Recruitment vs Development; the future of the Dragons

[SBD82]

There are different styles of clubs in the NRL, and I think it’s important that we work out what kind of club we are going to be, or fade into obscurity. It may already be too late.

Our high profile signings over the last 10 years have not given us a satisfactory return. They have generally been opportunistic signings, as opposed to an identified gap in our roster and emerging talent.

Our current team is made up of mercenaries who haven’t improved here, or local juniors who are not at the stage of development that they should be.

Contrast that with the premiership team of 2010, where there was a solid core of locally developed juniors, interspersed with key players who were recruited to fill specific roles.

I think that we have two choices as a club. We can continue to compete for the signatures of high profile free agents, in the hope that this will somehow change our fortunes (hasn’t been effective thus far) or we can emulate the Penrith approach, where they have harnessed the junior resources that they have at their disposal by improving their development systems, and purchasing only where there is a key identified need (eg korisau).

The Penrith approach is not without pain. People scoff at Gus’ five year plan, but that’s only because they’re happy to believe the bullshit spouted by Phil Rothfield. The reality is that we would be 5 years away from being a contender. But I’d rather be working towards a premiership than perennially running 7th - 15th.

I think we, as fans, need to change our attitude around recruitment. It’s almost insulting that we’ve reached the stage where every player who comes on the market has their own thread. How did we reach this stage? When did we start thinking that footy is a quick fix? There is no doubt that some of the players that are being discussed are talented, but they are not going to fix the deeper issues with the team. It’s just flushing money away to think that they will. We need to exhaust our in house options before looking externally.

Hook could be the perfect coach for this. He had a big influence on the development of many players in the Panthers gf squad. The club will also need to make significant investments into facilities, experts and sports science.

And I think that we, as supporters, need to change our thinking as well, stop pressuring the club to find a quick fix, and rebuild into the powerhouse that we were always meant to be.

 

[boardlumps62]

There are different styles of clubs in the NRL, and I think it’s important that we work out what kind of club we are going to be, or fade into obscurity. It may already be too late.

Our high profile signings over the last 10 years have not given us a satisfactory return. They have generally been opportunistic signings, as opposed to an identified gap in our roster and emerging talent.

Our current team is made up of mercenaries who haven’t improved here, or local juniors who are not at the stage of development that they should be.

Contrast that with the premiership team of 2010, where there was a solid core of locally developed juniors, interspersed with key players who were recruited to fill specific roles.

I think that we have two choices as a club. We can continue to compete for the signatures of high profile free agents, in the hope that this will somehow change our fortunes (hasn’t been effective thus far) or we can emulate the Penrith approach, where they have harnessed the junior resources that they have at their disposal by improving their development systems, and purchasing only where there is a key identified need (eg korisau).

The Penrith approach is not without pain. People scoff at Gus’ five year plan, but that’s only because they’re happy to believe the bullshit spouted by Phil Rothfield. The reality is that we would be 5 years away from being a contender. But I’d rather be working towards a premiership than perennially running 7th - 15th.

I think we, as fans, need to change our attitude around recruitment. It’s almost insulting that we’ve reached the stage where every player who comes on the market has their own thread. How did we reach this stage? When did we start thinking that footy is a quick fix? There is no doubt that some of the players that are being discussed are talented, but they are not going to fix the deeper issues with the team. It’s just flushing money away to think that they will. We need to exhaust our in house options before looking externally.

Hook could be the perfect coach for this. He had a big influence on the development of many players in the Panthers gf squad. The club will also need to make significant investments into facilities, experts and sports science.

And I think that we, as supporters, need to change our thinking as well, stop pressuring the club to find a quick fix, and rebuild into the powerhouse that we were always meant to be.

That's all good but sometimes you need to buy a position you haven't been able to develop. A good example of that is a half back. Parra tried for years to produce another Sterling. Didn't happen so they tried to buy one. Still hasn't happened. To win a comp you need two things. A good half or halves. Was going to say a 7 and 6 but that's a different game. Now need a bunch of qualities a kicking game foremost for halves. IMO

 

[SBD82]

That's all good but sometimes you need to buy a position you haven't been able to develop. A good example of that is a half back. Parra tried for years to produce another Sterling. Didn't happen so they tried to buy one. Still hasn't happened. To win a comp you need two things. A good half or halves. Was going to say a 7 and 6 but that's a different game. Now need a bunch of qualities a kicking game foremost for halves. IMO

I totally agree. And I’m not against recruitment as a whole, but I don’t think we will know what player we need to fill a gap in our team until we have developed our team properly.

At the moment our recruitment is ad hoc at best. Were we to develop within as the first option, we would know exactly the deficits we have, and also have more money to target the perfect recruit, rather than carrying large contracts from square pegs that we tried to jam into round holes.

 

[since77]

We finally have a coach who has a proven history of bringing local juniors through successfully and we have one of the best development areas in the NRL. It should have been a no brainer for the last decade. Instead we had the McGregor journeyman policy.
Build the team around local juniors then recruit wisely to fill the gaps. Last time we did that? 2010 and a premiership.

 

[FlameThrower]

There are different styles of clubs in the NRL, and I think it’s important that we work out what kind of club we are going to be, or fade into obscurity. It may already be too late.

Our high profile signings over the last 10 years have not given us a satisfactory return. They have generally been opportunistic signings, as opposed to an identified gap in our roster and emerging talent.

Our current team is made up of mercenaries who haven’t improved here, or local juniors who are not at the stage of development that they should be.

Contrast that with the premiership team of 2010, where there was a solid core of locally developed juniors, interspersed with key players who were recruited to fill specific roles.

I think that we have two choices as a club. We can continue to compete for the signatures of high profile free agents, in the hope that this will somehow change our fortunes (hasn’t been effective thus far) or we can emulate the Penrith approach, where they have harnessed the junior resources that they have at their disposal by improving their development systems, and purchasing only where there is a key identified need (eg korisau).

The Penrith approach is not without pain. People scoff at Gus’ five year plan, but that’s only because they’re happy to believe the bullshit spouted by Phil Rothfield. The reality is that we would be 5 years away from being a contender. But I’d rather be working towards a premiership than perennially running 7th - 15th.

I think we, as fans, need to change our attitude around recruitment. It’s almost insulting that we’ve reached the stage where every player who comes on the market has their own thread. How did we reach this stage? When did we start thinking that footy is a quick fix? There is no doubt that some of the players that are being discussed are talented, but they are not going to fix the deeper issues with the team. It’s just flushing money away to think that they will. We need to exhaust our in house options before looking externally.

Hook could be the perfect coach for this. He had a big influence on the development of many players in the Panthers gf squad. The club will also need to make significant investments into facilities, experts and sports science.

And I think that we, as supporters, need to change our thinking as well, stop pressuring the club to find a quick fix, and rebuild into the powerhouse that we were always meant to be.

Agree with most of your post. Also under Mary and Co, we wasted time developing juniors who never got a fair go in FG. We would instead pick and stick and play injured players instead. How the BOD let that go on for so long is beyond belief.
Hook has a massive challenge ahead, and I would not expect a top 4 finish for a few years IMO. I’m not sure our talent pool is that deep right now TBH.

 

[SBD82]

Agree with most of your post. Also under Mary and Co, we wasted time developing juniors who never got a fair go in FG. We would instead pick and stick and play injured players instead. How the BOD let that go on for so long is beyond belief.
Hook has a massive challenge ahead, and I would not expect a top 4 finish for a few years IMO. I’m not sure our talent pool is that deep right now TBH.

You’re probably right. And unfortunately we may have to plug a couple of holes with temporary recruits while we get our house in order.

I guess the major underlying thing for me is that we need to get our house in order so that the talent pool is there.

 

[True_Believer]

I don’t see it as black and white as that. It’s obviously not just the NRL team you have to consider. You need to think of the teams below that and look to which combination of positions needs to fill out the CC side and those below. So you’d possibly be looking to fill a lot of different positions with capable players going forward – whether they are juniors coming through or capable players that may not be long term first graders, but can step up occasionally if need be. They might even be promising juniors from other teams – not our own.

