James Roberts

[TruSaint]

Bennett rarely misses his man.

Thats my concern as well.

 

[The Nick]

But Roberts will have much more opportunities to fish in Wollongong than Brisbane....

 

[Jubileeboy]

It's looking bleak if the below reports are true.. Bennett after him hard now
http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...s/news-story/9cacbeb164935dbe34f3253c4a9a2ba4
Looks like we have offered $500k a season plus FB spot

I'd say...a fairly safe bet that Broncos don't get anywhere near that amount (if that's what we've really offered). Broncos struggled to get a decent offer together for Thaiday and took ages to do so, including Hodges money.
Squeezed Darius Boyd in late in the previous season from Newcastle = back ended deal.
Not lost anyone else of note.

 

[Get2dachopper!]

I'd say...a fairly safe bet that Broncos don't get anywhere near that amount (if that's what we've really offered). Broncos struggled to get a decent offer together for Thaiday and took ages to do so, including Hodges money.
Squeezed Darius Boyd in late in the previous season from Newcastle = back ended deal.
Not lost anyone else of note.

Don't the Murdoch family own a substantial share of the broncos?

If they really want Roberts, they will find a way.

 

[nrlnrl]

But Roberts will have much more opportunities to fish in Wollongong than Brisbane....

Yeah & closer to the beach

If it does end the way it's looking, ( no Roberts & no Bird for at least a few years if at all ) the off-season has still been productive. Lafai was an unexpected signing & should give us another genuine attacking player. Depending on what works best with Dugan & Mann, the competition for 1 wing spot looks very healthy.

 

[The Commissioner]

ov,

questions for you, seriously..

Was 2015 a success in terms of expectations ?

Have we filled the void in our apparent "soft pack" in the off season ?

Have we recruited well in our backline, and also depth in the squad ?

Would you say we have been the most proactive club in recruitment this year ?

Where in particular (apart from scoring points which now has been addressed ), did mary fail last year ? In his first year at the helm mind you.

With our without roberts, on paper at least, we have a team that will compete week in week out. Thats all i can ask for. We have bought wisely, have addressed our deficiencies, and appear atleast to be a club on the rise.

Btw, i was against mary's appointment, but he has to date at least, proven his worth.

Of all the clubs in the nrl, we should be most pleased with the happenings this off season.

Over and out.

👍👍👍

 

[Dragon66]

OV,

Questions for you, seriously..

Was 2015 a success in terms of expectations ?

Have we filled the void in our apparent "soft pack" in the off season ?

Have we recruited well in our backline, and also depth in the squad ?

Would you say we have been the most proactive club in recruitment this year ?

Where in particular (apart from scoring points which now has been addressed ), did Mary fail last year ? In his first year at the helm mind you.

With our without Roberts, on paper at least, we have a team that will compete week in week out. Thats all I can ask for. We have bought wisely, have addressed our deficiencies, and appear atleast to be a club on the rise.

BTW, I was against Mary's appointment, but he has to date at least, proven his worth.

Of all the Clubs in the NRL, we should be most pleased with the happenings this off season.

Over and out.

Amen to that! The Post of the off season.

I was never against Mary's signing but was happy to reserve judgement until he had some form on the board. In his first year I give him an A. I think we are well placed to continue our rise as a force to be reckoned with in the NRL now that he has a squad of his own choosing, but let's see how he goes handling the second year syndrome, but at this stage the signs are all good.

 

[BennyV]

OV,

Questions for you, seriously..

Was 2015 a success in terms of expectations ?

Have we filled the void in our apparent "soft pack" in the off season ?

Have we recruited well in our backline, and also depth in the squad ?

Would you say we have been the most proactive club in recruitment this year ?

Where in particular (apart from scoring points which now has been addressed ), did Mary fail last year ? In his first year at the helm mind you.

With our without Roberts, on paper at least, we have a team that will compete week in week out. Thats all I can ask for. We have bought wisely, have addressed our deficiencies, and appear atleast to be a club on the rise.

BTW, I was against Mary's appointment, but he has to date at least, proven his worth.

Of all the Clubs in the NRL, we should be most pleased with the happenings this off season.

Over and out.

That's all well and good and I'mma let you finish, but how can you say that we have rectified the inability to score points? Our attack wasn't a function of lack of talent in the playing group, it was a function of poor attacking game plan and what seemed like questionable training tactics that resulted in disjointed, clunky and mistimed plays and an over reliance on individual brilliance to score.

