I've said it before, but I don't believe he is an NRL fullback.
Do you think he could be utilized as a halfback?
We need speed in the halves and he certainly is fast enough for that.
If we can get a better fullback, then I'd give it a go for him to experiment there.
I've said it before, but I don't believe he is an NRL fullback.
Do you think he could be utilized as a halfback?
We need speed in the halves and he certainly is fast enough for that.
If we can get a better fullback, then I'd give it a go for him to experiment there.
Good idea for a thread. I think he tries hard but he just doesn't have a complete game at fullback. As mentioned on the latest podcast, try Tupou at fullback for a stint in a game and move Laurie to five-eight.
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IMO he is improving but needs serious mentoring. He has a surprisingly good passing game and contributes well when chiming into the backline to add an extra pass but he surprisingly bad at chiming into the backline and trying to hit a hole, which may not be completely his fault (halves need to put him in hole). His timing seems weird when trying to do the latter and it infuriates me when he does what he did yesterday and just give up on the play when it doesnt work. It least run at the defence. Needs guidance and a mentor.
His defence has improved a lot and makes a surprising number of 1 on 1 tackles in trouble for a guy his size.
I also cant stand the fact that he stands in the line in defence when we are in our 10m but Im sure this is a "modern" thing and he is being coached to do it. IMO "modern" translates to the way Billy Slater did it but you need Slaters pace and brain to make that work.
I'm really in two minds about Laurie. He's too small to be a powerful runner of the football (like we saw with Edwards yesterday) but he also doesn't seem to have the speed and elusiveness of players like Barba. Defensively he's good and he's also good under the high ball he's just not what I expect him to be in attack.
I agree with @helmesy I think he's a 5/8.
I've said it before, but I don't believe he is an NRL fullback.
Do you think he could be utilized as a halfback?
We need speed in the halves and he certainly is fast enough for that.
If we can get a better fullback, then I'd give it a go for him to experiment there.
Good idea for a thread. I think he tries hard but he just doesn't have a complete game at fullback. As mentioned on the latest podcast, try Tupou at fullback for a stint in a game and move Laurie to five-eight.
I heard you talking on the Pod about Staines as a possible fullback option.
In my opinion, he would be a better option as a fullback to Laurie.
He has the size and step that we need.
I'm not convinced that Brooks is the answer at halfback. We have given him a number of chances to show what he can do and I just can't see us making the 8 with him at half.
It was a left field idea to move Laurie to half to see what he could do. Potter moved Averillo from the halves to fullback and he is making a good transition there.
Your other option of finding an established half back and moving on Brooks and Laurie has some appeal.
The problems with moving Laurie to the halves are his size and the amount of defending he would need to do, and he would need some experience beside him.
Perhaps outside Hastings it would be worth a try. But not playing 7 with AD at 6 because there's just not enough experience there.
I just don't see how he is a long term fullback for us and that means I don't see him playing here long term. If we can pick up an upgrade at fullback - and as mentioned, Staines could be that - we'd be mad not to take it and move Laurie along.
he probably is a 5/8 but surely with Brooks douhie Hastings that simply just is not an option hence why Madden is being shown the door.
in this team it is probably fullback or nothing really.
It would be nice if he could have played centre as we are lacking there apart from naden. Has he played centre at any stage?
he probably is a 5/8 but surely with Brooks douhie Hastings that simply just is not an option hence why Madden is being shown the door.
in this team it is probably fullback or nothing really.
It would be nice if he could have played centre as we are lacking there apart from naden. Has he played centre at any stage?
Unless we try him out how will we know what he's like there? He could be the best half we have.
What happened to his hard run’s into the defensive line?
I don’t understand why he hasn’t improved surely someone is coaching him on the finer points of being a fullback, like the basics of following the ball player in support.
After all that’s a fullbacks bread and butter.
I would like the club to see if Billy Slater can come in to work with him over the off-season.
It is really difficult to judge any of the backs at the moment when we are getting rolled in the forwards.
The back three excel off the back of a strong defensive set, where we are slowing the ruck and putting getting pressure on opposition kickers.
The panthers were making 10 - 15m at will during some stages of the game last weekend forcing us to come out from 10m out etc.
A legitimate criticism of him would be that he doesn’t follow the ruck enough as a support player or inject himself into our attack enough. These things will come with experience and some mentoring.
For me, I wouldn’t rush to re-sign him yet. Also, if I am Laurie and chasing ‘fullback money’ I would also be reluctant to negotiate a new deal because I don’t think he has shown enough to convince any club he is worth the big bucks.
I think the club should focus on some starch in the middle to allow more opportunities for Laurie and co to show us what they can do. Then we will know if he is worth that ‘fullback money’.
What happened to his hard run’s into the defensive line?
I don’t understand why he hasn’t improved surely someone is coaching him on the finer points of being a fullback, like the basics of following the ball player in support.
After all that’s a fullbacks bread and butter.
Might have something to do with snapping his leg doing a hit up last year
