Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[jirskyr]

Stef credited finucane for his change in form from origin camp. Imagine the impact he could of made across the whole squad.

I don't believe that one bit. Tigers identify Stefano as one of the best prop talents in the game and head-hunt him from Parramatta. He does a Tigers pre-season, gets his Tigers debut, is brought along slowly by Madge, sent back to reggies once or twice, then made starting prop.

But no, he goes to Origin camp for 5 days and that's what takes him to another level, watching Dale Finucane train and do his strapping.

You don't believe?
So you think stef is
confused, a liar... Maybe he
learnt a bit from someone that's
been there done that

Of course he "learned a bit". I'm talking about the difference between having "a positive experience" in the NSW camp vs actually crediting Dale Finucane for some perceived change in form. That is what I replied to: "Stef credited finucane for his change in form".

The actual quotes from Stefano himself
>I got hungrier to be in the starting squad every week and I think going into that NSW camp (for Origin III) and being around those guys helped bring my confidence up a bit.

>“Being around players who are at the top of their game – that’s somewhere I want to be.
>“That made me push myself and try be the best I could be for the Tigers.
>“Everyone in that team is a leader, everybody talks in the meetings and prepares well.
>“Dale Finucane, preparation wise, he’s so professional.
>He was my roommate and he was down there stretching and doing all the extras after training and puts 100 per cent in.

 

[jirskyr]

We were leading that game I believe , until he came on with chee kam . That 20 min stint literally lost us the game . Turbo went through his corridor repeatedly , so the other edge tightened , and they went through there instead . I’m not in the business of blaming sole players for losses , but he should not have been playing that game . Whether it was bad management from our medical team or him not being honest with himself about where his body was at , I don’t know , but that was not ok .
Speaking of which , so much was made of Gray and his supposed game changing performance team , but I gotta say , we were better u der the previous high performance team .
He sent us backwards if anything . We looked better for the calendar , but that’s about it .

To be honest I know little about the Tigers performance team past or present however I def felt many games we looked completely gassed at times. Whether it was the 15mins before halftime or the final 15mins of the game we just looked completely underdone fitness wise. Hard to believe when Madge is such a task master with his teams being super fit.

A lot comes down to their mental state too though and mental toughness. With a large number of the team very young they possibly haven't developed the mental toughness to play for 80mins every week. I personally find it tiresome and boring as hell to run drills and laps or go for distance runs however come game day I can easily pump out 80mins without a sub even at 39 so I doubt it's a physical fitness issue.

I feel the team might be better off looking at a sports psychologist of sorts to mentally prepare the players better, to start faster instead of lumbering into matches and only switching on when down by 24. Help the players recognize and distinguish the difference/triggers of mental fatigue over physical fatigue and help them find ways to push through it even under pressure.



I was talking years ago to some Canterbury players
When Des was coach and they had that run when they keep losing and they told me that Des was flogging them at training and the more they lost the more they got flog at training and they said on game day they had nothing in the tank

Keep hearing how much of a dinosaur and old school thinker Des is. Then I watch Manly storm into the finals.

Des completely lost the plot at the Dogs. It’s not that he lost it, he just needed to go away and lay on a beach with a cocktail and get his head back. He must have done it, cos he got it back when he returned to Manly.

2 Things- 1-Des lost it a Dogs cause he back ended contracts & took off before it came back to bite him(as he did to Manly before he left them & left poor old Tooves to pick up the mess))
2-Des did jack at Manly this year... It was no coincidence that Tom Trov returned & they started winning. They should change their name to the Manly Toms cause without him they lose.

Ive found it weird my manly mates always excuse Des for the period he left them in a mess and welcomed him back like he’s the messiah.

I know ..how does that happen?

Winning forgives everything

 

[Needaname]

Stef credited finucane for his change in form from origin camp. Imagine the impact he could of made across the whole squad.

