2020 season

[Kilkenny]

Top 4 on a semi regular basis. If you’re not in the top 4, you’re not really competing for the title.


Also I should note, when I say the academy, I’m talking about the training & coaching put in place for talented juniors. The building itself is fantastic, but it’s not just for the talented juniors.

I understand that.

Given we can’t buy our way to a premiership, never have been able to and never will, so we are relying on a generation of supreme talents across a range of positions not just halves but in the spine and forwards as well.

I think we have had some decent squads in the last three or four seasons but really have lacked a superstar or two and still do in 2020, particularly out wide.

It is hard to fathom how we seem to develop some quality forwards but have been totally unable to unearth a really outstanding winger/centre given the strength in our juniors.

 

[Aliceinwonderland]

I think Naden will suprise many at centre this year, especially with a full off season under his belt.

I also think To'o will step up again and build on what he achieved last year.

I think we will be the surprise packets for the 2020 season.

 

[franklin2323]

I understand that.

Given we can’t buy our way to a premiership, never have been able to and never will, so we are relying on a generation of supreme talents across a range of positions not just halves but in the spine and forwards as well.

I think we have had some decent squads in the last three or four seasons but really have lacked a superstar or two and still do in 2020, particularly out wide.

It is hard to fathom how we seem to develop some quality forwards but have been totally unable to unearth a really outstanding winger/centre given the strength in our juniors.

You can’t grow experience. We have a few we are building around which are still young. Get that core experience with 1-2 stars and have the making of a good side

 

[franklin2323]

There’s no doubt it could help, I’m just not sold on the coaching. If it works it could be Gus’ best legacy.

That is the question how to get the best junior coaching

 

[franklin2323]

The question is what is success. Making the top 8, top 4 or actual winning the big one. We all crave a third premiership but it isn’t that easy.

I want to see us build towards something. Under Gus/Hook we never had the same spine each year.

5/8th aside we have that now just to build it

 

[herbert henry1908]

I understand that.

Given we can’t buy our way to a premiership, never have been able to and never will, so we are relying on a generation of supreme talents across a range of positions not just halves but in the spine and forwards as well.

I think we have had some decent squads in the last three or four seasons but really have lacked a superstar or two and still do in 2020, particularly out wide.

It is hard to fathom how we seem to develop some quality forwards but have been totally unable to unearth a really outstanding winger/centre given the strength in our juniors.

I don’t agree with this idea we can’t buy a premiership. I think 2003 was largely on the back of recruitment.

We can’t recruit superstars, but not many clubs do. But we’ve seen in recent years we can recruit some very handy players. And we recruited very well in the years prior to 2003.

 

[Kilkenny]

I don’t agree with this idea we can’t buy a premiership. I think 2003 was largely on the back of recruitment.

We can’t recruit superstars, but not many clubs do. But we’ve seen in recent years we can recruit some very handy players. And we recruited very well in the years prior to 2003.

We can’t compete with the Roosters in buying established or emerging superstars.

The Roosters have won back to back premierships on the back of recruiting superstars in Tedesco, Keary and Cronk.

The only way we will enjoy premiership success is on the back of a very, very talented lot of junior talents and perhaps some astute mid level recruits to add value.

 

[Kilkenny]

That is the question how to get the best junior coaching

The key is unearthing the potential superstars and the first grade coaching staff do the rest.

 

[herbert henry1908]

We can’t compete with the Roosters in buying established or emerging superstars.

The Roosters have won back to back premierships on the back of recruiting superstars in Tedesco, Keary and Cronk.

The only way we will enjoy premiership success is on the back of a very, very talented lot of junior talents and perhaps some astute mid level recruits to add value.

The Roosters have an advantage over us with recruitment, that doesn’t mean they’re going to win it every year based off of that.

Same principle applies as 2003, their team that year had the better recruits on paper. We won the Premiership.

Their recruits that year included

Fittler
Wing
Morley
Fitzgibbon
Finch
Cayless

On paper definitely better than our recruits, but it was our recruits that were most of the main players in the 2003 team

Girdler
Sattler
Lang
Campbell
Priddis
Gulavao

Obviously Gower was a big name junior, but most of the big names in the team were recruits.

 

[Kilkenny]

The Roosters have an advantage over us with recruitment, that doesn’t mean they’re going to win it every year based off of that.

Same principle applies as 2003, their team that year had the better recruits on paper. We won the Premiership.

Their recruits that year included

Fittler
Wing
Morley
Fitzgibbon
Finch
Cayless

On paper definitely better than our recruits, but it was our recruits that were most of the main players in the 2003 team

Girdler
Sattler
Lang
Campbell
Priddis
Gulavao

Obviously Gower was a big name junior, but most of the big names in the team were recruits.

