Storm v Raiders trial Sat Feb 8th, AAMI Park 5.30pm
Exactly. Of those signing autographs and therefore not playing, you could make the following lineup: 1.Slater 2.Waqa 3.Chambers 4.Hoffman 5.Robinson 6.Smith 7.Cronk 8.J.Bromwich 9.Hinchcliffe 10.Norrie 11.Moors 12.Glasby 13.K.Bromwich - not completely implausible that with and in game injury or two this 13 could actually be on the park for us at some point although admittedly unlikely. So I'm not concerned.Go Storm wrote:Just remember folks, this was a trial. Some of those players will not play first grade this year, and there were no real set plays with a 7-man bench and at least 9 regular first graders missing (Slater, Waqa, Chambers, Hoffman, Hinchcliffe, & Bromwich bros)
The only real Storm experience we had out there was Proctor, O'Neill and Duffie (looking a bit rusty but he'll be much better for the run) and then there were a handful of experienced recruits - Rose, Weston and Roberts. I can't think of anybody else out these who would've had more than 25-30 games experience including rep fixtures such as Indigenous All Stars or World Cup games.
Of those who did play -
Munster - showed a lot of promise with his runs on kick returns and a nice spectacular take with two hands over head moving backwards off a kick that was travelling. Wasn't really tested with a bomb but, fought for every metre and cleaned up nicely in defence a time or two. Looking forward to seeing more of him.
Tonumaipeia - his running from dummy half was damaging. Threatened to break the line all day and scored a well deserved try - hasn't done his chances any harm at all.
O'Neill - Was solid but unspectacular. Still not convinced of him at centre - but, didn't let us down and actually closed down a couple of plays that looked a bit dangerous - probably done enough - just - to get the gig for round 1.
Fonua - his first touch was awful and he gave away a silly penalty later but, in between that he was the damaging little ball of muscle we all love. Sent a defender or two reeling and really hits the line hard with ball in hand, may still be a bolter for rd 1 if Bellamy decides Duffie is too underdone.
Duffie - rusty. He'll be better for the run but, I hope Bellamy doesn't rush him back for the sake of it and only plays him rd 1 if he's ready. He needs time to find the pace of the game again after so long out and so many injuries but, showed glimpses of form in there that gave a lot of hope that he can again be the damaging player he was.
Hampton - has he locked down the 5/8 position after yesterday? Despite being one of our best, unbelievably I still think it's a race in two as Walker was up there also. Laid on a great try for Proctor, caused a line drop out when his kick stopped 3mm inside the touch line and was unlucky that his earlier kick didn't bounce sideways or he would've had a 40/20 as well. Defence was solid also.
Walker - was an animal in defence, regularly chasing to make a second and a third tackle in a row. Solid with ball in hand although he didn't get a lot of opportunities at our end to show us what he can do and his kicking looks good too.
McLean - ran hard and straight all day - what we're coming to expect from him. Will definitely play round 1 in my opinion and may even start if he can keep this up.
Romelo - looked good at hooker both defensively and in attack but looked lost at five eighth. Brought good energy to the park though and may be vying with Griffin for a spot on the bench as utility should Bellamy choose to go that way again.
Rose - started slowly but then built into the game. He is a monster with ball in hand and I can definitely see why we have recruited him. Defensively, he put on a couple of nice shots as well..
Harris - solid hit out from the boy. Didn't set the world on fire but, made his tackles and ran hard and straight at the line. I would like to see him start at lock this year with hinchy to the bench.
Proctor - I would assume he was probably captain yesterday but, I haven't heard anything official. Scored a nice try and looked dangerous when he had the ball. His usual hungry self in defence.
Garbutt - put on one of the plays of the day when Canberra made a break down their left hand side and tried to grubber it infield to some unmarked players. Garbutt got his foot to it and kicked it backwards, then dived on the ball, came up with no hand on him and made another 2 metres. backed up moments later for another run too. I expect to see him play a few games this year and could definitely hurt a few teams if they underestimate him.
Weston - solid but, didn't set the world on fire. I thought he was in Disneyland at one point but, he came back on for a couple more stints. May play round 1 but, don't count on it.
Griffin - good energy out of dummy half and chasing the ball in defence. Looked to be moving freely and be over his knee injury, I think he will play for New Zealand one day.
Roberts - was not impressed at all, his kick out on the full under no pressure just made me wonder why he's here.
Mann - showed something in limited game time, a player of the future and who knows, may get a run later in the year if injury strikes or during origin.
Lodge - didn't set the world on fire, but, didn't stuff up that I noticed either - will play NSW cup or Qld cup this year and may be ready for fg next year.
Kaufusi - made two line breaks - one of which he fumbled, I suspect due to the shock of how easily he got through. Was good defensively and I can see him playing fg this year if things go his way.
Kennar - looks good, I've been a wrap for him for a while now and I hope to see him take that next step up and become a fg regular - could be the best of the three Victorian boys who played yesterday (others are Tonumaipeia and Fonua).
