Dr Fruitbasket Returns
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28. Reserve grader.
Are you a coach or selector have a open mind28. Reserve grader.
No dude, St George supporter who saw too much of Darren Willis, Lachlan Maranta and Jordon Pereira.Are you a coach or selector have a open mind
The complex jigsaw puzzle that is rugby league recruitment is a lot like judging race horses - the art is in seeing value where others don't.GAME ON: Recruitment value works in mysterious ways
The complex jigsaw puzzle that is rugby league recruitment is a lot like judging race horses - the...www.illawarramercury.com.au
can anyone post the article behind a pay wall
IF it looks like Dragons youngster Tyrell Sloan doesn't have a care in the world, it's because he doesn't - at least not on the footy field.Fullback pressure an easy carry for Sloan
IF it looks like Dragons youngster Tyrell Sloan doesn't have a care in the world, it's because he...www.illawarramercury.com.au
Also this one would be great if you can thanks guys
Thanks mateIF it looks like Dragons youngster Tyrell Sloan doesn't have a care in the world, it's because he doesn't - at least not on the footy field.
The 19-year-old glides so effortlessly across the turf it brings to mind Winx in the straight, whether he's kicking up pristine Sir Walter at WIN Stadium, or dust at Reed Park
It's all the same to the Dapto product, who this week inked a contract extension keeping him at the Dragons until the end of 2024.
The deal elevates him to the top 30, something that was fait accompli given he's all but certain to don the No. 1 jumper come round one.
It comes after the club moved on another local junior in Matt Dufty, who occupied, but never quite locked down, the jersey in five top-grade seasons.
In many ways, his predecessor provides a cautionary tale. Few junior stars came more highly touted than Dufty, but his time in the NRL has been roller coaster.
Stepping into the fullback spot hot on those heels would weigh heavily on most teenagers but, as his answer to that question reveals, Sloan is not like most teenagers.
"I think pressure for me is a lot different to other people," Sloan said.
"Growing up, pressure was not knowing where my next meal was coming from or where I'm going to sleep that night. At the end of the day, footy's just a game to me and I love having fun.
"As far as the responsibility of wearing the number one, I'm just going to try and have as much fun as I can, help the team win and get it back to where it needs to be playing finals footy."
Given the way they finished the season, it's easy enough to forget that Sloan and best mate Talatau Amone in fact started the season at SG Ball level.
They were subsequently drip fed NRL action over the latter part of the season, with Sloan not playing back to back games until the final two rounds of the season.
It was to the chagrin of a large section of fans who wanted to see more of them, but Sloan's aware 25 straight weeks of an NRL campaign is a much taller order.
"I'm not really sure how to answer that because I've only played a few games against men," he said.
"With the responsibility of the club putting faith in me, it's something I just have to [handle]. There's no getting away from it, I've just got to do it.
"It's going to be a challenge but that's something I love to take on. There's been a lot of challenges through my whole career and it's just another one I need to meet."
He joins the likes of Amone, Jayden Sullivan and Mat and Max Feagai in committing to the club long-term.
So high are the hopes for that particular Steelers junior class, barely a story is written about one of them without mentioning the others.
"Sully and the twins re-signing was a very big thing for myself," Sloan said.
"Junz (Amone) and I always talked about coming together through the grades. That's all we wanted to see. We all wanted to come through together.
"We're happy to be able to still be together at this young age and hopefully we can all progress through and play some first grade footy.
"It was a pretty easy decision [to re-sign]. It's home, my Nan's here, my family's down here, my mates are all down here playing footy with me.
"There's security there being top 30 as well and I want to repay the faith the club put in me from an early age."
We sure have some special players coming into our system. They are proud to be wearing the Red V jersey. They want to play for the club and that is so important that their hearts are for the club. I'm looking forward to the years of their respective successful futures at the club.IF it looks like Dragons youngster Tyrell Sloan doesn't have a care in the world, it's because he doesn't - at least not on the footy field.
The 19-year-old glides so effortlessly across the turf it brings to mind Winx in the straight, whether he's kicking up pristine Sir Walter at WIN Stadium, or dust at Reed Park
It's all the same to the Dapto product, who this week inked a contract extension keeping him at the Dragons until the end of 2024.
The deal elevates him to the top 30, something that was fait accompli given he's all but certain to don the No. 1 jumper come round one.
It comes after the club moved on another local junior in Matt Dufty, who occupied, but never quite locked down, the jersey in five top-grade seasons.
