Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

All the news on the Canberra Raiders NRL team, all in one place

Moderator: GH Moderators

User avatar
BadnMean
Steve Walters
Posts: 7593
Joined: May 13, 2013, 5:30 pm
Favourite Player: chicka

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by BadnMean »

Botman wrote: April 13, 2021, 10:16 am Simo might be technically bigger (i havent looked at the profile pages) but he certainly doesnt play big
I think there is a chance that if Aekins comes in and absolutely kills it that he could challenge Simo for the wing spot, it's unlikely but it's a chance
He's made 140m + his last two weeks. His yards game is decent this year. Simo is heavier, 5cm taller. Aekins isn't noted for a power game. I'll just disagree with you there.
User avatar
afgtnk
Laurie Daley
Posts: 10712
Joined: April 7, 2007, 1:45 am
Favourite Player: Crotic

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by afgtnk »

Yeah Aekins is no winger. Don't believe there's any chance he's better than Simo there.
User avatar
hrundi89
Brett Mullins
Posts: 1811
Joined: January 25, 2007, 10:33 pm
Favourite Player: Jarrod Croker
Location: Sydney

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by hrundi89 »

Botman wrote: April 12, 2021, 7:17 pm Also at least it's only 2 months... which means he'll be back well in time to get some legs into him before the finals
We've also got a bye week in 8 weeks, so it might make sense to say he's out until after the bye, and then we've got a nice little month of footy for him to find his feet
oNlY

;)
You may remember me from such forum usernames as hrundi99 and... hrundi99.
User avatar
zim
Laurie Daley
Posts: 10639
Joined: July 8, 2015, 3:38 pm
Favourite Player: NRL: Joseph Tapine
NRLW: Grace Kemp
Location: Sydney

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by zim »

BadnMean wrote: April 13, 2021, 10:38 am
Botman wrote: April 13, 2021, 10:16 am Simo might be technically bigger (i havent looked at the profile pages) but he certainly doesnt play big
I think there is a chance that if Aekins comes in and absolutely kills it that he could challenge Simo for the wing spot, it's unlikely but it's a chance
He's made 140m + his last two weeks. His yards game is decent this year. Simo is heavier, 5cm taller. Aekins isn't noted for a power game. I'll just disagree with you there.
Yeah top 3 in our metres last week. His output has gone up a lot the last 2 weeks. Aekins isn't a winger. It's fullback or bust.
The Nickman
Mal Meninga
Posts: 51011
Joined: June 25, 2012, 9:53 am
Favourite Player: Hodgo
Location: Rockhampton, Central Queensland

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by The Nickman »

Well I think this is a deadset disaster, but obviously I rate CNK a lot higher than a lot of this forum does.
User avatar
Botman
Mal Meninga
Posts: 41988
Joined: June 18, 2013, 4:31 pm
Favourite Player: Elliott Whitehead

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Botman »

zim wrote: April 13, 2021, 11:29 am Yeah top 3 in our metres last week. His output has gone up a lot the last 2 weeks. Aekins isn't a winger. It's fullback or bust.
afgtnk wrote: April 13, 2021, 10:56 am Yeah Aekins is no winger. Don't believe there's any chance he's better than Simo there.

im curious to know what skills you guys think that a winger needs to possess that a career specialist fullback wouldnt have?
Whilst not all NRL wingers can functionally play fullback at an acceptable NRL level, in fact few can, the reverse would be true in my mind that almost any player who is capable of playing fullback at an NRL level can certainly line up and play on the wing.

I think Aekins has play about a dozen games and whilst he certainly wasnt a superstar, he more than held his own as a fullback. No question is my mind that he could play on the wing
User avatar
zim
Laurie Daley
Posts: 10639
Joined: July 8, 2015, 3:38 pm
Favourite Player: NRL: Joseph Tapine
NRLW: Grace Kemp
Location: Sydney

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by zim »

It's a similar issue to what Will kennedy had last year before he bulked up. There's no penetration with Aekins. You've either got to do it with power, speed or evasion and he just doesn't have enough of any of those to be a first choice winger in your 13.

