Birdee_Num_Num
Bench
- Messages
- 4,429
Gone: Frizz, Bakuya, Townsend, Peachey
Bought: Lewis, Ryan, Heighington, Gordon, Wright
Retained: Tupou, Leutele, Robson, Carney, Lichaa
Rumours: SKD, FPN, Fafita MK2, Fai Fai Lao, Lafai, Hodgkinson
These are all I can think of off the top of my head and I'll qualify beforehand, I don't pretend to have the inside oil here but these are just my opinions from an outsider looking in.
Frizz - Dropped the ball massively here. Why he wasn't retained is beyond me. Very dumb!
Bakuya - Not really sure how this one played out but he is a big loss to our team. I get the feeling he may have just wanted out regardless after all the ASADA crap broke. Not sure how hard we tried to keep him? I'm very disappointed he is leaving.
Townsend - Can and should feel hard done by. Put in a solid season in 2011 and did enough to deserve first crack at HB in 2012. It should have been his spot to lose to Robson not to earn back from him. If it played out this way, we may have actually seen how he performed inside Carney, unfortunately this never eventuated. IMO, poor management of a decent junior.
Peachey - Gob smacked to say the least. Seriously WTF? My understanding from what I've read on here is that he left for not much more cash but more so because of playing guarantees and essentially having a little bit of faith in his ability! It appears he has basically given the club a big f**k you for f**king him around and I don't blame him. He's what 22 next year? Seriously, I'm reading comments on here about how Graham is almost the same age however has played 100 nrl games, that's true but it's because Penrith actually show faith in their juniors and push them through the system and don't clip their wings and put them in that shithouse comp that is NSW cup. IMO, both Frizz and Peachey were held back for way too long and should have been brought through much earlier than they were, they were stand outs, if they didn't cut it then move them on, simple as that.
Lewis - Goes with out saying, outstanding pickup
Ryan - see Lewis
Gordon - see Lewis
Heighington - I like him, I think he really puts in but im afraid he was surplus to our requirements, we had Frizz and Peach in the pipelines. Still can't work out whether Ryan and Heighington was a package, both or none?
Wright - Not a very wise purchase, not a fan at all
Tupou - Has had some decent games since returning from injury. I simply look at this from another point of view, if Tupou was stock and I was and investor, would I be happy with my return on investment for the investment term? Simply, NO. For a game breaking, attacking forward that came to us, regardless of injuries, he has simply not delivered for me. The Rugby League Live app stats indicate that for this season and last tupou has scored 0 tries, averages 20 tackles & averages 8.5 runs per game. Sure he may not have been utilised in the right way but for me that involvement doesn't warrant retention considering other younger cost effective talent we could have given a go that has now walked!
Leutele - I like what I see, very glad we retained and was disappointed when he picked up that injury, hopefully he gets first crack again next year
Robson - I'm a big fan of Robbo & glad he was resigned, a bit sceptical when we first signed him, brings a fantastic kicking game and has a steadying influence on the game, don't underestimate the structure he brings to carneys running game as first receiver, crisp passing and very good timing. Can get isolated one on one in defence at times, not necessarily always his fault. Love his technique, always around the legs, ala Michael Speechley. I think he was lucky to get first crack at half over Townsend but that's the way the cookie crumbled and he essentially hasn't put a foot wrong.
Carney - See Lewis, lots of respect for resigning with us considering much bigger offers that were on the table
Lichaa - Looks awesome from what I have seen. Not getting my hopes up, likely to be playing else where with our track record. If we are to keep him interested he needs to be shown some game time.
SKD - no thanks, not a fan, has had one break out season other than that I think he is shithouse, don't care if he was international centre of the year two years ago. If we are going with that line of thinking then sign Benji up, he is killing it! :sarcasm:
FPN - Haven't really seen much of him so can't really comment
Fafita MK2 - Has anyone actually seen him play? If he is anything like his brother then fantastic, but seriously, is it any wonder that kids like peachey who have put in the hard yards are walking? There are a lot of comments flying around about whether people have actually watched nsw cup before calling for certain players to be given a crack, don't really see how this is any different? Where has he come from and what has he shown to be a recruitment target other than being Fafita's brother?
Fai Fai Loa - seen him a couple of times, seems alright, again can't really comment
Lafai - See Fai Fai Loa
Hodgkinson - Wouldn't be chasing him if we kept Chad, an indifferent signing for me, how old is he?
Essentially, I feel we have focused too much on the big name signings and forgotten about some of the exciting prospects we had in our system. A successful squad has a good balance between experience & youth. Peachey will be a monumental loss, he is an out and out footballer, very, very silly mistake on our behalf.
If the coach could have convinced Gal that it is was best for the team that he played prop and we didn't sign Heighington and didn't resign tupou then we could have retained at least two out of Frizz, Bukuya, Peachey if not all.
We are building and ageing squad and I don't see much investment in youth. If flanno doesn't rate the players running around in the lower grades then bloody do something about it, seriously who is scouting for talent? We could be setting ourselves up for a stack here if he doesn't pull off some results with this current side and identify some new juniors to pump through the system, if you can call it that, more like a quagmire!
