My thoughts haven’t changed much from what they were about a month out from the end of 2007. I believe 2008 will be another, more successful rebuilding year. Id say we will finish between 7th and 12th, probably somewhere in the middle.
I think the side has the ability to challenge for the 8, so we should aim for that. For me, the most important thing the club can do this year is stabilize, and rebuild the backline as we did with the forwards in 2007; as well as get back our home ground advantage. I don’t want to hear any crying from the players about the coach. I believe he will make a number of further changes and I will be livid if people don’t take a mature approach to it and accept it for what it is.
As far as our backs/ forwards and halves are concerned:
Clearly our forward pack is outstanding, and Smith does need some kudos for it. Cross, Buderus, Simpson and Patterson are all world class players and would be wanted by any club in the NRL/ ESL. We are lucky to have them. The other positions are covered by a mixture of youth, power and skill which I like to see. I don’t think the knights will get run over by any forward packs in 2008.
Our Backs. Kurt is the only stand out in that group. Uate, Macmanus, Vuna and Lulia are all good prospects but apart from James im not sure about the other guys, im looking forward to seeing their potential. I honestly believe that we will let a lot of backs go in 2008 and probably purchase a very high quality centre if we fail to produce one. Honestly with that forward pack, and another year under the belt of Mullo and Walsh this team could and should be top 4 material in 2009, therefore we need to put some class into our 3/4 line in 2008.
Halves. We are fortunate here, even though we still have ample problems in the 6 and 7, fortunate because we have two of the best young halves in the game, ample problems because Walsh is still way under done as far as 1st grade quality in defense is concerned, and Mullo has the weight of the world on his shoulders. We have discussed Walsh vs Dureau at length in another thread, and while we all believed they were talented I think we all concluded that both had a massive defensive problem, in fact if I was to be a harsh judge I would also put mullo in that category too. There is no doubt they have the ability, Mullin in particular exudes class with every touch. My only hope for Walsh, Mullo and Dureau is that they spend a lot of time on the field this year and improve. I love the understanding that Walsh and Patterson have on that left hand side; it was a real feature of our play in 2007 I hope to see more of it in 2008.
It will be the closest comp of all time in 2008. Honestly you have Melbourne, then Parramatta then every other club is around about the same quality imo. To me that means that the more solid teams with the best depth will make the 8. Im hoping we are one of them but I wouldn’t hold my breath. 2009 is our year.
