PRE-GAME [Round 8, 2022] Broncos vs Sharks

[McHunt]

Does Walters keep his spot next week?

I've been thinking about that one, and I can't see how Kevvie can drop him. It might mark the end of Billy's career as a first grader, and Kevvie can't want that. He won't take that decision lightly.

Kevvie and Billy will have a plan. The ideal will be to position Billy as the long term 5/8th. Nothing wrong with that ambition. The problem is the pair of them are colluding. That's fine when it's Nathan Cleary and he's the best player in the game. But when the side immediately kicks into gear when your son is off the field, holy **** you have a conflict of interest.

I can't see Kevvie sending him back to the Cup to work on something. Like what, exactly? And when would he bring him back?

So in answer to your question, no, Billy won't retain his starting spot at 9. But he will retain a place, either at 6 or 14. If Turpin returns, my prediction is he will take 9, Paix 14 and Billy 6. If Jake doesn't, then maybe Kevvie will go with his original plan of Paix 9, Billy 14 and, I guess, Tyson at 6.

I was largely unimpressed with Tyson last night but he probably didn't do enough wrong to drop him outright. It looks like Selwyn will stay on the wing (the right decision, I think), so TMM will keep fullback. If Kevvie had another fullback up his sleeve, TMM would clearly be a superior 5/8th than any of his choices this season.

We do have a few more cards to play (Mariner, Mam, Hoeter. Pereira, Lee etc) and we get to see them tomorrow in the Seagulls v Magpies match.

WM Seagulls v Magpies

Wynnum Manly Seagulls versus Souths Logan Magpies match centre includes live scores and updates. Includes official live player and team stats. Run metres, fantasy points scoring.

www.qrl.com.au

Loving what I'm seeing from Oates in the last few games. Is he a possible candidate for fullback if TMM went to 5/8th?

 

[pagey]

I've been thinking about that one, and I can't see how Kevvie can drop him. It might mark the end of Billy's career as a first grader, and Kevvie can't want that. He won't take that decision lightly.

Kevvie and Billy will have a plan. The ideal will be to position Billy as the long term 5/8th. Nothing wrong with that ambition. The problem is the pair of them are colluding. That's fine when it's Nathan Cleary and he's the best player in the game. But when the side immediately kicks into gear when your son is off the field, holy **** you have a conflict of interest.

I can't see Kevvie sending him back to the Cup to work on something. Like what, exactly? And when would he bring him back?

So in answer to your question, no, Billy won't retain his starting spot at 9. But he will retain a place, either at 6 or 14. If Turpin returns, my prediction is he will take 9, Paix 14 and Billy 6. If Jake doesn't, then maybe Kevvie will go with his original plan of Paix 9, Billy 14 and, I guess, Tyson at 6.

I was largely unimpressed with Tyson last night but he probably didn't do enough wrong to drop him outright. It looks like Selwyn will stay on the wing (the right decision, I think), so TMM will keep fullback. If Kevvie had another fullback up his sleeve, TMM would clearly be a superior 5/8th than any of his choices this season.

We do have a few more cards to play (Mariner, Mam, Hoeter. Pereira, Lee etc) and we get to see them tomorrow in the Seagulls v Magpies match.

WM Seagulls v Magpies

Wynnum Manly Seagulls versus Souths Logan Magpies match centre includes live scores and updates. Includes official live player and team stats. Run metres, fantasy points scoring.

www.qrl.com.au

Loving what I'm seeing from Oates in the last few games. Is he a possible candidate for fullback if TMM went to 5/8th?

yeah , I know that tesi has his issues but I would like tmm into 6 i think that he and reyno could be a great combo .
Not a fan of Turpin at all but I think Billy needs a break.

 

[theshed]

I've been thinking about that one, and I can't see how Kevvie can drop him. It might mark the end of Billy's career as a first grader, and Kevvie can't want that. He won't take that decision lightly.

Kevvie and Billy will have a plan. The ideal will be to position Billy as the long term 5/8th. Nothing wrong with that ambition. The problem is the pair of them are colluding. That's fine when it's Nathan Cleary and he's the best player in the game. But when the side immediately kicks into gear when your son is off the field, holy **** you have a conflict of interest.

I can't see Kevvie sending him back to the Cup to work on something. Like what, exactly? And when would he bring him back?

So in answer to your question, no, Billy won't retain his starting spot at 9. But he will retain a place, either at 6 or 14. If Turpin returns, my prediction is he will take 9, Paix 14 and Billy 6. If Jake doesn't, then maybe Kevvie will go with his original plan of Paix 9, Billy 14 and, I guess, Tyson at 6.

I was largely unimpressed with Tyson last night but he probably didn't do enough wrong to drop him outright. It looks like Selwyn will stay on the wing (the right decision, I think), so TMM will keep fullback. If Kevvie had another fullback up his sleeve, TMM would clearly be a superior 5/8th than any of his choices this season.