Anyway, tear it apart as you will, just my thoughts.
Bought: Lewis, Ryan, Heighington, Gordon, Wright
Retained: Tupou, Leutele, Robson, Carney, Lichaa
Rumours: SKD, FPN, Fafita MK2, Fai Fai Lao, Lafai, Hodgkinson
These are all I can think of off the top of my head and I'll qualify beforehand, I don't pretend to have the inside oil here but these are just my opinions from an outsider looking in.
Frizz - Dropped the ball massively here. Why he wasn't retained is beyond me. Very dumb!
Bakuya - Not really sure how this one played out but he is a big loss to our team. I get the feeling he may have just wanted out regardless after all the ASADA crap broke. Not sure how hard we tried to keep him? I'm very disappointed he is leaving.
Townsend - Can and should feel hard done by. Put in a solid season in 2011 and did enough to deserve first crack at HB in 2012. It should have been his spot to lose to Robson not to earn back from him. If it played out this way, we may have actually seen how he performed inside Carney, unfortunately this never eventuated. IMO, poor management of a decent junior.
Peachey - Gob smacked to say the least. Seriously WTF? My understanding from what I've read on here is that he left for not much more cash but more so because of playing guarantees and essentially having a little bit of faith in his ability! It appears he has basically given the club a big f**k you for f**king him around and I don't blame him. He's what 22 next year? Seriously, I'm reading comments on here about how Graham is almost the same age however has played 100 nrl games, that's true but it's because Penrith actually show faith in their juniors and push them through the system and don't clip their wings and put them in that shithouse comp that is NSW cup. IMO, both Frizz and Peachey were held back for way too long and should have been brought through much earlier than they were, they were stand outs, if they didn't cut it then move them on, simple as that.
Lewis - Goes with out saying, outstanding pickup
Ryan - see Lewis
Gordon - see Lewis
Heighington - I like him, I think he really puts in but im afraid he was surplus to our requirements, we had Frizz and Peach in the pipelines. Still can't work out whether Ryan and Heighington was a package, both or none?
Wright - Not a very wise purchase, not a fan at all
Tupou - Has had some decent games since returning from injury. I simply look at this from another point of view, if Tupou was stock and I was and investor, would I be happy with my return on investment for the investment term? Simply, NO. For a game breaking, attacking forward that came to us, regardless of injuries, he has simply not delivered for me. The Rugby League Live app stats indicate that for this season and last tupou has scored 0 tries, averages 20 tackles & averages 8.5 runs per game. Sure he may not have been utilised in the right way but for me that involvement doesn't warrant retention considering other younger cost effective talent we could have given a go that has now walked!
Leutele - I like what I see, very glad we retained and was disappointed when he picked up that injury, hopefully he gets first crack again next year
Robson - I'm a big fan of Robbo & glad he was resigned, a bit sceptical when we first signed him, brings a fantastic kicking game and has a steadying influence on the game, don't underestimate the structure he brings to carneys running game as first receiver, crisp passing and very good timing. Can get isolated one on one in defence at times, not necessarily always his fault. Love his technique, always around the legs, ala Michael Speechley. I think he was lucky to get first crack at half over Townsend but that's the way the cookie crumbled and he essentially hasn't put a foot wrong.
Carney - See Lewis, lots of respect for resigning with us considering much bigger offers that were on the table
Lichaa - Looks awesome from what I have seen. Not getting my hopes up, likely to be playing else where with our track record. If we are to keep him interested he needs to be shown some game time.
SKD - no thanks, not a fan, has had one break out season other than that I think he is shithouse, don't care if he was international centre of the year two years ago. If we are going with that line of thinking then sign Benji up, he is killing it! :sarcasm:
FPN - Haven't really seen much of him so can't really comment
Fafita MK2 - Has anyone actually seen him play? If he is anything like his brother then fantastic, but seriously, is it any wonder that kids like peachey who have put in the hard yards are walking? There are a lot of comments flying around about whether people have actually watched nsw cup before calling for certain players to be given a crack, don't really see how this is any different? Where has he come from and what has he shown to be a recruitment target other than being Fafita's brother?
Fai Fai Loa - seen him a couple of times, seems alright, again can't really comment
Lafai - See Fai Fai Loa
Hodgkinson - Wouldn't be chasing him if we kept Chad, an indifferent signing for me, how old is he?
Essentially, I feel we have focused too much on the big name signings and forgotten about some of the exciting prospects we had in our system. A successful squad has a good balance between experience & youth. Peachey will be a monumental loss, he is an out and out footballer, very, very silly mistake on our behalf.
If the coach could have convinced Gal that it is was best for the team that he played prop and we didn't sign Heighington and didn't resign tupou then we could have retained at least two out of Frizz, Bukuya, Peachey if not all.
We are building and ageing squad and I don't see much investment in youth. If flanno doesn't rate the players running around in the lower grades then bloody do something about it, seriously who is scouting for talent? We could be setting ourselves up for a stack here if he doesn't pull off some results with this current side and identify some new juniors to pump through the system, if you can call it that, more like a quagmire!
Anyway, tear it apart as you will, just my thoughts.
