PLAYER Fletcher Baker

[Xzei]

Be nice if they could somehow magic Baker and tapau into utoikamanu next year... can dream right?

 

[Allo]

How’s Patston been going @Big Pete

Only saw him briefly in the trials and he looked like there was a bit of something to him.

I know he’s not ours, but we threw him and training deal so it must have been for a reason? Or just a recommendation from Burt?

 

[Battler]

Be nice if they could somehow magic Baker and tapau into utoikamanu next year... can dream right?

All we’ll likely get is a desperate tigers rabble throwing insane cash at Willison or BTK after they lose Uto to Penrith, the rorters, or souths

 

[Xzei]

All we’ll likely get is a desperate tigers rabble throwing insane cash at Willison or BTK after they lose Uto to Penrith, the rorters, or souths

Think they have their eyes on the English comp for some reason for forwards

 

[Big Pete]

How’s Patston been going @Big Pete

Only saw him briefly in the trials and he looked like there was a bit of something to him.

I know he’s not ours, but we threw him and training deal so it must have been for a reason? Or just a recommendation from Burt?

Started the season well and looked like a bolter for the Origin period. He's regressed the past couple of weeks and has been sloppy without making too much of an impact.

I thought he was very impressive during the trials. Probably just lacked the physique to really make a fist this season, but isn't far off either.

He actually spent some time with Melbourne before he went home to Lismore. I'd presume he would have been on the NRL radar and Kev would have wanted to include him if only to have some backrow cover.

Personally, I'd have him in the squad and would be the first player to come in if Riki/Piakura/Gosiewski go down.

 

[Big Pete]

I've always seriously wondered if moving to a feeder club system (instead of the club having all the grades, like NSW clubs do) hinders our development.

I mean are we limited in how many players we can sign outside of our top 30 plus 6 development player rosters?

There's pros and cons with the system. If the Broncos were to create their own pathway, they'd have to settle for one suburb as their base and put their own people in charge. After what happened to the Clydesdales, is it worth the investment for the Queensland Cup club? Let alone the Brisbane Broncos? If they made their own club, that's more staff you've got to hire to run the operations - are there enough qualified people out there to make the most of this?

No Under 21s, so are the Broncos going to enter the Jersey Flegg? Will NSW clubs be keen to travel to Brisbane? Would Brisbane have to base that squad in Sydney? That's a lot of money, especially in a more expensive region of Australia. Is it just Under 21s or are we going Under 17s and 19s as well? What about the QCup? Don't you have a commitment to your local region?

The pro is ideally you're developing these players under your own systems, so by the time they hit the NRL they understand their roles and responsibilities for the team. That's still a big if and would require some major co-ordination from the entire club to put it into motion and make it successful.

From my understanding, you're free to sign players on training contracts and give them their 1K a week. I'm not sure how much a Jersey Flegg player makes, would have to imagine it's match payments.

 

[Big Del]

Think they have their eyes on the English comp for some reason for forwards

Dunno Buzz reckoned they were trying to offload several players to Super League without informing the players .
Galvin is asking for a release from his contract again ...

 

[mitch222]

Be nice if they could somehow magic Baker and tapau into utoikamanu next year... can dream right?

Utoikamanu wants like 800K a year. Fucking laughable if you ask me. He isn't that good.

 

[Foordy]

Utoikamanu wants like 800K a year. Fucking laughable if you ask me. He isn't that good.

NRL 360 did say he'd be prepared to take less in a good system ... The big question is how much less

 

[mitch222]

NRL 360 did say he'd be prepared to take less in a good system ... The big question is how much less

Want to be a lot less considering he ran for 41 metres on the weekend for 5 runs. Not exactly screaming pay me big money that is.

 

[Sproj]

NRL 360 did say he'd be prepared to take less in a good system ... The big question is how much less

$10 in chicken nuggets.

 

[Xzei]

Dunno Buzz reckoned they were trying to offload several players to Super League without informing the players .
Galvin is asking for a release from his contract again ...

Also looking to sign an as of yet un named English forward while he was over there too I thought the story was?

 

[Mustafur]

I think it's safe to say at this point losing Palasia has been a big loss given Baker contract wise was his replacement.

We lost essentially one of our best ball playing bench locks for a middle forward who cant even tackle a half which we have mostly regulated to cup since that storm game.

This might be the biggest net loss we have had over last year I think.


It is a hard one to be fair, I said it before, Palasia made the most ability upgrade in his career in 2023 for us after he already signed for Titans, before he signed that he was a mid average middle, but after he was borderline making Qlds bench and basically level with the likes of Hopgood, he was our best ball playing middle imo, slightly above Patty when it came to it as his passing was just that little bit more silky(he didn't have the workrate and meters of him but he was the better ball playing lock exclusively).

and what we got with baker is a middle who is not even close to first grade in defence with some flashy ball skills.

straight up terrible recruitment, like why are you looking at flashy middles in the first place it's not the area you look at skill first ffs.

We got unlucky with Palasia but we should have alteast replaced him with a high workrate middle atleast.

 

[Nashy]

I think it's safe to say at this point losing Palasia has been a big loss given Baker contract wise was his replacement.

We lost essentially one of our best ball playing bench locks for a middle forward who cant even tackle a half which we have mostly regulated to cup since that storm game.

This might be the biggest net loss we have had over last year I think.


It is a hard one to be fair, I said it before, Palasia made the most ability upgrade in his career in 2023 for us after he already signed for Titans, before he signed that he was a mid average middle, but after he was borderline making Qlds bench and basically level with the likes of Hopgood, he was our best ball playing middle imo, slightly above Patty when it came to it as his passing was just that little bit more silky(he didn't have the workrate and meters of him but he was the better ball playing lock exclusively).

and what we got with baker is a middle who is not even close to first grade in defence with some flashy ball skills.

straight up terrible recruitment, like why are you looking at flashy middles in the first place it's not the area you look at skill first ffs.

We got unlucky with Palasia but we should have alteast replaced him with a high workrate middle atleast.

Recruitment in this place has been useless for the better part of a decade. Probably longer.

Ikin seemed to help, but since he left again, seems we are shutting the bed again in this area.

 

[Mr Fourex]

............ seems we are shutting the bed again in this area.

Its hard to lose that Kiwi accent ...eh?

 

[Nashy]

Its hard to lose that Kiwi accent ...eh?

The problem with these typos is I never know if my phone is picking up the word it thinks should be there, or if it's picked up me giving shit to my Kiwi mates so thinks I want to talk like... thet.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

I never want to see this useless sack of shit in a Broncos jersey again.

 

[Battler]

The worst forward signing in the history of the club?