Round 7: Manly Sea Eagles vs Gold Coast Titans

[Supergoose]

Also, someone asked of rankin played fb for burleigh, he was at manly on the bench with the squad last night I think.

No, he didn't fly with the team - I'm sure he played for Burleigh and I read on the QRL website he threw a forward pass but just want to know where he lined up. BJ scored a try in the same game.

[DavidBouveng]

No, he didn't fly with the team - I'm sure he played for Burleigh and I read on the QRL website he threw a forward pass but just want to know where he lined up. BJ scored a try in the same game.

ah k, i dont know who i saw on the bench then,

must have been too excited to notice properly.

P.s. the qrl site has him listed in the number 6.

[Rage]

Hm it'll be interesting to see if/when/how Rankin will get a run. Zilly proved last night that he can lift his game and offer some attack at fullback. Also, I'm sure Carty sees him as the long-term fullback and not left-centre. So, i can't see Rankin getting the jump ahead of either Zilly at 1 or Sezer at 6 (or at least I hope Carty doesn't pull Sezer for Rankin)

[DavidBouveng]

Hm it'll be interesting to see if/when/how Rankin will get a run. Zilly proved last night that he can lift his game and offer some attack at fullback. Also, I'm sure Carty sees him as the long-term fullback and not left-centre. So, i can't see Rankin getting the jump ahead of either Zilly at 1 or Sezer at 6 (or at least I hope Carty doesn't pull Sezer for Rankin)

yeah its so important we develop rankin properly now, as we will need him for injuries and then obviously long term once prince is retired.

i hope he has the patience to stay with us while this happens.

[Rage]

yeah that's exactly what I mean. The only way I can see how to groom him for the 7 when Prince leaves is if he stays on the bench ala Cronk during origin games. Although it would be a bit silly for club games i guess

[patskE]

man tbh. zillman doesnt do it for me in attack, he just cant seem to change direction/angle fast enough, which gives the men outside him less room. but his one of the safest fullbacks. in saying that ill rather a fullback with attacking flare but drop's a bomb every now n again to a safe fullback.

[Rage]

He has it in him but he just hasn't shown it / doesn't show it often enough. I can't remember what match exactly, but I do remember he tore it up in a man of the match performance in one of the semi-finals at fullback. It's been hard for any of our backs to look good, both last year and this year. So, I think that if the team can gain some momentum from last night and actually look like a truly cohesive team, then let Zilly have some more games at fullback.

[teke]

Zillman is our FB.

The back 3 are settled, the centres are settled, the halves are settled and the forwards are settled. Carty will just chop and change the bench as per injuries.

[Coaster]

Zillman is our FB.

The back 3 are settled, the centres are settled, the halves are settled and the forwards are settled. Carty will just chop and change the bench as per injuries.

I wish you were right, but i can almost bet my left nut, that in the next few weeks, Carty will swap sezer and Rankin with some garbage excuse like, resting him due to the physicality of top grade.

[DavidBouveng]

I wish you were right, but i can almost bet my left nut, that in the next few weeks, Carty will swap sezer and Rankin with some garbage excuse like, resting him due to the physicality of top grade.

Princey will shank him with a rusty knife if he tries to drop his first authentic halves partner in 3 years

[Supergoose]

Even though I reckon Zillman is best at left centre, I agree we should leave the back three and the spine alone for the time being, that is the best we have looked in a long time. I still reckon Idris needs to play right centre, how we accommodate that is the question. I reckon Peyroux > Champion or at least better value for us as far as balance goes. The forward pack is going great. Looking forward to the return of Falloon, James, Ridge and Lawrence and until Falloon comes back we should be giving Rankin as much time in the NRL as we can, even if it's to give Srama a 10-15 minute breather in games. He'll get enough time in the Q-Cup when we're back to full strength.

[Coaster]

IMO Zillman played well, the other night, and i have no issues with him staying as long as he knows his role, takes control, and does not go missing during the game.

Sometimes a friendly kick up the freckle can be a good thing

[Titanic]

I don't offer any solution to the Zillman conundrum but he is not doing much for me at all. Of the 15 other fullbacks in the comp who would he replace? Slater, Bowen, Hayne (or Burt), Locke, Coote (or Gordon), Dugan, Minichiello, Barba, Boyd, Morris, Gardner, Stewart, even Moltzen or Hoffman ... I know that's 17 but that's probably my point.

[teke]

That's a good pt Titanic.

As I stated in the pre season I couldnt really see both Zilly and Rankin being on the field at the same time if we could get our best squad fit. I prefer Zilly over Jordon, Javarn etc. He isnt doing a bad job, he just isnt doing what the other FBs are.

[Titanic]

He isnt doing a bad job, he just isnt doing what the other FBs are.

Agree and I also agree that Rankin isn't the answer and that White J is an untested unit.

Also I watched the replay again last night and came up with this statistic: neither of our first choice centers passed even once to their respective wingmen ... this says a lot to me about our stuttering attack, the depth of the backline and the purpose of having 13 on the field.

Lewis W once said: "rugby league is an easy game to read ... just count where the opposition has the most numbers and go the other way" to do this you need every player involved.