PRE-GAME Round 12 - Raiders vs Broncos

[Super Freak]

Would have been good to have someone on the bench to provide a bit of spark when it's needed.

 

[Big Pete]

I'd like to see a utility off the bench as well but can understand why Bennett wouldn't name one.

Brisbane have limited preparation for what will be a tough road trip potentially minus Origin players.

Better off saving Parcell, J. Nikorima or Taylor for Manly.

 

[Huge]

I didn't think Blair was too bad, in fact I thought it was his best game for us. We didn't have a bad player, our worst had fair games. I've watched the game twice and although we could have been better in places we were pretty good overall. We will struggle though against any side with a lot of size but should be competitive in any game we play . I think benching Blair is not a punishment rather I think if Thaiday plays it would be best to start him. WB has tried plenty of different ways to use ( forwards mainly )players backing up and if I remember correctly, we get the best out of them if they start rather than sit on the bench. Naturally I may be wrong and my memory shit.

 

[Cult]

I have a feeling if Hodges plays he will come off the bench and Oates will start.

 

[morganmorgan]

Blair was on for 63 minutes and made 126 metres off 14 carries.

Got it from some app i use. Aka useless.

126m sounds a lot better

 

[I bleed Maroon]

I think if you factor in the size that Canberra have up front, a big bench is a smart choice by Bennett. Canberra's defence is so poor that getting them into a grind up front is the smartest thing to do. Give Milford and Hunt field position and let them do the rest.

 

[rnabokov]

Sports Data has Blair at 12 runs for 99m which sounds about right.

Still played very well. Two of his runs lead directly to tries.

From memory, he also passed the ball a fair bit when it was the right thing to do rather than dying with it. I actually thought he was ok but as a metre gaining prop, I don't rate him very highly. His defence wasn't too bad either and I also am glad to see him benched.

Having said that, the game v Knights for me was special because we had an excellent passing game and Blair contributed to that, and, Milford and Hunt were both pivotal in getting the ball to do the work out on the edges and wider, with the result being some good tries.

For mine, keeping the ball moving thanks to the evolving combination of our halves, plus their individual draw/passing games is the ONLY way we are going to make it through to the top 4, and timely passing by our forwards will only help further.

I so hope we don't revert to the one-out shit up the middle. Our mobility and speed on the edges and in the backs is our greatest asset while our poor defensive line speed is our greatest liability.

If we let the Raiders make the same metres up the middle as we let the Knights they will put on a lot of points against us.

 

[Alec]

We really want Parker and McGuire to back up. Raiders pack is far better than the Knights one - Big Papa, Big Vaughan, Big Shillo, Boyd, they are all in great form.

 

[Splinter]

To me it looks like they present a wall and don't worry too much about metres gained. The only time they look to really push up is on our own line.
Not to sure whether they are coached this way as the markers seem to retreat to plug the hole in the middle

 

[Big Pete]

Good and bad news for Brisbane.

Good news - Gigantic Man-Mountain S. Boyd is out with a cheekbone. That's a big blow for Canberra, he's been a big part of their comebacks lately.

Bad news - Wighton and Williams return.

 

[Ari Gold]

Given how well he went last week, and the fact that we may want injury cover in case of concussion or Hodges, do we play Vidot as a bench forward who can cover the backline?

 

[Ari Gold]

Good news - Boyd is out with a cheekbone.

You really need to put the word Shannon in there. My first reaction was what do you have against Darius!

 

[Big Pete]

Oates has got that spot...

...for now.

 

[Morkel]

I've backflipped. I like having spark off the bench. Let's use their pack's strength as their weakness. Test their lateral movement, work over the markers, turn them inside out.

 

[Unbreakable]

I won't bother bumping the Bennett thread, but kudos to him once again for giving another out of form player a reality check (Adam Blair)

Plenty of people were saying there was a 0% chance he was going to bench his "Marquee" signing. Just goes to show that he wants to win this year, no funny business, if you're out of form you're out of the side.

 

[Huge]

I don't believe the team sheet. I would be surprised if he was benched in reality and come game time I reckon he will start with McGuire if fit. Even if he doesn't start I think it's just to use up Thaiday who will be battered and bruised . Has Bennett said anything about Blair ?

 

[Ari Gold]

Thaiday was very good in his last couple of games. Whilst I think it's fair to Blair has been ordinary, I'm not sure if Blair's demotion is actually a punishment or just a reward for Thaiday's good form.

 

[Morkel]

He might be simply putting Blair on the bench, knowing that we'll need his size and starch to combat the Raiders bench. If it is being used as a wake-up call though, I won't argue. I think he's been better than most give him credit for, the benefits of his style are hard to quantify, but I wouldn't say he's justified his price tag quite yet.