Its a difficult pill to swallow, but we don't have the personnel. I think that's been proven habitually over the course of the season. At some point we have neglected to notice how the game has changed in terms of it's major objective i.e. Occupying the better field position. Apart from Woods we have 'popgun' forwards who run with the body shape of meerkats and rarely apply pressure to the organisation of opposing defences. Keith Galloway is now an eight or nine season veteran and remains the most frustrating of the forwards, through his inability to truly utilize his size and bulk by dominating opposition packs. Ellis, Blair and Fulton are brave and have high work rates, but they lack size.
The backline speaks for itself. The best example of a complete breakdown in the recruiting process was the acquisition of Reddy while allowing Mitch Brown to leave. The greatest attacking player of his generation has now been reduced to a ball shuffler, with a deteriorating kicking role. Journeymen abound besides.
I don't know about Wests, but recruitment and expenditure were never Balmain's strong suits, I just wonder whether the diseased processes in these areas have become generational.
Will sneak into the eight, but the reality is we just do not have the personnel to cause much fuss. The game has matured, we have not unfortunately
