Chris o'Young vs. Henjak

[seaofblue]

Is it just me or did we up about 10 gears offensively when Chris o'young came on?

[p-diddy]

Totally agree, far more confident in the pass allowing greater confidence in play!

[frontrow]

Much quicker at passing the ball, and not scared to try different tactics.....He is no Gregan clone

[zacko70]

O'Young does add speed around the ruck but may lack the physical prescence that mitchell is after. O'Young is a lot faster around the ruck and his pass is also more crisp than Henjak. However Henjak has been playing better and has shown glimpses of what he can do.

[Burgs]

No vision of this week yet to comment on however, I think Henjak is the better prospect but has not been playing to potential and has had a few team errors portrayed as being his fault during the season.
I will be suprised if the arrival of his best mate next year doesn't see the coming of age of Hennas and he make the long promised step up. Word from inside the camp is that he is by far the better skilled player.
I feel sorry for O'Young though, if he had stayed in Sydney he would probably been starting next season with Whitakers departure as they wouldn't have needed to recruit Sheehan!
He is certainly a quality player but I feel that Mitch has the selection right.
In comparing a starting player with a bench player you must factor in that they are always going to be fresher and playing against tiring opposition, so it is a given that they will look faster than the player they replace.
This was a factor in a lot of the criticism leved at Gregan last year in supporting Whitaker.
Starting Super 14 halves have to compete with arguably the best backrowers and inside backs in the world, at full fitness and speed, every match. Reserves come on when the starting XVs are slowing down around the 60 minute mark and would be very ordinary if they didn't stand out.
I find that, especially with half backs, when the reserve comes on they run around like headless chooks throwing passes everywhere but the team is rarely more successful on the scoreboard.
For example, in the last two weeks, despite the injection of O'Young, we still continude to slide to draws from winning leads in the second half. If O'Young was so much better then that should have been a deciding factor in the Force holding on for victory in those two matches.
O'Young was given his planned and promised start this year in New Zealand and we didn't win then either.

[.X.]

any word on Henjacks Injury?

[travelling_gerry]

any citings is more the case???????????

[seaofblue]

I can't agree with any of the positive comments on Henjak. I am not picking on one player specifically,

Just seems that all the minutes Henjak has played this season he has shown little brilliance. He is slow, looks uncomfortable even passing the ball seems a mystery to him.

All fair and well to give him a fair go, but how many games would you let him start before you finally accept defeat.

I have a sneaky feeling alot of people are keeping quiet about their honest opinion of Henjak because of the Giteau friendship.

Surely a world class no 9 sgouldn't need his bestest buddy to hold his hand before he can perform.

O'Young might not be the best scrum half in 14 but he gives us a fighting chance of producing soem quick ball and giving our, increasingly effective, backs a chance to shine

Come on all tell the truth and shame the devil

[MysticBalls]

Agree with first three posts. I've really tried to stay out of this debate and let the coach make the right call to get the best team on the park- injuries,suspensions and form willing.

But what I have observed along with many others on the forum and in the crowd is a preference for O'Youngs crisp delivery on-field. Its a flat fast torpedo type pass that doesn't hang in the air or rise up overhead, and it quickens play by parts of a second, which is the requirement at this level.

Thanks Sea-of-blue for the thread start. Rodent did same on 20th Feb and Mowerman same on-15th April. That makes three threads started + the Round 11 TWF player vote ON THIS ISSUE- which will not go away!

Burgs your attempt at dissuading the Henjak critics will not be fruitful, but you have given us the clue as to Henjak's longevity. Playing him has encouraged his Queenbeyan and Brumbies mate of same 23 yrs age to join Force- GITEAU !

Now hopefully this will add to Henjaks play, but if his FORM continues to be inconsistent and mistake ridden, then even Giteau will not save him in his position as starting halfback. After all the hu-haha, Henjak only had 5 starts at Brumbies - and his Wallaby trial stumps me ! He came with big wraps which I don't believe were deserved, and has played accordingly. And yes he did have a better game against Crusaders but it was his NINTH S14 start this year- overdue for a Wallaby triallist don't you think?

As for O'Young, recruitment promises were made that JMitchell is sticking to, for better or for worse. He is lucky to get 20 mins a game, mostly 17,13 or 10mins- which is hardly enough to get warmed up let alone get 'match fitness' - hence the fade out v Cats at altitude! Against Crusaders 17 mins- when they had most of possession! So yes, he wasn't able to close out the win for Force- BECAUSE HE HASNT HAD ENOUGH GAME TIME OR STARTING OPPORTUNITIES !

