How do we feel about Robbie Farah returning?

[Tiger Ted]

I think he was unlucky and he handled himself well post getting the sack. He just bet big on the big 3 turning into gun players and carrying the club. He bet a fortune on those guys and had to get rid of Robbie due to salary cap pressure.

Robbie was massively overpaid. He was a great hooker when he had extra pace but at some point he simply became a good 1st grade player who was being paid as the next immortal. I can basically understand JT trying to oust Robbie.

He made a massive mistake though in creating a shithouse culture at the club with 3 merkins who thought the whole world revolved around them and the club had to bend over and be f**ked up the ass by them. I can though understand his decision in relation to those 3-4 players but it was a really poor decision. I think with someone like IC at the helm this situation would have been handled a lot better but it was always going to blow-up because those three merkins were real merkins.

I honestly think the experience that he got here would have helped him a lot. The problem is that he should never have been given that job and the latitude that he was allowed in that role. He wasn't a professional manager which is what you need today.

Taylor also got us to within a whisker of the finals in ‘16 where we missed out on %ges with a team he inherited..In contrast the paranoid 1 trick pony Cleary has had a massive advantage in being able to autonomously assemble a team virtually from scratch & with almost 2/3 of the comp played we have regressed rapidly.Cleary is devoid of aptitude for the attacking aspect of the game.Our defence which has obviously been his primary focus has deteriorated & his selections have been overshadowed by the absurd.

Cleary is so desperate to make amends for his monumental recruiting blunders & to resuscitate his pop gun attack that after knocking back overtures during off season by RF to return to Concord his now done a backflip @ the 11th hour.Additionally he has irrationally gifted another non elite(closer to average) player from the despicable dogs an unjustified 4 yr contract.Cleary is deadset in a state of bewilderment & I for one have lost total confidence in him.

With the squad we look like having in ‘19 whereby it’s unlikely we can recruit the kind of players to rectify the glaring deficiencies Cleary’s rebuild & tenure looks like ending as a disaster.

 

[The Charlatan]

That closer to average player is 18th man for QLD isn't he?

 

[Tiger05]

Taylor also got us to within a whisker of the finals in ‘16 where we missed out on %ges with a team he inherited..In contrast the paranoid 1 trick pony Cleary has had a massive advantage in being able to autonomously assemble a team virtually from scratch & with almost 2/3 of the comp played we have regressed rapidly.Cleary is devoid of aptitude for the attacking aspect of the game.Our defence which has obviously been his primary focus has deteriorated & his selections have been overshadowed by the absurd.

Cleary is so desperate to make amends for his monumental recruiting blunders & to resuscitate his pop gun attack that after knocking back overtures during off season by RF to return to Concord his now done a backflip @ the 11th hour.Additionally he has irrationally gifted another non elite(closer to average) player from the despicable dogs an unjustified 4 yr contract.Cleary is deadset in a state of bewilderment & I for one have lost total confidence in him.

With the squad we look like having in ‘19 whereby it’s unlikely we can recruit the kind of players to rectify the glaring deficiencies Cleary’s rebuild & tenure looks like ending as a disaster.

I'm not sold on this. Taylor to me really stuffed up in a significant way. I think Cleary was left with a massive mess.

I do agree that some of Ivan's signings appear to be poor ones. I reckon Mbye is his best signing. He is the best attacking player by far at the Dogs and the only guy who can actually create something. I think Matulino and Packer haven't done that well but I don't think we are in a terrible situation. Packer was really good at the start of the season and I honestly think Matulino has been a bit unlucky.

I think Reynolds has been our worst signing and it's a concern. Did anyone see Tui play at 6 last night. He was good. I reckon Tui is a 6 and that is about it. Maybe he could play in the centres but he doesn't have explosive pace and that is one of the reasons I think he struggles at fullback. I don't think it's laziness or anything like that. I think he just needs to be played in the right spot.

I'm cool with only now signing Robbie as well. Liddle to me is the better player but he needs time to get his body right. He just came in underdone.

Put it this way I'm a lot more confident with Cleary at the helm than Taylor and I think we have a lot of upside in us over the next couple of years.

 

[gordsy]

Let's look at who we signed in the off season and see how good they have been for us

Rochow - Average to dud
Thompson - Been great
Tui - Dud
Milne - Idiot
Fonua - Average
Reynolds - Dud so far
Packer - Dud, when you consider the money he's on
Matulino - Average
Godinet - Dud.

So even though Cleary may have arrived to a less than stellar roster we haven't recruited well either.

 

[Tiger Ted]

Let's look at who we signed in the off season and see how good they have been for us

Rochow - Average to dud
Thompson - Been great
Tui - Dud
Milne - Idiot
Fonua - Average
Reynolds - Dud so far
Packer - Dud, when you consider the money he's on
Matulino - Average
Godinet - Dud.

So even though Cleary may have arrived to a less than stellar roster we haven't recruited well either.

....& with the signature of Thompson (& Fonua) it was not due to Clearys shrewd identification of players who were suitable & can add value to the team.It was initiated by Mario Tartak their manager who offered them to Cleary coz they wanted to return home & Mario was aware that Cleary in assembling the roster had many spots to b filled at a time when most clubs had very little room under the cap.