Guys like Corey Thompson are a perfect example of the effort required for a smaller winger. He never gives up. Even on the ground he's crawling and he's also very agile. Aekins doesn't play like Thompson.

At fullback Aekins will get more space to work in attack and he won't be required to bring us out of trouble. While his positioning will help in defense. He can use strengths that aren't just physical.
User avatar
Botman
Mal Meninga
Posts: 41988
Joined: June 18, 2013, 4:31 pm
Favourite Player: Elliott Whitehead

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Botman »

Aekins is certainly going to need to help us get out of trouble, that's one of the main roles CNK plays. But interesting answer.

So my next question then, why the love for Simo?
Where is his penetration? His power? His Evasion? Speed i'll give him a pass on because he's probably our fastest back, but he's not close to game breaking speed.

But the other attributes? I know theoretically he has them. Former 9's (?) RU player should be evasive, if he's got some level of speed, he should be able to convert that to power and penetration... but it hasnt shown up yet imo.
User avatar
-TW-
Mal Meninga
Posts: 35369
Joined: July 2, 2007, 11:41 am

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by -TW- »

I think his grunt runs have definitely improved, but he's not like Cotric where he can't create line breaks after breaking 7 tackles

Looking at some of our sets last week, he and Rapana were the only ones making metres out of danger, Croker got bashed and Kris barely saw the ball.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


User avatar
Seiffert82
Mal Meninga
Posts: 27845
Joined: March 17, 2007, 12:24 pm
Favourite Player: Bay56

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Seiffert82 »

At this stage Simonsson is a below average winger in most respects, but he has bulked up quite a bit over the offseason. I suspect that has cost him some speed, hit his hitups are noticeably better.

He has almost zero stepping ability or evasion in his game though. Like a poor man's Rapana.
User avatar
BadnMean
Steve Walters
Posts: 7593
Joined: May 13, 2013, 5:30 pm
Favourite Player: chicka

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by BadnMean »

Botman wrote: April 13, 2021, 1:16 pm

im curious to know what skills you guys think that a winger needs to possess that a career specialist fullback wouldnt have?
Whilst not all NRL wingers can functionally play fullback at an acceptable NRL level, in fact few can, the reverse would be true in my mind that almost any player who is capable of playing fullback at an NRL level can certainly line up and play on the wing.

I think Aekins has play about a dozen games and whilst he certainly wasnt a superstar, he more than held his own as a fullback. No question is my mind that he could play on the wing
1 A modern winger needs some size as they play like an extra forward in the defensive 10-20m zone on early carries. A FB can get away with just going to ground sometimes on kick returns but on those early rucks you need some wingers with a power game.

2 A modern winger ideally has good speed- especially if they do not have that power game. Aekins doesn't seem to. He'd be roughly CNK pace from what I can see. So while Rapana or CNK may not be quick anymore, they both have a power game and some footwork, so make a decent winger. Caeleb is just slightly less robust. Even before JAC or similar bulked up, he had great speed and knew how to use it.

3 The other winger skill is getting those corner finishes. No idea if Caeleb could or not. But there IS a real skill to it, the timing, when to pin the ears and dive or when to step in, the acrobatics and judgement and hands of the grounding. We've seen how mucked up Rapana has been on his wrong side. Highlighted it is a very specific skill area for mine.

4 Hands and positioning on defusing kicks I'd agree winger and FB share from FB to winger certainly (winger o FB being the harder transition).

My feeling is that Caeleb would lack the power game and speed that would make our back 5 better as a winger. If he's not a FB, better off trying Semi or Hoppa.
raiderskater
Jason Croker
Posts: 4908
Joined: July 26, 2015, 8:24 pm
Favourite Player: Croker, Cotric, Sezer
Location: The Land of Lime Green

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by raiderskater »

I'm gutted for CNK and think this is a hugely devastating blow.