I don't believe that one bit. Tigers identify Stefano as one of the best prop talents in the game and head-hunt him from Parramatta. He does a Tigers pre-season, gets his Tigers debut, is brought along slowly by Madge, sent back to reggies once or twice, then made starting prop.

But no, he goes to Origin camp for 5 days and that's what takes him to another level, watching Dale Finucane train and do his strapping.

The biggest difference for Sefano this year was the work he put in over the off season. He was a little soft last year when playing at Parra and I had doubts about his signing. He returned after the off season in much better physical shape and that was the biggest reason for his improved form and strong finish to the season. I think being 18th man probably gave him a bit of extra confidence though, which allowed him to take advantage of the physical changes he developed over the past 12 months.

I’m not so sure about that. He was mentioned as a standout at Parramatta in the 2020 preseason training the house down. Despite that he looked soft in his 3 games in 2020. I’d say those 3 games were huge for us in context as despite leading all the numbers in the parramatta squad it was clear to him he still needed to go to another level to handle top grade on a consistent level. Seems a very disciplined athlete for his age group.

 

[Needaname]

Stef credited finucane for his change in form from origin camp. Imagine the impact he could of made across the whole squad.

I don't believe that one bit. Tigers identify Stefano as one of the best prop talents in the game and head-hunt him from Parramatta. He does a Tigers pre-season, gets his Tigers debut, is brought along slowly by Madge, sent back to reggies once or twice, then made starting prop.

But no, he goes to Origin camp for 5 days and that's what takes him to another level, watching Dale Finucane train and do his strapping.

You don't believe?
So you think stef is
confused, a liar... Maybe he
learnt a bit from someone that's
been there done that

Of course he "learned a bit". I'm talking about the difference between having "a positive experience" in the NSW camp vs actually crediting Dale Finucane for some perceived change in form. That is what I replied to: "Stef credited finucane for his change in form".

The actual quotes from Stefano himself
>I got hungrier to be in the starting squad every week and I think going into that NSW camp (for Origin III) and being around those guys helped bring my confidence up a bit.

>“Being around players who are at the top of their game – that’s somewhere I want to be.
>“That made me push myself and try be the best I could be for the Tigers.
>“Everyone in that team is a leader, everybody talks in the meetings and prepares well.
>“Dale Finucane, preparation wise, he’s so professional.
>He was my roommate and he was down there stretching and doing all the extras after training and puts 100 per cent in.

One could argue that spending time with these players in a camp environment would have a more profound effect than having them around every day. Most of the game preparation stuff Finucane would do would be on his own time at his home. Sure the players might see someone ready to go for each training session but it doesn’t necessarily mean they experience what he eats, when he sleeps, how he relaxes / prepares his body and mind.

 

[watersider]

We were leading that game I believe , until he came on with chee kam . That 20 min stint literally lost us the game . Turbo went through his corridor repeatedly , so the other edge tightened , and they went through there instead . I’m not in the business of blaming sole players for losses , but he should not have been playing that game . Whether it was bad management from our medical team or him not being honest with himself about where his body was at , I don’t know , but that was not ok .
Speaking of which , so much was made of Gray and his supposed game changing performance team , but I gotta say , we were better u der the previous high performance team .
He sent us backwards if anything . We looked better for the calendar , but that’s about it .

To be honest I know little about the Tigers performance team past or present however I def felt many games we looked completely gassed at times. Whether it was the 15mins before halftime or the final 15mins of the game we just looked completely underdone fitness wise. Hard to believe when Madge is such a task master with his teams being super fit.

A lot comes down to their mental state too though and mental toughness. With a large number of the team very young they possibly haven't developed the mental toughness to play for 80mins every week. I personally find it tiresome and boring as hell to run drills and laps or go for distance runs however come game day I can easily pump out 80mins without a sub even at 39 so I doubt it's a physical fitness issue.