Others have said it more succinctly than I will below, but I think Mary has been the catalyst for our current position.

Our high profile signings over the last 10 years have not given us a satisfactory return. They have generally been opportunistic signings, as opposed to an identified gap in our roster and emerging talent.

I don’t agree with this 100%. Definitely some poor signings (every club has them) however I think we purchased to fill gaps most of the time – there have been 2 issues here:

1. Our purchases have not always been the best choice either due to players not wanting to come to the club or availability of quality players in specific positions

2. Some of those that have come have been stifled by our playing style and game plan. I don’t think any player would have shone through given what they’ve had to deal with over the Mary years

Our current team is made up of mercenaries who haven’t improved here, or local juniors who are not at the stage of development that they should be.

Again, not 100% in agreement here. We’ve made some genuinely good purchases. However, I feel as though Mary has stifled their progress. Some have performed well in periods, but those periods come and go. I think this comes down to coaching. As for local juniors, I think we can all agree that Mary has totally screwed some of their progress.

The Penrith approach is not without pain. People scoff at Gus’ five year plan, but that’s only because they’re happy to believe the bullshit spouted by Phil Rothfield. The reality is that we would be 5 years away from being a contender. But I’d rather be working towards a premiership than perennially running 7th - 15th.

I hope to be proven wrong, but I think this might be what we are looking at for a few years yet. Like you said, we might be 5 years or more away yet. I'm hoping Hook can work some magic in these next 2 years!! Can always live in hope.

Hook could be the perfect coach for this. He had a big influence on the development of many players in the Panthers gf squad. The club will also need to make significant investments into facilities, experts and sports science.

I think Hook will be good for the club. As mentioned above, I’m not expecting miracles for these 2 years and certainly don’t think we’ll win a premiership. All I’m looking for is a genuine plan to be put in place going forward and some sort of structures to enable him (or future coaches) to build upon going forward

 

[muzby]

I think we need to go next level development..

With the facilities at Wollongong Uni at our disposal, we should be splicing the genomes of our best & brightest players and creating embryos of super players to seed into the population in our catchment area..

Just imagine our next level centre with the shimmy of Gaz and the defence of Coops..

A halfback with the steel of Hornby, the flair of Soward and the kicking game of John Simon..



Failing that, we should be trying to balance our club by developing our players with proper pathways, avoid marquee buys and focus on buying solid players with upside who aren’t just chasing the $.

 

[George Dragon]

I don’t see it as black and white as that. It’s obviously not just the NRL team you have to consider. You need to think of the teams below that and look to which combination of positions needs to fill out the CC side and those below. So you’d possibly be looking to fill a lot of different positions with capable players going forward – whether they are juniors coming through or capable players that may not be long term first graders, but can step up occasionally if need be. They might even be promising juniors from other teams – not our own.

Others have said it more succinctly than I will below, but I think Mary has been the catalyst for our current position.



I don’t agree with this 100%. Definitely some poor signings (every club has them) however I think we purchased to fill gaps most of the time – there have been 2 issues here:

1. Our purchases have not always been the best choice either due to players not wanting to come to the club or availability of quality players in specific positions

2. Some of those that have come have been stifled by our playing style and game plan. I don’t think any player would have shone through given what they’ve had to deal with over the Mary years




Again, not 100% in agreement here. We’ve made some genuinely good purchases. However, I feel as though Mary has stifled their progress. Some have performed well in periods, but those periods come and go. I think this comes down to coaching. As for local juniors, I think we can all agree that Mary has totally screwed some of their progress.



I hope to be proven wrong, but I think this might be what we are looking at for a few years yet. Like you said, we might be 5 years or more away yet. I'm hoping Hook can work some magic in these next 2 years!! Can always live in hope.



I think Hook will be good for the club. As mentioned above, I’m not expecting miracles for these 2 years and certainly don’t think we’ll win a premiership. All I’m looking for is a genuine plan to be put in place going forward and some sort of structures to enable him (or future coaches) to build upon going forward

So a one word summary of why we are where we are at.
Mary.

