Can anyone answer this question for me:

[Noname36]

^ Yep. Especially blokes like Grant and Stewart that already have families and friends in Sydney.

Why people still wonder why we struggle to sign big name players is beyond me (especially ones from Sydney clubs that have the option to go to another club in the area and not have to move)

We won't get a quality player from a Sydney club if they have the option to go to another Sydney club. I'd throwing all we have (money and the brother card) at Tariq Sims. Even he and his wife though that's been in NQ seem to have their hearts set on Sydney.

 

[Misanthrope]

Ah right, so we agree! In the past I've actually said Newcastle is basically Canberra by the sea in terms of being attractive to footy players.

I mean, it's a step up from that frigid shithole with its non-existent night life, but yeah - it's still no Sydney, Brisbane, or Melbourne.

We should be better able to compete with North Queensland and the Warriors though. Auckland is a dump and Townsville is basically Newcastle with shit beaches.

^ Yep. Especially blokes like Grant and Stewart that already have families and friends in Sydney.

Why people still wonder why we struggle to sign big name players is beyond me (especially ones from Sydney clubs that have the option to go to another club in the area and not have to move)

We won't get a quality player from a Sydney club if they have the option to go to another Sydney club. I'd throwing all we have (money and the brother card) at Tariq Sims. Even he and his wife though that's been in NQ seem to have their hearts set on Sydney.

I mean, money certainly would go a long way towards convincing people otherwise, especially given the relative shortness of the commute if a player did want to spend more time in Sydney.

I can't recall us ever throwing big money at a player and losing out. We're always fiscally conservative, which isn't really an option when people don't want to live in Newie.

 

[Noname36]

If I recall we originally threw big money at Jeremy Smith but he turned us down for Cronulla because he wanted to keep his family in Sydney. He's the only one I recall though and it's probably redundant considering Bennett got him here a couple of years later anyway.

 

[Misanthrope]

If I recall we originally threw big money at Jeremy Smith but he turned us down for Cronulla because he wanted to keep his family in Sydney. He's the only one I recall though and it's probably redundant considering Bennett got him here a couple of years later anyway.

Mistake #1 was throwing big money at Jeremy Smith... :crazy:

 

[Spot On]

What happened to the days of identifying and developing local talent. Surely there is enough talent in the Newcastle region (and surrounds) to continually develop good enough players to fill a lot of the top grade year after year. I realise your going to have years where you may not have top line talent but we've been in a drought for a very long time. This years NYC seem to be a talented bunch, I hope we can utilise a lot of those blokes in the coming years.

 

[Misanthrope]

What happened to the days of identifying and developing local talent. Surely there is enough talent in the Newcastle region (and surrounds) to continually develop good enough players to fill a lot of the top grade year after year. I realise your going to have years where you may not have top line talent but we've been in a drought for a very long time. This years NYC seem to be a talented bunch, I hope we can utilise a lot of those blokes in the coming years.

The game moved on.

I'd argue it is impossible for a side to rely solely on local talent and be competitive in a professional game with international talent scouts and big money contracts.

 

[1qaz]

Knights in talks with Te'o

 

[aqua_duck]

Knights in talks with Te'o

I actually like the prospect of Te'o in our team, if nothing else he offers something abit different, runs good lines, has an offload and hits hard in defence. Scott and Te'o as edge forward is not half bad with Joseph Tapine on the bench.
If we can land Te'o and add 3 big props then I think we'll be able to compete again up front

 

[Noname36]

As long as he can fix up his recent defensive issues I'd take him in a heartbeat. Like aqua said, we need something a bit different. Throw in a prop or two (preferably younger than 30) and I'll be happy.

 

[Misanthrope]

Definitely a different style of forward than what we've been employing of late. Him + 2-3 decent front rowers, even if they're workmanlike guys like Clinton O'Brien and Marquet were, would do wonders for us.

 

[Spot On]

The game moved on.

I'd argue it is impossible for a side to rely solely on local talent and be competitive in a professional game with international talent scouts and big money contracts.

I'd argue that as well. But surely we can produce enough to fill a fair slab of the side. In a squad of 25 you'd like to think half could be filled with local products.

Pipe dream???

If, as many are saying above, we can't lure quality to the club then we're just going to have to develop it.

 

[Misanthrope]

Aren't we doing that presently? McManus, Uate, Mamo, Mullen, Roberts, Gidley, Clydesdale, Mason (to a certain extent), Rochow, Tetavano etc are all either local juniors or have solely played in the red and blue.

The issue is that the imports we're putting around them aren't much (if any) better than the guys we already had.

 

[aqua_duck]

Definitely a different style of forward than what we've been employing of late. Him + 2-3 decent front rowers, even if they're workmanlike guys like Clinton O'Brien and Marquet were, would do wonders for us.

You only have to look at the tigers to see that you have to pay big money for a few good impact props off the bench. I think we need 1 good starting prop, someone like a McKendry to partner up with Snowden then 2 big boppers on the bench who can give us what Fa'aoso use to. I'm personally hoping Toka Likiliki can have an injury free pre season and get fit because he could be one of the bench props

 

[Noname36]

I'd argue that as well. But surely we can produce enough to fill a fair slab of the side. In a squad of 25 you'd like to think half could be filled with local products.

Pipe dream???

If, as many are saying above, we can't lure quality to the club then we're just going to have to develop it.

