It's NOT a mess

[MilanDragon]

Do we need lafai, mann and milne? Thats a lot of centres with Aitken already signed plus our juniors coming through. I think we can afford to let one of those three blokes go.

For me Milne goes. Unless of course the plan is to use Mann elsewhere and as a true utility.. but even then you'd think guys like Dufty/Field could slot into the backline and Mann to centre.

 

[ALSGI]

Ok Donkey's got done tonight, so we're now in 4th as predicted, so we need Shonks to lose tonight, then Rorters tomorrow and we're back in 2nd.

Fine mess we got our selves into.

If only Benji didn't leave....what we could have been.

 

[2010]

Lafaii and Mann need to be signed now. Lafaii is in the top five centres at this time, his last few games have been special

 

[saintsarealive1]

So what did they say to Hunt re coach that made him come?
As I say absolutely no need to discuss Mary now and the club had said the same not a month or so ago, so why did it come back into the frame so quickly?
Mary has over certainly achieved but it is for less than half the comp and hopefully it continues so why not wait as there are apparently no players on the radar at the moment.

Hunt was told Mary will likely be coach.

Hunt said ok... i will come.

Same with Vaughan and Mcinnes last year.

We will come... IF Mary is here.

Hmmmm...So Mary is popular and consideed a top mentor and coach by most players in the ieague.

Dang nab!

 

[saintsarealive1]

Ok Donkey's got done tonight, so we're now in 4th as predicted, so we need Shonks to lose tonight, then Rorters tomorrow and we're back in 2nd.

Fine mess we got our selves into.

If only Benji didn't leave....what we could have been.[/QUOTE

The Club could have given
Price 12 more months to prove himself.

He left us and won a comp with sharks...and is still in front of us

Damn Karma!

 

[Old Timer]

Hunt was told Mary will likely be coach.

Hunt said ok... i will come.

Same with Vaughan and Mcinnes last year.

We will come... IF Mary is here.

Hmmmm...So Mary is popular and consideed a top mentor and coach by most players in the ieague.

Dang nab!

Oh I see just like Widdop very good and very popular.

 

[saintsarealive1]

1. The Club could have given
   Price 12 more months to prove himself.
   
   He left us ...and won a comp with sharks ....and are STILL in front of us.

Damn KARMA!l

 

[saintsarealive1]

Oh I see just like Widdop very good and very popular.

Widdop has hopefully found the cure for his total lack of form for the past 2 years.

Grown some balls.

He is going ok in 2017.

So far......

I hope it.lasts, but I hold no real confidence.

He had better keep performing or he can GO!

 

[Old Timer]

Widdop has hopefully found the cure for his total lack of form for the past 2 years.

Grown some balls.

He is going ok in 2017.

So far......

I hope it.lasts, but I hold no real confidence.

He had better keep performing or he can GO!

Don't worry Mary has got his back and made sure he signed on long term regardless of form.
Widdop won't be going anywhere.
For the record they both look much better without that loser Benji.

 

[j0nesy]

Millward signed Vaughan, Macdonald and McInnes who were unwanted by their club. Did not have to fight for any of them. I'd say even Mary could have got those signings without any drama. However, when it came to the tough stuff, Widdop, Dugan and Packer, Mary gets 33/100 which is considered a fail mark. And to make it worse, both are critical to our roster and both wanted to stay and it took him 6 months to lose them.

What a mess, a Millward mess.

Lol, come on possm, most people would see that the other way around and credit Millward for recognising their talent and achieving good value.

Hunt is another that Millward recruited. He was wanted by his club. When Hunt was signed, I believe the writing was on the wall that we weren't going to be able to retain both Widdop and Dugan unless one of the signed for unders.

 

[j0nesy]

Can Mary give us a heads up & tell us who is the 2nd best fullback at the club????

Why, Jason Nightingale is of course ;-)

 

[Old Kogarah Boy 1]

Great, were now up to third on the ladder and we haven't even had to run on the field!
Go the Mighties!

