@happy_tiger said in [Signing Suggestions & Rumours](/post/1289776) said:
But I agree with your post …when you continually miss the top talent questions need to be asked and answered …especially if we miss the finals again
Melbourne always miss top talent. I don't see the issue. I'd rather miss out on top talent than overpay for top talent.
No they just always grab the most talented junior and get it right virtually every time .......and then keep them 90% of the time
Someone there has a great eye for identifying junior talent. It's one thing to copy their strategy but have we got the right people identifying the talent ?
It certainly feels like we have. Hartigan is our best signing in a long time
Yes, he does. Would he be the guy identifying juniors?
Combination of madge and him i reckon
It is a combination of Scott Woodward and Hartigan primarily.
I would have thought they'd be across current NRL players and fringe players but would have others looking at juniors. It's a big job for the 2 of them scouring the country for juniors aswell.
That is exactly what they do, the information that Woodward has at his disposal is very deep across the country.
Yes, the info, but is he the talent identifier? Was he the bloke picking the talent for storm?
He is the Recruitment and List Analyst at the Wests Tigers, it is his system that is used to identify the talent that we want to look at. I can explain the process a little more if you want.
please do, I love this stuff.
This is more in regards to the NRL but roster management is an ongoing process that requires planning for multiple years into the future. The club will have depth charts that extend at least 3-4 years into the future that include players we have signed up in those years including expected development. For example Kei who we have recently signed to a development contract and some of the players in the junior systems would be included in the NRL depth chart for for season 22-24.
The club will have developed Archetypes for what they are looking for in each position on the field based on the type of football we are looking to play. These would include attributes, skills and ability we are looking as a club. For example for a winger these could be things like tall, fast, low error under the high ball, ability to make a lot of yardage to start of the set. These things are all measurable and a value is assigned to these based on importance to the team.
The club would then compare our current roster to our archetypes and identify our strengths and weaknesses both on fulfilling those archetypes and the value they have assigned those skills.
In regards to retention that would allow the club to determine who they want to keep and what value they provide to the club. It allows the club to go into negotiations with not only a value on players but a reason for that value, they can say to a player that this is what we value you as and these are the reason why we have placed that value. These conversations would have occurred with both Aloiai and Nofa.
In regards to recruitment, it allows the club to identify players who fill an area of need for the club. I know speed is an attribute that the club has been very keen to address, hence the interest in JAC and the signing of Roberts. After a player has been identified as having attributes that fulfill an area of need that player would be looked at a lot more closely, that is when we will be watching a lot of game time on that player, meetings would be held to determine if they meet the culture and other aspect they can bring to club such as leadership and media presence etc. Once again the club would have a value based on what they believe the player brings to the club and negotiations would start.
When identifying talent based of the measurable data, Woodward and his systems would be providing that data to the club based off the archetypes and areas of weakness the club has determined. The data they look at goes back multiple years and across all levels of the game. Hartigan, Madge and Pascoe would be looking at more of intangible aspect of the player that are important to the club.
Hartigan has an excellent knowledge of players throughout the game and this is an area that he shines. He really is a huge asset to the club.
A couple of interesting points, when looking at Joffa for example his 2020 data is not great and is of concern until you take out the data from the games he was played out of position in the second row. With those games removed his stats improve massively.
The idea in all of this is to get as many players playing at your club on contracts that a re below their value to the club. This also allows you to maybe spend a bit more on the player that takes your team from a finge top 8 side to a genuine contender.
Cheers mate , very encouraging.
I know analytics is a bit of a buzz word at the moment, the club is making use of that data type approach but that is not the be all and end all. Melbourne through Scott Woodward really pioneered this approach in the NRL, but basically the deciding factor for Melbourne is the "cuppa test" after sitting down and speaking to them if you are not happy to have them around to your house and around your kids then they don't make it in the door a Melbourne.
Madge and Hartigan are similar in this regard and are very interested in a players upbringing, family etc.
So basically for us, the analytics is used to access our roster, identify strengths and weaknesses, player valuation and then to identify players we want to have a closer look at to address those weaknesses.
How long was he at Melbourne?
He was only at Melbourne for 4 years, but has been involved in and around the game for over 10 years. He developed the Talent Identification Program (TIP) that we currently use. I know this program is more detailed and goes into greater depth than the system that the Roosters are using.
It's a bit worrying that the system has us with no fullback in the squad.
