In all fairness I voted Herbie by default. If Oates, Staggs, or Cobbo played consistently through out the year I think I probably would’ve given any of them the nod.
The options were:
Isaako: dropped
Oates: not selected until mid season due to poor form previously
Niu: dropped from centre, hit and miss at fullback, didn’t play large parts of the season
Cobbo: only played half a dozen games in two positions
Staggs: injured
Coates: dropped for most the season
Mead: dropped
Halves: clusterfuck
Herbie was given 20 games to show what he could do in the centres. He made a lot of commotion, but it amounted to very little on the scoreboard.
He looked okay, particularly in defence and hitting it up like a forward, but once Staggs returned it became glaringly obvious he's not a ball playing centre or a try scoring machine, and if he wants to be one he needs to dramatically broaden his skillset with the ball.
If you want proof that Herbie isn't a centre, watch Staggs. Shit happens every time he touches the ball. And players around him should expect he'll set them up.
A good first grade centre should have excellent ball skills. He should be able to pass right and left running at full pace. His everyday passes will hit the chest hard and straight. He's a specialist at drawing two men and creating an overlap. He will instinctively understand his wingers, verging on telepathically. He will be solid under the high ball, and be able to catch bad passes from his halves on the trot.
A great centre will have freakish ball skills, with a wide repertoire of improbable trick shots up his sleeve. He runs diagonally. Overlaps are his bread and butter. This defines his position. All great centres are ball playing freaks who specialize in making wingers look stupid.
Herbie is not at the level I would call a "good" centre, let alone a "great' one. He's an enthusiastic footballer, has fairly safe hands, better than average footwork, excellent goalkicking, a decent kicking game, but his passing skills are so limited he is an impediment in the backline. Unfortunately, the same applies to fullback.
Jesse Arthars is adequate, maybe verging on a good centre. He's a better centre than Herbie. But Herbie is better footballer looking for somewhere he fits.
I'll be surprised if Herbie is moved from the centres in the first few rounds next year, but I'll be even more surprised if he's still there at the end of the season. Unless he stacks his toolbox in the meantime.
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