Our junior systems took a huge blow when Brian Smith was here. I think he did a lot of good things for our club but infiltrating our junior ranks with Polynesians who's only skills were being big who got found out in the higher grades certainly wasn't one of them. We've had a completely overhaul under Tinkler and Bennett and our junior grades are getting back to the place they should have been all along however they're only just starting to trickle through to the top grade now (Clydesdale, Mamo, etc). I think we've still got another 2-3 years before we'll have enough quality local juniors especially in the forwards to make up most of the side.

 

[Spot On]

Our junior systems took a huge blow when Brian Smith was here. I think he did a lot of good things for our club but infiltrating our junior ranks with Polynesians who's only skills were being big who got found out in the higher grades certainly wasn't one of them. We've had a completely overhaul under Tinkler and Bennett and our junior grades are getting back to the place they should have been all along however they're only just starting to trickle through to the top grade now (Clydesdale, Mamo, etc). I think we've still got another 2-3 years before we'll have enough quality local juniors especially in the forwards to make up most of the side.

Definitely this.

The rest is what I wanted to hear. I think we can develop the "quality" we are talking about - a lot of it anyway. A few buys here and there to plug the holes will be needed but if we keep heading down the path we are on and retain the quality we develop we should be more than competitive.

 

[Misanthrope]

You only have to look at the tigers to see that you have to pay big money for a few good impact props off the bench. I think we need 1 good starting prop, someone like a McKendry to partner up with Snowden then 2 big boppers on the bench who can give us what Fa'aoso use to. I'm personally hoping Toka Likiliki can have an injury free pre season and get fit because he could be one of the bench props

Definitely need somebody to partner Snowden, and then a few solid workers from the bench.

An alternative style back rower would be great too. So many of the same guy.

 

[aqua_duck]

Our junior systems took a huge blow when Brian Smith was here. I think he did a lot of good things for our club but infiltrating our junior ranks with Polynesians who's only skills were being big who got found out in the higher grades certainly wasn't one of them. We've had a completely overhaul under Tinkler and Bennett and our junior grades are getting back to the place they should have been all along however they're only just starting to trickle through to the top grade now (Clydesdale, Mamo, etc). I think we've still got another 2-3 years before we'll have enough quality local juniors especially in the forwards to make up most of the side.

I think there were enough Caucasians around for at least a few to come through, the problem for me is a lot of guys who were suppose to be good just never developed, guys like Ethan Cook, Jake Finn, Callan Richardson, Chad Redman, etc all junior rep players, all highly rated combined to play a grand total of 0 first grade games for us.

 

[aqua_duck]

Definitely need somebody to partner Snowden, and then a few solid workers from the bench.

An alternative style back rower would be great too. So many of the same guy.

Not sure if solid workers are the way to go anymore, I watch the tigers are see no name guys like Marty Taupau, James Gavet and Seumanufagai and the impact the bring just through hard running and enthusiasm and it makes me jealous. I'd love to see Snowden assume that forward leader role and make 15-18 hit ups every game

 

[Noname36]

I think there were enough Caucasians around for at least a few to come through, the problem for me is a lot of guys who were suppose to be good just never developed, guys like Ethan Cook, Jake Finn, Callan Richardson, Chad Redman, etc all junior rep players, all highly rated combined to play a grand total of 0 first grade games for us.

It's not a race thing. We've certainly had Polynesians, kiwis, Fijians, etc that have kicked on and been the goods, as we've had Caucasian blokes that haven't been.

There's no denying though that our junior recruitment under Smith's reign revolved around the mentality of signing as many big Polynesian kids as we could to fill the sides regardless of skill level. Sure the Caucasian kids we had in the sides didn't kick on but maybe we'd have more of a chance of some locals kicking on if they weren't kicked out of the sides for bigger and often less skilful imports that also didn't kick on. The more locals we have in our junior sides the more chance we have of finding the talent. Not saying we shouldn't import blokes, but it should be for their skill (I.e. Tapine) and not simply because they're big and Polynesian like we did.

I do think we have an issue producing our own forwards that are capable of making the step up though and it's something we need to look into because it's been a very long and on-going issue.

Definitely this.

The rest is what I wanted to hear. I think we can develop the "quality" we are talking about - a lot of it anyway. A few buys here and there to plug the holes will be needed but if we keep heading down the path we are on and retain the quality we develop we should be more than competitive.

We were on the right track in the late 90s early 2000s. Produce our own stars but then make a few astute signings (like BK) to fill the gaps we can't ourselves.

I think that's what we should (and seem to be) aiming for in the future. Give ourselves every opportunity to produce our own talent and whatever money we can save by producing blokes that want to stay in Newcastle, salary cap exclusions for juniors/long-term club players etc, we can put towards throwing at signings we need that we'd struggle to get to Newcastle.

 

[Knight Vision]

Geez I wish we had someone to manage our cap like the Bulldogs have. Already missed Gagai at 350K but can still chase him and Hoffman at what you would think would be more $$$$$. Just how the f**k do they do it???

exactly .....forgetting some clubs location, coach history etc may make them more attractive for players it does seem that some clubs operate on an entirely different salary cap. These 3rd party deals everyone talks of allow some clubs a very unfair advantage. It blows my mind the roster that Sydney Roosters have and even Souths and Canterbury have amazing rosters that have me scratching my head.

The club that always has a top roster is Brisbane - except perhaps the last few seasons. And of course Melbourne until the got busted big time.