Ikin: Hoffman Titan's No.1 option

[Titan4Life]

Ikin: Hoffman Titans' No.1 option
By Tony Webeck, Chief Queensland Correspondent
NRL.com
6:00pm Tue 25th November, 2014



Josh Hoffman has joined the Titans with an eye already on the fullback position on a permanent basis.
Call him a Broncos discard if you will but Fox Sports commentator Ben Ikin believes Josh Hoffman is a valuable addition to the Gold Coast Titans roster and that coach Neil Henry should waste little time in making him fullback.

Having arrived on the Gold Coast for the first time as a Titan on Monday, Hoffman fronted up to join his new teammates for his first day of pre-season training on Tuesday despite only returning from Four Nations commitments with New Zealand a week earlier.

Hoffman failed to see any game-time throughout the course of the tournament and joins Gold Coast seeking to re-establish his credentials as a first-class NRL fullback.

A Kiwi Test representative on five occasions to date, Hoffman has played 73 of his 109 career NRL games in the No.1 jersey at Brisbane but had to wait until Round 19 before he was selected at fullback. With the off-season acquisitions of Anthony Milford and now Darius Boyd, it became clear that he would be given little opportunity to play there in future by coach Wayne Bennett.

Just hours after Boyd was welcomed back to Brisbane on Monday, Hoffman was unveiled as the Titans' most significant signing since Dave Taylor two years ago and Ikin is adamant he should be preferred over both William Zillman and David Mead when Henry names his team for Round 1.

"I really like Josh Hoffman as a player," Ikin told NRL.com. "Will Zillman has been one of those guys who has promised a lot and delivered in patches. There's no doubting his talent but he just hasn't become the tier one fullback that we all hoped he would. He'll still make a great contribution to the Titans wherever he plays but Josh Hoffman is a pretty busy fullback.

"I think he comes in the same mould as Sharks fullback) Michael Gordon. Not a great creator for others but has a real good sense of opportunity and fantastic running game so I think he's a great pick-up for the Gold Coast.

"If there's a weakness in his game it's that he's not a great passer of the football but Neil Henry's a smart enough coach to understand what kind of fullback they've got.

"What you've got is a No.1 who is going to turn up and throw everything into his game each week. He knows how to inject himself, where to inject himself, he's good on the edge, particularly strong through the middle third if you're going to use him for any of those ruck plays and he'll combine well with(five-eighth) Aidan Sezer.

"I think he's the No.1 choice and he's a good pick-up, particularly considering how late they got him."

The 26-year-old was reportedly close to leaving the Broncos prior to the start of the 2014 season following the club's recruitment of Bulldogs fullback Ben Barba before going on to play his first 15 games of the year at five-eighth.

He and his young family will continue to live in Brisbane and he says he holds no ill feelings towards the Broncos, instead preferring to focus on achieving some lofty goals with his new club.

"I've been at the Broncos since the first year of under-20s and it was a big decision to make, being at the club for that long," Hoffman said. "I was very happy and grateful at the time that Wayne gave me the opportunity to explore other clubs and I'm glad I got the opportunity to stay in Brisbane.

"There's no ill feeling with the Broncos. They've given me this opportunity and all I can be is grateful to the Broncos and Wayne and I'm very happy at the moment.

"I'm very happy with how everything was handled and it was very professional and I'm looking forward to the years to come and making a home here at the Titans and hopefully winning a premiership.

"I'm just looking to hopefully one day win a premiership and I'm hoping that will be with the Gold Coast Titans. That's something that I've got in mind, maybe winning a premiership and hopefully I can do it with the playing group that's here now."

Ikin's endorsement will come as a blow to Zillman who was forced to come back in the centres from injury when David Mead parlayed a cameo stint at the back into a Country Origin jersey.

Zillman has played fullback for the Titans on more occasions than any other player in the club's history but is now looking likely to be shifted into the centres to accommodate Hoffman's arrival.

Mead's taste of life at the back also left him wanting more and led to reports that he was looking to exit the club in search of a permanent fullback position elsewhere, despite the fact he is contracted to the Titans through until the end of the 2016 season.

- - - Updated - - -

So judging by a few articles I have read, we may be looking at:
1. Hoffman
2. Don
3. Roberts
4. Zillman
5. Mead

Not too bad in my opinion.

Hoffman is a solid runner of the footy and a great defender. If we can work on his passing game, then he will be a star.

Don is an obvious choice and should be our first picked every week. Solid in every game.

Roberts is a dangerous centre and our lethal weapon out wide. Hopefully he can build on 2014 and become a more all round centre.

Zillman is an interesting one. While I agree he has not been up to standard for the last few years, he has suffered under the coaching of Cartwright and co. Definitely not our fullback but could be an alright centre ONLY IF HE WORKS ON HIS RUNNING GAME AND DEFENSE (we don't want a repeat of the Broncos game this year with the knock out). If Henry puts him there in round 1, I will give him a few games but if he doesn't perform, replace him with Ahwang/Crampton.

