Who should we sign for 2009?

[parra pete]

Paolo seems too big and not quick or energetic enough to play in the modern game.

A golden child..be careful..

 

[parra pete]

Jeez...is Bluey Southern off contract? I'd throw the kitchen sink at him, he's exactly what we need

:lol: Throw the kitchen sink at him...He'd probably drop it...

 

[parra pete]

Everyone else is throwing names about..When I do I get slammed.
There is NO CHANCE of Mick Weyman being released by the Raiders any way.
The Raiders have a good opinion of him and his ability. He's like John Wayne "Take's no sh*t from anyone"...Pity the Eels didn't have a bloke like him. Maybe then, the forward pack would not be regarded as the 'softest in the NRL' and scoffed at by opponents.
Compare - CAYLESS RIDDELL FUI, HINDY, WAGON, ROBBO to the Raiders no names -
LOGAN WITHERS WEYMAN TURNER COSTIGAN TONGUE, which do you prefer???

 

[xr62nv]

1. first priority would be to resign finch for 2 years .. this gives us time to establish KK as a first grade 5/8, and make a decision between hodgkinson and mortimer .. hopefully we can resign chad .. if not look to sign jeremy smith .. even though hes not in the 'workhorse' mould .. hindmarsh's running game will continue to regress, and b.smith will come off the bench as a 2nd rower instead. Another option could be koopu or Sa

2. We would probably need to sign another prop like shillington or Hannant.. hannant will probably be out of our price range, though no harm in trying to pursue him in coming here. Cayless will probably retire within the next 2 years anyway

i dont think any signings need to be made to the backline , as we already have decent cover (reddy, b.smith etu, t.williams) and in the halves (mortimer, hodgkinson, mateo 5/8) while the forwards need to be the main focus due to increase in age n lack of aggression/ go forward.. whether this is due to the 10 man interchange rule.. it remains to be seen..

1. Burt
2. Tautai
3. Hayne
4. Inu
5. Grothe
6. Keating
7. Finch
8. Cayless
9. Keating
10. Shillington/Hannant
11. Hindmarsh
12. J. Smith/koopu
13. Mateo

14. Mitchell
15. moimoi
16. Cordoba
17. Hauraki/B. smith



players that probably will be gone include wagon, robinson, riddell, lowrie and paulo .. i still think hauraki has a lot to offer

 

[xr62nv]

Everyone else is throwing names about..When I do I get slammed.
There is NO CHANCE of Mick Weyman being released by the Raiders any way.
The Raiders have a good opinion of him and his ability. He's like John Wayne "Take's no sh*t from anyone"...Pity the Eels didn't have a bloke like him. Maybe then, the forward pack would not be regarded as the 'softest in the NRL' and scoffed at by opponents.
Compare - CAYLESS RIDDELL FUI, HINDY, WAGON, ROBBO to the Raiders no names -
LOGAN WITHERS WEYMAN TURNER COSTIGAN TONGUE, which do you prefer???

still parra's one.. when was the last time costigan played for them again? weyman's suspended 3/4 of the year, turner hasn't even played a game this year, hindy >tongue .. only player i would want from their pack is probably joe picker or maybe logan

 

[Bazal]

Everyone else is throwing names about..When I do I get slammed.
There is NO CHANCE of Mick Weyman being released by the Raiders any way.
The Raiders have a good opinion of him and his ability. He's like John Wayne "Take's no sh*t from anyone"...Pity the Eels didn't have a bloke like him. Maybe then, the forward pack would not be regarded as the 'softest in the NRL' and scoffed at by opponents.
Compare - CAYLESS RIDDELL FUI, HINDY, WAGON, ROBBO to the Raiders no names -
LOGAN WITHERS WEYMAN TURNER COSTIGAN TONGUE, which do you prefer???

Parramatta by far...I'd probably take Costigan over Wagon, because we need some mongrel, but he wouldn't be my first choice... Logan is a good player...I'd take him over Paulo. That's it.

 

[Bigfella]

I'm with Pete on the toughness thing. Our pack has been soft for years, and other teams have known it.

Probably unfit too.

I think most of us recognise Weyman has ability Pete but not sure he would offer more game time than Fui.

I don't think his reputation outstrips his ability BTW. I agree his effectiveness may have diminished as he tries to play more minutes and adjusts to the new interchange.

But he has still been among our best iMO whereas blokes who the interchange should have suited have been worse.

And anyway we need more props not less. I'd be unloading backrowers and aiming to get 4-5 first grade standard props in our squad than the 2-3 we currently have.

 

[Bazal]

Everyone else is throwing names about..When I do I get slammed.
There is NO CHANCE of Mick Weyman being released by the Raiders any way.
The Raiders have a good opinion of him and his ability. He's like John Wayne

:lol: :lol:

So your "connections" didn't tell you they were jack of his injuries and suspensions? It's been circulating Canberra for weeks. WIN News has just reported tonight that he signed with St George for 3 years :lol:

 

[parra pete]

:lol: :lol:

So your "connections" didn't tell you they were jack of his injuries and suspensions? It's been circulating Canberra for weeks. WIN News has just reported tonight that he signed with St George for 3 years :lol:

No. I didn't see that one coming that's for sure..
Wayne Bennett must see something in him that those on this forum don't.

