Punishment for poor nines squads

[unforgiven]

Look the thing most sports are trying to emulate in these stripped down versions of there games is the 20/20. Now the Big Bash League is doing well without the current day big names, maybe that's the route the 9's needs to go. Win over the audience with the strength of your product not just the big names involved.

 

[KeepingTheFaith]

You do realise that not all trials are against QLD/NSW cup sides and in fact most of them are against other NRL opponents. The quality of those sides may change throughout the match but it gives a chance to access those players as well. I'd like to see a side start the season without those trials. There are a few clubs who have signed players to preseason contracts who I'm sure the coaches would like to see in a game.

Yeah without those trials the first 5-6 rounds would be a complete lottery.......oh wait.....it always is anyway.

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

Their punishment is they wont win.

Oh I'm sure they're devastated.

 

[natheel]

OP is based on the assumption that teams aren't meeting the criteria? How can that be proven?

And if either squad make the semis or final, what them? Fine gets reversed?

Look at the guidelines for the 9's squads and look at Penrith Melbourne and even Tigers squads....Tigers have injuries still which they can be somewhat excused.

Cam Smith - Injured
Jamie Soward - Injured

they're the only main ones unavailable for Panthers and Storm from the top of my head.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

Look at the guidelines for the 9's squads and look at Penrith Melbourne and even Tigers squads....Tigers have injuries still which they can be somewhat excused.

Cam Smith - Injured
Jamie Soward - Injured

they're the only main ones unavailable for Panthers and Storm from the top of my head.

Also Bromwich, Proctor, Harris, Cronk just back to training full time after 4 nations...why have them play 9s without enough pre-season training? Injury risk right there. Slater just come right to do the first full pre-season in about 4 years - for once coming into a season without niggling injury after surgery at the end of last season. That leaves who from their top tier that isn't playing? Hinchcliffe? He's the back-up at hooker until Smith is ready to play....
Best decision to give the others a run - word is a few of those young guys are posting faster times than Slater did at the same age - might surprise a few & this comp gives the fans a glimpse of things to come. I personally am really looking forward to seeing how the young guns go

 

[Charlie124]

it is disappointing that teams arent taking the concept seriously, but hardly surprising
pre season tournaments or matches are rarely taken seriously

The minimum participation rules need to be enforced if the NRL is seriuos about the competition.

I would withold the money from the Nines altogether if they didnt meet the minimum requirement. That would make them take things seriously.

That said, a clubs strongest team in the thirteen man game might be nothing like a clubs strongest team for the nine man game. Nines is more a touch style of game, so outside backs will feature far more prominantly. This means your reserve grade full back or wingers are more valuable than your props for example.

A weak squad based on names that are known to regular viewers of NRL might not be the weakest squad for nines

This.

The NQ Cowboys are the defending champions and have a look at some of the players we named last year in our 9's squad:
Javid Bowen
Ray Thompson
Rory Kostjasyn
Joel Riethmuller
Michael Morgan (before he became a revelation at fullback)
Curtis Rona
Zac Santo

Hardly a squad of established superstars and aside from Morgan, most of them either didnt make the NRL team or were in and out of it all year.

 

[umina panther]

Look at the guidelines for the 9's squads and look at Penrith Melbourne and even Tigers squads....Tigers have injuries still which they can be somewhat excused.

Cam Smith - Injured
Jamie Soward - Injured

they're the only main ones unavailable for Panthers and Storm from the top of my head.

Peach
Cartwright
Mansour
Idris
Wallace
Taylor

All had season ending injuries last year or off season surgery. I would have missed some too

 

[POPEYE]

Maybe the Nines will be more valuable to Rugby League if players we already know will be the backbone of the Premiership are not participating. Perhaps players struggling for attention and in danger of being overlooked as Billy Slater once was should be given this previously unavailable big stage to perform on

Better still, why not restrict NRL clubs to using only nine contracted top grade players and the rest of their squads be made up of triallists, youngsters or returning from exile. Only a f**king imbecile pretending to be a League devotee would not be keen to see the result

 

[Canard]

Whoch of that storm squad is a top 5 paid player? On
Y chambers would be in the top 15 paid and near the middle of that!

What Language is this?

 

[Parra]

You are suggesting we punish teams for being smart and not avoiding the fact that the only important trophy is the NRL premiership.

No.

 

[Canard]

You have to give the concept a change to grow.

No one is saying it's the be all and end all of football....

The NRL has stumbled on to a pre-season event that has the capacity to:
- brings in over 100,000 people over 2 days
- provides players with extra money
- make money for the actual game
- GROWS THE GAME!!!
- provide positive headlines for the game in a time when it traditionally doesn't provide positive news.