Mead is another obvious choice. He is a very good player whether he is fullback or on the wing. Should definitely be our back up fullback but not first choice ahead of Hoffman. As long as he is in the side, I am happy.

[teke]

I wonder who Andrew Johns and Fitler think should be our fb

[Hail Sezer]

Ikin: Hoffman Titans' No.1 option
By Tony Webeck, Chief Queensland Correspondent
NRL.com
6:00pm Tue 25th November, 2014



Josh Hoffman has joined the Titans with an eye already on the fullback position on a permanent basis.
Call him a Broncos discard if you will but Fox Sports commentator Ben Ikin believes Josh Hoffman is a valuable addition to the Gold Coast Titans roster and that coach Neil Henry should waste little time in making him fullback.

Having arrived on the Gold Coast for the first time as a Titan on Monday, Hoffman fronted up to join his new teammates for his first day of pre-season training on Tuesday despite only returning from Four Nations commitments with New Zealand a week earlier.

Hoffman failed to see any game-time throughout the course of the tournament and joins Gold Coast seeking to re-establish his credentials as a first-class NRL fullback.

A Kiwi Test representative on five occasions to date, Hoffman has played 73 of his 109 career NRL games in the No.1 jersey at Brisbane but had to wait until Round 19 before he was selected at fullback. With the off-season acquisitions of Anthony Milford and now Darius Boyd, it became clear that he would be given little opportunity to play there in future by coach Wayne Bennett.

Just hours after Boyd was welcomed back to Brisbane on Monday, Hoffman was unveiled as the Titans' most significant signing since Dave Taylor two years ago and Ikin is adamant he should be preferred over both William Zillman and David Mead when Henry names his team for Round 1.

"I really like Josh Hoffman as a player," Ikin told NRL.com. "Will Zillman has been one of those guys who has promised a lot and delivered in patches. There's no doubting his talent but he just hasn't become the tier one fullback that we all hoped he would. He'll still make a great contribution to the Titans wherever he plays but Josh Hoffman is a pretty busy fullback.

"I think he comes in the same mould as Sharks fullback) Michael Gordon. Not a great creator for others but has a real good sense of opportunity and fantastic running game so I think he's a great pick-up for the Gold Coast.

"If there's a weakness in his game it's that he's not a great passer of the football but Neil Henry's a smart enough coach to understand what kind of fullback they've got.

"What you've got is a No.1 who is going to turn up and throw everything into his game each week. He knows how to inject himself, where to inject himself, he's good on the edge, particularly strong through the middle third if you're going to use him for any of those ruck plays and he'll combine well with(five-eighth) Aidan Sezer.

"I think he's the No.1 choice and he's a good pick-up, particularly considering how late they got him."

The 26-year-old was reportedly close to leaving the Broncos prior to the start of the 2014 season following the club's recruitment of Bulldogs fullback Ben Barba before going on to play his first 15 games of the year at five-eighth.

He and his young family will continue to live in Brisbane and he says he holds no ill feelings towards the Broncos, instead preferring to focus on achieving some lofty goals with his new club.

"I've been at the Broncos since the first year of under-20s and it was a big decision to make, being at the club for that long," Hoffman said. "I was very happy and grateful at the time that Wayne gave me the opportunity to explore other clubs and I'm glad I got the opportunity to stay in Brisbane.

"There's no ill feeling with the Broncos. They've given me this opportunity and all I can be is grateful to the Broncos and Wayne and I'm very happy at the moment.

"I'm very happy with how everything was handled and it was very professional and I'm looking forward to the years to come and making a home here at the Titans and hopefully winning a premiership.

"I'm just looking to hopefully one day win a premiership and I'm hoping that will be with the Gold Coast Titans. That's something that I've got in mind, maybe winning a premiership and hopefully I can do it with the playing group that's here now."

Ikin's endorsement will come as a blow to Zillman who was forced to come back in the centres from injury when David Mead parlayed a cameo stint at the back into a Country Origin jersey.

Zillman has played fullback for the Titans on more occasions than any other player in the club's history but is now looking likely to be shifted into the centres to accommodate Hoffman's arrival.

Mead's taste of life at the back also left him wanting more and led to reports that he was looking to exit the club in search of a permanent fullback position elsewhere, despite the fact he is contracted to the Titans through until the end of the 2016 season.

- - - Updated - - -

So judging by a few articles I have read, we may be looking at:
1. Hoffman
2. Don
3. Roberts
4. Zillman
5. Mead

Not too bad in my opinion.

Hoffman is a solid runner of the footy and a great defender. If we can work on his passing game, then he will be a star.

