I can’t see Hiku ever being used as a Fullback at Penny… He may float between the Centers and the Halves (as injury cover, he is the Kiwi 5/8, after all) but not Fullback. The Panthers have DWZ as the logical choice, and he’s done a decent job there in cover for Moylan so far.

I think Wallace’s days are numbered, especially with Hook as coach, and that’s a good thing, too. He is past his prime now, and isn’t forming a good enough combo with Sowie. I’d say Sowie will guide Moylan and TMM over 2016, with them taking over in 2017 and Sowie likely heading to the UK or retiring, depending on his dodgy back.

My 2016 backline would be as follows;

1. DWZ
2. Mansour
3. Hiku
4. Whare
5. Jennings (G or R, either/or)
6. Moylan/TMM
7. Soward/TMM

As for the injury curse, rumours abound in my circles (which involve players and staff at the club) Cleary was given “the march” as he wasn’t following medical advice and keeping players on ice (and off the field) as long as was required to recover… he was rushing to replicate 2014, and failed.

These guys are Pro-Athletes… supposedly. If there was a 2 day turn-around, who cares? They are paid to play a sport, well paid. They have a shortened professional career… they chose themselves. Euro Football (soccer for the plebs) players sometimes have to play 2 days in a row (rare, but it happens)… and often play twice well inside a 5 day period. It’s a joke that’s a non-issue from a fan or administration perspective. The real issue is how they are training… not enough endurance work, too much strength work, and certainly, no player specific body training is being done, and if it is, the trainer needs to be better educated or actually qualified, not a former player themselves.

I spent a year (2014) following an NRL Club’s training regime, including nutrition, in my local gym, and didn’t see any strength or fitness gains. This year, I followed an MMA regime, and am now sitting at 12% body fat, can run 10km daily without issue, swim 20 laps of a pool, and play sport (League and Soccer) on both days of the weekend. I would be remiss if i didn’t mention most true fitness participant are healthier, and could out-last any NRL player in endurance activities, and often are likely stronger, more flexible and faster than most of them, too.

What I’m trying to get at, is that any player who struggles with a 5 day turn-around, isn’t fit.

Un-Australian? Seriously? In the land of the drunken boofhead king-hitting someone into oblivion whilst stumbling home from the ‘Cross or the Gold Coast? And that’s your argument? Mate, at least in MMA, the ref steps in as soon as they can see the the K.O. Not much different to boxing, just on the ground. Ever watched Kickboxing, Muay Thai? Doubt it… becuase the rules are not too dissimilar from MMA in regards to ground and pound… it’s not new…

Pretty much, Dutski. It’s not so much that they don’t rate, as the game-play and camera angles make them too difficult to get results from. And bashing teams up the middle, then putting the speedy little guys through the gaps, is much more fun… at least, as far as the game goes.

I played a game last night, 2x 20min halves, on Easy, and won 224-0 against the Kiwis with this team… and RTS scored 4 tries off the kick-off… more a just for laughs game, and laugh we did.

You’re not wrong Will!

With Inglis and Jennings in the center, and with Moylan and Semi on the flanks, I couldn’t find a spot for any of them, and I rate them all very highly… although, whilst I think Dugan’s best spot is still in the middle of the park, he’s definitely a gun fullback. Even wingers and centers have an excess of talent, with guys like Whare, Mansour, Boyd, Semi, the Morris twins, Koroibete, Curtis, Holmes… the list goes on.

I’ve always thought Fitifa was more 2nd Row than prop… gives him more options with the ball other than “run straight, don’t drop it”. That was more the Martin Lang/’Gorgeous’ George Rose style of prop…

Glad to see someone other than myself thinks DCE is QLD’s Pearce…

I think you misunderstood the purpose of my article. This isn’t a real world team, or I’d have not picked people out of position. This is a team designed to win games on X-Box… based on the NRL’s Top 50 list. Nothing more or less.

Lyon didn’t “just” miss out, he wasn’t on my radar… Morris and Whare are light years ahead of an aging Lyon. It was tough with Props and the 2nd Row… but I like who I’ve picked… and I’m yet to lose a match with them, even online in X-Box Live… granted, there are very few people -playing the game online for now.

Going on BMI, Dwayne “The Rock Johnson is morbidly obese… and has less than 2% body fat… BMI is crap.

I was born in Penrith, NSW, but both parents supported QLD at Origin time, as did my Grandparents on both sides, so I was raised to support, and spent many Christmas holiday in, QLD. I still support QLD, always have and always will, and it’s easier now I live in SA and don’t have the morally righteous NSW fans claiming I can’t support who I want because I wasn’t born there.If that were the case, why do people born in Penrith support the Broncos, Bunnies, Chookies, etc? Dumb arguement.

I despise the superiority attitude so many Sydney-siders have, it’s one of several reasons my wife and I left. Leave NSW and you’ll see they, not VIC, are the state every other state wants to cut off and push out to sea, or simply ignore.

NSW in general is too “all about me”, too busy, poorly planned and stupidly expensive. I avoid going back as often as I can. If I can’t live in QLD (wife can’t handle the humidity, much to my dismay), then SA is where it’s at… minus the Arial Ping-Pong.

Got to disagree with you Ryan, for once. I live in South Australia (am from Sydney originally) and can’t get to a game. So I have to watch it on Foxtel or live on my NRL app on my teeny tiny phone screen, as it’s not on Ch9, GEM or GO! here, except after 1am, by which stage my NRL app has me updated with the score. There are many reasons fans can’t/don’t/won’t go to games, another is other fans, eg. Mum (a single, 68yr old lady) won’t go to a Panthers v. Bulldogs/Parramatta/Souths game (at any Sydney stadium) because of how rowdy and violent the crowds get, and neither will her friends (the same age group). She doesn’t feel safe at most stadiums anymore. That’s something the NRL need to address with Clubs, Fans and the Police.

