Yeah. I said i want origin class players, not back up players. Never said I want origin class back up halves ir hookers.
But your not after a discussion, just an argument.
I'm really not, I'm just trying to explain why what you're saying doesn't make any sense.
You want origin class players. Of course you do. So do I.
You don't want backups. Well, maybe. This is where you stop making sense. Every team has backups. No team in the comp has origin class players ready to come in and play when the starters get injured unless they happen to have a kid coming through who just happens to be ready to step up at an opportune moment.
You can make two legitimate arguments about the Tigers spine recruitment:
1) Marshall and Farah aren't even good enough to be the backup players. That's a legit view, but you've then got to compare them to what else might be available, at a price that makes sense, to play reserve grade or wait for an injury. So: McIlwrick, Tyrone Roberts, Littlejohn etc etc And really, the difference between any of those is next to nothing. Sub in your favourite, see how much better we get.
2) Any or all of Liddle, Brooks or Reynolds shouldn't be first choice and we should be looking to spend big on a new, "origin class" spine player. This would be a totally different argument and it's nothing to do with Farah or Marshall, because neither of those have been signed to take starting slots.
Personally, I wish we hadn't signed Reynolds and I'd be astonished if he's ever properly fit again. But we can't have a do over on that and go out and spend another $750,000 on a five-eighth (not to mention there hasn't been a good one available). The club has to hope he's fit because they can't spend the money again, and either way the next half in line has to be cheap.
Again. Im not saying we should be looking at origin class fullback or halves. Im happy with those positions. Mbye and Thomson cover fullback and Brooks, Reynolds, Gamble and Mybe cover the halves. I see no need for Marshall or any other back up half in our squad at all. its a wasted spot. Id rathet have given that spot to someone like Morris for probably the same sort of money.
Seggy or Luke would have been better options to Farah.
That doesn't make any sense at all?
It's closer to being a logical point, yes. But there are still some pretty massive problems. With Reynolds' injuries over the last couple of years we clearly need some halves cover. Again, we're paying for the bad signing of Reynolds but we really can't go into the season either relying on Reynolds' fitness or assuming the only cover we'll need for him is our starting fullback (who has a pretty horrible track record in the halves) or a young guy who really hasn't looked any good at all so far. TBH I'm relatively surprised that Gamble has been given another year, though equally I'd be absolutely delighted if he jumps ahead of Marshall in the pecking order at some stage.
As for Farah, there is absolutely no way, zero, nada that Isaac Luke isn't on significantly more money. Luke was starting hooker for a finals team this season and probably had his best form since 2014\. He'll be on $400k, minimum. Segeyaro is a fair call, and I assume the idea is that he's probably best nowadays in a complementary role, doing 25-40 minutes rather than being a first-choice hooker. That would be great if he can be used off the bench but, again, the Tigers' first choice hooker is yet to prove he can stand up to the physical rigour of week-in, week-out first grade. I'm guessing the call is that Farah is more able to play 60 minutes for eight weeks straight if necessary.
There's also the suggestion that we might have got Segeyaro were it not for the Cleary saga. IDK if that's true or not, but if it is you sort of have to give the club a pass - not much they could do about Cleary dumping them in the doo doo.
This is sort of my point, though. The difference between Farah and Segeyaro as second choice hooker isn't going to make us a premiership contender. The club is fighting back from years and years of poor cap management, poor recruitment and poor retention. Purely on the basis of the last few months, the recruitment side has pretty clearly improved: they've signed among the best players that have been available, in some cases (Mbye) because they had cap room spare when others had used all theirs. Going out now and blowing the one advantage they have on dumb deals for the likes of the Morris twins would put them right back where they were.
In fact, I think I agree with you: we need to sign origin class players. But the only way we're going to do that is by being in a good position to contend for them when they become available. If we used the whole cap now on minor upgrades all we'd be is a team that might come eighth and would then be mired in cap hell for another three years.
