We fought. We made errors and stupid mistakes. But when we were down 14-0 we still played and tried to take the game.
Keep fighting guys. Next game against Easts will be hard but we will get there.

@hobbo1 said in Maguire spruiks Brooks' Origin future:

Momirovski =Jordan Rankin

This is good.
We were down 14-0 in the opening 20. Then we hit back. We stayed in the contest and lost to a better side. Seriously Cook vs Farah (and I like Farah), Cook is diabolical in the way he changes the Hooker role and if not contained will run rampant. The Souths pack flaws ours, we got a break with Reynolds being injured but we wern’t able to close the deal.

We did well guys. We played a better side and still were competitive. There is hope.

Anyone remember when Beau Ryan left us? We went from 3rd to about 15th on the ladder.
Why?

Beau was a good bloke, probably spent too much time on the footy show, a decent winger no superstar.
Yet he helped the backline GEL

Our backline needs to GEL.
Watch SOO, why does Queensland win. In part because they pick from 3-4 clubs where NSW picks from 8-12. You need people familiar with working with each other, who trust each other in defense and know when they can handle a player and when they need to come in.

Corey is a good player, worth 300-400k. Yet he has GELLED in our backline. We should not move Jennings, Thompson, Marsters and Fonua at all. They should be locked down and bedded in their positions. Every change to the backline means people don’t know how their new teammate will move. Now change it occasionally, let people earn their stripes and bring someone in once in a while.

There are better guys out there, Keep Corey. No change.
Why did we hire Mbye NO he should not be 5/8, see Canterbury for last 4-5 seasons.).

@diedpretty said in Signing Suggestions & Rumours:

@Fitzy05 said in Signing Suggestions & Rumours:

Roosters re-sign talented trio to long-term deals
https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/05/19/roosters-re-sign-talented-trio-to-long-term-deals/

As soon as I see “knocked back more money to stay” the alarm bells start to ring. It just seems funny that its usually only players at the rorters or the broncos who “knock back more money to stay” at a club where in a lot of cases their chances are limited. On the other hand clubs like us find that players "leave for less money’’ than they could have got by staying. Must all be above board though - the NRL says so.

Totally agree but look at the players concerned.
Sitili Tupouniua is an awesome player and I wish we could sign him. But he is a 21 year old. He has gotten into first grade with a top 4 team and a good coach. He won’t be thinking money till he is 23-24, maybe 26-27.

If your at a good workplace you want to stay, you don’t want to run out on your friends and you won’t bail on a $25 hour job because someone offers you $26.

Overall though, yes I agree. It looks suspicious that so many stars have stayed at the Roosters for less money. The Broncos I get, I remember Scott Prince finishing there for small cash because his dad was a Broncos fan. It killed the Broncos season. I suspect that Bennett gone you won’t see as many opting to stay at Brisbane.

Whatever the Roosters are doing club wise, we need to emulate more of it. Center of Excellence, career development, mentorship. We have had a few tigers go to the Roosters and say it’s a lot better and one Rooster come to the Tigers and say our facilities are crap. Yes they are probably brown paper bags but there is something else that the Tigers can fix to keep top talent.

@Spud_Murphy said in Signing Suggestions & Rumours:

@Geo said in Signing Suggestions & Rumours:

Melbourne Storm young gun Scott Drinkwater to explore free agency, as Ryan Papenhuyzen’s stocks rise
Gilbert Gardiner, Herald Sun
May 17, 2019 4:44pm
Subscriber only

Storm excitement machine Scott Drinkwater will test free agency, having opted out of a player option for next season.

The prized 22 year-old is destined to land at a Sydney-based NRL club, as opportunities in Melbourne dry up with the emergence of Ryan Papenhuyzen.

Papenhuyzen, who lit up last Thursday night to help Storm secure a 24-22 win over Wests Tigers, went into the season as the No. 3 fullback behind Jahrome Hughes and Drinkwater.

Storm wants to retain all three but accepts a starting job would entice Drinkwater to join a club without an established fullback.

Drinkwater has served a four-year apprenticeship under Billy Slater, culminating in a dazzling Round 25 debut last year.

The Terrigal junior came close to winning the plum job — in a hotly-contested pre-season shootout with Hughes — but tore a pectoral muscle before Round 1.

Hughes is likely to reclaim the No. 1 jersey for Sunday’s clash with the Bulldogs despite Papenhuyzen’s standout performance.

Papenhuyzen accumulated 241m against the Tigers, including eight tackle busts, two line breaks and an 80m try.

“If you watch the video back I had a big grin on my face,” Papenhuyzen said.

“You never really expect that … fortunately for me (Robbie) Farah slipped and the gap opened.

“It goes to show if you put your hands on the footy you never know what’s going to happen.”

Papenhuyzen said Storm targeted Tigers fullback Moses Mbye after watching vision during the week.

“He usually chases the kicks so we knew that he wouldn’t be there for play one and two,” Papenhuyzen said.

“We had it written down to play eyes up … also when he makes those tackles, the first two tackles, he doesn’t really face the line … wanted to play smart around that.”

Papenhuyzen starred in a 30-minute cameo last week after Hughes got knocked out.

He repeated the dose last Thursday night to put pressure on Bellamy at selection.

But Papenhuyzen has refused to buy into the prospect of losing out despite two strong outings.

“If Hughesy gets the spot next week, he gets the spot,” Papenhuyzen said.