I have to say, my last experience was the Panthers v. Bulldogs final at Sydney last year (was fortunately in town for family stuff and snuck away with some mates for the game), and the crowd behaviour on both sides was a bit below average, especially from the drunk morons in Doggies gear who started a game of push and shove with security staff after taking a dislike to some comments made about their well documented niggling tactics in previous games, and later regretted taking on a few of the big ground-staff blokes, particularly when the cops got involved outside the ground.

This is my point… you won’t get people attending games when the drunk numbnuts are still so highly visable.

6’1″ and 99kgs isn’t big, especially for someone playing in the 2nd Row. Sure, Sam is only 5’11”, but at 110kg, he can hit harder, and with more weight in the hit, than Beau can. I don’t doubt Beau is feared somewhat, more for his Gallen and Bird-like dirty niggling than his clearly acknoweldged footballing talent, but I doubt he’s the terror QLD are worried about. I’d think Klemmer or Jackson pose more of the threat than Scott does.

Besides, do we not think Mal will focus on keeping JT ready for that, knowing what happened earlier in the year?

I think Beau might want to remember Slammin’ Sam… if he could get under JWH’s skin, what makes anyone think he won’t do the same for Beau Scott, if he is out to target Thurston again? Beau is tiny, the QLD forwards will destroy him if he tries… one hit is all it will take, and it’ll be on.

I hope that the ‘powers that be’ within the NRL read articles like this on The Roar. Something does need to be done about the stoppages, otherwise what makes us different from NFL and Union, i.e, the speed and intensity of the game, will be lost. I think there are too many teams who take advantage of ‘time wasting’ to give their players a bit of a breather, and it needs to stop. Time-off is a good thing for stoppages, and either contest the scrum, or get rid of it. Currently, it’s pointless. Just have a changeover and a tap as it is. Give kickers less time to kick, both for drop-outs and penalties, both at goal and for touch.

Barry, you’ve hit the nail on the head, mate.

Fox, you’re preaching to the choir here, mate. I’m a Panthers fan, happens to us all the time. But it’s about time Manly finally copped the other side, after spending much of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s doing just that… poaching. Granted, they haven’t done it for close to 15 years now, but it’s still their reputation with other clubs and their fans, as talent thieves. I see many similarities in the Manly of the last 15 years to Penrith, minus the success, of course… something I’m sure we will see more of now.

Unfortunately for Manly fans, you’re about to see how painful a rebuilding phase can be… and you can’t rely on Matai, Lyon or Stewart, given they’ve got maybe 2-3 years left at the most.

Hey TB, Good mate, you?

It’s a fair call, however, I’d go so far as to say that Benji and Hayne are very different blokes, Hayne being more true to his word than Marshall… but your not wrong… with the right money, coach and team… he might be lured back, but not in 2016. I’d say 2017 at the earliest. Happy to eat my words, though, even as a QLD Origin Supporter.

I can only admit to a part-time interest in NFL, and I’m a Steelers fan, however, my old man is a Yank, he’s mad about it, and follows the 49ers as his 2nd Team. He has given me the insights to be certain that Hayne has a better than 75% shot at actual game time, and a 60% shot at being the preferred Runnig Back or Punt Returner… the spot’s he after. Their current Running back is the worst in the NFL on Stats, and taking on Hayne as first choice, while a risk, is better than what they’ve got now…

Not Carney… he’d be lucky to get $500K if the NRL honour a contract for him with any club.

But Burgess will command $1 Mil plus, and Hayne… well… people are dreaming about him coming back in 2016. It won’t happen.

Quade won’t sign with Manly… he has made this clear in the past, alongside the specific teams he’ll accept offers from. Also, Planko is dreaming if he thinks Hayne will play for Manly, he has stated he’ll never playy against Parra, and if they can’t afford him, he won’t play in the NRL. Noble, but likely true, given his character.

Unless his heart is still set on making it there, and another team signs him. I don’t think he’ll be back, given how well he is trialing and the interest he is getting from other teams.

Unlikely. Maybe Manly could return the favour and poach him…

As a die-hard Panthers fan… nothing makes me happier than the Eels poaching talent and ignoring their own juniors… and wasting money on guys like Sandow.

Tom, while I can’t see Manly, no matter what team they field, ever ‘winning’ a wooden spoon anytime in the future, they will be lucky to make the 8 this year, and next, no matter who they buy, as long as Toovey is coach and the board is still recovering from a few bad years. They don’t have a mastermind like Gus Gould to sort out the mess ala Penrith, and they don’t have an inspirational coach, or players who will attract talent, or a decent home ground. The club needs to invest wisely in home grown talent again, stay off the big money market, build a new field, poach a decent coach, and rebuild.

I feel for the fans… but not the club. With a busted board, rubbish coach (if reports from former and current players are to be believed) and players at each others throats… what did they expect? This is what happens when you spend years buying other teams players… when you finally develope some of your own, karma comes ’round and kicks you in the teeth while you’re down.

Hayne has a 3 year 2nd Tier deal in the NFL… he won’t be back until 2018 at the earliest. Feel free to keep dream, however.

Rumour has it it will be Maloney in 6 and one T.Carney in the 7 at Manly in 2016… if that’s to be believed… I think it will get worse before it gets better at Brookie… and it’s about time, too. They’ll be back, you can’t keep a good toff down for very long…