 

[TruSaint]

Its a good debate.

Think reality lies somewhere in between. I look at our last winning squad :-

Local/ system players from memory..

Hornby, BMoz, Gaz, Coops, Merrin, Flo, Young, D.Hunt, Creagh, Prior,

Signings that completed the winning squad.

Soward ( not marque at the time ), Boyd, J Smith, Weyman, Costigan , Fein.

Nurturing local talent is the most effective path, however in 2020, keeping that talent when identified is not so easy.

 

[jak]

There are different styles of clubs in the NRL, and I think it’s important that we work out what kind of club we are going to be, or fade into obscurity. It may already be too late.

Our high profile signings over the last 10 years have not given us a satisfactory return. They have generally been opportunistic signings, as opposed to an identified gap in our roster and emerging talent.

Our current team is made up of mercenaries who haven’t improved here, or local juniors who are not at the stage of development that they should be.

Contrast that with the premiership team of 2010, where there was a solid core of locally developed juniors, interspersed with key players who were recruited to fill specific roles.

I think that we have two choices as a club. We can continue to compete for the signatures of high profile free agents, in the hope that this will somehow change our fortunes (hasn’t been effective thus far) or we can emulate the Penrith approach, where they have harnessed the junior resources that they have at their disposal by improving their development systems, and purchasing only where there is a key identified need (eg korisau).

The Penrith approach is not without pain. People scoff at Gus’ five year plan, but that’s only because they’re happy to believe the bullshit spouted by Phil Rothfield. The reality is that we would be 5 years away from being a contender. But I’d rather be working towards a premiership than perennially running 7th - 15th.

I think we, as fans, need to change our attitude around recruitment. It’s almost insulting that we’ve reached the stage where every player who comes on the market has their own thread. How did we reach this stage? When did we start thinking that footy is a quick fix? There is no doubt that some of the players that are being discussed are talented, but they are not going to fix the deeper issues with the team. It’s just flushing money away to think that they will. We need to exhaust our in house options before looking externally.

Hook could be the perfect coach for this. He had a big influence on the development of many players in the Panthers gf squad. The club will also need to make significant investments into facilities, experts and sports science.

And I think that we, as supporters, need to change our thinking as well, stop pressuring the club to find a quick fix, and rebuild into the powerhouse that we were always meant to be.

very good post mate.

 

[Dragonslayer]

Ultimately, its the development of a player through the rep teams into first grade that makes a club strong.

HM > SG Ball > Flegg > CC > NRL, with some exceptional players skipping CC.

Not every player can make each transition as desire and committment take effect on young men. Hence then comes the need to recruit to fill that void.

Unfortunately, our previous coach (using that term very losely), didnt want to develop and saw the quick fix as a player with experience (even failed experience) that he didnt have to spend 'time' on. Those he did promote from lower grades were out of necessity and rarely between seasons.

In a nutshell - McGimp has set us back at least 5yrs as a club, this is the unfortunate position we are in.
However, there is light at the end of this very dark tunnel. How quickly we get there will be up to the new regime and the 'old' players desire and committment to the Red V. We have some exciting young players on our books inc: Lomax, Sullivan, Sloane, Amone, SSE, Feagai twins, Schiller and Blacker to name a few. Their development is imperative. Yes, we are short on forwards that is where recruitement comes in.

 

[Gareth67]

Yes good post SBD82 , you have summed it up quite well . However as said by others these youngsters once they have made their way to the NRL grade will certainly need to have the experience of true professionals playing alongside - the nucleus of a team .

Of the track somewhat , but it still amazes me how Harry Bath managed to basically have the majority of his premiership winning side of ‘77 stacked with mainly very youthful players and go all the way to collect the silverware .

Once again - as others have mentioned Griffin is certainly the man to do the job of giving the young Dragons a thorough grounding in the basics of the game and other than Bennett or Bellamy would be the ideal mentor to do this job .

