POST GAME Round 3 - Broncos vs Cowboys

[rnabokov]

agree, but where does he go when boyd comes back? He's too good to be on the wing...

My sentiments exactly

 

[conndoh]

My sentiments exactly

but hes not better than boyd........

 

[conndoh]

but hes not better than boyd........

at fullback i mean

 

[Ari Gold]

Just can't bring yourself to give credit to Macca who was very good last night.

He wasn't bad but he didn't stand out, so I wasn't going to let him ride the coat-tails of his spine partners.

That's kind of the thing with McCullough -- he's never bad, but he's rarely ever good either.

 

[GCBRONCO]

I'm absolutely elated with the win.
Not because it was a great performance or we turned back the clock but because it vindicated the belief a lot of fans had. I was really surprised by and large how calm everyone was after the Broncos got flogged 36-6 then followed it up with an unconvincing 10-2 win over Cronulla. It was like fans knew it was just apart of the script and were willing to wait until this game to make their judgements and to those fans I hope you enjoyed that game as much as I did.

I said prior to the season we face 5 rounds before we will get a fair indication of where we are heading in 2015, we were by no means perfect last night nor were the Cowboys playing their best but there was definitely a lot to take away from it, probably the most telling was how involved the fullback, 5/8th and halfback were in the scheme of things. 2 more games to go and I'm interested to see where we are at round 5, still improvement to go but that's not a bad thing either.

 

[Unbreakable]

I dunno how people are saying Kahu is better than Boyd after 2 good games.. Boyd is clearly still the better fullback, but I guinenly think Kahu has proven that he's solid under the high ball, makes the correct decisions in attack and will put his body on the line if need be.. Sounds like a perfect winger or centre to me.

 

[Ari Gold]

Don't think anyone is saying Kahu is better than Boyd right now, but if he keeps it up the question still needs to be asked. Keeping in mind too that Boyd will be recovering from a major injury and Milford will be getting used to the combination with Kahu, I think it begs the question whether or not you want to reset the chemistry while a guy possibly struggles to return to full fitness, particularly when you consider Boyd hasn't been good since 2013.

The key factor for me is Boyd's injury. If he was just suspended or something then it's less of an issue, but I mean, this is an achilles injury that he's returning from. My preference for us signing Boyd aside, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that returning to full form and fitness after an achilles injury inside of six or seven months is something that will be difficult.

Just because Boyd is a better fullback, I don't see why that would necessarily have to exclude him from returning on the wing until he proves his fitness.

 

[Splinter]

Cowboys could be 0 from 6 after playing Storm, Panthers and Roosters.

Someone mentioned Oates speed, I was there and was astounded at the territory he covered and just how quickly in that chase

 

[Mr Fourex]

agree, but where does he go when boyd comes back? He's too good to be on the wing...

....more long term upside to Kahu at FB than Boyd.

Boyd can play wing. I know it won't happen and Wayne will play him fullback, but ...that's what should happen.

 

[Mr Fourex]

Someone mentioned Oates speed, I was there and was astounded at the territory he covered and just how quickly in that chase

I'd like to see Oates take a few more hit-ups. He absolutely crunched a couple of the Cowboys players when he did. Probably could have got more involved in the game than he did last night for mine.

Adam Blair.....nothing need said. Big improvement.

Ben Hunt is starting the year off really well ....nothing too spectacular, but everything he's doing has a touch of class.

Milford is starting to simmer. I get the feeling that he's still figuring out just which part of his game is going to work the best in the Broncos team. IMO there are a lot more aspects to his game than just a running game. Reading the game well, is high up there as part of his armory.

Cowboys were fucked.......still it doesn't take away that it turned out to be a good hit out for the boys and they can feel good about themselves. I thought from 1-17 could hold their heads up high.

Better things to come yet ......

 

[Mister Wright]

He wasn't bad but he didn't stand out, so I wasn't going to let him ride the coat-tails of his spine partners.

That's kind of the thing with McCullough -- he's never bad, but he's rarely ever good either.

Yeah, it's amazing what happens when the team has some depth in their attack. Rather than McCullough passing to forwards that have over run and are dead in line with him or halves that are up in the line. Strange how nobody has noticed his passing off the ground improved with that depth and therefore his service was much better. I guess that's why he didn't stand out.

