Going to be an interesting season for sure. The loss of experienced players does hurt, but leaving Schifcofske out of the equation for the moment, the players who have moved on are:
Woolford - while great player in his prime, has been below his best for a while. Was interchanged with Withers all 06 which led to inconsistent style.
Smith - massively important for us but 05 contribution was much more significant than 06. Obviously getting old (very old). I believe what we bought him for (to pass on his league knowledge) has been successful, and it was time to move on and look to the future.
Mogg - dominant late last year but largely inconsistent prior to that.
Kahler - who cares, good to clear cap space.
Hodgson - honest toiler but not an impact player.
Croker - heart and soul of the side but again, not the dominant force he used to be. Ball handling a major issue last year too.
So yes while Schifcofske leaves a gaping hole at the back, and we will leak more points in his absence, it is not the doom and gloom that many predict. Recruits like Matt Bickerstaff and Glen Turner were smart pickups and add a lot of starch to the pack. When we signed Bickerstaff I started watching his game very closely and damn I was impressed, he will go well and be a team leader. Turner goes alright too despite missing all last season, Neil Henry rates him highly. Then of course Nev Costigan, he'll be out with a point to prove. Add in Dane Tilse, Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, Mick Weyman etc and I'm delighted with the state of the pack tbh.
The making of this side will come from the backs. We have only recruited Colin Best and while he can be suss defensively he brings much needed experience. He and Phil Graham are the only 'certainties' in the entire backline. Fullback could be Bronx Goodwin, Marshall Chalk or William Zillman, but I think they may unleash Zillman off the bench. He will be an excitement machine however, no doubt.
In the halves Todd Carney has to step up with Smith gone, he may be partnering his old mate Michael Dobson, or Zillman might find himself there too. Either way there are a lot of young exciting players in the Raiders side and while we will lose games because they're inexperienced, we'll win games no one expects us to as well.
I think the thing that has most Raiders fans excited is Neil Henry has stopped the 'Elliott rhetoric.' IMO Matt Elliott has built a career selling his side short, last year he said that we have a pretty weak squad. As a result by making the finals he's considered a coaching genius - and the Sydney media have bought it hook line and sinker. Fact is he had much more 'talented' players (Smith, Schifcofske, Woolford etc) than Neil Henry has access to in 07, yet Henry has never sold the squad short or said they're not up to it. He has constantly come out in the media and while being realistic, has said we've got enough young talented players to be a competitive side.
Hearing our coach talk up our players is a welcome change for once. That and, well, everything points to a more sophisiticated game plan than 'hitup hitup hitup hitup pass to Smith or Schif' that the supercoach devised over the past 5 years :lol:
