Monday Bunker: Is James Maloney a liability or simply an invaluable match-winner?
JAMES Maloney is a proven match-winner in clutch moments, but do his defensive deficiencies outweigh his attacking prowess? WATCH as our Monday Bunker panel discuss the rocks and diamonds playmaker.
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JAMES Maloney is a proven match-winner in clutch moments, but do his defensive deficiencies outweigh his attacking prowess?
Maloney orchestrated Penrith’s come-from-behind win over Canberra on Sunday, but his heroics didn’t come without his flaws.
There’s no doubt Maloney is a superstar and breeds success wherever he goes.
But his alarmingly high missed tackles stats will have opposition teams licking their lips heading into the finals.
Maloney has missed a whopping 123 tackles this season, with Ben Hunt next on the list with 79 misses.
Our Monday Bunker panel of Paul Crawley, Fatima Kdouh and Tim Williams discuss whether Maloney is more of a liability than an invaluable match-winner.
WATCH OUR MONDAY BUNKER PANEL DISCUSS IN THE PLAYER ABOVE
“They said it during Origin, that he’s a goldfish. He has the shortest memory in sport,” Crawley said.
“And he did it again on the weekend because he’s gone out and missed 10 tackles, he’s made nine, thrown two intercepts, and then at the end of the game he throws a forward pass that sets up the try that puts Penrith in front.
“And then he scores the match-winner, then we find out after the game he’s got a broken thumb.
“123 missed tackles, that has to be a concern in coming weeks coming up against sides like the Roosters.”
Kdouh chimed in, referring back to a similar display in the 2018 Origin series.
“All the chat going into Origin was about his deficiencies defensively. Then we saw how important he was to the Blues,” Kdouh said.
“We saw it again on the weekend, he comes up with 10 missed tackles. In the end he scored the match-winner, that’s what James Maloney does.
“In the clutch moment he comes up with the right play at the right time.”
Originally published as Monday Bunker: Is James Maloney a liability or simply an invaluable match-winner?
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