NRL Squads 2014

[Big Pete]

ermagerd Action Photos is finally uploading the portraits for the upcoming season.

I'll go through 'em all.

Gold Coast Titans​

Signings
Kalifa Fai Fai Loa
Siuatonga Likiliki
Maurice Blair
Brad Tighe

Rookies
Caleb Binge - Gold Coast Titans NYC
Christian Hazard - South Sydney NYC
Cody Nelson - Tweed Heads Seagulls
Jamal Fogarty - Gold Coast Titans NYC
Matt Bedow - Gold Coast Titans NYC
Mitch Ardler - Gold Coast Titans NYC
Paul Carter - Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs NSW Cup
Sam Grant - Burleigh Bears
Shaun Hudson - Gold Coast Titans NYC
Tom Kingston - Tweed Heads Seagulls

Squad
Aidan Sezer
Albert Kelly
Anthony Don
Ashley Harrison
Beau Falloon
Brad Takairangi
David Mead
David Taylor
Greg Bird
Jahrome Hughes
Jamie Dowling
Kevin Gordon
Luke Bailey
Luke Douglas
Mark Ioane
Mark Minichiello
Matt Srama
Matt White
Ryan James
Sam Irwin
Steve Michaels
William Zillman

 

[Sproj]

So only the Titans entering next season?

 

[Big Pete]

Patience, only team up on Action Photos right now.

 

[Broncoman]

Can we post what we think their strongest top 17 would be?

 

[Big Pete]

Go for it, I'd love to hear everybody's thoughts on each squad and how you'll think they'll line up in 2014. Will make for some good retroactive reading.

1. William Zillman
2. Kevin Gordon
3. Jamal Idris
4. Maurice Blair
5. David Mead
6. Aidan Sezer
7. Albert Kelly
8. Luke Bailey (c)
9. Matt Srama
10. Luke Douglas
11. Nate Myles
12. Greg Bird
13. Ashley Harrison

14. David Taylor
15. Ryan James
16. Mark Minichiello
17. Beau Falloon

 

[Porthoz]

That is a very good team on paper, although I would have Myles in the prop rotation and Taylor on the left fringe.

Lucky Carthy is the coach though... :laugh:

 

[Big Pete]

Yeah, I hear ya, don't let the numbers deceive you though, Myles would be playing in the middle with Harrison on the fringes to play the protector role to the halves. If form warrants it, Taylor could easily step up and shift Douglas to the bench with Harrison in the middle but Taylor needs to find that consistency.

 

[Foordy]

I just have to ask how Cartwright still has a job at the Titans ... with those results he would have been sacked a long time ago by every other team in the comp.

 

[Broncoman]

My top Titans team for 2014

1: William Zillman
2: Kevin Gordon
3: Jamal Idris
4: Maurice Blair
5: David Mead
6: Aiden Sezer
7: Albert Kelly
8: Luke Bailey (Captain)
9: Matt Srama
10: Ryan James
11: Greg Bird
12: Nate Myles
13: Ash Harrison

14: David Taylor
15: Luke Douglas
16: Beau Fallon
17: Mark Minichiello

The Gold Coast have a pretty good team on paper and if they fail to make the finals next year the season will be nothing short of failure.

Backline - Don't rate Mead and Gordon that highly they are solid first grade players but aren't anything special, but have the speed to burn and can do the job required of them. Their hopes in the backline rely on Idris as he is the X-Factor and lived up to his potential with strong performances and their decline in fortunes this year coincided with him being absent through injury. The halves pairing of Sezer and Kelly is a good one and one that the Titans can lay their long term plans on. Was great to see Kelly live up to his potential last year.

Forwards - Rate their forward pack highly, plenty of very good tough aggressive players that are always willing to put their hand up. I think Ryan James should be called up to start next year, gets through plenty of work and hits the line hard. A front row of Bailey and James is one to be reckoned with. I see a weakness though as apart from Bird I don't really rate the ball playing skills of the rest of the forwards.

Bench - If David Taylor can fire he will be a gun player off the bench. Him in top form offloading the ball and charging it up against a tiring defence will be a key asset. The rest are all good players to have in your team and will not open a void when Bailey, Bird, Myles come off.

