Re: Starting line up : Sun Jan 24, 2021 9:10 pm  

Mable_Syrup wrote:

Jowitt
Johnstone
Tupou
Lyne
Hampshire
Miller
Lino
Arona
K. Wood
Battye
Batchelor
Tanginoa
Westerman

Fifita
Tangata/Green
Pitts
Crowther

Crowther to hooker when needed but I’d love him to have a run at loose.

Looks so much better with battye in there

Re: Starting line up : Sun Jan 24, 2021 9:18 pm  

BarnsleyGull wrote:

TBH, everyone's place should be.
But I don't think that you could put Joe - as much as I think he's a good centre - in front of Bill to start the season.
...It would also be nice if the players names were spelt correctly.....

I agree, nobodies place in the 17 should be nailed on and i am sure thats how things work at most clubs regardless of what some fans seem to think, I'm not sure why anyone would single Bill out, although he hasn't been in the form of his life he has also been carrying niggling injuries and I dont think he has been terrible or particularly stood out as a poor performer.

Re: Starting line up : Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:46 pm  

our quota players should not be on the bench

Re: Starting line up : Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:50 pm  

Where should they be?

Re: Starting line up : Mon Jan 25, 2021 8:04 am  

BarnsleyGull wrote:

TBH, everyone's place should be.
But I don't think that you could put Joe - as much as I think he's a good centre - in front of Bill to start the season.
...It would also be nice if the players names were spelt correctly.....

Agree.

There are two issues in play here.

One is easy, Bill starts, end of IMHO. His form is not great but he has match fitness and some form. Joe has not played for a year and only just returned to full training. To me, he's actually behind Croft though I can't see CC seeing it that way, Arundel is literally a non-starter unless Bill or Reece get injured.

Two, whose the best centre. Personally, I believe Arundel is the best at the club though it's marginal with Reece. That's not the same as the better player by the way. The problem for me with Bill is that he's a converted winger and a fairly late convert, unlike Reece. This shows in his play, he's a devastating and exciting player on his day but his style is hard to maintain through a whole season. For all the thrills he offers he's not a classic centre. Every bone in his body tells him that when he receives the ball he should put his head down, hold onto the ball for dear life and head for the try line. Passing the ball is an afterthought for Bill and always will be. That's why IMO TJ never gets any real space, by the time Bill decides to pass the chance has usually gone.

Sometimes Bill is impossible to defend against but often he's actually pretty easy. He scores a fair few but how many does he stop his winger getting?

Joe is an out and out centre and a wingers dream, his only mission is to draw the opposition centre/winger in and then release the ball ASAP and he does this 10meters in not two!

The question here for me is balancing the team and it's a coaches dilemma. Sure play Joe and you lose Bills tries but TJ will get far more chances and even if he can't turn them all into points the extra yardage would be invaluable. To me, I think the opposition will dictate. Arm wrestles will require Bill, the weaker the opposition then for me Joe is the one to release our number one weapon.

[PopTart]

Re: Starting line up : Mon Jan 25, 2021 9:36 am  

I agree on all counts Vasty.
It would be hard to drop Bill but Arundel is a great wingers centre.

I guess the way we play it is we have two strike runners down that wing. The opposition don't know who to defend so the miss out ball works really well.

The key to me is to get the ball there quickly. Last season we were really slow passing which meant those that rushed us shut us down in the middle and those that slide pushed us to the point where TJ could only score with his spectacular out of play dives.

Quicker movement of ball will mean more tries for all on the left. Lino is important to that but the distribution from Hooker is crucial.

If you watch Roby, the Sts players can stand 10 yards further out and get it right to hands. No having to jump up to catch it like us.

Re: Starting line up : Mon Jan 25, 2021 10:02 am  

I actually agree with vasty while billy is the better player joe is the better centre.billy needs to get back to the fkrm of 2018 for me he didnt show anything like that last year but should be given benifit of the doubt after coming back from a long injury in a disrupted season so to start with biily at first is probally the right way to go .if bill doesnt perform in the first few weeks then joe should be given a chance maybe even drop bill to wing.but that should be the same with all players dont perform dont play

Re: Starting line up : Mon Jan 25, 2021 2:00 pm  

Give Bill a break .He came back from a bad injury just like Joe Arundel .So where is the proof that Joe is going to go any better in his first season back than Bill .The main point was made by Pop Tart it's how fast you can get the ball out to your centres ,wingers to give them more room.Hope the signing of a new scrum half and a new coaching staff will have improved this problem.Last year it was shocking

Re: Starting line up : Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:42 am  

Is josh wood fit ? If he is he replaces crowther

Re: Starting line up : Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:42 am  

alegend wrote:

Give Bill a break .He came back from a bad injury just like Joe Arundel .So where is the proof that Joe is going to go any better in his first season back than Bill .The main point was made by Pop Tart it's how fast you can get the ball out to your centres ,wingers to give them more room.Hope the signing of a new scrum half and a new coaching staff will have improved this problem.Last year it was shocking

Absolutely right.