The Greenhouse

I've figured it out folks, the answer to all our problems. It hit me while I was curled up in the customary post game cry oneself to sleep - we need English halves!

Now I know what you're likely to say, normally the discussion of anything that doesn't live in an English scrum is bad business in the NRL. But ask yourself this, what about this club can be considered normal? If anything we should be seeking out the abnormal.

Secondly, who are two of the few players who have either improved or maintained their performance under Ricky? That's right, our poms Smelly and Godgson. They've clearly got some kind of immunity, possibly something to do with the language barrier meaning they don't understand a thing he's said. We need more of this immunity, especially in the halves, we know Ricky's track record there.

So, now that I've obviously convinced you all and the hard work of finding the silver bullet is done, we just need to pick a pom and get the message on to the club. I'll leave that for someone else.

We should just sign the whole English team

Do we have to sign Bennett? If it’s just the players I’m on board.

Why not make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?!!

Pigman wrote: ↑July 2, 2018, 7:42 pm Why not make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?!!

That's just silly, why do we need a whole plane? They are obviously moving over here to play, not commuting each week.

Serious replies only please pig, its not too late to save this season!
I like the thinking tw and gangers but I'm not sure we can afford the whole team for the $150 we've got left in the cap, as it stands someone is going to have to smuggle them over or have them pay for their own flights.

Pigman wrote: ↑July 2, 2018, 7:42 pm Why not make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?!!

on fire

I see this as a plan for 2020 when Brexit results in $1AU being worth 27 British pounds.

Pigman wrote: ↑July 2, 2018, 7:42 pm Why not make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?!!

Orange planes would look stupid.

Pigman wrote:Why not make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?!!

Don't be silly. They should be made out of terrorist's passports.

I’m willing to roll the dice - but who exactly are we looking at?

@Archer,

Yep, the English halves thing has been discussed on here. Given our track record with the Poms, why the hell not?!?! We are 2 of 3, with Turner going home, taking his bat and ball with him. We have signed 2 more, and give 1 is an English rep player, you'd have to think he will work out too.

I read the title as You had found a silver bullet to get rid of the werewolf that is Ricky and Don

Wishful thinking i guess

if bennett had his way Austin would've been an English half..

Archer wrote: ↑July 2, 2018, 7:46 pm Serious replies only please pig, its not too late to save this season!
I like the thinking tw and gangers but I'm not sure we can afford the whole team for the $150 we've got left in the cap, as it stands someone is going to have to smuggle them over or have them pay for their own flights.

Alright! Alright!
Serious reply... Look it's worth a crack, if you can get their best half and bring him over here relatively cheaply, i mean at this point you've just got to keep throwing darts and hope that by hook or by crook you fall into a long term quality answer in the halves...

But i view english halves as the longest of all long shots. Forwards i can generally get behind, they seem to be alright. Occassionally a back comes over and looks solid... but i cant think of a single half who's come over from the ESL and not be total and utter trash... not just like average, like unplayable at the NRL level.

So by all means, shoot our shot and if we can get their best young half cheaply, take a chance but it's a half court heave at absolute best.

when Dobson, Albert kelly and rangi chase have been the benchmark halves in the UK I'm not sold.

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bonehead wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 10:05 am when Dobson, Albert kelly and rangi chase have been the benchmark halves in the UK I'm not sold.

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Rangi Chase won the Man of Steel award over there..

Pigman wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 10:02 am

Archer wrote: ↑July 2, 2018, 7:46 pm Serious replies only please pig, its not too late to save this season!
I like the thinking tw and gangers but I'm not sure we can afford the whole team for the $150 we've got left in the cap, as it stands someone is going to have to smuggle them over or have them pay for their own flights.

Alright! Alright!
Serious reply... Look it's worth a crack, if you can get their best half and bring him over here relatively cheaply, i mean at this point you've just got to keep throwing darts and hope that by hook or by crook you fall into a long term quality answer in the halves...

But i view english halves as the longest of all long shots. Forwards i can generally get behind, they seem to be alright. Occassionally a back comes over and looks solid... but i cant think of a single half who's come over from the ESL and not be total and utter trash... not just like average, like unplayable at the NRL level.

So by all means, shoot our shot and if we can get their best young half cheaply, take a chance but it's a half court heave at absolute best.

Going back a few years Piggy but Tommy Bishop, Andy Gregory, Ellery Hanley, Schofield went ok.

Im sure there a couple more, Andy Currier? or was he a centre?

reptar wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 6:42 am

Pigman wrote:Why not make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?!!

Don't be silly. They should be made out of terrorist's passports.