In many ways, his predecessor provides a cautionary tale. Few junior stars came more highly touted than Dufty, but his time in the NRL has been roller coaster.
Stepping into the fullback spot hot on those heels would weigh heavily on most teenagers but, as his answer to that question reveals, Sloan is not like most teenagers.
"I think pressure for me is a lot different to other people," Sloan said.
"Growing up, pressure was not knowing where my next meal was coming from or where I'm going to sleep that night. At the end of the day, footy's just a game to me and I love having fun.
"As far as the responsibility of wearing the number one, I'm just going to try and have as much fun as I can, help the team win and get it back to where it needs to be playing finals footy."
Given the way they finished the season, it's easy enough to forget that Sloan and best mate Talatau Amone in fact started the season at SG Ball level.
They were subsequently drip fed NRL action over the latter part of the season, with Sloan not playing back to back games until the final two rounds of the season.
It was to the chagrin of a large section of fans who wanted to see more of them, but Sloan's aware 25 straight weeks of an NRL campaign is a much taller order.
"I'm not really sure how to answer that because I've only played a few games against men," he said.
"With the responsibility of the club putting faith in me, it's something I just have to [handle]. There's no getting away from it, I've just got to do it.
"It's going to be a challenge but that's something I love to take on. There's been a lot of challenges through my whole career and it's just another one I need to meet."
He joins the likes of Amone, Jayden Sullivan and Mat and Max Feagai in committing to the club long-term.
So high are the hopes for that particular Steelers junior class, barely a story is written about one of them without mentioning the others.
"Sully and the twins re-signing was a very big thing for myself," Sloan said.
"Junz (Amone) and I always talked about coming together through the grades. That's all we wanted to see. We all wanted to come through together.
"We're happy to be able to still be together at this young age and hopefully we can all progress through and play some first grade footy.
"It was a pretty easy decision [to re-sign]. It's home, my Nan's here, my family's down here, my mates are all down here playing footy with me.
"There's security there being top 30 as well and I want to repay the faith the club put in me from an early age."
Very good article.The complex jigsaw puzzle that is rugby league recruitment is a lot like judging race horses - the art is in seeing value where others don't.
At under $250,000 each, Winx and Black Caviar cost little more than a deposit on a house in Sydney.
Then there's Takeover Target, the gelding with a bung leg and dodgy joints bought for 1200 bucks by a Queanbeyan cab driver. He went on to win over $6 million in Australia and abroad.
Of course the list of flops is far longer; it's what they call it punting.
The comparison to rugby league recruitment isn't like for like, but the end game is the same; finding value beyond what meets the eye.
One can look at the Dragons recruitment approach, which has been the subject of much debate, through such a lens.
Game On offered more than two cents last year in the wake of the club's call to reject Origin incumbent Tariq Sims' request to open talks about contract extension.
The club took a similar approach to former skipper Cam McInnes, allowing the two-time club player of the year to link with Cronulla from the upcoming season.
Individual decisions will always be polarising (for the record your columnist was a critic of both calls) but there's a clear intention not to break the bank.
Looking for maximum return on modest investments is not an unwise approach for a club that's had a costly habit of paying huge overs.
It's shifted huge cap weight in not renewing Corey Norman's contract and, somewhat opportunistically, moving on Paul Vaughan.
Andrew McCullough, Jack Bird and Josh McGuire were all deemed surplus to requirements at their former clubs. Those clubs contributed in the vicinity of million bucks - or four Winxes - to the Dragons cap.
The likes of Aaron Woods, Moses Suli and Jack Gosiewski are in that same category. None of the 2022 recruitment class are quite in the Takeover Target mould, but there's some gambles there.
George Burgess is effectively coming out of injury-forced retirement after nursing a crippling hip complaint for several years.
Whether revolutionary surgery proves career-saving remains to be seen - though all reports are he's flying in preseason.
To summarise, the club's broader aim has been to add depth and experience without blocking the path of its exciting crop of youngsters coming through.
No recruit epitomises that approach more than Moses Mbye, who is no doubt the most intriguing pick-up.
It was another polarising decision, but no one ticks more boxes for the Dragons than the 28-year-old.
He comes cheap - the Tigers chipping in more than half the freight on his 2022 contract - he's experienced, and he covers every position in the spine.
It puts him in a unique position to be both back-up and mentor to the club's young crop. Most importantly, he arrives with that understanding.
"Going through the year everyone dips in form, you get injuries, there's a lot of moving parts to an NRL season," he told this publication prior to Christmas.
