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Opinion Is Ricky Stuart the most overrated coach ever?

Johns Magic

Referee
Messages
21,654
Yeah it's a different situation
We know our best 17, it's locked in, everyone knows their role and where they stand.

You mean 12 of the 17 that ran out the other day and got pumped? We had about 5 of our best 17 out as well.

2017 crash and burn comin' up for the Raiders.
 

Walt Flanigan

Referee
Messages
20,727
You mean 12 of the 17 that ran out the other day and got pumped? We had about 5 of our best 17 out as well.

Considering Wighton, Rapana, Leilua, Croker, Lee, Tapine, Soliola, Priest and Baptiste weren't playing, I think your maths is a little off.
 
Last edited:

POPEYE

Coach
Messages
11,397
If this thread pops up when the Raiders lose will it when they win . . . maybe it should be made a 'sticky'
 

hrundi99

First Grade
Messages
8,414
There were 12 players who've played NRL with us. Boyd, Hodgson, Whitehead, Clydsdale, Austin, Paulo, Santo, Bateman, Papalii, Lima, Lachlan Croker, Sezer. None of them played more than 20 or so minutes, and they weren't on the field at the same time. Of those, 8 are regular first graders.
 

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,389
You mean 12 of the 17 that ran out the other day and got pumped? We had about 5 of our best 17 out as well.

2017 crash and burn comin' up for the Raiders.

As above, your maths is way off but even accounting for that, our full strength team of the 34 named, were down 6-0 without our entire backline. By the time it was 12-0 only 3 players who will feature majorly in this campaign (injuries willing!) were on the park - Sezer, Whitehead and Paulo, two of which left the field when it got to 12-0.

The team that got pumped was a bunch of park footballers and teenagers haha
 

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,389
Hard to keep bothering once you get up to 44.

Just make sure you guys can add up to zero and you should be sweet for the season.

I wonder many wins head start would you need me to give the knights before you'd take an avatar bet on this season, JM?

It's gotta be at least 12.5 wouldn't it? Haha
 

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,389
Haha I wasn't offering it up, just wondering aloud how many games they'd need to get before you got confident but gee you jumped at that! What a tremendous show of confidence you've got in your boys, that's a 4 win season your betting on there!

12.5 seems entirely too many for a team that just won 44-0! Come on, JM.
Show some faith in your boys!
 

Johns Magic

Referee
Messages
21,654
Haha I wasn't offering it up, just wondering aloud how many games they'd need to get before you got confident but gee you jumped at that! What a tremendous show of confidence you've got in your boys, that's a 4 win season your betting on there!

12.5 seems entirely too many for a team that just won 44-0! Come on, JM.
Show some faith in your boys!

Always happy to take free money when I see it.
 

El Diablo

Post Whore
Messages
94,107
so he splashes the cash and buys players from other clubs then has a whinge and wants the rules changed so he can keep his players
 

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,389
Haha, he's releasing two players who have fallen out of favour and using it a pretext to push an agenda that would suit our club.

isnt this what every club does? What's the issue?
 

El Diablo

Post Whore
Messages
94,107
Haha, he's releasing two players who have fallen out of favour and using it a pretext to push an agenda that would suit our club.

isnt this what every club does? What's the issue?

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...eam-raids-new-zealands-rugby-union-youngsters

How the Canberra rugby league team raids New Zealand's rugby union youngsters
DAVID POLKINGHORNE

Last updated 20:37, February 22 2017

He once lured All Blacks star Nehe Milner-Skudder to the Canterbury Bulldogs and now Canberra Raiders recruitment director Peter Mulholland is raiding the next batch of New Zealand rugby union young guns.

Under-20s players Paul Roache and Mikaele Ravalawa have moved to Canberra after coming through the New Zealand schoolboy rugby system and Mulholland said it was just another cog in the Green Machine's overall recruitment strategy.

It's not something new for Mulholland, who also lured Milner-Skudder into the Bulldogs' under-20s system before he went on to become one of the best wingers in world rugby.

He also went after Roache's Mount Albert Grammar teammate Niven Longopoa, an exciting fullback, but said he'd missed out on him to Super Rugby's Waikato Chiefs - although he vowed he'd "keep working on him, don't worry".

The Raiders recruitment boss used Milner-Skudder as a selling point to bring Roache and Ravalawa across the ditch, but also the success and culture Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has established.

Unfortunately, Roache suffered a similar injury to Raiders captain Jarrod Croker at training and will miss six months after needing surgery on the knee he dislocated at training.

"I did it with Milner-Skudder, the All Black, I took him over to Canterbury and he had two seasons in the NYC and when I left Canterbury he went back to rugby union and became an All Black," Mulholland said.

"Kids in New Zealand can also see our development programme as a pathway, not just into the NRL but also to go back and play club level rugby union.

"He's been a great example of that for us and that was a good selling point. What Ricky's done in Canberra has also sold it to a couple of these young players, which has been tremendous."

Mulholland said New Zealand's production line of rugby stars meant it was an obvious recruitment target, given the Kiwis have "dominated a particular code of rugby for the last 30 or 40 years".

Roache was the New Zealand schoolboys first five-eighth, while Fijian Ravalawa went to school at Burnside College in Christchurch.

As an added bonus, any recruit that's under 21 and been brought across from rugby union doesn't count towards the salary cap for their first year at an NRL club.

"You're talking about a country that's dominated a particular code of rugby for the last 30 or 40 years and their first-choice athletes are very, very good," Mulholland said.

"Plus the school system there basically educates them in every facet of it - values, education, the whole works.

"They've been through wonderful programmes and they're usually the first choice athletes in New Zealand.

"Paul Roache ... was a New Zealand schoolboys five-eight and he's very, very good. He's been through a great school, been through a great programme so they're the reasons you look at them."

With the go-home factor a potential problem, the Raiders sent welfare manager David Thom over with Mulholland to talk to the potential targets to ensure they had the best chance of successfully relocating.

Mulholland said Canberra was an easy sell to a lot of young Kiwis, especially those in the country, because it wasn't a massive city like Sydney.

He said the club's success last season, plus the proposed new training complex at Braddon, were also lures.

While talk of Milner-Skudder sets the bar high, Mulholland said they weren't setting any unrealistic goals.

"No expectations. I think it's about how they settle in and what they're doing. Their ability is no problem, it's about adapting to the game and adapting to the lifestyle here and it's pretty easy," he said.

"We took our welfare manager to New Zealand when we met with these kids and their families. There's some kids that we interviewed that we just wouldn't bring back.

"They were great players, they just weren't suited to relocation. Whereas these boys were absolutely perfectly placed for it."
 

Pedge1971

First Grade
Messages
5,898
Considering Wighton, Rapana, Leilua, Croker, Lee, Tapine, Soliola, Priest and Baptiste weren't playing, I think your maths is a little off.

Edrick Lee gorne, Jarrod Croker injured and out of the season opening few rounds. So your back 5 missing becomes back 3 (admittedly all fine players). The 3 fwds are ok but hardly stars in compared to the guys who took the field....
 

Walt Flanigan

Referee
Messages
20,727
Edrick Lee gorne, Jarrod Croker injured and out of the season opening few rounds. So your back 5 missing becomes back 3 (admittedly all fine players). The 3 fwds are ok but hardly stars in compared to the guys who took the field....

We were talking "best 17", which includes Croker weather he's injured or not. There's 4 forwards missing there, one of them being Soliola who was like a linchpin last season. We only lost 6 games during the regular season and 4 of those were when he was injured. Tapine just made his debut for New Zealand too.

The "stars" who did take the field only played for about 15 - 20 minutes.
 

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