I feel the team might be better off looking at a sports psychologist of sorts to mentally prepare the players better, to start faster instead of lumbering into matches and only switching on when down by 24. Help the players recognize and distinguish the difference/triggers of mental fatigue over physical fatigue and help them find ways to push through it even under pressure.



I was talking years ago to some Canterbury players
When Des was coach and they had that run when they keep losing and they told me that Des was flogging them at training and the more they lost the more they got flog at training and they said on game day they had nothing in the tank

Keep hearing how much of a dinosaur and old school thinker Des is. Then I watch Manly storm into the finals.

Des completely lost the plot at the Dogs. It’s not that he lost it, he just needed to go away and lay on a beach with a cocktail and get his head back. He must have done it, cos he got it back when he returned to Manly.

2 Things- 1-Des lost it a Dogs cause he back ended contracts & took off before it came back to bite him(as he did to Manly before he left them & left poor old Tooves to pick up the mess))
2-Des did jack at Manly this year... It was no coincidence that Tom Trov returned & they started winning. They should change their name to the Manly Toms cause without him they lose.

Even if what you say is true, he created a club that was successful at Manly for a long time and won a premiership playing some of the best league I've seen. That's after they had looked like a bit of a mess before him. They had a few down years after he left and they're back now. Looking at how Barrett struggled there highlights what a quality job Hasler did. I also think Toovey was a good coach, but not a 'special one'. I think Hasler is an excellent coach. I'm sure he's made mistakes, and the Bulldogs really went sour, but he also took them to a grand final.

I completely agree that Turbo was the main reason Manly turned around their season and became a good side, but to me a coach needing good players is a given.

He was my preferred coach when Madge was hired. I also like Madge, but to me Hasler is in that class of coaches with Bennett, Robinson and Bellamy.

 

[cochise]

Stef credited finucane for his change in form from origin camp. Imagine the impact he could of made across the whole squad.

I don't believe that one bit. Tigers identify Stefano as one of the best prop talents in the game and head-hunt him from Parramatta. He does a Tigers pre-season, gets his Tigers debut, is brought along slowly by Madge, sent back to reggies once or twice, then made starting prop.

But no, he goes to Origin camp for 5 days and that's what takes him to another level, watching Dale Finucane train and do his strapping.

The biggest difference for Sefano this year was the work he put in over the off season. He was a little soft last year when playing at Parra and I had doubts about his signing. He returned after the off season in much better physical shape and that was the biggest reason for his improved form and strong finish to the season. I think being 18th man probably gave him a bit of extra confidence though, which allowed him to take advantage of the physical changes he developed over the past 12 months.

I’m not so sure about that. He was mentioned as a standout at Parramatta in the 2020 preseason training the house down. Despite that he looked soft in his 3 games in 2020. I’d say those 3 games were huge for us in context as despite leading all the numbers in the parramatta squad it was clear to him he still needed to go to another level to handle top grade on a consistent level. Seems a very disciplined athlete for his age group.

What in my post are you not sure about? You pretty much agreed with everything I said.

 

[cochise]

We were leading that game I believe , until he came on with chee kam . That 20 min stint literally lost us the game . Turbo went through his corridor repeatedly , so the other edge tightened , and they went through there instead . I’m not in the business of blaming sole players for losses , but he should not have been playing that game . Whether it was bad management from our medical team or him not being honest with himself about where his body was at , I don’t know , but that was not ok .
Speaking of which , so much was made of Gray and his supposed game changing performance team , but I gotta say , we were better u der the previous high performance team .
He sent us backwards if anything . We looked better for the calendar , but that’s about it .

To be honest I know little about the Tigers performance team past or present however I def felt many games we looked completely gassed at times. Whether it was the 15mins before halftime or the final 15mins of the game we just looked completely underdone fitness wise. Hard to believe when Madge is such a task master with his teams being super fit.

