Wayne Bennett: Gagai shouldn’t have been sacked

[theshed]

Gagai can cover 1-5.
Gagai stopgap fullback for 1 year wouldn’t be the worst idea.
He did make a name for himself as a fullback while he was here.
Would you rather Jamayne?

qlD jANE

 

[theshed]

It won't be the least of our concerns if we really are moving Staggs. That takes our 'good' Centre stocks down to absolutely zero.

Wash your mouth out. Herbie is a gun.

 

[QLD JANE]

It just highlights where the club has went wrong for the past decade.
If Wayne Bennett was still at the club the likes of Gagai, Fifta , Walsh would more than likely be still here.

 

[Kooly87]

Wash your mouth out. Herbie is a gun.

He's a fairly gun Winger. He's doing a decent job at Centre and hopefully continues to improve there with time, but I'd definitely not consider him a gun in that role at this stage. Even assuming he could become a good Centre, that still only gives us one good Centre and last I checked you need to have two.

 

[WASSHHH]

Wash your mouth out. Herbie is a gun.

Came here to say the same thing. I’ve honestly been triggered

He’s all effort, all focus and is really growing into the role far quicker than you could expect.

We need another 20 odd players that share his desire to be better.

 

[Foordy]

It just highlights where the club has went wrong for the past decade.
If Wayne Bennett was still at the club the likes of Gagai, Fifta , Walsh would more than likely be still here.

Disagree with all of that ...

Fifita - even the great Wayne Bennett doesn't get a guy to sacrifice 500k a year to play under him.

Walsh - Wayne Bennett would never pay the sort of money the Warriors paid for Walsh, to a rookie that has never even played reserve grade footy

Gagai - there is a better than even chance that if Gagai doesn't get sacked by the Broncos, he never becomes the player he is today, as he never starts to take his rugby league career seriously ... he would have bounced around from club to club before finally running out of chances in the NRL and ending up in England

 

[Thelmus]

I think we need to be patient with majority of this side. I can understand the disappointment. We haven't really performed to an acceptable level and lack leadership in the spine.
This, together with an insipid defence that has self-doubt and a lack of leadership from players "learning on the job" has led a perception to "throw everything out and start again".
A new spine is just not an option. We can't afford it for a start, nor is there any guarantee they would perform better.
That said, there are some glaring deficencies.
Milford is treading water at best. He remains one of the few players that can spark things in a moment, but for the past year those moments have been outnumbered by arm grabbing missed tackles, errant kicks, running on the fifth tackle inside our own forty (or just forgetting to be there at all) and surrendering to disspondency when under pressure.
I would drop him tomorrow. Let him play for a halves spot in qld cup.
I'd put karmichael hunt in there in his place. He isn't ideal but there aren't too many options right now.
Turpin needs a back up ASAP. He is being run into the ground. Hethrington, paix or even luke so long as they can keep the consistency for 20 minute spells.
I'd push coates into right centre with an experience winger. I'd also start Teo and push Ricki to the bench.
We need some experience out there. People who can read an attack. Ideally it would be the fullback or halves but short of lockyer finding the fountain of youth I can't see where it would come from.
Ricki has been good at times but he isn't making tackle busts and he isn't giving direction in defence. He probably still plays the majority of the game but I'd start Teo for his leadership and let Ricki work his way in.
Other options are Gamble or Asiata at 5/8. They night work or they might not, but if we are going to gamble I'd feel more confident with karmichael hunt (assuming his party boy days are behind him).
I'd leave Isaako as is. He is limited but he isn't THE problem right now. If you're renovating, start with the roof, rather than muck with the furnishings.

 

[Jedhead]

I think we need to be patient with majority of this side. I can understand the disappointment. We haven't really performed to an acceptable level and lack leadership in the spine.
This, together with an insipid defence that has self-doubt and a lack of leadership from players "learning on the job" has led a perception to "throw everything out and start again".
A new spine is just not an option. We can't afford it for a start, nor is there any guarantee they would perform better.
That said, there are some glaring deficencies.
Milford is treading water at best. He remains one of the few players that can spark things in a moment, but for the past year those moments have been outnumbered by arm grabbing missed tackles, errant kicks, running on the fifth tackle inside our own forty (or just forgetting to be there at all) and surrendering to disspondency when under pressure.
I would drop him tomorrow. Let him play for a halves spot in qld cup.
I'd put karmichael hunt in there in his place. He isn't ideal but there aren't too many options right now.
Turpin needs a back up ASAP. He is being run into the ground. Hethrington, paix or even luke so long as they can keep the consistency for 20 minute spells.
I'd push coates into right centre with an experience winger. I'd also start Teo and push Ricki to the bench.
We need some experience out there. People who can read an attack. Ideally it would be the fullback or halves but short of lockyer finding the fountain of youth I can't see where it would come from.
Ricki has been good at times but he isn't making tackle busts and he isn't giving direction in defence. He probably still plays the majority of the game but I'd start Teo for his leadership and let Ricki work his way in.
Other options are Gamble or Asiata at 5/8. They night work or they might not, but if we are going to gamble I'd feel more confident with karmichael hunt (assuming his party boy days are behind him).
I'd leave Isaako as is. He is limited but he isn't THE problem right now. If you're renovating, start with the roof, rather than muck with the furnishings.

