Re: Gareth O'Brien : Sun Aug 18, 2013 10:31 am  

Blobbynator wrote:

I think they'll stick with Hohaia in the halves now to be honest. Brown won't want to move Lomax from full back and Wilkin will still be the main pivot in the halves. They may put Wellens in there as a temporary measure but I think Hohaia will get the nod now.

I doubt we'll see Wheeler. He hasn't had enough game time this year and we're approaching the business end. We need players who we can rely on to do a steady job.

I can see us risking Wheeler.

Lance has not built a partnership with anyone, so it's not like we would be breaking up a critical partnership.

Wheeler's fitness is a concern, but whilst he may not be an organiser, he does a bit more than run sideways.

Re: Gareth O'Brien : Sun Aug 18, 2013 10:49 am  

bewareshadows wrote:

We are diminished without GOB. Wheeler is a different half entirely. When we are on top he is great. But he is not someone who I see taking the team around the park. More a player who will inject himself at times of his choosing. So we are not replacing Gob with wheeler.

Spot on. What GOB brought, as a natural halfback, was the ability to guide the team round the park and control the ball/runners. That's the area where we've struggled all season prior to his arrival, with only Wilkin showing any hint of this skill, and only then in patches.

What Wheeler aint is an organising, ball-playing half. He could be a running stand off outside a traditional scrum half (like Walsh), but he simply cannot lead a team from half.

Perhaps Wilkin will have learned from playing alongside GOB. Whatever, I think the best combination would be Wilkin/Hohaia. The issue lies on who has responsibility for which tasks - and Brown needs to earn his corn by devising a gameplan based on these two's respective strengths.

Re: Gareth O'Brien : Sun Aug 18, 2013 11:44 am  

The issue lies on who has responsibility for which tasks - and Brown needs to earn his corn by devising a gameplan based on these two's respective strengths.[/quote]

We could get Wilkin to throw a testimonial for the play off's whilst Lance just sits quietly in the background?

Re: Gareth O'Brien : Sun Aug 18, 2013 12:16 pm  

bewareshadows wrote:

Lance has not built a partnership with anyone, so it's not like we would be breaking up a critical partnership.
.

I don,t think Lance will ever create a partnership with anyone his mindset is one of full back, if he gets his head right he could be a good support player.
Can,t understand why Brown has not looked at Swift as a workable option, fast, elusive, un predictable to the opposition but lacking a kicking game, maybe with Walsh and his kicking game Brown might look at it, Swift did sign up as a stand off so its not as if he would turn into another Lance scenario.

Re: Gareth O'Brien : Sun Aug 18, 2013 5:38 pm  

Judder Man wrote:

I don,t think Lance will ever create a partnership with anyone his mindset is one of full back, if he gets his head right he could be a good support player.
Can,t understand why Brown has not looked at Swift as a workable option, fast, elusive, un predictable to the opposition but lacking a kicking game, maybe with Walsh and his kicking game Brown might look at it, Swift did sign up as a stand off so its not as if he would turn into another Lance scenario.

Don't let Yellow G see you writing that.

Well just been to the game, we where well on top and in control. But we missed GOB's direction.
Once we lost our shape it was a matter of off the cuff and the kicking on the 4th crept back in during the 2nd half.

Re: Gareth O'Brien : Sun Aug 18, 2013 8:03 pm  

He was a natural half back , but Wilkin was still the main man in terms of team direction. Having GOB took some pressure off him and gave him a couple of months to work on his halves game and build confidence. Hohaia's not very good a 6, but he'll give a bit of threat, pity he's so dire in defence.

No chance of seeing Charnock used? I don't suppose so.

Re: Gareth O'Brien : Mon Aug 19, 2013 7:28 am  

Offside Monkey wrote:

He was a natural half back , but Wilkin was still the main man in terms of team direction. Having GOB took some pressure off him and gave him a couple of months to work on his halves game and build confidence. Hohaia's not very good a 6, but he'll give a bit of threat, pity he's so dire in defence.

No chance of seeing Charnock used? I don't suppose so.

Or Yates, it is disappointing that we are choosing to waste time with Hohaia who is a dud rather than giving either of them a bit of gametime

Re: Gareth O'Brien : Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:34 am  

If Wheeler is available for the Warrington game, he should play over Hohaia.

Hohaia has shown nothing since coming back in. I'd rather go with wheeler - if he's fit of course.

Re: Gareth O'Brien : Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:42 am  

We've won two in a row with Hohaia in at 7. He's nowhere near match fit which contributes to his defensive deficiencies. There was no real problem with his defence last year. The pressure is off him as the organiser with Wilkin in at 6, he can kick if he wants to, but he isn't the player taking us round the field. Once he's up to speed he'll do a better job for us than either Charnock or Yates would do at this moment in time. Regardless of the odds, I'm glad the club haven't written off the season, unlike many fans it seems.

The issue for us with him at half back was his combination with Lomax, both are runners and neither gave the team any direction. He's a functional player at half back, but so was GOB.

I'm amazed anyone is still thinking of picking Wheeler, when was the last time he finished a game, never mind played 2 in a row? He can have all the talent in the world, but if he can only play 40 minutes he's a liability.

Re: Gareth O'Brien : Mon Aug 19, 2013 7:45 pm  

Albion wrote:

If Wheeler is available for the Warrington game, he should play over Hohaia.

I disagree. Wheeler has been out for most of the season so would be totally unfit, match playing wise. Also, we have hardly seen him play in the halves; he has played a lot in the centre when he has been fit enough to actually play. Thirdly, we beat Warrington last time out with Hohaia in the halves and if he covers as he did for his try against Wakey then as a player with lots of pace plus a good swerve he could be useful, assuming our pack front up, obviously!