"I'll be there to support those guys when they need a rest or things aren't going their way. I think that'll naturally become my role now, especially with the calibre of juniors we've got in those positions."
Talk to the Dragons generation next and it's clear he's shown that value already.
The other primary source of guidance to the Dragons youngsters may come as a surprise.
Of all the recruits, Tautau Moga has flown most under the radar. To a man though, unprompted, Sloan, Talatau Amone, Mat and Max Feagai and Cody Ramsey all cite the 28-year-old as a chief mentor through preseason.
"Definitely Tautau Moga," Mat Feagai told this column when asked who'd taken him under their wing.
"My brother and I loved watching him play when he was coming through. He's really easy to get along with, he actually messaged us first before we'd even met him.
"As young outside backs, to Max and I who watched him, he has that aura about him that draws us in. He's a great player, he's been there and done it even though he's unfortunately had his injuries.
"We pick his brain at training and, just listening to him talk footy, it's so good learning from him."
Of course Mbye and Moga know plenty about the pressure and pitfalls that come with being a hyped-up young star.
In 2016 Canterbury great Terry Lamb publicly implored his beloved Bulldogs to do whatever it takes to lock down Mbye long-term or risk repeating the famous mistake in letting Jonathan Thurston depart.
The club listened, Mbye is now seeing out that 800k a year deal at a third club.
Moga was 'the next Israel Folau' when he came through at the Roosters. A decade, four knee reconstructions and five clubs later, he's looking to reboot on a cut-price deal in Wollongong.
It's fair to say they have some idea of the roller coaster these emerging stars have ahead of them. Sloan speaks to that fact in his glowing review of the pair.
"I think guys like [Moga] and Moey can see, given we're so young, we can probably get ahead of ourselves thinking we're better than what we are," Sloan said.
"For those guys who've been through that, on both sides of it, good and bad, it's good to see that care for us as players but people as well.
"For myself, Moey's probably been the person who's most helped me out in my short career so far.
"He's such a smart person and he's taught me a lot in the short time that he's been here. Being able to cover any position in the spine, he has a lot of knowledge.
"[Moga] was obviously a gun coming through and had some unfortunate injuries coming up.
"He's a really good communicator on and off the field. He tells me what he sees, what I can't see, we're doing extras after training. He's been really good for me."
It remains to be seen how that translates to the paddock come the season proper - the bookies hopes are low.
Still, the rookies' preseason experience is proof that value in rugby league can present itself in many different ways.
Love this kid the more i hear him.IF it looks like Dragons youngster Tyrell Sloan doesn't have a care in the world, it's because he doesn't - at least not on the footy field.
The 19-year-old glides so effortlessly across the turf it brings to mind Winx in the straight, whether he's kicking up pristine Sir Walter at WIN Stadium, or dust at Reed Park
It's all the same to the Dapto product, who this week inked a contract extension keeping him at the Dragons until the end of 2024.
The deal elevates him to the top 30, something that was fait accompli given he's all but certain to don the No. 1 jumper come round one.
It comes after the club moved on another local junior in Matt Dufty, who occupied, but never quite locked down, the jersey in five top-grade seasons.
In many ways, his predecessor provides a cautionary tale. Few junior stars came more highly touted than Dufty, but his time in the NRL has been roller coaster.
Stepping into the fullback spot hot on those heels would weigh heavily on most teenagers but, as his answer to that question reveals, Sloan is not like most teenagers.
"I think pressure for me is a lot different to other people," Sloan said.
"Growing up, pressure was not knowing where my next meal was coming from or where I'm going to sleep that night. At the end of the day, footy's just a game to me and I love having fun.
"As far as the responsibility of wearing the number one, I'm just going to try and have as much fun as I can, help the team win and get it back to where it needs to be playing finals footy."
Given the way they finished the season, it's easy enough to forget that Sloan and best mate Talatau Amone in fact started the season at SG Ball level.
They were subsequently drip fed NRL action over the latter part of the season, with Sloan not playing back to back games until the final two rounds of the season.
It was to the chagrin of a large section of fans who wanted to see more of them, but Sloan's aware 25 straight weeks of an NRL campaign is a much taller order.
"I'm not really sure how to answer that because I've only played a few games against men," he said.
"With the responsibility of the club putting faith in me, it's something I just have to [handle]. There's no getting away from it, I've just got to do it.
"It's going to be a challenge but that's something I love to take on. There's been a lot of challenges through my whole career and it's just another one I need to meet."
