: Wed Apr 01, 2009 12:46 pm
dally messenger wrote:
just to put it into perspective :
1. weve had the best tackler in the nrl critisised for his tackling technique and compared to mcguire. anyone that knows the first thing about the nrl knows nathan hindmarsh is the best tackler there.
i provided stats that show he does 50 tackles a game, i was told it was wrong. it wasnt wrong.
2. tim smiths form was laughed at. hes never done anything in the nrl. when i pointed out his nrl form was quite good, and indeed hed won the Dally M rookie of the year, the poster refused to listen.
3. brett finch was said to be a poor half back and danny mcguire better. when i reminded the person taht brett finch has not only played origin but also won them.
and if you go back to my original post, i didnt say mcguire was a bad player. all i said was i didnt think his defence was good enough for a 6 spot. many other people that seem to know about the nrl agreed with me.
ill conceed that halves and five eights make around 15 - 25 tackles a game, not the 30 i claimed.
You need to read the posts on this thread if you are able to:
1. I never said Hindmarsh was poor tackler all I did was compare his missed tackle for the try against Canberra to McGuire's one missed tackle in the WCC. If McGuire was a speed bump for that one missed tackle then surely the same logic applies to Hindmarsh's missed tackle. You also suggested he doesn't miss any tackles - the stats suggest otherwise - I agree stats can be misleading and depending on how you interpret them to me if a player is able to offload in the tackle then that is not a lot different from a miss.
2. Brett Finch has played 3 games of origin the last in 2006 - the point that seems lost on you is that was three years ago - Wendell Sailor was a great player with significantly more origins under his belt than Finch, only a fool would suggest he is as good a player as he was before he went to union - the same applies to Finch, he looked a reasonable player in a very good Roosters side sadly he is playing an average side and is now looking like what he is a very average NRL half back with as much chance of playing origin as Gareth Ellis. Matt King is another example - he looked a great player when playing in a very good side coached by the best coach in the NRL - take him out of that environment and his true colours have been exposed.
3. Tim Smith as I said hasn't played in the NRL for 12 months his form has dipped dramatically in the previous year to a point where he was struggling to get selected in a poor Eels outfit. Whilst he may not be interested in playing in SL and has stated he wants to return to the NRL surely his own professional pride should prevent him from embarrassing himself everytime he takes the field. He doesn't appear to have any offers from NRL clubs which must tell you something - let's face it Barrett had little problem finding another club. His defence has been exposed big style which is surprising for a player who has been through the NRL system. To me he looked a great player and it is often difficult to accept that they cannot kick on from what seems a very high standard and they have peaked at a very young age.
With regards to McGuire I don't think his defence would be an issue in the NRL - he is a player that polarises opinions - even amongst Leeds fans - he is one of the most targeted half backs in SL in a team with the best defensive record in the league - his tackling stats compare very favourably with any half back in SL. In the NRL half backs need a long kick - I thought the Eels v Raiders game was union game the ball spent so much time in the air - this is one weakness in his game.
Glad to see you have finally admitted you overcooked the tackles for a half back
Now try avoid scoring points and respond to the points raised above in a resonable manner and it might help to recover some lost ground.