Player Luke Metcalf

[wizard of Tauranga]

In clutch moments who do you trust?

Luke lives for these moments while we’ve seen Boyd nearly choke to death

However who do you trust to get us to the big dance ? It has to be Boyd

I choose reliability over clutch

People forget Metcalf was a miserable 1 from 5 kicks when we went to golden point against the broncos last year before he kicked us to victory.

Love the clutchness under pressure but I prefer winning by 20 points!

 

[Emerald]

Been thinking about this and maybe Luke and his wife have something else - The Thing - that makes Luke want to leave and normally the "I wanna play 7 and Webby's making me play 6!" complaint is something Luke would work with until his contract's end (or a season's end, where as a fan you'd go "fair enough"), but The Thing has happened and because - and fair enough -Luke doesn't want to talk about The Thing, Luke's I'm Not a 7 Woe Is Me is the most public reason why Luke would want to leave, so that's what the public are being told...

Just to be fair on him and us.

Yours not being a comment about his playing skills or ability to gel with the team, most have passed it by, but nevertheless you’re probably right in this supposition.

There’s also the fact that Mets has those pretty boy looks which can give whoever has them a different outlook on life to everyone else.

Those kind of looks open doors which would otherwise be closed, and over time can make whoever has them think, all I need to do is smile, show them my natural ability, and they’ll give me what I want. It’s my due. And so Mets is the prima donna who is always going to demand to be 7, and never 6, because it’s just not in him to do that.

If he wasn’t as brittle as he is, all of this wouldn’t be an issue. He does have that natural ability, in spades. But he ain’t never gonna be someone who plays second fiddle, because for him that just does not compute.

 

[Wrighty]

Many players choke then redeem themselves later, I’ve seen Jordie Barrett and Ihaia West missing match winning kicks, then win it at the death from the same positions a few weeks later. Boyd had 1 meltdown but he actually still had the guts to front up go for the field goal that resulted in a miraculous try. The next clutch challenge would be an out of form warriors playing the red hot panthers in a knock out match and he made a massive line break and the team was starting to run over them when he went for a HIA

And this year he’s been pretty clutch at putting away tries at key moments to blow the game open in the early rounds, then he had that kick on an angle in the wind at 18:18 in the last quarter in front of 35,000 people against the dolphins.

So I think the “Metcalf will be clutch in the playoffs” talk is again based on potential because he’s actually never played one in his life. Boyd’s job is less of an individual highlight reel but creating opportunities for our actual x-factor players - RTS, AKP, Ali, Leka, Demi, Clark, Dallin and to some extent TT. And Egan is an x-facor spine player himself like most hookers throwing those long range no look passes would be considered a hail mary play and Wade does it half of the time.

Like, we have a shot this year because if people haven’t noticed, we have a bunch of x-factor players

great post

 

[sup42]

I was listening to Joey Johns today on Immortal Behaviour podcast and he talked a lot about the Warriors.

In his opinion he thinks Metcalf fully fit is better than Tanah even though Tanah is flying at the moment.

In finals football teams need to go up another gear and it takes one of the spine players to pull off that special play when it matters (is what he said).

That is my only concern, do we have that mercurial player in our spine who has that x-factor and can lift in the big moments (like Nathan Cleary and Reece Walsh have in the past few grand finals) because there is a big difference between the regular season and a prelim final. Maybe that could be Tanah or Healey. Metcalf when fit is probably that player.

I think we made the right choice with Tanah especially with the Rabbittohs chasing him (maybe the coaches would have wanted to wait a bit longer if not for that) but I hope Metcalf can get over not being the 7 and maybe be a part of the team later in the year. And if something happens to Tanah we will need Luke to be mentally all in and not offside with the rest of the players. I think long-term if Metcalf was willing to play 6 and put his all into it, him and Tanah would have killed it but that's life. Before this season started my long-term hope was for Luke at 6 and Jett at 7 but that would never have happened anyway with Luke not willing to play 6.

CHT has been impressive as well and deserves to keep his spot in the current team. He also offers something different.

One thing to take into account with John's assessment, is that Tanah is on the rise, no one know's how high that goes.
Not a dig at the immortal, just saying, his opinions need a context caveat 'as of this moment' since no one saw this form arc coming for Boyd in the NRL media (some Warriors fans watching NSW cup last year saw it cough cough) and John's I am sure were he asked this question last year, would have not even considered it a talking point.

The same is true of a lot of players under Webster and McFadden's new pathways system. I add McFadden because Boyd found this form in our new pathways system, it did not magically happen under Webster in a single offseason as many are assuming.

No, Tanah Boyd built himself back up to a prospect through thousands of hours in our pathways, not an NRL off season, and that was made possible by having pretty reasonable halves partners in those same systems to hone his craft (again McFadden/Webster).

The funny thing is, we are all praying for Tanah to keep up what he is doing right now, when really, we should be also allowing ourselves to dream that we may have actually snared someone who could go on to be considered one of, if not thee, best half backs in the coming years. I know I know, we aren't sposed to think like that, but it is possible, people, why can't Tanah Boyd become Clark or Barnett or Ford? (ok so Jackson has only been a contender for five minutes) but you take my point.

I guess the reason we are cautious is also because we do not know who will be Boyd's partner, and that folks will be critical to his story eh.