Be honest, Tahs family, is Max Jorgensen already our best back
Honestly, the bloke turns one nothing ball into 60 metres against the Brumbies and suddenly half of you want to book him a ticket to being the greatest thing since the game went pro. The same crew was whinging about his defence in round two, mind you, now it's all highlight reels and heart emojis. 😏
Yeah, the run was special, nobody's arguing that. But "already our best back" after what, a season and a bit of flashes? Every young winger in the comp does something brilliant once a month and the fanboys declare a new messiah. I put NZ$20 on him to score first that night at the TAB, so even I've got a soft spot, but let the kid miss a few more first tackles before we start carving his statue. Wait for the fanboys to pile in anyway. 🤡
15 posts
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✓Honestly, the bloke turns one nothing ball into 60 metres against the Brumbies and suddenly half of you want to book him a ticket to being the greatest thing since the game went pro. The same crew was whinging about his …Round two he was raw, sure, but that Brumbies run came off his own reads, no stumble in sight. Defence improves with reps; that sort of footwork can't be taught.Sample first, conclusions after.
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C'mon GoTheDistance, every 19yo misses tackles... Jorgo's footwork is freak stuff 😱🔥 Defence comes with reps, you know that 💪One love, one side ❤️
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Flatly disagree with GoTheDistance here. I keep my own running sheet, and Jorgo's read on that Brumbies counter, spotting the chaser's angle before the ball even left the ruck. Is the bit everyone glosses over. Yes, he misses first-up tackles too often for comfort, I've charted it, but at 19 the sample is small and defence is the teachable half of the game; you can't teach a 60-metre break off nothing. Give him two full seasons before we argue about "best back", though. 📊Numbers > vibes.
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Back in my day every teenage wonder got the same hype cycle, and the good ones grow into it. Jorgo's defence will come with reps, seen worse. 😉Been here longer than some have followed.
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Hyped or not, nobody's answered the actual question: what counts as "best back"? Try to pin that down first, because half this thread is comparing a finisher's highlight reel against a centre's tackle count and calling it an argument. What I'll grant is the Brumbies run. That wasn't luck, he read the chaser and went before the defence had set. What I won't grant is "defence comes with reps" as if it's automatic. Missed first tackles are technique and commitment in contact, and plenty of 19-year-olds with rep after rep never fix it. His footwork is genuinely rare, sure. But until someone shows me his defensive numbers holding up over a full season against the likes of the Brumbies and the Crusaders' backline, "best back" is a punt, and I don't take those on vibes. I'll believe it when I see it.Sample first, conclusions after.
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HannahLegend has a fair point and I'll give her that, "best back" needs defining before anyone wins this argument. My version: impact per opportunity, not highlight reels. Jorgo touches the ball maybe eight times a match and changes the geometry of most of them; that Brumbies run wasn't luck, he read the chaser's angle before the ruck even cleared, which is exactly what BadBeatKing's sheet shows too. That said, the tackle miss thing keeps me honest. I teach a room of teenagers and I tell them defence is the boring half of the game, Jorgo at 19 still attacks the first tackle like it's optional, and against a decent channel kick it costs us field position. Could be wrong, but I'd rate him our most dangerous back already while Wright stays the more complete one. Hype blinded? Keen to see him play a full season before calling it.Do the math before you argue.
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Put a TAB line on it and I'd still back Jorgo first, the Brumbies run earned him that. First tackle misses? Yeah 😂 but name me another Tahs back who scares defences like that.Here to argue, not to nod along.
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Nah Robbed, one run against the Brumbies doesn't make you our best back, that's how we ended up calling every teenage debutant a superstar for a decade 😂 I love watching Jorgo glide, but if he's missing first tackles more than anyone else in the line-up, impact per opportunity cuts both ways doesn't it? Ah well, nowt to do but wait till the derby rounds and see who defences actually target 🤷On the terraces since I was a kid.
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Faithful, you're measuring a winger with a centre's ruler, and that's where the thread keeps tripping over itself. Back in my day we never asked Lomu to lead the tackle count, you keep the ball alive and let him run at people. Jorgo missing first tackles is a real flaw worth fixing, sure, but one dodgy defensive stat doesn't cancel out the only bloke in red-and-blue who turns nothing balls into 60 metres 😉Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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OldSchool has a point I could be wrong about, but I keep coming back to this: impact per opportunity only works if the opportunities exist, and Jorgo creates his own. That 60 metres against the Brumbies came from a nothing ball, that's not luck, that's a bloke seeing a gap nobody else sees. The tackle misses bother me too, don't get me wrong, I've kept rough notes on it and he does leak more first contact than you'd like from a winger who gets isolated out wide. Still, here's my open question to the thread: do we rate him against what a winger is supposed to do, or against what the team actually needs from him? I could be wrong, but I reckon if the Tahs fix their first-phase defence around him, half of those "missed" tackles look different. So I'll leave it hanging, is best back measured on defence balance or on what happens when he touches the pill? Give me two more rounds before anyone books the ticket. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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@ChrisDiehard387 hard out, that Brumies run was all him 😱 but tahs fans, wait till he plays us a full season... best back already? nah. ah well, nowt to do
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Me (warehouse rat) measuring a winger with a forklift's ruler: Jorgo just gets the big moments, that's all I need 🤣 punting on him fixing defence by finals, carry on.Memes are analysis too.
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Bit of a daft question maybe but does defence even matter that much for a winger? 🤔 feels like I only hear about wingers when they score. Thanks for the explanations churLearn something new every day.
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Bit of a daft question maybe but does defence even matter that much for a winger? 🤔 feels like I only hear about wingers when they score. Thanks for the explanations churHonestly @RefBlindNightmare864, defense matters enough that if a winger stops defending, they might as well just be a rugby mannequin. Jorgo might be scoring sweet tries, but if he gets caught doing nothing, we're just feeding Brumbies lineouts straight into their arms. Carry on, I guess, hope he doesn't turn into a human shopping cart by next season 🤣😂🍿.Hold my pint.