I’m not saying he’ll be elite, but when was the last time you saw Gutho be elite last line of defence? Our record this year and last would also indicate he isn’t great at organising defence either. Burton Speshalls I’ve seen Gutho spill and the kick Iongi took at start of highlights wasn’t exactly training run. And effort on effort, I’m sorry but Gutho has been off the mark since 2022 there as well.
I haven’t even touched on the other guy who kept Iongi out of 1st grade, who’s lack of playmaking/passing hasn’t kept him out of Australian jersey.
Do you reckon on highlight packages for Gutho they'd have him organising the defensive line?
My point really this morning was that there has been many on here who have flippantly said that it’s time for Gutho to go. I think that his loss will be underestimated by some, simply because we are pinning our hope on a rookie (or two) to fill the void.
Rookie seasons are quite often up and down and quite often those players need to be spelled in reggies just to take a breath. They also often don’t live up to expectations straightaway.
We will miss Gutho and I will be very surprised if any rookie can adequately fill his shoes in year one. Another reason why next year will be tough to string a few together IMO.
I am not against any of this BTW, but we will be very much the baby eels again and I hope that some of you merkins are patient.