Rumours and Stuff

[Avenger]

Talking about defence, Ben Hunt would be one of the better defensive halves in the comp.

 

[hineyrulz]

It says something about you as well as me]

it does, I'm not called Whineyrulz for nothing, no stirring allowed in here anymore. LU is Serious business.

 

[Bazal]

Not sure where the Hunt is a good defender myth comes from? Dude was the second worst in the comp for missed tackles this year. He makes more than a lot of halves, but he misses a tonne as well. Hes probably about average for a halfback

 

[The EELiminator]

Talking about defence, Ben Hunt would be one of the better defensive halves in the comp.

if only he was as good at defending the ball from knock ons

 

[The Engineers Room]

I like the Hoffman signing. He has so much potential and I think that he could really kick on here.

 

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

So was Hoffman. So was Jennings. So is Hasler.

Sure, but I was replying to a post that said he was off contract. He's not.

 

[hineyrulz]

Not sure where the Hunt is a good defender myth comes from? Dude was the second worst in the comp for missed tackles this year. He makes more than a lot of halves, but he misses a tonne as well. Hes probably about average for a halfback

I agree, I don't get the Hunt hype. He's a good first grader but would be wanting elite money. I'd rather gamble on someone like Hastings who would be on less then half with massive upside. He showed what he is capable off along side Maloney when he was just 19.

 

[84 Baby]

Agreed. But the average team each year has the player with the 18th most appearances playing in a dozen games. You want that guy to be worth more than minimum salary and probably a couple of others as well.

Again ideally worth more but not necessarily costing more

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Again ideally worth more but not necessarily costing more

You can't budget for your 18th 'best' player to be on minimum salary but good enough to play half the season. That's very specific. The best is to hope to get good value out of certain juniors and journeymen, and let it (squad value) all come out in the wash.

I can see us getting very good value out of French, Gutherson and Moeroa next year, and possibly Alvaro and Twal as well. That would probably be enough to offset spending $200k on a player outside our top 17. And with injuries we might never know who was or wasn't in our top 17 (as opposed to top 18 or 20) anyway.

And obviously we'll never know what players were on anyway. We only have guesses, educated or otherwise, or failing that we can scream at each other that we have no proof.

 

[hindy111]

Why are people so sold on Hastings? The dragons and roosters do not seem to want him. Has to be for a reason.

Hunt would be a great option if not on overs.Very good kicking game.

 

[Gronk]

Why are people so sold on Hastings? The dragons and roosters do not seem to want him. Has to be for a reason.

Hunt would be a great option if not on overs.Very good kicking game.

It might be that Hastings is on overs at the Roosters and they will only release him if the new club pays 100% of his 2017 contract value. The Dragons might only want to pay some of it. Roosters have 3 or 4 players ahead of him now.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I agree, I don't get the Hunt hype. He's a good first grader but would be wanting elite money. I'd rather gamble on someone like Hastings who would be on less then half with massive upside. He showed what he is capable off along side Maloney when he was just 19.

It doesn't matter how much they want, only how much other clubs are offering.

I agree though that Hastings is potentially a better player. But he carries the risk of being a disruption in the squad.

 

[hineyrulz]

It doesn't matter how much they want, only how much other clubs are offering.

I agree though that Hastings is potentially a better player. But he carries the risk of being a disruption in the squad.

Every signing is a risk, but Hastings is worth the gamble IMO. Because what he is on could be massive unders considering his upside. Look at Taylor for the Titans for example. And if Hunt was as great as everyone makes out why is Bennett happy to punt him???

 

[hineyrulz]

Why are people so sold on Hastings? The dragons and roosters do not seem to want him. Has to be for a reason.

Hunt would be a great option if not on overs.Very good kicking game.

Hunt has a very good short kicking game but his long one is pretty average IMO.

His running game is his biggest strength.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

Why are people so sold on Hastings? The dragons and roosters do not seem to want him. Has to be for a reason.

Hunt would be a great option if not on overs.Very good kicking game.