Where I think they'll finish - The Titans IMO have always been a building club throughout their history. They were competitive enough in their first 2 seasons before falling out of contention late in the year but clicked and had successful top 4 finishes in 2009-2010 before bombing out in the finals. Ever since 2010 they have gone from wooden spooners in 2011, a credible 11th in 2012 to 9th in 2013. They have been building for a successful year for a bit and I believe they have the pieces in place.

Their struggle to win on the road hurts them as they only won 4 from 12 away matches this year but defeated the Roosters, Manly and Melbourne showing they can compete with the big guns. Their halves pairing is imo a bit inexperienced and may be caught out in the crunch games at the end of the year. I expect them to finish in top 8 in spots 6th, 7th or 8th.

 

[Broncoman]

My top Tigers team for 2014

1: James Tedesco
2: Pat Richards
3: Chris Lawrence
4: Tim Simona
5: Marika Koroibete
6: Curtis Sironen
7: Luke Brooks
8: Aaron Woods
9: Robbie Farah (Captain)
10: Keith Galloway
11: Braith Anasta
12: Adam Blair
13: Liam Fulton

14: Ben Murdoch-Masila
15: Dene Halatau
16: Ava Seumanufagui
17: Martin Taupau

The Tigers would surely have the most inexperienced team in the comp and blooded more players and more debutants than any other team in 2013, but there are some talented juniors that they can lay their long term plans on.

Backline - Losing club icon Benji Marshall isn't all doom and gloom imo as he was playing well below his best and the arrival of Luke Brooks shows there is life in the team. Sironen and Brooks like most of their teammates will need to lift next year and play beyond their years if the Tigers backline are going to be a constant threat. The signing of Richards is a good one. He is a gun player in Super League and will bring experience and guidance for the backs If they go down injured I can expect the backs to bomb. A new look backline with heaps of potential is a fresh start, getting rid of the old undies Tuquri and Utai (although he is still contracted next year)

Forwards - Rate the front-row of Woods, Farah and Galloway highly they are the Brooks and Sironen of the forward pack. The second rowers are just gimmies imo. Anasta is well past it and Blair has been an absolute flop for the last couple of years. Fulton does a great job in defence every week racking up plenty of tackles.

Bench - Didn't see much of Seumanufagai so I can't really comment on him. Murdoch-Masilla is a very good bench player that is very useful in short spurts of 15-20 minutes. The signings of Halatua and Taupau are good pickups and will add to the team.

Where I think they'll finish - IMO the Tigers are lot better team than 15th. Their 2013 was ruined by injuries to key players and the Benji saga. The Tigers need to start building towards the future and an improvement on last year would be their goal at least. The team is to inexperienced to compete for the title this year but if the team lifts their game and with the right run of luck injury wise the Tigers could press for a Finals spot. If all goes well for them I expect them to finish 8th-11th but if injuries strike I expect them to linger in the bottom 4.

 

[Alec]

Sironen reminds me of another of those second rowers with some ball playing skills that's for some reason being played in the halves (or because they have no one else? Dunno).

 

[Big Pete]

I don't expect a lot from the Tigers heading into Season 2014, they didn't recruit well enough and they've still got a young side that's still finding it's footing in first grade. 2013 was already a tough enough season, but there were positives to take out of it and I hope they continue to persevere with those qualities ahead of next season.

1. James Tedesco
2. David Nofoaluma
3. Tim Simona
4. Chris Lawrence
5. Pat Richards
6. Braith Anasta
7. Luke Brooks
8. Aaron Woods
9. Robbie Farah
10. Keith Galloway
11. Liam Fulton
12. Dene Halatau
13. Adam Blair

14. Suaoso Sue
15. Ben Murdoch-Masila
16. Kyle Lovett
17. Martin Taupau

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just to explain a few of my changes, I think of the rookie wingers, Nofoaluma is the better all-round option. Koroibete maybe able to come up with freakier plays, but he also has more shockers in him and for a team this young, you really need to minimise mistakes. I'm keeping old-man Richards for the same reasons, plus, I think this team desperately needs some experience.

I honestly have no clue who else the Tigers can throw into the centres, so I've gone with Simona who's played their in the past. He had a good year on the wing, but it's a mystery how well he'll perform closer in-field.