He joins the likes of Amone, Jayden Sullivan and Mat and Max Feagai in committing to the club long-term.
So high are the hopes for that particular Steelers junior class, barely a story is written about one of them without mentioning the others.
"Sully and the twins re-signing was a very big thing for myself," Sloan said.
"Junz (Amone) and I always talked about coming together through the grades. That's all we wanted to see. We all wanted to come through together.
"We're happy to be able to still be together at this young age and hopefully we can all progress through and play some first grade footy.
"It was a pretty easy decision [to re-sign]. It's home, my Nan's here, my family's down here, my mates are all down here playing footy with me.
"There's security there being top 30 as well and I want to repay the faith the club put in me from an early age."
IF it looks like Dragons youngster Tyrell Sloan doesn't have a care in the world, it's because he doesn't - at least not on the footy field.
The 19-year-old glides so effortlessly across the turf it brings to mind Winx in the straight, whether he's kicking up pristine Sir Walter at WIN Stadium, or dust at Reed Park
It's all the same to the Dapto product, who this week inked a contract extension keeping him at the Dragons until the end of 2024.
The deal elevates him to the top 30, something that was fait accompli given he's all but certain to don the No. 1 jumper come round one.
It comes after the club moved on another local junior in Matt Dufty, who occupied, but never quite locked down, the jersey in five top-grade seasons.
In many ways, his predecessor provides a cautionary tale. Few junior stars came more highly touted than Dufty, but his time in the NRL has been roller coaster.
Stepping into the fullback spot hot on those heels would weigh heavily on most teenagers but, as his answer to that question reveals, Sloan is not like most teenagers.
"I think pressure for me is a lot different to other people," Sloan said.
"Growing up, pressure was not knowing where my next meal was coming from or where I'm going to sleep that night. At the end of the day, footy's just a game to me and I love having fun.
"As far as the responsibility of wearing the number one, I'm just going to try and have as much fun as I can, help the team win and get it back to where it needs to be playing finals footy."
Given the way they finished the season, it's easy enough to forget that Sloan and best mate Talatau Amone in fact started the season at SG Ball level.
They were subsequently drip fed NRL action over the latter part of the season, with Sloan not playing back to back games until the final two rounds of the season.
It was to the chagrin of a large section of fans who wanted to see more of them, but Sloan's aware 25 straight weeks of an NRL campaign is a much taller order.
"I'm not really sure how to answer that because I've only played a few games against men," he said.
"With the responsibility of the club putting faith in me, it's something I just have to [handle]. There's no getting away from it, I've just got to do it.
"It's going to be a challenge but that's something I love to take on. There's been a lot of challenges through my whole career and it's just another one I need to meet."
He joins the likes of Amone, Jayden Sullivan and Mat and Max Feagai in committing to the club long-term.
So high are the hopes for that particular Steelers junior class, barely a story is written about one of them without mentioning the others.
"Sully and the twins re-signing was a very big thing for myself," Sloan said.
"Junz (Amone) and I always talked about coming together through the grades. That's all we wanted to see. We all wanted to come through together.
"We're happy to be able to still be together at this young age and hopefully we can all progress through and play some first grade footy.
"It was a pretty easy decision [to re-sign]. It's home, my Nan's here, my family's down here, my mates are all down here playing footy with me.
"There's security there being top 30 as well and I want to repay the faith the club put in me from an early age."
Thanks AY.The complex jigsaw puzzle that is rugby league recruitment is a lot like judging race horses - the art is in seeing value where others don't.
At under $250,000 each, Winx and Black Caviar cost little more than a deposit on a house in Sydney.
Then there's Takeover Target, the gelding with a bung leg and dodgy joints bought for 1200 bucks by a Queanbeyan cab driver. He went on to win over $6 million in Australia and abroad.
Of course the list of flops is far longer; it's what they call it punting.
The comparison to rugby league recruitment isn't like for like, but the end game is the same; finding value beyond what meets the eye.
One can look at the Dragons recruitment approach, which has been the subject of much debate, through such a lens.
Game On offered more than two cents last year in the wake of the club's call to reject Origin incumbent Tariq Sims' request to open talks about contract extension.
The club took a similar approach to former skipper Cam McInnes, allowing the two-time club player of the year to link with Cronulla from the upcoming season.
Individual decisions will always be polarising (for the record your columnist was a critic of both calls) but there's a clear intention not to break the bank.
Looking for maximum return on modest investments is not an unwise approach for a club that's had a costly habit of paying huge overs.
