Rumoured Targets 3

[Johns Magic]

Unfortunately so does Kane

 

[Noname36]

Bird would have been a great addition to the squad but I'm not devastated or anything. Obviously was gonna ask for a release from the Tits with that kind of offer!

 

[Swarzey]

550k to play in a league you'll dominate for the next few years, a position afterwards secured and all living in southern France.

I can't wait to hear how it's a blight on the club not able to top an offer like that.

 

[Haffa]

I doubt we were anything more than a negotiating tactic for Bird. He is off to be setup for life.

 

[Haffa]

Kane Evans. We lack impact.

I'd back that he's a young kid with a bright future.

 

[perverse]

Haha oh dear, this getting very embarrassing now. Please! Someone! Take our money!

 

[slotmachine]

There are zero players off contract who are worth chasing now. Last hope is foran getting approved and a few warriors being squeezed out. In reality a "good" club would pick up lolohea and/or matulino and we would be left with their scraps.

2017 is going to suck.

Edit. Actually, Elijah Taylor would be worth chasing.

 

[Glendale]

Haha oh dear, this getting very embarrassing now. Please! Someone! Take our money!

Hang on. Weren't you totally against the Bird signing?

 

[Sydney Knight]

550k to play in a league you'll dominate for the next few years, a position afterwards secured and all living in southern France.

I can't wait to hear how it's a blight on the club not able to top an offer like that.

Hages would have got him over the line with a 5 year $750k a year deal with no behavioural clauses.

 

[perverse]

Hang on. Weren't you totally against the Bird signing?

Absolutely, I'm pretty happy with the outcome, but the optics of it aren't good all the same. Optimally we don't chase him to begin with, he never wanted to be here, and it made a bit of a farce of Brown's mantra of targeting blokes that actually want to come.

 

[otori]

Absolutely, I'm pretty happy with the outcome, but the optics of it aren't good all the same. Optimally we don't chase him to begin with, he never wanted to be here, and it made a bit of a farce of Brown's mantra of targeting blokes that actually want to come.

I didnt want Bird either but I'm not fussed about the optics. If this had happened before the two signings then I would agree. I would think now we look like a young club on the up with cash for decent pick ups. Player managers will be calling us

 

[Still Nutty]

Across all of this I actually have faith that Mooney has an eye for talent that compliments each other in developing a balanced squad in the medium to longer term and seems to have the negotiation skills to make it happen....he is obviously having to work within budget restrictions for now

On losing Bird, it made me reflect on what we need and I've just been thinking that we had the right forward here for a while that was fit for purpose (Beau Scott) and I was really disappointed with the way he performed for us once his compassionate signing to Parramatta was OK'ed...

I wonder how he would have gone now if he was held to his contract and Brownie was running the show? In hindsight, I've also got to imagine that Beau possibly struck what Joey Leilua pointed to about the localised favouritism and double standards that seemed to have been ingrained in the culture - as much as I was pi$$ed at Beau's attitude after we looked after him, he doesn't seem to be a quitter generally, so it must have been a pretty toxic environment for him to just go through the motions the way he did after the deal was done.

 

[Tom155]

Knights set sights on Dockar-Clay

http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/knigh...d=786402548060073988&adbpl=tw&adbpr=236216311

 

[slotmachine]

Why?

 

[alexwilliams_66692007]

Depth I assume

 

[slotmachine]

If there is one place we have depth it's halves/hooker.

Mullen, hodko, cogger, lamb, feeney, levi, kostjaysn, pearsall, randall all signed for 2017

 

[Burwood]

It's worrying the amount of utility players that we seem to have. You know the old saying, "jack of all trades, master of none".

You can look through our entire roster, and there seems to be very few players who have specialised in the one position throughout their career. Hodkinson is a halfback, Levi a hooker, Mataora and Paea are props, Mullen a half, Barnett a backrower.

The rest of the squad seem to float from one position to the next, depending on injuries etc. If Levi gets injured again, we have Phythian, Randell, Kostjasyn, Bhana and now Dockar-Clay ready to fill in, but which of them is a genuine hooker?

 

[Glendale]

It's worrying the amount of utility players that we seem to have. You know the old saying, "jack of all trades, master of none".

You can look through our entire roster, and there seems to be very few players who have specialised in the one position throughout their career. Hodkinson is a halfback, Levi a hooker, Mataora and Paea are props, Mullen a half, Barnett a backrower.

The rest of the squad seem to float from one position to the next, depending on injuries etc. If Levi gets injured again, we have Phythian, Randell, Kostjasyn, Bhana and now Dockar-Clay ready to fill in, but which of them is a genuine hooker?

I'd say you could compare our overindulgence on utilities to the roster in general. Lots of 100-200k players (on market value worth) who would be decent squad fillers at any other club but a lack of quality first string first graders.

We need to recruit first string first graders or nothing IMO. Right now our roster is full of young kids who will all improve over the next year to varying degrees. We have an abundance of young players who are on the fringe of being first grade week to week quality and some that are being forced to play above their level by playing regular first grade. It would be a waste to go out and sign more of these types of players when all we really need is 2-3 more genuine first graders to push everyone else back to where they should be.

When you think about it signing, if we sign just a couple more genuine first stringers then our squad actually has plenty of depth next year. But signing more fringe first grade talent and all we will get is a fringe first grade team, despite the depth.

 

[Glendale]

Absolutely, I'm pretty happy with the outcome, but the optics of it aren't good all the same. Optimally we don't chase him to begin with, he never wanted to be here, and it made a bit of a farce of Brown's mantra of targeting blokes that actually want to come.

Optics are fine. It was a very easy decision for Bird to make. Doesn't matter how long or how hard we were chasing him, theres nothing you can do about the Catalans offer.

We don't look any more desirable or less desirable from this outcome then we were before. Above average players do not want to come here, we knew that before and it's still true now. But 2 years ago no one wanted a bar of Canberra. Less then a year ago Gold Coast struggled to attract big names. And 6 years ago when Mooney started at Cronulla no one wanted to go there either. It's all about waiting for the right players at the right price. That's the Mooney philosophy. If it means we sign no one for a year then so be it.

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

If weare going for Dockar-Clay must surely be a swap proposed. Stockwell?