Rumours and Stuff

[Chipmunk]

Brown basically put that rumour of him going to Perth to bed when he said he’d go there after his 20 year contract ends with us. I reckon he will activate that clause that he has well before round 10 next season to mitigate any uncertainty. That’s what a smart club would do.

Hang on.

I'd be surprised if Brown's current market value is close to his current contract value. He has proved to the rugby league world is very average without Moses in the team.

He won't be going anywhere, unless he wants to play for less money.

 

[84 Baby]

@TheRam Building a good football side is like this.

It all starts with a creative hooker.

Explain Panthers with Kenny and Tigers with Korisau.

 

[hindy111]

Explain Panthers with Kenny and Tigers with Korisau.

Kenny is very underrated. Best defensive hooker in comp, has developed a run game. He isnt Harry Grant but he is in the top half around nowdays.

 

[Stevie]

Kenny is very underrated. Best defensive hooker in comp, has developed a run game. He isnt Harry Grant but he is in the top half around nowdays.

I agree and I also think Harry Grant has been pretty average this year. Despite the fact I cant stand him, I really think he is overrated at times. I'd take Api in a second over Harry.

The key question is, who is the next under rated Kenny we can grab for next year? Surely there is a Q-Cup or NSW Cup player of the year around, or a hooker in waiting at another club we could offer a starting spot to?

 

[Wally21]

I get the clean out thing. But FFS we won't have a team if they all go. We don't even have a NSW Cup team right now.

As others have said, if we can jag a good dummy half, a forward leader, (we simply don’t have one. RCG is the closest thing to a forward leader) and two outside backs, we look a different side in my humble opinion.
I would prioritize keeping RCG, Hands (as a 14), Offa, Hopgood, Kelma and Cartwright on the bench from our current top 17 forwards, priorities Guymer and some of the juniors in the middle.
(As long as we already have them locked up on contract for at least 2 years)
Then add two outside backs, one with speed and one to help coming out of our red zone.
Throw them into a back line with Moses, Brown, Lomax and to a far lesser extent Penisini and we look better.
then move on Junior, Matto, Lussick, Lane, Sivo, Asi, et al. Russell can stay as a back up and then fill the top 30 roster with promising juniors from both our pathways and other clubs.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

One thing with player options. If you are waiting until Round 10 for a player to take it up, rather than knowing they are going back in November, you have less time to look for a replacement. That’s a definite disadvantage.

I reckon you just pretend it doesn’t exist and carry on building your squad. Then if something goes wrong and the player needs to activate the option you deal with it when it happens. As I said, Welch did his ACL in round 20 and still took up his option. It didn’t seem to hurt Melbourne’s salary cap considering they won the comp the following year.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

That’s not the point. The point is the player gets extra time to keep us in limbo - we can’t plan ahead for losses. I get they can have some salary cap advantages but once your performance goes to shit, they exacerbate the issues.

Talagi’s PO didn’t keep us in limbo. We assumed he wouldn’t be taking it. Then it expired and he still didn’t decide on his future until months later. The PO had nothing to do with it.

 

[Soren Lorenson]

I reckon you just pretend it doesn’t exist and carry on building your squad. Then if something goes wrong and the player needs to activate the option you deal with it when it happens. As I said, Welch did his ACL in round 20 and still took up his option. It didn’t seem to hurt Melbourne’s salary cap considering they won the comp the following year.

Here’s what I think. In the hands of a skilled operator, player options are a useful tool. But MON seems to be anything but a skilled operator and has used them as a lazy negotiating tactic.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Gould doesn’t think our ‘aging squad’ is an issue. Reckons that most players at that age are still close to their peak and halves are just approaching it.

I reckon they just took it easy over the off season. Morale would be pretty low as well. At full time of round three it was looking good. Then we lost Moses, threw away the Tigers win, and then just capitulated for several weeks. It doesn’t say much about our leadership group.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I was exaggerating but even of all the ones who played in GF, who cares? They’re currently presiding over us 50/50 getting another spoon, so we need to look if they are going to improve us in future or not. Currently I have Lomax, Moses, Hopgood and maybe RCG but cost is pushing that. I’ve got high hopes for Guymer, and I think Hands can fill a role. That’s 6 of 17 at best I have any confidence of improving us. Where do you propose we just buy the other 11?

Well I don’t think we can buy our way out of this. We need to get the players we have performing better, which would be why we arseholed the coach. Ryles’ job will be to prepare them for 2025, and we can replace merkins in 2026 when their contracts expire.

 

[hindy111]

Since Barrett has taken over we've been better. Perhaps marginal but better. And with more injuries.

I won't count the Souths game as he had 3 days in charge.

Sharks - Won

Dogs - Should of won

Roosters - Competitive

Knights - Should of won

Souths - Poor

Titans - Competitive

Storm - We did ok considering

I'd say with a bit of luck we are 3/7 with Barrett. With only one terrible performance against Souths.
If we had a fit squad I'd say we beat Tirans and are 4/7

Things look dark right now but I reckon we are closer to light then most think.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

How many team in the last 20-30 years who were outside the top 3 defensive teams have won the premiership in that year?

How many Parramatta teams since 1986 have been in the top three defensive sides?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

We don't have Gus at Parra mate who has done all the heavy lifting in assembling that squad. Remember we have The Glacier. We won't be signing the likes of Kikau, Mahoney, Crichton, Xerri, Addo-Car, Burton or even the widely anticipated from next year Utoikamanu any time soon mate.