Anasta is either five eigth or doesn't play at all. I'd start off with Braith with a view to develop Moses down the line. Basically, Braith is just there to play the anchor role and put through the basic long distance kicks, cross-field kicks, bombs etc. etc. when the team needs some calming down.

Front-row is self-explanatory, good luck getting them on the field for the entire season.

Really not a fan of the Tigers backrow, but this is the most reliable formation they have, which is saying something given it still includes Blair. Adam would be on his last legs, and if he doesn't perform, I'd drop him onto the bench and basically make it clear that he isn't wanted and the Tigers are on the market for a real backrow leader. Fulton is serviceable and Halatau is okay all-round and his experience would get him the nod from me in the early stages.

Bench will probably be the most important long term for the Tigers pack. I've opted for a lot of impact in Sue, Murdoch-Masila and potentially Taupau but also think it's ample opportunity to blood their captain, Kyle Lovett who while inferior to Santi who will be off at Parra, can become a handy backrow option down the line.

 

[Alec]

Like I said earlier, I'd be putting Sironen into the second row as soon as reasonably possible. Reckon he could be a very good Luke Lewis/Wade Graham sort of player.

 

[Big Pete]

Aye, his whole career has mirrored Wade's at this point. The only problem is, I don't know where he's at with his development and whether or not they're still trying to develop him as a half. Right now, the last thing the Tigers need is a quasi five eigth wannabe, they need real backrows and I think Sirro needs to get some runs on the board in NSW Cup before he gets a shot in the team.

 

[Sproj]

Raiders:

1. Milford
2. BLee
3. Croker
4. ELee
5. Wighton
6. Campese
7. McCrone
8. Vaughn
9. Baptiste
10. Shillington
11. TLL
12. Papa
13. Fensom

14. Wighton
15. White
16. Tilse
17. ??


not a bad fairly young side at all but the biggest thing to look forward to will be Ssticky's excuses when this side underperforms.

 

[Foordy]

not a bad fairly young side at all but the biggest thing to look forward to will be Ssticky's excuses when this side underperforms.

It will be the Broncos fault, with assistance from the refs...

One thing you can be sure of is it wont be Rickys fault

 

[GCBRONCO]

ALBERT Kelly could be forced to undergo career-threatening surgery with a foot infection halting the Titans halfback's stunning rise

Read more: http://www.foxsports.com.au/league#ixzz2oFY3Jcva

 

[Big Pete]

Liking these squads guys, would love to get more perspectives in here.

Thanks for the news as always GC.

Canberra Raiders
1. Anthony Milford
2. Edrick Lee
3. Jarrod Croker
4. Jack Wighton
5. Reece Robinson
6. Terry Campese
7. Mitchell Cornish
8. David Shillington
9. Glenn Buttriss
10. Brett White
11. Joel Edwads
12. Josh Papalii
13. Shaun Fensom

14. Kurt Baptiste
15. Mark Nicholls
16. Tom Learoyd Lahrs
17. Paul Vaughan

Raiders are a mixed bag filled with potential pitfalls which will prevent them from really challenging. In order for Stuart to steer them into the right place, he needs to show some patience and pick his spots on when to blood players. I've gone for a fairly safe formation here with maybe two exceptions - Baptiste and Nicholls in over McCrone & Tilse.

I think McCrone is either a half, or doesn't play and I wouldn't be to trying to placate him by playing him at make-shift hooker, I think the Raiders need to get serious about developing a proper 9, as it's been their achillies heel for far too long, and I think going with the new kid in Baptiste maybe one of those stories fans really enjoy.

On the other hand, the Raiders are blessed with plenty of props and I'll be honest, I don't think Tilse has what it takes and I think the Raiders need to pull the pin on him and start searching elsewhere. Given that TLL is a walking injury concern, I'm sure his demotion won't last long, but something has to give there.

Backrow is a concern for the Raiders - they have two bright prospects in Papalii & Fensom...and that's it. Patrick Mago is looking like a good prospect on the horizen and I think Bateman will find his way to NRL later down the road, but Sticky can't just throw him in willy nilly like he did with all the Eels players, there needs to be balance.

Wouldn't surprise me if they defy expectations like they have done so in the past, but they have the makings of a bottom 8 squad.