Hunt - that fg game for the Titans last year has obviously taught him that he can play to the standard as he looks a lot better since it in my opinion. Scored a nice try on the end of some good team play and hasn't done himself any harm.
Welch - was all right. Will be better for the run and may learn what he has to do to reach the next level.
Kennedy - limited time but same as Welch in terms of impact and what he'll learn from it.
Finua-Puaka - made some strange schoolboy errors and I suspect he was very nervous to be out there. Needs to go back and work on his ball handling.
Jensen - was a bit up and down. Didn't get on until the last quarter and struggled to find his rhythm. Some good work saving loose balls at the back but, limited chances to show anything in attack.
Someone else played as there were 26 announced pre-game - but I don't remember who it was - probably one of the under 20s who got limited time.
A good summary Mattpoet. Proctor was captain they spoke to him at the end of the game when they presented Community Cup (or similar) to Josh McCrone. I thought Roberts was solid enough apart from the kick on the full. He had a hand in two of our tries.
OK so with all of that in mind, as of now what would your first round team look like.Mattpoet wrote:Exactly. Of those signing autographs and therefore not playing, you could make the following lineup: 1.Slater 2.Waqa 3.Chambers 4.Hoffman 5.Robinson 6.Smith 7.Cronk 8.J.Bromwich 9.Hinchcliffe 10.Norrie 11.Moors 12.Glasby 13.K.Bromwich - not completely implausible that with and in game injury or two this 13 could actually be on the park for us at some point although admittedly unlikely. So I'm not concerned.Go Storm wrote:Just remember folks, this was a trial. Some of those players will not play first grade this year, and there were no real set plays with a 7-man bench and at least 9 regular first graders missing (Slater, Waqa, Chambers, Hoffman, Hinchcliffe, & Bromwich bros)
The only real Storm experience we had out there was Proctor, O'Neill and Duffie (looking a bit rusty but he'll be much better for the run) and then there were a handful of experienced recruits - Rose, Weston and Roberts. I can't think of anybody else out these who would've had more than 25-30 games experience including rep fixtures such as Indigenous All Stars or World Cup games.
Of those who did play -
Munster - showed a lot of promise with his runs on kick returns and a nice spectacular take with two hands over head moving backwards off a kick that was travelling. Wasn't really tested with a bomb but, fought for every metre and cleaned up nicely in defence a time or two. Looking forward to seeing more of him.
Tonumaipeia - his running from dummy half was damaging. Threatened to break the line all day and scored a well deserved try - hasn't done his chances any harm at all.
O'Neill - Was solid but unspectacular. Still not convinced of him at centre - but, didn't let us down and actually closed down a couple of plays that looked a bit dangerous - probably done enough - just - to get the gig for round 1.
Fonua - his first touch was awful and he gave away a silly penalty later but, in between that he was the damaging little ball of muscle we all love. Sent a defender or two reeling and really hits the line hard with ball in hand, may still be a bolter for rd 1 if Bellamy decides Duffie is too underdone.
Duffie - rusty. He'll be better for the run but, I hope Bellamy doesn't rush him back for the sake of it and only plays him rd 1 if he's ready. He needs time to find the pace of the game again after so long out and so many injuries but, showed glimpses of form in there that gave a lot of hope that he can again be the damaging player he was.
Hampton - has he locked down the 5/8 position after yesterday? Despite being one of our best, unbelievably I still think it's a race in two as Walker was up there also. Laid on a great try for Proctor, caused a line drop out when his kick stopped 3mm inside the touch line and was unlucky that his earlier kick didn't bounce sideways or he would've had a 40/20 as well. Defence was solid also.
Walker - was an animal in defence, regularly chasing to make a second and a third tackle in a row. Solid with ball in hand although he didn't get a lot of opportunities at our end to show us what he can do and his kicking looks good too.
McLean - ran hard and straight all day - what we're coming to expect from him. Will definitely play round 1 in my opinion and may even start if he can keep this up.
Romelo - looked good at hooker both defensively and in attack but looked lost at five eighth. Brought good energy to the park though and may be vying with Griffin for a spot on the bench as utility should Bellamy choose to go that way again.
Rose - started slowly but then built into the game. He is a monster with ball in hand and I can definitely see why we have recruited him. Defensively, he put on a couple of nice shots as well..
Harris - solid hit out from the boy. Didn't set the world on fire but, made his tackles and ran hard and straight at the line. I would like to see him start at lock this year with hinchy to the bench.
Proctor - I would assume he was probably captain yesterday but, I haven't heard anything official. Scored a nice try and looked dangerous when he had the ball. His usual hungry self in defence.
Garbutt - put on one of the plays of the day when Canberra made a break down their left hand side and tried to grubber it infield to some unmarked players. Garbutt got his foot to it and kicked it backwards, then dived on the ball, came up with no hand on him and made another 2 metres. backed up moments later for another run too. I expect to see him play a few games this year and could definitely hurt a few teams if they underestimate him.
Weston - solid but, didn't set the world on fire. I thought he was in Disneyland at one point but, he came back on for a couple more stints. May play round 1 but, don't count on it.
