Rumours and Stuff

[TheRam]

DylBro is finally realising his potential and he’s still not even 22. His development this year will hopefully help offset the loss of Mahoney imo, Reed last year was arguably our biggest creative outlet, this year he is playing more the distributor/worker role and letting the halves take control.

If Hodgson can just play in a likewise role and chip in with kicking like Reed does hopefully it won’t change our style of play too much.

Moving forward though we need to ensure we keep a real number 7 ball player/kicker inside Dyl.. no doubt he can and will develop that side of his game but it’s not his strength and we don’t want to take away from his natural strength of running past merkins.

I really, really hope this is not the case.

We need to change our style. Unless we are having success offloading, it is way to predictable for the better teams and we ourselves can't maintain it for to many consecutive games.

Our game is desperately crying out for a quick running dummy half. If we had one we would terrorise the opposition relentlessly. They wouldn't be able to keep their line so straight and in our face due to the fatigue and constant disruption to their D structure. Even our offload game would go up a notch due to their exhaustion and fatigue.

Imagine how much better a player like D. Brown would be if he could learn and anticipate to backup the dummy half who just broke through the line like yesterday when Lane broke free and Dylan came running in support or Gutho who would almost always be there.

Now if we had a dummy half that could do that, well the defense would quickly be shot and our power game would find it much easier to gain the ascendency and we would be blowing teams away without the major fatigue and toll it is taking on all our players now. I would go as far as to say we would even run the Penrith players ragged and they too would find it very, very difficult to keep up and stay in constant defensive structure the way they do now. Their attack would suffer too. It would impact everything they now do with presision and relative ease.

But by not having a constant realistic threat out of dummy half the opposing defenses have a luxury of continually piling on and defending to their rehearsed structures that make our palookas work way to hard all season for every inch they can get. We have two missing ingredients that would transform this team from maybe contender to number one contender and that is a running dummy half and a quality 3rd front rower that can come on and maintain the rage when the other two come off. At the moment we lose so much when they come off it isn't funny. The Makatoa experiment (I feel bad for the guy and was hoping he would of been better) hasn't worked. As for Kaufusi, what a disappointment, but he is bog average also. Maybe he will be one of those props that grows a leg in his later years, who knows, but he will soon be the Sharks problem to see if they can get more out of him. We though mostly get very little from either when they come on and literally give the opposition a breather when our starters come off.

I really hope we are in the running for Lodge for the remainder of this season. I understand that BA tried to get him here a little while ago, so I hope he is still very interested and can see the great value and difference he would make to our top 17 and the potential improvement of the rotation of the bench. Then it would be just at Dummy Half that we are weak and predictable at, but at least he has a very neat and pinpoint passing game. If only the little merkin could run, even without the 3rd quality prop we would be a real chance for this title.

My kingdom for a running dummy half.

P.S.
Next season we will need a lot more then just a running Dummy half or a 3rd quality prop. It looks like a mini rebuild is looming.

 

[Sensei Cobra]

I don’t agree that lussick was / is as good individually as Maloney but I believe the team functioned just as well when lussick played 9 in Reeds place

 

[King-Gutho94]

I really couldnt find much fault with anyone yesterday.

Even Oregon did his job warming the bench.

 

[hindy111]

Anyhows Fafita isn't going well at the Titans. He is also out of origin. They would want to get rid of that mess also.
We should seriously be doing our best to get this kid. We could have some real x factor and talent.
If we could get rid of N.Brown it might be enough to afford a genuine strike edge player.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

We can take am educated guess. Just like Matterson we don't know what he will cost but I guarantee it will be over 550k and less then 650k.
Gutherson was on 650k on his last deal. He then become captain and form was better. You think he signed for less? 750-800k would be very accurate.

We can say what we think he’s worth, and whether he was worth more when he signed his most recent contract. Are you just saying he’s out of form? Hardly an insight.

 

[King-Gutho94]

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-market-watch-2022-rugby-league-couple-adam-elliott-and-millie-boyle-unite-at-knights/news-story/ce4886f508f23f726a985ab59171e141

How is Adam Elliott's form.