 

[Dragonslayer]

Under the RLPA proposal, the traditional top-30 player list for clubs will be replaced by a top 26, who are entitled to a minimum salary of $120,000 (up from $85,000). There will also be 14 additional "supplementary" players who can be called upon throughout the course of the season. There would be no restrictions on how much players under the age of 20 are paid.

I think this is why we stuck to our guns regarding Dugan (and to a lesser extent Packer) and with only increasing by 200k a year, there was obviously no development money for a 4yr deal for both.
With the cap looking at being set at 9.1m, I'm still unclear if the top 26 are only fitted into the cap or it is the top 26 + 14 (40 in total). In any case 9.1m / 26 players is 350k per player. With Hunt and Widdop close to 750+ and a couple of others over 500k, there will be plenty on the basic 120k wage, hence, I believe, why signing our most talented juniors was a smart move.
Players will come and go and it is disappointing to loose the talents of Dugan and Packer, however, this makes it a little clearer as to why the decisions were made and why 3yrs was a reasonable offer.
I find that given the above, some teams in the NRL, will, if not initially, start to struggle cap wise in the next few years. A lot of money invested in star players, where I think we are investing (or attempting to) in a star team.

 

[Objective View]

Hunt was told Mary will likely be coach.

Hunt said ok... i will come.

Same with Vaughan and Mcinnes last year.

We will come... IF Mary is here.

Hmmmm...So Mary is popular and consideed a top mentor and coach by most players in the ieague.

Dang nab!

The village idiot on the loose.

Straight Shooter

 

[saintsarealive1]

The village idiot on the loose.

Straight Shooter

Ohhh ok, so they were told jason taylor or madge the loser would be our coach. Lol.

Go look how happy our players are and how strongly they support mary.

Mary will get a 3 yr extension i assure you.

 

[Old Timer]

Ohhh ok, so they were told jason taylor or madge the loser would be our coach. Lol.

Go look how happy our players are and how strongly they support mary.

Mary will get a 3 yr extension i assure you.

Even if that is correct Widdop got his first

 

[Old Kogarah Boy 1]

1. The Club could have given
   Price 12 more months to prove himself.
   
   He left us ...and won a comp with sharks ....and are STILL in front of us.

Damn KARMA!l

To be fair, don't think we could call holding a water bottle, winning the comp.

 

[saintsarealive1]

To be fair, don't think we could call holding a water bottle, winning the comp.

Ha...very true.

But one day when he is old he will tell the story to his grand kids and they will believe it!

 

[SEAT 1A]

Excellent post Dragonslayer.

I find that given the above, some teams in the NRL, will, if not initially, start to struggle cap wise in the next few years. A lot of money invested in star players, where I think we are investing (or attempting to) in a star team.

It's the same clubs that are arking up against John Grant and the commission.

 

[Overseas dragon]

They would certainly shine out but if our roster declines any further they couldn't lift us up enough to compensate for the losses in the roster.
Hunt when he signed was probably thinking playing with Dugan and Packer would be a great thing so if they don't get suitable replacements surely Hunt's job is just that much harder.
People often forget that Chang and Smithy were there at the end of the great run but really kept playing great footy up until the early / mid 70's.
Even with their mercurial skills and international quality it was not enough to lift a make shift roster to winning the premiership despite the fact we were always pretty competitive.
The loss of our internationals and our ageing roster was just too great to overcome.
I hope this time it is different but I always wince when current internationals are let go without truly suitable replacements.
Actually I would love to know what Hunt really thinks about it>

Ben hunt would probably see a club with tremendously Juniors is junior kiwis,junior kangaroos,junior state of origin and reduce like most sensible supporters that because he's coming for the next 5 years that the future is indeed very rosy.the loss of the slowest fullback on the planet will not be felt .Packer much harder to replace but we have till February 2018 to replace him.so personally I think it's far from a mess