www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 7332040329 He's a bit past it, but still has a lot to offer if you use him right.

www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 7332040329 He's a bit past it, but still has a lot to offer if you use him right.

No big surprise that we sign a stand off of calibre. That was on the cards since the GOB u-turn.

He has always been a great finisher so a likely loss of Myler won't hurt.

He is so $hit! best laugh and best news I've heard in ages.

Ignoring the above, admittedly he peaked about 5 years ago but at 33 next year he'll be good for 2 years.

A couple of years older than I would prefer him though.

Hahahahahahaha.



Was worried he'd sign for us (Saints).



BIG RELIEF.

He is still one of the fittest players and hardest trainers in the game.

He has never been a first choice playmaker of quality because he isn't a quick thinker and he isn't calm, but he is an ideal second choice playmaker because of his high workrate and fitness. He will put his hand up to work when others are slacking off and get your side moving forward.

The best part of his game is defence. He isn't a big guy, but he will bring down anyone who runs at him, and do it 30 or 40 times a game if he is up in the line. He also invariably leads the kick chase and gets his man 9 times out of 10, no matter who they are.

When he plays fullback, which is his best position these days, he can be used to give your hooker a rest, because he doesn't mind playing fullback in defence and dummy half in attack. He is best at dummy half against tired forwards, because he loves to run from dummy half and is good at it.



The poor quality of his playmaking (rushed passes and poor kicks under pressure) will frustrate you, but at the end of the day, he will do the work of two players in attack and defence and take the pressure off all your other key players by doing half their grinding work for them.



Casual fans judge him on his errors and really don't rate him. Coaches and fans who really watch what he does love the guy because of the mountain of quality work he does during a game. The Knights have always won more games than they lose when Gidley plays.

I wonder if that is the same kurt Gidley who along with Jerrod Mullen that Luke Walsh found himself unable to get a game... The same Luke Walsh released a year early from Penrith so they could resign Peter Wallace.



Why we don't half think a lot of this injury prone, second fiddle journey man!

The difference between Luke Walsh and Kurt Gidley can be summed up with one comparison.



Luke Walsh - worst defender in the side.



Kurt Gidley - best defender in the side.



That's also why Kurt was a SOO regular and Luke wouldn't make a SOO ballboy.

So where will he be playing? He's a 'utility' player yeah?

First choice 6



He can play all the pivots

1 6 7 9

He's only a utility at SOO level because he is the only player in the game who can play 1, 6, 7, and 9 at an NRL firstgrade level, so the coach has cover for all his key players if he has Kurt on the bench.

But at club level, his best asset is the amount of work he can do in 80 minutes, so he has to start and be involved all game.



For the last five years or so his best position has been fullback, with him spending time at dummy half to make it possible for you to have four forwards on the bench.



He actually got a rare 10 out of 10 rating for one game from RLW when he played what Brian Smith called "rover". In that game he played fullback in defence and saved several tries with his quality cover defence, and for the entire game he went to dummy half in attack and the side didn't name a hooker. At his peak, he was the only guy fit enough to do that.



So - best position fullback - decent centre - decent 5/8 - a bit dodgy at halfback - decent hooker - pretty dodgy at lock.

Can you adopt Wire as your favourite SL team roopy, and frequent our boards more often. I would love to read your positive outlook more often.