Williams or Sezer?

[Roger Kenworthy]

I thought he had his best half of the season up until the point he decided to do a starjump in the Eels attacking line. He was then MIA in the second half but he kept the errors to a minimum. That was as good as we can expect from our current options.

[kiwi raider]

I thought Sezer played exactly the role we need him to play. Kicked well. Defended ok. Ran the ball well. Went missing a bit, but I'm ok with Wighton and Hodgo running the show. We lost that game not because of Sezer. We lost that game because we played seriously dumb football for 50 minutes.

Sezer played well, did his job fine. If Wighton hadn't dropped the ball everytime he ran it in the second half we probably win that game.

There's going to be times when Wightons having a dud game, when that happens we need Sezer and Hodgson to stand up and take over, Sezer and to a lesser extent Hodgson didn't do this against the eels, in sezers case he was basically non existent the entire second half.

If Williams put in that sort of performance in the second half as well as going for the glory play intercept and letting Manu Mau waltz in for a try he'd be ripped apart on here(and rightfully so)

[The Nickman]

I thought Sezer played exactly the role we need him to play. Kicked well. Defended ok. Ran the ball well. Went missing a bit, but I'm ok with Wighton and Hodgo running the show. We lost that game not because of Sezer. We lost that game because we played seriously dumb football for 50 minutes.

Sezer played well, did his job fine. If Wighton hadn't dropped the ball everytime he ran it in the second half we probably win that game.

There's going to be times when Wightons having a dud game, when that happens we need Sezer and Hodgson to stand up and take over, Sezer and to a lesser extent Hodgson didn't do this against the eels, in sezers case he was basically non existent the entire second half.

If Williams put in that sort of performance in the second half as well as going for the glory play intercept and letting Manu Mau waltz in for a try he'd be ripped apart on here(and rightfully so)

If Jack Wighton was anybody else other than himself and maybe Hodgson and he made that many mistakes in a half of football to hand the opposition the game on a silver platter he'd be ripped apart on here too, and rightfully so. But Wighton has credit because we can all see what a special talent he is and he's already our key strike weapon.

But do you ever remember a half making that many mistakes in a game like that? Guys like Laurie Daley and Ricky Stuart never in their careers turned out halves of football like that.

Blaming it on his halves partner or Hodgson for not taking the ball off him is just ridiculous.

[Northern Raider]

I thought Sezer played exactly the role we need him to play. Kicked well. Defended ok. Ran the ball well. Went missing a bit, but I'm ok with Wighton and Hodgo running the show. We lost that game not because of Sezer. We lost that game because we played seriously dumb football for 50 minutes.

Sezer played well, did his job fine. If Wighton hadn't dropped the ball everytime he ran it in the second half we probably win that game.

There's going to be times when Wightons having a dud game, when that happens we need Sezer and Hodgson to stand up and take over, Sezer and to a lesser extent Hodgson didn't do this against the eels, in sezers case he was basically non existent the entire second half.

If Williams put in that sort of performance in the second half as well as going for the glory play intercept and letting Manu Mau waltz in for a try he'd be ripped apart on here(and rightfully so)

Dude, there are dud games and then there are total stinkers. Sezer would have needed to channel Johns or Thurston to overcome that performance.

[Azza]

Still, kiwi raider is right - Hodgson and Sezer need to stand up in those situations and they consistently don't.

[The Nickman]

I thought Sezer played exactly the role we need him to play. Kicked well. Defended ok. Ran the ball well. Went missing a bit, but I'm ok with Wighton and Hodgo running the show. We lost that game not because of Sezer. We lost that game because we played seriously dumb football for 50 minutes.

Sezer played well, did his job fine. If Wighton hadn't dropped the ball everytime he ran it in the second half we probably win that game.

There's going to be times when Wightons having a dud game, when that happens we need Sezer and Hodgson to stand up and take over, Sezer and to a lesser extent Hodgson didn't do this against the eels, in sezers case he was basically non existent the entire second half.

