Brits in the NRL

[Dunbar]

I guess we will have to take the messaging on face value from the Dogs.  But looking at the trend....

Thompson first 3 games in the NRL was 59 minutes on average, next 3 were 48 minutes game time.  Then 33 minutes off the bench and then out of the 17.

[DavidM]

Rested is the in word for dropped nowadays . If he’d been ripping it up he wouldn’t be rested . He didn’t play for ages and has played a handful of matches , with limited minutes when the guy is a Duracell bunny and can go week in week out . Looks a bit scapegoated or the Dogs have just give up and throwing names up in the air . The Dogs need to have a long look at what they bought and how to best use him on that evidence 

[barnyia]

Phycology by the coach? Drop him from the game that I reckon he'd really want to play in as there's so many english guys in the canberra team. Extra kick up the backside? Or is he tired? 

[Dunbar]

11 minutes ago, barnyia said:

Phycology by the coach? Drop him from the game that I reckon he'd really want to play in as there's so many english guys in the canberra team. Extra kick up the backside? Or is he tired? 

I don't understand why a new recruit playing in his first dozen NRL games and looking to prove himself to the Aussie RL world would need a kick up the backside.

[DavidM]

I bet he’s sick , he’d have pencilled this game in I’m sure . Big game against Canberra with three English forwards , Sunday afternoon . He’ll be gutted

[hunsletgreenandgold]

I think the situation for Thompson at the Dogs has been getting ever worse, with no signs of improvement. It was the wrong club for him. This weekend they play the Raiders who are already littered with English players - could definitely see how his work ethic at 13 would fit in there. Or even the Dragons - or to put it another way, the Dogs was the worst place he could've gone after Titans. Calling it now and I hope i'm wrong, because he definitely can cut it in the NRL, he'll be back in SL by the start of next season and either straight back to Saints or Leeds. 

[Dunbar]

I think it shows a poor degree of man management to leave a player out of a game that they would have had a strong desire to play in.  Especially as the Dogs are not playing for a big finish to the season.  Seems to me just a sure fire way to demotivate a premier signing.

[DavidM]

As soon as he got there and became available they should have had him at prop and heavily involved , knocking out 20 carries . Just to integrate him and show his teammates and fans what they have - especially his teammates . The way they’ve done it , with him semidetached most of the time , hasn’t done him or them any favours . He’s not hit his straps and they’ve misused him . I said before , they must have signed him on what they seen of him . I’ve zero doubt he can be a handful as a ball carrier in the NRL - but at present he can’t settle into a groove because his use is so staccato . They have him at 13 , they have him on the bench , they have him dropped ...

[Dunbar]

Can't remember if it was his first or second game but Thompson clearly got frustrated when the dummy half/playmaker shifted the ball away from him again.  Is it the game plan to use him as a dummy runner or are his teammates influencing this? Plenty of times I have seen him put his hand up for a carry just for the ball to go somewhere else.

Edited August 25, 2020 by Dunbar

[DavidM]

2 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

Can't remember if it was his first or second game but Thompson clearly got frustrated when the dummy half/playmaker shifted the ball away from him again.  Is it the game plan to use him as a dummy runner or are his teammates influencing this? Plenty of times I have seen him put his hand up for a carry just for the ball to go somewhere else.

Strange isn’t it . You’d think it would be ‘ come on then let’s see what this Pommie has got ‘ . Frustrating for us , doubly so for him . Hopefully Trent Barrett is a lifeline for him and gets on his wavelength 

[DoubleD]

6 hours ago, ghost crayfish said:

They're both workers who are on the smaller side for props, run straight and don't offload. But sure, no similarity at all. There must be another reason the bulldogs coach doesn't start them together...

Very simplistic view. Thompson is more like Napa in style as a prop. 

There is almost certainly another reason 

[Tex Evans Thigh]

It's hard to drop straight into the NRL mid-season when he's had to stop training then fly to other side of the world and quarantine. With a good preseason behind him he should be fine next year.

It also must be difficult to settle in the current climate and make an impact in a struggling team. When you consider everything, it's no surprise he isn't making the impact we expected.

[Lowdesert]

Thompson does not seem happy at all and I’m sure he is playing in the wrong position.

I’ve watched them twice and he doesn’t get enough ball.  Guys with a big engine need plenty of work.

[DavidM]

11 minutes ago, Lowdesert said:

Thompson does not seem happy at all and I’m sure he is playing in the wrong position.

I’ve watched them twice and he doesn’t get enough ball.  Guys with a big engine need plenty of work.

Indeed , they’re picking apart what he’s not doing at 13 . Well he isn’t a 13 . Then he’s bench rotation and he’s still peripheral . They need to make him more a central figure like he’s valued . They signed someone who was called the best prop in the world by some , with big raps . Well use him like that then 

Edited August 25, 2020 by DavidM

[Lowdesert]

13 minutes ago, DavidM said:

Indeed , they’re picking apart what he’s not doing at 13 . Well he isn’t a 13 . Then he’s bench rotation and he’s still peripheral . They need to make him more a central figure like he’s valued . They signed someone who was called the best prop in the world by some , with big raps . Well use him like that then 

He’s not a 13 for me, but whatever role it is, is not right for him.  I don’t buy the lack of fitness now either.  He’s fit enough.