Ricky and Canberra give him a lifeline after being sacked by the dogs. And after 12 rounds already signs with Newcastle for personal reasons to be closer to his missus.

Has he done a Ricky on Ricky here.

 

[hindy111]

I really, really hope this is not the case.

We need to change our style. Unless we are having success offloading, it is way to predictable for the better teams and we ourselves can't maintain it for to many consecutive games.

Our game is desperately crying out for a quick running dummy half. If we had one we would terrorise the opposition relentlessly. They wouldn't be able to keep their line so straight and in our face due to the fatigue and constant disruption to their D structure. Even our offload game would go up a notch due to their exhaustion and fatigue.

Imagine how much better a player like D. Brown would be if he could learn and anticipate to backup the dummy half who just broke through the line like yesterday when Lane broke free and Dylan came running in support or Gutho who would almost always be there.

Now if we had a dummy half that could do that, well the defense would quickly be shot and our power game would find it much easier to gain the ascendency and we would be blowing teams away without the major fatigue and toll it is taking on all our players now. I would go as far as to say we would even run the Penrith players ragged and they too would find it very, very difficult to keep up and stay in constant defensive structure the way they do now. Their attack would suffer too. It would impact everything they now do with presision and relative ease.

But by not having a constant realistic threat out of dummy half the opposing defenses have a luxury of continually piling on and defending to their rehearsed structures that make our palookas work way to hard all season for every inch they can get. We have two missing ingredients that would transform this team from maybe contender to number one contender and that is a running dummy half and a quality 3rd front rower that can come on and maintain the rage when the other two come off. At the moment we lose so much when they come off it isn't funny. The Makatoa experiment (I feel bad for the guy and was hoping he would of been better) hasn't worked. As for Kaufusi, what a disappointment, but he is bog average also. Maybe he will be one of those props that grows a leg in his later years, who knows, but he will soon be the Sharks problem to see if they can get more out of him. We though mostly get very little from either when they come on and literally give the opposition a breather when our starters come off.

I really hope we are in the running for Lodge for the remainder of this season. I understand that BA tried to get him here a little while ago, so I hope he is still very interested and can see the great value and difference he would make to our top 17 and the potential improvement of the rotation of the bench. Then it would be just at Dummy Half that we are weak and predictable at, but at least he has a very neat and pinpoint passing game. If only the little merkin could run, even without the 3rd quality prop we would be a real chance for this title.

My kingdom for a running dummy half.

P.S.
Next season we will need a lot more then just a running Dummy half or a 3rd quality prop. It looks like a mini rebuild is looming.

Brilliant

To take it out this year I think BA will have to re invent the bench a little. I also think he will. He will have more options once NSW cup players or development once are eligible.
If we are full strength I imagine the bench will be Matterson, N.Brown and then there is 2 vacant spots. Makatoa and Kafusi offer little.
My hope is Hands or Yates are considered an option for some explosion. I also feel Greig or Rodwell should take Kafusi spot as of next game. He will not be with us in 2023 so time to blood them.
Greig could be a real suprise packet as could Yates or Hands. And they all need time to get up to speed before finals. 12 games would give them some time.
Worse case is they aren't much chop and Makatoa and Kafusi are recalled. Not a big deal they are seasoned.

 

[Gazzamatta]

Even Oregon did his job warming the bench.

None better dude.

 

[TheRam]

I agree

Outside of a 40/20 every 3-4 games that Reed produces and being a tackling machine that gets run over by the big boys at the tryline is he offering much else atm.

He doesn't run the ball enough or challenge the markers and if he does its not making the impact like the elite ones in Grant & Koroisau.

Looks like Reed is actually controlling the attack near the tryline we try that Bash and barge play like 2-3 times every set when attacking the tryline and its so predictable only works when either the defence doesn't have a dig like Newcastle or when the backrowers on the edge have the strength when isolating the oppositon half/centre.

Apparently Koroisau this year is on $470K, what a bargain. But next year and the next the Tigers are paying $700K. Probably overs, but the Tigers are desperate and so there it is.

 

[hindy111]

We can say what we think he’s worth, and whether he was worth more when he signed his most recent contract. Are you just saying he’s out of form? Hardly an insight.