A lot comes down to their mental state too though and mental toughness. With a large number of the team very young they possibly haven't developed the mental toughness to play for 80mins every week. I personally find it tiresome and boring as hell to run drills and laps or go for distance runs however come game day I can easily pump out 80mins without a sub even at 39 so I doubt it's a physical fitness issue.

I feel the team might be better off looking at a sports psychologist of sorts to mentally prepare the players better, to start faster instead of lumbering into matches and only switching on when down by 24. Help the players recognize and distinguish the difference/triggers of mental fatigue over physical fatigue and help them find ways to push through it even under pressure.



I was talking years ago to some Canterbury players
When Des was coach and they had that run when they keep losing and they told me that Des was flogging them at training and the more they lost the more they got flog at training and they said on game day they had nothing in the tank

Keep hearing how much of a dinosaur and old school thinker Des is. Then I watch Manly storm into the finals.

Des completely lost the plot at the Dogs. It’s not that he lost it, he just needed to go away and lay on a beach with a cocktail and get his head back. He must have done it, cos he got it back when he returned to Manly.

2 Things- 1-Des lost it a Dogs cause he back ended contracts & took off before it came back to bite him(as he did to Manly before he left them & left poor old Tooves to pick up the mess))
2-Des did jack at Manly this year... It was no coincidence that Tom Trov returned & they started winning. They should change their name to the Manly Toms cause without him they lose.

Even if what you say is true, he created a club that was successful at Manly for a long time and won a premiership playing some of the best league I've seen. That's after they had looked like a bit of a mess before him. They had a few down years after he left and they're back now. Looking at how Barrett struggled there highlights what a quality job Hasler did. I also think Toovey was a good coach, but not a 'special one'. I think Hasler is an excellent coach. I'm sure he's made mistakes, and the Bulldogs really went sour, but he also took them to a grand final.

I completely agree that Turbo was the main reason Manly turned around their season and became a good side, but to me a coach needing good players is a given.

He was my preferred coach when Madge was hired. I also like Madge, but to me Hasler is in that class of coaches with Bennett, Robinson and Bellamy.

Hasler burns salary caps for short term gain.

 

[watersider]

We were leading that game I believe , until he came on with chee kam . That 20 min stint literally lost us the game . Turbo went through his corridor repeatedly , so the other edge tightened , and they went through there instead . I’m not in the business of blaming sole players for losses , but he should not have been playing that game . Whether it was bad management from our medical team or him not being honest with himself about where his body was at , I don’t know , but that was not ok .
Speaking of which , so much was made of Gray and his supposed game changing performance team , but I gotta say , we were better u der the previous high performance team .
He sent us backwards if anything . We looked better for the calendar , but that’s about it .

To be honest I know little about the Tigers performance team past or present however I def felt many games we looked completely gassed at times. Whether it was the 15mins before halftime or the final 15mins of the game we just looked completely underdone fitness wise. Hard to believe when Madge is such a task master with his teams being super fit.

A lot comes down to their mental state too though and mental toughness. With a large number of the team very young they possibly haven't developed the mental toughness to play for 80mins every week. I personally find it tiresome and boring as hell to run drills and laps or go for distance runs however come game day I can easily pump out 80mins without a sub even at 39 so I doubt it's a physical fitness issue.

I feel the team might be better off looking at a sports psychologist of sorts to mentally prepare the players better, to start faster instead of lumbering into matches and only switching on when down by 24. Help the players recognize and distinguish the difference/triggers of mental fatigue over physical fatigue and help them find ways to push through it even under pressure.



I was talking years ago to some Canterbury players
When Des was coach and they had that run when they keep losing and they told me that Des was flogging them at training and the more they lost the more they got flog at training and they said on game day they had nothing in the tank

Keep hearing how much of a dinosaur and old school thinker Des is. Then I watch Manly storm into the finals.

Des completely lost the plot at the Dogs. It’s not that he lost it, he just needed to go away and lay on a beach with a cocktail and get his head back. He must have done it, cos he got it back when he returned to Manly.

