- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
It’s bad enough having your team sit last on the competition ladder half way through the season – what adds to the lacklustre performances is having your premier halfback in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
If we look on the bright side, luckily enough, Chris Sandow is not in the headlines for ill-discipline.
If we cast our minds back to the start of the 2012 season, Sandow arrived at Parramatta as the $550,000 man, after a dominant performance in the number seven jersey for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the previous year.
What he offered to the Rabbitohs in that year was a dynamic display of natural talent – performances that showed us why he was touted as a future rugby league superstar. What we saw in those performances was a player relying on his instincts, and an impressive ability to play what he sees, both being two assets that simply cannot be taught by even the best in the game.
It is no secret that Sandow has failed to find form that can warrant the status of an NRL superstar, let alone warrant the $550,000 price tag given to him by the Eels. There is no doubting his footballing ability, it is the issue of finding consistency that is the major issue for not only Sandow, but also the Parramatta Eels.
Over the course of the past three seasons, Sandow has shown glimpses of that natural ability and has put in some dominant displays that saw him win the appraisal of footy icons such as eighth immortal Andrew Johns – labelling him a magician after some man of the match performances early in the 2015 season.
However, what comes with a team that has lacked success on the field, is an increasing amount of pressure on their halfback to perform, and there is not greater pressure building than that on the little man in the number seven jersey.
An array of inconsistent performances and some alarming critics expressing that Sandow should be let go from the club, the man himself came out with a rather bold message for his coach Brad Arthur.
“If he lets me play the way I want to play, we’ll win more games,” he said.
True? Not true? Somewhat true?
While I don’t agree with the way Sandow has publicly expressed his frustration, to an extent, I do agree with his perspective. Like he said himself, what got him into the NRL is “his own style of footy” – those natural instincts and not having to play structured football and specifically fit to a game plan for the full 80 minutes.
Personally, what I see is still a player who has not yet fulfilled his potential. I am a great fan of the way Sandow plays the game, and strongly believe he is capable of leading a team to a final series if he is able to find some cosistency in his game, something Sandow has unfortunately not yet achieved in his 160-game career. He has an uncanny ability to create something from nothing, and a unique style of unconventional football that sees him create havoc for opposing teams without the pressure of sticking to a structured game plan.
Some of his better performances this season has seen him climb to the top 10 of the Dally M leaderboard with a surprising 10 votes, not to mention him winning player’s player last year in 2014. That in itself proves that he has the ability. What I believe he is lacking significantly is a high standard of professionalism that is required to compete at the top level week in, week out of a very, very tough competition.
If I did have a message for Sandow, I would say that he needs to be more diligent and professional in his approach both on and off the field. No doubting his ability, I strongly believe he also needs to focus more on the minor details of his game, rather than his strengths in order to become a more complete and well-rounded player.
He has fantastic vision and a strong kicking game, however does lack in other areas such as his defence and, in particular, an ability to close out a game – something that sees the likes of Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston do more often than not, hence, being tagged the best in the game in their respective positions.
Maybe a switch to the number six jersey to free him up could be an option for Brad Arthur – an approach NSW coach has done for Roosters star Mitchell Pearce for Origin 1 this year, a move I believe had somewhat been a success. It could allow Sandow to play more freely and allow the likes of Corey Norman take more control of the game and the 11 other players, and therefore give Sandow the opportunity to rely on his instincts more often and play what he sees in front of him.
I am no coach, nor am I an expert, however what I do know is that Sandow does have the potential and playing ability to finally grab the tag of NRL Superstar. He just needs to find that edge that will allow him to turn himself into one of the game’s best halfbacks.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.