SOO Teams 2010

[Bucking Beads]

Elias writes off Qld's Origin chances
By Wayne Heming 15:42 AEST Mon Mar 29 2010


Former NSW hooker Benny Elias has written off Queensland's chances of a fifth straight Origin series win, declaring a resurgent Blues would hit back with a 3-0 whitewash this year.





http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=1033364



Thank you 5 in a row here we come!!

 

[Jeba]

Will be interesting to see if Queenslander, Stu and co still cream themselves over the Storm this year. They only have 5 players eligible for Queensland, and even less than Penrith, Souths and the Warriors.

 

[The Brizz]

I think that was bound to happen due to the Gold Coast coming on board now and also the fact the Storm are now entering a team down in the NSW Cup may also mean they are focusing recruiting more on that comp rather than on the Q Cup when they had feeder teams up here.

 

[Anonymous person]

how has only 1 person so far named Nick Kenny in their team? he'd be one of the first players chosen in my team. play him in second row to start the match, then take him off for one of the smaller blokes for a while, then he can come back on as a replacement for Price/Civoniceva.

its no coincidence that as soon as he got injured last year, we started getting smashed and losing every game, then we started winning again as soon as he came back.

i would have:

1. Slater
2. Boyd
3. Inglis
4. Tonga
5. Folau
6. Thurston
7. Cronk
8. Price
9. Smith
10. Civoniceva
11. Kenny
12. Myles
13. Harrison

14. Scott
15. Shillington
16. Undecided
17. Undecided

would need to choose a smaller guy on the bench, and another forward, but none have really stepped up so far off the top of my head. Lockyer, well he shouldnt have been there last year, and he definitely shouldnt be there this year. the Cronk/Inglis/Smith/Slater combination is just too good to ignore, and Lockyers turnstile style of defence just doesnt cut the mustard.

 

[Meat77]

how has only 1 person so far named Nick Kenny in their team? he'd be one of the first players chosen in my team. play him in second row to start the match, then take him off for one of the smaller blokes for a while, then he can come back on as a replacement for Price/Civoniceva.

its no coincidence that as soon as he got injured last year, we started getting smashed and losing every game, then we started winning again as soon as he came back.

I think the answer to this question came to me while I was watching the Under 20's game on Sunday.

Tariq Sims hit the ball up and the commentators remarked on how some players are harder to tackle than others, and with Sims' style of knees and elbows going all over the place, he is in that category of not being particularly easy to tackle.

Then while watching First Grade, I noticed how Nick Kenny's style would make him one of, if not the easiest front rower to tackle in the NRL. He runs with such an upright style that makes him an easy target not just to be tackled but to be dominated a large percentage of the time.

I'm really not sure if he's up to Origin standard - there would be plenty of other options for QLD than him.

 

[gUt]

would need to choose a smaller guy on the bench, and another forward, but none have really stepped up so far off the top of my head.

Stagg or Parker?

 

[Black Philip]

how has only 1 person so far named Nick Kenny in their team? he'd be one of the first players chosen in my team. play him in second row to start the match, then take him off for one of the smaller blokes for a while, then he can come back on as a replacement for Price/Civoniceva.

its no coincidence that as soon as he got injured last year, we started getting smashed and losing every game, then we started winning again as soon as he came back.

I think the answer to this question came to me while I was watching the Under 20's game on Sunday.

Tariq Sims hit the ball up and the commentators remarked on how some players are harder to tackle than others, and with Sims' style of knees and elbows going all over the place, he is in that category of not being particularly easy to tackle.

Then while watching First Grade, I noticed how Nick Kenny's style would make him one of, if not the easiest front rower to tackle in the NRL. He runs with such an upright style that makes him an easy target not just to be tackled but to be dominated a large percentage of the time.

I'm really not sure if he's up to Origin standard - there would be plenty of other options for QLD than him.

+1 I like Nick Kenny, but I reckon he would be dominated in Origin at this stage.