Willing to give this Aekins a chance - this is obviously what he was brought in for, we may as well use him for it. We've got some big games coming up and a specialist fullback is going to be a much better option than a makeshift one.
And to all the people who doubted me, hello to them as well. - Mark Webber, Raiders Ballboy and Unluckiest F1 Driver Ever

I'm attacking in the right way, instead of just...attacking in the general direction. - Max Aaron (also eerily apropos for the Green Machine)
User avatar
greeneyed
Don Furner
Posts: 145093
Joined: January 7, 2005, 4:21 pm

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by greeneyed »

I worry about Simonsson under pressure at the back under the high ball. They will seriously test him out. That's why I want to see a specialist in No. 1. Simonsson is under pressure to keep his wing spot, I certainly wouldn't be moving him to fullback.
Image
User avatar
Junior
Chris O'Sullivan
Posts: 965
Joined: August 16, 2012, 1:50 pm
Favourite Player: laurie daley

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Junior »

Caeleb Aekins has to be given the first crack at FB. that's the reason why he was signed for? Toots Jnr is great in the air but like Rapana wouldn't have the fitness to maintain a full 80 mins at FB. Rapana has filled in before and can do it. but only for a couple of weeks. he was gassed last week.
Did any else notice Toots Jnr grab at his shoulder and roll/wave his arm after his drive/flip try in the corner on Friday?
User avatar
afgtnk
Laurie Daley
Posts: 10712
Joined: April 7, 2007, 1:45 am
Favourite Player: Crotic

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by afgtnk »

Botman wrote: April 13, 2021, 1:16 pm
zim wrote: April 13, 2021, 11:29 am Yeah top 3 in our metres last week. His output has gone up a lot the last 2 weeks. Aekins isn't a winger. It's fullback or bust.
afgtnk wrote: April 13, 2021, 10:56 am Yeah Aekins is no winger. Don't believe there's any chance he's better than Simo there.

im curious to know what skills you guys think that a winger needs to possess that a career specialist fullback wouldnt have?
Whilst not all NRL wingers can functionally play fullback at an acceptable NRL level, in fact few can, the reverse would be true in my mind that almost any player who is capable of playing fullback at an NRL level can certainly line up and play on the wing.

I think Aekins has play about a dozen games and whilst he certainly wasnt a superstar, he more than held his own as a fullback. No question is my mind that he could play on the wing
Are we talking over the guys that we currently have? I'm sure he could play on the wing and wouldn't disgrace himself if we happened to play him there, but I don't think he'd be better than any of the players that currently form the depth for the position at all.

He doesn't have the right mix of height/speed/power/size for the position to me - Simo's got him on all four fronts.
User avatar
zim
Laurie Daley
Posts: 10639
Joined: July 8, 2015, 3:38 pm
Favourite Player: NRL: Joseph Tapine
NRLW: Grace Kemp
Location: Sydney

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by zim »

Botman wrote: April 13, 2021, 1:58 pm Aekins is certainly going to need to help us get out of trouble, that's one of the main roles CNK plays. But interesting answer.

So my next question then, why the love for Simo?
Where is his penetration? His power? His Evasion? Speed i'll give him a pass on because he's probably our fastest back, but he's not close to game breaking speed.

But the other attributes? I know theoretically he has them. Former 9's (?) RU player should be evasive, if he's got some level of speed, he should be able to convert that to power and penetration... but it hasnt shown up yet imo.
He's definitely more powerful. We have to choose in a bubble here so while Simo isn't lighting the world on fire compared to other wingers in the comp he's got more penetration than Aekins and he's one of our best in the air when attacking.
Simonsson is also showing year on year improvement. He was making some terrible defensive decisions in previous years but that seems to have been cleared up. The crazy over thinking from earlier rounds which had him on my **** list has disappeared. I'm hoping with more time we start to see some nuisance in his game with the ball to improve they way he brings us out of trouble.