We do have a few more cards to play (Mariner, Mam, Hoeter. Pereira, Lee etc) and we get to see them tomorrow in the Seagulls v Magpies match.

WM Seagulls v Magpies

Wynnum Manly Seagulls versus Souths Logan Magpies match centre includes live scores and updates. Includes official live player and team stats. Run metres, fantasy points scoring.

www.qrl.com.au

Loving what I'm seeing from Oates in the last few games. Is he a possible candidate for fullback if TMM went to 5/8th?

I’m not a fan of Turpin by any stretch but I’ve always maintained he should partner Paix in the Hooker rotation: opening 20-30 minutes max then maybe a second stint to close the game if Paix Is really struggling.

If nepotism is the case, Kev’s biggest mistake was moving Billy to hooker because his only believable justification for continuing to pick him is consistency in the halves. Now Gamble hasn’t done enough to be dropped you can’t just put Billy back at 6 when Turpin is back (even though I suspect he will). Definitely can’t keep Billy at hooker/bench hooker over Turpin and Paix.

You are right, dropping Billy is pretty much the end of his career as a top 17 player. If Gamble stays fit you keep picking him and with Mam approaching 20+ cup games and showing improved defence, it will become increasingly hard to justify Billy as even the first choice 5/8 back up.

 

[Sanjit Joseph]

Might have to rush in T. Sailor to play FB (since there isn't anyone else we can get or have) and have TMM play 6
or we try Ezra at 6 and TMM at fb. Gamble, Walters haven't offered much as mentioned
Just a thought

 

[BroncosFever]

I don't know why fans are calling for TMM to be our 6, we haven't had a first grade quality fullback in a while, even Darius at the end of his career was barely cutting the mustard.

That was a good game from TMM last night and he looked as dangerous as anyone else we've tried. Maybe fullback is a good way to bring him back into the NRL.

 

[Emanon]

Does Walters keep his spot next week?

Can't see how he would, but I don't think they can start Paix yet either. The main worry I have is, will they try to make Paix more defence oriented or bulk him up if he gets the starting spot? Turpin when he first got here used to provide some spark off the bench as well. I think Turpin starting, Paix coming off the bench is the best option for this game.

I think if Carrigan was fit, Kevie could try something like starting Hetherington at hooker to absorb the early onslaught. Depending on if they still think Carrigan should be at lock. I don't know if Hetherington can match Turpin at dummy half though, or think Carrigan should still be at lock either.

I can't remember off the top of my head, but if Billy is allocated to Souths Logan, he may be better for us there at the moment as halfback/special assistant coach helping with Mam's development in Q-Cup.

 

[pagey]

I’m not a fan of Turpin by any stretch but I’ve always maintained he should partner Paix in the Hooker rotation: opening 20-30 minutes max then maybe a second stint to close the game if Paix Is really struggling.

If nepotism is the case, Kev’s biggest mistake was moving Billy to hooker because his only believable justification for continuing to pick him is consistency in the halves. Now Gamble hasn’t done enough to be dropped you can’t just put Billy back at 6 when Turpin is back (even though I suspect he will). Definitely can’t keep Billy at hooker/bench hooker over Turpin and Paix.

You are right, dropping Billy is pretty much the end of his career as a top 17 player. If Gamble stays fit you keep picking him and with Mam approaching 20+ cup games and showing improved defence, it will become increasingly hard to justify Billy as even the first choice 5/8 back up.

i think you'll find billy was signed for utility value not for a 6 or a 9. He's a stop gap and depth it's not Kevvie's fault our other options sucked in the trials , you yourself if i remember correctly even mentioned he was in good form . The nepotism crap has only started because his form has dropped, much like others in the team. As for the calls for Mam , I think you should ask 1910 about his struggles in cup atm so to throw him into first grade would be crazy.

 

[hench2020]

Hopefully we do better than last time after we beat the bulldogs.

 

[pagey]

I don't know why fans are calling for TMM to be our 6, we haven't had a first grade quality fullback in a while, even Darius at the end of his career was barely cutting the mustard.

That was a good game from TMM last night and he looked as dangerous as anyone else we've tried. Maybe fullback is a good way to bring him back into the NRL.

I think more so down the track he could move to 6 and someone else to 1 , if we could snare walsh and paix gers consistent and put tmm to 6 we'd be on our way to having a competent spine on not huge coin.

 

[theshed]

i think you'll find billy was signed for utility value not for a 6 or a 9. He's a stop gap and depth it's not Kevvie's fault our other options sucked in the trials , you yourself if i remember correctly even mentioned he was in good form . The nepotism crap has only started because his form has dropped, much like others in the team. As for the calls for Mam , I think you should ask 1910 about his struggles in cup atm so to throw him into first grade would be crazy.

I don’t think nepotism is such a factor. I was saying that if it is then Kev has put himself in a tough spot.

Billy was good in patches during the trial but all options took their turn shitting the bed. I still think Billy at 6 probably offered more than Gamble did last night. It’s splitting hairs really.

