Are we doomed in 2019 ?

[macnaz]

My personal oppion is that 2019 will be worse than 2018.
* Matts and Packer another year older and lazier .
* Renoylds another year older and more injury prone
* Lost 2 centres and there is zero talent on the market as upgradable or even same quality
* To many forwards are small plodders unable to dent the line
*forwards lack no creativity
* Benji and Farah will/should be hanging the boots up ..BUT at there age would still amazingly be amongst the top 17 at this pathetic club
* Cant see any future stars coming through the lower grades like we have seen for ever.
* The Ivan Dad crap will create instability during the season.
* Brooks will still be good but will never be the savour with the soft team around him.
*We are unable to either approach or entice decent players
* The momentum gained under Cleary has already been lost , teams and players have a limited time span to respond to new things and once its used up without results the mantra wears thin.
*we are hamstrung as far as utilizing any real TPI's by the nrl
*other teams are building talent while ours is decaying

Well thats just a few points , i can not see a single positive for the 2019 season and beyond. Thank God we are used to it , we truly must be the best supporters on earth.

 

[Tiger05]

I don't really disagree with any of your points excluding Reynolds, Packer and Matulino being worse than what they have been this season. They can't get any worse. They have either not been playing or playing at the same level of our borderline first graders such as Sue, Tui and Grant.

There are couple of ways that we can turn this around:-

1. Recruit players. There are rumours for instance of Taupau being shopped around. The salary cap is far from perfect but we can recruit good players. We've recruited Taupau and JAC over the last couple of years. We can recruit players like this again. It's our retention that has been off. Players come for money and opportunities. We can provide that.
2. Develop some younger players. We've had heaps of success here. The problem is we have had some dog players coming through who only stay for the best possible deal they can get and these deals are what screws us over.

A couple of quality signings in the forwards and the backs are in my opinion what is required. If we pay top dollar for Nathan Cleary but don't fix our forwards and backs we will not be competitive. The reality is that you have to mange your salary cap well.

Ivan Clearly and the club need to get our recruitment and retention right and that means valuing players that can win us games but not overpaying them.

I think Ivan walked into a massive turd that was the result of some spoilt brat players and a terrible coach. This to me is actually a massive rebuilding phase and we need to look at results over the next 5 or so years. In that time frame if IC and the team managing these decisions are up to it we can improve a lot.

Next year though is going to be tough without purchasing some quality outside backs and forwards.

 

[macnaz]

The BIG BUT is quality players wont go to a shit club... so 2018 is shit 2019 will be shit and the cycle continues .
Woods , Ferguson and Morris were all available for next year .. not the most highly prized scalps but some of the best available and we couldnt purchase any of them ? Like what the f**k !! Guess they werent from Penrith or the Warriors.

 

[Tiger Ted]

My personal oppion is that 2019 will be worse than 2018.
* Matts and Packer another year older and lazier .
* Renoylds another year older and more injury prone
* Lost 2 centres and there is zero talent on the market as upgradable or even same quality
* To many forwards are small plodders unable to dent the line
*forwards lack no creativity
* Benji and Farah will/should be hanging the boots up ..BUT at there age would still amazingly be amongst the top 17 at this pathetic club
* Cant see any future stars coming through the lower grades like we have seen for ever.
* The Ivan Dad crap will create instability during the season.
* Brooks will still be good but will never be the savour with the soft team around him.
*We are unable to either approach or entice decent players
* The momentum gained under Cleary has already been lost , teams and players have a limited time span to respond to new things and once its used up without results the mantra wears thin.
*we are hamstrung as far as utilizing any real TPI's by the nrl
*other teams are building talent while ours is decaying

Well thats just a few points , i can not see a single positive for the 2019 season and beyond. Thank God we are used to it , we truly must be the best supporters on earth.

EXACTLY !

I’ve been going on about it for a while & not bcoz i enjoy it as I have black & gold blood coursing through my veins but Cleary’s tenure is doomed & there’s only 1 way it will end.

As u pointed out in great detail it’s evident that there’s no redeeming feature re the clubs future based on the shithouse roster the immense difficulties faced trying to rectify the numerous deficiencies & the decline in confidence in the coaching especially as is evident by our popgun attack & absurd selections this season.

I’ve no doubt that as dire a predicament the dogs may b currently in they are a hell of a lot smarter(esp with the addition of the formidable recruitment guru Mark Hughes to there staff) & success driven than us & will swiftly fix the mess they r in & leapfrog us most likely as soon as ‘19.

 

[Tiger Ted]

The BIG BUT is quality players wont go to a shit club... so 2018 is shit 2019 will be shit and the cycle continues .
Woods , Ferguson and Morris were all available for next year .. not the most highly prized scalps but some of the best available and we couldnt purchase any of them ? Like what the f**k !! Guess they werent from Penrith or the Warriors.

That last line is quite telling.Cleary’s pathetic rebuild has revolved around inept players he has had previous working relationships with.