2 Things- 1-Des lost it a Dogs cause he back ended contracts & took off before it came back to bite him(as he did to Manly before he left them & left poor old Tooves to pick up the mess))
2-Des did jack at Manly this year... It was no coincidence that Tom Trov returned & they started winning. They should change their name to the Manly Toms cause without him they lose.

Even if what you say is true, he created a club that was successful at Manly for a long time and won a premiership playing some of the best league I've seen. That's after they had looked like a bit of a mess before him. They had a few down years after he left and they're back now. Looking at how Barrett struggled there highlights what a quality job Hasler did. I also think Toovey was a good coach, but not a 'special one'. I think Hasler is an excellent coach. I'm sure he's made mistakes, and the Bulldogs really went sour, but he also took them to a grand final.

I completely agree that Turbo was the main reason Manly turned around their season and became a good side, but to me a coach needing good players is a given.

He was my preferred coach when Madge was hired. I also like Madge, but to me Hasler is in that class of coaches with Bennett, Robinson and Bellamy.

Hasler burns salary caps for short term gain.

And wins.

 

[cochise]

We were leading that game I believe , until he came on with chee kam . That 20 min stint literally lost us the game . Turbo went through his corridor repeatedly , so the other edge tightened , and they went through there instead . I’m not in the business of blaming sole players for losses , but he should not have been playing that game . Whether it was bad management from our medical team or him not being honest with himself about where his body was at , I don’t know , but that was not ok .
Speaking of which , so much was made of Gray and his supposed game changing performance team , but I gotta say , we were better u der the previous high performance team .
He sent us backwards if anything . We looked better for the calendar , but that’s about it .

To be honest I know little about the Tigers performance team past or present however I def felt many games we looked completely gassed at times. Whether it was the 15mins before halftime or the final 15mins of the game we just looked completely underdone fitness wise. Hard to believe when Madge is such a task master with his teams being super fit.

A lot comes down to their mental state too though and mental toughness. With a large number of the team very young they possibly haven't developed the mental toughness to play for 80mins every week. I personally find it tiresome and boring as hell to run drills and laps or go for distance runs however come game day I can easily pump out 80mins without a sub even at 39 so I doubt it's a physical fitness issue.

I feel the team might be better off looking at a sports psychologist of sorts to mentally prepare the players better, to start faster instead of lumbering into matches and only switching on when down by 24. Help the players recognize and distinguish the difference/triggers of mental fatigue over physical fatigue and help them find ways to push through it even under pressure.



I was talking years ago to some Canterbury players
When Des was coach and they had that run when they keep losing and they told me that Des was flogging them at training and the more they lost the more they got flog at training and they said on game day they had nothing in the tank

Keep hearing how much of a dinosaur and old school thinker Des is. Then I watch Manly storm into the finals.

Des completely lost the plot at the Dogs. It’s not that he lost it, he just needed to go away and lay on a beach with a cocktail and get his head back. He must have done it, cos he got it back when he returned to Manly.

2 Things- 1-Des lost it a Dogs cause he back ended contracts & took off before it came back to bite him(as he did to Manly before he left them & left poor old Tooves to pick up the mess))
2-Des did jack at Manly this year... It was no coincidence that Tom Trov returned & they started winning. They should change their name to the Manly Toms cause without him they lose.

Even if what you say is true, he created a club that was successful at Manly for a long time and won a premiership playing some of the best league I've seen. That's after they had looked like a bit of a mess before him. They had a few down years after he left and they're back now. Looking at how Barrett struggled there highlights what a quality job Hasler did. I also think Toovey was a good coach, but not a 'special one'. I think Hasler is an excellent coach. I'm sure he's made mistakes, and the Bulldogs really went sour, but he also took them to a grand final.

I completely agree that Turbo was the main reason Manly turned around their season and became a good side, but to me a coach needing good players is a given.

