Who partners Farnworth

[JM2010]

Farnworth has one of the centre positions nailed down for the Tonga series. Who plays the other centre?

A lot say that Newman is the best English centre in SL and he should be in the England side. I agree he’s a great talent but is Wardle better? He was yesterday

[Dunbar]

The benefit of having Newman and Farnworth in the centres is we won't need wingers and so we can play with 4 props on the pitch.

[EastLondonMike]

I think Wardle is probably the safer bet at the moment. 

Wasn’t there talk of Dom Young wanting to play centre going forward (assuming at the Roosters)? 

Edited May 21, 2023 by EastLondonMike

[northamptoncougar]

This Newman conundrum is interesting. I’m comfortable with the mistake & he’ll learn from it but he is petulant & I think he’s probably had too much smoke blown up him.

His family are all over SM and will possibly read, their argument is “he’s young, he’s developing, he’s still learning,” which is fair enough but you then look at Farnworth who’s the same age and truly a gun, a world class centre.

Maybe Newman should try the NRL, he’ll sink or swim but he’d definitely mature.

[DavidM]

I wonder where Gildart will end up ?

[Father Ted]

For the right centre position at the moment it has to be King. Not as pacey or elusive as Newman but can defend where Harry struggles.

A lot was made of Newman's failed pass to Myler which might/would have won Leeds the match. Nothing has been said though of his defence. At 14-0 Wigan were struggling and following a lousy pass to Olpherts Wigan had possession. Leeds had to defend big time. Yet look how easy it was for French to ground the ball. He simply bumped Newman backwards and grounded the ball. If Wigan had been going in 14-0 at half time they probably wouldn't have won the game. That try was the match defining moment for me, not the missed pass to Myler.

If anyone thinks Shaun Wane is going to select Newman over King then Saturday's defensive display should convince most of us why Waney wouldn't!

Harry Newman is a massive talent but I think he has to work harder on his game both for his club and his country. 

[Wigan Riversider]

3 hours ago, DavidM said:

I wonder where Gildart will end up ?

Where is he currently at club level?

[Dunbar]

22 minutes ago, Wigan Riversider said:

Where is he currently at club level?

Contracted to the Dolphins in the NRL (1 year) but playing for their feeder club Central Queensland Capras in Queensland Cup.

[OMEGA]

Wardle is a much better more rounded classic Centre, he’s physically bigger, taller & heavier and has the subtle skills a Centre needs as well as pace & strength. He just seems the more mature of the two and has a better pro attitude.

[GeordieSaint]

Wardle. No question. Newman has talent but needs to start turning that into quality and display a better attitude.

[DACS]

Newman is a similar size to Kotoni Staggs at the Broncos, and his game is all about him beating his opponent. Staggs also has footwork, but he's stalled because he's a one-trick pony. Some games he'll blast through for a try, but so long as defenders muscle up he's very limited, and won't ever move on unless he learns to try to create doubt through a passing game to his winger. Newman is currently a poor man's Staggs.

Farnworth is altogether a different beast - much bigger than either, strong, good footwork but also knows how to pass.

[northamptoncougar]

3 hours ago, DACS said:

Newman is a similar size to Kotoni Staggs at the Broncos, and his game is all about him beating his opponent. Staggs also has footwork, but he's stalled because he's a one-trick pony. Some games he'll blast through for a try, but so long as defenders muscle up he's very limited, and won't ever move on unless he learns to try to create doubt through a passing game to his winger. Newman is currently a poor man's Staggs.

Farnworth is altogether a different beast - much bigger than either, strong, good footwork but also knows how to pass.

I haven’t watched much NRL, how good is Farnworth in the pecking order of centres in the league? 

[thebrewxi]

On 21/05/2023 at 20:20, EastLondonMike said:

I think Wardle is probably the safer bet at the moment. 

Wasn’t there talk of Dom Young wanting to play centre going forward (assuming at the Roosters)? 

I'm struggling to see how young would make a great centre. Someone even talked about him wanting to full back I'm sure at some point. He'd have to change his game so much he'd lose a lot surely

[Dunbar]

35 minutes ago, thebrewxi said:

I'm struggling to see how young would make a great centre. Someone even talked about him wanting to full back I'm sure at some point. He'd have to change his game so much he'd lose a lot surely

I think you can see how he plays that Young came through the junior ranks in the centre.  He always looks for a support pass - probably to his own detriment sometimes when he could have just pinned his ears back.

If you take a look at his highlights package from his junior days and the games he played for newcastle in NSW Cup in the centre, he has a good passing game and can get his winger away quite well.

I personally believe that he could be a better centre than winger, especially in a year or so with some extra strength.  But with the fashion for big tall wingers these days I suspect he is there for the long haul now.

[Dunbar]

4 hours ago, DACS said:

Newman is a similar size to Kotoni Staggs at the Broncos, and his game is all about him beating his opponent. Staggs also has footwork, but he's stalled because he's a one-trick pony. Some games he'll blast through for a try, but so long as defenders muscle up he's very limited, and won't ever move on unless he learns to try to create doubt through a passing game to his winger. Newman is currently a poor man's Staggs.

Farnworth is altogether a different beast - much bigger than either, strong, good footwork but also knows how to pass.