Watching Aekins in reserve grade he looks like the exact same Aekins that was playing reserve grade for the panthers. Hopefully this call up gives him a shot in the arm. Some guys need that first grade jersey before we see the best of them. I'd say Semi Valemei is one of those guys too. He's capable of more than he's outputting in reserves. He's not playing badly but there's not as much of the dominant running we saw from him last year.
If I was going to pick a winger to come in it would be Valemei.
User avatar
Botman
Mal Meninga
Posts: 41988
Joined: June 18, 2013, 4:31 pm
Favourite Player: Elliott Whitehead

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Botman »

Yeah i think its clear we are not on the same page with Simo. I'm firmly in GE's camp where i think he's struggling to hold down a FG spot and any player, including Aekins, who gets a shot at FG, if they out perform him, they're a chance to take his spot.
User avatar
zim
Laurie Daley
Posts: 10639
Joined: July 8, 2015, 3:38 pm
Favourite Player: NRL: Joseph Tapine
NRLW: Grace Kemp
Location: Sydney

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by zim »

I'm not against someone who's performing taking his spot. Just haven't seen anything from Aekins so far to indicate that's coming. Maybe Aekins sets the world on fire with some rainbow passes and we end up with CNK on the wing.
30ft spirals for days.
User avatar
Botman
Mal Meninga
Posts: 41988
Joined: June 18, 2013, 4:31 pm
Favourite Player: Elliott Whitehead

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Botman »

zim wrote: April 14, 2021, 11:47 am I'm not against someone who's performing taking his spot. Just haven't seen anything from Aekins so far to indicate that's coming. Maybe Aekins sets the world on fire with some rainbow passes and we end up with CNK on the wing.
30ft spirals for days.
As i said in my initial post, i dont think it's very likely, tbh it was less a comment on Aekins and more a comment on Simo. Because i dont think he's cemented that spot at all and i think any outside back who gets a shot in FG, has a chance to play well enough to oust him.
User avatar
zim
Laurie Daley
Posts: 10639
Joined: July 8, 2015, 3:38 pm
Favourite Player: NRL: Joseph Tapine
NRLW: Grace Kemp
Location: Sydney

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by zim »

Be interesting to see where it ends up next year with Rapana retiring. Valemei should be in the mix.
Kris if we retain him probably makes a permanent switch to the backrow over the next couple of seasons.
Savage still at least a year away with the genuine pace.
Perhaps Hopoate makes a move.
User avatar
Botman
Mal Meninga
Posts: 41988
Joined: June 18, 2013, 4:31 pm
Favourite Player: Elliott Whitehead

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Botman »

Yeah i mean we've still got Timoko and HSS, and i've still got really high hopes for Simo too. Valemi as well. All these guys have the ability, and if one or two of them could kick on and become staples of the team and strong contributors, it would be very helpful as we look at how to get better in the back 5 in the next 18 months

But we do need to get better and time is sort of starting to run out on some of those guys, and we maybe at a point where we have to go outside the club to find something
User avatar
Northern Raider
Mal Meninga
Posts: 32520
Joined: June 19, 2007, 8:17 am
Favourite Player: Dean Lance
Location: Greener pastures

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Northern Raider »

zim wrote: April 14, 2021, 12:03 pm Be interesting to see where it ends up next year with Rapana retiring. Valemei should be in the mix.
Kris if we retain him probably makes a permanent switch to the backrow over the next couple of seasons.
Savage still at least a year away with the genuine pace.
Perhaps Hopoate makes a move.
Yep, I see Kris as a back rower long term. Seems to play that kind of role currently even in the centres. No doubt Ricky saw this and picked him there against the Warriors. We see a lot of players gradually make the transition and be successful.