“I’m just happy to be in the side, anywhere.

“He’s playing good footy, unfortunately had a concussion last week, I understand if he gets brought back into the side and I know I can do a job somewhere else in the side.”

---

Drinkwater is the bloke we want…

Hmmm nice problem to have! Don’t know if we’d look at Drinkwater or not, but I know we are trying to get DWZ. I have a feeling that Madge is not yet sold on Mbye as a fullback and we need some speed. DWZ wants to play fullback and I reckon we could accomodate him, whereas Parra just re-signed Gutho so he won’t be getting the No 1 jersey there now.

Not sure about Nth Qld, they have Kahu going alright at the back for now, but DWZ would have to want to make the move up there, whereas with us or Parra he can stay in western Sydney, so it would make his decision a bit harder imo.

I honestly hope we can somehow snag him, always rated him. It felt like we got second best when we signed Malakai - though he always gave us his best on the field, Dallin is a far superior talent.

You take DWZ with MWZ as a pair I would imagine.
I reckon MWZ is at Penrith thinking WT was better.

All said and done DWZ seems to want out and this is strange? Does he want to be in a winning team? if so will he bail on us. Does he want to be fullback, hey I would as fullbacks tend to command more salary (like a 350k player getting 750K made up of 500 from this club and 250 from the dogs). But for whatever reason Penrith haven’t put him in at fullback, Dylan Edwards has given them many reasons to put DWZ at fullback and they have stuck with DE who only played his first good game last night.

I am all for moving Mbye on, but we don’t want to move DWZ in and just get back line dramaz. We brought Mbye, I thought he was a total dud and has turned out to be duddish. We have him for 3 more years, were going to have to stick with him or pay out his contract. If we are going to waste coin and have him subsidized again, lets go for a top shelf fullback or a real talent. No more big coin for below average leftovers.

Doctors need to diagnose the right problem.
If you are bleeding from the foot, a bandaid on the arm won’t help.

Likewise with Penrith.
Ivan said it was the sex tape scandal that threw the team off. This is a good idea as the team can recover and blame that.
But I doubt that was the main problem.

Penrith lost two forwards. Merrin and Corey Hawara Nerea (can’t get the name right). Corey has been super for the dogs and Merrin was always a SOO player. The competition is close and the Maloney/Cleary halves now play behind a weaker pack, still not the worst pack but a weaker pack.

Penrith also lost their Hooker half way through last year and Tyrone Peachey. …

The halves cannot win games. Without a good hooker they will loose the ruck, and their fullback Dylan Edwards has been hot sometimes, cold most games.

.
The problem with Penrith is not their halves. It’s their forwards not being as domineering as last season due to talent lost, missing a key role of hooker and loosing the ruck as well as having to field second tier back rowers.
Yet when you see a poorer team, their halves haven’t been able to shine. They haven’t played their guts out and if one has, it has been Maloney.

Same can be said of Brooks. He has been better then Cleary, but hasn’t stood up like last year. Reynolds has and should be the NSW half.

Cleary may be the future, he is not the Now! Teach him a lesson that he needs to perform to be picked and he will be the future half of NSW.

@Russell
That’s exactly how you play Liddle. Arrgh.
Ok so Cameron Smith vs Liddle and the guy is gone. GONE.
So you wait 50 or 60 in and then put his fresh legs on the field when everyone else is tired.
Liddle is no Farah. He is a fast Hooker who has a great running game. Farah is a gutsy hooker who puts his body on the line, looks for gaps and has a great running game. Give Liddle any gametime, 20 minutes fine. Liddle can prove himself and push Farah to the bench.

Hooker is very demanding. Liddle needs to build up to it.

@Strongee I hope we win but I don’t see it.
Souths will have better people up front, i.e. Burgess’s who can break the line and push our defense.
Farah vs Cook, I totally rate Farah. Our good record vs Storm is a large part due to him. Yet against Cook, Farah won’t be able to stop him.
Halves, their Reynolds is better then ours.
Then it’s down to the backs. Our backs I actually think are quite good. Ofcourse Johnson has it over Mbye but we have people who can get over the line. I just don’t think we will have the opportunity.

Against Souths, we will only win if they are complacent. Easts we will only win if they get people taken out for State of origin. That being said man our team is good and we will be going to the finals, who knows what will happen then.

@Strongee Sure a lot of fans hate on a lot of players.
But Mbye has had a long time to live up to the hype. No he wasn’t living up to it in Canterbury last year.
Defense, at the back. while his positioning is not great… his problem is not being able to stop the ball. 1 on 1 he will loose and has lost every time I have seen him on the line.
Attack wise I will give him wraps for being a team player and a soft hands passer. He isn’t a solo hero like Tedesco. but he is nothing special and not a patch on Dufty or DWZ. (ok he is better then Edwards, but Edwards is learning and maturing. Mbye is a seasoned player.). when is this 750K player going to perform?

@Geo well you have wiped ice cream at Fullback.

Triple M were not as blatant this year as 3 years ago with “their good friend Tony Abbott”. Oh Julia you have no personality, Ok Tony lets find some music you like that our Audience would too, we know you like Janice Jopelyn. So how about Paul Young “love of the common people”… There you go, Tony is like us.

Anyway this year it was just ‘Gus’ ranting against Labor and how he was tired of his relatives pushing him to vote Labor.