If Williams put in that sort of performance in the second half as well as going for the glory play intercept and letting Manu Mau waltz in for a try he'd be ripped apart on here(and rightfully so)

Dude, there are dud games and then there are total stinkers. Sezer would have needed to channel Johns or Thurston to overcome that performance.

Has Johns or Thurston's halves partner ever had a second half like that?? I doubt either of them would've been able to do much if so!

[The Nickman]

Still, kiwi raider is right - Hodgson and Sezer need to stand up in those situations and they consistently don't.

How on earth does ANY half or hooker "stand up" when their halves partner is EDIT the ball literally every second set of football??

Do they just refuse he has it anymore??

[Northern Raider]

I thought Sezer played exactly the role we need him to play. Kicked well. Defended ok. Ran the ball well. Went missing a bit, but I'm ok with Wighton and Hodgo running the show. We lost that game not because of Sezer. We lost that game because we played seriously dumb football for 50 minutes.

Sezer played well, did his job fine. If Wighton hadn't dropped the ball everytime he ran it in the second half we probably win that game.

There's going to be times when Wightons having a dud game, when that happens we need Sezer and Hodgson to stand up and take over, Sezer and to a lesser extent Hodgson didn't do this against the eels, in sezers case he was basically non existent the entire second half.

If Williams put in that sort of performance in the second half as well as going for the glory play intercept and letting Manu Mau waltz in for a try he'd be ripped apart on here(and rightfully so)

Dude, there are dud games and then there are total stinkers. Sezer would have needed to channel Johns or Thurston to overcome that performance.

Has Johns or Thurston's halves partner ever had a second half like that?? I doubt either of them would've been able to do much if so!

If Paps' knock on from that shocker pass out of dummy half was attributed to Wighton then he would have cracked the NRL record for most errors in one match. No real precedent to follow here.

[Azza]

Oh, geez Rickman, you like to argue don't you? Wighton had a stinker on the weekend but there are too many games over the last 2-3 years where our team is BEGGING for someone to grab the game by the balls and lead us home. And not everyone of them involved Wighton playing like he did on the weekend. For mine, Sezer and Hodgson could both be that person, but more often than not it doesn't happen. I'm less critical of Hodgson than Sezer here though, because the former does do a lot of good stuff on the field that goes unnoticed IMO.

[The Nickman]

I think we should just agree to disagree on this one, Azza.

[Azza]

Whatever

[The Nickman]

Dammit, you ruined it.

[kiwi raider]

Still, kiwi raider is right - Hodgson and Sezer need to stand up in those situations and they consistently don't.

How on earth does ANY half or hooker "stand up" when their halves partner is EDIT the ball literally every second set of football??

Do they just refuse he has it anymore??

Ok so there's nothing anyone can do if someone is consistently making errors? Demanding some(not all!) Of the ball would be a start, Hodgson could have simplified our game and run a lot more plays through the middle, Sezer could have done anything and it would have been an improvement, we may as well play whitehead in the halves if that's all sezer is going to contribute when wighton is stinking it up

[FROG]

I'd have backed Jack to turn it around. I have no problems with Hodgo and Sezer backing him either. Let's not forget that he absolutely blitzed it in the first 30m

[The Nickman]

I'd have backed Jack to turn it around. I have no problems with Hodgo and Sezer backing him either. Let's not forget that he absolutely blitzed it in the first 30m

That’s exactly it. When your best player is making mistakes, you don’t expect him to keep doing it, in fact when you’re down on the scoreboard, you expect him to produce the kind of play we all KNOW Jack can do that’ll pull us out of the muck.

It’s just unfortunate that on Saturday night he DIDN’T do this and he kept making more and more mistakes.

