Rumoured/Confirmed Signings and General Drivel XV

[TheRam]

If it means anything to this discussion, my pop who had watched everyone come through the grades at Parramatta since the late 40s
I remember him saying to me a couple of years ago that Hayne is the most naturally gifted and best player he has seen play at Parramatta. I think this was around 2010, he just said he needed to be more consistent and believe how good he is.
I'm happy to take his judgement, as he had watched everyone come through until last year.

Your dad is/was a great judge.

 

[spiderdan]

I think his wing days are over, even at rep level.

maybe. i think hayne is the current e.t. of rep footy. needs to be picked but is put wherever there is a place for him.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

A lot of talk about Hayne but how does Hindy rate among the greats especially price ?

Also I don't think you need to have won a comp to have been a great - it depends on the players around you. Look at sterlo / Kenny they managed to win a comp when we were stacked with stars but after ther left they never played finals footy again. But we still rate them as greats. I also rate Hayne for what he has achieved considering he crap he has played with.

I also put Hindy on par with price, don't forget Hindy never played with a star halves combo. Price had sterlo, Kenny, Ella . Hindy had, McFadden , dykes, robson ....

 

[Joely01]

Your dad is/was a great judge.

:lol: my dad isnt.

But my pop (grandpa) was.

 

[Gronk]

Adam Hawse ‏@AdamHawse 1m Hoping @TheParraEels get in and re-sign big Tim Mannah fairly promptly. I'm hearing other clubs are circling.

 

[The Elephant In The room]

Adam Hawse ‏@AdamHawse 1m Hoping @TheParraEels get in and re-sign big Tim Mannah fairly promptly. I'm hearing other clubs are circling.

Let him go. He wants too much and isn't loyal to the Eels if he's shopping himself around. :crazy:

 

[El Diablo]

Adam Hawse ‏@AdamHawse 1m Hoping @TheParraEels get in and re-sign big Tim Mannah fairly promptly. I'm hearing other clubs are circling.

we have until round 13 so no hurry

and he is not worth paying overs for if some other mob throws a bucket load at him

 

[Poupou Escobar]

we have until round 13 so no hurry

and he is not worth paying overs for if some other mob throws a bucket load at him

This. Is he loyal or not? If he is he will re-sign. We keep hearing about the Manly players taking pay cuts to stay. That's loyalty (although they're carrying on like whiny bitches at the moment).

NRL clubs are constrained by the salary cap. Players are only constrained by greed. Is $350k (for example) really not enough? That's a million bucks after three years. That will return thirty grand a year just sitting in the bank. Even more if it's invested smartly.

 

[hineyrulz]

Mannah is very replaceable, he is an excellent number II prop but by the looks he is chasing the cash of a number 1. I hope we don't go overboard in trying to keep him, condsidering Fafita,Grant,Kasino and McKendry could be on the market.

 

[Kornstar]

Adam Hawse ‏@AdamHawse 1m Hoping @TheParraEels get in and re-sign big Tim Mannah fairly promptly. I'm hearing other clubs are circling.

Meh, I don't dislike him but he isn't the heart and soul of the team. If he leaves I wouldn't be upset.

 

[lingard]

I dont fail to see how history forms us at all, but i dont even know where my family, on either side, resided in the 17 or 18 hundreds. History only gets us so far, infact it only gets us to the present. It cant take us beyond the current moment we are in.

I dont discount it, i just dont recognize it as what has molded me to what i am today.

What do you want me to say, Sterling was our greatest player because its everyone else's opinion and them old days were much much better? I honestly cant give you an opinion on him. Im not going to go back and get every video of him and analysis him and pretend like im in a position to make a judgement. If it were that simple, id just refer to the stats.

And of course you are right. People have raved to me about how good Clive Churchill was, and it really doesn't mean much to me. And I certainly wouldn't try to convince you that Ken Thornett was better than Jarryd Hayne. That would be pointless. People my age need to respect the present as well. In fact, people my age should respect younger people as a whole.
We ask for respect, we should give it. I just hope that when you're in your late fifties and you get all teary-eyed about Jarryd Hayne, some young f#cker doesn't say: "Jarryd Who? Oh, him. He couldn't handle today's game. He'd probably play hooker."

