Round 1 - Storm vs Manly

[glennb]

I think Hampton will be a fine 6, I only problem with him is his kicking does not have much variety, that will not matter much with Cronk playing with. Widdop's kicking did not have much variety either. I think (as CB said last night) when Hampton runs at the line he is great and he needs to play more like that. I much admit I did not even notice Roberts much during the game. So he might not have done anything bad, but he can not have done anything amazing either. While the out on the full kick by Hampton was bad, DCE also kicked it out on the full. Good players sometimes make mistakes and the kid was playing his 3rd game.

[1999]

If it was Ben Roberts giving away a high tackle penalty with 2 minutes to go or kicking out on the full in his own half in GP extra time you guys would be riding him out of town on a rail, agreed Hampton is young and has more potential, but ATM i would go with Roberts, i may be wrong but thats my thoughts on it, aslong as we keep winning though i dont really care lol

[blazza18]

The high tackle was harsh IMO, we see tackles like that not penalized on a weekly basis. Kicking out on the full happens and I would have been pissed off if anybody kicked it..probably more if Roberts did it though

My philosophy in all the sports I follow is I always prefer the young guy with potential over anything, specially if the other guy is consistently inconsistent as Ben Roberts. And to be honest I can't believe I'm in a debate over Ben freaking Roberts.

[Inglis#3]

Roberts' tackle early in the second half on Hiku which forced the error that lead to Waqa's try was a ripper.

[1999]

Blazza you're letting his reputation cloud your judgement.

Agreed, he put some great tackles on.

[blazza18]

Of course I am, why wouldn't I be ? He's played over 100 games in his career and he's shown himself to be a very inconsistent player who does more bad things than good.

[supercronk]

I think there is a lot of hard work to do before we play Penrith. They are a good side. If we let them get 20 points up there will be no coming back.

[glennb]

Everyone is getting on the Penrith band wagon, but look at the game clearly. Penrith were 8-6 down at half time. Newcastle lost their 1 9 and 7 leaving them with one on the bench and Penrith put on lots of points and won easily. What team in league would be able to win in that situation? I know I said you can only play what is on the play and that is true, so good on the Panthers. But lets see what Penrith can do in against a full strength first grade team. Lets just hope they read the Sydney media all week about how good they and start to think they are unbeatable.

[brisbanestorm]

I think Roberts cops a bit more shit than he deserves. People need to give him a chance playing for the Storm, not for some half arsed park football team. Playing for the Eels of course he was going to make mistakes. He was playing for one of the worst teams ever and all their attack landed on his shoulders (given how often Hayne was injured). Now that he is in a team where he not only isn't the main playmaker but also has effective forwards at his disposal, I think he will be much more consistent. I don't remember him being critisized so heavily when he was at the Bulldogs, and he had a fairly good World Cup with Samoa. I did watch him closely last night and imo his defence was very good. He made some very strong tackles which unfortunately stats aren't going to show. There was nothing wrong with his passing either, and the few times he kicked they were actually better than I expected. I definitely think that Hampton played himself in to a Round 2 jersey, but purely from his 2nd half. His first half was pretty poor. I think Roberts will be a useful back up half during the season and if he is required week after week I have full confidence in him to perform.

[storm77]

I am still not sure why Hinchcliffe is not only in the starting team but even in the top 17. I just feel like the game has passed him by. Surely it would be better if either Harris or KB started.

[glennb]

As much as I like Hinchy I do agree with you a bit. But Craig loves Hinchcliffe, even the players tease him about being the coaches pet. So I think he would have to do a lot wrong to not make the team.

[blazza18]

Hinchy hasn't been the same since his knee injury against Souths early last year. Lost some speed and mobility which is a real shame because he started the year so well. He and Norrie are more workhorse type players than impact, weren't very noticeable last night at all. If we keep getting off to slow starts again, surely Craig will change things up.

[Lucas]

Not too fussed about Hinchy, coming back from an injury he will be better for the run. Norrie wasn't great but is often unfairly maligned on here. Chambers is the one who was really sub par, for me. If he wants to play Origin this year (and he is more than capable) he needs to be producing more than that.

[LESStar58]

Roberts' tackle early in the second half on Hiku which forced the error that lead to Waqa's try was a ripper.

Agreed. Shades of Danny Williams and Craig Smith on Rod Wishart in 1999 grand final

[LESStar58]

I am still not sure why Hinchcliffe is not only in the starting team but even in the top 17. I just feel like the game has passed him by. Surely it would be better if either Harris or KB started.

As long as Griffin is injured Hinchcliffe stays in the 17.