Adam Blair To Broncos (CONFIRMED)

i'd be happy if we could retain our juniors and signed a few players here and there.

Liovave, Martin, Cherrington, Lodge alone will keep this club very competitive
 
Wow, GNR talk about being super negative.

The club is making huge strides forward and the only concern is the remark that we apparently won't be buying new players for one and possibly 2 seasons. That would appear incredibly unlikely and no club in the history of the NRL has ever done that. It might be no 'marquee signings' for example..

The club had improved immeasurably off the field and in reality we are only one experienced second rower away from having a very decent team capable of finishing up to 6th. At present we'd probably be looking at 7-11\. Sue can produce far more than either Thompson or Blair and has about 40-50 games under his belt now too, plus games for Samoa in which he's excelled.
 
I wish I was able to share your optimism about our playing roster and likely finishing position Balmain Boy. I really hope you are right. I think we look very light on and a likely finishing zone is 13th- 16th.
 
The problem with our young and inexperienced forwards like sue, siro, akauola, ava, lodge is their ability to play for prolonged periods of time. They're all exceptional players in the making but the concern is if they can perform to a high standard for 50-60 minutes a game, over a 26 round season. Eventually they'll be able to, the problem is with our apparent reluctance to buy players over the next 2 years, we'll need them to do it sooner rather than later.

_Posted using RoarFEED 4.1.4_
 
@Balmain Boy said:
Wow, GNR talk about being super negative.

The club is making huge strides forward and the only concern is the remark that we apparently won't be buying new players for one and possibly 2 seasons. That would appear incredibly unlikely and no club in the history of the NRL has ever done that. It might be no 'marquee signings' for example..

The club had improved immeasurably off the field and in reality we are only one experienced second rower away from having a very decent team capable of finishing up to 6th. At present we'd probably be looking at 7-11\. Sue can produce far more than either Thompson or Blair and has about 40-50 games under his belt now too, plus games for Samoa in which he's excelled.

I love your positive spin on things Balmain Boy, and you are obviously closer to the team than many, but I cannot share your optimisim.

I am looking forward to see how the boys perform under Taylor, but we will struggle even with our entire squad available in my opinion. Once you add injury to 20-30% of the squad, then it is unrealistic to expect we will be competitive with the current roster.

I do expect us to have a war chest that will make us very competitive in the market over the next couple of years.
 
If people can't see that we'll get slaughtered in the forwards next yr, then i don't know what to tell you. Outside of Woods and Taupau we are as bare as a newborn babies arse.
 
@GNR4LIFE said:
If people can't see that we'll get slaughtered in the forwards next yr, then i don't know what to tell you. Outside of Woods and Taupau we are as bare as a newborn babies arse.

I agree 100%….We have some good kids coming through, but their form will be all over the shop,up one week down the next two. Also they need experienced hard heads around them to teach them their trade, and their is not enough quality players below them to pressure them to perform.

Hope I am wrong but I see a very bleak year
 
@supercoach said:
@GNR4LIFE said:
If people can't see that we'll get slaughtered in the forwards next yr, then i don't know what to tell you. Outside of Woods and Taupau we are as bare as a newborn babies arse.

I agree 100%….We have some good kids coming through, but their form will be all over the shop,up one week down the next two. Also they need experienced hard heads around them to teach them their trade, and their is not enough quality players below them to pressure them to perform.

Hope I am wrong but I see a very bleak year

could not agree more, we will get pumped for 85 to 90 % of games next year.
But what makes me angery is this bull crap we have been feed for the last 5 or so years next year is a a re building year and then so is the next and the next, and it never ends.
If the club takes all these kids only into next year and they get flogged week in week out they will be no good to anyone, and we will see alot more asking for releases.
 
I think we are close to the best spine in the comp…oue 1/6/7/9 are all top shelf.

remember the last time we had guns in all those positions?
 
What good is a spine without forwards. Like waxing lyrical about your car, but you don't have any keys to start it.
 
So who are all these all star forwards that we're missing which has weakened our side so massively??

Thompson - a bog average back rower who did nothing in his first season, everyone was baffled why he was under consideration for a starting spot in the off season and then stood out amongst a poor back row last year, probably our worst ever back row. Can't break the line, doesn't make many metres, rarely offloads, decent in defence but still misses his share. In: Lawrence

Blair - the guy everyone's been criticising for the past 3 years? The guy who's lazy, has zero impact in attack and makes merely a moderate amount of tackles? He did have a better year last season than his previous years, however a player needs to offer more than a few 1%ers. Had a bit of mongrel apparently but that only made itself apparent when it came to giving away penalties. Very easily replaced. In: Sue

Gavet - played what 12 games last season, less than half the season. Had discipline issues on and off the field. Ran very strong in attack, was poor in defence, conceded way too many penalties, and as has been released recently he simply need to get out of sydney. We have more than enough depth at prop, one of the strongest prop rotations in the league. In: Lodge

Fulton - Yes he will be missed for his courage in defence. He would make 40 tackles more often than not, and despite his size had very good technique. Could still get easily bumped off by bigger guys than him when they had a run up though. Had little impact in attack but did try his heart out anyway. In: Santi.