A lot of people will miss the relevance of this quote reptar, but well played sir, cracking effort!

Hmm

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Pigman wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 10:02 am

Archer wrote: ↑July 2, 2018, 7:46 pm Serious replies only please pig, its not too late to save this season!
I like the thinking tw and gangers but I'm not sure we can afford the whole team for the $150 we've got left in the cap, as it stands someone is going to have to smuggle them over or have them pay for their own flights.

Alright! Alright!
Serious reply... Look it's worth a crack, if you can get their best half and bring him over here relatively cheaply, i mean at this point you've just got to keep throwing darts and hope that by hook or by crook you fall into a long term quality answer in the halves...

But i view english halves as the longest of all long shots. Forwards i can generally get behind, they seem to be alright. Occassionally a back comes over and looks solid... but i cant think of a single half who's come over from the ESL and not be total and utter trash... not just like average, like unplayable at the NRL level.

So by all means, shoot our shot and if we can get their best young half cheaply, take a chance but it's a half court heave at absolute best.

I mean. I get your point. But. Ellery Hanley voids your entire argument.

Johno wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 4:48 pm

Pigman wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 10:02 am

Archer wrote: ↑July 2, 2018, 7:46 pm Serious replies only please pig, its not too late to save this season!
I like the thinking tw and gangers but I'm not sure we can afford the whole team for the $150 we've got left in the cap, as it stands someone is going to have to smuggle them over or have them pay for their own flights.

Alright! Alright!
Serious reply... Look it's worth a crack, if you can get their best half and bring him over here relatively cheaply, i mean at this point you've just got to keep throwing darts and hope that by hook or by crook you fall into a long term quality answer in the halves...

But i view english halves as the longest of all long shots. Forwards i can generally get behind, they seem to be alright. Occassionally a back comes over and looks solid... but i cant think of a single half who's come over from the ESL and not be total and utter trash... not just like average, like unplayable at the NRL level.

So by all means, shoot our shot and if we can get their best young half cheaply, take a chance but it's a half court heave at absolute best.

Going back a few years Piggy but Tommy Bishop, Andy Gregory, Ellery Hanley, Schofield went ok.

Im sure there a couple more, Andy Currier? or was he a centre?

Currier was a centre.

I'm enjoying this. Don't tell GE this but I didn't actually expect a serious response Pigman (was just saying that so he didn't move my thread), but I was surprised to enjoy one none the less.

Ps: please GE, **** posting is the only way to summon 2016

Love4Noa wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 5:45 pm

Pigman wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 10:02 am

Archer wrote: ↑July 2, 2018, 7:46 pm Serious replies only please pig, its not too late to save this season!
I like the thinking tw and gangers but I'm not sure we can afford the whole team for the $150 we've got left in the cap, as it stands someone is going to have to smuggle them over or have them pay for their own flights.

Alright! Alright!
Serious reply... Look it's worth a crack, if you can get their best half and bring him over here relatively cheaply, i mean at this point you've just got to keep throwing darts and hope that by hook or by crook you fall into a long term quality answer in the halves...

But i view english halves as the longest of all long shots. Forwards i can generally get behind, they seem to be alright. Occassionally a back comes over and looks solid... but i cant think of a single half who's come over from the ESL and not be total and utter trash... not just like average, like unplayable at the NRL level.

So by all means, shoot our shot and if we can get their best young half cheaply, take a chance but it's a half court heave at absolute best.

I mean. I get your point. But. Ellery Hanley voids your entire argument.

I mean if you say so, but i think I’m gonna need more than a handful of players who arrived 3 decades ago before I’ll consider my point voided haha


How about this, give me 3 names of English halves from the ESL(so sorry Gareth Widdop is our, since he came through 20’s) who have come here since the ARL-SL merger and performed at even league average standard

If you can do that, I’ll accept my point is void. 3 names, 20 years.

Pigman wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 6:11 pm

Love4Noa wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 5:45 pm

Pigman wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 10:02 am

Archer wrote: ↑July 2, 2018, 7:46 pm Serious replies only please pig, its not too late to save this season!
I like the thinking tw and gangers but I'm not sure we can afford the whole team for the $150 we've got left in the cap, as it stands someone is going to have to smuggle them over or have them pay for their own flights.

Alright! Alright!
Serious reply... Look it's worth a crack, if you can get their best half and bring him over here relatively cheaply, i mean at this point you've just got to keep throwing darts and hope that by hook or by crook you fall into a long term quality answer in the halves...

But i view english halves as the longest of all long shots. Forwards i can generally get behind, they seem to be alright. Occassionally a back comes over and looks solid... but i cant think of a single half who's come over from the ESL and not be total and utter trash... not just like average, like unplayable at the NRL level.