How this is anyway Sezer and Hodgson’s fault is completely beyond me. You guys are weird

[Botman]

I get why Sezer ends up in this spot. He's under-delivered what we thought we were getting when we got him. So there is hurt feelings amongst the fans, and they lash out like this... that's just part of fandom in many cases

But im **** if i can figure out why Josh Hodgson is so often maligned this site. All he's done is come in here and from day 1 been the second best hooker in club history. How the **** is he copping so much undeserved **** from this fan base?
One day we'll not have Josh Hodgson and we'll likely have to replace him with some Guttriss/Waddell level spud and when that day comes ill be here to remind those shovelling ridiculous **** at Hodgson, that incompetence at the hooker position is what they deserve.

[The Nickman]

I get why Sezer ends up in this spot. He's under-delivered what we thought we were getting when we got him. So there is hurt feelings amongst the fans, and they lash out like this... that's just part of fandom in many cases

But im **** if i can figure out why Josh Hodgson is so often maligned this site. All he's done is come in here and from day 1 been the second best hooker in club history. How the **** is he copping so much undeserved **** from this fan base?
One day we'll not have Josh Hodgson and we'll likely have to replace him with some Guttriss/Waddell level spud and when that day comes ill be here to remind those shovelling ridiculous **** at Hodgson, that incompetence at the hooker position is what they deserve.

Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree, Hodgson is **** amazing. As one of the loudest critics of Glenny B, I just love having one of the best dummy halves in the world in our team, and I can’t go back there... you can’t make me


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[-PJ-]

Leave Hodgo alone ya cowards..

[kiwi raider]

Certainly not a hodgson hater, love the bloke, don't get it when people complain that he does too much etc, hes elite and we need him pulling the trigger as much as possible , I just thought against the eels in the second half we could have played a bit more through the middle, dummy half runs etc, it worked extremely well in the first half with Rapana CNK etc making good inroads before spreading the ball wide

[woppadingo]

OK crazy idea.
neither Sam Williams or Sezer seem to be able to contribute consistently.
How about Starling to half?

From what Ive seen he seems quick, has a good pass, willing defensively... I cant see him being worse that Sezer or Williams?

WHats his kicking game like?

I can

why?

[Northern Raider]

OK crazy idea.
neither Sam Williams or Sezer seem to be able to contribute consistently.
How about Starling to half?

From what Ive seen he seems quick, has a good pass, willing defensively... I cant see him being worse that Sezer or Williams?

WHats his kicking game like?

I can

why?

Because he's a 3rd string hooker that's played something like 40 minutes of NRL.

[Botman]

It's a strange place to be like "here's a crazy idea! whadda think?" and then be told "yeah actually that is crazy, maybe not the best option" and still be like "what, why?"

haha.
Love it though, Woppy. Out of the box thinking is to be commended and encouraged. Cant take this journey with you, Starling hasnt looked particularly impressive as a hooker (dont get me wrong, he was solid, just not outstanding) and nothing in his game seems to me like he'd be a capable NRL half at this stage.

[Roger Kenworthy]

I get why Sezer ends up in this spot. He's under-delivered what we thought we were getting when we got him. So there is hurt feelings amongst the fans, and they lash out like this... that's just part of fandom in many cases

But im **** if i can figure out why Josh Hodgson is so often maligned this site. All he's done is come in here and from day 1 been the second best hooker in club history. How the **** is he copping so much undeserved **** from this fan base?
One day we'll not have Josh Hodgson and we'll likely have to replace him with some Guttriss/Waddell level spud and when that day comes ill be here to remind those shovelling ridiculous **** at Hodgson, that incompetence at the hooker position is what they deserve.

Definitely agree on Hodgson. You can question aspects of his game, but not his value to the team. People forget how much better we instantly looked in 2015 when he joined.

[Northern Raider]

I get why Sezer ends up in this spot. He's under-delivered what we thought we were getting when we got him. So there is hurt feelings amongst the fans, and they lash out like this... that's just part of fandom in many cases

But im **** if i can figure out why Josh Hodgson is so often maligned this site. All he's done is come in here and from day 1 been the second best hooker in club history. How the **** is he copping so much undeserved **** from this fan base?
One day we'll not have Josh Hodgson and we'll likely have to replace him with some Guttriss/Waddell level spud and when that day comes ill be here to remind those shovelling ridiculous **** at Hodgson, that incompetence at the hooker position is what they deserve.