Don is an obvious choice and should be our first picked every week. Solid in every game.

Roberts is a dangerous centre and our lethal weapon out wide. Hopefully he can build on 2014 and become a more all round centre.

Zillman is an interesting one. While I agree he has not been up to standard for the last few years, he has suffered under the coaching of Cartwright and co. Definitely not our fullback but could be an alright centre ONLY IF HE WORKS ON HIS RUNNING GAME AND DEFENSE (we don't want a repeat of the Broncos game this year with the knock out). If Henry puts him there in round 1, I will give him a few games but if he doesn't perform, replace him with Ahwang/Crampton.

Mead is another obvious choice. He is a very good player whether he is fullback or on the wing. Should definitely be our back up fullback but not first choice ahead of Hoffman. As long as he is in the side, I am happy.

Zillman at centre is a terrible idea

Crampton will nail that spot down

[DavidBouveng]

swap Zill for Crampton and im happy.

Whos been the most expensive qcup player? Zillman will break that record, because unlike Srama, Barba and others who find a club who wants them when they get told they will play reserves, Zill would be very long odds to get a deal elsewhere. Maybe the raiders....but that is because they are so desperate.

[teke]

I'm hoping Khan nails down the left centre spot and I think he can

[Hail Sezer]

I'm hoping Khan nails down the left centre spot and I think he can

He would definitely be my next pick after Crampton. Some decent coaching could do wonders for Khan as the potentisl is clearly there. I'm quite disappointed he got rid off his dreads though!

[Titan4Life]

Listen, I'm not a big fan of Zillman and he has been out ****test player the last 2 years or so but I'm interested in seeing if Henry can improve his game. Crampton/Ahwang is my first choice too but all I'm saying is that if Henry picks Zillman for centre in round 1 after some decent coaching, I will give him a few games to prove he deserves to be there.

If Zilly doesn't perform after a few rounds then he should be replaced by Crampton or Ahwang.

[Hail Sezer]

Listen, I'm not a big fan of Zillman and he has been out ****test player the last 2 years or so but I'm interested in seeing if Henry can improve his game. Crampton/Ahwang is my first choice too but all I'm saying is that if Henry picks Zillman for centre in round 1 after some decent coaching, I will give him a few games to prove he deserves to be there.

If Zilly doesn't perform after a few rounds then he should be replaced by Crampton or Ahwang.

If coaching and player development is your argument then why pick Zillman when there is more potential and more room for growth with Crampton and Ahwang?

[C-Whiz]

All I know is that the Titans have to build for the future, not dwell on the past, so it makes sense to look for young guns who have the hunger, rather than keep hoping yesterdays hero will eventually find his spark.

As for FB, I think we are a better team with Don and Mead on the wings, so start Hoffman at the back and go from there. Mead would have to be the obvious next choice, but I'd rather have Don and Mead Mead on a wing than KFL or Flash.

[Mr Stupid]

1. Hoffman
2. Don
3. Roberts
4. Crampton
5. Mead

This is my preferred backline. As for shuffling things around a few rounds in, I'd hope that Henry would have a firm set of plans after two trial games , the Nines comp and several months of preseason training.

[JunctionBlock]

I think we are stuck with Zillman somewhere on the field. The fact we haven't heard anything about him being told to look elsewhere with the likes of Kelly, Blair and Srama would indicate he's in the plan somewhere. I don't think Ahwang will get a look at centre this year as he has only just come to terms with a new deal after being told he wasn't needed.

[Toads]

Zillman maybe a top bloke, and show bucketful's of potential at training. But I for one am done with him wasting a position in our 17 man squad, week after week. Give someone else a crack, ffs..

[Surfers66]

Is Zillman a centre? NO
Is he better than our current Wingers? NO
At Best, is Zillman in the top 20 Fullbacks in the Comp? NO
Is Zillman a better option than Hoffman or Mead? NO
Can Zillman play in the halves? NO

Does any one think they would of answered YES to any of those questions?

He is wearing the 17 Jersey in my team.

[Titan4Life]

If coaching and player development is your argument then why pick Zillman when there is more potential and more room for growth with Crampton and Ahwang?

Can everyone read my paragraph first before digging into me. I said I want to see Crampton or Ahwang in the second centre spot over Zillman. All I'm saying is that if Zillman is picked in the centres come round 1, I will give him a chance. Mate I want to see Crampton or Ahwang succeed in first grade but I'm not gonna tell Henry how to pick his team.

My backline would be:

1. Hoffman
2. Don
3. Crampton
4. Roberts
5. Mead

HOWEVER I wouldn't be surprised to see:

1. Hoffman
2. Don/KFFL
3. Roberts
4. Zillman
5. Mead

[shamus]

He is wearing the 17 Jersey in my team.

He is wearing the 18 in my team.