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When was the last time Escare played a game?

Match fitness will dictate Sarge will be full back with Isa (cringe) or Mr Hankey at centre

Lam

Centre Dan Sarginson switched to full-back when Hardaker left the game at half-time.

"I thought he was the best player on the field. He looked like an international player, to be honest," said Lam. "I’m very happy for him. We’ve been looking at giving him a run at fullback for a while."

WTF???

Looks like Escare has no chance with Lam in charge! Why give him the number one jersey in the first place FFS

Sarginson has played his best rugby for us at fullback so it's obviously an option along with Escare. It seems it's now 2 separate coaches who haven't been overly keen on Escare when other options are available which suggests there's something about his game or his attitude that doesn't sit right with them.

The obvious advantage that Sarginson has over Escare at fullback is kick returns. He makes excellent carries whereas Escare is weak going into contact. Sarginson is also quicker and has footwork that is just as dangerous. What Escare does have is better ball playing ability. Both have errors in them.

If Hardaker does miss out I'd probably hope that he goes for Sarginson with Hankinson slotting in at centre.

I'm confused about Lam saying he'd been looking at playing Sarge at fullback for a while though. Was he thinking of moving Hardaker to centre even though it's never worked at any of his other clubs?

EagleEyePie wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:07 pm Sarginson has played his best rugby for us at fullback so it's obviously an option along with Escare. It seems it's now 2 separate coaches who haven't been overly keen on Escare when other options are available which suggests there's something about his game or his attitude that doesn't sit right with them.

The obvious advantage that Sarginson has over Escare at fullback is kick returns. He makes excellent carries whereas Escare is weak going into contact. Sarginson is also quicker and has footwork that is just as dangerous. What Escare does have is better ball playing ability. Both have errors in them.

If Hardaker does miss out I'd probably hope that he goes for Sarginson with Hankinson slotting in at centre.

I'm confused about Lam saying he'd been looking at playing Sarge at fullback for a while though. Was he thinking of moving Hardaker to centre even though it's never worked at any of his other clubs?

Who are the two coaches?

Escare played well for us the season/s Sam was injured, then when the golden child was fit, Escare was pushed out because 'he' didn't want to play in the halves & because he was a "marquee" signing who could do whatever he wanted

That is until the last season when we had the "switcheroo" at the start of the season then again towards the back end.

I just cannot understand what Lam has against Escare other than he doesn't like him!

josie andrews wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:18 pm Who are the two coaches?

Escare played well for us the season/s Sam was injured, then when the golden child was fit, Escare was pushed out because 'he' didn't want to play in the halves & because he was a "marquee" signing who could do whatever he wanted

That is until the last season when we had the "switcheroo" at the start of the season then again towards the back end.

I just cannot understand what Lam has against Escare other than he doesn't like him!

I think it was Laurent Frayssinous who was in charge when he was ousted from Catalans despite having some good performances for them.

He also didn't feature much last year from I think July onwards although I can't remember whether that was because he got injured or if Wane just stopped selecting him.

Hardaker going straight in at fullback didn't sit right with me, but to be honest he's been one of our better and more consistent performers. Why, once he found form, would he be left out in favour of Escare who was given chances this year but has been inconsistent.

I don't see why Escare would feature in a fully fit side. The 'switcheroo' doesn't work this time around because there's no one to move into the halves. Just swapping fullbacks would be pointless because you might as well just pick the best fullback available. Escare isn't suited to the wing (poor kick returns and error prone) and isn't suited to the halves (poor defence and a bit of a headless chicken), so doesn't even have the utility value that would be useful for a bench player compared to someone like Hankinson (although I think his 'utility value' is somewhat dubious.

I agree with Josie, Morgan's face doesn't fit with Lam. If this is the case then we may as well release the lad now. I think Sarge will play fullback and Hankinson centre next week with Green wood coming in for Flower.

I dont think its down to personalities with Escare I feel its purely down to Lam not rating him,hes paid the big bucks to make the decisions such as these,i do think its time to release him though as its fairly pointless having him here now.

fozzieskem wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:55 pm I dont think its down to personalities with Escare I feel its purely down to Lam not rating him,hes paid the big bucks to make the decisions such as these,i do think its time to release him though as its fairly pointless having him here now.

Either is possible. At the start of the season he said Escare was a key member of the team and he was trying to find somewhere to fit him into the team. When Escare did finally get his chance Lam said he kept him out because he wasn't training well enough but he had been recently. Obviously some players do fall out of favour with coaches due to personalities.

It could also be because of Lam's NRL background where size is considered more important. Having a strong carry is vital for a fullback or winger in the NRL and that could be where Lam sees Escare's downfall. That lack of physicality might be why he prefers Hardaker and may even prefer Sarginson as a fullback.

I think if Hardaker doesn't play against Leeds and Lam goes with Sarginson at fullback then the club definitely needs to look at offloading Escare for the sake of the club and the player. I do think Escare is a decent player and it just doesn't seem fair for the club to be keeping him from playing rugby if the coach has no intention of playing him.

Maybe he just needs that one game at fullback to show he can offer a little bit more and force his way into the side but he has to take it. He's had some good performances this year but seemed to back them up with poor ones.

Sarge at 1
Handy Hanky in centers and kicking duties (something Isa can't do Dave )

Fair comment EEP