Rumours and Stuff

[Joely01]

Gutherson is our smartest player, which is a fair argument for moving him into the halves.

When there’s a better fullback available to sign for sure.
At the moment there isn’t a player “available” that would do a better job at fullback then Gutherson for mine

 

[Poupou Escobar]

So why couldn’t he do that 2 years ago when given the chance to?

Why is any young player better after two years?

 

[Joshuatheeel]

Maybe we haven’t lost anyone of note, it doesn’t mean we haven’t missed out on anyone of note....

probably have missed out on a few players.....because we refused to pay overs which the new process helps prevents ......

 

[strider]

I think it would be a mistake to move gutho from fullback. He needs to be in a position to pop up anywhere cos he excels at it

He is hands down the best support player we have had for decades. He came make an impact with dummy half darts. He plays both sides of the field well. And i dont see him as a first receiver,, he is more effective a couple of passes wide.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

When there’s a better fullback available to sign for sure.
At the moment there isn’t a player “available” that would do a better job at fullback then Gutherson for mine

I don't think there's anyone who would do better in the halves than Gutherson either. In fact it might be his best position.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I think it would be a mistake to move gutho from fullback. He needs to be in a position to pop up anywhere cos he excels at it

He is hands down the best support player we have had for decades. He came make an impact with dummy half darts. He plays both sides of the field well. And i dont see him as a first receiver,, he is more effective a couple of passes wide.

Anyone with a running game is more effective a couple of passes wide. It's why many teams have middle forwards at first receiver these days, with their halves receiving the ball from them.

 

[IFR33K]

No worries
That’s what happens when you try and compare a young A.Johns who had a heap of quality halves in front of him when he first started playing origin.
To suggesting Gutho (our best player of the year and top 3 fullbacks)
Make way for French, who has very poor defense and proved to us in the past if he doesn’t get what he wants he kicks stones!

Gutho is also still improving and getting better at fullback, I predict he will he even better next year at the back

Sorry dude I was being a smartass.

johns was the best halfback when they picked him at hooker. He was better than kimmorley but for the better of the team they selected both.


And for the record we’re having a discussion on what’s rumored out there. I’m not sure one person has said they want French to take gutho’s spot. Nor has anyone said he is or can be better than Gutho. The rumors may be false, but who knows. If the club losses MJ, then they need a quality back to fill the void. If they don’t find a quality centre, i guess BA May have to reshuffle the backline, or we can go into 2021 being down two quality centres.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

So why couldn’t he do that 2 years ago when given the chance to?

you mean 2017? If so I reckon it was because he was still fairly inexperienced just trying to establish himself as an NRL player. He had played less then 30 nrl games coming into the 2017 season.

Now he has the experience and is an established NRL player.

ah shit sorry think I misread your post, thought you meant Gutho’s time in the halves

 

[IFR33K]

probably have missed out on a few players.....because we refused to pay overs which the new process helps prevents ......

No doubt. No one is telling you to take every rumors as gospel, but why when there’s something remotely negative you call bs. Or talk it down.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

No doubt. No one is telling you to take every rumors as gospel, but why when there’s something remotely negative you call bs. Or talk it down.

I didn’t call BS on the BA / O’Neil issues, which is concerning and think is probably correct - evidence indicates there is something (re quotes in the articles from eels “insiders”, which hasn’t happened for a while)

I was referring to BS on the issues with our new contract signing / negotiations process, as evidence indicates it is working fine.

 

[IFR33K]

His tackling is perhaps poorer than Gutherson's, but his ability to get to an overlap quickly, and his ability to field low kicks, are better than Gutherson's.

I love Gutherson, and I think he is a great, great fullback - but he has his limitations, and there's no shame in that.

Just like with French - he isn't as physical as Gutherson, and he isn't as strong.

However, he is far quicker, much more agile, and I would confidently say that, in terms of skill, they are pretty even.

Rugby league is a team game, and the coach needs to do what's best for the team.