Hopoate is an interesting one. Lots of hype coming through juniors at Sea Eagles. Successive knee recos cut him short. One to keep an eye on.
* The author assumes no responsibility for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality of information provided.
User avatar
Northern Raider
Mal Meninga
Posts: 32520
Joined: June 19, 2007, 8:17 am
Favourite Player: Dean Lance
Location: Greener pastures

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Northern Raider »

Botman wrote: April 14, 2021, 12:08 pm Yeah i mean we've still got Timoko and HSS, and i've still got really high hopes for Simo too. Valemi as well. All these guys have the ability, and if one or two of them could kick on and become staples of the team and strong contributors, it would be very helpful as we look at how to get better in the back 5 in the next 18 months

But we do need to get better and time is sort of starting to run out on some of those guys, and we maybe at a point where we have to go outside the club to find something
With Simo I'm seeing a guy who does his job. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not seeing anything next level. Makes him easily replaceable provided that person offers something more. Bit of a Michael Oldifeld type.
* The author assumes no responsibility for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality of information provided.
Johno
David Furner
Posts: 3914
Joined: December 12, 2013, 9:28 am
Favourite Player: Laurie Daley

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Johno »

Would love to see Semi become our Sivo/To'o/Ravalawa, hes still young and has the frame to be damaging, and from the chances he had previously he had speed, if HSS or Timoko or AN Other step up would make a world of difference.

I was going to type its a big IF, but maybe its not that big?

Savage comes through, an astute signing and will look exciting.
User avatar
Lui_Bon
Jason Croker
Posts: 4155
Joined: June 3, 2009, 4:07 pm

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Lui_Bon »

I reckon I saw the most telling argument for Aekins' inclusion during the interviews with Hodgo. He said, roughly, that "Ricky asked some of the senior boys who they thought should get the role and when he suggested Caeleb, we all said yes". Or perhaps in other words, the "senior boys" listened to a whole bunch of stupid ideas and the second Ricky suggested maybe Aekins they all went "Yes, please god, not any of those other stupid ideas, YES!"
The Nickman
Mal Meninga
Posts: 51011
Joined: June 25, 2012, 9:53 am
Favourite Player: Hodgo
Location: Rockhampton, Central Queensland

Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by The Nickman »

I think we’re really going to struggle without Charnze. I really hope I’m wrong, but could be a rough month or two.

Not expecting to come away with the W this week.
User avatar
BadnMean
Steve Walters
Posts: 7593
Joined: May 13, 2013, 5:30 pm
Favourite Player: chicka

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by BadnMean »

The Nickman wrote: April 15, 2021, 6:44 am I think we’re really going to struggle without Charnze. I really hope I’m wrong, but could be a rough month or two.

Not expecting to come away with the W this week.
The defensive talk /organisation skills may be missed. (Cooper Cronk in the GF with one arm showed how important that can be to a side's D). And there's no measuring or replacing the try saver he tends to come up with most weeks.

The fact Ricky has gone for a full time FB and the senior players have confidence in him suggests they have trained enough with Caleb to know he fulfills that part of the role too and are comfortable he gets it.

Be interesting to see if Scott or Croker pick up the grunt yards work CHarnze does- our wingers generally do a fair amount, it's the centres who took some extra carries when Charnze went off. It'll be a bit of a test of Scott's ribs and Toots honestly probably shouldn't be doing it- if he needs to take a tough run make it a wide pass with Rapana + Aekins or Wighton (whoever is back) running off him, please not back into the ruck. Croker is good enough to pass if the defenders over commit to him or if they hold off and check the runners he can slide his nose through. Other teams combat the "rush and crush" by getting wider earlier. On the Toots side, it might be a good play for us.

