NRL General Discussion Thread

[Sproj]

I think no one cares yet because he hasn't played since September 2019. He's playing on Saturday against the Raiders and if he plays well it will attract attention.

Clubs would be waiting now to see how he handles playing against men. But the Roosters have the jump now, taken him down there, Parents love them, taken him to the UK, let him play golf all last year and train, got him through his first year away from home, he lost a lot of weight- which he's put back on.

It's going to take a lot to get him away because they made the effort.

Yeah you are right, everyone goes to the Roosters and stays there purely out of love.

 

[1910]

Yeah you are right, everyone goes to the Roosters and stays there purely out of love.

I didn't say that but sure if it helps you.

If I am talking about my 17 year old then all those things over people that made no effort would win me over.

 

[Sproj]

I didn't say that but sure if it helps you.

If I am talking about my 17 year old then all those things over people that made no effort would win me over.

Yeah you are right, same reason Fifita went to the Titans, he just appreciated everything they did for him.

Same reason Suallii went to the Roosters, just love for the club and everything they did for him, Rabbuts just treated him like dirt.

Tedesco was hated by all and sundry at the Tigers but just so loved by the Roosters, they might have even taken him to the UK as well.

It’s just a pure coincidence all of their golf games have gotten infinitely better once they’ve signed on there.

 

[Kimlo]

Sydney Morning Herald: The Mick Fuller fiasco is an embarrassment for the NRL and V’landys. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/th...for-the-nrl-and-v-landys-20210222-p574qw.html

 

[Sproj]

Sydney Morning Herald: The Mick Fuller fiasco is an embarrassment for the NRL and V’landys. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/th...for-the-nrl-and-v-landys-20210222-p574qw.html

Wait, a negative article on Vlandys? He and his mafia won’t be happy about that.

 

[Kimlo]

Wait, a negative article on Vlandys? He and his mafia won’t be happy about that.

Yeah I was shocked. They've locked in a rip off TV deal so maybe they can start ripping into him now.

 

[Sproj]

Yeah I was shocked. They've locked in a rip off TV deal so maybe they can start ripping into him now.

I hope so, the guy is killing this sport.

 

[broncos4life]

Sydney Morning Herald: The Mick Fuller fiasco is an embarrassment for the NRL and V’landys. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/th...for-the-nrl-and-v-landys-20210222-p574qw.html

Wow bold from Webster, I'm sure he will be getting a call from Paul Kunt today to remind him to only speak well of their lord.

 

[Bull Shark]

For those into podcasts, here is a good one with Roosters coach Trent Robinson. it's a chat between him and Roosters board member Mark Bouris so if you can grit your teeth and get through a little 'Roosterness' in the opening exchanges, there are some really interesting insights into how he approaches the game as a coach and what he looks for in player recruiting, among other topics.

 

[BroncsFan]

For those into podcasts, here is a good one with Roosters coach Trent Robinson. it's a chat between him and Roosters board member Mark Bouris so if you can grit your teeth and get through a little 'Roosterness' in the opening exchanges, there are some really interesting insights into how he approaches the game as a coach and what he looks for in player recruiting, among other topics.

Likes:
- Recruiting a top 10 player
- A medical retirement
- A 20yr old junior from elsewhere on a big wage
- Politis' golf game
- A good backswing

Dislikes:
- A 20yr old on big money that hasn't immediately become a star
- Charisma of any sort

 

[Bull Shark]

Likes:
- Recruiting a top 10 player
- A medical retirement
- A 20yr old junior from elsewhere on a big wage
- Politis' golf game
- A good backswing

Dislikes:
- A 20yr old on big money that hasn't immediately become a star
- Charisma of any sort

Did you even listen to it ?

 

[Kooly87]

For those into podcasts, here is a good one with Roosters coach Trent Robinson. it's a chat between him and Roosters board member Mark Bouris so if you can grit your teeth and get through a little 'Roosterness' in the opening exchanges, there are some really interesting insights into how he approaches the game as a coach and what he looks for in player recruiting, among other topics.

I've heard him speak a few times. He certainly says all the right things and I'm not going to pretend the guy can't Coach because he clearly can. I'd simply suggest that with such a seemingly incredible ability to assemble rosters that beggar the belief of conventional salary cap accounting in the NRL, the Roosters could arguably have achieved at least a similar level of success with probably a far more mediocre Coach than Trent Robinson.

I still feel if he was overnight to become the Coach of the Tigers for example, we probably wouldn't be talking about him as an elite Coach for a whole lot longer.

 

[Sproj]

I've heard him speak a few times. He certainly says all the right things and I'm not going to pretend the guy can't Coach because he clearly can. I'd simply suggest that with such a seemingly incredible ability to assemble rosters that beggar the belief of conventional salary cap accounting in the NRL, the Roosters could arguably have achieved at least a similar level of success with probably a far more mediocre Coach than Trent Robinson.

