[Official] Smith re-signs with the Storm

[Nashy]

Yeah that would be great! We'd get 80 minutes of selfish and slow plays instead of only 50 minutes.
Macca has to go. He is the worst hooker in the game. He'd actually be ranked around 19 considering some teams have two hookers that are both better than Macca

Pull the other one, mate.

 

[Alec]

While I don't really rate McCullough yet, he's definitely not the worst in the NRL. I would say he's probably the worst current QLD one though, with Smith, Ballin, Friend * 2, Srama and Segeyaro being better.

 

[Brett]

Macca is only just 23.

Can we save the big hate for a couple more years?

Fact is he's developing nicely. I really think he'll be better again next year if Hunt stays at #7.

 

[coreyh88]

With drama and n friend being very much debatable.

 

[Dexter]

Macca has played 5 full seasons and well over 100 games, he should be pretty much developed by now. Happy to stick for next year but if he doesn't start playing regularly at the level he showed against the Dragoons then we should start looking elsewhere.

You read some funny things on here but that suggestion above to buy Cam Smith and play him at 5/8 is just out there lol.

 

[Mister Wright]

McCullough suffers from the Warne dilemma. Every Australian spinner is now unfairly compared to the greatest ever spinner cricket has seen. Now McCullough is being compared to Smith the greatest hooker Rugby Leqgue has seen.

 

[Ari Gold]

Macca is only just 23.

Can we save the big hate for a couple more years?

Fact is he's developing nicely. I really think he'll be better again next year if Hunt stays at #7.

He was developing very nicely in his first two seasons, but frankly, he's not developed an iota since then, at there in lies the problem.

 

[Steve Renouf]

He needs to start playing 80 minutes. If he can't handle it next year, he's not fit for first grade in that position.

If a 23 year old in the prime of his fitness cannot last 80 minutes it just shows how small his ticker is.

Yep, Segeyaro showed the value of a good bench hooker. In fact, they've had both him and Kingston on the field at the same time, which I think is a strong move when one of them is a good dummy half runner.

No, Segeyaro showed what a class hooker and player he is period. It has nothing to do with him coming off of the bench.

Yeah that would be great! We'd get 80 minutes of selfish and slow plays instead of only 50 minutes.
Macca has to go. He is the worst hooker in the game. He'd actually be ranked around 19 considering some teams have two hookers that are both better than Macca

Not a popular comment but a true one.

Macca is only just 23.

Can we save the big hate for a couple more years?

Fact is he's developing nicely. I really think he'll be better again next year if Hunt stays at #7.

Developing nicely? Is the NRL a training ground or the real deal?
When will he cease developing and be what he is getting paid to be?

 

[Broncs1459]

His defence is awesome but his attack is lacking. Way too slow. I'm afraid that if he is made to play 80 minutes it will get worse. Opposition teams will just roll their forwards at him all game and make him do an obscene amount of tackling (way more then he does now). Then his speed will get worse and the brain snaps will happen more often. Get Granville or someone else on the bench FFS. Macca can do the hard stuff early in the game with his defence and then someone with a bit of speed and creativity can come on and create some opportunities. I would play them about 50-50 in terms of minutes.

If a once in a lifetime player like Smith is on the market then we should do everything to sign him.

 

[TheDrumBeat]

His defence is awesome but his attack is lacking. Way too slow. I'm afraid that if he is made to play 80 minutes it will get worse. Opposition teams will just roll their forwards at him all game and make him do an obscene amount of tackling (way more then he does now). Then his speed will get worse and the brain snaps will happen more often. Get Granville or someone else on the bench FFS. Macca can do the hard stuff early in the game with his defence and then someone with a bit of speed and creativity can come on and create some opportunities. I would play them about 50-50 in terms of minutes. If a once in a lifetime player like Smith is on the market then we should do everything to sign him.

Your first point is spot on and I think it could work until Granville is just to good that he makes it his spot, I'm probably the only one who thinks what i'm about to say and will more than likely cause an uproar... But I really don't want Smith, He is a champion yes, Likely future immortal.. Maybe. I really think if we invest as much time into young Granville as possible and don't let him sit on the bench as long as Hunt did he can really get us rolling through our sets... I'm a massive Macca and Smithy fan but I think Granville is the future and the coaching staff need to realize that... Not to mention signing big name players on big cash from other clubs has not done us alot of good in the past...

Que the hate... and go.

 

[Ari Gold]

I thought Granville went well in his debut game but I don't think it's really accurate to say he is the future. He is older than McCullough and will be 25 by the time Round 1 comes around next year. IMO that's too old to consider him our future.

 

[Financeguy]

Not to mention signing big name players on big cash from other clubs has not done us alot of good in the past...

.

unfortunately relying on just players coming through our lower grades is not working either.

its not a crime to find the middle ground between the two.

 

[Brett]

If a 23 year old in the prime of his fitness cannot last 80 minutes it just shows how small his ticker is.

Peak aerobic fitness is generally not obtained till about 30-35 years old in the majority of athletes from what I've seen. Ennis, Smith in League to name a couple. Take a look at marathon runners and top distance runners - Mo Farah is 30 years old. A lot of UFC fighters develop better cardio as they get older too - Rich Franklin comes to mind, Diego Sanchez. As they learn better training techniques and learn their body's better.

 

[Nashy]

Your first point is spot on and I think it could work until Granville is just to good that he makes it his spot, I'm probably the only one who thinks what i'm about to say and will more than likely cause an uproar... But I really don't want Smith, He is a champion yes, Likely future immortal.. Maybe. I really think if we invest as much time into young Granville as possible and don't let him sit on the bench as long as Hunt did he can really get us rolling through our sets... I'm a massive Macca and Smithy fan but I think Granville is the future and the coaching staff need to realize that... Not to mention signing big name players on big cash from other clubs has not done us alot of good in the past...

Que the hate... and go.

There would be a few people against having Cam Smith in Brisbane. The money is better spent on someone younger, like Milford and Barba. There is no reason to get someone that old for one year.

 

[Alec]

Smith at 40 would still be better than McCullough...though it's unlikely he'd want to play for that long.

 

[TheDrumBeat]

I thought Granville went well in his debut game but I don't think it's really accurate to say he is the future. He is older than McCullough and will be 25 by the time Round 1 comes around next year. IMO that's too old to consider him our future.

Compared to Smith he is a spring chicken... and being 25 doesn't make him over the hill....

 

[Steve Renouf]

Peak aerobic fitness is generally not obtained till about 30-35 years old in the majority of athletes from what I've seen.

So going by your logic, any NRL player under 30 years of age who plays 80 minutes is some sort of freak of nature. Seriously, the hole you are digging is getting deeper and deeper.

 

[TheDrumBeat]

Peak aerobic fitness is generally not obtained till about 30-35 years old in the majority of athletes from what I've seen. Ennis, Smith in League to name a couple. Take a look at marathon runners and top distance runners - Mo Farah is 30 years old. A lot of UFC fighters develop better cardio as they get older too - Rich Franklin comes to mind, Diego Sanchez. As they learn better training techniques and learn their body's better.

UFC Fighters do an awful lot of training to fight once every blue moon (Not saying its not tough cause we all know it is) those fights are either 3 x 3 mins or 5 x 3 mins if they go the distance... NRL players have 26 rounds, finals and all their representative fixtures year after year from the age of 18 til mid 30's if successful.. To say Rugby League players would be just hitting peak fitness in their mid 30's is a stretch...