 

[lingard]

P.s. I think Hayne has more skill then all of our previous greats. Whether he will be considered the best of all time will largely depend on the team we can assemble around him over the next 6 or 7 years and injuries.

I think you're right. Hayne has more athletic brilliance about him. AND he is more versatile. But Thornett had the same influence on the team. I can't begin to imagine how amazing it would have been to have either Ken Thornett OR Jarryd Hayne at fullback in our 1983 side. Thornett played in an era, too, where - although Parramatta had better players than we have had for the past five years or so - we hardly made the semis and really badly underperformed. Either of them in a really good side, week in, week out, would be astounding.

 

[lingard]

I rate most of the players of the 80s, even by modern standards. I just think some would be more suited to today's footy than others. Cronin is one that wouldn't be anywhere near as effective today, partly because the position he played doesn't exist any more.

Grothe, Kenny and Sterling would all be stars (Kenny wouldn't have the kicking game for a modern half though, so he would play fullback or centre). Ray Price wasn't small, but he wasn't big, and the ability to play 80 minutes with broken ribs and cuts above both eyes isn't so important any more. But he was tough, quick and smart, with good footwork. He'd probably be a hooker in today's game.

Ella was small and lacked a kicking game, so it would be hard to find a spot for him. Probably fullback.

For someone from a later decade (but still over a decade retired), I rate John Simon, as you do. I don't think we've had as good a halfback since, and that includes minor premiership halves Taylor and Smith as well as Corey Norman. And I rate Corey Norman.

I agree with most of what you've said there, but I'm a little dubious about Price at hooker. I don't think he would be 'quick' enough. He was fast, but I wouldn't call him 'quick'. I reckon he'd handle second row just fine. (I think, if you are comparing players of different eras you have to assume that they would train the same way - with the same use of weights, supplements, etc - otherwise it is a pointless exercise. So add some bulk and strength to Price and he becomes a wonderful second rower.) And Cronin, to my mind, would make an absolutely ideal centre in today's game. Absolutely perfect. In many ways he was atypical of the centres of his time - more like today's centres really. Especially from 1982 onwards. ;-)

 

[lingard]

Actually I think Hayne will miss the boat unless they stop picking him on the wing in Origin. Also it seems that you only become a true great when you win a comp. I don'[t agree with it, but it seems to pan out that way.

Laurie Daley has said that Hayne will not be picked on the wing again.
And not winning a competition should not make any difference.
I also think that if Hayne never played another game, he would still go down as one of our greats.

 

[lingard]

A lot of talk about Hayne but how does Hindy rate among the greats especially price ?

Also I don't think you need to have won a comp to have been a great - it depends on the players around you. Look at sterlo / Kenny they managed to win a comp when we were stacked with stars but after ther left they never played finals footy again. But we still rate them as greats. I also rate Hayne for what he has achieved considering he crap he has played with.

I also put Hindy on par with price, don't forget Hindy never played with a star halves combo. Price had sterlo, Kenny, Ella . Hindy had, McFadden , dykes, robson ....

Hindmarsh was extremely good, but pretty one dimensional compared to Price, in my opinion. Price was an excellent attacking forward as well.

 

[lingard]

This. Is he loyal or not? If he is he will re-sign. We keep hearing about the Manly players taking pay cuts to stay. That's loyalty (although they're carrying on like whiny bitches at the moment).

NRL clubs are constrained by the salary cap. Players are only constrained by greed. Is $350k (for example) really not enough? That's a million bucks after three years. That will return thirty grand a year just sitting in the bank. Even more if it's invested smartly.

It would be the brevity of their careers that would make $350K not enough. You might only earn that amount for three or four years - ten at the absolute most (but unlikely).

 

[84 Baby]

Hindmarsh was extremely good, but pretty one dimensional compared to Price, in my opinion. Price was an excellent attacking forward as well.

Young Hindy was an Australian representative attacking forward

 

[Eels Dude]

Young Hindy was an Australian representative attacking forward

Yeah he was bloody good attacking edge forward until maybe around 2007 or so. He still managed to score 60 tries for us, he could hit holes in his early days.

 

[hindy111]

Do you think hindys game changed as he became older or footy players in general became more professional and stronger and he just didn't bust the line as easily?? Or a bit of both.

 

[Twizzle]

I'm not sure too many other clubs would be throwing big money at Mannah, I mean its not like players agents to circulate rumours like that is it ?