 

[Kimlo]

Don't think anyone is saying Kahu is better than Boyd right now, but if he keeps it up the question still needs to be asked. Keeping in mind too that Boyd will be recovering from a major injury and Milford will be getting used to the combination with Kahu, I think it begs the question whether or not you want to reset the chemistry while a guy possibly struggles to return to full fitness, particularly when you consider Boyd hasn't been good since 2013.

The key factor for me is Boyd's injury. If he was just suspended or something then it's less of an issue, but I mean, this is an achilles injury that he's returning from. My preference for us signing Boyd aside, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that returning to full form and fitness after an achilles injury inside of six or seven months is something that will be difficult.

Just because Boyd is a better fullback, I don't see why that would necessarily have to exclude him from returning on the wing until he proves his fitness.

FWIW I'm pretty sure Hodges came back from the same injury twice now and he looked really on the ball straight away. Besides, Boyd was in really good condition before the injury, doesn't have a bad track record in that department and seems happier than ever off the field. If anything I'm actually expecting Boyd to come back very well and be back to his best quickly.

Boyd is also not a rookie, and knows Bennett's system better than anyone else, I don't think it'll take him more than a game or two to get into things.

 

[Unbreakable]

Don't think anyone is saying Kahu is better than Boyd right now, but if he keeps it up the question still needs to be asked. Keeping in mind too that Boyd will be recovering from a major injury and Milford will be getting used to the combination with Kahu, I think it begs the question whether or not you want to reset the chemistry while a guy possibly struggles to return to full fitness, particularly when you consider Boyd hasn't been good since 2013.

The key factor for me is Boyd's injury. If he was just suspended or something then it's less of an issue, but I mean, this is an achilles injury that he's returning from. My preference for us signing Boyd aside, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that returning to full form and fitness after an achilles injury inside of six or seven months is something that will be difficult.

Just because Boyd is a better fullback, I don't see why that would necessarily have to exclude him from returning on the wing until he proves his fitness.

Achilles isn't a hard injury to come back from with todays technology, it's nothing compared to an ACL. Hodges came back reasonably fast and was fine within a few weeks, Kobe Bryant has had a million leg injuries and came back in 6 months and performed great. Darius has no history of leg injuries and is well younger than both of those guys, I think he'll be fine.

 

[redbur95]

Achilles injuries are very strange. Hodges has stated that snapping achilles tendons just means a few months of rehab. Once you've healed, it's like you were never injured. He reckons that they do nothing to your speed or movement, unlike knee injuries which can ruin your game entirely.

I think that players in all codes struggle with repeated Achilles injuries. Christian Benteke from the EPL comes to mind. He made an early comeback from his Achilles rupture and hasn't been the same player since. It sounds like he did everything but snap the tendon, and he now struggles to keep it from tearing again.

Overall, I think that totally snapping it seems to be the best thing to do, as opposed to continually breaking down with a dodgy achilles.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

After watching the highlight reel, we were actually enjoyable to watch again which already makes Waynes return that much more worth it

 

[Morkel]

Kahu was great, but no one has mentioned those assists were done when he was playing right centre? Remember the Hodges switch? I'm not taking away from his performance, but it means that fullback is not his only position and maybe Hodges' replacement is already here...

 

[Danoz Direct]

Kahu was great, but no one has mentioned those assists were done when he was playing right centre? Remember the Hodges switch? I'm not taking away from his performance, but it means that fullback is not his only position and maybe Hodges' replacement is already here...

Although he did score paying in the fullback position.

 

[rnabokov]

Kahu was great, but no one has mentioned those assists were done when he was playing right centre? Remember the Hodges switch? I'm not taking away from his performance, but it means that fullback is not his only position and maybe Hodges' replacement is already here...

But isn't that the point of a very good FB? He plays everywhere, and has the vision and instincts to be in the right place at the right time, separate to any specific strategy which may have had Kahu playing in any one position on the field.

The more I watch him, the more he impresses me. Those try assists were pure class, as was the way he positioned himself in the line, the angle he took to get that nice pass from Hunt and the speed to beat Thurston to score his try.

As for IBM's post, I am warming to the impact Bennett is having on our individual players, and last night, after that dreadful opening 20, our game plan looked to be gaining shape and the execution was so much better than in the 1st 2 games. I again thought the "return" of Thaiday's passing game was important to our good performance.

I see good things ahead.