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Poupou Escobar

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
91,669
Zoso said:
I’d like to see what Drown can do under the new coaching set up but it’s a fair point.
Has he (i) given us value for money to date and/or (ii) could some of that money be better spent elsewhere?
I’m on the fence for both parts of the question atm…
He didn’t exactly handle the primary playmaker role when Mitch was injured last year. Asi pretty much took that role, and he’s not that special.
Drown rarely if ever lets us down in defense but his attack is up and down. Maybe, that has a lot to do with who is outside him but plenty has to do with involvement. And involvement could be due to how the team has been coached and structured to play.
Whatever the reasons, it feels like we’re paying good money for a great defender, good ball runner but otherwise patchy attacker, and ineffective kicker, who drifts in and out of games.
Too harsh, about right??
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I think Drown's involvement is awesome, and he regularly makes 20+ runs a game. It's what he does best, playing like a second fullback (or even the first fullback while we had Gutherson playing like a half). But the reason Drown is on my shit list is that his leadership is poor for such a highly paid player, including his leadership off the field. That long suspension for being a douchebag on the piss was a massive red flag. And I love him as a player.
 
Poupou Escobar

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
91,669
Delboy said:
Posts like this really underline you haven’t been around rugby league for a while, this comment makes no sense .

also Lynn is an above average half, but no surprise You don’t see that.
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I reckon you don't understand a single thing I post and that's fine. You're not my target audience.
 
Z

Zoso

Juniors
Messages
314
Poupou Escobar said:
Then no doubt neither would anyone else we could've picked in SG Ball that year.

Consider all the merkins who started at hooker in the NRL last year. There were 38 of them, including all the backups who started a handful of games (or even just one). The mean (rounded) and median age of these merkins was 27 while the mode was 26. Interestingly, but not statistically relevant, was the fact that 6 of these hookers were born in '95, 6 in '96, 7 in '98, but only 2 in '97. Only 4 of the 38 were born before 1994, and only 1 was born after 2001, which was Da Silva, born in 2005. So to write off Matt Arthur (also born in '05) is insane. But that's not the point of this post.

The point of this post is to illustrate that at most, only seven of the hookers in the best represented age group (last year that was the ones born in 1998) went on to "make it" in the NRL, and I use the term loosely, since this cohort includes Paul Roache, who only started a single game at hooker last year, which was the only start of his 4 game NRL 'career'. This bloke is now 26 years old. Of these seven, only four played SG Ball in 2016 (it was an under 18s comp back then): Kenny, Mahoney, Starling and Blayke Brailey. Grant and Robson both didn't play SG Ball in 2016, instead playing NYC that year, proving that early milestones is a good indicator of quality. Roache was playing park footy in Auckland in 2016.

Of the blokes who turned 17 in 2016 (and therefore were also eligible for SG Ball) only three of them started at hooker in the NRL last year (Verrills, Hands and Smoothy). Verrills and Hands both played SG Ball in 2016 while Smoothy played Mal Meninga Cup.

What this means is that, of the 16 SG Ball teams in 2016, only six of them had players who went on to start at hooker in the NRL in 2024 (Penrith, Canterbury, Newcastle, Cronulla, Manly and Western Sydney Academy). The other ten teams had zero players who would go on to start a single game of NRL at hooker while in their prime. Parra's SG Ball hookers that year were Vea Tapa'atoutai and Adam Campbell. I'm sure the club knew neither of these guys were going to become NRL players, but as always, they have to name a team every week. It's not like they were preventing a higher potential youth from getting a run. There were only six future NRL hookers running around in SG Ball in 2016 and they were all at other clubs. They didn't have their pathway blocked by nuffies like Campbell and Tapa'atoutai. So it is with Matt Arthur. If he really is a nobody, then we had nobody better missing out because of him getting a run. Don't sweat it. SG Ball is full of nuffies, and the cream rises to the top. Future NRL players don't let nuffies hold them back. If they're good enough some other club will gladly take them.
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I think TheRam hacked your account Pou!
 
Delboy

Delboy

First Grade
Messages
7,560
Poupou Escobar said:
I reckon you don't understand a single thing I post and that's fine. You're not my target audience.
Click to expand...
Your target audience must be people who love stats and have no feel for the game and don’t attend any games or watch many at all so they have no eye test of players, particularly non NRLgames.

it’s obvious where your target audience is , glad I’m not regarded as part of it.
 
Poupou Escobar

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
91,669
Delboy said:
Your target audience must be people who love stats and have no feel for the game and don’t attend any games or watch many at all so they have no eye test of players, particularly non NRLgames.

it’s obvious where your target audience is , glad I’m not regarded as part of it.
Click to expand...
No my target audience is people who understand concepts like opportunity cost; the idea that the more you spend on players like Dylan Brown the less you can spend on more reliable players who offer better value for money and possibly even better leadership.
 
