Rumoured Targets 3

[Apey]

Players not value for money - cap killers and I'd move on asap

DSaf - shop him immediately, end of season gone , call France, England wherever - pay freight if necessary, just go already.

Elliot - increasingly important position, middling player at best, waste of coin - we will win nothing with this guy, he's a scrape into the 8 maybe type player.

Hetherington - honestly I see nothing in him, not a thing. He would not make the 17 of any successful club aiming for a Premiership.

Brailey - Critical spine position - sadly he's hardly available and when he is he's just not a threat, no kicking game, no running game, can tackle and pass a ball, he's a serviceable dummy half but at 600K ? I'll pass and spend 600K on another skill set.

I like Elliot but it's hard to disagree on the importance of that position now and that he just doesn't cut it.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

Missing out on Turuva doesn’t bother me too much, he’s a good player but I don’t think he’d necessarily be a big upgrade on Tuala and we probably need to be looking for a bigger bodied winger who can be an aerial threat, which we seriously lack now that Young is gone.

Realistically we need to be after a couple of front rowers because whilst we’re getting carved up in the middle the rest doesn’t really matter.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

Players not value for money - cap killers and I'd move on asap

DSaf - shop him immediately, end of season gone , call France, England wherever - pay freight if necessary, just go already.

Elliot - increasingly important position, middling player at best, waste of coin - we will win nothing with this guy, he's a scrape into the 8 maybe type player.

Hetherington - honestly I see nothing in him, not a thing. He would not make the 17 of any successful club aiming for a Premiership.

Brailey - Critical spine position - sadly he's hardly available and when he is he's just not a threat, no kicking game, no running game, can tackle and pass a ball, he's a serviceable dummy half but at 600K ? I'll pass and spend 600K on another skill set.

I can’t really agree with you with regards to Brailey, there aren’t many good hookers on the market and Brailey has a really sharp skill set but we haven’t seen much of it due to injuries which has been his main downfall. But skill wise I think he’s up there with some of the elite guys.

Elliott I’m 50/50 on, I really like some of his contributions but other stuff is annoying as hell like his errors and penalties. But I think it’s underrated how much he contributed to that 10 game winning run last year. His form was excellent during that time.

 

[Dr Dr Gimedanews]

I can’t really agree with you with regards to Brailey, there aren’t many good hookers on the market and Brailey has a really sharp skill set but we haven’t seen much of it due to injuries which has been his main downfall. But skill wise I think he’s up there with some of the elite guys.

Elliott I’m 50/50 on, I really like some of his contributions but other stuff is annoying as hell like his errors and penalties. But I think it’s underrated how much he contributed to that 10 game winning run last year. His form was excellent during that time.

When I look at moving players on I take into consideration the importance of their position, along with value for money.

Last years finalists

Brailey - would he be the hooker in any of last years top 8? other than us . He's a middling to bottom 8 hooker. He wouldn't even be the Cowboys hooker or Bulldogs. I'd spend that money on the best young talent coming through wherever they are.

Same Elliot - would he be a lock in any of last years finalists ? no

Same Hetherington - no

Same DSaf, not even a decent bench prop.

Supporting the Knights is among the toughest gigs in world sport, the club has beaten us fans to the point where we accept mediocrity like it's just a part of life.

 

[HarVeeGee]

Klem wasn’t the answer either.

for what they are on we would be a better team if we had kept Josh King and Max King (from our area) and let the safs walk. And I say that as someone desperate for the safs to succeed.

Absolutely where the modern game is at. Josh King is a better workhorse prop than Klemmer now and it isn’t close. They both average about 10 runs per game for about 100 metres. But King makes almost twice as many tackles due to his superior mobility. Klem deserves a lot of credit for doing everything he can to adapt his game to the modern NRL, but he is the absolute poster child for players whose standing in the game have been undermined by changes in how the game is played.

 

[HarVeeGee]

Brailey - would he be the hooker in any of last years top 8? other than us . He's a middling to bottom 8 hooker. He wouldn't even be the Cowboys hooker or Bulldogs. I'd spend that money on the best young talent coming through wherever they are.

He wouldn’t play over Kenny but I think that has more to do with the Panthers having so much cohesion already. Kenny is always available and they wouldn’t trade him for anyone else (partially because he’s so cheap, but he has improved a lot at his role).

For Brisbane, Brailey would be the 14 over Smoothy and Paix. They have too much success with Walters as a starter throwing that big body around to go for 80 minutes of Jayden though.

Obviously Grant & Egan are better.

Every Sharks fan I know hates Blayke Brailey and will tell you the only thing he has over Jayden is he hasn’t gotten injured. They think he’s soft and takes horrible options.

Brandon Smith is a better player but he doesn’t fit what the Roosters actually want out of a 9 - he was a weird signing for them. They’ve gone full Real Madrid, they just sign the biggest name totally thoughtlessly irrespective of fit and then blame the player if it doesn’t work out. I’ve heard they’re actually filthy he’s gonna take up his player option (and honestly, players never take up an option when the club also wants them to stay - they always end up getting a contract extension instead).

Do I need to justify Brailey over Levi and Starling? I hope not.

Brailey is a very good #9. Not at his best yet after a long layoff but go watch him in 2021 and tell me we even sniff finals without him.

 

[Dr Dr Gimedanews]

he's a serviceable hooker

At his best he'd be pushing about mid table as a hooker. There's a reason Sharks chose the little bro.

I'd be looking for a threat/running game out of dummy half, and a kicking game.

9 players that I count as better than Brailey ( ironically about where we are as a team 10th-11th )

Grant
Koroisau
Egan
Mahony
Cook
Robson
Smith
Kenny
B Brailey ( Gus's darkhorse for SOO )

If we want to count availability then he's further down the list.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

When I look at moving players on I take into consideration the importance of their position, along with value for money.

Last years finalists

Brailey - would he be the hooker in any of last years top 8? other than us . He's a middling to bottom 8 hooker. He wouldn't even be the Cowboys hooker or Bulldogs. I'd spend that money on the best young talent coming through wherever they are.

Same Elliot - would he be a lock in any of last years finalists ? no

Same Hetherington - no

Same DSaf, not even a decent bench prop.

Supporting the Knights is among the toughest gigs in world sport, the club has beaten us fans to the point where we accept mediocrity like it's just a part of life.

I definitely think you’re being pretty harsh on Brailey there, here’s my reasoning as to why. IMO if he didn’t have a couple of long term injury layoffs in the last few years I reckon he would have earned himself an origin jersey by now.

The three best hookers in the comp imo are Harry, Egan and Api, they’re at another level, Api has even managed to make the Tigers attack look good at times since he went there which is saying something.

Behind those three you’ve got guys like Robson, JMK, J Brailey and B Brailey and Cook, although Cook isn’t the player he was a few years back…

Then there’s Walters and Kenny, both good footballers but they both play a fairly simple role in the sides they’re in, Panthers and Broncos both have superstars across the park so these guys fulfil a role but I don’t know if either of them would do that great playing for the Knights.

Then you’ve got the rest. I don’t really count Brandon Smith as a hooker tbh because I think he should be a lock forward, he wasn’t first choice at Melbourne and he isn’t really setting the world on fire for the chooks. He’s got a good running game out of DH but should be playing as a free roaming lock imo.

This is all my opinion of course but yeah I think the only thing that has stopped J Brailey from being a rep player has been injuries, he’s had some of the worst luck in the NRL over the last 4 years or so.

If all hookers were on the market right now I’d be chasing Harry, Api and Egan (in that order) but from a skill perspective I don’t think Brailey is any worse than any of the others I mentioned, it’s just that he’s barely played for 4 years. It’s clear that the club management think the same because they wouldn’t have re-signed him otherwise…

 

[Rod]

Just on Barnett, he's been good for the Warriors but I'm not sure he represents crazy value for money either. They paid him very well to lure him over there.

 

[Woody90]

DSaf’s comments when interviewed for JSaf’s 150th video are really telling.

He said that JSaf always had to work a lot harder than him and you can see it in the way he trains and competes for the 1%-ers.

That’s the issue. Everything always came so easily for DSaf so he’s never developed a work ethic. Got to FG just on physically size and skill but then stopped developing. His harder working twin took over him as did the rest of the comp.

 

[Woody90]

Just on Barnett, he's been good for the Warriors but I'm not sure he represents crazy value for money either. They paid him very well to lure him over there.

They’re all quite disappointed with him atm over on the warriors forum.

