Who Stays and Who Goes?

[Cletus]

I remember the game against Manly and we were just swapping tries until it was 36 28 or something. It's the same problem as now, the defense isn't anywhere good enough. If you can score plenty of tries and keep possesion that isn't a problem, bit if you have to get over the top of teams it just doesn't work. The forwards are the real problem. Apart from Galloway the props are terrible, heighington is good. Needs more Laurie. He can actually defend as well as attack.

 

[TV Ted Ellery]

Fulton ought to be moved to 5/8 or cut entirely. He has no attacking utility in a forward pack that struggles to make metres. (It has been said a million times)

Halatau is the most one-dimensional footballer in the NRL closely followed by Tuiaki. He could be retained as a back-up hooker or lock, but he shouldn't be placed in any position where he could potentially stifle our attack. Besides, playing centre generally requires passing ability unless you have the speed + strength to consistently break the line.

Tuiaki is possibly a second-rower. On the wing he is a liability under the high ball, cumbersome in defence + has become ineffective in his kick returns. I wouldn't lose any sleep if he decided to return to Manly rugby union.

Harrison has a right to feel aggrieved for the way his career has been messed around by the super coach. He should never have bulked up to the point that he has lost his greatest strength- his mobility. Having said that, Harrison has nobody to blame apart from himself for his atrocious defensive record. Unlike a guy like Chris Lawrence who has made great endeavours to improve on his deficiencies, Harrison has made almost no headway in 5 years. The club has given him more patience that they might otherwise show to a non-junior, but after 5 years and still no sign that he'll realise his potential, it's appropriate that we give him the boot.

Gibbs is a thug who indulges in cheap shots, riling the opposition and generally putting us on the back foot. We could forgive him for these failings if he made huge metres in attack or possessed a killer offload, but that's not the case. He is lucky to make ANY impression at all on the defensive line. I suppose his only attributes are his mobility and defence. The only way I would keep Gibbs would be if the Tigers signed up another established front rower who could play starting prop alongside Galloway, demoting Gibbs to the bench.

Morris has been our most consistent performer over the last month and he's clearly benefiting from playing in a position to which he's more accustomed. On the other hand, as Vicious said, is it worth shelling out 200k+ on a hooker when we already have one of the best hookers in the game? Defensively, he's also rather suspect...

Collis is a frustrating case- he appears to lack the explosive pace/bulk to be a front-line centre although he has undoubtedly a very classy player. I would suggest trialing him at 5/8 or fullback and see whether either option works out. Playing centre he is too reliant on the Gidley flick-pass and has a habit of butchering the easiest draw and pass tries.

Head is perpetually injured or falling out of favour with the super coach. There's little wisdom in keeping a playmaker who's never going to play.

Farah is only suited to one position, hooker. If his back doesn't improve within the next year, we'll see whether he can adapt to halfback, however in 2 years of filling in that position he has barely been adequate apart from against the weaker teams. His bustling running style, vision and kicking game are obviously tailored to playing hooker. It would be a difficult decision to cut our best player, but unless he can play in his optimal position it would be insanity to assign a huge portion of the salary cap to a makeshift halfback.

I would like to see whether Benji can improve his consistency over the course of an entire season. Hopefully the club isn't pressued into making a decision about his future before it has the opportunity to properly assess how he's traveling next year. I've always liked the bloke but I fear his lack of size is to his detriment in an era when the premier 5/8s are mostly bulky. As soon as someone gets a hand around him he submits in the tackle rather than powering through. He also has a distinct weakness passing from left to right & his kicking game is amateurish.

Payne is sh*t.

Mcdonnell may as well play for us because I can't think where else he could go.

 

[Genius Freak]

Is Galloway as useless there as he was at Cronulla?


Of course we'll take Lawrence if on offer....

 

[scarcev]

Is Galloway as useless there as he was at Cronulla?


Of course we'll take Lawrence if on offer....

I reckon Galloway has had a pretty good year considering hes playing with needles every week. The ones Id punt are;

Morris - hes had a pretty good few weeks but is on good money for a backup utility and probably better suited somewhere else if he wants regular first grade footy.

Tuiaki - he's big but teams have worked out if you get in behind him he takes a week to turn and he needs to go looking for work which he doesnt do.

Gibbs - too much sh*te in his game for me, go join Gallen and the woman basher over at the Sharks.

Halatau/Fulton - dont care which one, but one has to go and the other has to play more consistently. You could keep both these blokes in a club with a big pack but you cant have both when youve got a small pack.

Harrison/Payne/McDonnell - all lack anything worthwhile. Mcdonnell got into space a few times this year and his biggest and only asset pace, was non existent.