If we don't seem to miss the yards, I hope someone points out to Charnze that if he did a bit less battering ramming, he might have some more in the tank for those explosive plays or split second decisions up the attacking end. A bit of calm to pick his moment. hard when he's buggered all the time.
The Nickman
Mal Meninga
Posts: 51011
Joined: June 25, 2012, 9:53 am
Favourite Player: Hodgo
Location: Rockhampton, Central Queensland

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by The Nickman »

BadnMean wrote: April 15, 2021, 8:07 am
The Nickman wrote: April 15, 2021, 6:44 am I think we’re really going to struggle without Charnze. I really hope I’m wrong, but could be a rough month or two.

Not expecting to come away with the W this week.
The defensive talk /organisation skills may be missed. (Cooper Cronk in the GF with one arm showed how important that can be to a side's D). And there's no measuring or replacing the try saver he tends to come up with most weeks.

The fact Ricky has gone for a full time FB and the senior players have confidence in him suggests they have trained enough with Caleb to know he fulfills that part of the role too and are comfortable he gets it.

Be interesting to see if Scott or Croker pick up the grunt yards work CHarnze does- our wingers generally do a fair amount, it's the centres who took some extra carries when Charnze went off. It'll be a bit of a test of Scott's ribs and Toots honestly probably shouldn't be doing it- if he needs to take a tough run make it a wide pass with Rapana + Aekins or Wighton (whoever is back) running off him, please not back into the ruck. Croker is good enough to pass if the defenders over commit to him or if they hold off and check the runners he can slide his nose through. Other teams combat the "rush and crush" by getting wider earlier. On the Toots side, it might be a good play for us.

If we don't seem to miss the yards, I hope someone points out to Charnze that if he did a bit less battering ramming, he might have some more in the tank for those explosive plays or split second decisions up the attacking end. A bit of calm to pick his moment. hard when he's buggered all the time.
There's no "may" about it. The defensive talk /organisation skills WILL be missed, as was evidenced on Friday night against the Panthers. We're a defensive based unit these days, our whole game is based around it. Without that defensive cohesion, we won't stop the better teams running up big scores against us, and we just don't have the attack to compensate.

The big question here is whether or not Aekins can organise the defense like Charnze... what he does in attack will be largely irrelevant if we can't get that under control.
User avatar
zim
Laurie Daley
Posts: 10639
Joined: July 8, 2015, 3:38 pm
Favourite Player: NRL: Joseph Tapine
NRLW: Grace Kemp
Location: Sydney

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by zim »

Lui_Bon wrote: April 14, 2021, 10:54 pm I reckon I saw the most telling argument for Aekins' inclusion during the interviews with Hodgo. He said, roughly, that "Ricky asked some of the senior boys who they thought should get the role and when he suggested Caeleb, we all said yes". Or perhaps in other words, the "senior boys" listened to a whole bunch of stupid ideas and the second Ricky suggested maybe Aekins they all went "Yes, please god, not any of those other stupid ideas, YES!"
Boy how embarrassing it would be if the players weren't on message with supporting the guy that was signed specifically as a backup fullback.
Wiki Special
Brett Mullins
Posts: 1526
Joined: August 11, 2016, 8:16 am
Favourite Player: Ruben Wiki

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Wiki Special »

The Nickman wrote: April 15, 2021, 8:35 am
BadnMean wrote: April 15, 2021, 8:07 am
The Nickman wrote: April 15, 2021, 6:44 am I think we’re really going to struggle without Charnze. I really hope I’m wrong, but could be a rough month or two.

Not expecting to come away with the W this week.
The defensive talk /organisation skills may be missed. (Cooper Cronk in the GF with one arm showed how important that can be to a side's D). And there's no measuring or replacing the try saver he tends to come up with most weeks.

The fact Ricky has gone for a full time FB and the senior players have confidence in him suggests they have trained enough with Caleb to know he fulfills that part of the role too and are comfortable he gets it.