I don’t think Billy fits into the hooker rotation with Turpin and Paix both fit. I’ve been pretty consistent around those 2 being our best options (Turpin to start, Paix on after 20-30 minutes).

With Turpin and Paix fit Billy’s only use is at 6 and I’m not convinced he did enough with his opportunity to now displace Gamble.

I definitely am not calling for Mam to get a start yet. All I said was he’s approaching 20+ cup games which should be the minimum before a debut. He’s had his concerns but I don’t think he’s been bad in attack and could potentially offer quite a bit if given the opportunity. His defence has been poor but was better last week. He would need to continue to improve his defence consistently for 5-10 more games to seriously be considered which is what i was alluding too in my post you quoted. Though if defence is Mam’s biggest concern it is worth stating that Gamble made 16 tackles and missed 7. That’s up there with Mam’s worst efforts this season. Billy made 13 and missed 7 last week in the halves.

 

[McHunt]

I don’t think nepotism is such a factor. I was saying that if it is then Kev has put himself in a tough spot.

i think you'll find billy was signed for utility value not for a 6 or a 9. He's a stop gap and depth it's not Kevvie's fault our other options sucked in the trials , you yourself if i remember correctly even mentioned he was in good form . The nepotism crap has only started because his form has dropped, much like others in the team. As for the calls for Mam , I think you should ask 1910 about his struggles in cup atm so to throw him into first grade would be crazy.

The term "nepotism" is a distraction and has no relevance to this discussion. This isn't the Castro family where the world's longest reigning dictator passed the Presidency over to his brother.

Kevvie is Billy's dad. There's no escaping that. And Kevvie is a father first, coach second. If he were anything else he'd be a shit dad. So no matter how much Kevvie protests, that conflict is inescapable and was understood when the club signed Billy.

Bear in mind, if Billy gets dropped from a wooden spoon tier team by a coach who is his father, his career trajectory from there only points in one direction. Maybe he can move to another country, but more likely he'll have to look for another job.

It's one thing to **** around Brodie Croft, who he never has to see again, but this is his family. He'll have to live with his decision this week for the rest of their lives. Bear in mind, Brodie Croft got lots of chances and came with a far higher pedigree than Billy. Plus Billy is off contract at the end of the year. The next month or two is critical to the rest of Billy's life.

However way you slice it, Kevvie has to give Billy as much rope as he can without it looking farcical. Just like he's done with Tesi, Jake, Kotoni, Oates and Selwyn.

 

[Scorchie]

I actually reckon we can win this. Sharks in Danger of reading their own press I think!

 

[LittleDavey]

I actually reckon we can win this. Sharks in Danger of reading their own press I think!

Did you watch their game, and then ours, this weekend?

 

[les.behan]

I think we keep Billy at 9 again or move him to 6. He’s better than Gamble and as frantic as he was last night, I think if he simplifies his game he’ll still be a better hooker than Turpin, who is literally just a tackling machine. He’s had one bad game at hooker. Turpins had 3 yrs of that. I’d give Billy another shot to redeem himself. Kid’s got a lot more potential than Turpin, who we’ve seen hit his potential already and it sucks lol I also think Billy’s looked great when coming off the bench at hooker too but Paix looks poor when starting at hooker like he did in the trial. He needs a tired defence

 

[Accept]

He needs to do it for 80mins. As good as he was in the last 30mins, he was a passenger for the first 50. We needed some direction, and he wasn't doing it.

Tbf, he isn't anywhere near 100% fit. It will be a miracle if he can last the season. Dodgy hammy, sore knee, bad back, injured wrist. I'll relish his 30 mins. of dominance while I'll can as he is just barely hanging on.

 

[Donald Garner]

Did you watch their game, and then ours, this weekend?

Sharks forwards are average especially if funicane is out. They make all their yards by throwing the ball around to their edges. Our edge defence needs to be spot on or we are in for a bad night.

 

[LittleDavey]

Sharks forwards are average especially if funicane is out. They make all their yards by throwing the ball around to their edges. Our edge defence needs to be spot on or we are in for a bad night.

Yes, if we bash them through the middle, we will absolutely win that middle battle. We struggled to do that lastnight, we kept spreading the ball without presenting a threat through the middle first. Unfortunately though, our edge defence is our weak spot. It's gotten better, but that's still an area of huge concern. I'd like to think we can push them but I'm not confident at all.

 

[Accept]

I actually reckon we can win this. Sharks in Danger of reading their own press I think!

Again some fans are getting overexcited by a victory over last year's spooners. The Cowboys tempered that excitement last time around. This team is still the same, it is much inferior to a team like the Cowboys, a team who won't see any post season action either.

I'll give Kevvie credit, this team is marginally better than this time last year. It would want to be and that is all thanks to having an experienced #7. But this team is still dogshit and thoughts of beating Cronulla is extremely ambitious.

The next 12 games will define their season. They might win 3 of them.