 I didn’t see last weeks game but saw he played 30 odd minutes.  Tolman is very predictable and one paced now, but is having more impact than Thompson, which I never dreamed would happen.

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

Thompson simply hasn’t played well enough and has been dropped. Whether he’s named at 8,10 or 13 essentially his job is to run the ball in and tackle, sounds like a lot of people are making excuses for him. Plenty of players move between the NRL and Super League and struggle with form at first.  

[DavidM]

5 minutes ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

Thompson simply hasn’t played well enough and has been dropped. Whether he’s named at 8,10 or 13 essentially his job is to run the ball in and tackle, sounds like a lot of people are making excuses for him. Plenty of players move between the NRL and Super League and struggle with form at first.  

He hasn’t pulled up any trees , but in some games his stats have been ok despite limited involvement . The last 3 games though he’s had 9, 9 and 6 carries so it’s tough to show anything being so underused 

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

4 minutes ago, DavidM said:

He hasn’t pulled up any trees , but in some games his stats have been ok despite limited involvement . The last 3 games though he’s had 9, 9 and 6 carries so it’s tough to show anything being so underused 

If an Australian international came to play in Super League and produced the stats Thompson has he’d be hung drawn and quartered by most on here. 

[AB90]

Thompson has some valid excuses to be under performing but it's not the best start if we're all being honest. He will be under huge pressure next year to deliver which hopefully he will.

Appreciate that he should be used better but hes still getting 8 to 10 runs/hit ups a game to show what he can do. My concern is the lack of impact in his runs as hes easily stopped by the first up contact.

It's all well and good saying he needs 20 carries a game but if your not bending the defensive line back then unfortunately you don't deserve 20 carries a game.

He also needs to work on his first up contract in defence. Way to much chest and arms with no shoulder.

Give him a good 12 week nrl preseason then judge.

 

 

[DavidM]

5 minutes ago, AB90 said:

Thompson has some valid excuses to be under performing but it's not the best start if we're all being honest. He will be under huge pressure next year to deliver which hopefully he will.

Appreciate that he should be used better but hes still getting 8 to 10 runs/hit ups a game to show what he can do. My concern is the lack of impact in his runs as hes easily stopped by the first up contact.

It's all well and good saying he needs 20 carries a game but if your not bending the defensive line back then unfortunately you don't deserve 20 carries a game.

He also needs to work on his first up contract in defence. Way to much chest and arms with no shoulder.

Give him a good 12 week nrl preseason then judge.

 

 

Yes . This is all valid 

[Dunbar]

36 minutes ago, AB90 said:

Thompson has some valid excuses to be under performing but it's not the best start if we're all being honest. He will be under huge pressure next year to deliver which hopefully he will.

Appreciate that he should be used better but hes still getting 8 to 10 runs/hit ups a game to show what he can do. My concern is the lack of impact in his runs as hes easily stopped by the first up contact.

It's all well and good saying he needs 20 carries a game but if your not bending the defensive line back then unfortunately you don't deserve 20 carries a game.

He also needs to work on his first up contract in defence. Way to much chest and arms with no shoulder.

Give him a good 12 week nrl preseason then judge.

 

 

I very much agree with this.  In particular the comments on his defence because I think this has been his weakness to date.  While not skittling defenders, his carries have been ok but his contact in defence is weak and has been grabbing mostly.

Harking back to our pervious chat, if the coaching staff at the Dogs do improve him in this area then we will definitely become a better player.

[Hughsehhh]

As others have said, Thompson needs time and I'm sure he will come good.

It was interesting to note that on the GB lions tour, didn't he play almost all games and big minutes? I recall then that he has was fairly quiet against NRL standard opposition, not making the metres we expected based on his SL performances

[Mr Frisky]

1 hour ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

If an Australian international came to play in Super League and produced the stats Thompson has he’d be hung drawn and quartered by most on here. 

Trent Merrin??

[Dunbar]

8 minutes ago, Hughsehhh said:

As others have said, Thompson needs time and I'm sure he will come good.

It was interesting to note that on the GB lions tour, didn't he play almost all games and big minutes? I recall then that he has was fairly quiet against NRL standard opposition, not making the metres we expected based on his SL performances

He only lasted 12 minutes against Tonga before injury, missed the first game against New Zealand and then played off the bench for the second NZ and PNG game and so not a lot to go on on that tour.

[Futtocks]

2 hours ago, Dunbar said:

He only lasted 12 minutes against Tonga before injury, missed the first game against New Zealand and then played off the bench for the second NZ and PNG game and so not a lot to go on on that tour.

And he was part of an underwhelming and under-performing squad... which was, at least, good preparation for signing for the Bulldogs.