If he thinks Bevan French sharpens our attack (which, on paper, it should), then, as Jack Gibson said, play your best players, and worry about their jersey numbers later.

As captain of the club, Gutherson will still command big bucks, even if he moves into the halves, or centre.

There's been a lot of negativity regarding a RUMOUR that we are after French - he would be a better fit for us than Addo-Carr, simply because Addo-Carr (being a much better player) would cost too much, and we would probably have to lose a player, or two.

Why don't we all just chill, and see what unfolds?

nicely worded. Our current outside backs lack genuine pace. Something that there’s no substitute for. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if French came back, especially if we lose MJ. Of course there’s no guarantee, he may kill it papanhausen (spelling???) style and if it means we move our smartest and most enthusiastic player to 6, so be it. Or the signing of French May turn out to be a flop.

 

[IFR33K]

I didn’t call BS on the BA / O’Neil issues, which is concerning and think is probably correct - evidence indicates there is something (re quotes in the articles from eels “insiders”, which hasn’t happened for a while)

I was referring to BS on the issues with our new contract signing / negotiations process, as evidence indicates it is working fine.

Evidence? Are you part of the process? Do you have direct info of which players we’ve negotiated with?

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

If we're pissing off player managers it's probably better evidence we're doing something right rather than wrong.

 

[Eelementary]

So why couldn’t he do that 2 years ago when given the chance to?

Poor coaching?

Poor attitude?

Disinterest?

There are a myriad of reasons.

Why can't he have learned a thing, or two, during his time in the ESL?

 

[Eelementary]

nicely worded. Our current outside backs lack genuine pace. Something that there’s no substitute for. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if French came back, especially if we lose MJ. Of course there’s no guarantee, he may kill it papanhausen (spelling???) style and if it means we move our smartest and most enthusiastic player to 6, so be it. Or the signing of French May turn out to be a flop.

Absolutely - getting French back could be a massive backfire.

But we won't know until we try.

And the one thing he does offer is genuine speed, which we lack.

 

[IFR33K]

Poor coaching?

Poor attitude?

Disinterest?

There are a myriad of reasons.

Why can't he have learned a thing, or two, during his time in the ESL?

Why not shoot French himself an email asking him why he couldn’t do it?

 

[IFR33K]

If we're pissing off player managers it's probably better evidence we're doing something right rather than wrong.

haha. Not only we pissed off managers, but we also unsettled the captain last contract extension. At least we’re ruthless at something

 

[Joshuatheeel]

Evidence? Are you part of the process? Do you have direct info of which players we’ve negotiated with?

Of course I have no direct knowledge but I could post several articles which indicates the process is working ok such as:

- reports we signed Gutho for less than what he wanted
- re-signing Moses fairly quickly last year.
- re-signing Drown / Mahoney without much fuss
- Signing RCG / Blake with panthers contributing a fair chunk
- not matching silly money for Stefo from the tigers
- signing Matterson fairly quickly when he became available
- resigning Kaufusi after reports suggested we were going to lose him
- who have we really lost from our squad we wanted to keep?
- reports now we are looking at several players which all seem like reasonably additions as back ups
- getting some smart depth signings on development contracts (Field / Rankin)
- quietly adding Hughes to the top 30 (previously any junior with potential generally got media attention)
- no media suggesting cap issues
- letting Norman go

it all adds up to look like the process is working (but yes I could be totally wrong)

 

[Poupou Escobar]

It's counterintuitive, but I think missing out on players is a better sign than recruiting big names (e.g. Foran, Hunt, a bunch of dudes at the Cowboys) because if you miss out on a player you can spend the money somewhere else. At worst you front load some extensions and try again next off season. But once that money is locked in for multiple years you're hoping the player provides value and doesn't get injured or underperform.

 

[Soren Lorenson]

Hahaha Andrew Moore just called Buzz a clown and an idiot on Grandstand. I love a good feud.