Eels in the media

[Poupou Escobar]

He did not sign any influential player of that side, that’s the issue , for some reason he has not signed anyone playing regularly in the NRL, it’s all been moneyball , room for improvement players, stop deflecting every comment. It’s not about you trying to outsmart every poster, it’s where the club finds itself.

But he has been here while we re-signed them is the point. Every time these merkins come off contract we need to decide whether to keep them or use their cap space for an external signing. This is what you miss when you complain about lack of external signings. You don’t just add new stars to your roster every year until you have the Origin side. There is a cost to new signings and that cost is losing existing players of the same value.

Even with the players we lost after 2022, we didn’t let them go at the same price they were on. We lost them because we couldn’t fit their new value, determined by the market, under the cap. Instead we had to prioritise who to keep.

So it’s fair to say we prioritised incorrectly, though the performance of Mahoney, Papali’i and Niukore since last year indicates we didn’t. It would’ve been awesome to keep them at their old price but they improved beyond that price during their time here. And because we stopped spending on junior ‘development’ (poaching) after Covid we weren’t able to replace them with similar high potential cheapies. In fact those players are only just starting to filter into the top 30 again.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Not sure think you are over reaching no one mentioned the 2022 GF in my post your post or dellys post.

So my question is which player has MON brought to the club that was influential at their current club and wasn't an advantageous signing..

Delboy was responding to my question about the recent premiership window.

 

[emjaycee]

Not sure think you are over reaching no one mentioned the 2022 GF in my post your post or dellys post.

So my question is which player has MON brought to the club that was influential at their current club and wasn't an advantageous signing..

Here is the questions and comments that I replied to.
I didnt even see your post.

All this talk about the board , professional , and risk averse etc

Thought of the day “ who on this professional board thought it was a sensible idea to appoint a life member , and ex captain of a traditional and competitive rival club to oversee all recruitment decisions and had never had that responsibility before”

How has that worked out ?

Did he contribute to our recent premiership window? Or is he just the scapegoat for it closing?

He did not sign any influential player of that side, that’s the issue , for some reason he has not signed anyone playing regularly in the NRL, it’s all been moneyball , room for improvement players, stop deflecting every comment. It’s not about you trying to outsmart every poster, it’s where the club finds itself.

RCG, Junior, Lane, Matterson, Cartwright and Papali'i all say "Hi" and thanks for signing us to Parramatta MON.

 

[emjaycee]

Delboy was responding to my question about the recent premiership window.

FFS

 

[Delboy]

Oh right.
So MON didnt sign them, which I think was the claim.

Again He hasn’t signed anyone where it’s been minimally competitive. I think you know how the player managers regard him, and that hasnt helped. Those players were signed what 4 years ago, would be sensible if the club had got some decent players recently.

 

[emjaycee]

Again He hasn’t signed anyone where it’s been minimally competitive. I think you know how the player managers regard him, and that hasnt helped. Those players were signed what 4 years ago, would be sensible if the club had got some decent players recently.

I have no idea how the player managers regard him and to be honest, I don't care. I also have no idea when any player for any club has been a competitive signing. But it is a bit disingenuous to say that he didnt help build the squad that got us to the 2022 GF and the semi's the preceeding 3 years.

Could he have signed some decent players in the last 3 years, maybe but can you name me some players who we didn't sign because he was the one dealing with the player managers?

 

[Delboy]

Fair comment MJC, but the club has gone backwards in the last 2/3 years and the lack of signings and an unbalanced roster really isnt good enough for a club with our resources and profile.

Whoever is HOF has the job of ensuring the club has pathways coming through, depth to support them and a competitive NRL squad. Granted that’s not an easy job, but it’s also extremely well paid and integral to success. If anyone is not extremely disappointed at where the club is positioned across 3 senior grades ,which currently are the worst in memory, then so be it. All I’m saying, is that it’s not good enough and the person at the front of recruitment has questions to answer.

May have gone off, but that’s how frustrated and how bad the situation is looking.

 

[JokerEel]

Here is the questions and comments that I replied to.
I didnt even see your post.

Ffs I don't respond to people's comments to Pou!

Anyway my question stands in MON...

 

[Avenger]

@Delboy is bang on re MON. He has been a disaster ever since our GF appearance. We have no depth out wide and our pathways are a debacle because they haven’t won a game this season. It’s all on him. I’d sack him before the coach.

We still have 3 spots in our roster and apparently still have $700k in our cap and he hasn’t delivered a single outside back to plug the gaping holes we have in the roster.

I’m no huge fan of BA but FFS what’s he supposed to do? He has literally nobody of quality to select.

 

[Delboy]

It’s an issue when we lose what 7 players from our GF squad and replace them with who. Again, whose responsibility is that, pretty simple and should have been an ideal opportunity to sign some decent players maybe only say 4 good quality , what did MON do .

Answer , not a lot.

 

[eels_fan]

I have an issue with anyone in a position of responsibility within our football operations being a paid up member of a competitor club.

The only thing Mark O'Neill has brought to the club is a stink of mediocrity.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Again He hasn’t signed anyone where it’s been minimally competitive. I think you know how the player managers regard him, and that hasnt helped. Those players were signed what 4 years ago, would be sensible if the club had got some decent players recently.

Do you not see the link between having expensive players already on the books and being unable to sign new ones? Don’t you wonder why we were able to sign so many good players after 2018 but not after 2022?? AM I GOING f**kING CRAZY???

 

[Twizzle]

AM I GOING f**kING CRAZY???

We could start a Straw Poll

 

[Soto]

We could start a Straw Poll

I don't think we need a straw poll to know the overwhelming result here

 

[Poupou Escobar]

We could start a Straw Poll

*man

 

[yy_cheng]

Wasn’t it reported that this was in the context of a contract extension? Surely being considered for first grade over other backups is contingent on agreeing to stay so another club doesn’t benefit from the development opportunity we give him.

Sanders isn’t even top 30. Asi, Talagi and Hands are all backup halves options with NRL experience. There’s no evidence we would go better with Sanders than with any of these three. Sanders hasn’t ever even won a reserve grade game.

‘Find it strange’: Mystery over Eels’ baffling teen snub as looming exit sparks rumour

‘Find it strange’: Mystery over Eels’ baffling teen snub as looming exit sparks shock rumour

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Yeah f**k him

 

[Matty Bhoy]

Yeah f**k him

I tend to agree. I wouldn’t be blooding him just to benefit the Raiders down the line. I doubt he offers more than Talagi or Asi at this early stage.

 

[JokerEel]

I tend to agree. I wouldn’t be blooding him just to benefit the Raiders down the line. I doubt he offers more than Talagi or Asi at this early stage.

I do agree if Sanders has said he is going or BA didn't think he was up to first grade don't play him.

My issue is though why wasn't Asi playing 7 in CUP.

 

[Matty Bhoy]

I do agree if Sanders has said he is going or BA didn't think he was up to first grade don't play him.

My issue is though why wasn't Asi playing 7 in CUP.

I reckon he’s made it clear he’s leaving.