Rumours and Stuff

[Eelementary]

French is a fullback, and a good one, too.

He's too small, you say?

Well, he's bigger than Matt Bowen and Lachlan Coote.

Give him a full off-season at 1, and give him at least half a season in the position. He is quality.

 

[Eelementary]

Sure, if it means he misses a Parra game, any black and white will do.

I actually think he's got the makings of a decent bench back rower. But the dude needs a kick up the date, he is the dumbest player in our side by miles.

I love the dude, but I agree completely.

 

[Incorrect]

Anyone who mentions guys like elgey and Austin as being good signings are f**ken geniuss

Well you've certainly put me in my place....

Let me go and put my stack hat on and start licking the nearest windows I can find....

 

[84 Baby]

Taka is consistently dumber than Smith tbh

Yeah but you said by miles. Smith has to be within striking distance at least. They’d both be way out in front of the peloton

 

[Bazal]

Yeah but you said by miles. Smith has to be within striking distance at least. They’d both be way out in front of the peloton

And I stick by that.

Taka is the sprinter who goes out on a break with three climbers. They might stick with him for much of the race, but when it comes to the finish they're gonna be trounced. He consistently finds ways to be way in front when it comes to stupid plays

 

[rugby league fan]

People are mentioning Elgey - Austin as replacements for Norman.

What about a cheap option - Bit of a risk but we would get him at a great price for a year or 2 until Dylan Brown is ready.!

Would you consider Todd Carney.?

IF NOT

Any idea's who we could target in the halves.?

 

[Soren Lorenson]

Yeah but you said by miles. Smith has to be within striking distance at least. They’d both be way out in front of the peloton

You know, I was thinking about that Smith 40/20 attempt. Why would he even think we was allowed to do that? It's a failing of leadership of the halves IMO. No bloke on the team should think they have permission to do that if Norman and/or Moses are properly controlling the team. As much as it was a failure of skill on Smith's part, it was also a failure of team process.

 

[Gronk]

 

[rugby league fan]

You know, I was thinking about that Smith 40/20 attempt. Why would he even think we was allowed to do that? It's a failing of leadership of the halves IMO. No bloke on the team should think they have permission to do that if Norman and/or Moses are properly controlling the team. As much as it was a failure of skill on Smith's part, it was also a failure of team process.

I understand what your saying. But
I like to have a hooker who can kick which gives us a few options on the field. For mine its a must skill to have.
BUT
It was piss poor game management that turned the game. 3rd tackle on the 40 meter line.
Know your capabilities & your job & dont go beyond that.!
Smith has no experience playing week in week out as a hooker nor the skill set.
Smith is a utility.! Know your limitations.

I bet you his job is very simple when he comes on.

Run when you get a chance & identify tiered forwards.
But he tries to play above his ability & over dose things.!

 

[hindy111]

People are mentioning Elgey - Austin as replacements for Norman.

What about a cheap option - Bit of a risk but we would get him at a great price for a year or 2 until Dylan Brown is ready.!

Would you consider Todd Carney.?

IF NOT

Any idea's who we could target in the halves.?

Jerome Luai

 

[El Diablo]

edit

 

[Joshuatheeel]

People are mentioning Elgey - Austin as replacements for Norman.

What about a cheap option - Bit of a risk but we would get him at a great price for a year or 2 until Dylan Brown is ready.!

Would you consider Todd Carney.?

IF NOT

Any idea's who we could target in the halves.?

maybe Brock Lamb, young with potential.

 

[oldmancraigy]

You know, I was thinking about that Smith 40/20 attempt. Why would he even think we was allowed to do that? It's a failing of leadership of the halves IMO. No bloke on the team should think they have permission to do that if Norman and/or Moses are properly controlling the team. As much as it was a failure of skill on Smith's part, it was also a failure of team process.

Not sure if you watched the game? They (halves and Gutho) were screaming at him straight after he kicked it. Hands in the air in a sign of sure despair.

He's playing dummy half, his job is to pick the ball up and pass it. Short of banning him from going in to dummy half, how the heck do you think the halves/ Gutho were supposed to stop him making a brain dead play like that?

The punishment needs to be meted out now. Sack him from firsts. He's potentially the worst performed player to have laced up a boot and stepped on for NRL minutes this year, not sure what we would lose by making a statement.

 

[gaffer]

People are mentioning Elgey - Austin as replacements for Norman.

What about a cheap option - Bit of a risk but we would get him at a great price for a year or 2 until Dylan Brown is ready.!

Would you consider Todd Carney.?

IF NOT

Any idea's who we could target in the halves.?

Jackson hastings is looking for a game he'd be on the cheap side

 

[Soren Lorenson]

Not sure if you watched the game? They (halves and Gutho) were screaming at him straight after he kicked it. Hands in the air in a sign of sure despair.

He's playing dummy half, his job is to pick the ball up and pass it. Short of banning him from going in to dummy half, how the heck do you think the halves/ Gutho were supposed to stop him making a brain dead play like that?

The punishment needs to be meted out now. Sack him from firsts. He's potentially the worst performed player to have laced up a boot and stepped on for NRL minutes this year, not sure what we would lose by making a statement.