 

[Tiger05]

The BIG BUT is quality players wont go to a shit club... so 2018 is shit 2019 will be shit and the cycle continues .
Woods , Ferguson and Morris were all available for next year .. not the most highly prized scalps but some of the best available and we couldnt purchase any of them ? Like what the f**k !! Guess they werent from Penrith or the Warriors.

Look at the quality of these guys though. You can add in Blake Austin. The point being that there aren't good options out there.

Woods is on of the main reasons we are in the state we are. He has been an overpaid hack for us. Morris is a good player but he is at the back end of his career. Ferguson is good as well but he has a tonne of mistakes in his game.

I'm not upset about not getting these guys. I think we did well in recruitment this year based on what was available and maybe even really good when considering we have added Mbye.

I don't have a solution but I suppose part of the problem is that there aren't that many quality players on the market.

 

[Tiger05]

That last line is quite telling.Cleary’s pathetic rebuild has revolved around inept players he has had previous working relationships with.

The problem is what could he do. The big stuff up to me has been long term contracts to average players at the end of their careers. If they were 2 year contracts it would be good.

I think Mbye on a long term contract makes sense but the other guys are bad long term signings.

We need to improve year on year. That is all we can do. We need to be real careful now with signing guys however there are some options out there.

Taupau, maybe even Connor Watson and I bet there will be other options that come up. We just need to make smart signings.

I should add that we don't need Watson now but we could do with a player with speed.

Surely we can get some fast outside backs from rugby, super league or even ISP.

The only question is does IC realise that the game is now based on athletic players in the backs and forwards smashing it up. Classy halves and spine players are important but not without having the forwards and backs that can do their jobs well.

A player like ET is extremely likeable. He plays hard. Defensively he is great. He adds to a team. His downside though in a team like ours is unacceptable. The fact is that he doesn't bend the line and we need players that can do that.

 

[Tiger Ted]

The problem is what could he do. The big stuff up to me has been long term contracts to average players at the end of their careers. If they were 2 year contracts it would be good.

I think Mbye on a long term contract makes sense but the other guys are bad long term signings.

We need to improve year on year. That is all we can do. We need to be real careful now with signing guys however there are some options out there.

Taupau, maybe even Connor Watson and I bet there will be other options that come up. We just need to make smart signings.

I should add that we don't need Watson now but we could do with a player with speed.

Surely we can get some fast outside backs from rugby, super league or even ISP.

The only question is does IC realise that the game is now based on athletic players in the backs and forwards smashing it up. Classy halves and spine players are important but not without having the forwards and backs that can do their jobs well.

A player like ET is extremely likeable. He plays hard. Defensively he is great. He adds to a team. His downside though in a team like ours is unacceptable. The fact is that he doesn't bend the line and we need players that can do that.

I agree 05 re clearys limitation in recruiting & acknowledged recently that can cut him slack in that most quality players would b deterred from coming to an eternally shit club like ours.However my primary grief with Cleary & Pascoe has been the unforgiveable stupidity of gifting avg players past their prime 3 & 4 yr contracts.These contracts are fraught & the resulting adverse consequences will haunt us long term.

 

[macnaz]

That last line is quite telling.Cleary’s pathetic rebuild has revolved around inept players he has had previous working relationships with.

And his greatest selection..
THE LEADER .the pants pissing AlPacker . fmd he has been firing orders ... orders from the back! all year and has NOT f**kING ONCE ! out played young Twall .
As for for Matualino .. Brooks has shown ten times more agression then this kneeless impostor.
It makes me f**king sick when these 2 merkins are first picked every game WHEN available. Where is the accountability??

 

[Tiger05]

And his greatest selection..
THE LEADER .the pants pissing AlPacker . fmd he has been firing orders ... orders from the back! all year and has NOT f**kING ONCE ! out played young Twall .
As for for Matualino .. Brooks has shown ten times more agression then this kneeless impostor.
It makes me f**king sick when these 2 merkins are first picked every game WHEN available. Where is the accountability??

I think you are being too harsh although I understand where you are coming from. Twal has been our best prop this year which isn't good after signing Packer and Matulino.

Packer was good for the first 6 odd weeks but has come back from injury and is playing poorly. Matulino to me has made plenty of good effort plays but he isn't getting consistent metres.

If they continue to under perform surely they have to be dropped.

We need a dominant set of middle forwards. ET, Matulino, Packer, Twal and Eisenhuth simply aren't getting the job done. The middle forwards should be a clear strong point for us but they aren't. We need to make changes here.

Then we need at least two good edge backrowers. Lawrence has been great this year. We clearly need another player on the other side.

Then we need quality outside backs. Naiqama at this point is our best outside back. He has been great. He runs hard and with pace. Marsters has been really good at times but he also needs to improve. A great runner of the footy but he misses some tackles plus he comes up with some dud plays at times. Nofo can be great but he needs to do more. Fonua looks great with the ball but I think he is too slow to cut it in the outside backs defensively. We need a lot of changes here especially with Naiqama leaving. Fonua has impact and I think we need to somehow get good value out of him however he was clearly our go to guy for go forward and offensive plays at some point and it's too much to ask of one player.

