Register a free account today to become a member of the world's largest Rugby League discussion forum! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Yeah funny how BA had no problem shifting Drown to the centres to get his awesome backup son Jake a run in the top grade but wouldn't do the same thing when we had a genuine injury crisis and a "utility" on the bench and instead played Kelma out there.... That charlatan used the club as his own plaything with a misplaced emphasis on developing the questionable talents of his offspring.
Here’s an alternate take that doesn’t require us to sneer at the decisions of people we don’t know, under conditions we also don’t understand:
Where? The seasons where these POs come due haven’t even happened yet ffs
What was wrong with the 2022 grand final squad? It was a solid team, and it’s no wonder the salary cap pulled it apart. Our problem was we had no cheap talent ready to bring into the team to replace the ones who left. Fortunately we have much stronger juniors in 2025. Most of those SG Ball merkins from 2023 are 21 next season.
FFS!!!!
If its all hypothetical, why doesnt the club just say this is the price we want to pay p.a. for this many years, take it or leave it? How many players walked away from the club because a PO wasnt offered? Would Mose and Drown have walked? Will never know because Eels folded like an Aldi beach chair.
If PO's are a smart, clever tactic, why dont any of the top 8 clubs have any?
It’s no different to trying to get rid of any other contracted player, such as RCG, Sivo and Gutherson. I’m sure Matterson will still be a solid contributor next year. It’s not like he’s become a bum. He was our best forward two years ago.
I doubt any of these merkins will wait until the last minute to activate their option, or accept a bigger offer from a rival (or from us).
I think any youngster is going to appear to ‘regress’ in a struggling team. But Penisini is only 22 years old. He is still on the up.
How much do you reckon Staggs would be on if he agreed to come to Parra?
Decision making is a weakness for probably every young player
Yeah but it also got us to our third grand final in 36 years. These merkins know what they're doing.
I see the big picture ffs. Nick Politis is a resource unavailable to other clubs. Meanwhile the likes of Spags and other Parramatta Eels personalities aren't taking their 'contributions' anywhere else. The stadium we don't own is a resource (though any club can play home games there), and the CoE the government co-funded is also a resource. Hell even geography is a resource. If I just meant money I would say money.
What are you on about? They didn't start going downhill until 2020. Before 2021 they never missed the finals more than two years in a row.
Not a coincidence but you're putting the cart in front of the horse. It's not Ryles spending the money. That's above his pay grade.
Let me guess, another Brad Arthur conspiracy theory? He picked Hands in first grade 24 times, 8 times as a starting hooker. How many times did he pick Matt Arthur in first grade? It was Barrett who picked him, even though he has no utility value (unlike Hands).
Tuilagi is fast and powerful. Why not move him to centre? Would Hands go any better?
I remember we were winning when Tuilagi went off injured after smashing Liam Martin. Whoever played left centre after him conceded two tries.
*explanations
*shitter
Gee you must rate Hands as an edge defender.
Because they might say it's not enough to match their best rival offer. Do we then just offer more money, which goes on the cap, or do we see if they're willing to take a PO instead?
Well we didn't fold when a quarter of our squad signed elsewhere before the 2022 season kicked off. Why would we expect any of the others to be any more loyal?
They have better ways to compensate players outside the cap. Or do you still think the NRL is a level playing field, despite all the evidence to the contrary?
