Honestly, which of these players are of a first grade standards...?

[dazeely]

This would be my backline next year

1 Hayne
2.Inu
3.Reddy
4 Smith
5. Burt

Our fullback position is troublesome Burt can be used as a additional playmaker and is ok when it comes to reading the defence he however is reluctant to run back with any heart on ball returns.

Hayne is the opposite will run back do some great things in attack but is awful defensively.

Finch and Keating well at the moment there the best we have in regards to halves.

Forwards i reckon besides the tigers we have the smallest pack in the NRL.


9 Keating ok without being to flashy
10. Moi Moi has heart and not afraid to run the ball.
11. Hindy stays obviously
12 Robinson does the job you need him to
13 Mateo needs to stay

Cayless and Wagon are past it, Lowrie is a joke and so are the other so called props. We need a big prop that wont be afraid to run and some decent. Our problem is we dont have a decent bench and when our forwards would normally interchange we lose a lot of go forward.

Paulo
Hauriki
and others just are not up to it.

Also i dont see why Gaulavo was not given more of a chance

Robinson is gone. Overseas...... Unless you mean jnr Robbo

 

[parramaniac2516]

Robinson is gone. Overseas...... Unless you mean jnr Robbo

Ah ok Damnit was not aware of that.

 

[Ronnie Dobs]

Inu is not a centre, Benny/reddy in the centres next year, Inu to the wing

The only problem I have with Reddy is he can't really defend and IMO is worse than Grothe. If smith is back then it's time to bring back grothe, who works very well with Smith.

 

[bartman]

Ah ok Damnit was not aware of that.

Yep, that number 12 jersey is going to be a real problem... unless we find a prop somehwere and turn Caylo back into a second rower?

Lowire is ok to have on the bench or as injury cover, but I can't yet see him growing into a starting backrower for an entire season. I won't even talk about Hauraki or Oake in terms of starting games.

If the Mannah brother who is staying next year is over or approaching 20, then he might prove to be a saviour in the pack if he comes through OK...

 

[Ronnie Dobs]

Wags is not a flash player. He adds stability to the side. Not everyone is a big superstar and Wags filled his role nicely. It was the lack of flair in the rest of the forward pack that was the problem.

I agree ith you on most of your points but on Wagon I really can't bring myself to believe he is anything but a waste of space. Personally I think he is a liability defensively. He is too slow and makes very poor decisions which affect the players around him. He doesn't know how to pass the ball. I know we don't have too many other players to fill in but if Hagan stopped playing him last year, made the decision to put Metao at lock from the start and KK at 5/8 as soon as Smith pulled out our pack would have much more respectable and less predictable from the start.

 

[Bazal]

Yep, that number 12 jersey is going to be a real problem... unless we find a prop somehwere and turn Caylo back into a second rower?

Lowire is ok to have on the bench or as injury cover, but I can't yet see him growing into a starting backrower for an entire season. I won't even talk about Hauraki or Oake in terms of starting games.

If the Mannah brother who is staying next year is over or approaching 20, then he might prove to be a saviour in the pack if he comes through OK...

I don't like Cayless as a back rower, he's not mobile enough IMO. I'd rather start Lowrie than move Nathan back to be perfectly honest, at least Todd has the mobility in defence and a bit of speed on the fringes. I have the same issue when Cordoba is suggested as a back rower, although at least he's young enough to change his game over a good off season.

If it were up to me, pending the performance of Weller and Oake in the off season and trials, I'd be thinking of maybe getting Dave Baumann or Justin Horo up into firsts from the start of next year and see how they go...because at the moment, for all the back rowers we have in the top 25 I wouldn't fancy any of them starting (bar Hindy), and at least Baumann and Horo have been reasonably consistent in their regular grades, unlike any of the top 25 options. Other than that, Galuvao and/or Lowrie would be my picks, I thought Joe did quite well in limited time this year

 

[Hollywood Jesus]

strangely enough, they're not on as much as you think as their new deal kicks in next season. ;-)

So the reason we can't afford anyone for next year is these two idiots are getting totally unjustified pay rises?

It just gets worse...

 

[Suitman]

So the reason we can't afford anyone for next year is these two idiots are getting totally unjustified pay rises?

It just gets worse...

That's a tough call actually.
At the time of their re-signings, it seemed that the club thought it was totally justified.

TBH, it's more the clubs fault for paying overs for others tbh.

