Mentality Shift

You can only recruit players that are willing to come to your club. We were never in the hunt for a Cronk or a player of that level so I guess we have done okay.

Games are not won on paper, but when I compare our roster to all the other clubs, I have some doubts we will seriously challenge for a top eight finish. Things Iam concerned about are, lack of speed, Doubts over the spine and no real standout goal kicker. Okay we have gained plenty of size and experience and I think we will be a hard side to play but I also think we might struggle to win games.
Time will tell
 
You hope we are heading in the right direction with our choices , but if we go backwards what then ??

It is a crucial time in our club's history the next 2-3 years , if we don't see improvement not sure where we go next
 
The main mentality shift needs to be at board level the club has to put down and play out of one ground and finally find a home . Expansion is coming and Sydney teams will be moved or merged , our club has this season 5 home grounds does anyone really believe a club that is nomadic in there own city will not the first to be punted ! For me it is the new Parra stadium or bust I really do not see much of a future if from 2019 we do not have 1 home ground .
 
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The main mentality shift needs to be at board level the club has to put down and play out of one ground and finally find a home . Expansion is coming and Sydney teams will be moved or merged , our club has this season 5 home grounds does anyone really believe a club that is nomadic in there own city will not the first to be punted ! For me it is the new Parra stadium or bust I really do not see much of a future if from 2019 we do not have 1 home ground .
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I can't see us getting as many supporters to Parramatta Stadium as the Eels would , if we move there and are crowd numbers are down we could get cut or relocated.
 
@ said:
You hope we are heading in the right direction with our choices , but if we go backwards what then ??

It is a crucial time in our club's history the next 2-3 years , if we don't see improvement not sure where we go next
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Agreed Happy. We have signed a lot of oldish experienced players to long contracts. It was written somewhere we have the least uncontracted players for 2019, and that may be a good or bad thing,as if things don’t work out in 2018 you have your hands tied to these long contracts. I just worry if 2018 does go pear shape, there may be no road back. Sorry to be negative, but I am struggling to be as positive as others about our prospects in the near future
 
I think this season will be another step in the right direction.

I am also concerned that we don't have a player who can do something special to change the momentum of a game and I think that may be the only real chink. We do lack speed but if we can make our way into the opposition half with A couple of plays under our belt I would back our boys to cross the line with size and skill.

Preseason fluff maybe but I do sense that there has been a shift and just like every season I think we are going to do well this - over to coach and team to prove us right.
 
We have brought in more experienced players. I think it’s good that we have Packer, Matt’s , McQueen , Reynolds for a few years.
They are all good players with the right attitude. They will be good for Josh A, Hooth, Twal. It’s not like we have signed a marquee player that is 30 plus years old.
Granted we do lack a James Roberts/ A Carr/ Jordan Rapana /Latrell Mitchell type in the backs. If our defence can contain these types of dangerous runners. We could make the 8\. If our defence is as bad as it’s been over the last few years , we will go backwards, as we don’t have Moses/ Tedesco types this year.
 
@ said:
You hope we are heading in the right direction with our choices , but if we go backwards what then ??

It is a crucial time in our club's history the next 2-3 years , if we don't see improvement not sure where we go next
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Perth or Gladstone..
 
There has definitely been a huge shift starting from when Cleary took over and slowly rolling on and building. The huge improvement in depth alone will help us to be more consistent - a trait we have lacked for years. We have players talking about building a new culture and a change in the vibe around the place - I think that's all real. I believe that is happening at the Tigers and is exactly what is needed. It can only be a positive thing, so we all need to keep it going and be positive for it to grow.
Obviously the real issue will be whether the team can take that attitude on to the field and play with the enthusiasm and determination to win that every side needs. If they do find that desire to play for each other and put 100% into each game, they will win enough games to make the eight. The roster will be good enough if every player has a real dig.
I expect to see a tougher side that will fight harder for longer in each game. I don''t think we'll be too flashy but we should be solid, as long as Brooks and Reynolds keep things simple and effective.
I choose to be optimistic and think that the coming season holds more promise than I can remember for many years.
 
@ said:
You hope we are heading in the right direction with our choices , but if we go backwards what then ??

It is a crucial time in our club's history the next 2-3 years , if we don't see improvement not sure where we go next
Click to expand...

Happy, I dont think we will have a better opportunity in the next 2/3 years to be the NRL force we should be…Ivan is a man who I reckon puts his money where his mouth is and does whats right for the team and club..
He has recruited well irrespective of the people who think he hasnt,I guarantee if our defense is rock solid and consistent then he will have a plan in place for the attack to be freeflowing and stinging,something we have not seen for awhile...
As for if we dont see improvement, we go back to the drawing board and find out where we were insufficient and try and improve those areas...we have got the great chance now of seeing what can be,Ivan has had plenty of leeway to do what he wants and has bought who he wanted,others were not afforded this opportunity so we should by rights prosper and get better each year...IT STARTS NOW.....
 
We have a much stronger squad depth and experinence wise this year then last. Depth matters and experience matters

Look at who we lost and who we replaced them with
Props
Lost - Aaron Woods and Ava Seumanufagai
Gained - Ben Matulino and Russel Packer

Outside Backs
Lost - James Tedesco, Jamal Idris and Jordon Rankin
Replaced - Taane Milne, Mahe Fonua and Corey Thompson

Back Row
Lost - Kyle Lovett and Joel Edwards
Replaced - Chris McQueen and Robbie Rochouw

Halves and Hookers
Lost - Jack LittleJohn , Jeremy Marshall King and Matt Balin, Mitch Moses
Replaced - Benji Marshall, Pita Godinet and Tyson Gamble, Josh Reynolds

We still have 1 spot left in our squad and looking at our replacements it really is fullback where we haven't replaced better for better

What we also have is our young players who are staying are better then they were last year
Alex Twal - Rookie and half a season to a kid who has played a world cup and 10 games of FG and is available for the full year
Matt Eisenhuth- From Reserve grader to genuine NRL player with 10 games experience
Jacob Liddle and Matt McIlwrick - Entered last yr not having played full seasons fo FG and now have full years behind them

Will we win the comp No but I see us making a real impact in every game because of our depth - where we really struggle last year was when a starting player was out we had real weaknesses come into the team whereas this yr we have replacements almost as good as the starter
 
i think we'll win the comp..that is my mentality..

Undefeated too..
 
Guys I read comments that our attack may suffer without woods, Tedesco, Moses. Other than round 1, when did these three combine to blow another team away?

We were crap in A and D statistically and materially for large parts of their time here. Too hard to make predictions. I just want to beat the roosters in round 1 and reasses then.
 
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