Yes OMC, I watched the game. And what you are saying is totally true, there's nothing can be done about blokes who make bad decisions like that one. Your last paragraph is totally on the money. But I think that it was about more than just the actual lack of execution by Smith.

The top teams seem to get away with having the lesser fill in players because those players not only know their job but carry it out to the letter. I am starting to think it comes back to the systems the team has in place, which come from the coach and leadership group (or at least should). I'm a big fan of what BA has done in the last 4 years and I think he should be the coach in 2019. But I am starting to question whether he has dropped the ball a bit this year. If a player can be out of form, maybe a coach can too. All I'm saying is that in a team where everyone knows their job and does it and doesn't stray from that, those mistake shouldn't get made by the back up half/hooker/fullback/utility or whatever the f**k he is, who has been on the field 5 minutes in a game where all we needed was a bit of smart management to get us over the line.

 

[oldmancraigy]

Yes OMC, I watched the game. And what you are saying is totally true, there's nothing can be done about blokes who make bad decisions like that one. Your last paragraph is totally on the money. But I think that it was about more than just the actual lack of execution by Smith.

The top teams seem to get away with having the lesser fill in players because those players not only know their job but carry it out to the letter. I am starting to think it comes back to the systems the team has in place, which come from the coach and leadership group (or at least should). I'm a big fan of what BA has done in the last 4 years and I think he should be the coach in 2019. But I am starting to question whether he has dropped the ball a bit this year. If a player can be out of form, maybe a coach can too. All I'm saying is that in a team where everyone knows their job and does it and doesn't stray from that, those mistake shouldn't get made by the back up half/hooker/fullback/utility or whatever the f**k he is, who has been on the field 5 minutes in a game where all we needed was a bit of smart management to get us over the line.

I hear you - and I think Arthur does fairly well in that regard?
13 wins in 2016
16 wins in 2017
Neither year did we have a 'stacked' roster of players, but BA was able to extract the most from them by giving those clearly defined roles.

What happened this year? I dunno. It's entirely possible the game has moved on and left BA behind? That certainly happens in a hurry at times.

But what I don't think we should read into is some dumb decision by dumb backup player who has a history of making dumb decisions, and seems not to know his role. Nobody else on the team was giving him the consoling 'nevermind mate' pat on the back. They were all blowing up deluxe at his brain explosion, and clearly frustrated. I expect we won't see Smith in first grade this week as proof that he was operating outside the game plan and the structures allowed....

 

[Soren Lorenson]

I hear you - and I think Arthur does fairly well in that regard?
13 wins in 2016
16 wins in 2017
Neither year did we have a 'stacked' roster of players, but BA was able to extract the most from them by giving those clearly defined roles.

What happened this year? I dunno. It's entirely possible the game has moved on and left BA behind? That certainly happens in a hurry at times.

Possibly. As I said, I'm a fan of BA and think he deserves another year. Paul Green can't suddenly not coach, same with Trent Robinson in 2016.

I was glad to see other players blowing up,and hopefully you're right about Smith being axed this week.
What I do think is that there is not a lot of difference between having a good year and a shit one, a few injuries here, an out of form player there, a penalty or stroke of luck going against you and all of a sudden you find yourself on the bottom of the table.

 

[Glenneel]

And this is why clubs end up with 'too much depth' while the armchair experts piss and moan about how coaches and administrators don't know this obvious stuff. They do know, but they also know the less obvious stuff that the Glenneels of the world can't grasp.

What I can understand, and as usual you post some dribble pretending that you're the expert in all things RL, is that our roster is not good enough to consistently make the 8 let alone win a finals match. For some reason you think otherwise. Is the last 9 years a good enough sample for you or just last year which always seems to fit your argument.

 

[Glenneel]

I understand what your saying. But
I like to have a hooker who can kick which gives us a few options on the field. For mine its a must skill to have.
BUT
It was piss poor game management that turned the game. 3rd tackle on the 40 meter line.
Know your capabilities & your job & dont go beyond that.!
Smith has no experience playing week in week out as a hooker nor the skill set.
Smith is a utility.! Know your limitations.

I bet you his job is very simple when he comes on.

Run when you get a chance & identify tiered forwards.
But he tries to play above his ability & over dose things.!

Smith was put on as a dummy half and threw 2 forwards passes, the first one was let go. If we scored that disallowed try I doubt St George would have scored those last 2. Pritchard and Mahoney are also guilty of throwing forward passes. So is it poor coaching or poor players?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Not sure if you watched the game? They (halves and Gutho) were screaming at him straight after he kicked it. Hands in the air in a sign of sure despair.

Because it was a shit kick FFS! If he'd kicked it long like he intended they would've been stoked. It's just natural human reaction. They also blow up when merkins drop the ball.

He's playing dummy half, his job is to pick the ball up and pass it. Short of banning him from going in to dummy half, how the heck do you think the halves/ Gutho were supposed to stop him making a brain dead play like that?

The punishment needs to be meted out now. Sack him from firsts. He's potentially the worst performed player to have laced up a boot and stepped on for NRL minutes this year, not sure what we would lose by making a statement.

He'll get dropped anyway as soon as another dummy half is available and ready for first grade.