Ivan, Ivan, Ivan

[Coxy]

I think where our recruitment has gone awry was the biggish money to Ashton Sims to sit around twiddling his thumbs in QLD Cup most of the last 3 years. Not saying he didn't deserve that treatment, clearly there was something amiss, but if you chew up $200K per year (so about 5% of your cap) on a player and then not use him, then your only option is to blood kids in his place.

Not to mention the money chewed up by Michaels.

I do think the Broncos should've worked harder to retain guys like Boyd, Hannant and yes, even Ennis. Young at the time but have developed into very strong first grade performers.

However, a lot of this is moot because the Broncos didn't really expect to lose Hunt, and many of their decisions were done to keep money available to retain him. Not blaming Hunt or having a go at him, just stating it as a factor in the makeup of our current squad.

 

[Jazza]

Yes, that has proven to be correct. But I, like many others I'm sure, thought that Michaels had more potential than Boyd and that Hunt would become a 300 game player for the club. I was also pretty excited about the recruitment of Sims. Doesn't always turn out the way you hope. :cry:

 

[Coxy]

Yes, that has proven to be correct. But I, like many others I'm sure, thought that Michaels had more potential than Boyd and that Hunt would become a 300 game player for the club. I was also pretty excited about the recruitment of Sims. Doesn't always turn out the way you hope. :cry:

Absolutely. Everybody has 20-20 hindsight. Unfortunately when it comes to recruitment, you only ever know if it's a mistake when you look at things in hindsight.

But that's exactly what those decisions are. Mistakes.

 

[Jazza]

Yes, that has proven to be correct. But I, like many others I'm sure, thought that Michaels had more potential than Boyd and that Hunt would become a 300 game player for the club. I was also pretty excited about the recruitment of Sims. Doesn't always turn out the way you hope. :cry:

Absolutely. Everybody has 20-20 hindsight. Unfortunately when it comes to recruitment, you only ever know if it's a mistake when you look at things in hindsight.

But that's exactly what those decisions are. Mistakes.

Yeah, mistakes for sure. The raiders found a diamond in the rough in Shillington, wish we could go back in time and get him instead of Setu!

 

[Huge]

Hindsight was not an issue and only highlights the lack of FORESIGHT !!..........What was obvious is the need for experience( or toughness if you like ) in the forward pack. That is a given every year, no years are excepted. The truth is we would be competitive if he had a couple of good workhorses who simply win (or hold ) the middle. It is that simple and Cullen and Henjak did not buy them.

 

[Jeba]

Hindsight was not an issue and only highlights the lack of FORESIGHT !!..........What was obvious is the need for experience( or toughness if you like ) in the forward pack. That is a given every year, no years are excepted. The truth is we would be competitive if he had a couple of good workhorses who simply win (or hold ) the middle. It is that simple and Cullen and Henjak did not buy them.

I disagree here.

The recruitment of Clinton and Sims were well received when the news broke that we were getting them. Clinton in particular had plenty of experience, and was an Origin and Test player, and Sims had been playing first grade since 2004. As far as experience goes, that is pretty good recruitment.

Of course, history will now show that those players didn't deliver (apart from Clinton who IMO had a really good season in 2009). And that's the point Coxy makes about hindsight.

 

[Anonymous person]

I do think the Broncos should've worked harder to retain guys like Boyd, Hannant and yes, even Ennis. Young at the time but have developed into very strong first grade performers.

We shouldve tried to keep Boyd, but Hannant priced himself WAY above what he was worth, and from what I read we just didn't want a player like Ennis in our team, as he is a bit of a **** and noone liked him.

 

[Huge]

Actually jeba I was referring to this season. I re-read a lot of other posters contributions from the last year and a half and some of the complaints were about us coming into this season without having bought any go-forward.

henjak has had the opportunity to build a strong team and has ALL the advantages a coach could ask for. If you think about it, how hard would it be to attract players to the club with its wonderful history ??

I wrote a year ago that what was not being said spoke volumes to my way of thinking. I've never heard anyone other than Cullen and a few commentators rap Henjak and I most certainly have never heard a player do it spontaneously.

If it were not for the extremely convenient return of Tronc from England then our frontrow problems would have been blindingly obvious. There was no planning there, it was pure luck that we have as little as we have. Feel free to disagree Jeba but nothing can hide the terrible lack of vision. Have we ever had a season where we conceded more than we scored ? Caramello, soft centre...mmmmmm

 

[rnabokov]

Just chatted with Artie Beetson in Bangalow. He reckons Henhouse has done pretty well with a young squad. Well, I wasn't gonna argue with him

 

[Jeba]

Huge

Which players would you have recruited?

