Rumours and Stuff

[Bazal]

Jack Hethrington we should look at. Has size and runs hard.

Same size as Alvaro.

Would be worth a go, he's a promising kid, but he's not exactly a monster

 

[rugby league fan]

Looks good.

With that squad why waste money on another winger, KA / Hayne / DA / French also provide cover there.

Don’t reckon we will keep King. BA only went with 2 hookers this year, so with Maloney / Pritchard I don’t think he would go with a third. Plus smith provides cover and there is that young dude with huge potential apparently but is injured now - I think it was mentioned he may be training with nrl squad during the offseason.

I wouldn’t be letting Norman go.

Wont happen. Mahoney & Kysa are similar in style. We need a point of difference. Both are running hookers. Neither play structure well & service is ordinary by Kysa & not the greatest bye Mahoney.

 

[Gazzamatta]

Jack Hethrington we should look at. Has size and runs hard.

I reckon you're a fair judge Gus111 particularly when evaluating Penny Jnrs. Id run with this. Wouldnt cost a bomb either.
Loved how the Pennys attack with their defence. Very fit team. I reckon they would play the ball on average 3 or 4 seconds faster than Eels players as well.
In my mind, as cluttered as it is, they are the team to beat at this stage of the season.

 

[Bazal]

There is a thread on the Dragons forum where they are discussing replacing Leeson Ah Mau with David Klemmer.

So blokes like Ram and Glenneel shouldn't feel too bad, apparently there are plenty of other fans who have NFI how a salary cap works too

 

[emjaycee]

Looks good.

With that squad why waste money on another winger, KA / Hayne / DA / French also provide cover there.

Don’t reckon we will keep King. BA only went with 2 hookers this year, so with Maloney / Pritchard I don’t think he would go with a third. Plus smith provides cover and there is that young dude with huge potential apparently but is injured now - I think it was mentioned he may be training with nrl squad during the offseason.

I wouldn’t be letting Norman go.

I reckon you need to let go one of Norman, Moses or Mennings (as well Matagi, Vave, et al.) to cover the cost of 2 new forwards and another winger. For me, Norman is the most expendable as we have ample coverage in his position AND he is only one incident away from being sacked given his history.

 

[Happy MEel]

Why would you release Norman only to wait longer for Brown, especially since Norman only has a year left on contract? If it was because Salmon was more a genuine 1st grade 5/8th is one thing or if you could swap Norman for a better player in another position, but even then if the new player plus replacement 5/8th doesn't cover you for the loss of Norman's output then why bother?

I guess if the only way we could afford Klemmer was to release Norman it could be worth considering if we believe Salmon can do a job in 2019 in the halves until Brown is ready. Sometimes you need to make decisions in the short term that are going to provide a better long term outcome.

 

[Gazzamatta]

You want to keep Hayne MJC? 500k? Dunno about that. Im far from convinced at this stage.
Am also not convinced on French. Love his speed but he offers little as a winger in todays game. He needs to use his speed and offer some deception like Ado Carr does. He offers no assistance to his forwards thereby adding to fatigue. Cant believe he is playing to instructions if only making 5 or 6 runs per game.
Hopefully our hooker dilemma is short term with all eyes on Schnider next year.

 

[Bazal]

I admit I've only seen Salmon play a handful of games but does he have the kicking game to be an NRL half moving forward? If one of your halves is a poor kicker, you may as well run a prop there.

His running game is great and he's a strong bloke but, as I mentioned elsewhere, my concern with kids like him who play so many positions as kids is that more often than not they struggle to find a position that they fit into at a high level.

 

[Obscene Assassin]

Hopefully our hooker dilemma is short term with all eyes on Schnider next year.

No need to put pressure on the young man, he won't play first grade next year. He injured his shoulder earlier this year and won't be returning to the playing field until next year. I think he may be doing an NRL pre-season but will probably spend most of the year in Flegg.

 

[84 Baby]

I guess if the only way we could afford Klemmer was to release Norman it could be worth considering if we believe Salmon can do a job in 2019 in the halves until Brown is ready. Sometimes you need to make decisions in the short term that are going to provide a better long term outcome.

Agreed but f**k me this place will be off the hook if that means next year is effectively a write off

 

[Obscene Assassin]

I admit I've only seen Salmon play a handful of games but does he have the kicking game to be an NRL half moving forward? If one of your halves is a poor kicker, you may as well run a prop there.

His running game is great and he's a strong bloke but, as I mentioned elsewhere, my concern with kids like him who play so many positions as kids is that more often than not they struggle to find a position that they fit into at a high level.