It's shifted huge cap weight in not renewing Corey Norman's contract and, somewhat opportunistically, moving on Paul Vaughan.
Andrew McCullough, Jack Bird and Josh McGuire were all deemed surplus to requirements at their former clubs. Those clubs contributed in the vicinity of million bucks - or four Winxes - to the Dragons cap.
The likes of Aaron Woods, Moses Suli and Jack Gosiewski are in that same category. None of the 2022 recruitment class are quite in the Takeover Target mould, but there's some gambles there.
George Burgess is effectively coming out of injury-forced retirement after nursing a crippling hip complaint for several years.
Whether revolutionary surgery proves career-saving remains to be seen - though all reports are he's flying in preseason.
To summarise, the club's broader aim has been to add depth and experience without blocking the path of its exciting crop of youngsters coming through.
No recruit epitomises that approach more than Moses Mbye, who is no doubt the most intriguing pick-up.
It was another polarising decision, but no one ticks more boxes for the Dragons than the 28-year-old.
He comes cheap - the Tigers chipping in more than half the freight on his 2022 contract - he's experienced, and he covers every position in the spine.
It puts him in a unique position to be both back-up and mentor to the club's young crop. Most importantly, he arrives with that understanding.
"Going through the year everyone dips in form, you get injuries, there's a lot of moving parts to an NRL season," he told this publication prior to Christmas.
"I'll be there to support those guys when they need a rest or things aren't going their way. I think that'll naturally become my role now, especially with the calibre of juniors we've got in those positions."
Talk to the Dragons generation next and it's clear he's shown that value already.
The other primary source of guidance to the Dragons youngsters may come as a surprise.
Of all the recruits, Tautau Moga has flown most under the radar. To a man though, unprompted, Sloan, Talatau Amone, Mat and Max Feagai and Cody Ramsey all cite the 28-year-old as a chief mentor through preseason.
"Definitely Tautau Moga," Mat Feagai told this column when asked who'd taken him under their wing.
"My brother and I loved watching him play when he was coming through. He's really easy to get along with, he actually messaged us first before we'd even met him.
"As young outside backs, to Max and I who watched him, he has that aura about him that draws us in. He's a great player, he's been there and done it even though he's unfortunately had his injuries.
"We pick his brain at training and, just listening to him talk footy, it's so good learning from him."
Of course Mbye and Moga know plenty about the pressure and pitfalls that come with being a hyped-up young star.
In 2016 Canterbury great Terry Lamb publicly implored his beloved Bulldogs to do whatever it takes to lock down Mbye long-term or risk repeating the famous mistake in letting Jonathan Thurston depart.
The club listened, Mbye is now seeing out that 800k a year deal at a third club.
Moga was 'the next Israel Folau' when he came through at the Roosters. A decade, four knee reconstructions and five clubs later, he's looking to reboot on a cut-price deal in Wollongong.
It's fair to say they have some idea of the roller coaster these emerging stars have ahead of them. Sloan speaks to that fact in his glowing review of the pair.
"I think guys like [Moga] and Moey can see, given we're so young, we can probably get ahead of ourselves thinking we're better than what we are," Sloan said.
"For those guys who've been through that, on both sides of it, good and bad, it's good to see that care for us as players but people as well.
"For myself, Moey's probably been the person who's most helped me out in my short career so far.
"He's such a smart person and he's taught me a lot in the short time that he's been here. Being able to cover any position in the spine, he has a lot of knowledge.
"[Moga] was obviously a gun coming through and had some unfortunate injuries coming up.
"He's a really good communicator on and off the field. He tells me what he sees, what I can't see, we're doing extras after training. He's been really good for me."
It remains to be seen how that translates to the paddock come the season proper - the bookies hopes are low.
Still, the rookies' preseason experience is proof that value in rugby league can present itself in many different ways.
ThisI think we should all remind ourselves this through the year : I'm not really sure how to answer that because I've only played a few games against men," he said. We will need to cut them some slack .
I think we should all remind ourselves this through the year : I'm not really sure how to answer that because I've only played a few games against men," he said. We will need to cut them some slack .
This
IF he had a dollar for every time he's been asked what he's tipping the scales at, Dragons youngster Cody Ramsey wouldn't be skint.Preseason worth the weight for Ramsey
IF he had a dollar for every time he's asked what he's tipping the scales at, Dragons youngster...www.illawarramercury.com.au
Here is another one if anyone could post that would be great