I believe from another postee that O'Young has previous game experience with Shepherd and another current player of Force. You don't have to be a lip-reader to know what Shepherd thinks of taking and dragging down Henjak passes from above his head for an in-goal clearing kick ! How many of those have there been this year? Very dangerous play.

Lots of people see these things, and wonder why the halfback position hasn't been decided on FORM, and further to this, why the alternative player hasn't been given a fair go. O'Young's been given one start against Stormers, and his early run-on at 22mins? v Cats was unfortunately due to Henjaks injury.

O'Young would look better no matter what time he came on the field, because he is the better halfback! Your argument of tiring defences,Burgs, can be true, but did Henjak look the better halfback when he came on at the 63min? mark of the Stormers match? NO !

Finally, O'Young didn't 'up stumps' to WA to be satisfied with one 'planned and promised start' in the year! What he would have expected, as every Force supporter would have expected, was a fair go. That hasn't happened- hence three forum threads have been started about this issue (by rookies not veterans of forum), and how many more will there be ?

For the record: O'Young hasn't started in NZ . Buatava (3rd halfback) started against Blues trial match. Henjak started against H'Canes(Rd2), H'Landers(Rd9) and Blues(Rd10). None were won.

Henjak makes errors all by himself and doesn't need any help from team-mates! The big brush and whitewash won't work on this issue, as it will surely be raised again next year if there is a repeat of this years form.

[Burgs]

Come on all tell the truth and shame the devil

The truth is:

From the squad themselves, that Henjak is the best Halfback;

From the selection committee, that Henjak is the best Halfback;

Anything from us is pure speculation and incidental.
If other members’ criticisms of Henjak's abilities are from re-watching copies of the games regularly and sober and from studying what is behind his performances then fair enough, you are welcome to your informed opinions.
However, my observation from scrutinizing each fixture happens to match that of his peers and selection committee and, in this development year, I am more than confident and comfortable with that opinion.
John Mitchell is universally regarded as an excellent Coach who has a definite plan for the team which has wide spread acceptance by commentators and supporters alike however, for some reason his judgment is not respected or trusted on this issue by a handful of fans.
I reserve the right to make my own judgment and take comfort in the fact that it is in agreement with a player judge of Mitchell's caliber.

[brokendown gunfighter]

I think some posters may take themselves a little too seriously from time to time.lighten up a bit lads

[Goldmember]

All I get to see through my beer goggles is the performance of our guys of the field, but then I tend to get excited, forget a few things and... what was this thread about again??

Our comments are largely emotive and are not always based on "word from inside the camp" or what "the squad themselves" think. I do, however, accept that John Mitchell is the best coach in the world. I will respect his judgement and concentrate on getting some cheerleaders instead - this is actually quite an important issue!

I doubt Balls and I will ever get to watch a Force match sober, but at least we care.

[Mambo No. 5]

Burgs is correct in my opinion.

I was on the O'Young band wagon in the beginning but I think Henjack has proved me wrong. He adds some unpredictability to our offence. I think that O'Young is a bit more predictable in his play.

I also think that Matt is better defensivly around the scrum and has more size to his tackles.

Just my 2cents worth

[seaofblue]

The truth is:


What I do take issue with however Mystic, is your continued sanctimonious lecturing on how many of the members of TWF should think, post and behave on this site.
Every member is free (within common decency) to say what they feel appropriate without feeling intimidated or belittled by others.
I can assure you it will not be effective on me.

??MODERATOR??

This doesn't seem very moderate to me

[skeeta]

Ive been on and off the Henjak band wagon all season. He was the player I was most excited about us picking up, but he has'nt stood up so far and shown what he can do! When Gregan was injured last year and Matt started for the brumbies he was brilliant.

Maybe we should be looking more at the players that he has to work with around him? There's no Guitou (yet), Larkam or Mortlock here. Playing alongside guys of that calliber must make decision making easier, thus speeding up your game, and give you a lot more confidence to pass the ball.

Having said all that, I'm no coach, just a watcher and I do like O'Young. He's a bit light still but he'll get there. ( If he gets tha chance in coming years ) After all, thats what were aiming at is'nt it.
THE COMING YEARS