Cleary also gifted the powder puff Taylor a 3 yr contract.

I also couldn’t believe that Cleary didn’t retain Junior Tatola as blind Freddy could see this gun Balmain junior was the real deal & a standout in our lower grades.

Clearys bus has so many defects it’s close to been declared a write-off !

 

[simmo05]

....& with the signature of Thompson (& Fonua) it was not due to Clearys shrewd identification of players who were suitable & can add value to the team.It was initiated by Mario Tartak their manager who offered them to Cleary coz they wanted to return home & Mario was aware that Cleary in assembling the roster had many spots to b filled at a time when most clubs had very little room under the cap.

Cleary also gifted the powder puff Taylor a 3 yr contract.

I also couldn’t believe that Cleary didn’t retain Junior Tatola as blind Freddy could see this gun Balmain junior was the real deal & a standout in our lower grades.

Clearys bus has so many defects it’s close to been declared a write-off !

Geez 1280 posts of negativity from you. What part of 'rebuilding' didnt you get through your scone? And about clearys recruitment, who else wanted to sign with this dump?? Thats why he grabbed players he had a previous relationship with. THEY WERE THE ONLY ONES WHO WOULD SIGN.

 

[Vic Mackey]

Taylor also got us to within a whisker of the finals in ‘16 where we missed out on %ges with a team he inherited..In contrast the paranoid 1 trick pony Cleary has had a massive advantage in being able to autonomously assemble a team virtually from scratch & with almost 2/3 of the comp played we have regressed rapidly.Cleary is devoid of aptitude for the attacking aspect of the game.Our defence which has obviously been his primary focus has deteriorated & his selections have been overshadowed by the absurd.

Cleary is so desperate to make amends for his monumental recruiting blunders & to resuscitate his pop gun attack that after knocking back overtures during off season by RF to return to Concord his now done a backflip @ the 11th hour.Additionally he has irrationally gifted another non elite(closer to average) player from the despicable dogs an unjustified 4 yr contract.Cleary is deadset in a state of bewilderment & I for one have lost total confidence in him.

With the squad we look like having in ‘19 whereby it’s unlikely we can recruit the kind of players to rectify the glaring deficiencies Cleary’s rebuild & tenure looks like ending as a disaster.

I understand where you are coming from and agree with some of what you say. Personally I think IC is light years ahead of anything JT did for us. Mbye is a great signing. I believe there are good times ahead and we won’t have to wait long to see them.

 

[Tiger Ted]

Geez 1280 posts of negativity from you. What part of 'rebuilding' didnt you get through your scone? And about clearys recruitment, who else wanted to sign with this dump?? Thats why he grabbed players he had a previous relationship with. THEY WERE THE ONLY ONES WHO WOULD SIGN.

Unlike ur fanciful self I’m not into sugar coating the truth.Its been a defective rebuild & the concern is whether the deficiencies can b rectified so as we can genuinely have a shot for the 8 next yr which is very doubtful.

Re “who else wanted to sign with this dump” is totally hypothetical but the undeniable fact is Cleary was in a very favourable position recruiting considering he had numerous positions to fill when most clubs rosters were filled.Signing a no. of players he’d coached b4 on generous contracts even though their best yrs r behind them was always fraught.It reeks of naivety & the repercussions are evident in the consistent under delivering by clearys prize recruits.

I so want to b optimistic about the teams future under Cleary but i see a team with a pathetic attack a defense that has regressed as the season progresses a spine that’s substandard (although RF will b a welcome improvement as will Mbye to a lesser extent ) & a coach who has a habit of making illogical selections.
To compound problems we r stuck with overpaid under delivering players for excess yrs.Consequently I don’t know how I’m supposed to have +ve expectations !

 

[simmo05]

Unlike ur fanciful self I’m not into sugar coating the truth.Its been a defective rebuild & the concern is whether the deficiencies can b rectified so as we can genuinely have a shot for the 8 next yr which is very doubtful.

Re “who else wanted to sign with this dump” is totally hypothetical but the undeniable fact is Cleary was in a very favourable position recruiting considering he had numerous positions to fill when most clubs rosters were filled.Signing a no. of players he’d coached b4 on generous contracts even though their best yrs r behind them was always fraught.It reeks of naivety & the repercussions are evident in the consistent under delivering by clearys prize recruits.

I so want to b optimistic about the teams future under Cleary but i see a team with a pathetic attack a defense that has regressed as the season progresses a spine that’s substandard (although RF will b a welcome improvement as will Mbye to a lesser extent ) & a coach who has a habit of making illogical selections.
To compound problems we r stuck with overpaid under delivering players for excess yrs.Consequently I don’t know how I’m supposed to have +ve expectations !

Im not sugar coating anything. There were minimal quality players on the market, we signed who we had to.

Say you were in Cleary's job. Who would you have signed instead? Remembering Peirce was not available of course.

