from someone else. Yes Isaako came from sharks but was he bought as a future winger or because he was a talented fullback

 

[Alec]

I think the valuable thing about Oates in the forwards could be that he could probably cover in the middle as well as on the edge. Someone just has to give him a chance I guess.

 

[Super Freak]

- Lodge played 57mins last week in his first game back in 3 years, meanwhile Sims and Offa played 30-33 mins. How can our bench props be playing such limited time??

That's pretty much the norm for a bench prop now.

Most starting props play 40-60 minutes, very rarely does one play the full 80.

The bench props play about 20-40 minutes.

 

[Huge]

Don't think the blokes who played Sunday were there yesterday

You're correct Tagatese and Fai were missing and are in the frame for next game.

 

[BroncsFan]

That's pretty much the norm for a bench prop now.

Most starting props play 40-60 minutes, very rarely does one play the full 80.

The bench props play about 20-40 minutes.

There was no way I was suggesting he should play 80... prop rotation to me peaks at 60min and that's for sustainable workhorse type props. The norm to me is an even split between bench and starting props unless you have a good prop who demands more minutes.

Given we don't have an elite prop in the team it didn't make sense to me to massively inflate the workload of two of them and only use the bench guys in a short burst of 30-33 mins.

It is not a standard prop rotation to me to have 2 starting props both play 30mins straight (in this case Sammy started at 9, but macca came on for TPJ rather than a prop) while your fresh guys sit on the bench.

Especially when you consider Lodge hasn't played for 3 years and Sammy is getting on and hasn't played starting prop since 2015 and longer before that. Maybe one guy can push through to 30 but not both and not without affecting the middle defence.