I feel Lomax is going to be the last great signing and a fluke signing at that for a while. The bleeding on the field needs to stop first before players start to see us as a quality and viable option for them to advance their careers. Which will be very hard for a rookie coach without any runs on the board to do without a Gus like figure in his pocket to reach for and do the necessary hard yakka selling of a sh*t club to star players and in particular to their managers.

Never underestimate the power of a Glacier to sink even the most mightiest of ships.

I think the quality of our external recruitment will match the amount of cap space available for new recruits each year. Just like at every other club.

 

[TheRam]

Well I don’t think we can buy our way out of this. We need to get the players we have performing better, which would be why we arseholed the coach. Ryles’ job will be to prepare them for 2025, and we can replace merkins in 2026 when their contracts expire.

That's why I wouldn't be moving RCG on at this stage. Lets see what a Melbourne like off season of training and hopefully a change in attitude and motivation due to all different and hopefully better coaches he and all the boys will be surrounded by and then reassess. Lets not forget, RCG is our best forward when playing well and he hasn't had major injuries to deaden his ability. It seems more likely to me the whole squad needs a new direction and training systems brought in to freshen the whole place up so to speak.

Then after we watch who has responded well and who hasn't under all the new coaches and systems can we can really make a well educated decision on former quality players like RCG and Junior.

Them playing well is vital if we want to turn our team around quickly. If we lose either then we will be going backwards since I can't see us replacing either with equally as good players when they were in form. What has happened to them is more between the ears and a fitness thing. We need to get them thinking the right way again and fit.

Obviously ditto for all the squad too.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Yes you are probably right, but every off season that passes without improving our roster will only put us back at least 2 more seasons. It will be hard enough as it is getting things right from here on in with just fixing fitness, attitude and good coaching that will stimulate the players into responding positively as it is. Waiting for for the off season and a blow up or two between both Ryles and The Glacier, well then if Ryles is successful in getting him moved on, who will be his replacement and will he be a quality heavy hitter that can hit the ground running and has gravitas in the game?

Remember we are vying for the spoon mate. This has a massive baring on how players and their managers see us. We need to make all the right noise quickly or we will be faced with the same undesirable moniker as the Tigers and the Dogs before Gus got there to fix the joint up to be the current new success story of the NRL and most importantly a go to destination for quality players and their managers.

Forgive me but after years of failure I don't have enough confidence in our management to get things right, let alone very quickly.

The time is very much ticking on our club and every day that passes with negative press and a lack of quality leadership in so many areas means we are nailing more nails into the long term coffin we are lying in. We need to get out of that made to measure coffin now before it is to freakin late.

Most of us older fans have seen this movie to many times before and it never ends well. Eventually every other player, manager and club ends up sticking a stake through our heart and we are done for a decade or so. I hope this doesn't end up being like those times, but I am fearing it may just end up that way.

Unless they can unearth an unexpected gun HOF from God knows where, I hope they quickly realise the enormity of the situation we are in and bring in Brian Smith to do that role.

But I know it will never happen.

Yeah you’re right. Look at 2018. We sacked the coach and still struggled for years afterwards. No sorry, we kept the same coach, brought in MON and made the finals for four straight years, something our club hadn’t done since 2002.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

@TheRam Building a good football side is like this.

It all starts with a creative hooker. They will touch the ball the most and need to know when to spread it.
You need a mix of experience and youth. The experience will keep things calm but moving in the right direction especially in wet conditions whilst the youth will add energy and joy. Keeps things fresh.
Your halves dictate the play. They need to know when to run and must have a good touch.
On the outside you need speed and power whilst in the middle you need a few workers who can go all day. They will plug the holes.
And whoever is at the back is equally important. They could have 2 or 3 people cuming at them at once and have a split second to take the tight option, I mean right option. Whoops.
I need a glass of water to cool down.

Right now we have about 12 star fish who have one move and one move only. Chase the collision.

Our attack isn’t the problem ffs. Last year we were fifth in the NRL for tries scored. We are similar this year with Moses on the field. Our problem is our defence. That’s got nothing to do with all your shit about creative hookers and whatnot.

 

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

How many team in the last 20-30 years who were outside the top 3 defensive teams have won the premiership in that year?

That's not the point I was making. I was responding to an assertion that our defense had been horrid for most of BA's tenure. I was just presenting evidence that while it was far from competition leading, it was 'average' on average. Not horrid, in the main (thoug a couple of years were pretty bad).

As I said in the post, our lack of innovation in attack would be my larger criticism of the BA years. And that affects your defense, because it affects the circumstances and position in which your opponents get the ball.

 

[Avenger]

How many Parramatta teams since 1986 have been in the top three defensive sides?

2001, 2005, 2007 from memory and in those years we were terribly unlucky not to have won a comp. All great sides.

 

[hindy111]

Our attack isn’t the problem ffs. Last year we were fifth in the NRL for tries scored. We are similar this year with Moses on the field. Our problem is our defence. That’s got nothing to do with all your shit about creative hookers and whatnot.

It was a joke.
Penaut

 

[Poupou Escobar]

It was a joke.
Penaut

This isn’t the place for f**ken jokes ffs!!