Yes it does matter actually. It's quite obvious Cam wasn't wanted and he would have just been playing at Norths if he stayed. Cam didn't suit our style of play. Can was given time to improve and didn't. When Cook came in at the back end of the season he showed more spark, energy, a crisp efficient passing game and got the pack rolling forward.
McTurtle would not have developed anymore. He had many chances developing under Issac and the proof was on the pudding in that he didn't lift when Issac moved on. In fact he has gone backwards. The fact he's worth $470 something thousand in the Fantasy game is laughable and he would be my last choice to be in my fantasy team.
He got too many chances imo. In the end he majorly disappointed like I said all along, hence Richo Gotye broom out and swept him to that basket case that is St Merge where he will belong as Doust accepts mediocrity there.
I was speaking to a good mate today who goes for the Dragons and he's horrified not just that they don't have a half but he's bewildered as to why dud Cam is there, he said Cam is one of the worst options for starting hooker in the comp.
Cook will learn and thrive I predict and will be our long term hooker. He will learn off Robbie. Imo Cook has far more upside and potential to explode into greatness than what McTortoise does.
I know for a fact from reading Dragons sites that most of their members would rather have had Cook.
Stop calling him an up and comer, how long are we going to use that as an excuse word. Up and comer my arse, he's not reaching any heights whatsoever.
Cook has said he asked for the release so Souths would offer him a longer term deal. That's exactly what I'd have done too. Madge has realised we have a bright future with Damien.
The fact it's still undecided as to who our hooker will be in round 1 is a credit to Damien.
If McTortoise was still with us there would be a zero percent chance of him starting over Robbie.
I'll take your last paragraph to answer your first. Yes it's almost certain that Farah would be in 1st grade over Mcinnes ( similar to cook). That's why Mcinnes decided to leave, to keep playing 1st grade. Cook seems to be OK with being number 2. Richo can't magically make a player leave if he doesn't want to. If that was true then why the hell is Dane Nelsen still at the club
You say a bloke who just turned 23 last fortnight has no improvement? That's one of the most ludacris things you've said, and that's saying a lot. Name one hooker outside of Smith and Luke who was a premier hooker at 22?. Micheal ennis was a fringe first grader in his early years at the knights, dragons and broncos. It wasn't until his last year at the broncos when he was 24 that people noticed he was a decent hooker. Jake Friend was seen as an Achilles heel at the roosters, until he had a breakout year 2013 as a 23 year old. When peats left us as a 23 year old not many souths fans were dissapointed. When he was available last year, everyone hoped we could somehow sign him back. Robbie Farah wasn't good enough for origin until he was 25. He was dropped after 1 game and didn't get back until he was 28. McCullough wasn't noticed as a key broncos player until 2015 when he was 25. The list goes on . You can't right off a hooker at 22 as being no hope.
Again we have a story of a 'mate' who agrees completely 100 percent with your argument. It's bizarre you never have a mate that disagrees with you.
The reason he's worth $470k is that despite your accusations that he is completely hopeless, he somehow gets good stats. In fact he had one of the top 5 fantasy games of any player last year. This is built on defence, a part of the game I'm 100% sure you close eyes for. Again stats only tell some of the story. I concede Mcinnes has flaws, but being so young he has time to fix them.
You have bizarre limits of loyalty. You regularly run down players who delivered our 21st premiership, who go about their business with no fuss, while idolising players who didn't help who have asked for releases on more then 1 occasion. Tyrrell had to be sacked for putting his hands near his hips at training, as that was a cancer that could seriously harm the club , but cook threatening a release to get more money out of the club was fantastic and a great sign of loyalty