Season 2021 I believe we shall sit just outside of the final eight at years end , however that in itself will be a major improvement on the previous years under the maestro .
Griffin would want to give the Dragon youth their chance of learning all aspects of the top grade - regardless of defeats so as to ensure he has the makings of a very good side come season 2022 . That is when we will see the Big Red V back in the semis and not only with a game plan , but also a real chance of doing great things .

 

[BLM01]

SBD82 is mostly right with his analogy and everyone else on here has valid points.
Being more of a development club may be our best suit I agree..but the best need to be developed, nurtured, coached, improved and kept.
We have kept a lot of good ones lately but we have often failed with coached, nurtured, improved or developed thus far for that big jump to where we want them to be.

The Penrith model is probably good for the NRL club but not all success and celebration behind the scenes.
Feeder clubs and lower grades in that region are bleeding and in some cases losing their identity (outside of St Mary's who are wealthy) to a point and have not much love for Gus's model.
They have little money as Penrith academy have sucked their juniors away without any thing in return and local investment (like the NRL) in that region is encouraged to be all about the NRL development academy, not the grass roots clubs.
But what happens to those players who dont make it through the academy and there are many.
Not much to go back to for local footy competitions nowadays..not like it used to be a very strong competition through that region from Kiddies to old age so it depends what your priorities are.

I dont want to see that down here as our local competitons including juniors are still quite strong and well supported and we have a stack of talent through the Illawarra, South Coast and the lofty mountain ranges.
Lets support all via funding and that production line will continue

Where did our seemingly quick fix mentality come from?...Bennett era
But what we have have seen is our club believing they could mimic the Bennett era's, plans etc without the master coach steering it and that home grown culture steering the ship would be enough.
He can get you to lofty heights with some astute star or experienced purchases pretty quickly but it is a short term solution at the expense of the lower grades and staying on top when the slide begins.
(look now Brisbane, Newc and us shortly after Bennett left clubs in the past decade). Bennett knew he was bought to bring premiership success so that is his priority.
That is probably why Souths signed JD so early..he knows and they know his style is not Wayne Bennett. JD will invest his time with the lower grades as well..smart move by them.

Staying near the top and rebuilding for the next wave needs medium to long term planning with the right people in charge at a club and just a good balance of development and smart recuitment..
The tide may be turning...I hope
I do have some faith in Hook to provide all that balance including coaching. I hope he is given the time he needs to do that and may be a longer term solution as a coach at our club than the proposed 2-3 yrs if he proves me right.

 

[Old Timer]

There are different styles of clubs in the NRL, and I think it’s important that we work out what kind of club we are going to be, or fade into obscurity. It may already be too late.

Our high profile signings over the last 10 years have not given us a satisfactory return. They have generally been opportunistic signings, as opposed to an identified gap in our roster and emerging talent.

Our current team is made up of mercenaries who haven’t improved here, or local juniors who are not at the stage of development that they should be.

Contrast that with the premiership team of 2010, where there was a solid core of locally developed juniors, interspersed with key players who were recruited to fill specific roles.

I think that we have two choices as a club. We can continue to compete for the signatures of high profile free agents, in the hope that this will somehow change our fortunes (hasn’t been effective thus far) or we can emulate the Penrith approach, where they have harnessed the junior resources that they have at their disposal by improving their development systems, and purchasing only where there is a key identified need (eg korisau).

The Penrith approach is not without pain. People scoff at Gus’ five year plan, but that’s only because they’re happy to believe the bullshit spouted by Phil Rothfield. The reality is that we would be 5 years away from being a contender. But I’d rather be working towards a premiership than perennially running 7th - 15th.

I think we, as fans, need to change our attitude around recruitment. It’s almost insulting that we’ve reached the stage where every player who comes on the market has their own thread. How did we reach this stage? When did we start thinking that footy is a quick fix? There is no doubt that some of the players that are being discussed are talented, but they are not going to fix the deeper issues with the team. It’s just flushing money away to think that they will. We need to exhaust our in house options before looking externally.

