Matt Frawley : Sun Apr 07, 2024 1:03 pm  

I really don't like targeting individuals in a team sport but I would really like someone to tell me what Matt Frawley actually brings to the team.

I watched him all of last season playing for Canberra and couldn't see what he added to their team.

When we signed him, my initial reaction wasn't great but I hoped that playing in Super League might allow him to show his talents but so far I cant see anything.

In my opinion, he seems to avoid being involved in the game and quite often can be seen in the centre position. He doesn't run enough and doesn't seem to make a lot of tackles, (unless a stats guy can prove me wrong).

In the first match, with his first kick in open play, he put the ball straight into touch and since then he seems to have lost any confidence in his kicking game, with the majority of his kicks going directly to the opposition. Even penalty kicks hardly gain any distance down field.

Based on my eyesight assessment, I wondered whether he might be the type of half back who is more of a general on the pitch, who can assess the game and direct the team around the pitch accordingly. With this in mind, I specifically tried to watch him on Friday night, to see if this could be his role but once again I couldn't see anything positive.

At both Canberra and Leeds he was/is constantly picked in the starting role for the first teams, so he must show something on the training pitch which convinces the coach that he is the right choice for the team.

Does anyone see anything differently which might help me understand this player better?

Re: Matt Frawley : Sun Apr 07, 2024 1:11 pm  

I think he defends well actually and his attacking kicks are good. He is pretty skilful but main issues are general field kicking and lack of pace.

Sinfield needs to come past him really but we’ll see.

Re: Matt Frawley : Sun Apr 07, 2024 1:20 pm  

We're playing most of the game in our own half and always kicking on the backfoot, what can we realistically expect from any half back in that situation?

Re: Matt Frawley : Sun Apr 07, 2024 1:25 pm  

Jack Burton wrote:

We're playing most of the game in our own half and always kicking on the backfoot, what can we realistically expect from any half back in that situation?

He has made a few errors personally which have contributed to us being in our own half too much though… I don’t think Frawley is our biggest problem though.

Re: Matt Frawley : Sun Apr 07, 2024 1:27 pm  

Agree, not fair to target individuals with their own thread!

Re: Matt Frawley : Sun Apr 07, 2024 2:57 pm  

He has been disappointing so far, especially his kicking.
But his defence is very solid and he regularly puts the big guys down.
And tbf, he's getting the ball in our own half the majority of the time.
What do expect him to do other than kick it as far down field as he can?
He's not our biggest problem by any stretch for me.

Re: Matt Frawley : Sun Apr 07, 2024 5:00 pm  

Whilst I don’t think he’s the right player for us at 7, he’s here for 2 years until Sinfield is (hopefully) ready for week in week out football. He’s definitely not helped out by our forwards, but needs to offer a lot more with the ball. His defence seems to be pretty solid.

Re: Matt Frawley : Sun Apr 07, 2024 5:25 pm  

batleyrhino wrote:

Whilst I don’t think he’s the right player for us at 7, he’s here for 2 years until Sinfield is (hopefully) ready for week in week out football. He’s definitely not helped out by our forwards, but needs to offer a lot more with the ball. His defence seems to be pretty solid.

He is not good enough if we are looking to be top four material , but the effort is there and he defends ok and plays behind a beaten pack most weeks

Re: Matt Frawley : Sun Apr 07, 2024 5:39 pm  

No real surprise here, everyone knew what we were getting when he signed.

Re: Matt Frawley : Sun Apr 07, 2024 6:48 pm  

KaeruJim wrote:

I think he defends well actually and his attacking kicks are good. He is pretty skilful but main issues are general field kicking and lack of pace.

Sinfield needs to come past him really but we’ll see.

A halfback isn`t really a key defender and shouldn`t be selected for their defence only.

I`ve heard criticism of Jack Sinfield`s defence on here and that is the reason for him not being selected by Smith.

Sinfield`s defence will improve with experience AND coaching, but the coach needs to hide him in the defensive line until then and the defensive capability of a half is not a reason to exclude them from selection if they offer more in attack.