 

[simmo1]

Let's look at who we signed in the off season and see how good they have been for us

Rochow - Average to dud
Thompson - Been great
Tui - Dud
Milne - Idiot
Fonua - Average
Reynolds - Dud so far
Packer - Dud, when you consider the money he's on
Matulino - Average
Godinet - Dud.

So even though Cleary may have arrived to a less than stellar roster we haven't recruited well either.

He also signed Twal midseason, who has been impressive.

 

[Tiger05]

Let's look at who we signed in the off season and see how good they have been for us

Rochow - Average to dud
Thompson - Been great
Tui - Dud
Milne - Idiot
Fonua - Average
Reynolds - Dud so far
Packer - Dud, when you consider the money he's on
Matulino - Average
Godinet - Dud.

So even though Cleary may have arrived to a less than stellar roster we haven't recruited well either.

These are fair points. I think Fonua has been be

He also signed Twal midseason, who has been impressive.

Yep - our signings have been good considering what was on the market. It's just the length of the deals that is a concern.

 

[Trollhammaren]

Unlike ur fanciful self I’m not into sugar coating the truth.Its been a defective rebuild & the concern is whether the deficiencies can b rectified so as we can genuinely have a shot for the 8 next yr which is very doubtful.

Re “who else wanted to sign with this dump” is totally hypothetical but the undeniable fact is Cleary was in a very favourable position recruiting considering he had numerous positions to fill when most clubs rosters were filled.Signing a no. of players he’d coached b4 on generous contracts even though their best yrs r behind them was always fraught.It reeks of naivety & the repercussions are evident in the consistent under delivering by clearys prize recruits.

I so want to b optimistic about the teams future under Cleary but i see a team with a pathetic attack a defense that has regressed as the season progresses a spine that’s substandard (although RF will b a welcome improvement as will Mbye to a lesser extent ) & a coach who has a habit of making illogical selections.
To compound problems we r stuck with overpaid under delivering players for excess yrs.Consequently I don’t know how I’m supposed to have +ve expectations !

Cleary could cure cancer and you'd probably still bag him, saying he got lucky or something.

You're either delusional thinking we could be in a better position than what we are after inheriting a mess under the previous hierarchy, or maybe shouldn't be a Tigers fan, because there are far more bad days than good.

 

[Shredder]

Just a question.

Given we were poised to lose 3/4 of our marquee players and given our results over the last five years.

Who would you have brought to the club instead of what Cleary has brought?

Seriously - given what was available off contract how would anyone have done any better. Specifics please. And lets just use players that changed clubs.

I think we were the best performing team in the player market last year. So Im not going to make any changes.

We need to field a competitive squad - you have Cleary's money in the bank - what do you all do differently?

 

[BuffaloRules]

I think its fair to say that expectations were low in the preseason and the bottom 4 looked a certainty...

However.. they started the season on fire winning 5 of their first 6 games ( and were robbed in the other one...)... 90% of teams go on and make the Top 8 after that start...

So 10 weeks later what has happened? Players that were playing well at the beginning of the year like Rochow, Packer, Chee Kam have turned to below average hacks ( probably being a bit generous there...).. .Brook's confidence seems back to last years levels which is a mystery considering he was playing so well in March/April ( remember the Manly game??)

I think we need to get past the " who else should they have bought in?" and ask what happened to the form of these players from the first 6 weeks?

 

[Front-Rower]

Packer injuring his knee hurt his confidence and that has flowed on to the rest of the team.

Rus was enormous in the first 6 rounds and I don’t think it is a coincidence that our downfall started when he went down.

In saying that, a few blokes over achieved and it was just a matter of when not if.

 

[Tiger05]

Just a question.

Given we were poised to lose 3/4 of our marquee players and given our results over the last five years.

Who would you have brought to the club instead of what Cleary has brought?

Seriously - given what was available off contract how would anyone have done any better. Specifics please. And lets just use players that changed clubs.

I think we were the best performing team in the player market last year. So Im not going to make any changes.

We need to field a competitive squad - you have Cleary's money in the bank - what do you all do differently?

Ponga would have been the best signing. Once the turd was doing his thing we should have gone after Ponga hard and let the Turd go.

I also wouldn't have signed Reynolds.

That is easy for me to say with hindsight.

 

[Shredder]

My point is I think its all easy to say in hindsight.

Its the first year of a proper rebuild.

 

[simmo1]

Our early results flattered us.

We got lucky with a falcon against the Roosters, and Croft and AddoCarr having shockers in the second game vs Storm. Cashed in against Manly and Parra who had issues on and off the field.

Not to say we didn't deserve those wins. But we have definitely lost the rub of the green we had early on. Injuries and late withdrawals certainly haven't helped either.

 

[BuffaloRules]

My point is I think its all easy to say in hindsight.

Its the first year of a proper rebuild.

What's the pass mark for Year Two?

 

[Vic Mackey]

Ponga would have been the best signing. Once the turd was doing his thing we should have gone after Ponga hard and let the Turd go.

I also wouldn't have signed Reynolds.

That is easy for me to say with hindsight.

Sadly Newcastle signed Ponga before Tedesco had signed with the roosters