And you want to potentially throw that away because a bunch of self serving coaches can't look beyond there own situations??

And people wonder why guys like Sam Burgess and SBW leave the game to play in the RU World Cup.

f**k me.

Yes they left because they were upset that the Storm didn't choose Billy Slater to play in the 9's.

 

[mxlegend99]

Look at the guidelines for the 9's squads and look at Penrith Melbourne and even Tigers squads....Tigers have injuries still which they can be somewhat excused.

Cam Smith - Injured
Jamie Soward - Injured

they're the only main ones unavailable for Panthers and Storm from the top of my head.

Players either injured or recovering from injury for Penrith:

Josh Mansour
Jamal Idris
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
Jamie Soward
Peter Wallace
James Segeyaro
Tyrone Peachey
Bryce Cartwright
Elijah Taylor

it would be irresponsible of the club to send over any of these guys unless they are anything other then 100% fit and had a full preseason of training.

Ontop of these guys, Cleary decided (like many other coaches) that players involved in the four nations werent ready for the game due to a late start to preseason training. so that ruled out Moylan, Whare and Brown.

Cleary is putting the NRL season first. We were hammered with injuries last year. Most of them being serious longterm injuries. Honestly its a shame that we aren't sending our absolute strongest team over, but in this format thats even debatable. These young speedsters could be better suited to this game. our strong side last year wasnt that great. our best player inthe 9s last year was probably George Jennings, he suffered a season ending injury and is back this year.

I doubt this side will win a game, but its not impossible for a young team of randoms to be better suited to this game. the first few years everyone is just guessing what works best. not many had the Cowboys winning it last year. Could just as easily be a team not rated this year.

 

[Blues Riff]

So, which available Penrith players do they think should be in the squad? It looks like we have included as many first graders as some other clubs.

 

[gallagher]

Make it that 10 players of each teams nines squad have to play the first 5 rounds of the NRL.

 

[Noise]

Make it that 10 players of each teams nines squad have to play the first 5 rounds of the NRL.

Clubs would just say they are injured.

 

[gallagher]

Clubs would just say they are injured.

Make it ten weeks then and if theyre injured they obviously couldnt play any grade.

 

[shiznit]

This.

The NQ Cowboys are the defending champions and have a look at some of the players we named last year in our 9's squad:
Javid Bowen
Ray Thompson
Rory Kostjasyn
Joel Riethmuller
Michael Morgan (before he became a revelation at fullback)
Curtis Rona
Zac Santo

Hardly a squad of established superstars and aside from Morgan, most of them either didnt make the NRL team or were in and out of it all year.

But the Cowboys still played a team that complied with the minimum requirements...

I think it's 12 of the top 25 and 1 of them has to be in the top 5 earners at the club.

From memory I think James Tamou was there...

It's not like the organisers are asking for the clubs to play all there superstars... If a club seriously can't come up with the minimum requirement because of injury... Then fair enough... Maybe an exemption can be figured out...

But if 2 clubs don't care and play kids this year... What's to stop 5 clubs next year... Then 10 clubs the year after...

And then the concept will end up like the world sevens did...

 

[shiznit]

f**k me.

Yes they left because they were upset that the Storm didn't choose Billy Slater to play in the 9's.

FFS.... If you can't understand the meaning of that sentence than I'm not gonna bother arguing with you..

 

[Noname36]

So, which available Penrith players do they think should be in the squad? It looks like we have included as many first graders as some other clubs.

What about Moylan? What about Whare? What about that Blake kid you all go on about? I assume from the hype coming from the Penrith camp he would be perfectly suited to the 9s...

If players are genuinely injured or recovering from surgery then of course they shouldn't participate. However I cannot imagine that any of those players selected in the Penrith squad would be anywhere near their top 5 paid players and as a result if someone like Moylan for example can particiapte (he did not play one minute in the Four Nations) then he should. It's not fair that some clubs can recognise that people have put a lot of money into this in hopes of growing the game and send over decent squads and risk injury while others think they're above adhering to the criteria. You can't have some clubs going to the effort to promote the game and others only caring for their own interests.

The 9s is a great concept and has real potential to showcase the skills of our players (which is something we don't always see in the regular season due to the emphasis on the wrestle, error free footy, etc). However punishment of clubs not meeting the criteria isn't the answer. We need clubs to send over their skillful players because they want to in hopes of growing the game. We don't want it to turn into City/Country where certain clubs see it as a punishment and consistently make a mockery of the game by not letting their players participate.

 

[magpie4ever]

f**k, the O/P and some posters on here should get a life.

As in any game, trial or 9s, a club can pick whoever they like within the rules and finances of the comp.