2019 the Year Ahead

steamboatfarmer · February 1, 2019, 7:59am

What an off season, Bennet going to Souths, Siebold to Broncos, Maguire to Wests,Hasler back to Manly and Cleary to Panthers
Let alone player movements, these movements by coaches is amazing in 1 season.
All this does is throw everything into the mix with more questions about how players will react to coaches and their style.
The most important question for Panther diehards is how will Cleary go as coach at Panthers…will he be shackled or does he truly have the support of the Board?
Year after year we say we have the roster and with some notable movements from the Panthers i think we could be close, how close we will only know the longer the comp goes but one would have to think with another year of experience in players like Cleary,Edwards,JFH and Kikau we have some X factor in our team.
Maloney still looks out of sync in our squad and with Luai fit i think he will be under enormous pressure to perform but as many great players do, this is when they shine.
I hope Cleary has us more ready for the “grind” in games as opposed to the comeback kings which has no future. Its one thing to believe you can get the other team, its another thing altogether to get the other team.
Sharp improvers this year will be Cowboys and despite a good run last year i believe Siebold will get plenty out of the broncos in 2019

We will have to lift again but with a focus on leaking points…we can score them but we have to prove we can keep other mobs to a lower score by determination and a defensive pattern which works.

I believe if we can frustrate the other side by a defence which is determined and can hold out teams for long periods, we will crush them in attack.

Sounds easy from the lounge chair but its a simple game…hope Cleary has the boys thinking its that simple as well.

Defend like your life depends on it then crush them with our blistering attack.

Bring it on…been too long a hiatus and cannot wait until game time!

Puss · February 1, 2019, 8:42am

Welcome back steamboat.

Mutley · February 3, 2019, 2:40am

From what I have heard, Maloney & Cleary have swapped sides in defence, so Maloney will now be alongside Yeo, who is arguably one of our best defenders. Hopefully this move will pay off.

The other teams to be wary of next year I think will be the Knights & Raiders. Knights probably would have made the finals last year if Pearce hadn’t been injured, I’m expecting them to be top 4 this year. Raiders are always a bit of a lottery, but they should have enough firepower, along with their home ground advantage, to get themselves into the mix (although I feel they are more likely to be bottom half of the 8).

Kevin · February 3, 2019, 9:01pm

Raiders NO - I heard Browny was/has? Got the flick from the knights…

All we need to do is stay fit, it’s common knowledge that any side that is in a position to win the comp has the least injury setbacks, if we stay fit, we will be in it at the finish.

SteveTidball · February 4, 2019, 6:23pm

Not sure about the Raiders, they always have the firepower but always eventually disappoint. The problem is Ricky Stuart, he won’t win them a premiership. If I were the Raiders I would think of hiring Neil Henry (or even Cam Ciraldo).

Regarding the Knights, I think there will be a marked improvement, they have recruited well in the off-season and seem to have a decent amount of talent across the field. I expect to see them in the lower half of the 8 this year.

Regarding the Panthers, to sound a bit bullish I think it’s the Panthers Premiership to lose. If we keep relatively injury free, we will be hard to stop.

Puss · February 5, 2019, 8:26am

Panthers - top 4
and Titans to surprise
Tigers & Dogs to do it tough.

steamboatfarmer · February 18, 2019, 7:58am

just read this about switching Cleary with Maloney and oddly enough defence was the reason cited but gees we have some firepower on Cleary side now in attack with Kikau,Waqa and Mansour all going to be getting balls in much better positions then they did with Maloney
Its an interesting switch and also interesting to note Cleary is not playing against Souths in the trial with Luai getting the run at 7
Nice to have that sort of talent sitting in lower grades or on the bench and agree with the comments about teams with least amount on injuries are there at the right end of the season.
Its a long way to the finals and lots can happen but as always the cream rises to the top for the GF…Roosters were deserved winners last year and after their win against Wigan in England today suggests they will be there when it matters again.

SteveTidball · February 18, 2019, 10:06pm

This will also suit Maloney as well. He will have heavy hitter Yeo running guard on him will give Maloney some room to move and make better field decisions.