Rumours and Stuff

[eels_fan]

For a brief period he was no 3 fullback in the game I feel.
Where he is now? I'd say between 6-8. Do I see these young kids over taking him by 2024? Not all will but Yes I do feel atleast a few of them will.

Billy Slater ranked fullbacks in the paper yesterday. He rated Gutho 4th best in the NRL behind Paps, Teddy and Ponga.

 

[Gronk]

Billy Slater ranked fullbacks in the paper yesterday. He rated Gutho 4th best in the NRL behind Paps, Teddy and Ponga.

Does Ponga really produce the 1% ers ? I’m going to say that he’s too inconsistent and still gets paid on his potential.

If we didn’t have Gutho, I reckon A J Brimson would be way better value than Ponga.

 

[TheRam]

With respect, these are the words of a raving lunatic.
I know Hastings had a good game recently against someone (maybe us?) and possibly he has been good in other games since....
But FFS.

Watch and learn young man, watch and learn.

The only pure halves I would feed in order.

1. Cleary
2. Hastings
3. Moses & DCE
4. Hughes & Reynolds
5. Hunt
6. Hynes
7. Daylight

Hynes may well get up to Moses and DCE level eventually but it is way to early at this point of his development. Also there is a struck match between players from position 2 - 4 and I know it is very early in Hastings resurrected NRL career but just watch what he does and how he talks and positions his players and keeps at them in a positive way. It is Cronk/Thurston like and why he is number two over the rest. Not saying he is as good as either at this stage, he will need to put a hell of a lot of runs on the board to get to that level at the very least, but he is a true leader way more so then anyone else on that list below him.

Also the teams that don't have these players will be also rans that will always struggle to make the play offs, with maybe the exception of the Cowboys who have a health roster and a decent and an experienced half but not in their class of the above halves but have enough quality playmakers overall to do well if they are all switched on.

 

[Incorrect]

Does Ponga really produce the 1% ers ? I’m going to say that he’s too inconsistent and still gets paid on his potential.

I we didn’t have Gutho, I reckon A J Brimson would be way better value than Ponga.

Based on his output during his tenure so far at the Knights, Ponga is awful value. Maybe he's playing injured or something but yeah I agree. Right now, with our current halves (Brown and not JA I'm talking about), someone like AJ Brimson would complement our spine nicely if we didn't have Gutho. Been an AJ fan for a long time...

 

[Obscene Assassin]

Eels signed Dantoray Lui end of last year, so unsure why you have concluded that we see Jake as anything other than backup and useful right now. We also have Ethan Sanders in Flegg who is playing a couple of years up.

Eels grab boom rookie from rival NRL club

Heir apparent to Moses locked in

wwos.nine.com.au

If they play all year in Flegg I'd move both up to NSW cup next year. In the few games I've seen them play they work well together, they seem to be able to transition between primary and secondary playmaker throughout the game.

 

[TheRam]

Does Ponga really produce the 1% ers ? I’m going to say that he’s too inconsistent and still gets paid on his potential.

I we didn’t have Gutho, I reckon A J Brimson would be way better value than Ponga.

When teams don't have a genuine play making half they can make any calibre of player look inconsistent and ordinary. Most players will not give 100% every game unless there is genuine direction and purpose that they can all get behind on the field. Sure there are players that do give 100% all the time no matter what, but that is the exception not the norm.

Ponga is still learning his game and isn't one of them.

 

[Gronk]

If they play all year in Flegg I'd move both up to NSW cup next year. In the few games I've seen them play they work well together, they seem to be able to transition between primary and secondary playmaker throughout the game.

Agree. As for Jake, well that’s up to him. He has a big body and if he works on his strength he may be able to actually have a career on the edge. Look at Elie El, he was a gangly ordinary player last year, but has really worked hard on his body and his game and is looking like he may actually play NRL one day.

 

[Soren Lorenson]

Ash Taylor has chucked in the towel.

 

[Obscene Assassin]

Agree. As for Jake, well that’s up to him. He has a big body and if he works on his strength he may be able to actually have a career on the edge. Look at Elie El, he was a gangly ordinary player last year, but has really worked hard on his body and his game and is looking like he may actually play NRL one day.

He was the leading tackler, was scoring a try every 2nd game and was running good lines in 2021. He's improved again this year, although 4 of the 5 games he's played this year have been against lowly sides, but he definitely wasn't ordinary.

