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Well he's clearly lost faith in the process. He's been in the leadership group himself for a while now (a leadership group that seems to include half the damn squad I might add - ridiculous).
at the good clubs the elite players tend to stay, even if they do hit the market. They know the club culture is where they will play their best footy.
Well Sam Walker stands to be the biggest earner in NRL history, so I understand him going to market. It's understandable for the big names to do so - and I don't even knock our club for Kalyn doing so more recently either.
Tbh I agree with most of what you said but it's plain as day that DSafs form flipped on a dime the moment he was tapped on the shoulder. Money or otherwise, the tap woke him up. Too little, too late.
Heaps of us have been saying it for years, but Kalyn should have never been made captain. He was way too young, and wouldn't know the first thing about settings standards and culture. He's a pretty good kid and sets a good example personally I think, but he's too easy going to be the guy that pulls others into line.
I had plenty of criticism of Lachy Fitz, but last year was one of his best years and he showed some great leadership. You could argue he's been missed too.
I'd definitely argue he's been missed for sure, and I thought we all said he would be based on last years form. Last year was by far Lachie's best year. The hope was that KPP would eventually grow into a higher ceiling (and also, Fitzgibbon maintaining that form was hardly a given). But yeah, most teams would miss the 2023 edition of Fitz, he was very strong.
I think Kalyn has, over the past 18-24 months, realised that doing the extras has value and that talent isn't going to carry him and the team alone. Look at his goalkicking and general consistency as indicators of that. I think he puts a lot more into his footy now than he had in the past. As you said, though - he straight up just doesn't have the temperment or demeanor of a leader. And yes, that's not a criticism of him as a person or a player - it's an indictment of the people who put him in that position to begin with.
We're playing our entire backrow wrong as far as I can see. It's time next year for Friz to move to the middle (more a team need than a slight on Friz, he's a beast) and to put Lucas on the left and switch KPP to the right. Blind Freddy can see this is the way forward.