Like you, I hope to hell that this has been rectified but you can hardly say with any confidence that it's been addressed at this point.

 

[BennyV]

I'll start by saying I hope we sign Roberts, but I'm not sure about playing him at fullback. The only reason we have to move Dugan from the back is to get an extra ball playing option in attack. I can't see Roberts offering that. Dugan is, if not the best, one of the best ball returners in the game. I'm sure Roberts would also be good here, but whether he can match Dugan is questionable. Roberts has speed, but I'm not sure he has the ball playing ability to move Dugan from fullback.

I hope we sign Roberts and he plays in the centres with Dugan as fullback. With Roberts and Lafai in the backline I'd hope that this opens up more attacking options. Potentially Roberts can have a floating role in attack, which may also allow Dugan to make strong line runs in the oppositions twenty.

So you dont think Roberts is a good fit at fullback, but you want him to play the fullback role in attack and Dugan play as a centre. Odd.

Also, Roberts definitely has the ballplaying skills to play as a modern day fullback. Shown plenty of times that he's got the ability to get outside a defender and put his outside man away. May not have the natural play making ability of Mann, but his attacking prowess, awareness and ballskills will be a step up from The Dugan.

 

[Minh]

My point was that we have now been very proactive in rectifying our weaknesses. It appears as you say he is well respected. Thats great as Price was not. However, with or without Roberts or Bird, we now have a dominant pack, 2 international halves, and a backline of some 7-8 players vying for a spot.

Dont misunderstand me, I wish we sign sign Jimmy, but even if we dont, we need to be realistic and say that the Club has progressed well in the off season, after the debacle that was the Price era.

Agree, it's already been a pretty successful recruitment drive and we already have a very competitive playing roster and sure, Roberts would be icing on the cake.

 

[Minh]

I'd say...a fairly safe bet that Broncos don't get anywhere near that amount (if that's what we've really offered). Broncos struggled to get a decent offer together for Thaiday and took ages to do so, including Hodges money.
Squeezed Darius Boyd in late in the previous season from Newcastle = back ended deal.
Not lost anyone else of note.

true

 

[dragonsben]

Roberts is a player thats only going to grow under good coaching and with a good cub. When he came on the market after panthers released him i wanted him and now he's a must. It would be a game changer him playing outside marshall and widdop with the quality centres and wingers outside him. He is the best player at speed on his feet in the game and if he can get his fitness up in time he would soon be worth a lot more than what clubs are offering now (400-500k), especially under the new salary caps in years to come. With the lower interchange he could cause a whole lot of damage through the middle from offloads. His skill set is exactly that of what the modern fullback needs to have and really would lift our team to serious top 3 contention for the next few years. I just really hope we have given him a super offer, he likes the idea of playing fb as no other club can offer this to him, the location of Wollongong should appeal, and the fact he can learn the fb trade from the current NSW fb should help our cause for getting him u would think.

 

[willzy91]

Reports this morning saying that the Broncos have stepped up their pursuit of Roberts with a formal offer according to Donovan his manager...surely they don't have enough money to meet his asking price...and also aren't prepared release any players to free up cash either...but the Bennett factor is really worrying me!

 

[BennyV]

Reports this morning saying that the Broncos have stepped up their pursuit of Roberts with a formal offer according to Donovan his manager...surely they don't have enough money to meet his asking price...and also aren't prepared release any players to free up cash either...but the Bennett factor is really worrying me!

My take on that article is that the Broncos will be offering big money dodgey oayments, however the Murdoch media are setting up a good foundation for the "its not about the money" angle in the case he does sign for the Broncos and people ask questions.

Either way, its still not over.

 

[willzy91]

My take on that article is that the Broncos will be offering big money dodgey oayments, however the Murdoch media are setting up a good foundation for the "its not about the money" angle in the case he does sign for the Broncos and people ask questions.

Either way, its still not over.

Typically making sure there dodgy deals don't come back and bite them on the ass...but I seriously don't think they have the money to offer what the dragons are offering. I hope we counter offer this now with third party deals and more incentives to come down south. We have the beach life and fishing that we wants with a smaller town feel down in Wollongong. Make it happen saints!

 

[The Nick]

Typically making sure there dodgy deals don't come back and bite them on the ass...but I seriously don't think they have the money to offer what the dragons are offering. I hope we counter offer this now with third party deals and more incentives to come down south. We have the beach life and fishing that we wants with a smaller town feel down in Wollongong. Make it happen saints!

