Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

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Botman
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by Botman »

Look, not to make any excuses, but as a person who has recently (at least recently enough to remember what life was like with new borns) had young kids... the **** is real. It's a totally life and schedule changing situation. I dont know what if any imapct it had on Croker, combine that with COVID and a very disjointed season from a combination stand point and frankly, really poor form from him

But there is certainly some mitigating circumstances here. It maybe that none of this matters and this is just a guy who's going to age out pretty badly because his style of play is probably not condusive to being productive if he loses that little bit of guile, accerlation and footwork that allowed him to be effective. That's certainly where i'd lean at this point, given what i saw from him in 2020. But i dont think it's an absolute slam dunk that this guy is going to be unplayable in 2021.
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by Northern Raider »

The disjointed season could have adversely affected a few players in the NRL. Hard to say really. We won't really know till next year and see who bounces back.

That aside Croker definitely needs to lift in 2021. His form through this year has not been good enough to be an automatic selection.
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by Seiffert82 »

Our lack of depth in the centres hasn't helped. With all due respect to the likes of Rapana, Oldfield and even Cotric, those guys simply shouldn't be playing in that position (although I would have much preferred Cotric to Rapa).
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by Hong Kong Raider »

Northern Raider wrote: October 23, 2020, 9:15 am The disjointed season could have adversely affected a few players in the NRL. Hard to say really. We won't really know till next year and see who bounces back.

That aside Croker definitely needs to lift in 2021. His form through this year has not been good enough to be an automatic selection.
Well put, Northern.
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by RedRaider »

Pete Cash wrote: October 21, 2020, 7:02 am Rapana was worse but that gets fixed next year. I doubt he plays much centre. I was having a heart attack every time the roosters and storm shifted the ball left at any point on the field.

Croker was never the most physical player but outside of some early years did the job. He just can't afford to lose much with age. Honestly a strong gust of wind would have put vunivalu into touch. Croker needs to be at least as physical as a strong gust of wind.

The miss on vunivalu was very very disappointing from a team leader but his game against the roosters was more worrying. He normally covers Manu ok. Let's hope it's an injury/poor form rather than anything permanent
Agree with this. No doubt with our side having already conceded 2 tries we could not afford an experienced player to take the option of not putting the Storm winger into touch. If he does that, we get the ball back and although we are down by 2 tries we have the ball and can start to get into our rhythm with a 5 tackles and kick set. Instead we are down by 3 tries. I'm fairly sure it was their last tackle so killing the ball was imperative.

I didn't think he played that badly in the prior match against the Chooks at all, but he gave himself a bagging after that match. I think he is truthful in how he feels with anything he is asked about, so to me that would indicate a lack of confidence. Something to be corrected in the off season. Perhaps a Sport psychologist could help him. I think he should definitely line up at left center as we start 2021.
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by Roger Kenworthy »

Botman wrote: October 22, 2020, 9:39 pm Look, not to make any excuses, but as a person who has recently (at least recently enough to remember what life was like with new borns) had young kids... the **** is real. It's a totally life and schedule changing situation. I dont know what if any imapct it had on Croker, combine that with COVID and a very disjointed season from a combination stand point and frankly, really poor form from him

But there is certainly some mitigating circumstances here. It maybe that none of this matters and this is just a guy who's going to age out pretty badly because his style of play is probably not condusive to being productive if he loses that little bit of guile, accerlation and footwork that allowed him to be effective. That's certainly where i'd lean at this point, given what i saw from him in 2020. But i dont think it's an absolute slam dunk that this guy is going to be unplayable in 2021.
I love that the guy who is always willing to make a snap call on any number of issues is willing to get into how changing diapers impacted Croker's season.

He had a poor one. He's had a few off years in the past, hopefully he bounces back again.
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by afgtnk »

This being a parent thing is hands down probably the worst excuse being used for Croker I've ever seen, and I've seen some absolute doozies in his time :lol:
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by gangrenous »

Spoken as by someone with no experience of actively raising a small human.
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

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Or rather spoken as by someone who knows how many fathers of young children there are playing in the NRL, and who do not have incredibly weak excuses used for them to explain a large drop in form over an entire season.
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by Northern Raider »

I can't speak for Croker or any other NRL player but can say that my first kid knocked me around quite a bit and I reckon I handled it OK. It's one of the most disruptive things that can happen in your life.
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

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afgtnk wrote: October 24, 2020, 12:51 pm Or rather spoken as by someone who knows how many fathers of young children there are playing in the NRL, and who do not have incredibly weak excuses used for them to explain a large drop in form over an entire season.
First point, and this is a point i always like to make. Listing potential reasons that could have impacted an athletes performance isnt making "excuses", no one is excusing Croker's performances, no one, least of all me is saying this isnt a concern. It's simply speculating on a life impacting situation may have been a contributing factor to performance. It wasnt ever posed as an excuse, it was listed amongst a miriade of things INCLUDING and i quote directly "really poor form from him" as factors that might have played a role in him having his worst season to day.

