The Wayne Bennett Super thread!

[Huge]

No AP....just list the players who are rep players and justify the statement that WB has THE MOST rep players to choose from. I think that's a crock of course ! WB has an old team only one or two current players who could be considered for a rep team. Yes, there are afew ex rep players there but nowhere near as many as other teams. It's just too hard to give WB any credit even when he does more with less.

 

[Broncoman]

AP who are exactly all of these Rep players you go on about not counting city-country.

Boyd - Current
McManus - Played 1 origin 4 years ago
Uate - Hasn't played this year but would be the first choice winger when in form
Mullen - Played one 1 origin years ago
Snowden - Hasn't played for a couple of years but would be considered when in form
Buderus - Was once a regular years ago but will never play again
Mason - Unlikely to get another go
Scott - Hasn't been considered this year
Smith - Hasn't played for New Zealand this year but is usually picked
Gower - Was a regular years ago but will never come close again
Costigan - May have played Origin but is past his best
Gidley - Current

Only 2 of their players have played rep footy this year as Boyd and Gidley are automatics selections and only another 3 would be currently considered when in form (Uate, Snowden and Smith). Players like Mason, Buderus and Gower were once test and origin regulars but they are 34 and 35 and are past their best and won't come close to playing at that level again.

 

[Anonymous person]

Why aren't you counting the representative city vs country match players? Does playing in a rep match not count as being a rep player now?

 

[Big Pete]

oh right, forgot that the second youre not in the current team youre not a rep player. guess darren lockyer isnt a rep player. unlucky darren.

By this logic Noel Kelly is still a better player than the majority of the competition.

Still an Australian representative am I right? Ben Barbara has nothing on him.

 

[Buzz Killington]

City Country is a glorified trial game.

 

[Big Pete]

James Tedesco > Ben Barba. :laugh:

 

[Buzz Killington]

Curtis Sironen is a current rep player by that.logic as well...

 

[Broncoman]

Because it isn't comparable to Origin and Internationals in any way shape or form. Those kind of matches are played at full intensity in front of sold out stadiums and watched by thousands on TV while city-country this year was played in front of around 5,000 people on a local oval at Coffs Harbour.

 

[Huge]

It was just a ridiculous claim to start with. Most other teams have as many if not several more rep players than Newcastle have. We could learn a lot from the way WB has structured his team and Id certainly like to swap positions on the ladder. Not too bad from a coach who has been left behind by the modern game !

 

[Kimlo]

It was just a ridiculous claim to start with. Most other teams have as many if not several more rep players than Newcastle have. We could learn a lot from the way WB has structured his team and Id certainly like to swap positions on the ladder. Not too bad from a coach who has been left behind by the modern game !

If Manly and the Sharks lose next week Newcastle will be in the top 4.

 

[Porthoz]

If Manly and the Sharks lose next week Newcastle will be in the top 4.

And yet, despite everything, I don't think they're better than us. :001_rolleyes:

 

[Kimlo]

And yet, despite everything, I don't think they're better than us. :001_rolleyes:

Really? I think they're a clear level above. I'd say we're in the bottom 6 this year as far as team capability.

 

[Ari Gold]

Wayne Bennett

And yet, despite everything, I don't think they're better than us. :001_rolleyes:

Everyone is better than us.

Well, maybe not Parra or the Dragons, but pretty much everyone else is.

 

[Kimlo]

I think you're way too optimistic if you think we're even a remotely decent team, Porthoz. The only teams we've beat this year are St Merge, Tigers, Gold Coast and the Cowboys. Titans aside, the other 3 teams have all been rubbish this year. Read that second sentence again.

I'm not trying to be negative BTW, but it is what it is, we're a terrible team this year, the only thing that would change my mind on that is if we win 7 or 8 out of the next 8 games and at least get past week 1 of the finals.

 

[Porthoz]

I don't think so, not at all. But that's for another thread...

 

[Anonymous person]

Because it isn't comparable to Origin and Internationals in any way shape or form. Those kind of matches are played at full intensity in front of sold out stadiums and watched by thousands on TV while city-country this year was played in front of around 5,000 people on a local oval at Coffs Harbour.

it doesnt matter if it is or isnt comparable to origin or internationals, its still a rep match. the NRL count it, so should you.

It was just a ridiculous claim to start with. Most other teams have as many if not several more rep players than Newcastle have. We could learn a lot from the way WB has structured his team and Id certainly like to swap positions on the ladder. Not too bad from a coach who has been left behind by the modern game !

its not a ridiculous claim, its the truth. the knights have the most rep players in their top 17, and i think 25, out of any team in the league.

and again with the "newcastle are going so well this year, wayne bennett is proving hes the best coach" talk lol. theyve won 50% of their matches, equal with 10th on points, only 2 wins above 14th (and 2 wins above the broncos, with a vastly better roster). theyre going pretty well, but theyre hardly the poster boy for a great team or a greatly coached team.

 

[Huge]

As usual AP it appears you have misread my posts. I really haven't written WB is ' the best coach ' merely that he is still coaching well. All I highlight is that he is able to inspire and is up with the modern game and far from being a dinosaur . Although your argument that he has a great roster is debatable he really only has a couple of players any reasonable person would consider capable of playing in any rep team selected at this point in time. I like to think WB has lost little over the years and certainly in comparison to most his record since leaving Brisbane is still very good. I'm not sure what your dislike of him is based on but I respect your right to differ.

 

[OXY-351]

its not a ridiculous claim, its the truth. the knights have the most rep players in their top 17, and i think 25, out of any team in the league.

This may well be the case, although rep player <> good player, especially if they aren't even current rep players and haven't been for some time, and even more so if those rep matches weren't played for either QLD, NSW or Aus. Sure other matches such a test matches and city-country are counted as rep matches, but lets be honest, getting a run in the city-country game at a time when NSW haven't even won an origin for 7 years is hardly a comparable feat to making it in the australian team.