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Rumours and Stuff

T.S Quint

Coach
Messages
15,347
That’s not the point, it’s the fact that he is the one and only who has taken this option , I don’t understand people now defending him, I’m sure as a group they would have been disappointed in him an the softcock coaching group

Everyone makes mistakes.
As far as his goes, it's nowhere near as bad as taking drugs and driving (JAC) or going against a team decision to go out and get drunk during a bye week and fondle some chick copping a police charge (Brown).
 

AnonymousLurker

Juniors
Messages
2,162
I’ve honestly become obsessed in a bad way with the Dogs. They are adding that incredible young winger from StGeorge next year, Leo Thompson and Galvin to that current squad!

The squad they have under Ciraldo and Gould is completely unfair (to me) and it feels like they have so much advantage. Nothing came of the offer to Tino for shares in a pub etc.

I am honestly sick at the thought of us, WASTING another decade with total f**king plodders. We are a bottom of the rung team and despite losing shitloads we are suggesting we won’t even have top 17 signings? We’ve apparently got shitloads of cap space and our team is stuck at the bottom of the comp!

Being a Parra fan is like being born in a 3rd world country, be positive if you can but your life is a life of misery as you weren’t lucky enough to be born in a wealthy country.

Thecwhole thing is f**ked. I see zero positives unless we make a string of first grader signings.

I think you and everyone is overestimating the dogs squad . They will still have a meh spine next year especially with Mahoney leaving .

There scramble defence as they start buying better talent will not be as good this year squad made up of rejects and young players but they are replacing them with mercenaries who aren’t as hungry
 
Messages
4,591
I think you and everyone is overestimating the dogs squad . They will still have a meh spine next year especially with Mahoney leaving .

There scramble defence as they start buying better talent will not be as good this year squad made up of rejects and young players but they are replacing them with mercenaries who aren’t as hungry
I didn’t know Mahoney was leaving. Is that confirmed, or just a rumour?
 

JokerEel

Coach
Messages
16,638
That’s not the point, it’s the fact that he is the one and only who has taken this option , I don’t understand people now defending him, I’m sure as a group they would have been disappointed in him an the softcock coaching group

Yeah I know what the point is hence the bad thing to do...
 

84 Baby

Immortal
Messages
31,074
unless of course you’re a club from Belmore…

anyway, I don’t even think it matters if they were available.
I think we are gun shy. Been that way since the salary cap dramas. I reckon this Galvin stuff is going to reinforce that.
I attribute some of the blame here to BA (because he was either part of problem, or at least not solution) because it was the same in our play style. Trying to do things to the ideal, risk-free circumstances. But it’s the old adage, if you’re not going forwards, you’re going backwards.
But I think there’s good signs with Ryles if we can really bring Iongi, Papalii, Kautoga, Smith, Tuivati up to a decent level, then other good external players will see that and want to come here too.

Which going back to Dogs is pretty funny, old mate Tiges laughed when I questioned Ciraldo compared to Ryles for development. Looking at their squad I count 3 players (Hayward, Preston & at a stretch Kiraz who was already playing 1st grade) that Ciraldo has developed into decent 1st graders and 1 external player (King) who is performing better than he did previously. The other 26 players are ring-ins or unestablished players.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
95,154
For a team with new coach, new systems and starting the year without our number 1 playmaker, we aren't playing like a bottom of the ladder team with what we have now, a few upgrades and I'm positive of our future, the green shoots are showing already. Is the top 8 really out of the question if we keep going the way we are?
No it isn’t.
 

Avenger

Immortal
Messages
35,568
I reckon this current crop of juniors is the best we’ve seen come through in a very long time — probably the strongest since the Baby Eels era. We’re absolutely dominating at the junior level, and if we play it smart with a few well-judged, no-frills mid-tier signings, there’s a real chance we could come close to what Penrith built before their current run. Maybe not four in a row, but there’s definitely a Brian Smith-era vibe about this squad.


I still remember back in 2004 when we pushed hard to sign Thomas Leuluai. We came very close, but Brian Smith chose to back the talent we already had — and Tim Smith stepped up and grabbed his chance. History has a funny way of repeating itself. Someone unexpected might get a shot at five-eighth next season and end up surprising all of us.
 

Stagger eel

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
66,228
Oh okay, that would be even better, why are you doubtful?

for a start, his situation is beyond our control because he’s still contracted so there’s a great deal of uncertainty surrounding even though about 90% of our signings are players who had deals elsewhere.

I’ve also carried a lot of doubt on our recruitment staff to make it happen, we simply don’t have the right personnel on board to regularly get those established top tier players over the line..
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
95,154
Why would JAC be on more next year?? He was sacked from the dogs and his form hadn't been that great at the dogs. It was a risk us even taking him on, doubt he's on more than 450k.
The club option would’ve been for the upper limit of what the player would be expected to be worth, much like how a player option would be for the lower limit of his expected value. For it to be an option it can’t be a no brainer for the holding party to activate the option. Otherwise if wouldn’t be an option. It would be all risk with no benefit. For JAC to agree to the option it would’ve been high enough that the risk of being locked into the Eels was worth it. This year might be a lowball amount (though I doubt it, the CO would’ve kept his 2025 price fairly high) but the option year wouldn’t.

And if you think there was zero interest in a player like JAC you’re kidding yourself.
 
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