Good post, I like your rationale.

 

[Kooly87]

Came here to say the same thing. I’ve honestly been triggered

He’s all effort, all focus and is really growing into the role far quicker than you could expect.

We need another 20 odd players that share his desire to be better.

Herbie is a great Winger, but don’t confuse effort with execution. He’s doing a decent job at Centre but he’s hardly killing it. In time he might well go to another level in that role though.

He’s a bit like Turpin, all effort and hunger, but Turpin is hardly a gun Dummy Half either, even if he does bust his ass and play well above his weight.

 

[Alec]

Herbie is neither a gun winger or a gun centre, he's still a solid rookie. He needs to be consistently threatening to be a gun IMO.
I think he's got the skills to be a centre though. He actually looks like he's willing to pass the ball!

 

[WASSHHH]

Herbie is a great Winger, but don’t confuse effort with execution. He’s doing a decent job at Centre but he’s hardly killing it. In time he might well go to another level in that role though.

He’s a bit like Turpin, all effort and hunger, but Turpin is hardly a gun Dummy Half either, even if he does bust his ass and play well above his weight.

He’s looked pretty threatening in every game bar the Melbourne game and in two of those games, the rest of the team looked like shit for the most part.

I do agree he’s no Justin Hodges, but he’s also still only a rookie and honestly, nor should / could he be.

He reminds me of a faster, better moving, more skilful Mick De Vere. If that turns out to be right and he has good luck with injuries, he could be a very good player.

 

[pagey]

He’s looked pretty threatening in every game bar the Melbourne game and in two of those games, the rest of the team looked like shit for the most part.

I do agree he’s no Justin Hodges, but he’s also still only a rookie and honestly, nor should / could he be.

He reminds me of a faster, better moving, more skilful Mick De Vere. If that turns out to be right and he has good luck with injuries, he could be a very good player.

So could most of our juniors, it's just some development quicker and some in more demanding positions.
Fans just get rosey glasses for certain ones then hate on the others.

 

[WASSHHH]

So could most of our juniors, it's just some development quicker and some in more demanding positions.
Fans just get rosey glasses for certain ones then hate on the others.

The point was more that he is promising enough to look good in a shit team. It’s far easier to look good in a good team than in a bad team.

But the initial point was that he is all effort, all the time. That’s what impresses me the most about him, hence the De Vere comparison.

 

[Kooly87]

He’s looked pretty threatening in every game bar the Melbourne game and in two of those games, the rest of the team looked like shit for the most part.

I do agree he’s no Justin Hodges, but he’s also still only a rookie and honestly, nor should / could he be.

He reminds me of a faster, better moving, more skilful Mick De Vere. If that turns out to be right and he has good luck with injuries, he could be a very good player.

Exactly, so as I said, he’s currently doing a decent job, might get better with time, but is not a ‘great’ player in that role at this stage.

 

[pagey]

The point was more that he is promising enough to look good in a shit team. It’s far easier to look good in a good team than in a bad team.

But the initial point was that he is all effort, all the time. That’s what impresses me the most about him, hence the De Vere comparison.

I get what you're saying, I too like Herbie and think he has far more skill than De vere.
But might point is saying 1 young guy is better than the other with such a small sample size , and playing in different positions.

 

[QLD JANE]

Disagree with all of that ...

Fifita - even the great Wayne Bennett doesn't get a guy to sacrifice 500k a year to play under him.

Walsh - Wayne Bennett would never pay the sort of money the Warriors paid for Walsh, to a rookie that has never even played reserve grade footy

Gagai - there is a better than even chance that if Gagai doesn't get sacked by the Broncos, he never becomes the player he is today, as he never starts to take his rugby league career seriously ... he would have bounced around from club to club before finally running out of chances in the NRL and ending up in England

I have to disagree with you there. The talented players you just find a way to keep them. If Bennett sacked every player that were bad trainers we would’ve missed out being entertained by the likes of Sailor, Renouf, Hodges...

I was listening to a podcast with Anthony Watmough the other week. He mentioned how him and the older boys used to take pay cuts just so they can keep the squad together. Success was more important than money. Once DCE started making a name for himself he wanted the big bucks and wasn’t willing to play for unders. This pissed off Watmough and the Stewart brothers which cause a divide in the group.
Manly haven’t recovered since.

The point is clubs with good culture, players are willing to take less. If Bennett was still here, he would find a way to keep them.
It is much easier to say no to inexperienced coaches like Seibold and Walters. I highly doubt young talents like Fifta and Walsh would be chasing big coin so early in their careers if Bennett was around to develop their games.

 

[Super Freak]

Resurrecting a 4 year old thread just to start up another Bennett debate..

 

[Super Freak]

I highly doubt young talents like Fifta and Walsh would be chasing big coin so early in their careers if Bennett was around to develop their games.

Considering Walsh left for more than money, that’s doubtful.

But what do you base this on? I mean, he just lost someone who is regarded as a huge talent. The lure of being coached by Bennett didn’t seem to matter then..