He was my preferred coach when Madge was hired. I also like Madge, but to me Hasler is in that class of coaches with Bennett, Robinson and Bellamy.

Hasler burns salary caps for short term gain.

And wins.

I'm not looking for short term success, I don't want to hit the top and then be stuffed for 5 years after that. I want this fixed properly.

 

[happy_tiger]

We were leading that game I believe , until he came on with chee kam . That 20 min stint literally lost us the game . Turbo went through his corridor repeatedly , so the other edge tightened , and they went through there instead . I’m not in the business of blaming sole players for losses , but he should not have been playing that game . Whether it was bad management from our medical team or him not being honest with himself about where his body was at , I don’t know , but that was not ok .
Speaking of which , so much was made of Gray and his supposed game changing performance team , but I gotta say , we were better u der the previous high performance team .
He sent us backwards if anything . We looked better for the calendar , but that’s about it .

To be honest I know little about the Tigers performance team past or present however I def felt many games we looked completely gassed at times. Whether it was the 15mins before halftime or the final 15mins of the game we just looked completely underdone fitness wise. Hard to believe when Madge is such a task master with his teams being super fit.

A lot comes down to their mental state too though and mental toughness. With a large number of the team very young they possibly haven't developed the mental toughness to play for 80mins every week. I personally find it tiresome and boring as hell to run drills and laps or go for distance runs however come game day I can easily pump out 80mins without a sub even at 39 so I doubt it's a physical fitness issue.

I feel the team might be better off looking at a sports psychologist of sorts to mentally prepare the players better, to start faster instead of lumbering into matches and only switching on when down by 24. Help the players recognize and distinguish the difference/triggers of mental fatigue over physical fatigue and help them find ways to push through it even under pressure.



I was talking years ago to some Canterbury players
When Des was coach and they had that run when they keep losing and they told me that Des was flogging them at training and the more they lost the more they got flog at training and they said on game day they had nothing in the tank

Keep hearing how much of a dinosaur and old school thinker Des is. Then I watch Manly storm into the finals.

Des completely lost the plot at the Dogs. It’s not that he lost it, he just needed to go away and lay on a beach with a cocktail and get his head back. He must have done it, cos he got it back when he returned to Manly.

2 Things- 1-Des lost it a Dogs cause he back ended contracts & took off before it came back to bite him(as he did to Manly before he left them & left poor old Tooves to pick up the mess))
2-Des did jack at Manly this year... It was no coincidence that Tom Trov returned & they started winning. They should change their name to the Manly Toms cause without him they lose.

Even if what you say is true, he created a club that was successful at Manly for a long time and won a premiership playing some of the best league I've seen. That's after they had looked like a bit of a mess before him. They had a few down years after he left and they're back now. Looking at how Barrett struggled there highlights what a quality job Hasler did. I also think Toovey was a good coach, but not a 'special one'. I think Hasler is an excellent coach. I'm sure he's made mistakes, and the Bulldogs really went sour, but he also took them to a grand final.

I completely agree that Turbo was the main reason Manly turned around their season and became a good side, but to me a coach needing good players is a given.

He was my preferred coach when Madge was hired. I also like Madge, but to me Hasler is in that class of coaches with Bennett, Robinson and Bellamy.

Hasler burns salary caps for short term gain.

And wins.

I'm not looking for short term success, I don't want to hit the top and then be stuffed for 5 years after that. I want this fixed properly.

The maintenance bloke fixing this properly better have a magic toolbox .....

 

[Needaname]

Stef credited finucane for his change in form from origin camp. Imagine the impact he could of made across the whole squad.

I don't believe that one bit. Tigers identify Stefano as one of the best prop talents in the game and head-hunt him from Parramatta. He does a Tigers pre-season, gets his Tigers debut, is brought along slowly by Madge, sent back to reggies once or twice, then made starting prop.

