General Your 2024 lineup

[Damo]

Yes. Something that we are sadly lacking.
Given time he has the attributes to be a very good 6
Not bad for a guy who hasn't yet played 20 nrl games

Speed is his outstanding attribute, but every where else that a half needs to excel he is lacking.
Okay kicking game, terrible at setting up his outsides and an easy target on defense.

 

[Up the guttz]

Speed is his outstanding attribute, but every where else that a half needs to excel he is lacking.
Okay kicking game, terrible at setting up his outsides and an easy target on defense.

Also his speed is severely overrated on this forum. Our general lack of speed and his slight build makes him look a little faster. Pompey ran faster than Metcalf this year based on NRL stats.

 

[Inruin]

Speed is his outstanding attribute, but every where else that a half needs to excel he is lacking.
Okay kicking game, terrible at setting up his outsides and an easy target on defense.

I actually think his speed is a little over-hyped as well. I recall a game where we had a set play and he was on the wing. Got put away in space and clear and was fairly easily run down by the defense. Also doesn't appear to have the elusiveness, just trys to back his speed/acceleration, which is good in NSW cup but not nearly enough at NRL level. Need to offer more than supporting a linebreak IMO.

 

[bringinthebulls]

I actually think his speed is a little over-hyped as well. I recall a game where we had a set play and he was on the wing. Got put away in space and clear and was fairly easily run down by the defense. Also doesn't appear to have the elusiveness, just trys to back his speed/acceleration, which is good in NSW cup but not nearly enough at NRL level. Need to offer more than supporting a linebreak IMO.

10/12 wins, 6 tries, 3 try assists a fair few tackle breaks, line breaks here and there, looks like a pretty elusive player to me for someone in there rookie years

Needs to work on defence at get his hammies right, that's about all I reckon.

p.s im pretty sure someone posted his stats not too long ago but ohwell

 

[Inruin]

10/12 wins, 6 tries, 3 try assists a fair few tackle breaks, line breaks here and there, looks like a pretty elusive player to me for someone in there rookie years

Needs to work on defence at get his hammies right, that's about all I reckon.

p.s im pretty sure someone posted his stats not too long ago but ohwell

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Is that all? His tries were mostly scored from supporting a line break, which is cool, but as I said needs to offer more than that. The teams he played against you would expect to win the majority of them. 12 games - 8 against bottom 8 sides, only 1 against a top 4 side (depleted by S.O.O) which we lost. How did the left edge perform during that period? For me, he is severely limited as a half and I find him quite lazy.

He was a good stop gap 6. I will be surprised if he is picked ahead of TMM or CHT. I would actually play RTS at 6 ahead of him.

 

[sup42]

The thing about Metcalfs speed is that he is fast for a half off the mark, very similar to the young Stacey Jones in that regard, will bag you plenty of try's over the short range, fast enough to gap it inside the red zone and that is pretty much all the speed you need as a running six.

We have been spoilt as followers of Shaun Johnson's Career, the fastest half back of his generation, ergo people saying Metcalfs speed is over rated are probably thinking fast means SJ fast.

It is all about the position.

He is fast in the halves and slower than DWZ or most of the Ferrari's in the NRL.

Bottom line, he is well quick for a half and his Trys are mostly generated by that extra half step of speed off the mark.

Lance Hohaia very much was a gun in the NRL for the exact same off the mark speed. And Lance struggled at six.

Hopefully with Stacey coaching Luke we get the more rounded game out of him.

 

[John Nick]

The thing about Metcalfs speed is that he is fast for a half off the mark, very similar to the young Stacey Jones in that regard, will bag you plenty of try's over the short range, fast enough to gap in inside the red zone and that is pretty much all the speed you need as a running six.

We have been spoiled as followers of Shaun Johnson's Career, the fastest half back of his generation in his time, so Metcalf being called fast around here may falsely be called an exaggeration imo.

It is all about the position.

He is fast in the halves and slower than DWZ or most of the Ferraris in the NRL.

Bottom line, he is well quick for a half and his Trys are mostly generated by that extra half step of speed off the mark.

True he has the speed over the first few metres. He has a lot of game experience to gain yet but that can't be taught.
Only game time and experience will give you that.
As a young man who is still a nrl newbie he could develop into something special.
Worth a punt when we don't have any other prospects putting hands up

 

[BabylonPink]

I'd say metcalfe plays like Jahrome Hughes , best strengths are supports and his running.
Could work with SJ easily.
Depends if we want a greater defender in TMM and CHT , someone who can kick and pass a bit better.