Do you think he is in form? He is the slowest fullback in the competition. A real turtle. No explosion or x factor.
What makes him a very good fullback is his defense, safety and ball playing skills.
Ball playing skills don't seem to be used anymore. If that's cause the coach wanted to use Dylan's more then why did they want to keep Gutherson? Imo that is his best strength.He was or is the beat ballplaying fullback in the comp. Without his 20+ TAs a game he becomes just an average fullback who never breaks the line or scares the defense with his run game.

Moving forward I feel like we want our fullback to be more a runner and let Dylan and Moses have the good ball more. This doesn't favour Guthersons style at all.

 

[Gazzamatta]

Apparently Koroisau this year is on $470K, what a bargain. But next year and the next the Tigers are paying $700K. Probably overs, but the Tigers are desperate and so there it is.

Could be some good picking from The Tigpies given the money they are spending. I love Blore. I see Manly and Penrith have already swooped in? Definitely some unrealised talent there.

 

[King-Gutho94]

Apparently Koroisau this year is on $470K, what a bargain. But next year and the next the Tigers are paying $700K. Probably overs, but the Tigers are desperate and so there it is.

Api is a year older next year and won't have the same go forward at the tigers that he gets at Penrith. So he might not be as damaging either.

 

[Soren Lorenson]

My hope is Hands or Yates are considered an option for some explosion.

You think Hands' job would cause explosions?

 

[yy_cheng]

I didnt make the trek to The Capital but watched and really enjoyed all 3 games. My boy did and he remarked how hostile that place is.
The 3s were impressive and the big win may be a huge factor going forward confidence wise. Dantoray looked good and I loved Sanders long kicking game. A few tough kids out there. Fingers crossed moving forward.
As usual Captain Rankin led the 2s well and apart from Jakes very bad intercept try I thought he was solid yesterday. Possibly the best Ive seen from him. Give the kid time to develop BA ffs. Sivo hasnt earned a promotion as far as Im concerned. Russell was a tad disappointing as well. A tough win though.
In the 1s I was really proud of the boys yesterday. Canberra came to play and it was a huge effort to get the win. Dyl was unbelievable but no surprise from me being a huge Dyl fan since his debut. Mitch is so tough now days. A great game from him. His kicking definitely kept us in the game. Bailey and Matto also standouts. I really couldnt find much fault with anyone yesterday. A great win down there and great signs of whats capable. 2 weeks off now should help enormously.
Go you Mighty Eels.

Mitch's tackling and defense is also above average now

 

[JokerEel]

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-market-watch-2022-rugby-league-couple-adam-elliott-and-millie-boyle-unite-at-knights/news-story/ce4886f508f23f726a985ab59171e141

How is Adam Elliott's form.

Ricky and Canberra give him a lifeline after being sacked by the dogs. And after 12 rounds already signs with Newcastle for personal reasons to be closer to his missus.

Has he done a Ricky on Ricky here.

Elliot seems like a top bloke who would do anything for a mate...

 

[TheRam]

Api is a year older next year and won't have the same go forward at the tigers that he gets at Penrith. So he might not be as damaging either.

As long as he doesn't get injured or lose focus due to being at a middle team and not a contender, he has enough experience, footy smarts and class as a player to find a way to make it work.

He is quality and always has been since I laid eyes on him running around in the lower grades at Souths when he was 17 years old. I think the Tigers spine and therefore their team is going to be quality from next year. If they can keep it injury free and manage to find some quality to put around them, seeing they are losing some now, they could be a semis contender. But it is to hard to judge at present due to their roster not being fully known as yet. Kind of like us at the moment for next year.

 

[Gronk]

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-market-watch-2022-rugby-league-couple-adam-elliott-and-millie-boyle-unite-at-knights/news-story/ce4886f508f23f726a985ab59171e141

How is Adam Elliott's form.

Ricky and Canberra give him a lifeline after being sacked by the dogs. And after 12 rounds already signs with Newcastle for personal reasons to be closer to his missus.

Has he done a Ricky on Ricky here.

He spent all game flopping yesterday. Merkin.

 

[hindy111]

You think Hands' job would cause explosions?

That was vulgar and you have offended me.

 

[Lemon Squash]

I really, really hope this is not the case.