 

[Anonymous person]

lol

if Kenny is so easy to dominate, why doesnt anyone do it at club level? he was outstanding all last year, and started off this year in the same form.

but then again, going by some of your logic, Steve Price should be absolutely useless and get dominated every hit-up in Origin. Same with Civoniceva. We all know that is 100% not true, theyre the BEST forwards for origin because they just run it up hard and fast, and get good play the balls. you dont want your forwards swinging arms and legs around everywhere in origin - you want them going forward and making metres, something that Nick Kenny is one of the best in the league at over the last 12 months.

 

[Black Philip]

It's just an opinion, I just have a suspicion that Kenny is just not quite up to scratch for Origin yet. If he was to play, I would have him off the bench as well.

 

[Anonymous person]

and also, as for this " there would be plenty of other options for QLD than him." - name 2 other actual forwards that QLD have who are capable of carrying a team.

 

[Meat77]

Nick Kenny is capable of carrying a team now? Please...

Kenny is solid - nothing more. He's nowhere near the Price or Civo class so bringing them into the argument is illogical. Without being bothered to look up the stats I would be surprised if his average metres gained per hitup would be anywhere close to the top of the pile.

I don't particularly dislike him but there's no way he should play for QLD yet and to me he isn't really the prop I would want to build the Broncos around either.

 

[Black Philip]

Personally I would have Ben Hannant and Matt Scott before Kenny. Probably Shillington too.

 

[Anonymous person]

he carried us last year. like i said, do you really think its a coincidence that we were going great guns, then he got injured, then we lost nearly EVERY game without him (and by big margins), then he comes back and we start winning again?

if you think he is only a 'solid' player, i have to question what you would call 90% of the other forwards running around.

and again, i ask the question - which other forwards would you choose over him (apart from Civoniceva and Price)? Kenny does the hard work, makes the metres, and is essential to the Broncos if they are to stand any chance of winning the grand final.

you might not put him as a definite, i would. hes been our best forward for 12 months without a shadow of a doubt, and his stats put him up there with price and civoniceva in the go-forward stakes.

oh and im pretty sure you dont need to describe origin to me [icon_lol1. . i kinda like to think i know what origin games are like by now icon_thumbs_u

 

[QUEENSLANDER]

i dont think kenny is up to it tbh

 

[Meat77]

To answer your question Hannant and Shillington would both walk in ahead of him - not Carl Webb though who I'm sure is probably your 16 or 17 that you haven't decided on yet...

And to answer your other question - the NRL is littered with "solid" players. All teams have 10-15 players that I would consider "solid" and nothing more. I mean, the fact is that most of us on here could name our versions of both Origin teams now and be pretty close to the final lineups picked - that would indicate to me that star quality and origin-ready players aren't as thick on the ground as you are implying.

Yes, Kenny has been one of the Broncos better forwards of the last 12 months (I would nominate Thaiday as my pick BTW) but that is probably more of a reflection of the state of the Broncos pack than his performances in my opinion

 

[Anonymous person]

Nope, no Carl Webb for me. Shillington, IMO, has done even less than Kenny. good player, but not as good as Kenny has been.

Hannant will probably end up being the other bench forward in my team, hes a good metre gainer and is a no-frills player. just like Kenny. this year so far they both average around the same metres per hitup (8.9 vs 8.5).

anyways, looks like theres no convincing some of you guys, despite the last 12 months of him being our standout forward, if not player. i guess i shouldnt be surprised when there was no convincing the same people that Steve Michaels wasnt a superstar, Hunt wasnt the best fullback ever, and Shane Perry wasnt the best halfback going around.

 

[Emma]

you might not put him as a definite, i would. hes been our best forward for 12 months without a shadow of a doubt, and his stats put him up there with price and civoniceva in the go-forward stakes.

Really? The stats I found said Kenny averaged 101m a game and 13 hit ups, Hannants were 132.6m with 16 runs, Petero was 139.7m and 17 runs, and Price made 145.1m with 17 runs. In fact, the only club I found that didn't have at least 1 prop with better 'stats' was Newcastle. I'm not saying they're bad averages, but to say it's up there with Price and Petero is a bit off the mark. The average metres per run is close, but it's still less than the other players I've mentioned.

 

[Anonymous person]

average metres per hit-up is the best measure of how theyre going, and like i said and you said - he is right up there with the best in that regard.