But no, he goes to Origin camp for 5 days and that's what takes him to another level, watching Dale Finucane train and do his strapping.

The biggest difference for Sefano this year was the work he put in over the off season. He was a little soft last year when playing at Parra and I had doubts about his signing. He returned after the off season in much better physical shape and that was the biggest reason for his improved form and strong finish to the season. I think being 18th man probably gave him a bit of extra confidence though, which allowed him to take advantage of the physical changes he developed over the past 12 months.

I’m not so sure about that. He was mentioned as a standout at Parramatta in the 2020 preseason training the house down. Despite that he looked soft in his 3 games in 2020. I’d say those 3 games were huge for us in context as despite leading all the numbers in the parramatta squad it was clear to him he still needed to go to another level to handle top grade on a consistent level. Seems a very disciplined athlete for his age group.

What in my post are you not sure about? You pretty much agreed with everything I said.

The part where you said he was in better physical shape than at Parramatta. Of course I didn’t see him in person at either of the two clubs but he was also spoken about to be in extremely good physical condition in the pre season prior. I’m wondering if the difference is more a mental change and going off his limited time in 2020 but also his lack of impact in those games I’m curious what he could of changed if his body was already peaking.

 

[Lee's fedora]

 looks like we're gonna have to wait awhile til we have any signings

 

[DGilly]

 looks like we're gonna have to wait awhile til we have any signings

This is the smartest approach for us

 

[Demps]

 looks like we're gonna have to wait awhile til we have any signings

Also what Pascoe said a month or so ago when I emailed him.

Waiting game is on.

 

[JC99]

 looks like we're gonna have to wait awhile til we have any signings

Might work with guys like Laurie, don't think it'll work if we sign any well known players.

Hopefully we aren't just waiting around all pre season praying someone gets a release, we are no certainty of signing anyone anyway. Shouldn't be keeping more than one roster spot open by the time the season starts

It is our best strategy though. All the off contract players are duds because we didn't manage to sign anyone decent earlier besides Ken

 

[pawsandclaws1]

We had Madge earlier in the year advising he was fielding enquiries from players wanting to be at WTs. Now according to Brent Read we are waiting until 1 November to see what talent is forced out of other clubs due to salary cap constraints. Is anyone in a position to provide clarification?

 

[innsaneink]

Stef credited finucane for his change in form from origin camp. Imagine the impact he could of made across the whole squad.

I don't believe that one bit. Tigers identify Stefano as one of the best prop talents in the game and head-hunt him from Parramatta. He does a Tigers pre-season, gets his Tigers debut, is brought along slowly by Madge, sent back to reggies once or twice, then made starting prop.

But no, he goes to Origin camp for 5 days and that's what takes him to another level, watching Dale Finucane train and do his strapping.

The biggest difference for Sefano this year was the work he put in over the off season. He was a little soft last year when playing at Parra and I had doubts about his signing. He returned after the off season in much better physical shape and that was the biggest reason for his improved form and strong finish to the season. I think being 18th man probably gave him a bit of extra confidence though, which allowed him to take advantage of the physical changes he developed over the past 12 months.

I’m not so sure about that. He was mentioned as a standout at Parramatta in the 2020 preseason training the house down. Despite that he looked soft in his 3 games in 2020. I’d say those 3 games were huge for us in context as despite leading all the numbers in the parramatta squad it was clear to him he still needed to go to another level to handle top grade on a consistent level. Seems a very disciplined athlete for his age group.

What in my post are you not sure about? You pretty much agreed with everything I said.

The part where you said he was in better physical shape than at Parramatta. Of course I didn’t see him in person at either of the two clubs but he was also spoken about to be in extremely good physical condition in the pre season prior. **I’m wondering if the difference is more a mental change and going off his limited time in 2020** but also his lack of impact in those games I’m curious what he could of changed if his body was already peaking.

