You're certainly trying way too hard for someone without a vendetta. I'm just unsure whether it's about Gillett or something personal, given your insistence on making this all about me...
You want a debate? Make it about the opinion, and not about its author or what you think drives him.
Since 2014, Gillett has had Hunt and Kodi next to him. Who are these other 4 or so halfbacks he's had inside him according to you?
Cordner is an excellent backrower without a doubt, but you're off your head when you say Gillett just participated, what with gaining Man of the Match honors and scoring tries in both the Origin Arena and in the World cup in the last couple of years. Besides, you're comparing Gillo to the only guy who has a justified claim to beat him as the best backrower in the code. Not showing your hand at all here...
If Moose isn't demanding the ball on 4th and 5th tackle, it will go to someone else, ANYONE else! Of course, Macca shares the responsibility here as well.
Who should it go to on 4th and 5th? I'm sure you know the answer to this, but it should be the first receiver... you know, the guy with the no. 7 on his back.
Should I just ignore Lodge's issues because of the raw deal he's getting from the media?
Yes, he is definitely bringing something we needed. Doesn't mean he doesn't need to improve the way he peels off tackles and gets back to the line, as he is making it too easy for the opposition to gain meters just by using him as cover. He has done this in every game this season so far, and multiple times last night.
I'm not asking for him to be dropped or even lose his starting spot, only for improvement in that one aspect of his game that is letting him down. I'm sure that will improve with time though.
With the exception of Boyd (because I demand much more of the captain) and KNik (because I demand much more from a halfback), no player deviated a lot from what I expect from each position last night.
The differences in scores and their proximity, are based on what players did in positive (points added) and negative (points subtracted) terms, starting from 6, which would be my default initial value. Some were a bit better than others, that's all. You'll be hard pressed to ever see me give anyone a 10 though.
Btw, those scores are based on last night's game, not what I think of each player's merit to wear the jersey, or their history in the code. No one deserves to be dropped on one bad performance, and I have not ever implied any other way, unlike the way your Lockyer comment pretends to colour me.
P.S. This all could of course be total bias from me, as well as from those who happen to agree with me. :superhappythumbsup:
Fair call. I can see how my last post could come across as personal, but that was certainly not my intention. I guess in attempting to reinforce my point, I tried to use your own reasoning in examples against what you were saying. So, my apologies if I’ve come across personal.
And you’ll just have to take me at face value when I say that I
DO NOT have an agenda against Gillett.
Indeed, I personally believe that currently, Gillett would be the first Bronco picked for rep teams (although I think McGuire is more consistent and Boyd circa '15, '16 was easily our premier player with respect to rep teams). With this though, comes the highest expectations. I guess what I am saying is, similarly to your heightened expectations of Boyd (which I agree with), Gillett simply must be held to the same lofty standards.
With that said, it certainly appears to me that you are scoring him, whether consciously or subconsciously, higher than the sum of his performance at the moment.
That or you’re scoring others too low.
If you read my original post, that's all I was trying to say.
Whilst I’m happy to be proven wrong, I just don’t agree that Gillett was the close to, or better, than Lodge, McGuire or Sims last night. Credit where its due, those guys played well. If Gillett gets a 7, those blokes all deserve at least 8's. They were that much better in their roles than Gillett was in his.
Which arcs back to my earlier point about people allowing their bias to cloud their judgement. That’s not a personal attack, but it also doesn’t make it any less true.
With respect to my Lodge and Lockyer example; you’ve provided reasoning as to why Lodge needs to improve those areas, and whilst I don’t agree it’s valid criticism based simply on the fact he is still so incredibly green in the NRL, they are reasons nonetheless.
What does strike me as strange though, is that you’re willing to hold Lodge accountable for his mistakes so early in his career whilst ignoring his inexperience, but still not criticise Gillett for his shortcomings, even though he is a seasoned veteran and walk-up start in all rep teams. I am not trying to be patronising, but does that make sense? I am, however, sorry if the Lockyer comment seemed a bit strong, it was only intended to be a grossly overstated simile, not a dig.
Moving on, I guess we will have to agree to disagree when it comes to Cordner and Gillett over the last couple of years. Which, as a Broncos fan is so frustrating, because I know Gillett can be every bit as good as him, if not better. Right now though, I just don’t think he’s close. But I do want to be clear, I was comparing Gillett to Cordner when I said he was only participating, not commenting on his place in the team as a whole. I stand by this. If I didn’t explain that well in my previous posts, I am more so trying to accentuate that Cordner continues to get better, Gillett continues to decline. That’s my main concern around Gillett, because we need him to fire if we're to get anywhere near the pointy end of any season in the next few years.
Regarding our halfbacks since 2014, quite simply, I was wrong. I thought both Prince and Wallace played in ‘14, but they both left at the end of ‘13. My mistake.
Benji did play 7 at times though last year, so if I didn’t get my years wrong, that would have made 5 - but obviously, that’s all academic.
I must ask, as we clearly disagree on a few things I am genuinely interested to hear your thoughts; what are you expecting from the someone or anyone else on the 4th or 5th tackle that McGuire isn’t providing? I am not naive enough to think that McGuire simply rucking it up is the best option, but right now it may be our only option. I'd much rather that than have Milf, Kodi or Macca stink it up and get caught with the ball, or give it to a flat-footed bloke who isn't expecting it only to lose ground, or put in some half-arsed afterthought kick, as these seem to be our only go to moves when McGuire isn't there.
Again, sorry if anything previously came across as personal or anything in this post does. I can't stand keyboard warriors turning discussions, that are simply differences of opinion, into personal attacks. So if you think I am doing that, let me know. Cheers.