What is it 'Horse' lacks again...discipline, ability, fitness and restraint Mmmmmm. Goes to show, don't judge a book by its cover.
Make sure you drop a line to Bennett, Mr Fawlty, and remind him of your assessment.
Meanwhile....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMenB9Ywh2Q

 

[Bazal]

No. I didn't see that one coming that's for sure..
Wayne Bennett must see something in him that those on this forum don't.

What is it 'Horse' lacks again...discipline, ability, fitness and restraint Mmmmmm. Make sure you drop a line to Bennett, Mr Fawlty and remind him.

Meanwhile....

Why? He'd be a value pick up like Galuvao for us...if he comes off, yay....if not, you have a good reserve grader for the next three years

 

[Fathead]

Probably unfit too.

.

How can that be ???
I recall hearing Ashley Graham on the radio a few years ago saying that he couldnt believe the difference in the fitness programs between the eels and the cowboys. He said he really struggled when he got there.

I also hear the same thing about PJ when he went to the broncos with the broncos saying - he thought he was fit when he arrived but not up to our standards.

Dont we have one of the most recognised fitness gurus in the game?
Ive always thought that the eels were lacking in the fitness department.

 

[Fathead]

Wayne Bennett is one of the most outstanding coaches of our era. He will make a massive diffference to the Saints and they will become one of the superteams again.

Hes a lot like Jack Gibson was - "talk quietly but carry a big stick."

You just cant be one of the boys when you are the coach - a problem that Nathan Brown had.

 

[parra pete]

I don't think they play reserve grade any more?
Joe - or Joey G as he is known on the forum - has been a terrific pick up too. I don't think the Raiders are subsidising Horse's contract like Souths, especially if Saints have signed him for THREE years.
Wayne Bennett can pick a good player when he sees one. He has himself a bargain. Good luck to Mick..his luck must soon change. The bloke, despite what you make think, is rated highly in the right places.

 

[Bigfella]

How can that be ???
I recall hearing Ashley Graham on the radio a few years ago saying that he couldnt believe the difference in the fitness programs between the eels and the cowboys. He said he really struggled when he got there.

I also hear the same thing about PJ when he went to the broncos with the broncos saying - he thought he was fit when he arrived but not up to our standards.

Dont we have one of the most recognised fitness gurus in the game?
Ive always thought that the eels were lacking in the fitness department.

It seriously needs to be looked at at the end of this season if we continue to underachieve.

 

[Fathead]

It seriously needs to be looked at at the end of this season if we continue to underachieve.

Do you agree that we look unfit? or it it just me?
Mind you I have thought that we were close to the unfittest teams in the NRL for years and was the main reason we got chased down in many games over the years.

 

[parra pete]

Are we under achieving. Or did the side over achieve in 2007?
Tahu is a devastating loss

 

[Fathead]

Our main problem is twofold
1. We pick players in unfamiliar positions and expect them to play to NRL standard and
2. The incumbant players know that they will not be dropped if they play a bad game.

Asking KK to play hooker and Hayne to play Centre is just silly if they grew up playing other positions.

Every player, from Cayless to Hindmarsh should be told that if they have a run of bad form they can expect to be dropped to Wenty. This doesnt mean Grothe played a good game in 2006 so he will come good, this means 2 or 3 games of bad form you are out. Sound tough ? - You betcha. This is a business and the team cannot carry players. If everyone at the club thinks that if they work hard and have the form on the board, they could play NRL then morale would be sky high.
If you dont get to the NRL or dont stay there - well you have no one to blame but yourself. We need to get ruthless.

 

[The Colonel]

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0,27074,23632842-14823,00.html

Fuifui Moimoi is charging for 42m less per game. Nathan Hindmarsh down 34m and Mark Riddell 28m. Cayless is the only forward hitting triple figures.

First stat for mine shows that Moimoi is losing his effectiveness and I believe that comes back to the ten man rule. Also comes back to him starting as well.

Asking KK to play hooker

Keating playing a utility role off the bench isn't a bad thing. It introduces him to first gradde without any real pressure particularly as a five eight. He can than slot into his natural position. Exactly what Bellamy did with Cooper Cronk.

Cooper started as a replacement hooker. His natural position was 5/8.

Peter Sterling played most of his junior football at 5/8. Played his first game in the top grade at fullback.

Steve Ella was a halfback.

Greg Bird started as a centre.

Kurt Gidley was a halfback, five eight. Started at centre in first grade alongside his brother.

Greg Alexander was a bloody good halfback who represented Australia at fullback.

Players adapt.

 

[Bigfella]

I can hear both sides of this Colonel, and Fathead.

On the one hand, some players can certainly add value to the team in different positions.

But last game, IMO we had Reddy, Tautai, Hayne, Finch, Kris Keating playing out of position. In addition arguably Hindy should be at prop and Mateo at 13.

Add to that we tend to start Riddell as hooker when avaialable which I also see as a positional mistake, and Fui starting at prop.

That's a heck of lot adapting!

 

[The Colonel]

In terms of Keating I think it is a good idea to have him start his career from the bench and edge his way in.

Backs on the other hand - centre, wing - positionally it isn't that big an issue and if you watch the game closely you will see that nine times out of ten the centres and wings are swapping positions on a regular basis.

Mateo played more of his lower grade career at 5/8 than he did in the forwards.

The only players I would really be swapping are Moimoi to the bench and Riddell to the backrow.