Normal progression in junior development

 

[innsaneink]

 looks like we're gonna have to wait awhile til we have any signings

Which clubs?

 

[Champ]

We were leading that game I believe , until he came on with chee kam . That 20 min stint literally lost us the game . Turbo went through his corridor repeatedly , so the other edge tightened , and they went through there instead . I’m not in the business of blaming sole players for losses , but he should not have been playing that game . Whether it was bad management from our medical team or him not being honest with himself about where his body was at , I don’t know , but that was not ok .
Speaking of which , so much was made of Gray and his supposed game changing performance team , but I gotta say , we were better u der the previous high performance team .
He sent us backwards if anything . We looked better for the calendar , but that’s about it .

To be honest I know little about the Tigers performance team past or present however I def felt many games we looked completely gassed at times. Whether it was the 15mins before halftime or the final 15mins of the game we just looked completely underdone fitness wise. Hard to believe when Madge is such a task master with his teams being super fit.

A lot comes down to their mental state too though and mental toughness. With a large number of the team very young they possibly haven't developed the mental toughness to play for 80mins every week. I personally find it tiresome and boring as hell to run drills and laps or go for distance runs however come game day I can easily pump out 80mins without a sub even at 39 so I doubt it's a physical fitness issue.

I feel the team might be better off looking at a sports psychologist of sorts to mentally prepare the players better, to start faster instead of lumbering into matches and only switching on when down by 24. Help the players recognize and distinguish the difference/triggers of mental fatigue over physical fatigue and help them find ways to push through it even under pressure.



I was talking years ago to some Canterbury players
When Des was coach and they had that run when they keep losing and they told me that Des was flogging them at training and the more they lost the more they got flog at training and they said on game day they had nothing in the tank

Keep hearing how much of a dinosaur and old school thinker Des is. Then I watch Manly storm into the finals.

Des completely lost the plot at the Dogs. It’s not that he lost it, he just needed to go away and lay on a beach with a cocktail and get his head back. He must have done it, cos he got it back when he returned to Manly.

2 Things- 1-Des lost it a Dogs cause he back ended contracts & took off before it came back to bite him(as he did to Manly before he left them & left poor old Tooves to pick up the mess))
2-Des did jack at Manly this year... It was no coincidence that Tom Trov returned & they started winning. They should change their name to the Manly Toms cause without him they lose.

Even if what you say is true, he created a club that was successful at Manly for a long time and won a premiership playing some of the best league I've seen. That's after they had looked like a bit of a mess before him. They had a few down years after he left and they're back now. Looking at how Barrett struggled there highlights what a quality job Hasler did. I also think Toovey was a good coach, but not a 'special one'. I think Hasler is an excellent coach. I'm sure he's made mistakes, and the Bulldogs really went sour, but he also took them to a grand final.

I completely agree that Turbo was the main reason Manly turned around their season and became a good side, but to me a coach needing good players is a given.

He was my preferred coach when Madge was hired. I also like Madge, but to me Hasler is in that class of coaches with Bennett, Robinson and Bellamy.

The points you make about Tooves & Barrett being unsuccessful i think highlights the size of the mess Hasler left behind. Just look at the mess Jason Taylor & Ivan Cleary left behind & we are still dealing with it. For mine, if a coach needs to backend contracts to gain an advantage , he isnt much of a coach.While Im not a fan of Melbourne & Roosters & believe they too gain unfair advantage from the cap, look what they have done & continue to do with "average" players. They turn them into very good players & sometimes great players. Thats good coaching. Clearly, if Hasler has to rely on Turbo to get wins , who is really coaching the side? Hasler doesnt have a winning gameplan that doesnt include Turbo. Look at Bennett losing Latrell. Souths still winning. That is a good coach.
Sorry mate, I will have to agree to disagree with on this on this one.

 

[twentyforty]

Read is right, we don’t always talk about the Tigers making smart plays. Did some on the board lose their nerve when trying to sack the head coach?