Marshall - admittedly usually behind a battered pack but his contribution has been limited and Id punt him simply due to value for money. Prince made him look better than he is and unless the NRL decide to go back to playing touch footy like in 2005 Id be happy to spend his money elswhere. Too many errors, poor kicking game, fraility, poor defensively. Meh, he goes he goes, he stays he stays, which is not want you want to be saying about the guy getting more coin than any of the other blokes.

Lawrence/Collis - Id probably give one more chance behind a decent pack before punting but like Marshall either way I wouldnt care. Their saving grace is they arent as expensive as Marshall.

Only positives out of the year;
Hodgo leaving of his own accord - I love the bloke but he's getting out at the right time IMO.
Heighno - him resigning with us bunch of losers is a real coup, gives his best every week.
Farah - has to play hooker surely that is realised now.
Laurie - still defensively naive but he is going to be a beauty with an off season as long as they dont turn him into a ball playing forward and leave him alone as an old fashioned hard running, line bending pig who hurts in defense.
Ryan - mate I reckon this kid goes alright and will probably be bagged for saying so but if Tuiaki had as much heart as this kid hed be a star.

Defence - we need to find a defensive coach who can teach some of these blokes the basics. move off your line, wrap the ball up, all the things you teach your U9 team, cos they are that bad atm.

 

[N.C.]

Given that Sheens has just said out loud what we've all been thinking for about two years now (always the innovator...) I'll be holding off on any predictions until after the off-season. Now that players know their spot in the team might be on the line we should start to find out who really wants to be there and who is up to the task...

 

[brooksy19]

Will at least be an intersting summer for Tigers fans.

Biggest decision is re: coaching staff imo.

We will be bottom 3 next year, but we have to rebuild, so it's just part of the cycle.

Time to face facts , We all follow a bunch of nuff nuffs and also rans.

Oh to be a supporter of a perrienal finals contender. but lets face it, we'll all be back next year.

 

[nyx]

I'll believe this clean out when I see it.
Sheens has made these hollow threats before and the mass changes never happen.

Certain players know they won't get dropped no matter how crap an effort they put in and so they're playing accordingly.

We need a new coach but it won't happen as they won't want to have to pay out the rest of his contract and Sheens isn't going to walk away of his own accord.

Sadly I'm expecting more of the same next year

 

[baddog]

Given that Sheens has just said out loud what we've all been thinking for about two years now (always the innovator...) I'll be holding off on any predictions until after the off-season. Now that players know their spot in the team might be on the line we should start to find out who really wants to be there and who is up to the task...

sheens tells people what they want to hear. he's talked tough before but hasn't delivered. when tomorrow's team is announced you'll see how fair dinkum he is. all the usual suspects will be there again. jmo will switch to half to cover farah and teo will come in.

 

[N.C.]

Sadly I'm expecting more of the same next year

I'm not. We're about to go through some massive changes to the team anyway. It's not just about the roster, it's about a changing of the guard. We're losing Hodgo...

We have a young and inexperienced team and the loss of Hodgo will leave us more than exposed. We'll need at least three players of 100+ games experience to cover this loss. If we can get one prop, one outside back and a playmaker who's not walking on a glass knee, the rest of our team would really benefit from it.

Sheens talks of potential not being realised. He is right. But he can't realise it all on his own - his players need mentors and role models as well as a coach.

There will be plenty of players who don't get punted, and that's fine... What will be important is not so much who we keep, but who we buy. We haven't lost any players over the last 18 months we wanted to keep, it's just that we haven't brought anyone spectacular into the club. One or two key signings will make all the difference.

 

[N.C.]

sheens tells people what they want to hear. he's talked tough before but hasn't delivered. when tomorrow's team is announced you'll see how fair dinkum he is. all the usual suspects will be there again. jmo will switch to half to cover farah and teo will come in.

Yes, this is why he is hailed as a "master" I think you'll find... He's a great manipulator. He uses the press-release to great effect, for his own benefit and for that of the team.

As for next week, I'm not really concerned as I'm sure it will be more of the same. It is too late to reverse the trend. We are a victim of our own potential and the fact that the NRL runs the finals on a top 8 system - we were still a chance for much longer than we should have been, like several other teams who are still hanging in there. While ever we were still a chance Sheens had to gamble on his "strongest" team rather than look at the future of the club...

It's the next signing I'll be watching for, and signs of any improvement over the next six months in players like Collis, Gibbs and Fulton.

 

[matty-ducati]

i would like to see us retain halatau, the poor bloke gets chopped and changed everyweek. He needs the chance to cement a position fulltime, chopping and changing him cant be good for his footy. It will be interesting to see what does happen.

 

[Bobby Meldrum]

Sheens should be the first to go but the club just renewed his contract and can't afford to pay it off. Simmons needs to go and bring in Blocker. He can't be any worse than Simmons and he will at least bring some pride back into the jumper.