Your talking ancient history.

Let’s talk 2020.

 

[betcats]

That 2003 side had plenty of local juniors, it was good mix of both. I think the best player to come out of that side was Lewis, he had a great career. But Lewis, Tony P, Clinton, Rodney, Swain, Rooney, Waterhouse and Gower. That is a very good mix of juniors to go along with some good recruits. Could we have afforded those recruits if we didn’t have some young local guys starting their careers who were likely on small contracts? Possibly not.

We aren’t going to win on the back of juniors or recruits alone, we need to be good at both.

 

[betcats]

I think the opinion that we can’t buy a premiership like the roosters refers to the fact that we clearly can’t go out and buy a superstar like Tedesco at his peak and another albeit ageing one in Cronk in the same offseason. As well as bringing in guys like Kearney and Crichton around the same time.

 

[Kilkenny]

That 2003 side had plenty of local juniors, it was good mix of both. I think the best player to come out of that side was Lewis, he had a great career. But Lewis, Tony P, Clinton, Rodney, Swain, Rooney, Waterhouse and Gower. That is a very good mix of juniors to go along with some good recruits. Could we have afforded those recruits if we didn’t have some young local guys starting their careers who were likely on small contracts? Possibly not.

We aren’t going to win on the back of juniors or recruits alone, we need to be good at both.

As it turned out all the recruits were exceptional even if most were largely unwanted by the clubs we got them from. Back at that time they weren’t exactly marquee signings although Preston had won a major award a couple os seasons prior.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Your talking ancient history.

Let’s talk 2020.

Okay then, let’s talk 2014.

Our best team of the decade, they didn’t win the premiership but it’s the closest we’ve come since 2004. And again the team was largely based on recruitment. And we beat the roosters in the finals.


Obviously juniors are hugely important to the team, but this idea we can’t recruit a team that’s successful is wrong.

 

[herbert henry1908]

That 2003 side had plenty of local juniors, it was good mix of both. I think the best player to come out of that side was Lewis, he had a great career. But Lewis, Tony P, Clinton, Rodney, Swain, Rooney, Waterhouse and Gower. That is a very good mix of juniors to go along with some good recruits. Could we have afforded those recruits if we didn’t have some young local guys starting their careers who were likely on small contracts? Possibly not.

We aren’t going to win on the back of juniors or recruits alone, we need to be good at both.

There were definitely good juniors in the team, but most of the really important players in 2003 were recruits. Obviously this is subjective, but outside of Gower & Puletua most of the important cogs that year were recruits.

 

[Fangs]

Recruitment was essential to our 2003 win.

No premiership without Luke Priddis. I'm sure of that. And we don't get close without Preston. Throw in Lang in the middle and John Lang.

17 years ago crazy.

 

[herbert henry1908]

I think the opinion that we can’t buy a premiership like the roosters refers to the fact that we clearly can’t go out and buy a superstar like Tedesco at his peak and another albeit ageing one in Cronk in the same offseason. As well as bringing in guys like Kearney and Crichton around the same time.

Kilkenny initially didn’t say like the roosters. He just said we can’t buy a premiership full stop.

 

[Kilkenny]

Kilkenny initially didn’t say like the roosters. He just said we can’t buy a premiership full stop.

That’s right I was saying we aren’t in a position to recruit the real superstars who are on the real big bucks,

 

[maple_69]

I think if we had the coaching to deliver some better structure and discipline over the past 15 years we would have seen plenty of our talent flourish into out and out superstars.

I find it tough to look at Cleary, Griffin and Elliott and then guys like RCG, Jennings, Blake, Moylan, Leota, Cartwright etc and think yep we’re mired in mediocrity because we don’t produce top end talent. How would each of those guys have done under Hasler, Bennett, Robinson or Bellamy?

Our nursery, and the development program Gus rebuilt, is absolutely capable of delivering 80% of the talent we need to be a top 4 team on an ongoing basis. If it wasn’t, Rugby League would be dead. I think the Api signing is a great example of the other 20% we need to intelligently add to be successful.

i think Cleary is a very good coach in the mould of Brian Smith. He’s at his best rebuilding and getting average players to play well. I hope he can prove more than that this year or Barrett proves to compliment him well. Assuming he doesn’t, we either need one of ‘the big 4’ coaches or to take a chance on a guy like Ciraldo becoming the next great coach because signing proven mediocre coaches is not working for us. Shocking.

 

[franklin2323]

Recruitment was essential to our 2003 win.

No premiership without Luke Priddis. I'm sure of that. And we don't get close without Preston. Throw in Lang in the middle and John Lang.

17 years ago crazy.

Very similar makeup to this years squad. Better balance with a mixed squad