This thread is a great read.
I agree with you Karma, to a certain extent anyway.
I have the same concerns but would prefer to see a slightly different approach. I'd rather pick up say 2 more genuinely classy, regular first-graders that would walk into most teams in the comp - as opposed to just one more big, big name.
I feel like our side is absolutely tip-toeing on the edge of being top 4, but there are a few holes that need to be filled.
The biggest is in the outside backs. They simply aren't good enough. I believe our 2-5 are close to the weakest in the competition.
A top class centre is a massive priority, and I don't understand why we haven't been in the market for one. There are none left now, but there were at the start of the year.
And Mullen has to be played consistently at five-eighth. Find a halfback we are happy with (if it's Dureau, pick him at 7 every match and let's get it happening, otherwise look elswewhere).
The rest of the side is a nucleus for a very strong team.
1. Gidley
3. Any good centre (Collis, Cooper, Lawrence, Pomeroy, Jennings etc)
6. Mullen
7. Dureau in form and at full potential/a solid proven organising halfback but doesn't need to be a superstar
12. Simpson
11. Paterson
10. Cross
9. Hilder
14. De Gois
15. Fa'oso
I'm happy with that, and the other average - solid players are more than capable of doing the job.
But we should be more active in the player market. I would've made a play for Matt Cooper, and partner him with Uate. That could've been a quality combination.
Then McManus on the other side of the field with Vuna/Sau/Naiqama.
I like our forwards. I don't care if they aren't a bunch of big names - they are getting the job done, they are eating up metres and have off-loads in their game. They are mostly pretty solid defensively. They have variety with the flair of a Paterson, the grunt of Cross and Simpson, the solid consistency of a Tolar, and the get-the-hell-outta-my-way Fa'oso.
More class and more depth from 1 to 7, that's what we should be spending money on.
We have paid over the last few years for L.Macdougall, Vuna, Lulia, Sau, Naiqama... no matter what their contracts are worth individually, that's a fair amount of money spent on outside backs, and for what???
You could blindold me and get me to cut 3 of those players completely at random and replace them with a player like Jennings and our club would be better for it.
Bargain basement purchases with good coaching and determination can be succesful in the forwards, NOT in the backs.
