Rumoured/Confirmed Signings and More Crap XVII

[T.S Quint]

Across the 3 grades, our Club had 120 points scored against them this past weekend even though all 3 sides were battling for finals positions.
Arthur will change that culture but he needs to bring in new players with hopefully the right attitude towards defence.
Our club also lacks forwards with skill which Im sure these ins and outs is also trying to address. Players that run hard with little else are easilly accounted for in todays game.
After watching Morgan defend yesterday Im totally surprised people are knocking the Champion signing. For mine he is exactly the type of player we need.
Additionally, every poster complaining about our new recruits being injury prone Id pose the question, how many games has Tonga, Tanginoa and Loco played these past 2 seasons.
Get real people.

Pauli, Edwards, Ma'u, Peats, Sef Paulo, Gower.
All forwards with skill. Or are you just talking about props?

 

[The Colonel]

I did say if we sign Watmough. I still reckon we will snare him for 2015. Forget the papers and their shit. He is allowed to negotiate with Parra in 2 months anyway so I think the 2016 stuff is crap. They just don't want to disrupt their season before the finals. In any event would you support the decision if we signed a prop like Snowden ?

If we strengthen our squad I have no issue. If we don't and have just released players to put us in a better cap position I have a massive issue. This doesn't make us a top four team.

As for Watmough... I don't think it will happen and that is not based on paper talk.

 

[T.S Quint]

Putting us in a better cap position can make us a top 4 team in the future though.
Probably not next year, but 2016 maybe.

 

[The Colonel]

Putting us in a better cap position can make us a top 4 team in the future though.
Probably not next year, but 2016 maybe.

Maybe.

There are a number of clubs who operate under the salary cap at the moment as well. They are the Tigers, Titans and Canberra if reports are correct. They aren't clubs that are doing well in terms of recruitment or their position on the ladder and haven't done for some time.

Putting us in a good position to recruit for 2016 is one thing but if we don't perform on the field it makes it harder to bring in top line players. Cherry Evans won't be looking just for a club that can pay him big dollars. He will want to go to a club that will improve and challenge for a premiership.

The club have a considerable amount of players of contract for 2016. If they don't perform next year we are entering another season of rebuilding in 2016. That doesn't necessarily make us an attractive option again....

 

[Poupou Escobar]

In any event would you support the decision if we signed a prop like Snowden ?

What do you know merkin!?!?!?

 

[Avenger]

What do you know merkin!?!?!?

I heard it on one of those midweek footy radio shows. Apparently he is a free agent because most of his contract was Tinkler 3rd party deals which have gone by the wayside.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

If we strengthen our squad I have no issue. If we don't and have just released players to put us in a better cap position I have a massive issue. This doesn't make us a top four team.

Can any club just buy their way to a top four spot? Manly, Souths, Melbourne, Penrith, Chooks - all develop plenty of quality youngsters (21 year olds, not 15 year olds). That gives them the cap room to sign and retain the stars.

Unless you have a quality 'academy' producing genuine roster options, you will never be able to buy a competitive squad.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

putting us in a better cap position can make us a top 4 team in the future though.

100%

 

[Chipmunk]

Can any club just buy their way to a top four spot? Manly, Souths, Melbourne, Penrith, Chooks - all develop plenty of quality youngsters (21 year olds, not 15 year olds). That gives them the cap room to sign and retain the stars.

Unless you have a quality 'academy' producing genuine roster options, you will never be able to buy a competitive squad.

Surely every club has what you keep calling an 'academy'?

I find it difficult to believe that every club is pretty much not doing the same thing.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Surely every club has what you keep calling an 'academy'?

I find it difficult to believe that every club is pretty much not doing the same thing.

I'm sure they're all doing it. The question is are they all doing it equally as well.

 

[Chipmunk]

I'm sure they're all doing it. The question is are they all doing it equally as well.

So, what is it that you think the clubs doing it well are doing and the clubs who aren't doing it well not doing?

 

[Obscene Assassin]

So, what is it that you think the clubs doing it well are doing and the clubs who aren't doing it well not doing?