Griffin - good energy out of dummy half and chasing the ball in defence. Looked to be moving freely and be over his knee injury, I think he will play for New Zealand one day.
Roberts - was not impressed at all, his kick out on the full under no pressure just made me wonder why he's here.
Mann - showed something in limited game time, a player of the future and who knows, may get a run later in the year if injury strikes or during origin.
Lodge - didn't set the world on fire, but, didn't stuff up that I noticed either - will play NSW cup or Qld cup this year and may be ready for fg next year.
Kaufusi - made two line breaks - one of which he fumbled, I suspect due to the shock of how easily he got through. Was good defensively and I can see him playing fg this year if things go his way.
Kennar - looks good, I've been a wrap for him for a while now and I hope to see him take that next step up and become a fg regular - could be the best of the three Victorian boys who played yesterday (others are Tonumaipeia and Fonua).
Hunt - that fg game for the Titans last year has obviously taught him that he can play to the standard as he looks a lot better since it in my opinion. Scored a nice try on the end of some good team play and hasn't done himself any harm.
Welch - was all right. Will be better for the run and may learn what he has to do to reach the next level.
Kennedy - limited time but same as Welch in terms of impact and what he'll learn from it.
Finua-Puaka - made some strange schoolboy errors and I suspect he was very nervous to be out there. Needs to go back and work on his ball handling.
Jensen - was a bit up and down. Didn't get on until the last quarter and struggled to find his rhythm. Some good work saving loose balls at the back but, limited chances to show anything in attack.
Someone else played as there were 26 announced pre-game - but I don't remember who it was - probably one of the under 20s who got limited time.
Assuming Slater is fit and Cronk is not our round one team should look something like this:
1. Slater
2. Waqa
3. Chambers
4. O'Neill
5. Duffie / Tonumaipea (if Duffie not match fit)
6. Hampton
7. Walker
8. J. Bromwich
9. Smith
10. McLean
11. Proctor
12. Hoffman
13. Harris
14. Rose
15. Garbutt
16. Norrie / Moors / Kaufusi / Weston / K. Bromwich
17. Hinchcliffe / Romelo
I have a feeling Hinchy will be at lock so Tohu on bench unfortunately. Craig may also start Noz. Dont think we need both Hinchy and Romelo but that didn't stop Craig from playing both Hinchy and Slade last year. Plus the disaster v Raiders (I think) where both Blair and Finch were on the bench.
1. Slater
2. Waqa
3. Chambers
4. O'Neill
5. Duffie / Tonumaipea (if Duffie not match fit)
6. Hampton
7. Walker
8. J. Bromwich
9. Smith
10. McLean
11. Proctor
12. Hoffman
13. Harris
14. Rose
15. Garbutt
16. Norrie / Moors / Kaufusi / Weston / K. Bromwich
17. Hinchcliffe / Romelo
I have a feeling Hinchy will be at lock so Tohu on bench unfortunately. Craig may also start Noz. Dont think we need both Hinchy and Romelo but that didn't stop Craig from playing both Hinchy and Slade last year. Plus the disaster v Raiders (I think) where both Blair and Finch were on the bench.
It might be a little early for a couple of players but this is how I would line up round 1 if everyone is available.
1. Slater 2. Waqa 3. O'Neill 4. Chambers 5. Tonumaipea 6. Hampton 7. Cronk 8. J.Bromwich 9. Smith 10. McLean 11. Hoffman 12. Hoffman 13. Harris 14. Hinchcliffe 15. Garbutt 16. Kaufusi 17. Rose
Our backrow is very workmen like so I'd like the frontrow rotation to bring impact both starting and off the bench. Kaufusi really impressed me yesterday with his defence early and being able to break the line, if he can keep that up he'll see plenty of time in FG.
But....More than likely Norrie/Hinchy will start, McLean/Harris will go to the bench and Kaufusi will spend most of the year in reserve grade.
I went Young over Duffie just because I think he'll be able to pick up more metres for us, hits the line better and runs hard n straight which we need from out wingers. O'Neill is a concern for me in the centres, I'll put him on a short leash. I wouldn't mind seeing Sisa have a crack in the centres if Juzzy doesn't lift his game.
1. Slater 2. Waqa 3. O'Neill 4. Chambers 5. Tonumaipea 6. Hampton 7. Cronk 8. J.Bromwich 9. Smith 10. McLean 11. Hoffman 12. Hoffman 13. Harris 14. Hinchcliffe 15. Garbutt 16. Kaufusi 17. Rose
Our backrow is very workmen like so I'd like the frontrow rotation to bring impact both starting and off the bench. Kaufusi really impressed me yesterday with his defence early and being able to break the line, if he can keep that up he'll see plenty of time in FG.
But....More than likely Norrie/Hinchy will start, McLean/Harris will go to the bench and Kaufusi will spend most of the year in reserve grade.
I went Young over Duffie just because I think he'll be able to pick up more metres for us, hits the line better and runs hard n straight which we need from out wingers. O'Neill is a concern for me in the centres, I'll put him on a short leash. I wouldn't mind seeing Sisa have a crack in the centres if Juzzy doesn't lift his game.
