Look I don't want to go off based on 1 game. Everything that could go wrong did. However lets be honest, our roster is no longer a Top 8 one on paper. It is very unbalanced. We will have more days like this in 2013 where sides simply over power us. Sides that are way more equipped and balanced. This is a side on the decline and wont beat any of the big 5 or 6 teams this year. We will have our good days im sure however we are as far away as we have been for 5 or 6 years. Tim Sheens and his recruitment gurus have left us with a squad that is not equipped to challange in 2013.
In the modern game you need, POWER, IMPACT and SIZE up front. In the backs you need POWER, SPEED and GUILE. You also need a halfback to CONTROL and be a general. You need players with impact on a match fullstop. Our squad is full of players that lack impact. I would say we have 2 elite first graders (Farah, Woods) and 4 or 5 decent ones that can be very good on there day (Marshall, Galloway, Lawrence maybe!!). The rest struggle and would struggle to get a start at most clubs. Moltzen wouldn;t play fullback anywhere else in the NRL and ayshford and Utai are battlers. Lawrence is horrible now lets be honest. Out back row is terribly unbalanced with no power, size or impact. And our halfback is a rookie with Marshall trying to dominate. Put this together with little to no quality depth and Potter is left with a giant mess.
You look at a side like Souths and they are playing with a squad that can dominate in the modern game. I hate to think what they will do to us this year. Out hope is with our young brigade and there is alot to get excited about there. Tedesco, Nuafalomu, Sirro, Brooks, with a couple of young forwards. There is a good mix there however they certainy won't do it in 2013.
MY point is our recruitment needs to adapt to the modern game. We sign slow outside backs (Utai, Reddy) We sign forwards that either lack size, impact or power (Blair, Bell, Anasta) Then we sign guys who are just battlers that dont have the tools to dominate in the modern game (Fulton, Tuqiri) etc.
YOu see the way we have played that it is now outdated. You can;t play a finesse game and get consistent results. Our recruitment is also outdated. If you can't guy the class 1 eggs (marquee players) you need to make SMARTER purchases based on a speed and power (impact!!). I think Penrith will tun out to be an example of that. They didn't have the cash to get the marquee but I think they will have made some decent purchases. Thay signed Segyyaro an explosive player who has impact, Manu a guy that runs really hard and dents the line and Whare a quicker then average outside back who can have impact. If you can't get the class 1 eggs you have to go for better class 2 eggs. Players that can actually make a genuine impact with the way the game is played these days.We seem to fill roster spots with blokes who are very average and slow, or sign players like anasta and blair on deals they would NEVER get at other clubs.
Bottom line is Potter is going to do the hard yards for a side that the bottom is falling out of. He needs to be given 3 years to try and make up for the mistakes of past. Quickly weed out the players that lack impact, slowly bring through the very talented young players, and make SMART recruitment decisions based on things like SIZE, SPEED, POWER, IMPACT, AGGRESSION and CONTROL.
You can say this is a over reaction but when you present yourself like this in Round 1 it does not bode well.
In the modern game you need, POWER, IMPACT and SIZE up front. In the backs you need POWER, SPEED and GUILE. You also need a halfback to CONTROL and be a general. You need players with impact on a match fullstop. Our squad is full of players that lack impact. I would say we have 2 elite first graders (Farah, Woods) and 4 or 5 decent ones that can be very good on there day (Marshall, Galloway, Lawrence maybe!!). The rest struggle and would struggle to get a start at most clubs. Moltzen wouldn;t play fullback anywhere else in the NRL and ayshford and Utai are battlers. Lawrence is horrible now lets be honest. Out back row is terribly unbalanced with no power, size or impact. And our halfback is a rookie with Marshall trying to dominate. Put this together with little to no quality depth and Potter is left with a giant mess.
You look at a side like Souths and they are playing with a squad that can dominate in the modern game. I hate to think what they will do to us this year. Out hope is with our young brigade and there is alot to get excited about there. Tedesco, Nuafalomu, Sirro, Brooks, with a couple of young forwards. There is a good mix there however they certainy won't do it in 2013.
MY point is our recruitment needs to adapt to the modern game. We sign slow outside backs (Utai, Reddy) We sign forwards that either lack size, impact or power (Blair, Bell, Anasta) Then we sign guys who are just battlers that dont have the tools to dominate in the modern game (Fulton, Tuqiri) etc.
YOu see the way we have played that it is now outdated. You can;t play a finesse game and get consistent results. Our recruitment is also outdated. If you can't guy the class 1 eggs (marquee players) you need to make SMARTER purchases based on a speed and power (impact!!). I think Penrith will tun out to be an example of that. They didn't have the cash to get the marquee but I think they will have made some decent purchases. Thay signed Segyyaro an explosive player who has impact, Manu a guy that runs really hard and dents the line and Whare a quicker then average outside back who can have impact. If you can't get the class 1 eggs you have to go for better class 2 eggs. Players that can actually make a genuine impact with the way the game is played these days.We seem to fill roster spots with blokes who are very average and slow, or sign players like anasta and blair on deals they would NEVER get at other clubs.
Bottom line is Potter is going to do the hard yards for a side that the bottom is falling out of. He needs to be given 3 years to try and make up for the mistakes of past. Quickly weed out the players that lack impact, slowly bring through the very talented young players, and make SMART recruitment decisions based on things like SIZE, SPEED, POWER, IMPACT, AGGRESSION and CONTROL.
You can say this is a over reaction but when you present yourself like this in Round 1 it does not bode well.