Hook could be the perfect coach for this. He had a big influence on the development of many players in the Panthers gf squad. The club will also need to make significant investments into facilities, experts and sports science.

And I think that we, as supporters, need to change our thinking as well, stop pressuring the club to find a quick fix, and rebuild into the powerhouse that we were always meant to be.

In the end I think you have to have a foot in both camps.

A strong junior base with proper pathways will ensure you have a solid core and be far less reliant on journeymen and mature fringe 1st graders.

No doubt we will at times need to purchase marquis players to fill the gaps to ensure we have the right combinations to challenge for the premiership as per Bennett.

The key essential to getting the mix right is the coach and looking at everything we have done in that regard post Bennett up until now has shown how ignorant we have been of what we need in that area.

The coaching staff and the rosters we have had since 2012 reek of shortcomings and short sightedness and you have to question the BOD for allowing it to happen and for the length of time we continued down that path.

Hook will get the pathways programme heading down the right road although it won’t be easy as we have juniors in 2 very different localities and trying to blend that into a cohesive unit will take some time, considerable effort and high quality mentoring to ensue we avoid clicks which unfortunately I think we suffer from even in the senior playing group.

Hooefully the club and supporters acknowledge the enormity of the task and set the correct objectives to be met and stick with a coordinated plan.

Re buying the requisite players I hope Hook can be a draw card as a coach but I suspect us having a foot in the gong and Kogarah makes that a little harder task than some realise.

 

[possm]

In the end I think you have to have a foot in both camps.

A strong junior base with proper pathways will ensure you have a solid core and be far less reliant on journeymen and mature fringe 1st graders.

No doubt we will at times need to purchase marquis players to fill the gaps to ensure we have the right combinations to challenge for the premiership as per Bennett.

The key essential to getting the mix right is the coach and looking at everything we have done in that regard post Bennett up until now has shown how ignorant we have been of what we need in that area.

The coaching staff and the rosters we have had since 2012 reek of shortcomings and short sightedness and you have to question the BOD for allowing it to happen and for the length of time we continued down that path.

Hook will get the pathways programme heading down the right road although it won’t be easy as we have juniors in 2 very different localities and trying to blend that into a cohesive unit will take some time, considerable effort and high quality mentoring to ensue we avoid clicks which unfortunately I think we suffer from even in the senior playing group.

Hooefully the club and supporters acknowledge the enormity of the task and set the correct objectives to be met and stick with a coordinated plan.

Re buying the requisite players I hope Hook can be a draw card as a coach but I suspect us having a foot in the gong and Kogarah makes that a little harder task than some realise.

Yes it is just a matter of putting the round pegs in the round holes no matter whether the player is from the juniors or from outside the club. Over the years we have many talented juniors in the big red V but also have had many from other districts as well.

I say just pick the best player.

 

[Maddragon99]

We finally have a coach who has a proven history of bringing local juniors through successfully and we have one of the best development areas in the NRL. It should have been a no brainer for the last decade. Instead we had the McGregor journeyman policy.
Build the team around local juniors then recruit wisely to fill the gaps. Last time we did that? 2010 and a premiership.

I prefer to look at it in terms of eras, the 2010 premiership started 10years earlier when the first crop of juniors came into grade. Hornby, Gasnier & Cooper debuted in 2000, Dean Young & Ben Creagh 2003, Dan Hunt & Jason Nightingale 2007 B Morris 2006. That 11yr era of players including Ryles, Bailey, Barrett, Timmons M Head & J Morris brought a lot of success. In the years 2000 - 2010 one Premiership, two Grand Final Qualifiers & a total of eight top 8 finishes. Wins in ‘05 & ‘06 & we’d be talking about a Dynasty.

Even given all that success a number of players had to be brought in to win a Premiership. Boyd, Soward, Scott, Smith, Costigan, Weyman

So the answer is you need both to win a comp & to consistently make the finals. But as Hook has said you only want to bring in players who fit the culture & want to be there.

