Will Oakes/Moran : Fri Oct 20, 2017 3:22 pm  

I watched the Scotland game this morning and although the team performance was extremely poor, I thought young Oakes stood out. He looked very astute in possession and made some great yards, I think he is ready for first team action in SL now, probably over Shaw (or rotate them week on week and keep the players fresh) , what are your thoughts???

I also heard a rumour that Moran is leaving us, he dropped quite a lot of ball this morning and didn't look quite up to speed at times but still managed to make some good drives at times, should we keep or release?

Re: Will Oakes/Moran : Fri Oct 20, 2017 3:46 pm  

I like Oakes, might possibly be to soon next year for anything other than a few apperances, but certainly expect him to be our first choice winger in a couple of years.

Never been overly impressed with Moran. Think it's best that for his own career he left Rovers, as really can't see him starting or being on the bench at all. And he needs to play games.
That's the reason Milton & Harris have left us. And think it's best for him as well.

Re: Will Oakes/Moran : Fri Oct 20, 2017 3:55 pm  

Although size isn,t everything(so my wife says!) at 101kg(15st 12ibs) and 180cm(5ft 10 and a bit inches) for those not brought up with this metric carp, Moran is small for a Super League prop.
Sheens has said we need some size in the squad,so for me its a no.
Seems harsh but we need some real size and power this time and must avoid being bullied by other teams packs.

Re: Will Oakes/Moran : Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:09 pm  

Moran for me has been left behind this season and even when given the chance has not really stepped up to the plate. I would expect if he has a new club they will want to parade him as their own for the World Cup, so he could be another one released unless he spends another year on loan at York to see how he goes

Re: Will Oakes/Moran : Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:53 pm  

Moran is another of those undersize forwards for his position, which we seem to possess in spades nowadays. Unfortunately on the limited evidence seen so far, he doesn't possess an exceptional skill set to compensate for his size limitations. Can't really see a future for him here if we sign Walne.

Re: Will Oakes/Moran : Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:48 pm  

TheRealist wrote:

I watched the Scotland game this morning and although the team performance was extremely poor, I thought young Oakes stood out. He looked very astute in possession and made some great yards, I think he is ready for first team action in SL now, probably over Shaw (or rotate them week on week and keep the players fresh) , what are your thoughts???

I also heard a rumour that Moran is leaving us, he dropped quite a lot of ball this morning and didn't look quite up to speed at times but still managed to make some good drives at times, should we keep or release?

My thoughts are that at the moment Shaw and Carney are our best two wingers. Oakes has heaps of potential but at 18 he will blossom in SL but not as a regular week after week. Too early for that. Not a good idea to rotate week by week either as players need consistency to produce their best.

Re: Will Oakes/Moran : Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:50 pm  

oakes defence has been all over the place on the video clips I've seen of the COHA. He'd be badly exposed at SL level IMO

Re: Will Oakes/Moran : Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:51 pm  

Oakes for me is good to go now, if you're good enough, you're old enough and I think he is.

I can't even remember who Moran is, so I couldn't give a rat's ass about him.

Re: Will Oakes/Moran : Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:57 pm  

Jake the Peg wrote:

oakes defence has been all over the place on the video clips I've seen of the COHA. He'd be badly exposed at SL level IMO

That's a good point, tbh, I've not seen enough of him to comment on his defence, I don't really remember him looking that bad though.

The problem that we failed to solve for about three and a half years which Sheens did seem to get a handle on over the course of this season has always been our communication between our second rowers and centres. We've had players jamming in or dropping out all over the shop leaving our wingers massively exposed.

Re: Will Oakes/Moran : Fri Oct 20, 2017 6:06 pm  

Jake the Peg wrote:

oakes defence has been all over the place on the video clips I've seen of the COHA. He'd be badly exposed at SL level IMO

I have to disagree. I watched 90 percent of academy games and the only time he looked iffy in defence was when his centre left him exposed and often 3 on 1. No winger can defend that. He looked strong defensively both for the academy and for the first team. I would say a much larger percentage of points were shipped down the opposite edge.

However I agree there is always room for improvement but ‘clips’ don’t show the true picture as you only see tries not general play. IMO shaw is a weaker defender and was exposed at championship level so will be at SL even more.

The question is who will partner JC as he will be the only winger we have that’s a shoe in week after week. Oakes has time to blossom but Shaw has 1 season to prove he is SL standard.