Tiger5150

Tiger5150

Bench
Messages
3,899
Delboy said:
Your target audience must be people who love stats and have no feel for the game and don’t attend any games or watch many at all so they have no eye test of players, particularly non NRLgames.

it’s obvious where your target audience is , glad I’m not regarded as part of it.
Click to expand...
delete
 
Z

Zoso

Juniors
Messages
314
Lomax to be goal kicker according to this. Don’t know how reliable they are as a source.
www.instagram.com

Eels.nation on Instagram: "Interesting news this. I do rate it, I think it helps Moses significantly and probably makes the potential captaincy role for him easier. Thoughts? 🤔⬇️💬 —— #goparra #parradise #nrl #blueandgoldarmy #uptheeels #bringon202

545 likes, 10 comments - eels.nation on December 19, 2024: "Interesting news this. I do rate it, I think it helps Moses significantly and probably makes the potential captaincy role for him easier. Thoughts? 🤔⬇️💬 —— #goparra #parradise #nrl #blueandgoldarmy #uptheeels #bringon2025 #dylanbrown...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
L

Legal Eel

Juniors
Messages
1,061
Zoso said:
I’d like to see what Drown can do under the new coaching set up but it’s a fair point.
Has he (i) given us value for money to date and/or (ii) could some of that money be better spent elsewhere?
I’m on the fence for both parts of the question atm…
He didn’t exactly handle the primary playmaker role when Mitch was injured last year. Asi pretty much took that role, and he’s not that special.
Drown rarely if ever lets us down in defense but his attack is up and down. Maybe, that has a lot to do with who is outside him but plenty has to do with involvement. And involvement could be due to how the team has been coached and structured to play.
Whatever the reasons, it feels like we’re paying good money for a great defender, good ball runner but otherwise patchy attacker, and ineffective kicker, who drifts in and out of games.
Too harsh, about right??
Click to expand...
About right…but I will think we will see more under the new system
 
Gary Gutful

Gary Gutful

Post Whore
Messages
53,060
Delboy said:
Your target audience must be people who love stats and have no feel for the game and don’t attend any games or watch many at all so they have no eye test of players, particularly non NRLgames.

it’s obvious where your target audience is , glad I’m not regarded as part of it.
Click to expand...
Most armchair critics think they are geniuses and have amazing “eye tests” of players and “feel for the game” but they are usually pulling their dicks.

Have always thought its a weird thing to try and brag about as well.
 
Johnny88

Johnny88

Juniors
Messages
1,338
Special investigation: The hidden contract clauses, options for every NRL player
From emerging NRL stars through to the biggest names in the game - MICHAEL CARAYANNIS reveals more than 50 players across multiple NRL clubs have hidden contract clauses which could rock the player market. How does it affect your team?

More than 50 players across 14 NRL clubs have hidden contract clauses which could rock the player market.
From emerging NRL stars through to the biggest names in the game, players at 14 of the 17 NRL teams could become available as early as this year as clubs navigate the balancing act between contract clauses and keeping rosters flexible.
Penrith is just one of three clubs who do not have an option in any of their playing contracts, with Canterbury and the Roosters the other clubs.

The Eels (seven) have the most of any club, while Melbourne and Canberra (six each) are next.

Sunday Sesh can also reveal that:
• Justin Olam had a get-out clause for 2026 if PNG were fast-tracked into the competition. He is now contracted to the Tigers for next year. Teammate Jarome Luai is committed to the Tigers for two years but can get out at the end of 2026.
• Ryan Matterson has already informed Parramatta that he will take up the final year of his contract for 2026. The Eels control Josh Addo-Carr’s future with the club needing to tell him by June if they want to retain him next year. Dylan Brown has two get-out clauses in his contract which expires at the end of 2031. He needs to tell the club if he wants to stay in 2026 and 2027 by round 10. The Eels remain locked in talks about extending Mitchell Moses’ contract and taking out his clauses in his deal.
• The Knights have until June 30 to work out the futures of veterans Dane Gagai and Tyson Frizell.
• Jaydn Su’A’s contract extension was announced as a two-year deal starting from this year. He does however have an option in his favour to remain at the Dragons in 2027. Jacob Liddle has a mutual option which means the Dragons can take it up at a certain amount and if they do not he can take it up at a lesser amount a week later.

Su’A is not alone when it comes to secret options. Ex-Wallaby turned Titan Carter Gordon has a mutual option on his services for next year, as does new Warriors recruit Tannah Boyd. The Titans announced Klese Haas had signed a three-year contract but the final season is an option in his favour.
• A host of Boyd’s Warriors teammates have mutual options including Chanel Harris-Tavita (for 2026) and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (2027). Tohu Harris also had an option in his contract announced his retirement on Thursday.
• The Raiders have until round six to let halfback Jamal Fogarty know if they want him for 2026. If they elect not to take up the 12-month extension, Fogarty can still remain at the club for a significantly less deal and he has until round 20 to let the Raiders know.
• Raiders centre Matt Timoko has an option in the final two years of his deal for 2027 and 2028. The Raiders will have until round 16 next year to take up the deal for 2027 and Timoko can take it by round 20. The final season is in Canberra’s favour for about $100,000 more than his 2027 contract value.
• Veterans David Klemmer and Christian Welch head towards 2026 with unique situations. Klemmer needs to play as many as 14 games in 2025 to be guaranteed another year at the Tigers while Welch needs to play at least 18 games to enact a clause in his deal for 2026 in Melbourne. The alternative is for Welch to win a State of Origin recall, which would also secure him another season.

 
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