POST GAME [Round 13, 2026] - Broncos vs Dragons

Payne is going to be such a big loss with the state of our current squad. His performance yesterday was insane considering he has been out for 7 weeks.
But he's still a prop... Payne has been our best player for like 6+ years, but we won the comp off the back of Walsh being at his peak.

Payne was easily the best player yesterday and we got flogged by 17th place.

If Walsh is the best player on the field we rarely lose
 
Just randomly

You cannot deliberately tap, bat, or knock the ball forward in the air and catch it yourself. If you propel the ball forward with your hands and touch it again before it hits another player or the ground, the referee will blow the whistle for a knock-on.

I feel like that Holmes try shouldn’t have been a try. He didn’t catch it but he did tap it forward to gain an advantage
I've always thought that you can propel the ball forward with your hands and touch it again before it hits another player or the ground, and it's play on. I've seen it lots of times.

Perhaps the difference is intent?
 
But he's still a prop... Payne has been our best player for like 6+ years, but we won the comp off the back of Walsh being at his peak.

Payne was easily the best player yesterday and we got flogged by 17th place.

If Walsh is the best player on the field we rarely lose
Walsh can only be at his best when our forwards lay a platform for him. I understand completely what you're saying but we still need to win the forward battle if we want Walsh to do his thing.
 
Walsh can only be at his best when our forwards lay a platform for him. I understand completely what you're saying but we still need to win the forward battle if we want Walsh to do his thing.

This. We have no momentum from our forwards....

Paix just about never does ANYTHING to improve times when we do have a little momentum.

Another forward needs to try and poke their nose through... Haas needs to take the next run with someone hanging off him for the offload....and Reece hanging off them.

No forward we have outside of maybe X has momenum capability.
 
This. We have no momentum from our forwards....

Paix just about never does ANYTHING to improve times when we do have a little momentum.

Another forward needs to try and poke their nose through... Haas needs to take the next run with someone hanging off him for the offload....and Reece hanging off them.

No forward we have outside of maybe X has momenum capability.

I can't be bashing Paix though. He is who he is. Defends well and tries his guts out for the team. We need so much more from him out of dummy half though. You'd think he would have been more creative given he was a halfback coming through the grades.

We desperately need Walters at 9 TBH. A guy who is prepared to run and be a threat.
 
I can't be bashing Paix though. He is who he is. Defends well and tries his guts out for the team. We need so much more from him out of dummy half though. You'd think he would have been more creative given he was a halfback coming through the grades.

We desperately need Walters at 9 TBH. A guy who is prepared to run and be a threat.
I can't but we just never ever score points when he's on the field. If we're not scoring points, we're not winning games. I'm desperate to see our PPM when he's on the field compared to off.

Even as a tackle bot, his tackles arent always dominate.

Billy and Hunt at 9/14 is just way more effective.
 
Payne is going to be such a big loss with the state of our current squad. His performance yesterday was insane considering he has been out for 7 weeks.

It's so cooked a club like this couldn't find a way to keep him.
 
Thats my point though, we dont produce the type of players i'm talking about though. I honestly dont think we look beyond developing superstars. Our fans as well dont ever seem happy if we produce a player who just turns up every week with little fanfare. I dont see us producing players like Connor Tracey, Nick Meaney or JMK for example. We seem to not want solid performers for some reason.
To be fair its really hard to identify and develop these sorts of players. You just named 3 players plus a 4th in Max Plath who have bounced around plenty of systems and lot of the times positions to become reliable week in week out producers. Those players and roles come with time and experience.
 
It's so cooked a club like this couldn't find a way to keep him.
Maybe he didn't want to stay, regardless of money? Feel like we didn't stand a chance because he wanted a new challenge.

I can't be bashing Paix though. He is who he is. Defends well and tries his guts out for the team. We need so much more from him out of dummy half though. You'd think he would have been more creative given he was a halfback coming through the grades.

We desperately need Walters at 9 TBH. A guy who is prepared to run and be a threat.
Can't be mad at a player that's only doing what the coach tells them to.

I just find it hard to believe that he isn't coached to run the ball when markers aren't square, or there's meters to be made in behind the ruck. Just one 10m dart out of dummy half has the defence scrambling and Walsh and Co can attack off the back of that.
 
Maybe he didn't want to stay, regardless of money? Feel like we didn't stand a chance because he wanted a new challenge.


Can't be mad at a player that's only doing what the coach tells them to.

I just find it hard to believe that he isn't coached to run the ball when markers aren't square, or there's meters to be made in behind the ruck. Just one 10m dart out of dummy half has the defence scrambling and Walsh and Co can attack off the back of that.

Yeah, it's not all money, but when the club is this big, they can surely help with his other concerns too.
 
2025 will always be glorious, but if we don't win at least 1 more title with the 'core' of this current crop... what a shame it will be.

Should have won 2023 obviously, but considering the misery of 24, and now 'most likely' 26...

I'm usually on the 'stay positive' camp... and I know we are in the same situation as last year, but this year feels different... maybe its because of the injuries and the timing of it all, and the way Reyno/Hunt look out there... I'm not sure if we can carry Reyno/Hunt both all the way to finals and then some this year.

Surely Madge has to come up with some way to get them in and out of the team to make a run. I just can't see them playing every game and being able to deliver in the back end of the season. They'll be worn out.

Look at the panthers / wahs today... we are a milllllllllllllllllllion miles away from that quality of footy... and unless those top teams this year somehow drastically fall from grace...

I just don't see it...
Walsh and Mam are only 23. They'll still be young when Cleary, Yeo, Edwards. Grant, Munster, Hughes, Teddy etc are all retired. We're having a crap year, it is what it is, but we're well positioned for the future.
 
Our roster is pretty shitty TBH. If our top liners aren't in form we're no hope. No depth at all this year.. I can't see how replacing Haas with Barnett is going to work out well for us next year
Most clubs would kill for a starting frf combination of Xavier and Barnett. The Dragons went out and paid 1mil for Kola and he isn't on Barnett's level.

EDIT: Pezet is the bigger issue, but he's still young and we'll have Hunt and Dufty competing for the spot.
 
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