Great observation fittler/johns

[newyboy]

JOEY has been saying for weeks when the knights get flogged that Brown is the man for the job and it's the long haul outlook.

Today he said it will take 10 years, then FITTLER said you don't have 10 years in today's comp, as soon as you build up young players they are snapped up as you can't afford to keep them when they get experience.

He said it's a now thing, you have to play to win this year or the next, no more future building.

So where does that leave us?

Do we pay 1.5 times the going rate for the best hooker, half and full back and just get also rans to fill the gaps a bit like Melbourne's model?

 

[aqua_duck]

JOEY has been saying for weeks when the knights get flogged that Brown is the man for the job and it's the long haul outlook.

Today he said it will take 10 years, then FITTLER said you don't have 10 years in today's comp, as soon as you build up young players they are snapped up as you can't afford to keep them when they get experience.

He said it's a now thing, you have to play to win this year or the next, no more future building.

So where does that leave us?

Do we pay 1.5 times the going rate for the best hooker, half and full back and just get also rans to fill the gaps a bit like Melbourne's model?

I think we need to be smart which is something we haven't been for a long, long time. We need to look at players who at hungry and perhaps stuck behind a big name at another club and offer them an opportunity, unfortunately the Hagan/Gidley strategy of meeting/exceeding the market value will never work for us because we're not on an even playing field. We need to identify the diamonds in the rough

 

[Burwood]

This is a point I made back in February:

Can we build a team for the long run? The problem with a youth policy is that every one of these players is going to have their value sky rocket over the next 12 months if they get a solid season of NRL experience under their belts.

If we had a spine full of established players who weren't likely to see their value increase over the term of their contract (like Hodkinson and Mullen) I'd be a lot more confident of us building a team around those players over a number of years.

With Levi and Feeney looking like our long term hooker and fullback, what is to stop another club swooping in and signing them once they finally begin to show some promise? It will be the whole Tapine saga happening once again.

It's great to be giving these guys some experience, but the second they get to first grade and show that they have a future they'll be snapped up by other clubs. We'll develop them, but we won't get any of the long-term benefit.

All you have to do is look at Tapine. Even if we lose only one junior like him each year then we'll go absolutely nowhere as a club. The only way we get to keep the players that we really want is by paying them what we expect them to be worth in 1-2 years based on potential.

There are 15 other clubs out there who would be happy to pay overs to sign one player who might be a missing piece of the puzzle for them. If we try and keep even two of these players by paying them overs then our cap is screwed for the next 2-3 years.

 

[Spot On]

10 years to do what?

Build a side capable of playing semi final footy????

 

[Alex28]

Simple.

Sell the club, cheat the cap, build an awesome squad. Sacrifice some officials, cut some surplus players.

Next season we look awesome.

I'm not even joking. That's what it will most likely take.

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

We need to strike a balance between experience and youth without going overboard like we have. The bias will be on developing young guys. Brown has made it clear we aren't going to pay big money - yet.
He has also made it clear that he is aware of the risk of exposing these young guys and we will possibly lose some we would like to keep .Identifying talent for the lower grades to keep the process rolling on long term will be a key.

I can see us now putting more focus on 2017 than I expected at this stage.I reckon we will be a lot more competitive provided we can free up some cap space. Players are being forced into decisions because hey don't fit the long term plan.

I admit to being over the the "next year or the year after" type of thing that has gone on in the past. For years some have been saying "if we just get rid of x and buy y then ...". We need structural change and to realise the mistakes we have made and to build a solid foundation and that is the plan now.

You can put together a team from scratch that could make the top 8 in 2 years but you can't solve the salary cap issue we have or put together a framework to sustain performance without time.

Improvement next year and continue from then.

 

[macavity]

Simple.

Sell the club, cheat the cap, build an awesome squad. Sacrifice some officials, cut some surplus players.

Next season we look awesome.

I'm not even joking. That's what it will most likely take.

Truth.

We aren't even making the finals until something massive changes off the park.

Tapine is the rule for us, not the exception.

And we are never going to develop a half while getting smacked around. Look at Cleary v Cogger. Similar age, not in the same postcode performance wise.

 

[The Showstopper]

These alleged potential buyers need to get some urgency into the situation and start leaning more on the NRL. The next owner(s) better have the smarts. Whenever we hear them speak it is all about the club first and nothing but the club. If it is bad news it is their job to fix it and quick.

 

[Yosh]

I think Tariq just made more metres in one game then he did for us altogether... Something wrong on and off the pitch...