Paterson - Only played a few games so not really missed too much. In: Akauola.

When you look at the players objectively on an individual basis, they weren't really overly talented and didn't produce much a huge output for the team. Remember our pack equalled or dominated many others last season but got let down by the backs being hopeless.

Experience is only worth something if it comes out on the field. Apart from Fulton the rest never played to their potential, and were hardly beacons of high performance or consistency. If they were consistently average, who's to say new players can't be equally average/inconsistent or potentially even better?

Lawrence runs hard and his front on defence is solid so a move further infield should help him shine if he can't re-find his pace in the offseason.

Santi tackles like a demon and plays with his heart on his sleeve and loves the club.

Lodge is a future Origin prop. best young prop in the country and would be in the 17 for any team in the comp.

We got little value from our experience so picking on age simply for the sake of it becomes pointless if you've got others who will produce more for the team. Our backrow had zero penetration, we may make a mistake here or there but at least they'll threaten the line regularly, run with vigour and put the opposition under pressure!
 
@simonthetiger said:
Our forwards were no better in 05

Skando, Laffranchi, Galea, Payton, O'Neill, Gibbs Fulton and Halatau (who was in the form of his life). There was a massive amount of greater experience in that pack.
 
Every one seems convinced that lawrence will play backrow next year, have i mtssed JT saying he will be in the backrow. unless JT has stated it it then Chris will still be in the centres.
 
We struggled big time last year in the forwards, okay we had a couple of big games early but as the season went on they got worse and worse. Most punters will tell you Blair was very good last year and Thomson was better than a few of his mates. Now they are gone,so I can not see how we can be any better, we have not replaced them externally.

I like the look of Santi and Aka, but they are still learning their trade, they need some real quality or at least experienced tutors to make it to the next level. Take Souths pack, it was made up of experienced FGraders,some real quality and a couple of young athletes. Its all about getting the balance right.

In saying all of the above, if a player wants out, I agree let him go, and if their is no player on the market better than your got, save your money till the right one comes along. The only trouble is it will not help us in 2015
 
@GNR4LIFE said:
@simonthetiger said:
Our forwards were no better in 05

Skando, Laffranchi, Galea, Payton, O'Neill, Gibbs Fulton and Halatau (who was in the form of his life). There was a massive amount of greater experience in that pack.

C'mon lets not get lazy with our research GNR.

At the start of 2005 this was our forward group, with games played until end of 2004 in brackets:
Hammer Halatau (31)
LaStallion (55)
Fults (4)
Gibbs (19)
Farah (7)
Skando (159)
Buckets (207)
Payten (125)
Benny G (82)
Heighington (17)
Cashmere (1)
Bronson Harrison (12)
Matt Jobson (26)
at an average of **57.3**.

Comparative to forwards at start of 2015:
Ava (40)
Sue (35)
Lodge (4)
Taupau (45)
Akauola (11)
Curtis (38)
Woodsie (85)
Farah (221)
Galloway (188)
Buchanan (38)
Hammer (204)
at an average of **82.6**.

Even if you take out the few lowest guys in 2005 - Fults / Farah / Cashmere - the average only goes up to 73.

And even if you add a few near-debutants that might get a run eventually in 2015, it still works out to be at least equal in overall experience to 2005.
 
You can not compare era to era, the game now is completely different to 2005, a small mobile pack is a thing of the past, its now a power game built around size , speed and great defensive structures
 
@supercoach said:
We struggled big time last year in the forwards, okay we had a couple of big games early but as the season went on they got worse and worse. Most punters will tell you Blair was very good last year and Thomson was better than a few of his mates. Now they are gone,so I can not see how we can be any better, we have not replaced them externally.

I like the look of Santi and Aka, but they are still learning their trade, they need some real quality or at least experienced tutors to make it to the next level. Take Souths pack, it was made up of experienced FGraders,some real quality and a couple of young athletes. Its all about getting the balance right.

I agree. The young blokes ran out of steam last year and that is the real danger - they are simply not as mentally tough as the good, experienced players. And that is where we are lacking, and now even more than last year.

It's not so much about who we've lost, it's about what we need but still don't have.
 
@GNR4LIFE said:
Nothings changed in the sense we're still a basket case. JT has made changes, but he doesn't run the club. The front office is still a rabble.

I disagree. There's changes happening from the top down. Our new board is quietly working behind the scenes to improve and make us a profesional, financially stable and competitive club. Our new coaching staff are all profesional and dedicated to improving the WestsTigers. JT has made changes and will continue to do so as needed. He has a wonderful footy brain and is not a fool. He knows what needs to be done and is working towards it. It won't happen overnight, it will take some time. Be patient and enjoy the ride.
Finally everyone is working together as one, for the betterment of our club. Give them a chance.
 

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