*EDIT* As for Jake he put on some weight over this off-season. If he can comfortably play at 95kgs he'd be a good lock and play the in-vogue role of middle half, I'm unsure of his ruck work and ability to lead the defensive line. But I believe his future is in the middle, not as an edge forward.

 

[TheRam]

Ash Taylor has chucked in the towel.

Poor kid. Hard to see where it all went wrong for him. Goes to show if you don't have the right mentors and nursed through those formative years with the right amount of exposure, guidance and knowhow to limit the pressure it can all go horribly wrong and a kid can never recover.

He was obviously one of those kids that needed a lot more time(mentally) in the lower grades to develop his game properly without the added pressure of the NRL and a massive pay packet and mature slowly building his game layer upon layer and he would have probably been a real quality half that should of debuted around 22 years of age not at 17-18 years that he did.

 

[Gronk]

Ash Taylor has chucked in the towel.

Ash Taylor is the new Tim Smith. Could have been anything, then wasn’t.

 

[T-Boon]

Well done, you should get at least 5 likes for that post.

That’s because it is obvious and true. I can’t believe anyone thinks otherwise. Jake has to be the youngest half we have had play in 30 years and it’s a coincidence his dad is coach?
it’s supposed to be f**kin hard to get picked in first grade. Not handed to you as a birth right.

 

[Soren Lorenson]

That’s because it is obvious and true. I can’t believe anyone thinks otherwise. Jake has to be the youngest half we have had play in 30 years and it’s a coincidence his dad is coach?
it’s supposed to be f**kin hard to get picked in first grade. Not handed to you as a birth right.

It's the first time in 30 years we have a system that we can ease a young half in to.

 

[The Predictor]

5th or so wing options on the cheap generally are…what are you expecting……

Better

 

[the phantom menace]

Watch and learn young man, watch and learn.

The only pure halves I would feed in order.

1. Cleary
2. Hastings
3. Moses & DCE
4. Hughes & Reynolds
5. Hunt
6. Hynes
7. Daylight

Why do Moses & DCE have to share the same plate at the BBQ? And Hughes & Reynolds as well - seems a bit unfair.

I'd probably feed Reynolds first - he's a bit shorter and might not eat as much, leaving more to feed the eight other BBQ guests.

 

[The Predictor]

For real? Jake is in the starting team now (ridiculously) even though he is younger than Lui and even though Lui is way better in lower grades. Jake has basically for some reason (his dad) bi-passed lower grades.
Lui isnt even in the squad. He is being made to earn it in lower grades the way it is supposed to be done when nepotism is not involved.
Jake's dad sees him as the future for sure. He is going to just make sure of it.

Get rid of Brad, his kids will follow….easy!!

 

[The Predictor]

They don't rate Naiduki or Komolafe is what a signing like this tells me......

So why keep them in the system?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Quality halves, as rare as Pou not defending a plodder.

Even premiership winning teams have plodders. The only valid criticism is that a team has too many of them, which isn't the fault of any given plodder. That's why it's dumb to look for scapegoats.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

They don't rate Naiduki or Komolafe is what a signing like this tells me......

More depth doesn’t mean they don’t rate a player, they wouldn’t have given Naiduki a top 30 contract with minimal NSW cup experience or get Komolafe to do the NRL pre season if they didn’t rate them as potential NRL players.

Clubs have specific ways they structure their squad, and it’s obvious we need another back to meet our squad structure. And it appears they want someone with experience which is supported by Oldfield being in the squad last year, our chasing of Scott, chasing the broncos dude, Marsters and Paulo and not bringing a rookie outside the top 30 into our squad with the current injuries.

Additionally if you look at our squad our backs lack a fair bit of experience (this is rough guess couldn’t be bothered looking up:

most experience - Blake, Sivo (only 3 years ) and Opacic (never first picked)

next - Simonson (replaced fergo), not even 70 games

Rookies (not a full year of NRL), Dunster, Will, Russell, Perham (also a spine depth player)

outsiders (in the squad for experience unlikely to be picked ) - SL, MK

then there is Cini.

We really lack a lot of back experience, thus why I don’t think chasing someone suggests we don’t rate who we have.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Is JA going to get good? Like does he need more reps or is he gona be a mid tier half we can't build off and never win a Premship

If he's never better than a backup he'll still have a place in the NRL.