I still feel if he was overnight to become the Coach of the Tigers for example, we probably wouldn't be talking about him as an elite Coach for a whole lot longer.

I totally disagree. I would take him as our coach in a heartbeat.

 

[Bull Shark]

I totally disagree. I would take him as our coach in a heartbeat.

 

[Kooly87]

I totally disagree. I would take him as our coach in a heartbeat.

Sure, I would too, but in comparison to what? Seibold obviously yes, and probably Walters too. Saying he's good enough to Coach here doesn't mean much as currently it's a very, very low bar to jump over.

What I meant was, would you take him over Bellamy? Or even Bennett in his prime. They're both a hard no for me.

I'm not sure I wouldn't take Cleary or even Madge as a preference too. There is perhaps a good argument to be made that Flanagan and Ricky Stuart both had/have far less talent to work with and they still won Premierships.

I come back to my point, if he was Coaching the Tigers right now, I suspect we'd view him very differently.

 

[Sproj]

Sure, I would too, but in comparison to what? Seibold obviously yes, and probably Walters too. Saying he's good enough to Coach here doesn't mean much as currently it's a very, very low bar to jump over.

What I meant was, would you take him over Bellamy? Or even Bennett in his prime. They're both a hard no for me.

I'm not sure I wouldn't take Cleary or even Madge as a preference too. There is perhaps a good argument to be made that Flanagan and Ricky Stuart both had/have far less talent to work with and they still won Premierships.

I come back to my point, if he was Coaching the Tigers right now, I suspect we'd view him very differently.

Maybe but I have him as better than current Bennett and below only Bellamy. There is absolutely zero shame in that. He was also successful for a decent period of time in the Super League, so it isn't like he has done a Seibold and come from nowhere on the back of one season. He has lost Mitchell, RTS, Minichello, SBW (on and off), etc and kept them in the top two of the comp year in, year out since their spoon year. Of course, he has the benefit of no salary cap but he also turned guys who had plateaued at that club / other clubs / out of favour into superstars at the Roosters in the likes of Keary, Moa, Tupou even, etc. Would he have been able to do this at the Tigers? Probably not but he has done a superb job at the Roosters. He is below Bellamy only in my opinion and there is absolutely no shame in that.

 

[Kooly87]

Maybe but I have him as better than current Bennett and below only Bellamy. There is absolutely zero shame in that. He was also successful for a decent period of time in the Super League, so it isn't like he has done a Seibold and come from nowhere on the back of one season. He has lost Mitchell, RTS, Minichello, SBW (on and off), etc and kept them in the top two of the comp year in, year out since their spoon year. Of course, he has the benefit of no salary cap but he also turned guys who had plateaued at that club / other clubs / out of favour into superstars at the Roosters in the likes of Keary, Moa, Tupou even, etc. Would he have been able to do this at the Tigers? Probably not but he has done a superb job at the Roosters. He is below Bellamy only in my opinion and there is absolutely no shame in that.

Yeah but that's my argument. The club already has a host of great infrastructure in place. Then you throw the salary cap restrictions out the window, which is arguably the biggest difference possible, and all of a sudden it's not hard to see that you're very likely going to be successful there.

As I said, I'm not calling him a crap Coach. You don't get to his level of success with no ability. He clearly hasn't fluekd his success and deserves his share of the credit. I'm simply saying that if you gave Cleary, Madge, and maybe even one or two other guys the same enormous advantages, there is a high likelihood they would have achieved similar results too, which for me makes it very hard to determine just how good Robinson really is.

 

[Big Pete]

Speaking of Maguire, he had the opportunity to lead a similar dynasty at South Sydney and fell flat on his face. Unlike Robbo who rejuvenated his roster, Madge stayed loyal to his 2014 roster and it backfired spectacularly. Maguire is far from a bad coach, but the fact Robbo was able to sustain his success over a longer period is a credit to him.

It's a similar story with Craig Bellamy. A lot of people point to his NSW record as an example of him being unable to coach outside of Melbourne. They could have a point, but even after the salary cap scandal, they've been the most consistent club since 2011. Can you think of any occasion where a team has been able to beat them without playing quality football?

I'm curious to see how Cleary goes this year. Ever since he became an NRL coach in 2006, he's largely taken on jobs where the clubs don't have any serious premiership aspirations. He'll get them to a certain point and he'll either leave or get shown the door. This is the first time he's had any serious expectations so he has to win that premiership if he's going to put himself in that category.

Back to Robbo, he's in an interesting phase of his coaching career. His senior players were really beginning to show their age towards the end of the season and while he still has one of the best rosters in the competition, he's going to have to bring in more young players. I think for as much credit as Cooper and Teddy get, Victor Radley was such an important part of that 2018-19 roster. His efforts constantly lifted the team and allowed them to play a more expansive style that became virtually impossible to defend against.

Before Victor hit the scene, it was like they were trying to get Cooper to play Pearce and it just wasn't working for them. Robbo needs some more players like that to emerge otherwise he could end up like Sticky.