Rumours and Stuff

[lingard]

Both may be great but Cook is a proven performer. Not sure his contract status but if available I'd offer $800k to get him here.

So would I. And that, of course, is another point. Just because players aren't off contract doesn't mean you can't get them if you offer enough money, make certain negotiations, etc. It happens all the time. Of course that means having less money to spend on quality forwards (and deciding where your priorities are). That must be a frightfully difficult set of decisions to make. Even though I think we need more quality forwards, I really don't think we can get away with the hookers we have any longer. If I was the coach I'd spend really big on a 'star' hooker and persevere with 'value' forwards for one more year.

 

[hybrideel]

But realistically how could we even be close to the cap with the calibre of players we had?
RS actually did some good (for all his faults) and came in and immediately got the projector out and sacked 12 and bought a few decent players to the club. Did the same at the Raiders and I'm not sure of their cap status when he arrived.

You realise that Stuart getting rid of a heap of players, meaning that we

Yes he was far from perfect but getting rid of the deadwood probably gave us room in the cap to buy a few decent players even if we paid them at other clubs. Did you think of that?

If we had to pay them to play for other clubs, who knowing they were thrown on the scrap heap came in with lowball offers, how exactly would that leave anything but minimum wage for replacements

 

[Noise]

I am not going to get involved in any petty squabbling, but I think given our salary cap dramas he really only had 1 off season to buy new players.
2014/15 we were over the cap limit.
2015/16 we were over the cap limit.
2016/17 we were ON the cap limit.
2017/18 he spent about $1m on Hayne, Evans and Williams combined.

If we only had 1 off season to buy players then how have we ended up with Watmough, Foran, Jennings, Gutho, Brown, Moses ?

 

[lingard]

Are you talking to me or Glenn?

I'm saying that you calling Glen's glasses 'hate-fiĺled' is simplistic and stupid. Have you ever seen Glen's glasses?

 

[lingard]

800k for Cook? I respectfully disagree with that.

You'd rather keep Pritchard because he's cheap?

 

[Soren Lorenson]

You'd rather keep Pritchard because he's cheap?

No, I just wouldn't support spending 800k on Cook. I agree he's been great this year, but I also contend that he's not the proven performer that Gleneel suggests. I have high hopes for Mahoney and or Schneider*. As for Pritchard, he looked great behind a dominant pack on the weekend. Maybe the return of Jnr will have benefits for whoever our hooker is as well.

* I try not to get too hyped about our juniors as I have little opportunity to see them play. I can only read between the lines and think that our lack of urgency to resign to senior hookers is a sign that these two are highly regarded.

 

[Soren Lorenson]

I would've nearly payed 800k for Jake Friend at the start of the year though, and would've ended up looking pretty silly.

 

[lingard]

I would've nearly payed 800k for Jake Friend at the start of the year though, and would've ended up looking pretty silly.

Yes, it's always a gamble. No wonder coaches get stressed. And, sure, Kaysa looked better with our forwards going forward, but his running more gave them more momentum to keep going forward. With an average forward pack you need a better than average hooker. And an average hooker needs a pretty good forward pack to make the whole thing work. My worry is that we have average in both departments.

 

[Cloeel]

I would've nearly payed 800k for Jake Friend at the start of the year though, and would've ended up looking pretty silly.

He may just need a change of scenery

 

[84 Baby]

I'm saying that you calling Glen's glasses 'hate-fiĺled' is simplistic and stupid. Have you ever seen Glen's glasses?

 

[Soren Lorenson]

Yes, it's always a gamble. No wonder coaches get stressed. And, sure, Kaysa looked better with our forwards going forward, but his running more gave them more momentum to keep going forward. With an average forward pack you need a better than average hooker. And an average hooker needs a pretty good forward pack to make the whole thing work. My worry is that we have average in both departments.

I think we have a better than average forward pack but they have been playing below average. Obviously that's a pretty big point of contention around here.

 

[84 Baby]

When have I ever been negative except when it was deserved. The team picked for the first game of the season I said was very poor. How did that work out? Evans has been ordinary for over 2 years now, same with Williams, and I didn't like their recruitment. So far 1 right and 1 wrong and if Evans comes good then I'm pleased. I'm not always right but my judgement of players is usually pretty good. I saw Cook play for Dogs and was impressed, I've seen Fainga'a play in the WC and was similarly impressed. Will he kick on, who knows, but hopefully BA will give him a chance.

Now if Pou was here he'd give us a list but I couldn't be bothered but I'll mention 2 names of players I hoped BA would go for, Vaughan and Packer. Would think both are better than what we currently have.