We need to change our style. Unless we are having success offloading, it is way to predictable for the better teams and we ourselves can't maintain it for to many consecutive games.

Our game is desperately crying out for a quick running dummy half. If we had one we would terrorise the opposition relentlessly. They wouldn't be able to keep their line so straight and in our face due to the fatigue and constant disruption to their D structure. Even our offload game would go up a notch due to their exhaustion and fatigue.

Imagine how much better a player like D. Brown would be if he could learn and anticipate to backup the dummy half who just broke through the line like yesterday when Lane broke free and Dylan came running in support or Gutho who would almost always be there.

Now if we had a dummy half that could do that, well the defense would quickly be shot and our power game would find it much easier to gain the ascendency and we would be blowing teams away without the major fatigue and toll it is taking on all our players now. I would go as far as to say we would even run the Penrith players ragged and they too would find it very, very difficult to keep up and stay in constant defensive structure the way they do now. Their attack would suffer too. It would impact everything they now do with presision and relative ease.

But by not having a constant realistic threat out of dummy half the opposing defenses have a luxury of continually piling on and defending to their rehearsed structures that make our palookas work way to hard all season for every inch they can get. We have two missing ingredients that would transform this team from maybe contender to number one contender and that is a running dummy half and a quality 3rd front rower that can come on and maintain the rage when the other two come off. At the moment we lose so much when they come off it isn't funny. The Makatoa experiment (I feel bad for the guy and was hoping he would of been better) hasn't worked. As for Kaufusi, what a disappointment, but he is bog average also. Maybe he will be one of those props that grows a leg in his later years, who knows, but he will soon be the Sharks problem to see if they can get more out of him. We though mostly get very little from either when they come on and literally give the opposition a breather when our starters come off.

I really hope we are in the running for Lodge for the remainder of this season. I understand that BA tried to get him here a little while ago, so I hope he is still very interested and can see the great value and difference he would make to our top 17 and the potential improvement of the rotation of the bench. Then it would be just at Dummy Half that we are weak and predictable at, but at least he has a very neat and pinpoint passing game. If only the little merkin could run, even without the 3rd quality prop we would be a real chance for this title.

My kingdom for a running dummy half.

P.S.
Next season we will need a lot more then just a running Dummy half or a 3rd quality prop. It looks like a mini rebuild is looming.

sorry bro I only skimmed over this as I don’t have a spare 4 hours to read it… but I don’t disagree with you. But unfortunately for some reason we thought it was a smart move to sign Hodgson and he isn’t that type of player, he has always been a Smith/Farah controlling 9.

He’s 44 years old so don’t think he will all of a sudden start darting from dummy half. Considering he’s going to be here regardless I think we need to just give him a basic game plan of getting the ball to our two halves and not overplay his hand, which is what he has been guilty of the last couple of seasons at Canberra

 

[TheRam]

On our dummy half for next season, I have no idea how good or ready either Hands or Yates will be for NRL next season, So I wouldn't mind if someone that regularly watches the lower grades or has access to an insiders thoughts on them, to tell us what they know or think about either.

See I have no confidence that Hodgson will stay injury free next season and that will spell disaster for our team if we don't have a quality and capable replacement ready to go if we want to stay a semi final top team.

My solution to this is Jeremy Marshall-King, he is a free agent and unsigned thus far for next year. He has a decent passing game (being an ex-half) and a very good running game and will be a 100 game player by the end of this season. Now I don't know how much he is on or how much he wants, but I can't imagine it being more then $250-300K. Or put it this way, would he be willing to come to a quality and strong club like ours if we offered him the chance to play behind a strong forward pack and a couple of high quality halves for around that much?

His game would no doubt be even more effective playing along side our forwards then what he has had to endure for most of his NRL career. Of course we should only be looking at him if we believed that our two current lower grade dummy halves were not up to it or would not be ready by next season.

If that is the case then it would be extreme folly to gamble our whole season on a player with a very chequered history in regards to injuries of late. We need to make sure we aren't caught short and then have all the apologists come out defending the club with their typical, 'like no one could have predicted and it is all good in hindsight', type of bullsh*t comments we always hear from those boofheads.