 

[BabylonPink]

With RTS back , you can just have him playing supports and running of TMM or CHT hip all game and you maybe don't need a metcalfe so much?

 

[bringinthebulls]

Is that all? His tries were mostly scored from supporting a line break, which is cool, but as I said needs to offer more than that. The teams he played against you would expect to win the majority of them. 12 games - 8 against bottom 8 sides, only 1 against a top 4 side (depleted by S.O.O) which we lost. How did the left edge perform during that period? For me, he is severely limited as a half and I find him quite lazy.

He was a good stop gap 6. I will be surprised if he is picked ahead of TMM or CHT. I would actually play RTS at 6 ahead of him.

Do you expect everyone to be a superstar from day one?

Any team can beat any team on any given day. Doesnt matter if its a bottom 8 team doesnt mean you win.
also doesnt mean every players stats should be through the roof agaisnt those teams.

Severely limited and lazy? Sorry but i completely disagree and think you're an idiot thats severly limited in own way for thinking that.

Even just saying you would take RTS at 6 over Metcalf.... Sounds like you dont like or rate him so just bag him because that is the biggest pile of shit I have ever heard and you sound like a fuckin tool.

 

[Inruin]

Do you expect everyone to be a superstar from day one?

Any team can beat any team on any given day. Doesnt matter if its a bottom 8 team doesnt mean you win.
also doesnt mean every players stats should be through the roof agaisnt those teams.

Severely limited and lazy? Sorry but i completely disagree and think you're an idiot thats severly limited in own way for thinking that.

Even just saying you would take RTS at 6 over Metcalf.... Sounds like you dont like or rate him so just bag him because that is the biggest pile of shit I have ever heard and you sound like a fuckin tool.

Settle down mate. Have a discussion instead of the nonsense you finished your post with.

I don't expect anyone to be a superstar from day one. He is 24 now and been around for a fair while, bought up through Australian development systems. From what I see, Metcalf is limited as a half, not just my opinion but others as well.

And yes, I do think he is lazy. Based on what I have seen from him this season, particularly in defence.

I don't think he will be ahead of TMM or CHT. That's my opinion, you are entitled to yours. And if it comes down to it, I feel the team would be stronger with RTS at 6 and Pompey at centre, than Metcalf at 6 and RTS at centre.

 

[John Nick]

Do you expect everyone to be a superstar from day one?

Any team can beat any team on any given day. Doesnt matter if its a bottom 8 team doesnt mean you win.
also doesnt mean every players stats should be through the roof agaisnt those teams.

Severely limited and lazy? Sorry but i completely disagree and think you're an idiot thats severly limited in own way for thinking that.

Even just saying you would take RTS at 6 over Metcalf.... Sounds like you dont like or rate him so just bag him because that is the biggest pile of shit I have ever heard and you sound like a fuckin tool.

Bit over the top mate but you are dead right. Shows how out of depth he is when analyzing players

 

[bringinthebulls]

Settle down mate. Have a discussion instead of the nonsense you finished your post with.

I don't expect anyone to be a superstar from day one. He is 24 now and been around for a fair while, bought up through Australian development systems. From what I see, Metcalf is limited as a half, not just my opinion but others as well.

And yes, I do think he is lazy. Based on what I have seen from him this season, particularly in defence.

I don't think he will be ahead of TMM or CHT. That's my opinion, you are intitled to yours. And if it comes down to it, I feel the team would be stronger with RTS at 6 and Pompey at centre, than Metcalf at 6 and RTS at centre.

Dont go dribbling nonsense like you've been on the glass bbq for a week with dribble about RTS at 6 over Metcalf. that's my opinion ( if putting a wing/fb who cant kick which is why theybdidnt play fb in union in at 5/8 over a 5/8 is your opinion, then yeah im sorry but its rubbish)

Doesnt matter how long he's been around or how old he is, this year was his first year he got a taste of regular first grade. Whole nother level from Cup, and whatever else he's done regularly while being "around"

Dudes only just started to scratch the surface but you already see that as limited...?

If it were injuries that may hinder him, over what hes shown, i might agree, but i cant agree with his ceiling being limited based off of what he's shown.

Idk you must have watched a completely different season, but i dont ever once remember sitting there thinking he was lazy or lazy in defence. Couple bad moments? Yep, lazy? Nope

 

[snake77]

The Martin vs Metcalf debate I can see going well into next year.