The Roosters and the Storm are the best at it. The next level down but getting close to those two are Panthers, Eels, Broncos all 3 can get up to the other two if they just put more money into their systems which they have recently. Now that Nolan is back up in Brisbane I can see them retaining a lot of juniors they've let go or have let slip through the cracks. Then you'd have Warriors, Souths, and Tigers. These 8 teams have a massive advantage in the junior grades as they either naturally have a large development area with a heap of teams or they spend a lot of money on bringing in the best juniors they can from other comps. When they have a quality junior Manly can hold onto them well but they just don't naturally have a big development area and without Cleal stealing all of Parra's juniors they've got nothing. Bulldogs thought Cleal would take his "expertise" over to them but ever since Parra (Nolan and Kearney) decided to nurture our juniors properly he's been a terrible junior recruiter and as such the Dogs just barely made the 8 in the HM and came near last in the SG Ball comp and are coming near last in the NYC. Newcastle just let too many juniors to slip through it isn't funny, the Roosters are also taking over their biggest development area of Central Coast and they've done nothing about it.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

So, what is it that you think the clubs doing it well are doing and the clubs who aren't doing it well not doing?

Well there's obviously the need for some expertise in the coaching staff, plus a recognition within management that a focus on junior recruitment/retention benefits the NRL team.

Then it probably just comes down to money. For example, why is Peter O'Sullivan at the Roosters and not any other club? Why have we only got our first full time NYC coach in 2014? Why have the Storm been spending thousands flying their Harold Matts and SG Ball teams to NSW every second week?

 

[Chipmunk]

The Roosters and the Storm are the best at it. The next level down but getting close to those two are Panthers, Eels, Broncos all 3 can get up to the other two if they just put more money into their systems which they have recently. Now that Nolan is back up in Brisbane I can see them retaining a lot of juniors they've let go or have let slip through the cracks. Then you'd have Warriors, Souths, and Tigers. These 8 teams have a massive advantage in the junior grades as they either naturally have a large development area with a heap of teams or they spend a lot of money on bringing in the best juniors they can from other comps. When they have a quality junior Manly can hold onto them well but they just don't naturally have a big development area and without Cleal stealing all of Parra's juniors they've got nothing. Bulldogs thought Cleal would take his "expertise" over to them but ever since Parra (Nolan and Kearney) decided to nurture our juniors properly he's been a terrible junior recruiter and as such the Dogs just barely made the 8 in the HM and came near last in the SG Ball comp and are coming near last in the NYC. Newcastle just let too many juniors to slip through it isn't funny, the Roosters are also taking over their biggest development area of Central Coast and they've done nothing about it.

So the good 'academy' work is poaching players from other clubs junior development areas?

 

[T.S Quint]

It's about identifying talent.
Then signing up said talent for the right amount of money.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

So the good 'academy' work is poaching players from other clubs junior development areas?

Pretty much. Even the clubs with big junior catchment areas still have to offer contracts and they are still limited by the salary caps (including NYC cap).

That means they can't keep them all, as we've seen with the Eels until recently.

 

[Chipmunk]

Well there's obviously the need for some expertise in the coaching staff, plus a recognition within management that a focus on junior recruitment/retention benefits the NRL team.

Then it probably just comes down to money. For example, why is Peter O'Sullivan at the Roosters and not any other club? Why have we only got our first full time NYC coach in 2014? Why have the Storm been spending thousands flying their Harold Matts and SG Ball teams to NSW every second week?

Well I'm not sure its rocket science, it's all pretty straight forward stuff that a club either spends time on, neglects or is complacent with.

It's all very well to bring up Roosters and Storm as examples, but at this present time what option do they have but to be the best two clubs in this area. It's not as if they are in a position to pluck endless players out of their own junior leagues like Parra, Penrith, the Broncos and a few others.

So how do you think a potential draft of junior players will impact on clubs academy programs?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

It's about identifying talent.
Then signing up said talent for the right amount of money.

And here's the kicker.

Anyone can see that a young player is better than all the other kids on the field. The trick is offering him enough to beat rival offers without paying overs and being unable to recruit/retain others.

 

[T.S Quint]

Pretty much. Even the clubs with big junior catchment areas still have to offer contracts and they are still limited by the salary caps (including NYC cap).

That means they can't keep them all, as we've seen with the Eels until recently.

Actually, with the losses of Loko and Tanginoa we have seen it recently.
But the good thing is we have (seemingly) kept the right players this time, unlike other years.

 

[Chipmunk]

Pretty much. Even the clubs with big junior catchment areas still have to offer contracts and they are still limited by the salary caps (including NYC cap).

That means they can't keep them all, as we've seen with the Eels until recently.

Is there any rules about being able to pay Matthews and Ball players?

I think they need to come up with some advantage for having your own large junior development base.