Definitely agree on Hodgson. You can question aspects of his game, but not his value to the team. People forget how much better we instantly looked in 2015 when he joined.

Some of us recall the heady days of Tongue at hooker.

[Green2ooF]

Definitely Williams.. G.Williams

[Beejay]

You want your halves to try things, and sometimes you're going to get mistakes. We've had those games with Hodgson, where the things he's doing are just not coming off, but he doesn't stop trying. And there's only a few Hookers in the NRL that have that ability, let alone the confidence.
Wighton has been warming to this since he's been in the halves, and against the Eels in the second half he just couldn't get out of his funk, but he kept trying.

Sezer is so often invisible. You could count on one hand the games he's stamped himself on over the last 3 years. His stats show he is rarely creating things for others and is bottom of the league for virtually every key stat for a Half. He was bottom of the league for these stats in his 3 main years at the Titans as well, so I don't know how we got hoodwinked into thinking he was going to be good here. His game management has been bottom 4 worthy at the Raiders, and his team only ever finished bottom 4 while at the Titans.
Sezer has been given a long long go at being a first choice half in the NRL, since 2012, and he's played finals football once...
The fact he can defend well, has kept him in first grade.

[Northern Raider]

Did somebody put this thread back on loop?

[woppadingo]

Williams
:
George Williams, that is.

[Raiders_Pat]

You want your halves to try things, and sometimes you're going to get mistakes. We've had those games with Hodgson, where the things he's doing are just not coming off, but he doesn't stop trying. And there's only a few Hookers in the NRL that have that ability, let alone the confidence.
Wighton has been warming to this since he's been in the halves, and against the Eels in the second half he just couldn't get out of his funk, but he kept trying.

This is a very good point. Watching the Origin post-game wrap up last night, Gould made a comment re: the pass Pearce threw to Trbojevic which resulted in the final try. A lot of halves would have hesitated to throw it because there wasn't much room and there was a big chance of the intercept (which could have resulted in the complete opposite outcome). He said that worse halves would not have had the confidence to throw the pass and it shows how much Pearce has grown as a player.

This is the type of thing we almost never see from Sezer. You don't want a half who tries to force too much or take on too much like Blake Austin but you also don't want a half who seems too **** scared to try anything like Sezer. If you're going to play with such a conservative style in the halves, you need much better game management skills... your kick options need to be solid and you need a good feel/instinct for the game to know when to slow things down/speed things up - Sezer's kicking is very hot and cold, and he seems to lack that natural instinct for the game.

I predict George Williams to be an upgrade on Sezer in this regard, especially coming from a winning culture and knowing what it takes to come away with the W in those close games.

[Johno]

I cant help but feel somewhat excited with this signing, yes its only highlights but his willingness to run hard and fast at the line, and sharp flat passes look great.

He will not only create more but create for himself rather than catch and pass, the understanding with Hodgo will be of great importance, shouldnt take as long to gel given they have been team mates in the past.

Also seems to back up, I can see him and Wighton causing havoc..HAVOC !!!!!!!

[simo]

Theres no right or wrong answer to this debate

[Bennyinthewest]

See I disagree with Phil, I think it was a nice pass, but it came about due to lack of options, I can't recall who but someone went through the line, Pearce runs behind them, he has to pass it or it's an obstruction, and I don't think the pass was that risky.

But hey great moment and he had to nail it etc

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[gangrenous]

Disagreeing with Phil is the first sign you’re on the right track.

[papabear]

Don’t know why pick needs to turn this into a Hodgson thread when it is clearly a sezer / Williamson thread.

Tbh I have sezer in front by a long way, I actually think he has been very good since he has been back and will be sad to see him go

[FROG]

I thought sezer had his best game for us this year last night. Just hope he can maintain it