So by all means, shoot our shot and if we can get their best young half cheaply, take a chance but it's a half court heave at absolute best.

I mean. I get your point. But. Ellery Hanley voids your entire argument.

I mean if you say so, but i think I’m gonna need more than a handful of players who arrived 3 decades ago before I’ll consider my point voided haha


How about this, give me 3 names of English halves from the ESL(so sorry Gareth Widdop is our, since he came through 20’s) who have come here since the ARL-SL merger and performed at even league average standard

If you can do that, I’ll accept my point is void. 3 names, 20 years.

Can it count if they didn't play in the halves over there but could in the NRL? If so I'd like to start it off with one E. Whitehead. Given us some of our best "halves" like highlights in some years.

Haha touche, and looking at Hanley's Australian career care of RLP

My Pop was a collector of Balmain VHS tapes and as a kid i watched them all the time, i was thinking in my head i remembered Hanley more for utility and and centre than i did a 5/8th. So i looked it up thinking i was mis-remembering:
http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/match ... tLS0tLS0==

I was not. In 47 games, he played 26 of them outside of the halves.
He played 21 games, essentially 1 season worth of halves in 4 years in Australia.
11 of those games came for the Sydney Tigers where he appeared to be in and out of FG in an 0.500 team that finished 12th.

Another 5 came in the bastard year of RL, playing for Balmain in 1997 ARL. The Tigers missed the top 7 in a 12 team competition that year.

I looked that up too and was surprised to see he played so many games at five eighth. I remember Hanley as a lock and centre.

Yeah thats what i thought too, granted i really only saw Balmain games because my pop was a mad tigers fan but all my memories of him were at centre and lock. Most of his games as a 5/8th came in bad teams at the very end of his career... i dont have ANY memory of those but i suspect he was closer to defensive specialist playing 5/8th rather than an old grizzled creative vet ala Jason Smith with us.

Pigman wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 6:59 pm i suspect he was closer to defensive specialist playing 5/8th rather than an old grizzled creative vet ala Jason Smith with us.

Sounds perfect. I'll have 2 Hanleys please.

Archer wrote:

Pigman wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 6:11 pm

Love4Noa wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 5:45 pm

Pigman wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 10:02 am

Archer wrote: ↑July 2, 2018, 7:46 pm Serious replies only please pig, its not too late to save this season!
I like the thinking tw and gangers but I'm not sure we can afford the whole team for the $150 we've got left in the cap, as it stands someone is going to have to smuggle them over or have them pay for their own flights.

Alright! Alright!
Serious reply... Look it's worth a crack, if you can get their best half and bring him over here relatively cheaply, i mean at this point you've just got to keep throwing darts and hope that by hook or by crook you fall into a long term quality answer in the halves...

But i view english halves as the longest of all long shots. Forwards i can generally get behind, they seem to be alright. Occassionally a back comes over and looks solid... but i cant think of a single half who's come over from the ESL and not be total and utter trash... not just like average, like unplayable at the NRL level.

So by all means, shoot our shot and if we can get their best young half cheaply, take a chance but it's a half court heave at absolute best.

I mean. I get your point. But. Ellery Hanley voids your entire argument.

I mean if you say so, but i think I’m gonna need more than a handful of players who arrived 3 decades ago before I’ll consider my point voided haha


How about this, give me 3 names of English halves from the ESL(so sorry Gareth Widdop is our, since he came through 20’s) who have come here since the ARL-SL merger and performed at even league average standard

If you can do that, I’ll accept my point is void. 3 names, 20 years.

Can it count if they didn't play in the halves over there but could in the NRL? If so I'd like to start it off with one E. Whitehead. Given us some of our best "halves" like highlights in some years.

Would Hodgo’s time in the Halves count?

I'll allow it. 1 away. Did James Graham ever play a game in the halves?

Graham might actually be the best half to come out of England since the NRL. He played a TON of first reciever. I'd honestly play him at half over Chris Thorman every day of the week and twice on sundays

I'm sorry, but I'm not having any of this nonsense.

You sent us Marc Herbert.

What about that 29yo half who is debuting this weekend for Saints, Nicholls? pinch him - surely can't be worse than Austin??!??!

Relax-init wrote:What about that 29yo half who is debuting this weekend for Saints, Nicholls? pinch him - surely can't be worse than Austin??!??!

Sounds like a promising player with a long NRL career ahead of him. If he can play into his mid 40s he’ll be a 300+ gamer in my opinion.

I kid, I kid.