Not sure about that last part.  While Newman gets stick for holding the ball, Farnworth is very much in the same camp.  Staggs has one try assist and one line break assist this year.  This total of two is double that of Farnworth who has one try assist and no line break assists.

It isn't just about the stats though, they just back up what is obvious, Farnworth (like Newman) needs to work on his passing game and positioning of his winger to advance his overall game.

As I have said above, outside of this though, he is excellent.  

[Anita Bath]

13 hours ago, Dunbar said:

Contracted to the Dolphins in the NRL (1 year) but playing for their feeder club Central Queensland Capras in Queensland Cup.

Three tries in eight appearance for the high flying capras

[WN83]

Newman all day for me (if fit). Wardle ways superb on Saturday and he's been 'pretty good' this season but that was the first game where he's been at that level and he'll need more of those to push for a starting place. I saw a mention of Toby King above but he's not at that level IMO. Again he has been good for us this season and I'm pleased with how he's going but I don't think he has the pace for top level international rugby league. 

Newman got absolutely battered for incident on Saturday and maybe that is fair enough (he did get away with one in the first half after all) but I think the contribution of Bevan French has been underplayed. I was at the game and hadn't noticed it and even in the replay I didn't notice it myself but somebody on social media pointed out the feint French made, to make it look to Newman like he was committing to tackling Myler. It was absolutely sensational fullback play and it's not been given the credit it deserves due to the focus being on Newman and him not passing the ball. 

[Wigan Riversider]

17 hours ago, Dunbar said:

Contracted to the Dolphins in the NRL (1 year) but playing for their feeder club Central Queensland Capras in Queensland Cup.

Thanks.

Will he likely return to SL?

[Dunbar]

39 minutes ago, Wigan Riversider said:

Thanks.

Will he likely return to SL?

Difficult to say.  From a purely career perspective, I have doubts about whether we will secure a new NRL contract.  As a new team, the Dolphins probably saw him as a chance to get an experienced first grade player and international into their top 30 squad.  But barring injuries, he will not get a lot of NRL time this year.

So, a return to Super League is probably the next best option for the development for his career.

But.  He may enjoy being in Australia and so happy to work back up through QLD Cup or NSW Cup.

My bet is he will be back in SL next year.

[EastLondonMike]

If Newman can fix up his game he's a shoe in, and looks like the best long term option, but IMO theres too many question marks currently. Defensively he was very weak against Wigan. And when someone like Jamie Peacock is openly challenging his attitude, its a worry.

All that can change quite quickly though, its all mental, and nothing to do with ability.

TBH I don't think Wardle is playing his best Rugby currently, and there needs to be some improvement from him if he's going to reach his potential, but at the moment he doesn't feel like a liability to me. 

With SOO coming up, how do our centre options stack up? Who would we feel comfortable going up against Turbo, Latrell, Val Holmes and the Hammer?

 

[Tippytoe]

What about Griffin been playing well for Hull big strong can break a tackle good work rate in defence?

[EastLondonMike]

18 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

Difficult to say.  From a purely career perspective, I have doubts about whether we will secure a new NRL contract.  As a new team, the Dolphins probably saw him as a chance to get an experienced first grade player and international into their top 30 squad.  But barring injuries, he will not get a lot of NRL time this year.

So, a return to Super League is probably the next best option for the development for his career.

But.  He may enjoy being in Australia and so happy to work back up through QLD Cup or NSW Cup.

My bet is he will be back in SL next year.

You would have hoped he would be able to displace Brenko Lee or Euan Aitken, but hasn't been able to so far. And with the potential of Valynce Te Whare, it looks unlikely he'll get a run in the side any time soon. SL seems the obvious destination, unless he is loving life in Australia.

[JM2010]

26 minutes ago, EastLondonMike said:

If Newman can fix up his game he's a shoe in, and looks like the best long term option, but IMO theres too many question marks currently. Defensively he was very weak against Wigan. And when someone like Jamie Peacock is openly challenging his attitude, its a worry.

All that can change quite quickly though, its all mental, and nothing to do with ability.

TBH I don't think Wardle is playing his best Rugby currently, and there needs to be some improvement from him if he's going to reach his potential, but at the moment he doesn't feel like a liability to me. 

With SOO coming up, how do our centre options stack up? Who would we feel comfortable going up against Turbo, Latrell, Val Holmes and the Hammer?

 

We don’t ever play Australia unfortunately 

[B rad]

6 hours ago, Dunbar said:

I think you can see how he plays that Young came through the junior ranks in the centre.  He always looks for a support pass - probably to his own detriment sometimes when he could have just pinned his ears back.

If you take a look at his highlights package from his junior days and the games he played for newcastle in NSW Cup in the centre, he has a good passing game and can get his winger away quite well.

I personally believe that he could be a better centre than a winger, especially in a year or so with some extra strength.  But with the fashion for big tall wingers these days I suspect he is there for the long haul now.

He can be dodgy under the high ball. Centre would remove that problem. The Joseph Suaalii experiment at centre started off well but has really plummeted into mediocrity. Fans are screaming for him to move back to the wing, but Robbo so far is stubborn. Maybe he will bend next year and Dom Young will get a go in the centres. Time will tell. I hope he does. 

[DavidM]

7 hours ago, northamptoncougar said:

I haven’t watched much NRL, how good is Farnworth in the pecking order of centres in the league? 

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