I hope Newsreader watched last nights game.... you can be 5ft tall/skinny.... and put a massive imprint on a game of rugby league after what Ryan P-Diddy dished out.

Prediction:- Newsreader 1st try scorer tonight!

Prediction No.2:- Klemmer breaks both legs!

Prediction No.3:- Dman the first person in the country to get the Anti-VB vaccine!

I noticed a couple of good runs, passing from dummy half was ok and his team won the game.
Early in the season , Grant is a better 9.

Smith ok with someone like Dietz playing off the bench.

If you want the list of players that can play 9 for 80 mins, make a contribution in attack and defence and take great options, it is a small list.

Cam Smith and Grant definitely on the list, not many others.

Considering the Cheese is playing at a club with 2 great 9s, he is only going to get limited chances.

He will sign for anothet club if he can play 9 and only if he can play 9, he said nothing about playing 9 for 80 mins.

As things stand, it is down to money, but I'm interested, if we don't rate him as a starting 9, don't sign him, becuase lying about his prospects of playing that position would be unwise.

Yes, if he moves to play 9, he will want to play 9. Backrow anywhere but the Storm would be big money, very big money and even money might not do it. If he takes big money to play backrow, our club will not be a contender.

Either we want him as a 9, or we don't, that is the bottom line.

Dman takes that vaccine regularly, if goes by many different brand names and comes on tap in large doses.

My predictions:

Klemmer bursts into tears, after being sledged by the Newsreader.

Terminator Odgen runs over all 13 Drugcastle players in a 100 metre dash to the tryline.

A final thought on the Cheese, the halfback can play dummy half for the first 10-15 mins and the Cheese can be one of 6 running forwards.

That is a style of play we used successfully when Polly was starting halfback, it is mostly playing fast with hard running forwards up the middle early. I like the style as opposition forwards rack up a lot of early tackles. and going wide against a fresh defence is best used sparingly.

Overall the Cheese is very versatile and a real competitor, telling him to mix in a few early hitups would not be a problem.

I thought he played better than Cook. But I get your point. He made good meters and provided adequate service. That’s not enough for big dollars. But Cook was worse, terrible service, got caught out by markers and was terrible in defence. 

I don’t know, but I do think people get too hung up having to have either a Damian Cook or Cameron Smith type.

First thing(s) a DH has to do, above all else, is be able to pass off the ground and hit a moving target on the chest one, two and preferably 3 wide and defend in the middle all day.

Anything else is a bonus you may want, but worth nothing if the above two aren’t covered first.

Proof of this is Easts who won 2 comps in a row and 3 in a decade with a DH who done the former two excellently and not much else. Sure he had a bit of a kick from DH... a bit... and the occasional scoot but even his best scoots he’d get knocked over within half a dozen steps.

So I just think when you look for someone who can do #1 and #2 competently, even above competently, rather than having to have Damien Cook and/or Cameron Smith included in him too the field of candidates opens up a lot wider.

Easts proved DH is not the most important part of the spine, you need competency there, not excellency.

Yes I agree.
The fact that his first instinct is to run, and pass is a secondary option is the main reason I like him.

There is every chance Dietz becomes our mainstay hooker for the next 5 years and we can interchange him with a backup hooker like a JMK or Katoa. But then again, picking up a B Smith and having him swap with Dietz at hooker whilst playing 2nd row at other times offers alot of versatility.

Wrong. Very wrong.
Easts could afford an ineffective hooker because they had so much firepower in all the rest of the positions but in particular 1,6 and 7. 
They are not a good example for you to make your point. Our 1998 and 2004 teams were the same. We had hookers that were good at #1 and #2 but we didnt win with our hookers - we won with the rest of the team carrying the hookers.

If we have a weak 1,6 7 (which we still do) we Definitely need spark from dummy half and probably need them to be the best player on field to win a title.

But if we can elevate our spine (1, 6 7) to one of the better ones in the comp, we can become like Parra or Raiders and be contenders for the comp.

You can win a comp with both styles of hooker but you need the team around them to compliment them. At the moment, we are none of  one or the other and still a WIP. Once we decide which of the 2 types we want to be, we can structure our roster accordingly.

Of course, it's always simpler to change/recruit 1 player (hooker) than it is to get your fullback, pivot and halfback to elite status. So we'll see what Barretts plans are.

I'll throw another example and that is the manly team of 2011 - 2013 which had Matt Ballin as hooker but was covered for by B Stewart, DCE and Foran. 

In a nutshell, if you have an elite 1,6,7 you can carry a non running hooker. But if you dont, you really need one that can create for you and single handedly win the territorial battle by running the ball and keeping defences backpedaling.

I tend to agree. But only if you have a good game manager as your halfback. If we want to copy the Chooks in having a hooker that can tackle and pass well but little else. Maybe signing Flange was a bad idea. 

Can’t believe I’m saying this and no I’m not on the cans yet, but I agree. We could use a superstar 9 more than most because of our lack of quality in the spine. 

But is B.Smith that player? 

LET'S GO BULLDOKS! LET'S GO! 

Priority  wise you're probably right, but every option the dh has is an option the defence has to cover. With Friend don't  discount the abilties of the halves & fullbacks he had.  We don't  have this talent unfortunately. 

We need to see more of Deitz before anointing  him as our saviour. Remember he has been around for a long  time. Just got to be sure he just wasn't like a guy having a good run on the pokies against the  Sharks. Having  said that I hope he's  been a hidden gem.

#mybodymychoice...

Fvck Me Dead the armchair experts are putting the knife through us and we haven't even kicked a ball off yet. OK Dietz is untried at a sustained first grade level and where he may never be a superstar he might just deliver us with quality service from dh. As far as our 1, 6, and 7 go how can they be even rated yet. Marki put the knife away, sit back and enjoy the first few games and if we are still playing like sh!t by Round 10 then continue with the soothsaying and sledging.

Brandon Smith at #9 is more a chance to be like Jake Friend than any of the other #9’s. If you’re looking for a scooting DH, he’s not your man, nor is he if you’re looking for a Cam Smith type. Remember all his running is based on power, not speed off the mark. He needs a run up.

So if he gets his passing game up to scratch, which at the moment “underwhelming” would be a compliment, then he could fit a Jake Friend type role at DH.

But you’d be picking him in the backrow a long time before then.

I certainly don’t. Which is why I said Easts proved that DH is not the most important part of the spine.

Bulldogs by plenty tonight 

Are they trying to take the big bobbers outta the game??? 

Get ready for 2002 all over again except this time we'll go through all 26 weeks instead of only 17.

I just put $5 on Dietz (Anytime tryscorer)

Hope I dont jinx him.....

Geez Barrett spoke very confidently on Fox a short time ago.

He even mentioned coming away with a win with a sense of nonchalance.

Get on people. 

GET ON!

Any nose farts? 

Lolol... 

Nice!!!

Backed the newsreader first try but will gleefully take that!!!!...

You got the position right.