@foreveratiger said:
I agree CB , how Manly have managed to get Myles , Taupau , Dylan Walker , Koroisau , Lewis Brown , Darcy Lussick is truly a work of Art…...while we have to be content with player signings such as : Ballin , Grant , Edwards with past NRL pedigree.
Mind you i think they are great Bargain signings no doubt and i must say JT has done a great job with what his had to work with , but in terms of big name signings ? will just have to wait to get ourselves sorted.
They freed up a lot of dollars in losing Foran and Hiku. They would also have freed up decent coin with Justin Horo, Jesse Sene Lefao, Dunamis Lui, Matt Ballin (some of his contract) and Clint Gutherson among others.
Of their recruits:
Myles - has been poor at club level for the last few seasons. Offers nothing in attack. Probably wasn't fielding too many offers despite his QLD origin status (which is a detriment if anything given his age).
Koroisau - not previously regarded as a first string hooker and unlikely to have commanded huge dollars. Probably went to Manly as much for the chance at being a first string hooker under Barrett. Is not in the top 10 hookers in the game at the moment. In the short term at least he is a downgrade on Ballin.
Darcy Lussick - has done his market value no favours by being dreadful for Parramatta for the last few years. Likely little interest from rivals. Is a plodder in all aspects of the game save for cheap-shotting people in the head (and getting suspended for it).
Lewis Brown - a good solid signing that probably played on the Barrett connection. He's an improvement on what they lost.
Taupau - they just showed him the money. He could be a great signing or he could turn out to be a longer lasting version of Daine Laurie. I think he'll go well but he's a high energy player like Fifita so he'll always have a few errors and penalties in him.
Dylan Walker - they played on his immense ego and threw a pile of money at him. Will probably be a terrible 5/8 and will get shuffled back into the centres. He's a good player and a major attacking threat but his little OD stunt would have kept market interest down a little. Buying players with big egos and off field dramas has its risks.
It's an impressive effort in terms of the amount of experienced players they brought in, but I don't think they were all wise purchases and some are big money gambles.