Our spine to me looks okay. Mbye, Brooks, Liddle & Reynolds are a decent combo especially with players like Benji and Robbie backing them up.

 

[Vic Mackey]

It depends on what happens with recruitment. I believe we are only 2-3 good players away from being a top 8 side. Outside backs are my main concern. Then whoever the backup 6 is as chances are they’ll see a lot of game time.

 

[Tiger Ted]

It depends on what happens with recruitment. I believe we are only 2-3 good players away from being a top 8 side. Outside backs are my main concern. Then whoever the backup 6 is as chances are they’ll see a lot of game time.

Additionally & more importantly we desperately need a huge injection of aggression in the forwards.Apart from Twal & Rowdy our forwards have been a huge disappointment.

 

[macnaz]

It depends on what happens with recruitment. I believe we are only 2-3 good players away from being a top 8 side. Outside backs are my main concern. Then whoever the backup 6 is as chances are they’ll see a lot of game time.

Yes it does .. but who do you see filling the role as 2 or 3 GOOD players Vic ?
Ivans recruitment has been shown about a 30% success rate , do you have faith he will find these mystery players from somewhere.

 

[Fordy20]

After releasing Grant and Felise, but only signing Oliver Clark, I reckon we're still one middle short. Concerned about our backs too. We're releasing MWZ and Naiqama but haven't replaced either and we're still two centres down from the departures of Suli and Milne. It'd be good to pick up a couple of backs like Tom Opacic, Braidon Burns and Reuben Garrick. Ivan loves his Kiwi's, maybe we could Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad if we offer him a two year contract.

I don't see us making the top next year though.

 

[BuffaloRules]

Won’t be worse than this year...

They won’t have a stretch of losing 8 out of 10 games..

I think you underestimate how bad they currently are..

The Gold Coast thumped them at Leichhardt and then got beat 36-0 at home the next game..

 

[benched tiger]

I think we can all identify our problems in the backs and forwards,solving them seems a lot harder for our club,take a team like Souths who were terrible last season but have shown that things can turnaround quickly especially if you have some good attacking players,unfortunately we lack that quality in a lot of our current players and it’s a concern the length of some of their contracts when they appear well past their best.

 

[T.S Quint]

Well thats just a few points , i can not see a single positive for the 2019 season and beyond. Thank God we are used to it , we truly must be the best supporters on earth.

You think you've got it bad.
You've got nothing on us Eels supporters, mate.

 

[Mario chalmers]

My personal oppion is that 2019 will be worse than 2018.
* Matts and Packer another year older and lazier .
* Renoylds another year older and more injury prone
* Lost 2 centres and there is zero talent on the market as upgradable or even same quality
* To many forwards are small plodders unable to dent the line
*forwards lack no creativity
* Benji and Farah will/should be hanging the boots up ..BUT at there age would still amazingly be amongst the top 17 at this pathetic club
* Cant see any future stars coming through the lower grades like we have seen for ever.
* The Ivan Dad crap will create instability during the season.
* Brooks will still be good but will never be the savour with the soft team around him.
*We are unable to either approach or entice decent players
* The momentum gained under Cleary has already been lost , teams and players have a limited time span to respond to new things and once its used up without results the mantra wears thin.
*we are hamstrung as far as utilizing any real TPI's by the nrl
*other teams are building talent while ours is decaying

Well thats just a few points , i can not see a single positive for the 2019 season and beyond. Thank God we are used to it , we truly must be the best supporters on earth.

It's been widely reported that Nathan Cleary is going to announce his next contract in November when he turns 21. At that time I think it is highly likely he will announce he is joining the Tigers for 2020. It can't be a coincidence that he making his decision in November when that is the first time he is able to sign on with another club for 2020. On the flip side if had any intention in extending his deal with Penrith he'd have likely have done so already in my opinion.

Penrith are stacked with halves options and if Nathan decides to join his old man at WT in 2020 I can see a scenario where Gus releases him early to play for us in 2019.

If this were to happen would you be more positive about 2019?

Nathan Cleary aside, there is at least 10 or so roster spots available for 2019 so I'd be putting the knife back in the drawer until we find out who is filling those holes. I can't say I'm disappointed about any of the known departures - some of whom were on big money.

 

[macnaz]

Yeah i would be more confident, but even with Nathan here everything will hinge on 10 or so spots to be filled and there lays the problem if they arent an upgrade on what we have.

 

[Tiger05]

I'm not sure if Nathan is the saviour that we need. Yeah he is a really good player but we need to have better players supporting him. Plus we have Brooks and Reynolds in the halves. I'd prefer to keep Brooks out of him and Reynolds but Reynolds is on big dollars.

I'm honestly less concerned about getting Nathan than I am about getting some better players across the park.

Still our team this week to me looks pretty good. We aren't that far off improving if players like Packer and Matulino start to perform.