 

[Huge]

Ah Jeb. It's a little difficult to simply pick out some names as I have no clue when they were/became available to purchase. I could say that there are certain types of players I myself would have looked for. WB looked first and foremost for a type before a specific player. I would not presume to know better and would have followed his example.

We don't/didn't need anything flashy but what I consider is pretty basic. At least one and preferably two hardened mature age (26-33) frontrowers. One tackling machine( Harrison,Stagg<Johnson style) and a good hooker. Wallace and Lockyer are fine and would have done enough if given enough space and time.

Looking through the ranks of other clubs guys like Friend stick out. They don't have to be the best just blokes who do not understand surrender.

Brisbane is not far off being a team which could be called, at some later date, the team of the TENS...you know 2010-2020

 

[Flutterby]

Huge you make some good suggestions as to the type of players we should have tried to recruit; however the problem still remains that the type of players you have listed are few and far between and are very much in demand by all clubs. Therefore these types of players were either not available to be recruited or being offered much more money elsewhere.

Ivan has done a great job with the players at his disposal and I think this season will stand our club in good stead for success in the coming years.

 

[Jeba]

Ah Jeb. It's a little difficult to simply pick out some names as I have no clue when they were/became available to purchase. I could say that there are certain types of players I myself would have looked for. WB looked first and foremost for a type before a specific player. I would not presume to know better and would have followed his example.

We don't/didn't need anything flashy but what I consider is pretty basic. At least one and preferably two hardened mature age (26-33) frontrowers. One tackling machine( Harrison,Stagg<Johnson style) and a good hooker. Wallace and Lockyer are fine and would have done enough if given enough space and time.

Looking through the ranks of other clubs guys like Friend stick out. They don't have to be the best just blokes who do not understand surrender.

Brisbane is not far off being a team which could be called, at some later date, the team of the TENS...you know 2010-2020

I thought that would be the case. Offering a suggestion in hindsight of what should've been done and no actual solution.

Not sure how we would've gone recruiting Stagg in the same season as he left us for the Bulldogs eusa_think

We wouldn't have been able to afford Harrison or Johnson. And the form McCullough showed last season was enough to suggest we don't need to shop for a hooker albeit him not really kicking on since then. Once again - hindsight. You're very much a hindsight critic.

The front rowers that were on the market last year weren't a really good bunch. Matt Scott was the best of them but no way was he ever going to leave the Cowboys. There really wasn't anyone on the market that fitted your description (At least one and preferably two hardened mature age (26-33) frontrowers.).

Once again - hindsight.

 

[Huge]

Jeba...you sure can add, not. I give you 2+2 and you want to make it equal 17.

What is wrong with you ?? I wrote in the first line that I could not name any particular players as I'm not in a position to know which players were available and which were not !!!

WTF [eusa_doh [icon_ee

How can you miss the point when I mentioned Stagg etc. I never said or suggested we recruit him or any other player for that matter, just the style of player ffs. How can you misunderstand something so simple ?????

I honestly thought you were worth replying to but from your post I see what you had intended. You wanted a reply, any reply so that you could follow it with your predetermined follow-up.The question was too difficult to answer without knowing who was available over the last2 seasons but you knew that anyway didn't you. Fool me once.

 

[Jeba]

No Huge, no. The point I was making is that most of this forum discussed last season of which players to buy and the general feeling is that nobody on the market is worth going for. And that is why I criticize your view of what kind of players we couldve bought. Fact is, whatever type of player we were after, none we could afford were any good.

 

[lynx000]

I actually agree with both of you. I agree with Huge that we have been lacking two experienced front rowers, I was saying that for most of last year. Then we let Clinton go. We bought Anderson, who so far the jury are out on, so effectively that put us a little bit further behind given Clinton's greater experience. The signing of Tronc was a step in the right direction, as is the re-signing of Hannant. But then we are going to lose Sims and Setu and Tariq Sims out of the potential prop rotation. I think we need one more experienced, hard front-rower, but like some of the others have said, the quality is not really there at the moment.

 

[Huge]

Okay..that is different though to suggesting I offer criticism without solution. I say that you simply cannot start a season without some essentials and if Brisbane could not afford to buy those hard workers we must question the recruitment.

The other clubs could afford some hard nuts and we should have had a couple of senior forwards on our books, afterall we are one of the best run and richest clubs in the game.

You see, I would have been happy with Newcastles front row or Cronullas or even Canterburys. Every club, whether successful this year or not, at least had the forwards to match our own and most had a harder centre than us. I'm happy to leave it at that though and don't want to appear as if I'm arguing for the sake of it.

 

[Jeba]

Okay..that is different though to suggesting I offer criticism without solution. I say that you simply cannot start a season without some essentials and if Brisbane could not afford to buy those hard workers we must question the recruitment.

But that's what shits me. You question the recruitment when the reality is there is nothing more they could've done (apart from keeping Clinton).