Kipper said:
This all depends on just how good our young players really are.
I remember Daniel and Mick talking it up on some kind of Sky Sport 'advertorial' a couple of years ago, about how all these unnamed youngsters they've got coming through the ranks are going to be the stars of the NRL sooner rather than later. Unfortunately the Vinnie Andersons and Karl Te Matas of today don't look like they'll ever be much more than toilers to be honest, and even the big finds that prompted all that talk in the first place (Hohaia and Palea'aesina) seem slightly over-rated now (more the hype's fault than theirs). Of course, we shouldn't forget just how quickly the league boom was swamped by rugby going pro, so to expect the 198- generation to be anywhere near as good as the 197-'s probably isn't realistic.
I have to agree with you there..but then thats an achievement to be attained as I see it, and can be done with a lot of planning at grass roots level to a certain degree, plus with a little as you say it "bronco styled luring".
Looking at the 3rd option, is everyone really that bothered by the goalkicking? I suppose it's hard to stomach such an obvious decline in a part of the game that's so easily isolated, but people forget we got an extra year of all of Anderson's 'works in progress' directly from that sacrifice. I didn't see many fans calling for a Meli or Fa'afili to be axed to make room for Cleary's pay rise, so where was the cash supposed to come from?
Tell that to some of the fans in forums I've debated that with Kip..But then I look at it slightly off centre to most.
Look at Floyd, wonderfully gifted athlete, has the all around general skills of a Fullback in the mould of one Ivan Cleary, reads the play very well, granted Bartercard is not in the same league as the NRL(tell that to some of the guys I've played against) but the signs are all in the positive as to a posible replacement, its just a matter of when.
And yes I'm with you on that score..I to didnt hear the thought of swapping a meli for Ivan.
In poll format I guess I'll go with option A then, but add the caveat that we shouldn't smugly think everything we'll ever need will be right on our doorstep. There's nothing wrong with a bit of Broncos-style luring every now and then.
I have a belief that NZRL will improve only when and if we can match our neighbours across the tasman on every level..be it admin, junior, intermediate or Bartercard.
So if doing a Brisbane means buying a Campo, Ivan Cleary as a model to help lift the skills of our youth then so be it..and your right we shouldn't be so smug..but we should look to our own first and couple it with the above .
Our forward pack looks pretty settled, hopefully Danny Sullivan can shake the injuries though.
