Is the depth of our squad up to scratch?
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mattstormy
- Thunderstorm
- Posts: 612
- Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2011 1:43 am
- Location: Next to the corner post
Just looking back on the season, is Bellyache really doing the right thing by the team? A few others have mentioned in other threads that he is far too reliant on the Big 3 and it is really affecting the depth of the squad. Simply put, without the Big 3 the squad is not up to scratch. For far too long Bellyache has played his favourites over others (Norrie in the front row over McLean, persisting with Fonua until he finally worked out he needed to be dropped etc.). I think Bellyache's recruiting of mainly forwards is going stale (Lagi Setu and Junior Moors were barely seen this year and weren't up to the standard of previous recruits). There is also no depth in the outside backs (all we had this year was injury prone Matt Duffie who only played the first four games before missing the rest of the year with a shoulder and knee injury, Junior Sa'u who was rarely seen and Mahe Fonua who is very inconsistent).
I really think the whole squad needs a wake up call next year and really needs to be able to perform without being spoon fed by the Big 3 every week. Surely Bellyache is wanting the team to be competitive after Billy, Cam and Coops retire and not become a cellar dweller.
I really think the whole squad needs a wake up call next year and really needs to be able to perform without being spoon fed by the Big 3 every week. Surely Bellyache is wanting the team to be competitive after Billy, Cam and Coops retire and not become a cellar dweller.
Indeed, it is a concern. We may have some good players but a lot of it is off the back of what the big 3 are doing. No real game changers. Our depth will always be average with the big 3 on the roster, that's how the staff want to structure our team and I've been fine with it while the team played well, but....
...This is the first year where the overuse of the big 3 has hurt us and Bellamy will need to adapt accordingly. He can't keep picking the same team week in week out and expect them to do something different. I was really annoyed at the lack of game time a few forwards got this year for whatever reason.
Our success next year IMO will come down to who our 5/8th is and our left centre. Both need to bring a bit of x factor to the team. We need to take pressure off Cam, Bill and Coops.
...This is the first year where the overuse of the big 3 has hurt us and Bellamy will need to adapt accordingly. He can't keep picking the same team week in week out and expect them to do something different. I was really annoyed at the lack of game time a few forwards got this year for whatever reason.
Our success next year IMO will come down to who our 5/8th is and our left centre. Both need to bring a bit of x factor to the team. We need to take pressure off Cam, Bill and Coops.
The rest of the team, and squad, need to stand up. That's for sure.
When the rep players are away the rest need to stand up, and when the rep players are there they must equally stand up.
I don't know what happened towards the back end of this season. We just lacked a desire to win. We lacked the enthusiasm often shown by Mahe Fonua
When the rep players are away the rest need to stand up, and when the rep players are there they must equally stand up.
I don't know what happened towards the back end of this season. We just lacked a desire to win. We lacked the enthusiasm often shown by Mahe Fonua
moors garbutt mclean harris will step up next year, im only worried about the center depth. chambers is a lock in, but outside of that im not so sure, waqa will be good there, but the rest i dont know who could be good enough to keep their spots there