In his last ISP game he kicked 8 times for 175m, I think this may have been his best game kicking wise and too small of a sample size to really know how good his kicking is. His short kicking game looks pretty good.

 

[Bazal]

In his last ISP game he kicked 8 times for 175m, I think this may have been his best game kicking wise and too small of a sample size to really know how good his kicking is. His short kicking game looks pretty good.

He looks like a player of the future, my concern is position. I've not seen (and, again, small sample size) him have much of a long kicking game which these days is crucial for a half.

There's no doubt he's a strong ball runner, good speed off the mark, good footwork and naturally explosive. I just think he almost seems like he's caught halfway between being a centre and five eighth.

 

[Gronk]

Cheap replacement for a Morris ?

 

[Obscene Assassin]

He looks like a player of the future, my concern is position. I've not seen (and, again, small sample size) him have much of a long kicking game which these days is crucial for a half.

There's no doubt he's a strong ball runner, good speed off the mark, good footwork and naturally explosive. I just think he almost seems like he's caught halfway between being a centre and five eighth.

Yeah for sure long-term position is the biggest concern. I stated earlier that he can play centre, halves, second-row and could probably play wing or fullback given his talents. I reckon his position moving forward will be second-row, possibly starting his career at centre. In that last game he also ran for 113m, which is great even for a half in ISP. We need to dedicate a position for him now (or at least next pre-season) and then get him focusing on the skills related to that position.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

He looks like a player of the future, my concern is position. I've not seen (and, again, small sample size) him have much of a long kicking game which these days is crucial for a half.

There's no doubt he's a strong ball runner, good speed off the mark, good footwork and naturally explosive. I just think he almost seems like he's caught halfway between being a centre and five eighth.

Don’t forget he is only 19 this year and has only just started training full time this year. Last year he was playing SG ball, so he has progressed quite quickly.

Training full time and with natural improvement he can probably develop a pretty good kicking game if it’s already just ok (his kicking game)

 

[Bazal]

Don’t forget he is only 19 this year and has only just started training full time this year. Last year he was playing SG ball, so he has progressed quite quickly.

Training full time and with natural improvement he can probably develop a pretty good kicking game if it’s already just ok (his kicking game)

In time to be an NRL level five-eight in 2019?

There's only so much developing of a kicking game you can do, tbh. I agree with OA, I feel like his long term position is going to be centre/backrow, and able to fill in at five-eighth or fullback if needed.

A lot like Gutho, actually.

 

[Gazzamatta]

No need to put pressure on the young man, he won't play first grade next year. He injured his shoulder earlier this year and won't be returning to the playing field until next year. I think he may be doing an NRL pre-season but will probably spend most of the year in Flegg.

Yeah I figured that. By short term I meant this year and next. I believe he will be 20 then. Hopefully Mahoney steps up next year but I am concerned over his size then again he could develop into a Geoff Toovey type. I quite liked Tonise. Great build and a fair motor but obviously BA didnt rate him.
Ive a feeling King will make a difference tonight. He really got our forwards and halfs moving last year. I believe he is still our best option with Smith providing a breather and a run at all costs attack from dh.

 

[Bazal]

Yeah I figured that. By short term I meant this year and next. I believe he will be 20 then. Hopefully Mahoney steps up next year but I am concerned over his size then again he could develop into a Geoff Toovey type. I quite liked Tonise. Great build and a fair motor but obviously BA didnt rate him.
Ive a feeling King will make a difference tonight. He really got our forwards and halfs moving last year. I believe he is still our best option with Smith providing a breather and a run at all costs attack from dh.

Mahoney is no smaller than someone like Cook or Granville or Segeyaro tbh

 

[Joshuatheeel]

In time to be an NRL level five-eight in 2019?

There's only so much developing of a kicking game you can do, tbh. I agree with OA, I feel like his long term position is going to be centre/backrow, and able to fill in at five-eighth or fullback if needed.

A lot like Gutho, actually.

Well it already appears his kicking was ok (but not brilliant) in his first Nsw cup game , so with another 15 or so games plus an off-season, it’s quite possible he could be good enough (but obviously at only 20 it will develop more over time)

Gutherson was never a half (I think) during his junior days (even played much there) while Salmon has been.

 

[Twizzle]

I reckon Beau Scott would be on a fair bit, like 500-600k. But also looking at our cap for next year who would be our highest paid players? Moses, Norman, Ma'u, Paulo, Jennings? Would any of them be over 850k?

he signed on the cheap mate, about $350K was reported at the time, we were his 3rd highest bid, as he wanted to live near Westmead hospital due to his daughter's health issues