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11 minutes ago, UTK said:

Thompson cut from the squad 24 hours prior to the game due to calf soreness. Feasible to think this may be something he's been struggling with after being thrust in the deep-end following the 2 week quarantine and months without games. Shame as he was quite strong last week.

 

Yes, that is a pity... he went well last week and was looking forward to seeing if he could build on it.

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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Thompson was good last week . Strong carries and much busier , which is his game . It’s a getting to know you exercise on both sides , but as he integrates there and is used to his strengths , and he acclimatises and conditions to what’s required there i have no doubts he’ll prove a very good asset 

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Luke Thompson gets his first start at prop for the Bulldogs this week. I hope this allows him to be heavily involved and he can be seen at his best.

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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7 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

Luke Thompson gets his first start at prop for the Bulldogs this week. I hope this allows him to be heavily involved and he can be seen at his best.

Assuming Tom Burgess is also starting for Souths, that could be quite a head-to-head for NRL-based poms.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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6 minutes ago, Hughsehhh said:

Anyone know how Thompson got on? Judging by the result, his first start seems vindicated 

Best game I`ve seen from him so far, his carries were good with I`d say pretty good post contact metres stats. Good energy levels and plenty of effort, I noticed when anything good happened he was in the thick of the celebrations which I think is a good sign about a players state of mind. I noticed the service from Canterbury`s dummy half was pretty lack lustre and that never helps the forwards so  this maybe an issue they can fix up for next year. Johns said recently there was a hooker from SL, forgot his name , that was a must have for the Dogs next year, have heard no more about it.

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I thought Thompson did well. He bent the Souths line and he was difficult to tackle. Much more like the player we know with the ball in his hands.

I feel his defence is still a little passive and looking to wrap players rather than make solid contact. 

I am sure that with a full pre-season and a new coach and new season optimism he can have a good 2021.

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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2 hours ago, Hughsehhh said:

Anyone know how Thompson got on? Judging by the result, his first start seems vindicated 

I watched the match, but it was a busy morning and I was distracted a lot. What I saw of Thompson looked pretty good, though.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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49 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

I watched the match, but it was a busy morning and I was distracted a lot. What I saw of Thompson looked pretty good, though.

It's annoying when work gets in the way of the NRL.

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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12 minutes ago, Wolford6 said:

Was it on Sky?

No

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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  • 2 weeks later...
3 hours ago, UTK said:

Luke Thompson looks likely to cop a fair few weeks on the sideline next year after what appears to be a pretty clear eye gouge against the Panthers this afternoon.

I don’t think it was the worst eye gouge personally , his head was on the other side and he wrapped his arm round . His fingers were undoubtedly in the eye area but he didn’t then gouge . The other examples shown were worse but he’ll be scrubbed for the opening rounds . Big shame as he’s hitting his straps and was having a tremendous match 

Edited by DavidM
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Thompson was fantastic today with ball in hand. Bending the line back and even making some 'half breaks'.

His defence needs fixing badly next year. Some of his first up tackle contact is absolutely horrendous. 

Has he always been a poor tackler in SL? Or is just adjusting to the bigger, faster, stronger more athletic athletes in the nrl?

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12 minutes ago, AB90 said:

Thompson was fantastic today with ball in hand. Bending the line back and even making some 'half breaks'.

His defence needs fixing badly next year. Some of his first up tackle contact is absolutely horrendous. 

Has he always been a poor tackler in SL? Or is just adjusting to the bigger, faster, stronger more athletic athletes in the nrl?

Tamou got his own back by running right through him to score , that just shouldn’t happen 

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34 minutes ago, AB90 said:

Thompson was fantastic today with ball in hand. Bending the line back and even making some 'half breaks'.

His defence needs fixing badly next year. Some of his first up tackle contact is absolutely horrendous. 

Has he always been a poor tackler in SL? Or is just adjusting to the bigger, faster, stronger more athletic athletes in the nrl?

And yet plenty of English forwards have had no problem with these bigger, faster, stronger more athletic men from another planet. Stop making out they are some kind of supermen. 

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Thompson seems to be adapting slowly, possibly because he's missed a lot of game time, and probably because he's signed for a mess of a club. As long as he doesn't get an attack of homesickness in the off-season, I think we'll see him performing better in 2021.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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48 minutes ago, dkw said:

And yet plenty of English forwards have had no problem with these bigger, faster, stronger more athletic men from another planet. Stop making out they are some kind of supermen. 

????

Agreed. That's why I asked if he was a poor tackler in SL. 

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Some of Thompson's tackle misses one-on-one are terrible.  Nothing to do with NRL supermen or the team he plays for and everything to do with his technique.  I do think SL players aren't used to facing strong players in virtually every tackle though. Hardaker was similarly awful at times - Ben Barba ran over him once.

Hopefully it will just take Thompson some time to adjust, and an off-season will help. But don't try to make out those misses aren't his fault. 

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5 hours ago, BrisbaneRhino said:

Some of Thompson's tackle misses one-on-one are terrible.  Nothing to do with NRL supermen or the team he plays for and everything to do with his technique.  I do think SL players aren't used to facing strong players in virtually every tackle though. Hardaker was similarly awful at times - Ben Barba ran over him once.

Hopefully it will just take Thompson some time to adjust, and an off-season will help. But don't try to make out those misses aren't his fault. 

Agree with this. I think it's taken a bit of time for a lot of English players to make the adjustment - and I include Adrian Morley and Sam Burgess in this - to the consistent demands of the NRL compared to superleague. It's not that the biggest players are bigger or the best teams are much better, it's that more players are big, and more teams are good. It's just a bit more relentless. The only Englishmen who have adapted immediately have been the Canberra guys, which suggests they've been very well coached and prepared. Thompson will be fine, just like Morley was - but it's worth remembering that Morley took a while to really hit his straps.

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