Faingaa is like 12 years old.
Packer is and has been playing no better than Mannah/Alvaro. Unless he's some magical talisman that helps teams win. He'd be as much as a passenger in our team.
And well if only BA had spoke to Vaughan.
I liked Cook too but as I said previously at the time he left Dogs we didn't need him. And the reason we didn't need him and maybe now do need him wasn't the fault of anyone currently at the club.
But all this and as I thought you couldn't be bothered doing any work but are happy to berate the people who actually do when things don't work out. Thank you for boarding Glenneel Seat O'Pants Airline

 

[emjaycee]

If we only had 1 off season to buy players then how have we ended up with Watmough, Foran, Jennings, Gutho, Brown, Moses ?

Those would be the purchases that either put us over the cap (Watmough and Forans TPA's were key reasons for our breach), were subsidised in year 1 (Jennings) or were astute buys at unders that have come good since (Gutho, Brown). Moses as a mid-year signing used the last of our 2017 cap.

 

[Stevie]

Lets me just say of all this media chat of Addo Carr being picked for Origin...

If we pick him he will turn out a bigger disaster than Merritt was.

 

[Noise]

Those would be the purchases that either put us over the cap (Watmough and Forans TPA's were key reasons for our breach), were subsidised in year 1 (Jennings) or were astute buys at unders that have come good since (Gutho, Brown). Moses as a mid-year signing used the last of our 2017 cap.

Yea but saying we "really only had 1 off season to buy new players" is completely false. We've been buying players every off season...some of them very expensive, some dud buys and some decent value.

 

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

He's averaging 102m per game and has a tackle efficiency of 89% in a team who are 1-7.

You tell me.

You go first. And no f**ken crossing your fingers behind your back when you're typing.

 

[Obscene Assassin]

But realistically how could we even be close to the cap with the calibre of players we had?
RS actually did some good (for all his faults) and came in and immediately got the projector out and sacked 12 and bought a few decent players to the club. Did the same at the Raiders and I'm not sure of their cap status when he arrived.

Ahh yes the great RS who came in and signed Cheyse Blair to a 3 year deal then a couple if months later told him he wasn't needed. He didn't immediately come in and sack those players, he did it mid-season when it was the hardest to move those players on.

 

[84 Baby]

Yea but saying we "really only had 1 off season to buy new players" is completely false. We've been buying players every off season...some of them very expensive, some dud buys and some decent value.

I think his point was more the cap breaches cancelled out any off season recruitment. I think you are right in it's not completely true but also our recruitment in those years and subsequent years need a big asterisk, i.e. if BA knew the full cap picture, he probably doesn't sign Watmough and Foran, he probably signs some cheaper players in similar positions.

I was actually amazed at the players we have signed in that time. I can't remember any other recent signings we have lost in that time bar Watmough, Foran, Fritchard & IDG but Auva'a, Brown, Davis, Gunco, Hoffman, Jenko x 2, King, Matagi, Moses, Niukore, Scott, Smith, Taka & Vave.

Now that's got me thinking maybe the whinge collective perhaps is right given the only "front row" players BA has signed are IDG, Brown, Matagi & Vave then Evans & lesser so T-Rex. But then he are some others who have left (couple of them a little unexpectedly), O'Brien (ok not a great example), Wicks & Paulo (both a little unexpectedly and would have f**ked recruitment a little), Mossop turning to glass & P. Pauli not quite working out ... cough... despite being a bigger body cough..

I'm not trying to make excuses for BA but trying to provide some analysis for the whingers so...
During 2014 - major injury to Peats, signs IDG (Advantage BA)
EOY2014 - lose Mossop, replaces with Wicks & Alvaro (Advantage BA)
EOY2015 - lose Pauli, replaces with O'Brien (Advantage whingers)
During 2016 - lose Paulo, can't get replacement cause cap up the shit (Advantage whingers, not BAs fault),
EOY2016 - lose Wicks, replaces him & Paulo with Matagi, Brown & Vave, also signs King with IDG impending retirement, we finish 4th in 2017 (Advantage BA)
EOY2017 - O'Brien falls off face of Earth, replaces him & too an extent probably Paulo, Wicks, et al with Evans, hasn't worked out so far but clear indication of player type he was after (Advantage whingers)

As much as Glenneel wants to whine that we don't have players he wants, I reckon the players BA has signed have by and large been in a similar mould to his wants (Wicks, Vave, Evans) and that maybe BA has never been as ignorant as whingey mcwhingeface wants to believe

 

[Gronk]

You go first. And no f**ken crossing your fingers behind your back when you're typing.

I don't know and don't really care. I would have thought that his stats reflect a very solid contribution to his team or to any team for that matter. Certainly if based on the drought of possession we have endured so far in 2018 .

I don't need to pigeon hole him and am happy for him to be in the 17. I am also not interested in what he is getting paid in his twilight years because he brings intangible qualities to his cohort.

 

[84 Baby]

FFS now I'm even doing Pou length article posts. Next I'll start breaking up quotes to individual sentences. Thanks a lot you whiney jerks.
Where the f**k is that merkin?