Re Kiks. This year he has been brilliant and worth every cent; I mentioned before he is like a peak Tony P, but Tony P only played like that for 20 minutes a game and this year Kiks has been all in, all the time.
My concern is he is a really big man and his effectiveness depends a lot on his athleticism. Maybe I am wrong and Bulldogs have got a good one, but I can’t help but feel he will slow down significantly over the next few years.
To a certain extent I think the same for Api. Coming towards the twilight of his career, wants an upgrade in money and a longer deal.
So I like the decisions around these two players. Perhaps we get them wrong and they kill it where they go (or perhaps they don’t kill it there but will have killed it with us, that is one we will never know). But it feels like a risk to bet that much on players at this stage of their career; I’d rather back the development team to find other quality players, and the coaching staff to evolve our game plans to reflect the strengths of those players.
For me, the only contract I question is Fish’s; it feels quite long to me and while he is still a warrior, it feels like his effectiveness has reduced somewhat this year. For me Spencer is the front rower we need to ensure we keep long-term; I think he is probably the most impactful front rower I have ever seen and he is still so young. Yes he only plays short minutes, but we are so demonstrably better in those minutes and blow sides off the park while he is on.