Rumours and Stuff

[Poupou Escobar]

Eddie Blacker. Sounds like some sort of power tool

Or the lead singer of an indigenous Pearl Jam tribute band

 

[Poupou Escobar]

serious question for yourself, Pou, Gronk, Emjaycee...do you ever want to see more from Parra? Or are you just happy with what we have?

Why is it that you take any criticism of the coach, management or underperforming players like a personal affront?

I infer that Emjaycee is apparently close to those within the inner circle and probably takes it personally for that reason, but what is the story with the rest of you?

Why are you affronted when your assessment of Eddie Blacker as a potential first grader is questioned?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I’ve been around for as long as the people you have mentioned and I can tell you this. Every club knows us for having a soft underbelly. I was once at a conference and Wayne Bennett was a key speaker. He spoke to a few of us after the conference and we talked footy, even he suggested that was the case.

How long ago was this?

 

[Legal Eel]

Why are you affronted when your assessment of Eddie Blacker as a potential first grader is questioned?

This is the type of idiot response I would expect from a troll.

I addressed the criticisms of 84 Baby and conceded that there may be others - he is merely an example of the options that my be available to strengthen a position.

This is the type of blind unreasonable defence I would expect from you.

 

[Avenger]

How long ago was this?

Around 2014. I’m pretty sure he was coaching Newcastle at the time.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Serious question to you, if Pou had suggested for example Emre Guler (or insert any player you don’t think is that good) as the best option, how would you have responded?

Actually I do like Guler. Also agree with your call on Parker or Alamoti. Parker is unfashionable but definitely an NRL quality centre, and Alamoti could be anything. Plenty more potential than Averillo.

 

[Eelementary]

We often say how the Roosters get everything going their way, and how their salary cap is more of an umbrella, than a cap.

But - aside from having great resources in place - the key difference between them, and us, is that they have people running the club with strong business acumen, who are ruthless.

Even their coach is ruthless - they're shopping Sam Walker around now, after a great few seasons.

To be successful in a sporting organisation, you need to have powerbrokers who are cold-blooded, imo.

I have nothing against Arthur, but to extend him so early on this season was just baffling.

Our leadership hierarchy should have said to him, "Great work - you took us to a Grand Final. Your KPI for 2023 is to finish top 4, and push for a Premiership. And if you can't do it, we will make inquiries to find someone who can."

Instead, we re-signed him.

He's not an incompetent coach.

But he's also proven to not be capable to address our deficiencies - while our attack in 2023 is good, our defence is still abysmal, after all these weeks.

He's our longest-serving coach, and I don't think the NRL side has really improved that much under his watch.

There is a solid argument to be made that not keeping the coach in the face of a lack of better options is a folly - however, in my opinion, not making Arthur accountable by giving him a clear line drawn in the sand is worse.

He has done a great job for us, but he is tired, uninspired, and clearly not able to address our issues.

We need someone else.

 

[Eelementary]

Actually I do like Guler. Also agree with your call on Parker or Alamoti. Parker is unfashionable but definitely an NRL quality centre, and Alamoti could be anything. Plenty more potential than Averillo.

Parker is very good - he reminds me of Opacic.

Very good defensively.

I'd love him at Parra.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

This is the type of idiot response I would expect from a troll.

I addressed the criticisms of 84 Baby and conceded that there may be others - he is merely an example of the options that my be available to strengthen a position.

This is the type of blind unreasonable defence I would expect from you.

It wasn't defence, it was an attack. Blacker would be a decent signing at the right price (like anyone) but we already have better backups than him. We have a few of them.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Around 2014. I’m pretty sure he was coaching Newcastle at the time.

I would say the club has changed significantly since then. Hayne is no longer our most influential player, for example.

 

[Avenger]

I would say the club has changed significantly since then. Hayne is no longer our most influential player, for example.

Definitely has. It’s better. But it’s time for a change. BA is the Terry Fearnley if his generation. Another very good coach.

 

[Legal Eel]

It wasn't defence, it was an attack. Blacker would be a decent signing at the right price (like anyone) but we already have better backups than him. We have a few of them.

Of course it was a counter attack - standard Pou defence tactic.

There would almost certainly be players better than Blacker - but they haven't shown it in first grade or maybe they haven't been given a chance given by the coach due to lack of faith?

As I said, it is not the merits of Blacker alone, it is the fact that our back ups haven't done it and most people know they are inadequate.

But trust you to turn this into a debate on Blacker rather than what is needed. You are the most disingenuous, counterintuitive troll I have ever seen.

To be honest i agree with Ram, I would take Lodge straight away.