I always liked Barnett a lot and signing him took away a tiny bit of the sting from losing Tapine. I think some people are remembering him with rose coloured glasses now though. He didn’t move the needle too much when he was here.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

For the record, I think we’ve got the components of a good NRL finals level spine with KP and Brailey but we really need to upgrade one of either Hastings or Gamble (or both). Both were good last year but Hastings looks busted and who knows if he’ll ever be physically up to it as an NRL player again, and Gamble seems to struggle to make anything happen without someone else controlling the game, he’s got energy but he’s not really a leader as such.

Honestly we really need someone with a good long kicking game. Someone like a Fogarty, but the one we really missed out on a few years back was Adam Reynolds, why we didn’t throw a serious offer at him when Pearce was leaving is a mystery to me.

 

[Woody90]

why we didn’t throw a serious offer at him when Pearce was leaving is a mystery to me.

Could be wrong but from memory Pearce didn’t announce he was leaving until November 2021. By then most halves were already signed for the following year. Reynolds was already signed by the Broncos mid year.

 

[Dr Dr Gimedanews]

I definitely think you’re being pretty harsh on Brailey there, here’s my reasoning as to why. IMO if he didn’t have a couple of long term injury layoffs in the last few years I reckon he would have earned himself an origin jersey by now.

The three best hookers in the comp imo are Harry, Egan and Api, they’re at another level, Api has even managed to make the Tigers attack look good at times since he went there which is saying something.

Behind those three you’ve got guys like Robson, JMK, J Brailey and B Brailey and Cook, although Cook isn’t the player he was a few years back…

Then there’s Walters and Kenny, both good footballers but they both play a fairly simple role in the sides they’re in, Panthers and Broncos both have superstars across the park so these guys fulfil a role but I don’t know if either of them would do that great playing for the Knights.

Then you’ve got the rest. I don’t really count Brandon Smith as a hooker tbh because I think he should be a lock forward, he wasn’t first choice at Melbourne and he isn’t really setting the world on fire for the chooks. He’s got a good running game out of DH but should be playing as a free roaming lock imo.

This is all my opinion of course but yeah I think the only thing that has stopped J Brailey from being a rep player has been injuries, he’s had some of the worst luck in the NRL over the last 4 years or so.

If all hookers were on the market right now I’d be chasing Harry, Api and Egan (in that order) but from a skill perspective I don’t think Brailey is any worse than any of the others I mentioned, it’s just that he’s barely played for 4 years. It’s clear that the club management think the same because they wouldn’t have re-signed him otherwise…

hope he get's back to his best, he's a quality young man by the looks and a leader. In reality he's one of the least of our worries. At least he has a crack every week.

 

[Dr Dr Gimedanews]

They’re all quite disappointed with him atm over on the warriors forum.

why? that's interesting. He looks to be having a great year.

I always liked watching Barny, never flashy but gives his all.

 

[Woody90]

why? that's interesting. He looks to be having a great year.

I always liked watching Barny, never flashy but gives his all.

Comments regarding his forward impact and lateral movement. Was only a very brief browse over there though.

 

[Dr Dr Gimedanews]

lateral movement.

I can understand this

 

[Mr_Knightside]

Could be wrong but from memory Pearce didn’t announce he was leaving until November 2021. By then most halves were already signed for the following year. Reynolds was already signed by the Broncos mid year.

Yeah but there was a lot of noise about Pearce leaving well before it was announced. I’m pretty sure we signed Clune to replace him didn’t we? Should have gone for Reynolds with a bit of foresight.

 

[Yosh]

I still reckon it's all AOB's fault.

 

[HarVeeGee]

Yeah but there was a lot of noise about Pearce leaving well before it was announced. I’m pretty sure we signed Clune to replace him didn’t we? Should have gone for Reynolds with a bit of foresight.

Incorrect. Clune was signed for the same reason the Panthers signed Brad Schneider: it’s insane to go into a season with only two specialist halves. You need backup.

Pearce blindsided the club with the release request in November 2021. There wasn’t any noise about it beforehand. I guess you could argue we should have pushed him out the door when he detonated his personal life a year earlier, but given the other halves options we had, that’s probably setting that whole season on fire. You can say “yeah then we could have signed Adam Reynolds” but 1. No one ever seriously thought he’d leave Souths till it happened and 2. There’s just the small matter of beating the biggest brand in the NRL to his signature. Would we have done so? I’m not convinced.