Why are people so sold on Hunt? It seems the Broncos may not want him, has to be a reason why !

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Every signing is a risk, but Hastings is worth the gamble IMO. Because what he is on could be massive unders considering his upside. Look at Taylor for the Titans for example.

Hastings signed into the Roosters' top 25 when he turned 18, and re-signed after playing a full season's worth of NRL games. He would be on a lot more than Taylor, and every club knows his potential so he wouldn't be cheap if he came onto the market (though maybe cheaper than his current price at Easts). Likewise Taylor wouldn't have been cheap when he recently re-signed. There would have been massive demand for him, as there was for Hastings when he signed his current deal.

And if Hunt was as great as everyone makes out why is Bennett happy to punt him???

Agreed, which is why I doubt Brisbane would let him go while currently contracted. Unless Hunt was last re-signed on overs, or if Bennett thinks he can get better value out of the much cheaper Nikorima.

 

[84 Baby]

You can't budget for your 18th 'best' player to be on minimum salary but good enough to play half the season. That's very specific. The best is to hope to get good value out of certain juniors and journeymen, and let it (squad value) all come out in the wash.

I can see us getting very good value out of French, Gutherson and Moeroa next year, and possibly Alvaro and Twal as well. That would probably be enough to offset spending $200k on a player outside our top 17. And with injuries we might never know who was or wasn't in our top 17 (as opposed to top 18 or 20) anyway.

I feel we've been through this before.

And obviously we'll never know what players were on anyway. We only have guesses, educated or otherwise, or failing that we can scream at each other that we have no proof.

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE PROOF!

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Why are people so sold on Hunt? It seems the Broncos may not want him, has to be a reason why !

The Roosters let Jennings go. It's not always (or even usually) that they don't rate the player, but rather that they can get better value out of someone much cheaper.

And while you aren't necessarily looking for bargains in your spine, it's still a fact that some of the work done by the spine as a whole can be done by one dominant player. If you have such a player then you're wasting much of what you're paying him by sharing too much of his workload among other members of the spine. I'm talking particularly about the secondary half in a spine with one dominant half. This is what inevitably splits up many good halves partnerships (e.g. Foran/DCE, Pearce/Maloney, Cronk/Widdop). If you have a very good (or great) one, you don't need to be spending too much on the other one. You get diminishing returns. The same thing might be about to split up the Broncos halves, as well as the kids at the Tigers.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

The Roosters let Jennings go. It's not always (or even usually) that they don't rate the player, but rather that they can get better value out of someone much cheaper.

And while you aren't necessarily looking for bargains in your spine, it's still a fact that some of the work done by the spine as a whole can be done by one dominant player. If you have such a player then you're wasting much of what you're paying him by sharing too much of his workload among other members of the spine. I'm talking particularly about the secondary half in a spine with one dominant half. This is what inevitably splits up many good halves partnerships (e.g. Foran/DCE, Pearce/Maloney, Cronk/Widdop). If you have a very good (or great) one, you don't need to be spending too much on the other one. You get diminishing returns. The same thing might be about to split up the Broncos halves, as well as the kids at the Tigers.

I agree, was just making a point to Hindy111 who assumed something was wrong with Hasting as he was being released, but didn't make same assumption with Hunt.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

I reckon if we sign Hunt, it basically doesn't give Gutherson a chance to see if he is up too playing in the halves. Hunt would expect a starting spot.

Hasting would be a lot cheaper and also has the frame to play a few positions, plus there is no expectation he would be guaranteed a starting spot. Hastings could easily play a 14. Utility role off the bench. If Gutherson works out, Hastings could potentially turn into a "Graham" type player.

I really don't think at this stage we need to spend on $600-$800k on a half option when we don't know if Gutherson is up to role. Gutherson deserves a chance but we do need a back up as insurance.

A rookie with potential is probably a better option. Hastings has played around 30 NRL games and he is still only 20. I assume Hasting probably wants something around $200-300k, but if no-one wants him his options are very limited and so is his asking price. And its unlikely the roosters will give him a lot of opportunities next year to increase his value.