I think we offer the lifestyle he and his partner will enjoy (I understand she's from the South Coast originally)...

BUT when Bennett tells him "come play for me and you will play State of Origin next year" I imagine that has a lot of sway as well.

 

[BennyV]

I think we offer the lifestyle he and his partner will enjoy (I understand she's from the South Coast originally)...

BUT when Bennett tells him "come play for me and you will play State of Origin next year" I imagine that has a lot of sway as well.

I dont think Bennett has that pull for a NSW kid...very few Broncos players end up in sky blue (even those that are elligible) and given that Mary is in the NSW boys club, including good mates with Mr Daley, and that Roberts would be lining up with the guy who will likely be playing centre at SOO level, weve got a similar pull.

 

[ONPOINT]

My point was that we have now been very proactive in rectifying our weaknesses. It appears as you say he is well respected. Thats great as Price was not. However, with or without Roberts or Bird, we now have a dominant pack, 2 international halves, and a backline of some 7-8 players vying for a spot.

Dont misunderstand me, I wish we sign sign Jimmy, but even if we dont, we need to be realistic and say that the Club has progressed well in the off season, after the debacle that was the Price era.

Sorry think you miss understood my post. I completely agree Mary has done a very good job

 

[St Georgio]

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By MITCH JENNINGS
Without Adam Quinlan, the great Josh Dugan centre experiment probably wouldn't have happened.

Quinlan started the 2014 season in such a rich vein of form that then interim coach Paul McGregor went looking for ways to keep him in the line-up once Dugan returned from a pre-season knee injury.

With NSW also on the lookout for a centre to replace the injured Josh Morris, McGregor made the bold decision to switch Dugan to the centres to accommodate Quinlan at the back.

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Red V return: Adam Quinlan.
Red V return: Adam Quinlan.Photo: Getty Images
The gamble paid off for Dugan in the form of 10 tries in 12 games at club level and a State of Origin series victory.

Quinlan also enjoyed some good moments, but admits the pressure of playing regular first grade got to him over the latter half of the season.

A move to Parramatta did not provide the regular NRL action he had hoped for but a mid-season switch to St Helens allowed the Culburra product to spread his wings and recapture lost confidence.

"I left [the Dragons] on good terms. I just felt there was a better opportunity to head to Parramatta and possibly get a spot there," Quinlan said.

"Obviously the opportunity wasn't quite there and it's disappointing how that all panned out but fortunately the opportunity arose to go over and play with St Helens.

"I went over to the other side of the world not knowing anyone in the squad and, being a quiet sort of kid, I had to get out of my shell a bit. I think I needed that.

"Getting away from here and experiencing different things and seeing what other clubs and cultures are like was a good experience and I think it helped me grow as a footballer."

Quinlan was contemplating a return to the UK next year before a coffee with Dragons assistant coach Ian Millward blossomed into a return to his junior club for the 2016 season.

With Dugan stating a preference to play in the centres, Quinlan is one of several players in the running for the Dragons No.1 jersey.

Should he get the nod, Quinlan is confident he's better equipped to handle the week-to-week rigours of the NRL than he was when thrust into the role in 2014.

"I don't think I handled it too badly but looking back on it now there's a few things I would've changed," Quinlan said.

"I think by the end of the year I let a little bit of pressure and a little bit of talk from the outside get to me.

"Having been overseas and experienced a little bit more I learned when I was away from footy I didn't need to think about it. I wasn't stressing about games or what people were saying.

"I think I've learned to block all that out and just worry about the people who matter and that's the coaches and your teammates.

I think Roberts is a Bronco, this article in today's SMH

 

[The Nick]

I dont think Bennett has that pull for a NSW kid...very few Broncos players end up in sky blue (even those that are elligible) and given that Mary is in the NSW boys club, including good mates with Mr Daley, and that Roberts would be lining up with the guy who will likely be playing centre at SOO level, weve got a similar pull.

Not talking about his influence over selectors, I think anyone playing under Bennett comes under the spotlight for SOO selection. Glenn Lazarus, Michael Devere, Chris Johns, Luke Priddis, Peter Wallace etc.

Blokes like Priddis and Wallace probably would have been lucky to get an opportunity if it wasn't for Bennett. Hell chuck Dean Young and Jamie Soward into that mix as well. I doubt Trent Merrin would have debuted as early as he did if it wasn't for the Bennett factor.

Fact is Roberts is already being thrown around as a potential bolter. Add Bennett to the mix and his odds shorten substantially.