On the blokes to go:
Hodgson- is clearly his last year and has gone at the right time.
O'Hara- has done nothing for the 3 years and we should be thankful that Celtic saw something in him.
Morris- a very good utility who has been one of the best over the past month since moving to hooker but isn't in the class of Farah and isn't a half.
Payne- is practically invisible on the field and should be let go.
Trimarchi- part of the top 25 who will never be anything other than a fringe FGer and should be let go for someone who could at least be something (like Stolk or Tonga).

Players who should be shopped around for offers:
Harrison- has been played out of position for all of his FG career so I'm a little split on whether to keep him. If the coach is going to play him as a back-rower who runs hard on the fringes, he should be kept. If he is going to play him as a prop, let him go.
Fulton- needs to put on weight to be a real effective player but could be a great clubman if the props start moving forward sometime soon.
Halatau- is not a back nor any other starting player. A great utility who should play off the bench.

Blokes like Tuiaki, Collis and Gibbs need to see some more consistent performances or they could find themselves on the outer as well. Nothing can be said of Danny Galea or Payten as they have barely seen any FG this year.

 

[The Gambler]

I'm not. We're about to go through some massive changes to the team anyway. It's not just about the roster, it's about a changing of the guard. We're losing Hodgo...

We have a young and inexperienced team and the loss of Hodgo will leave us more than exposed. We'll need at least three players of 100+ games experience to cover this loss. If we can get one prop, one outside back and a playmaker who's not walking on a glass knee, the rest of our team would really benefit from it.

Sheens talks of potential not being realised. He is right. But he can't realise it all on his own - his players need mentors and role models as well as a coach.

There will be plenty of players who don't get punted, and that's fine... What will be important is not so much who we keep, but who we buy. We haven't lost any players over the last 18 months we wanted to keep, it's just that we haven't brought anyone spectacular into the club. One or two key signings will make all the difference.

I agree. There is certainly going to be a makeover.

It is not as if Sheens has ever said he would make changes to the roster then not gone through with it. He said himself he and the club have placed alot of faith in the juniors to come through, and he has finally admitted that they haven't.

Both Sheens and Noyce (even though he is leaving) have said the roster is going to get a workover.

 

[simon says]

But who is on the market????

Its all well and good to show the axe,but who is there out there who can make us stronger????

 

[Magpies Forever]

But who is on the market????

Its all well and good to show the axe,but who is there out there who can make us stronger????

As usual- talk and actions at odds- cleanout? What? After the market has all but dried up. Great, no offence intended to those left on the market but they are the leftover dregs....................

 

[nyx]

But who is on the market????

Its all well and good to show the axe,but who is there out there who can make us stronger????

Spot on. Even if they wanted to do a big clean out for next year it's too late now as all the good players have been signed up.

Typical stuff from the Tigers when it comes to recruiting.

So frustrating

 

[N.C.]

Read the article.

It says, and is quite clear, that this will be an 18 month project.

It will not be immediate and it couldn't be. A lot will depend on who is available. But hopefully the difference between next year's recruitment and the last couple of years' will be that we are actually out in the market competing for the good players...

 

[Magpies Forever]

Read the article.

It says, and is quite clear, that this will be an 18 month project.

It will not be immediate and it couldn't be. A lot will depend on who is available. But hopefully the difference between next year's recruitment and the last couple of years' will be that we are actually out in the market competing for the good players...

yeah right- 18 months under the guidance of our saviour Sheens.... Ha. Let him fall on his sword first and give another bloke a chance to build up a team. I'd still give the underperformers the "tap on the shoulder" and get ridf of them and give some of the younger ones a go for next year. IT CANT GET ANY WORSE.

 

[super_coach]

The great spin doctor at work, Sheens throws a juicy story to the brain dead media and why ??? To sow the seeds of doubt. Any media man who was having their doubts in the great man had their attention turned to the under performing players rather than the great mans appalling record.

They walk away with a headline, the players cop the flak and the big man comes up with a new three year plan. What a genius,thats how you stay in the game for decades with a 33% winning record over the past decade.
How long can he keep fooling people. He is now a sad case similar to johnny Howard just trying to cling to power for another crapy year

 

[Estoboy]

assuming we don't get anyone else, we are pretty f**ked for next year

i do believe that Morris could offer something in the centres. He has played well enough this past month or two to give me hope.


1. Gallant
2. Lawrence
3. Collis
4. Morris
5. Ryan

6. Marshall
7. Molzten

8.
9. Farah (c)
10. Galloway
11. Payten
12. Ellis
13. Heighington

14. Halatau (our utility)
15. Laurie
16. Gibbs
17.

dunno who fills the other spots. We need big players badly