Can see Webster favouring Martin due to his experience while giving Metcalf time in NSW Cup and areas to work on. When he gets his inevitable chance due hopefully get takes it. Then it comes down to if Webster has seen enough or goes back to the incumbent. It's hard to fault Webster bringing guys back in while the team is winning. Our past coaches when we were losing would still go with the name guys due to past exploits and not wanting to risk someone new.

Getting our left side going next year will be important. We were too one sided this year. It worked well with Johnson in great form and experienced to get the shape he needs.

A lot to go into that besides the half playing on that side.

• Need CNK to develop his ball playing out the back playing towards the left. He may be alright there and we didn't see it due to not getting the shapes right.
• RTS is likely to be on that side. He's experienced so should help the shape and is also someone we need to get into space or isolated against a defender.

On the two halves they both have a lot to work on. Martin provides some nice subtle touches but needs to be a bit more involved and get more shape on that side. Metcalf provides something different, I'd like to see him work more towards the outside as he'd often run back infield.

Mind you a motivated CHT could also throw a spanner into this debate.

 

[Inruin]

Dont go dribbling nonsense like you've been on the glass bbq for a week with dribble about RTS at 6 over Metcalf. that's my opinion ( if putting a wing/fb who cant kick which is why theybdidnt play fb in union in at 5/8 over a 5/8 is your opinion, then yeah im sorry but its rubbish)

Doesnt matter how long he's been around or how old he is, this year was his first year he got a taste of regular first grade. Whole nother level from Cup, and whatever else he's done regularly while being "around"

Dudes only just started to scratch the surface but you already see that as limited...?

If it were injuries that may hinder him, over what hes shown, i might agree, but i cant agree with his ceiling being limited based off of what he's shown.

Idk you must have watched a completely different season, but i dont ever once remember sitting there thinking he was lazy or lazy in defence. Couple bad moments? Yep, lazy? Nope

Cool, much better reply. Like I said, it's my opinion. I do see him as limited currently. Maybe he can address those issues I see. TMM and CHT would start ahead of him IMO. Yeah, we can argue about RTS at 6 with no kicking game but that's really not much of an issue for me when comparing him to Metcalf.

He was lucky to get a start this season in first grade but did due to a number of injuries. He filled in adequately enough and is what we saw this season. A backup 6. Probably a third choice 6 with CHT arriving.

Time will tell whether he progresses and where in the pecking order he is seen by the club.

 

[Inruin]

Mind you a motivated CHT could also throw a spanner into this debate.

Possibly a massive spanner. I thought CHT was actually pretty good for us before he left in a poor team. Will be interesting to see how he goes in a good team with players performing their role and with a great coach.

There are really only a few positions that are being debated at the moment. 6 is one of them.

Good spot to be in.

 

[Dannevegas]

Martins been carried By Morgan, Thurston the best pack in the game (Broncos)and now Johnson his whole career.

 

[snake77]

Possibly a massive spanner. I thought CHT was actually pretty good for us before he left in a poor team. Will be interesting to see how he goes in a good team with players performing their role and with a great coach.

There are really only a few positions that are being debated at the moment. 6 is one of them.

Good spot to be in.

Martin vs Metcalf both provide contrasting options. Add CHT to that and he's different again.

My opinion he's a better kicker than them. If I remember right he's a left footer which would suit down that side. He's also a competent goal kicker which would be useful if Johnson can't do it or Pompey isn't in the side.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Metcalf has acceleration due to being explosive and light weight more than top end speed.

For me the risk is his only strength - explosiveness and acceleration seems to cause injury and if you can’t get long healthy seasons out of him you can’t build a cohesive edge.

His future seems to be to bulk up (helping with defence) and slow down and perhaps change the running style to reduce leg problem. But I down see him as having a well rounded game under that scenario.

 

[Shogun]

NSW CUP used 45 players in 23. I've named 30

METCALF
KOSI
LEIATAUA
POMPEY or BERRY
GRAHAM-TAUFA
TUAUPIKI
VOLKMAN
MAIU'U
SIO (C)
BAGGALEY
LABAN
GOING (CO-C)
SIFAKULA

ROACHE
HALASIMA
VAGANA
STOWERS-SMITH

OTHERS
BACKS - DOYLE, TU, AUSUKITINO , MOIMOI, FARR, ACKLAND
FORWARDS - GAVET, VASUVULAGI, VAIVAI, LUSSICK SANDS, IEREMIA, HALALILO

I'd release Lussick, and Farr