Suity

 

[Delboy]

That's a pretty tough call on the 2 young guys, maybe the more relative question is the money spent on retaining more of the same in the forwards. The lack of recruitment of some size up front (Junior is easily our biggest forward), and the retention of so many second rowers is the problem, ask the coach why we went in that direction, because I have no idea...

 

[HevyDevy]

Thank God I haven't watched the Eels play for the past 6 weeks - did they show any signs of improvement?

Did they show any signs of interest?

Tragic, tragic season.

 

[parramaniac2516]

Yep, that number 12 jersey is going to be a real problem... unless we find a prop somehwere and turn Caylo back into a second rower?

Lowire is ok to have on the bench or as injury cover, but I can't yet see him growing into a starting backrower for an entire season. I won't even talk about Hauraki or Oake in terms of starting games.

If the Mannah brother who is staying next year is over or approaching 20, then he might prove to be a saviour in the pack if he comes through OK...

Give Galuvao a go he has played fairly good when picked and cant be as bad a Lowrie.

 

[Hollywood Jesus]

That's a pretty tough call on the 2 young guys, maybe the more relative question is the money spent on retaining more of the same in the forwards. The lack of recruitment of some size up front (Junior is easily our biggest forward), and the retention of so many second rowers is the problem, ask the coach why we went in that direction, because I have no idea...

Several decent or at least acceptable props would have been available to us if the Club hadn't have caved in to the demands of these primadonnas (Yes, Suity, you are half-right).

Ryles, Kaufusi and Royal could all have been possibilities if we weren't paying overs for two one-year wonders who decided to hold us to ransom despite the fact that we made them who they are.

 

[MarkInTheStands]

Several decent or at least acceptable props would have been available to us if the Club hadn't have caved in to the demands of these primadonnas (Yes, Suity, you are half-right).

I was just wondering if you could inform me of the combined salary of these 2 players? Or at least your estimations.

 

[Avenger]

I was just wondering if you could inform me of the combined salary of these 2 players? Or at least your estimations.

I reckon Inu is on about $290K and Hayne about $330K.

 

[Stagger eel]

I reckon Inu is on about $290K and Hayne about $330K.

that would more than likely be next years sallary..

 

[MarkInTheStands]

I reckon Inu is on about $290K and Hayne about $330K.

that would more than likely be next years sallary..

I would love to see your 2008 and 2009 Break down of salaries then. Cause I honestly can't see them as a package being on over $500,000 with the money committed else ware.

 

[The Colonel]

I would love to see your 2008 and 2009 Break down of salaries then. Cause I honestly can't see them as a package being on over $500,000 with the money committed else ware.

Considering the fact we lost one player on a particularly reasonable salary in Riddell and Wagon, Tim Smith and Robinson and using a few conversations as a guide I'd guess they are on more than combined $500,000. Otherwise we are paying a lot of fringe players a hell of a lot of money to be at the club.

There would only be five players taking up the bulk of our cap - Hayne, Inu, Mateo, Hindmarsh and Cayless. The second tier being both Keatings, Burt, Ben Smith, Grothe, Burt and apparently Lowrie.

 

[MarkInTheStands]

Considering the fact we lost one player on a particularly reasonable salary in Riddell and Wagon, Tim Smith and Robinson and using a few conversations as a guide I'd guess they are on more than combined $500,000. Otherwise we are paying a lot of fringe players a hell of a lot of money to be at the club.

There would only be five players taking up the bulk of our cap - Hayne, Inu, Mateo, Hindmarsh and Cayless. The second tier being both Keatings, Burt, Ben Smith, Grothe, Burt and apparently Lowrie.

Yeah but with those blokes going, you pick up and upgrade players like Matt and Kris Keating, and everyone mentioned in the "Talents in the Wings" article, plus those that we confirmed as resigning from the 20's to bring through like the 2 Tim's, plus you sign Finch who was almost certain to be squeezed out next year if not for Tim Smith's departure. Doing the Maths from what I have heard and some of what I know there is very little way anyone can tell me that they are on more that $500,000.

Seriously I would love to get some people to just sit down with Excel and nut out a salary cap. I did the same sort of exercise with Tony Zappia last year and I have to tell you, it is very hard to put 25 players into 4.1 Million.

 

[The Colonel]

Exceptionally hard MITS...... but if Hayne and Inu are on $500,000 combined I'll do a jig, naked in the middle of Parra Stadium.

 

[MarkInTheStands]

Exceptionally hard MITS...... but if Hayne and Inu are on $500,000 combined I'll do a jig, naked in the middle of Parra Stadium.

Thank the gods we will never know for sure.