Beale at ten is holding back our young halves and it's time to back
watched Beale take the ball at first receiver last week and stood there like a man waiting for a bus that'd already gone. Mate's had a lovely career, genuinely, but every minute he's eating at ten is a minute some WA-born kid isn't learning how to run a Super Rugby Pacific game. We're not building a 2011 highlight reel here, we're building next season's table, and that table won't wait while we nurse a nostalgia act through 60+ minutes a week.
And in reality, what's the plan? Ride Beale till the finals hopes are dust and then hand the kid the keys in round 14 with no game time behind him? I'd put actual money on the young fella making more line breaks in three starts than Beale's managed all year - even the TAB would probably give me decent odds on that 😂 Give the kids the steering wheel before the season's a lottery we've already lost 🤡💸
17 posts
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✓A bloke standing at first receiver like he's waiting for a bus. That's one highlight clip, that's all that is. I'll happily back the kid at ten, on condition that someone names him and shows me he's actually been training there and playing well at club level, because "WA-born" alone isn't a selection argument. Reckons he's holding the halves back? Maybe. Show me the kid first.
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Fair call Retro but the kid CAN'T prove a thing sitting on the bench... giv him the reins before the table's gone 🔥💪Heart with the team, head on pause.
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Retro's got a point about the sample size, one clip proves little, but Josh is right that bench minutes teach nothing. Name the kid, give him real minutes, then judge. 📊
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You young fellas remind me of us grumbling about veteran flyhalves holding the kids back way before some of you were born. Difference was, back in the day the clubs just threw the kid in at ten and copped a few hidings while he learned. Carlos Spencer got chucked in and made a mess of things for a season or two, then look what came out the other side. Nobody had a highlight reel to point at first, they just backed the lad. Retro's right that a name and some club form would help the argument, no shame in asking. But Josh and the others have got the heart of it, a bench seat teaches a young ten precisely nothing about running a game at this level. Find the WA-born kid who's actually been steering a side around at club level, give him sixty honest minutes a week, and judge him at the end of the season. Seen worse gambles than that, and some of them turned out rather well. 😉Seen it all, lads.
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Hang on lads, three posts screamin BACK THE KIDS and still nobody's actually named him 😱 Retro asked who the young fella even is and got tumbleweeds. Dead easy roaring from the couch, bit different when it's your call at 10 eh? Name the kid or I'm callin this whole thread a wind-up 🔥🤬Heart with the team, head on pause.
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fair shout sam, but hard to name a kid when he's stuck behind a bloke eating 60+ minutes a week. give one of the wa-born lads a run and we'll all learn his name quick smart 😉Seen it all, trust me.
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Source on the 60+ minutes figure? Because if Beale's genuinely eating that much game time every week, whoever he's blocking hasn't even got bench minutes to show for it. Which supports my point that nobody's named the kid.
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Fair point from GloryDays that nobody's named the kid, but I'd push back a bit, you're not going to see him grow while he's wearing a bib on game day. I could be wrong, but from my seat in the stands there are a couple of WA-born lads in the wider squad who've looked sharp in the training sessions open to members; one of them came off the bench last pre-season and slotted a few nice touches at first receiver. Can't remember the exact minutes Beale's been eating week to week, I keep a running tally of our backs' game time every round and the pattern's clear enough, the kid's getting scraps. My caveat to Sam's point: throwing him straight into ten against the Brumbies away would be a rough welcome. But you don't need to start him cold - give him 20-30 minutes when a match is still alive, and let him learn on the job a bit. Depends how you count "ready", but if we wait until the table's gone we'll be having this exact argument next season.
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Nick's got it hard out - a kid learns nothing in a bib. Even Beale's biggest fans can't name what he's actually winning us. Pick a name, back him, done 😏Any stat can be bent.
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Diehard, seen this debate too many times over the years. everyone wants the kid ready before they play him, but readiness comes from minutes on the park. back in my day at eden park we used to say you learn the test match by playing it, watching from the bench teaches you what the seat feels like. and honestly, if the table's going to slip anyway while beale stands there waiting for a bus, what exactly are we protecting? give the young fella twenty off the bench like you say, then start him the week after. worst case we lose a game we were probably losing anyway, best case we find our ten for the next five years. seen worse gambles than that 😉Been here longer than some have followed.
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diehard, seen this debate too many times over the years. everyone wants the kid ready before they play him, but readiness comes from minutes on the park. back in my day at eden park we used to say you learn the test matc…@UnderdogNightmare this 💯 coached juniors long enough to know you can't coach game time into a bloke from the bench 🔥 give the kid a derby start, worst case he learns hard, best case we've found our ten. Beale's been getting smash at first receiver all season anyway 🤬In the stands since I was a kid.
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@Paul_Fan receipts, aye? Names get whispered around the club but nothing's confirmed publicly yet 🤫 word going round is the kid's been flagged for a derby look, and those who know, know. Screenshot this, you'll all find out soon enough 😏Those who know, know.
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I've had the same spreadsheet open for six weeks now and it keeps telling me the same thing. 📊 Beale's minutes at first receiver aren't producing much in the way of territory or quick ball, and every week those minutes come straight out of the development window for whoever the young ten is. The part I'd push back on gently is Paul_Fan's receipts point. Naming one kid and anointing him this week is how you burn a young fella in Perth before he's ready. Readiness is built in blocks, and those blocks have to start sometime, ideally with 20 off the bench against the weaker sides on our run home before the table gets away from us. I could be wrong, but my honest read: this stops being a development question the moment we lose two or three more close ones. Then it becomes a selection question, and selection questions get answered for you by the ladder. Keep the argument open, but put a clock on it.Do the math before you argue.
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I've had the same spreadsheet open for six weeks now and it keeps telling me the same thing. 📊 Beale's minutes at first receiver aren't producing much in the way of territory or quick ball, and every week those minutes c…@FrontRowFan don't laugh if this is a dumb question, but does your spreadsheet show anything on how the young ten goes when he does get minutes off the bench? Like is there even a small sample to judge, or is he stuck watching too? That'd change whether handing him a start is a gamble or just the next step 😅🙏Dumb questions are my specialty.