Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

That would not include Maori players!
Not too sure, not a real big fan of Union so don't watch it. He's a cop on the Gold Coast now so was chatting to him one night while I was working at the station we were chatting about the Tigers this was in the Taylor years. He was just telling me stories of his time at the Crusaders and how they had that policy. Never asked why though.
 
I get we are a mess, but how do the Dogs keep avoiding the spotlight for their failures. This is like the 3rd or 4th year they have gone on a spending spree, and they still can’t get out of the bottom 4
Iv said it heaps, the dogs are in a much worse position than us. We are in our position because we're predominantly relying on younger players and have been smashed with injuries the last two years. The dogs have spent millions on their squad, I can't think of a player they went after and didn't get. They got the coach they wanted and are still failing.
 
Thinking outside of the square, I wonder if Benji is still scouring Rugby Union particularly in New Zealand for a big signing.

Jordie Barrett (could possibly be a 5/8 in rugby league) & Caleb Clarke (destructive fast winger) have been mentioned before as having NRL thoughts.

The Rugby World Cup finishes in late October so may be some players may be open to a code switch for a new challenge & possibly more $$$.
 
No, I think what he’s saying is that star players don’t make star coaches. If you review the results over a long period of time, in the modern era, you will see that many of the highly rated coaches were pretty ordinary footballers, with a few exceptions.
Gibson, Ryan, Bennett, Bellamy, Cleary, Smith, Robinson etc , all moderate players at best.
Wayne Bennett made a Kangaroo's tour. Jack Gibson played for NSW.
 
Given all mid season signings must be finalised within the next 24 hours surely there's going to be a bit of movement across the league. Yet there seems to be no whispers...

Can't see Manly wanting Talau now, if anything they'd want to back out of the deal.
 
Given all mid season signings must be finalised within the next 24 hours surely there's going to be a bit of movement across the league. Yet there seems to be no whispers...

Can't see Manly wanting Talau now, if anything they'd want to back out of the deal.
Haha no backing out now Manly.

Now for other clubs to pick up the contracts for AJ Kepaoa, Jake Simpkin & David Nofoaluma. We'll even contribute for Nofa.
 
Haha no backing out now Manly.

Now for other clubs to pick up the contracts for AJ Kepaoa, Jake Simpkin & David Nofoaluma. We'll even contribute for Nofa.
Man, remember when Simpkin was the next big thing. So much expectation when he came down from Qld only to become a pretty average first grader at best. Granted he’s still only young, but most kids his age show glimpses and or flashes of brilliance. Not him. Proves why you need to take every young hyped kid coming through the grade with a grain of salt. Not many of them become stars. Not at this club.
 
This is simply factually incorrect.

First photo below shows a fairly obvious trend that the further down the field you play the ball the more likely you are to score a point. In the NRL between 2016-2021 teams scored 0.3 points per play the ball inside the 10m line compared to 0.04 points per play the ball in midfield. Only when you get inside the 20m can you expect to score 0.1 or more points per play the ball and it exponentially increase from their. You are 700% more likely to produce a point from 10m out to 50m out. Teams do not score more from midfield breaks, fact.

2nd graph shows a heat map of play the balls resulting in tries form 2016-2021 where green is high and red is low. The map shows the significantly largest proportion of tries are scored in the 20m line and an even larger majority 10m out and usually middle of the field.

Field position is king. We have field position but we have below average backs unable to meet NRL standards in point production. Imo we have two decent prospects in Bula and Tupou and literally no one else is NRL standard in our backline. I genuinely don't think we have had a NRL standard half or centre in half a decade.

I really wish we lived in a world in which people would consider their positions before sprouting off opinions and calling them facts. This forum can be the Dunning-Kruger effect in full flight most of the time.
Mate you have too many facts and too much knowledge for these apologists who just refuse to believe what is presented to them in detailed fact
 
Given all mid season signings must be finalised within the next 24 hours surely there's going to be a bit of movement across the league. Yet there seems to be no whispers...

Can't see Manly wanting Talau now, if anything they'd want to back out of the deal.
I thought the cut off was August 7?
 
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No, I think what he’s saying is that star players don’t make star coaches. If you review the results over a long period of time, in the modern era, you will see that many of the highly rated coaches were pretty ordinary footballers, with a few exceptions.
Gibson, Ryan, Bennett, Bellamy, Cleary, Smith, Robinson etc , all moderate players at best.
Wayne Bennett played for Qld and Australia. Bit harsh to call him moderate at best
 
Jack Gibson was a very good player who unfortunately was more focused on his career as an SP bookie.
Jack famously told his Magpie teammates before the 1963 Grand Final that they couldn't win because Darcy Lawller the ref had bet on St. George.
The NRL trophy based on that game with Summons and Provan "embracing" commemorates how devoted the NRL is to screwing Wests.
Arthur Summons told the story that the famous photo that the trophy is based on was actually him telling Provan that they only won because the filthy rat ref fixed the game.
 
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Everyone is entitled to their opinion bit geez it's obvious that a lot of blokes here haven't played a lick of football in their life.

The criticism of Klemmer and Stefano is quite frankly absurd. For front rowers Klemmer is 5th in all run meters and 4th in post contact meters. Stefano is 13th in run meters and 12th in post contact meters. The sheet below shows that they both maintain elite workrates in defence with high tackle efficiency. Our play the ball speed is 6th in the NRL our all run meters is 8th. The problem is not our forward pack and anyone who thinks the pack is the problem is Rugby League illiterate.

You know what we are god awful at? Linebreaks 17th, LBA 17th, Try assists 17th, Kick meters 17th, effective short drop outs 17th, errors 1st. Our halves couldn't put a nail through balloon and despite our lack of creativity we make the most errors in the comp. Our top error makers are Tupou, Toa, Wakeham, Brooks, Bateman, Bula, Nofoluma and Naden. 1 Forward out 8 players.

Get off the narrative that our forwards are deficient. Big hits and tackle busts don't make a great pack. Controlling the middle with meters and ruck speed does.

We are making the right moves with Sullivan, Fainu etc because if we can find even just one decent half that can put someone into space and kick the ball further than 20m this side will be a legit top 8 team.
I don't think anyone has claimed our pack is the problem. But that doesn't mean our pack has deficiencies or that the claims we have an 'elite' or 'top 4' pack should not be refuted. We have a mid tier pack. Your own metrics of metres gained vs metres conceded had us ranked 8th, about as mid tier as you can get. Our pack also struggles to generate their own points, nor do we have a lock forward who can dig into the line and pass out the back to create additional space for the halves. I know this isnt the primary roles of a forward pack but these are features of the better packs.
Acknowledging the short comings of the forwards does not absolve blame from the halves and backs. Our halves and backline have not been playing anywhere above reserve grade standard all season. They are clearly the weakest part of our side. Nor does our backs being terrible make our forwards above average.
 

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