Panchitta Marra wrote:Gelling as centre with Thornley as his winger next season.
Agree with Gelling edging Thornley his position at centre, but don't think Thornley is speedy enough as a winger. Gelling definitely puts himself about more and his work rate is good (Thornley does sometimes look lazy, but maybe that's just his manner).
On the other hand, Thornley does look a "classier" player with better hands, but you need good speed on the flanks and neither has that kind of real pace.
Perhaps in the long run with extended game-time, each will become top centres, but each one in a different mould which isn't a bad thing, being able to mix things up for the team.
Thornley showed omari caro (not sure on spelling) a clean pair of heels over 50 meters out when scoring a great try in the cup this season, away at Hull KR.
Certainly got the pace this lad. OC was a former 'super leagues fastest man'
Certainly, Gelling is playing better than he used to at the moment. Seems to have mastered ball retention and is quite strong in breaks.
However, anybody wondering why Pat is not scoring tries needs to look at Gelling's position and distribution. His positional play is poor and I'm struggling to remember Pat getting a single pass against Widnes. Unless this gets sorted out, it means that the left side won't produce tries.
Thornley has got more potential and real class - I suspect he's just having a bad trot at the moment. Most players have one - even Iron Man Farrell had one a while ago.
I'd back Thornley in the long term. Wouldn't surprise me to see Gelling go to RU - he looks more suited for that.
Panchitta Marra wrote:Gelling as centre with Thornley as his winger next season.
Agree with Gelling edging Thornley his position at centre, but don't think Thornley is speedy enough as a winger. Gelling definitely puts himself about more and his work rate is good (Thornley does sometimes look lazy, but maybe that's just his manner).
On the other hand, Thornley does look a "classier" player with better hands, but you need good speed on the flanks and neither has that kind of real pace.
Perhaps in the long run with extended game-time, each will become top centres, but each one in a different mould which isn't a bad thing, being able to mix things up for the team.
Iwas thinking along the same lines re-Thornley being slow NF, then I tbought that Paddy maybe isnt massivly faster than Iain. Thornley has proven he can catch a ball in running play (from his centre), and catching both in defence and attack. I think they could make a useful pairing.
shaunedwardsfanclub wrote:Who would be your choice for the centre spot and why?
Thornley for me as he has got all the natural skills a centre requires and his relationship with Paddy is excellent. He still needs to work on his D but that is fixable.
Thornley for me. He's always looked a classic centre. His positioning, even in defence, is spot on and thoroughly understands the centres role.
As regards his defensive abilities, I reckon proper grappling practise, sort of old fashioned Greco-Roman wrestling would do him the world of good, along with altering his technique, so that he's getting his shoulder under the armpits of the attacker and driving upwards.
People question Thornley's speed as a winger, but I think he lacks acceleration more than speed. Outside Gelling, who might hang on to it going through a couple of defenders, catching up with him 'late' might be no bad thing.
We can also say Pat is slow - certainly slower than he has been in the past. One thing that Pat as a 'slow winger' has as an advantage is his goal kicking
Something important to remember. Lots of fans, even some coaches questioned the future of Daz Goulding when he broke through at a very early age. Now at 25ish Daz looks the complete all round centre. AS Josie said centre is a tough gig these days especially in the 2nd man play play domination we see these days.
cpwigan wrote:Something important to remember. Lots of fans, even some coaches questioned the future of Daz Goulding when he broke through at a very early age. Now at 25ish Daz looks the complete all round centre. AS Josie said centre is a tough gig these days especially in the 2nd man play play domination we see these days.
Yes, and Thornley is miles behind Goulding, on experience alone, and as you say, it's a very difficult position to master. Just look around SL to see there's a real scarcity of top players in this position, and right now it would be difficult to select a good pairing for the World Cup as it stands.
I do think he will become a better centre than Gelling, who I would say will fill out into a useful, running second rower who can hit hard. But at this stage they are both "work in progress".
I'm happy with both. Especially happy for Gelling after a pretty bad start.
We're in a very good position with Goulding being an established centre and two powerful centres battling it out for the other spot. If they continue to progress, we're set in that position for a good while.
Thought Thornley was poor in the first half today but fine in the 2nd half today. He showed decent mental strength recovering from his early handling errors. He needs to keep working on his footwork and evasion skills.