I like berrigan,I rate Berrigan I.m glad Berrigan is staying.Before injury this year he was hitting good form,got injured and on return is having to cover positions that are not natural to him.
First year he was here How dire would we have been without him in the team.
Always a mission impossible to follow in the footsteps of King Richard and the run of injuries since he has been here is well documented.
Everyone states how much danny Houghton has progressed,could be that Berrigan could also have some influence on this point.
Seems the views on Berrigan are Polarised between love and hate,I think he is an asset to the team,I think people should be looking at the likes of Horney as savings on cap,because lets be honest ,and keep sentimentality out of this,He has been WELL below par even before the injuries and illness diagnosis.Berrigan has contributed a lot more to the FC cause in the last three years than Horney has.

Source?

Doesn't look like that to me, but rant about Horney does.

Horne's salary would not save as much as you think as about half of his salary doesn't count on the cap.

Really? Let's take a look at that claim, shall we?

In 2006 he got the club record for tries scored in consecutive games during our run to the GF.

In 2007 he had to play the majority of the season with no halfback partner. In the games where we had a Scrum Half he played well.

In 2008 he played just 3 games due to his neck injury. It was while injured that his diabetes was diagnosed.

Nope. Can't see any evidence there myself.

going back to the Berro thing, IMO if he has had some injuries and also personal issues then the off season should really help him

but for next season, when it sounds like he'll definately play for us, he will be in his last year and will no doubt want to impress to get a contract in australia. players who are OOC normally play out of their skin to get in the shop window

also he'll be in a more settled squad, less weight on his shoulders compared to recent seasons and i hope we see the best of him. i thought at the beginning of this season that he would be awesome but for whatever reason(s) he has been hampered

i think the negativity on berro is a little short-sighted because sometimes, signings just don't always work out like the fans want them to - look at football and some players who turn up with massive reputations and are flops. berro is no "flop" IMO, just had bad luck within our squad, but he has always tried hard IMO....and look at houghton - i think i would give credit to berro for houghtons quality this season

2006 is more than 3 years ago
2007 Majorty of season with no halfback so whats New all Im saying is Berrigan is having to BE our halfback when clearly not his forte,Horney has played in the Halves all of his career !!!
2008 Injured and Illness Granted,how many Games did berrigan play so who contributed the MOST to the FC cause berrigan got player of the year I believe.
If your going to have a pop at my post mate please READ it first.I said in the last 3 years.
Horney was and possibly could be a great player again,but Done Nothing since Cooky left as has Yeaman.
It unfortunatley underlines what a pivotal player Judas was.

Rant ? what rant ?
Opinion mate ,Mine.Oh and regardless of what counts on the cap the wages are still payed by the club if he's on 90k he's paid 90k,cap means nothing as regards costing to the club,as it is only a figure you cannot exceed.The dispensation doesn't come off the players wages just the amount against the cap.

Totally agree. It's the first season I've been disappointed with him, but there are some very understandable reasons contributing to why. Unfortunately some seem to be using the opportunity as some sort of proof for them to pin more of the [iteam[/i failings of the last 2 seasons on him. Until this year he was head and shoulders the most talented and intelligent player we had. Added to that, in his time here the so-called disinterested and unjustified waste of quota and salary who doesn't impose himself enough on games has played with more jabs than if he slept on a bed of nails, all for the team cause. But we should reward all this with a steel toe up the colon and send him back home, because he's not stunned us with his magnificence each week.

Some players really are unfairly underappreciated sometimes.



Now that [iis[/i a rant.

I was challenging your claim that Horne had been "WELL under par" even before the injuries and illness. Since the injuries and illness cover most of the last 3 years I assumed you must have been talking about longer ago. My mistake.

So basically it boils down to 2007 then? I assume that you aren't going to blame Horne for missing most of 2008 with a career-threatening neck injury, because that would be daft.

Horne has not played his entire career in the halves. And he has never been a scrum half. So having to spend most of 2007 being something that he isn't and doing it on his own goes a long way to explaining his patchy form, wouldn't you say?

So Berrigan had a better 2007 than Horne. I'd agree with that. Then again, Berrigan is a better player than Horne as witnessed by his career achievements.

That's a pretty difficult comparison!

I'm sure someone who watched him in the NRL that season could confirm.

He was playing SOO and they don't normally pick poor players.

I agree Berro was ok in 2008. The disappointing thing about him is that he seemed to impose himself on games in 20 min patches rather than consistently well. 2009 he started well and as you say injury wrote him off. 2010 he's been poor and there have been excuses for that too if people want to make them.

Overall after almost having him here for 3 years as an expensive overseas player he's been a waste of that investment imo.

But the thing is, so did our pack that season IMO. Quite often coinciding with whether Carvell was on the field/bench/treatment table at the time. Our pack was heavily dependent on him and Manu that year for go-forward with quick PTBs.

fair to say our pack has been poor for 2 years.o'meley and moa have made a difference,this season.

2009 yardage wise our pack was pretty good although not aggressive enough. 2010 our pack is pretty special. Berro is the type of player that should be having a field day in SL.

I've asked these questions before and not had an answer (at least, not one that didn't include vague, meaningless crap like 'impose himself' or 'have an impact') so I'll try again:

What hasn't Berrigan done that people expected him to do?

What hasn't he done that he did do in the NRL/Origin/Internationals?

What hasn't he done compared to, to use his closest predecessor and therefore yardstick, Swain?

Because from what I've seen of him, when he's played at hooker for us he's done almost exactly what I'd expect based on seeing plenty of him there for his former teams. And his performances stand up pretty well compared to Swain too.

I've answered numerous times too so aren't going to go over that. What i will say is maybe Berro has played like he did in Oz but it just doesnt suit our game. His distribution from acting half is slow and laboured. Maybe he's not as bad as i'm saying he is, but for the salary he's on and the quota space i expect more than he gives. As an ex Oz International i expect someone to come over and dictate a teams play. Brad Drew is a perfect example when he came over and i'm pretty sure he was never an international. He lead his team around though and single handedly won games, he was creative and he's been worth every penny teams have spent on him other than the last year or so.

Financially we dont get the benefit from Berro that i expect. I'd rather have 4 Danny Houghtons for the same money. Thats the comparison i guess i'm trying to say.

Agree that he should be doing better this year. I just don't agree that he hasn't been justifying his likely wage and quota spot prior to now, nor that he won't again so should be cut loose.

On paper the pack looks special but in reality I don't remember us dominating anyone all season

On this season possibly not, but I think people are being silly to overlook the past 2 seasons when he quite obviously has. He's been comfortably our most polished and capable player in that time, with only Dykes coming close for real craft. In 2008 he pretty much carried the team single-handedly when we really struggled. If not for him I honestly think we would have finished bottom.

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I think fans expected him to dominate games more ala Cunningham. I also think they expected more line breaking dummy half runs and more x factor plays in general.

The one poor thing about Berro is his distribution, it's hesitant and slow. He also looks like he's lost the pace he used to have.

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do you reckon all these injuries have played a part

Possibly, won't have helped.