 

[Legal Eel]

Or the lead singer of an indigenous Pearl Jam tribute band

have to concede - this is very clever.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I have nothing against Arthur, but to extend him so early on this season was just baffling.

It was based on last year's KPIs.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Of course it was a counter attack - standard Pou defence tactic.

There would almost certainly be players better than Blacker - but they haven't shown it in first grade or maybe they haven't been given a chance given by the coach due to lack of faith?

As I said, it is not the merits of Blacker alone, it is the fact that our back ups haven't done it and most people know they are inadequate.

But trust you to turn this into a debate on Blacker rather than what is needed. You are the most disingenuous, counterintuitive troll I have ever seen.

To be honest i agree with Ram, I would take Lodge straight away.

Lodge is definitely a first grader (or at least was), but I am wary of 'journeymen'.

 

[Eelementary]

It was based on last year's KPIs.

Which would be fair enough, I guess.

 

[TheRam]

Not rated by some, apparently.

This would have to be on the defensive side of things right? But like I have said before, it is sometimes very hard to judge an outside back in defense when they are playing is a crappy team. The Dogs have to many issues still this year mainly due to to many injuries and so their defensive structures have been copping a hammering. I expect this to change once they get back something like their strongest lineup. Then and only then can you judge a player like Averillo correctly on defense.

Some outside backs, the stronger more aggressive ones you can tell even in weaker squads, but not primarily a flyer like Averillo. He is more the Ferrari kind that that wants to rev fast not grunt and carry a heavy load or smash ups.

I wouldn't be dismissing him so quickly, especially since he is better and way faster then anyone else we have at the club that can fill that other centre role.

So just think how excited I am that they are passing on a flyer like Averillo. Imagine the awesome wrecking ball/speedster that they have their eyes on getting. Can't wait for that announcement.

 

[84 Baby]

I think would accept Emre Guler in this context - he would be better as a bench prop than what we have and would add a more attacking presence than Makatoa whilst probably being more mobile than Greig in defence. This is about improving what is a more than decent squad that has been horribly mismanaged through poor recruitment in one very key position.

My question was more if you’d react in a similar way to Pou/I did regarding Blacker if the suggestion was for a player you didn’t rate, not necessarily Guler specifically.

I accept that you are one of the less unreasonable defenders, so you must admit that the management and coach completely stuffed up the recruitment of a replacement for Reed.

Maybe. Reed has come out and said he didn’t want to be second (or third or fourth) fiddle. Right now, he’d be behind Moses and Gutho in hierarchy over who we want to have ball/making key decisions. He’s probably even behind Drown & even Paulo. Arguably even Matterson. So how much do you spend on Reed versus what he could get from Dogs? I also believe but admit it may not be the case that we’ve knew Reed didn’t want to be so low on hierarchy. I’d say at the very least BA and the playing group would’ve known and that this info should have been passed on to management, just like any other competent business. The only way we could’ve kept Reed is by diminishing the hierarchy of others who were mostly off contract too, so we’d have been in the same position with them.
The f**k up wasn’t the Reed negotiations, it’s been Hodgson’s performance, which management compounded with the mutual option. Their only hope with that is it’s for practically zero and Hodgson can take Reins spot at Wenty. Also I think they’ve stuffed up with the Davey contract length too, which they probably did because the Momoisea signing wasn’t what they hoped it’d be.

The defence of the coach and management as authorities beyond the question or judgment of "mere" fans is an impossible model to sustain and one that guarantees failure.

You’d have to admit though some of the criticisms, questions and judgments have little to do with anything, that is also a model that guarantees failure.

I am seriously curious as to the motives of people like Gronk and Pou who tow the line that the coach is beyond question or criticism by mere fans. I suspect in Pou's case that it is because he just likes to argue up hill and down dale and make himself feel superior to "plebs" on the internet. I suspect with Gronk it is because he has a contrarian persona and loves to be "other" or alternative to the mainstream. With yourself I have no clue.

But these are mere suspicions, so yes it was a serious question. Kudos to you for answering the Blacker proposition with a reasoned argument.

Mostly for me it’s stream of consciousness. A lot of the time when I’m arguing, I just pick up on certain posts that weren’t even directed at me. I’m an easily triggered person.

 

[Incorrect]

It was based on last year's KPIs.

Yeah I was about to post something along these lines, lucky I read ahead FFS....


My take on BA's "extension" was that he had the right to exercise the extension given the teams performance from last year. I didn't get the impression the club were falling over themselves to lock him in after a few rounds of this season....

 

[TheRam]

I think Hopgood has regressed in the past month , will b honest, but no more

I think if we had an extra quality prop or two he would be awesome. Our pack and bench suck right now and he ends up playing way to fatigued at the moment way to often.