 

[Maddragon99]

I prefer to look at it in terms of eras, the 2010 premiership started 10years earlier when the first crop of juniors came into grade. Hornby, Gasnier & Cooper debuted in 2000, Dean Young & Ben Creagh 2003, Dan Hunt & Jason Nightingale 2007 B Morris 2006. That 11yr era of players including Ryles, Bailey, Barrett, Timmons M Head & J Morris brought a lot of success. In the years 2000 - 2010 one Premiership, two Grand Final Qualifiers & a total of eight top 8 finishes. Wins in ‘05 & ‘06 & we’d be talking about a Dynasty.

Even given all that success a number of players had to be brought in to win a Premiership. Boyd, Soward, Scott, Smith, Costigan, Weyman

So the answer is you need both to win a comp & to consistently make the finals. But as Hook has said you only want to bring in players who fit the culture & want to be there.

I read this today;

DRAGONS

2020 finish: 12th

2021 gains: Poasa Faamausili, Jack Bird

2021 losses: Jacob Host, Tyson Frizell, Euan Aitken, Korbin Sims, Tristan Sailor, Joe Lovodua, Jason Saab

Premiership window: Slammed shut

Explainer: There’s plenty of work needs doing in Wollongong before St George Illawarra can be considered a finals threat. Sacked coach Paul McGregor couldn’t settle on a spine, and his highly-paid players kept letting him down as the Dragons fell to another bottom-eight campaign. Ben Hunt is on $1.2 million but can’t figure out where he wants to play, while Corey Norman is on $800,000 and can barely remember how to play football some days. Jack Bird returns to the club and he can be a star, or could be a flop depending on how his body holds up. They might improve but it’s hard to see how. Coach Anthony Griffin has his work cut out.

As stated in the article Corey Norman is an obsolete bust.

Given the management of the Cap I don’t see us accomplishing much while Hunt is on the roster, he’s not a match winner, not like Darius Boyd or Jamie Soward. Hunt is basically a average first grade Halfback. The amount of money owed to him is always going to be prohibitive to any other significant recruitment.

Griffen certainly does have his work rut out for him.

 

[qld redvee]

We need to have hook re invent our junior developments and "simply" look outside the system for players to complement and bolster our stocks . This is where talent scouts come into play identifying young talent that drop into our system and develop . look at baths babes - goodwin . robert finch / quinn/ reddy / young / jon jansen - all picked up as younsters thrown in with edge stone starkey shulman etc . Bennett had our juniors added boyd and headhunted some mongrel in smith costigan and weyman
Hooks on the right path and 21 may be a bit tough but I believe we have long term gain happening and I like the fact hook is attempting to get the right players to fit his program ( would like a signing though)
Its much better than that other fella we had - Christ we would be singing in the streets because we would of by now filled our roster with the "next crop of brilliance" that would round out the squad he wanted and would take us to the promised land .... Thank god Hook is the complete reversal

I think in a few years we will indeed be like penrith where we have to decide what juniours are surplus to our needs as the production line is in full throttle

 

[possm]

We need to have hook re invent our junior developments and "simply" look outside the system for players to complement and bolster our stocks . This is where talent scouts come into play identifying young talent that drop into our system and develop . look at baths babes - goodwin . robert finch / quinn/ reddy / young / jon jansen - all picked up as younsters thrown in with edge stone starkey shulman etc . Bennett had our juniors added boyd and headhunted some mongrel in smith costigan and weyman
Hooks on the right path and 21 may be a bit tough but I believe we have long term gain happening and I like the fact hook is attempting to get the right players to fit his program ( would like a signing though)
Its much better than that other fella we had - Christ we would be singing in the streets because we would of by now filled our roster with the "next crop of brilliance" that would round out the squad he wanted and would take us to the promised land .... Thank god Hook is the complete reversal

I think in a few years we will indeed be like penrith where we have to decide what juniours are surplus to our needs as the production line is in full throttle

I agree with you Qld Redvee and I'm sure once we have a top 4 side that is exactly what we would be aiming to do. For now we need to purge out the pretenders and replace them with good talent. I believe by season 2022 we will have achieved this and form that time on build up our Canterbury Cup side with our gun juniors.