Is Inglis Really Busted?

[Wolfie]

With all the talk of Inglis coming to us, and mainly the against argument of him coming here because he is busted, do people actually think he is busted? I personally think its more he is playing in a side devoid of confidence with the weight of the carrying the team on his shoulders, plus i dont think they manage him properly.

I'm in no doubt he has some issues, especially with his knee but i think he is far from finished. A lot of people wrote off Hodgo and Brent Tate but they kept coming back and proving people wrong. I think its all about managing their training and getting the best out of them. We did it superbly with Hodgo and i think Bennett would do the same with Inglis.

 

[Sproj]

But if he is at a point where he is constantly being managed injury wise now, the concern is the amount of money a declining superstar would cost. No one doubts he would be an improvement over Reed and it was just a straight swap, you would take it in a heartbeat but it isn't, it is also about how much he would cost to come here. He may well have two to three more fun seasons in him but is he worth the risk?

 

[Alec]

His knee is definitely busted IMO. Or he's just physically aging quickly. Compare him now to how he was 5 to 10 years ago. Just has nowhere near the same amount of agility as back then. His game is all power these days. It would still be effective in the centres, like with BLake Ferguson, but soon you wouldn't want him playing fullback.

 

[Wolfie]

But if he is at a point where he is constantly being managed injury wise now, the concern is the amount of money a declining superstar would cost. No one doubts he would be an improvement over Reed and it was just a straight swap, you would take it in a heartbeat but it isn't, it is also about how much he would cost to come here. He may well have two to three more fun seasons in him but is he worth the risk?

It would depend on his cost, but we managed Hodges for years pretty well. I also don't think we would have to put as much pressure on him to carry the team like he has at Souths. I honestly would be more than happy if we got him at a fair price and got 3 seasons out of him, same as i would if we got Cronk and got 3 seasons out of him. We have plenty of young talent coming through, especially in the forwards so i do think we could accommodate a couple of senior players alongside the likes of Kahu, Roberts and Milf.

 

[Big Pete]

This question deserves a multi-faceted answer.

Is Greg Inglis 'busted' as in he's playing hurt? Obviously! When Greg Inglis is at his best, he's involved he injects himself and seizes the moment. Greg right now is completely busted, both physically and mentally and he's drowning out there at the moment. Drowning under not only the wave of the public's expectations but also of his own. He views himself as THE leader of the South Sydney Rabbitohs and their success is a reflection of himself. So far Souths are 3-6 and if it wasn't for the NSW-Cup-Castle Knights they would be the worst form team in the competition.

Is this the end of GI? No, like all champions I believe he has a comeback in him and wouldn't be surprised to see it begin in the Trans-Tasman Test playing alongside all the familiar faces. It's just a matter of how long left he has and I'd be surprised if he had five great years left in him. The maximum I can see is three.

As an aside, and I don't mean to offend anyone by this but I believe the Broncos would have been better off letting Hodges move on after he ruptured his achillies in 2010. He wasn't the same player afterwards and the Broncos invested far too much in a player who couldn't win them the big games. Justin was still very good in the Origin arena, I'll concede that he made me look foolish in that arena where he happened to have his best four series at the tail end of his career but at club land I felt the money could have been better spent.

I hold a similar opinion of Tate at North Queensland and you won't find a bigger Tate fan than me. I'm glad he was still in the NRL since he was a different player when he wore the Maroon but there was a big gap between his best and worst. Also, reading his book, it just reaffirmed the sympathy I felt for him and his family. Every training session was a battle for Tate where one miss step would cause him all sorts of mental anguish. In that situation I'm turning my focus towards the future.

 

[mrslong]

I agree that on the surface it would have been good to let hodgo or Tate move on earlier...but I think you underestimate the value in keeping those "statesman" of the game in your side for their maturity and the message it sends to the younger players "you stay with us, we will take care of you". One of the biggest mistakes in broncos history was not giving Petero that respect, it tore the club apart from top to bottom. There's a lot to gain in keeping senior knowledge in any business, footy is no different.

I have been watching GI closely because he's in my fantasy team, and he is trying is heart out. The halves just aren't giving him the ball at the right time. They're using him for hit ups or giving him late ball. He will be a new player with JT feeding him the ball.

 

[Big Pete]

I take and respect your point mrslong.

I'm 100% with you on Petero Civonicieva. As far as player movements are concerned, his departure was the absolute worst in club history. Yes, even worse than signing Kennedy and Barba. Petero was right up there with Steve Price as one of the elite front row forwards in the game and when it came time to owe him the money he deserved the Broncos let him walk for a bunch of mediocre prospects from other clubs.

Where I disagree is that Hodges was not of the same class. It was clear that his best days were well and truly behind him and while he could school some of the lesser clubs, he seemed off the pace against the bigger clubs. At a time where Brisbane were lacking talent and fans were scratching their heads wondering where the money was, I can't help but lay the blame on players like Hodges, Hannant and Thaiday who weren't delivering justifying their pay cheque.

Bottom line, while I have no issue giving the players the respect they deserve, Rugby League is a team game and since Brisbane has their marquee talent I would rather develop them than throw money at a player like GI.

Especially after the way GI disrespected the club.

 

[The Golden Point]

I have felt for a while that he lacks enthusiasm when playing. He seems to go missing a lot in games, unless they are quite tight at the end.