:sleeper:
Heard it all before ozboy, you're entitled to your opinion but as an outsider (I'm sure you are not a Raiders fan) you are probably not in the know.
Matt Elliott certainly did not want all those players to leave. Far from it. And it was not a mass exodus because of disharmony or something like that. Drew was punted (and rightly so), Davico was granted a release but had issues with management due to his behaviour, Wiki wanted to return home afer 11 years of loyal service and McLinden probably thought his time was up in the ACT. The only dodgy one is Joel Monaghan, but that has been the subject of many threads.
Sure, that is a big chunk of the 2004 team. You can't replace some of those guys, especially Wiki. But I think we have come out of it better than expected. Lincoln Withers is a great buy. Kinda takes over the Brad Drew role, a hooker/half utility that will fill in for Woolford when he's off. Plus he is a better defender than Drewy.
Craig Frawley will do a good job replacing Monas. Frawley seemed to be in really good form this year before a late injury. He came down from Brisbane looking for an opportunity and I hope he shines.
You have to remember that we didn't have Phil Graham for all of 2004 bar 4 games - he adds a lot of strike power to the team and will walk into the backline no dramas.
Matt Adamson seemed a strange buy but I see the logic behind it somewhat. The biggest thing we have lost is experience - Wiki and Davico add up to 400 games between them. With a pack of good young kids coming through we need some old heads to guide the way, and with Adamson's aggression he could come in handy. I think he can still offer something in his final year. I would have preferred to keep Wiki but you can't have everything.
Jason Smith is the real wild card - if his shoulder holds up he is the kind of player we could have really used over the past two seasons with our power game in the forwards. We've been lacking a stable head in the halves and he can provide that either in the 6 or the 13 jersey. With Campese and Carney waiting in the wings, his experience will hopefully counteract the rash decisions those guys may make in their youth.
I'm sure you've read plenty on Todd Carney - the kid comes with big wraps - straight from SG Ball to the First grade squad in 2004. Junior Kangaroo and origin. He went well in his 5 first grade games this season. Hopefully he gets given an extended run in the #7. Good enough - old enough.
With Weyman also an exciting prospect in the forwards, plus the nucleus of the 2003 PL champions I think we will be OK. We wont win it and we may miss the 8, but I think we will surprise all of you.
But, being footy, you just never know.