Second point, it beyond clear you've got no **** idea what it is to be a new parent. :lol: You can let me know when you have that expeirence what sort of impact it has on every aspect of your life.

This season was very different to any other we've had before, with the season stopping and starting, with the schedule, with the travel situation, with the bubble protocols and then personal circumstances like this. The point was, and again ill go directly back to the post since the point was made quite clearly

"There is certainly some mitigating circumstances here. It maybe that none of this matters and this is just a guy who's going to age out pretty badly because his style of play is probably not condusive to being productive if he loses that little bit of guile, accerlation and footwork that allowed him to be effective. That's certainly where i'd lean at this point, given what i saw from him in 2020. But i dont think it's an absolute slam dunk that this guy is going to be unplayable in 2021"
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by Northern Raider »

Whatever the reasons Croker needs to turn his form around. What he dished up late in the season is not going to cut it next year.
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

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100% correct
If his 2021 campaign is like his 2020 one, the club is going to have to address it.
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by The Nickman »

Cowards


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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

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The Nickman wrote: October 24, 2020, 7:04 pm Cowards


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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by The Nickman »

BadnMean wrote:
The Nickman wrote: October 24, 2020, 7:04 pm Cowards


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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by Roger Kenworthy »

The Nickman wrote: October 24, 2020, 7:10 pm
BadnMean wrote:
The Nickman wrote: October 24, 2020, 7:04 pm Cowards


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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by afgtnk »

Botman wrote: October 24, 2020, 5:51 pm
afgtnk wrote: October 24, 2020, 12:51 pm Or rather spoken as by someone who knows how many fathers of young children there are playing in the NRL, and who do not have incredibly weak excuses used for them to explain a large drop in form over an entire season.
First point, and this is a point i always like to make. Listing potential reasons that could have impacted an athletes performance isnt making "excuses", no one is excusing Croker's performances, no one, least of all me is saying this isnt a concern. It's simply speculating on a life impacting situation may have been a contributing factor to performance. It wasnt ever posed as an excuse, it was listed amongst a miriade of things INCLUDING and i quote directly "really poor form from him" as factors that might have played a role in him having his worst season to day.

Second point, it beyond clear you've got no **** idea what it is to be a new parent. :lol: You can let me know when you have that expeirence what sort of impact it has on every aspect of your life.

This season was very different to any other we've had before, with the season stopping and starting, with the schedule, with the travel situation, with the bubble protocols and then personal circumstances like this. The point was, and again ill go directly back to the post since the point was made quite clearly

"There is certainly some mitigating circumstances here. It maybe that none of this matters and this is just a guy who's going to age out pretty badly because his style of play is probably not condusive to being productive if he loses that little bit of guile, accerlation and footwork that allowed him to be effective. That's certainly where i'd lean at this point, given what i saw from him in 2020. But i dont think it's an absolute slam dunk that this guy is going to be unplayable in 2021"
Firstly, I have a kid.

Second, my intention is not to diminish the disruption to your old life that comes about with having kids. It's difficult, and your life essentially splits into two: the one before you had kids, and the one after you had kids. It just does not and cannot explain the drop in his performances throughout the entire season this year from previous years.Throughout the course of an entire season, having a kid is not to blame for being dominated in tackles and making three metres a hit up. Or for being bundled out into touch when you're well in from the sideline. Or being unable to get through gaps anymore. Or being more easily brushed off in tackles.

I'm seeing the word 'form' thrown around a lot. This isn't form - form is when you've still got the ability and still have the capability to churn out the good performances, but it isn't coming to the fore for whatever reason. At no point in the season did I see Croker show anything to suggest that he's still 'got it', and this is just a bad spell from him. This, at least to me, is clearly a deeper physical decline - just like Jordan. The difference is though, at least in defence of Croker, that he's played twice the amount of football Jordy has.

Unless he's had an injury that we haven't been aware of and needs to recover, or unless he does something drastically different in his conditioning/prep, I don't see how it turns around - he can't exactly reverse human biology.
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by Dr Zaius »

afgtnk wrote:Or rather spoken as by someone who knows how many fathers of young children there are playing in the NRL, and who do not have incredibly weak excuses used for them to explain a large drop in form over an entire season.
I actually think that it's a better one than blaming the winger outside of him, which is the usual MO.
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Re: Jarrod Croker's goal kicking

Post by -PJ- »

Surely Mr and Mrs Croker have decided no more kids.

It's knocking Jarrod around..hes forgotten how to play Rugbrugh Leeg.
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