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<blockquote data-quote="dullonien" data-source="post: 544496" data-attributes="member: 13739"><p>Just a little rant about the Scarlets:</p><p></p><p>The Scarlets need to seriously re-consider their backrow options imo. Turnbull and McCusker haven't developed as expected, in fact both have regressed somewhat. They are still capable of playing well now and again, but are simply too inconsistent. I had high hops for both, but that's the way it goes sometimes. It doesn't help in McCuskers case that he's also a bit of an idiot, prone to getting himself yellow carded, or worse. How many cards has he racked up this season already? I count 2 red-cards and at least another 3 yellows. That is unacceptable, especially from the captain! If both were playing in their natural position of blindside things might be a little different, especially for Turnbull, but Shingler is easily the best option at 6 in the Scarlets squad.</p><p></p><p>That brings us to the openside position. If Turnbull isn't the right choice here then who is? Jonathan Evans is the back-up in this position, but he's an average player at best. Again he's massively inconsistent in his performances, and is prone to getting on the wrong side of the ref far too often. He's lost the one attribute that made him an exciting prospect as a youngster, his pace, and as such doesn't excel at any aspect of openside play. For me there is an obvious player the Scarlets should be developing here. Daniel Thomas should be given gametime, and be allowed to develop into the role. It may take a little while, but he's shown glimpses that he could develop into a Justin Tipuric type of player, and that would suit the way the Scarlets play the game.</p><p></p><p>With two skilful flankers, they would require a more direct, hard nosed 8, which unfortunately they don't have in their squad. Their only real option at 8 imo is Kieran Murphy, who is very much in the mould of Ben Morgan. This does leave the pack lacking in grunt though, so that may have to come from the second-row. Only Timani has shown that he has the required 'dog' from the second-row options the Scarlets have, but he's another inconsistent performer. Maybe a couple of their newer signings will settle in over time and add the control that the Scarlets pack often lack. Ball, Earle, Kelly and Vallejos have all shown promise, but none have really nailed the shirt down.</p><p></p><p>The front-row is what it is really. They have three extremely promising props in Samson Lee, Rhodri Jones and Rob Evans that will hopefully develop into good players. I have also been impressed with young Shaun Hopkins. Phil John is an OK backup, but should not be starting the big games, whilst Manu is on the wane. Unfortunately Adriaanse is not the strong scrummaging tighthead the Scarlets desperately needed. There's hookers aplenty. In time the Scarlets should build a solid front-row, but it's something that cannot be rushed.</p><p></p><p>The only position I'm going to talk about in the backs is at 10. Priestland is first choice when fit, but unless he improves drastically he's going to be a hindrance to the rest of the Scarlets backline. Aled Thomas is the preferred backup, but I don't think much of him tbh. He does most things OK, but is simply a bit meh! Newton has shown signs of promise, but I'm really not sure he's up to the task. I would like to see Gareth Owen given a run of gametime at 10 in the absence of Priestland, but his 5 match ban, and general inconsistency means it is probably unlikely. High goal kicking used to be of a high standard though, and he attacks the line well. In the boxing match game against the Ospreys, he was the only player who managed to unlock the O's defence with a couple of very nice offloads out of the tackle. It's no secret that I've always thought highly of Owen though, so my judgement is probably off. Slightly off topic, but a five match ban was ridiculous. It happened right in front of me, and sure it was idiotic and reckless, but there was no malice intended. I felt that he just got caught between two minds of whether to go for the ball or make the tackle and ended up doing neither. The red-card was justified, but a one or two match ban would have been suffice. I can't remember him being a dirty player in the past, and to get the same length ban as Hore is mind boggling.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="dullonien, post: 544496, member: 13739"] Just a little rant about the Scarlets: The Scarlets need to seriously re-consider their backrow options imo. Turnbull and McCusker haven't developed as expected, in fact both have regressed somewhat. They are still capable of playing well now and again, but are simply too inconsistent. I had high hops for both, but that's the way it goes sometimes. It doesn't help in McCuskers case that he's also a bit of an idiot, prone to getting himself yellow carded, or worse. How many cards has he racked up this season already? I count 2 red-cards and at least another 3 yellows. That is unacceptable, especially from the captain! If both were playing in their natural position of blindside things might be a little different, especially for Turnbull, but Shingler is easily the best option at 6 in the Scarlets squad. That brings us to the openside position. If Turnbull isn't the right choice here then who is? Jonathan Evans is the back-up in this position, but he's an average player at best. Again he's massively inconsistent in his performances, and is prone to getting on the wrong side of the ref far too often. He's lost the one attribute that made him an exciting prospect as a youngster, his pace, and as such doesn't excel at any aspect of openside play. For me there is an obvious player the Scarlets should be developing here. Daniel Thomas should be given gametime, and be allowed to develop into the role. It may take a little while, but he's shown glimpses that he could develop into a Justin Tipuric type of player, and that would suit the way the Scarlets play the game. With two skilful flankers, they would require a more direct, hard nosed 8, which unfortunately they don't have in their squad. Their only real option at 8 imo is Kieran Murphy, who is very much in the mould of Ben Morgan. This does leave the pack lacking in grunt though, so that may have to come from the second-row. Only Timani has shown that he has the required 'dog' from the second-row options the Scarlets have, but he's another inconsistent performer. Maybe a couple of their newer signings will settle in over time and add the control that the Scarlets pack often lack. Ball, Earle, Kelly and Vallejos have all shown promise, but none have really nailed the shirt down. The front-row is what it is really. They have three extremely promising props in Samson Lee, Rhodri Jones and Rob Evans that will hopefully develop into good players. I have also been impressed with young Shaun Hopkins. Phil John is an OK backup, but should not be starting the big games, whilst Manu is on the wane. Unfortunately Adriaanse is not the strong scrummaging tighthead the Scarlets desperately needed. There's hookers aplenty. In time the Scarlets should build a solid front-row, but it's something that cannot be rushed. The only position I'm going to talk about in the backs is at 10. Priestland is first choice when fit, but unless he improves drastically he's going to be a hindrance to the rest of the Scarlets backline. Aled Thomas is the preferred backup, but I don't think much of him tbh. He does most things OK, but is simply a bit meh! Newton has shown signs of promise, but I'm really not sure he's up to the task. I would like to see Gareth Owen given a run of gametime at 10 in the absence of Priestland, but his 5 match ban, and general inconsistency means it is probably unlikely. High goal kicking used to be of a high standard though, and he attacks the line well. In the boxing match game against the Ospreys, he was the only player who managed to unlock the O's defence with a couple of very nice offloads out of the tackle. It's no secret that I've always thought highly of Owen though, so my judgement is probably off. Slightly off topic, but a five match ban was ridiculous. It happened right in front of me, and sure it was idiotic and reckless, but there was no malice intended. I felt that he just got caught between two minds of whether to go for the ball or make the tackle and ended up doing neither. The red-card was justified, but a one or two match ban would have been suffice. I can't remember him being a dirty player in the past, and to get the same length ban as Hore is mind boggling. [/QUOTE]
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