having the physical attributes is one thing, being a footballer is another. you need both to play NRL, whereas you can get away with one or the other in Cup.
Shane Richardson isn’t going to go out and sign a handful of reserve graders from the Dogs that are clear and obvious projects. he might go after a guy like Sam Stonestreet hypothetically who is ready for week to week first grade and actually possesses the talent required, but with guys like Willett, Laulili’i, Makasini, Goodfield etc in the pipeline, why would he bother with the other suggestions?
Fitzgibbon is in reserve grade for a reason. any half worth their salt in the NRL will just bait him and hit short or over the top. he can’t make the defensive reads required.
as for Ravalawa, you’re not looking at it from all angles. do you think he, much like Leilua, possesses the discipline to be what we need? in a side that is about to set the record for the most sin bins in a season? do you think we need a player that abuses match officials?
like I said, pursue Reimis Smith and Jeral Skelton. if there’s unrest elsewhere, you try and take advantage. the market is bare, but let’s not take brainless risks and give full time deals to project players.
