- Sep 6, 2013
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he could be a real weapon come finals time.
He could be...on the wing, but we have two pretty good ones already in Oates and Kahu. As a centre, he is a liability.
he could be a real weapon come finals time.
Sounds like Opacic will be a chance of playing on the wing
Chris GarryVerified account @ChrisGarry7
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Nikorima will be halfback. Hunt dummy half. Oates left session early but Pearson isn't even here. Opacic a chance for wing.
5:53 PM - 30 Jul 2017
Geez i hope Tom doesnt play wing. He will be solid enough and pretty error free, but i dont think it suits him. At least if we swap him and Moga over Tommy will hold his position defensively and not be a liability in defence like Moga is with his rushing up. He does tend to drop in his winger in the shit a lot with his poor positioning.
I think we are looking into this Opacic playing a bit too far. It's more like Bennett is comfortable with playing Oates this week.
I think we are looking into this Opacic playing a bit too far. It's more like Bennett is comfortable with playing Oates this week.
lol, when the Broncos signed him, I stated that he would never play a game for them. Instead, he has played all of them and despite his numerous weaknesses, he is gradually improving.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...e/news-story/112eb77fb69b7ed593aa46bb3ea2c7b8WAYNE Bennett could spring a selection shock and thrust Sam Thaiday into hooker to stiffen up Brisbane’s defence and secure the Broncos a top-four finish.
And winger Corey Oates is on the verge of returning from a serious infection to boost the Broncos in the run to the finals.
While Ben Hunt is favoured to replace injured No. 9 Andrew McCullough, Thaiday spent parts of yesterday’s training session at dummy-half and could be injected from the bench at hooker.
Hunt and Thaiday may rotate at hooker in Saturday night’s derby against the Titans at Cbus Super Stadium, a game the Broncos must win to stay in the congested top-four race.
Sporting a knee brace and crutches, McCullough made an appearance at Red Hill, speaking to Hunt and Thaiday at the completion of the high-intensity session.
Bennett is expected to name Hunt at hooker but Broncos prop Korbin Sims said Thaiday could be a handy replacement at dummy-half.
“No one can replicate Macca but Ben’s very crafty and smart,” he said.
“If he picks a spot he wants to run or pass I will back him 100 per cent.
“Moving into the hooking role shouldn’t be a worry because he knows all the plays as well.
“Sam knows how the team plays and he has a lot of experience.
“He has a crisp pass which he would be able to use out of dummy-half.
“We’ve got a good system here where if one player slots out, another slots straight back in. They know their role and what to do.”
Thaiday making a cameo appearance at dummy-half would be a left-field move by seven-time premiership winning coach Bennett.
The 32-year-old has played his entire 271-game NRL career in the forwards, however he may only be called upon for a short stint in the position.
Thaiday’s passing game looked slick at training yesterday and Hunt has plenty of experience at hooker.
The regular has played 66 NRL games from the bench and comes on mostly at hooker, also starting two matches in the role.
Broncos legend Darren Lockyer said Thaiday’s defence in the middle could prove handy.
“First and foremost you need someone that can handle the defensive workload in there,” he said.
“Sam isn’t a natural dummy-half but defensively he will handle the workload.
“We’ve got a few options. Hunty has played there before. Josh McGuire has played hooker for Samoa.
“There is no clear-cut replacement. The coach will probably want to run with an option, see how it goes and if it works keep it there. If it doesn’t, he will have to think of other options.”
Oates, who last played in Round 16 against Canberra, completed most of the session on the left wing.
If he emerges from Brisbane’s next two sessions unscathed the towering winger will face the Titans a few weeks after a stay in hospital with a staph infection that threatened to end his season.
Now Bennett is just fucking with the media ...