Be interesting to see if Scott or Croker pick up the grunt yards work CHarnze does- our wingers generally do a fair amount, it's the centres who took some extra carries when Charnze went off. It'll be a bit of a test of Scott's ribs and Toots honestly probably shouldn't be doing it- if he needs to take a tough run make it a wide pass with Rapana + Aekins or Wighton (whoever is back) running off him, please not back into the ruck. Croker is good enough to pass if the defenders over commit to him or if they hold off and check the runners he can slide his nose through. Other teams combat the "rush and crush" by getting wider earlier. On the Toots side, it might be a good play for us.

If we don't seem to miss the yards, I hope someone points out to Charnze that if he did a bit less battering ramming, he might have some more in the tank for those explosive plays or split second decisions up the attacking end. A bit of calm to pick his moment. hard when he's buggered all the time.
There's no "may" about it. The defensive talk /organisation skills WILL be missed, as was evidenced on Friday night against the Panthers. We're a defensive based unit these days, our whole game is based around it. Without that defensive cohesion, we won't stop the better teams running up big scores against us, and we just don't have the attack to compensate.

The big question here is whether or not Aekins can organise the defense like Charnze... what he does in attack will be largely irrelevant if we can't get that under control.
This is my view as well. For better or worse every decision Ricky has made since the 2019 pre-season has been made from a defensive point of view. I hope Aekins plays well and I'm sure he can handle FG. But CNK is a HUGE loss to our squad.
User avatar
Raider47
Jason Croker
Posts: 4751
Joined: April 15, 2009, 10:38 am
Favourite Player: Matt Timoko
Location: Queanbo

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Raider47 »

Agreed. I'd say CNK has been our most important player this season. With the lack of metres on long kicks Jack and George are getting, the metres CNK makes in his runs are so important. That together with his try saving tackles and defensive organisation, I think we are gonna feel the effects of his absence.

Hope Aekins fills the void neatly but we're deluded if we think this isn't a big loss.
The Nickman
Mal Meninga
Posts: 51011
Joined: June 25, 2012, 9:53 am
Favourite Player: Hodgo
Location: Rockhampton, Central Queensland

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by The Nickman »

Raider47 wrote: April 15, 2021, 9:25 am Agreed. I'd say CNK has been our most important player this season. With the lack of metres on long kicks Jack and George are getting, the metres CNK makes in his runs are so important. That together with his try saving tackles and defensive organisation, I think we are gonna feel the effects of his absence.

Hope Aekins fills the void neatly but we're deluded if we think this isn't a big loss.
I have to say I'm more concerned about filling the gap left by CNK than I was about Hodgson's injury last year.

Hopefully time proves me wrong, but I have a bad feeling about this.
User avatar
Azza
Laurie Daley
Posts: 10526
Joined: February 16, 2005, 10:12 am

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Azza »

The Nickman wrote: April 15, 2021, 6:44 am I think we’re really going to struggle without Charnze. I really hope I’m wrong, but could be a rough month or two.

Not expecting to come away with the W this week.
Yep. We're in big trouble.
User avatar
papabear
Steve Walters
Posts: 7038
Joined: August 27, 2007, 2:26 pm
Location: leafy part of sydney

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by papabear »

Hodgsons lateral movement is not good enough to defend an edge.

So if you play him in the halves he still has to defend the middle..

I am not a fan of a change in halves, our halves are going ok. Our defence will be interesting without CNK to carry it.
User avatar
Canberra Milk
Laurie Daley
Posts: 15203
Joined: January 6, 2005, 8:44 pm
Favourite Player: Leipana

Re: Raiders dealt huge blow as neck injury puts CNK out for up to two months

Post by Canberra Milk »

There's enough reason to be concerned, for sure. Time will tell.

As for Hodgson's loss last year, I'm still not convinced we're any better with him over Havili/Starling. Not to say he shouldn't be picked, he offers a lot of intangibles as well as potential upside, but it's interesting. And I'm not even saying it means Hodgo is bad, perhaps it shows the quality of his replacements, I am a big fan of Havili, and Starling speaks for himself
Post Reply