Player Movements and Rumours 2012

[Mister Wright]

Yeah. I seem to wonder if the culture we're trying to create by investing in our own products is in fact causing complacency. It's great in some respects, in that we as a city own our team, but does it allow our players to be complacent? Who was the last big name we successfully signed?

 

[Alec]

There's no point signing players just for the sake of it, and ending up with another Ashton Sims or Lagi Setu. They should be able to make a difference. I think Inglis could have been a meaningful signing, he's pretty much the best fullback in the comp... but we probably would have just used him as a centre.

 

[Coxy]

Well yes, Inglis was the last big name signing...only thing lacking was the signature.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Do you think that our team is lacking that genuine star power without Lockyer?? Also our team has almost no x factor

 

[jarro65]

Do you think that our team is lacking that genuine star power without Lockyer?? Also our team has almost no x factor

Yes... we need more X-factor !

 

[Coxy]

Yes... we need more X-factor !

???

 

[jarro65]

???

Surely one of them is a quality halfback ???

 

[m1c]

Long term success is dictated by getting players either before they debut, or very early in their careers. Look back through all the competition winners of the NRL era - there are no bought premierships. Signing big names very rarely will return long term success.

You blokes are kidding yourself if you believe we don't have strike-power. Hoffman, Hodges, Reed, Parker, Thaiday, Gillett are all game-breakers when fit. The big concern is losing Gagai, he needs to be replaced from outside the squad ASAP, otherwise we'll feel it when Hodges decides to call it a day.

 

[rnabokov]

Long term success is dictated by getting players either before they debut, or very early in their careers. Look back through all the competition winners of the NRL era - there are no bought premierships. Signing big names very rarely will return long term success.

You blokes are kidding yourself if you believe we don't have strike-power. Hoffman, Hodges, Reed, Parker, Thaiday, Gillett are all game-breakers when fit. The big concern is losing Gagai, he needs to be replaced from outside the squad ASAP, otherwise we'll feel it when Hodges decides to call it a day.

Well said.

 

[Bull Shark]

Surely one of them is a quality halfback ???

look more like handy tail-enders to me ... so probably better suited to cricket ..

 

[Bull Shark]

Long term success is dictated by getting players either before they debut, or very early in their careers. Look back through all the competition winners of the NRL era - there are no bought premierships. Signing big names very rarely will return long term success.

You blokes are kidding yourself if you believe we don't have strike-power. Hoffman, Hodges, Reed, Parker, Thaiday, Gillett are all game-breakers when fit. The big concern is losing Gagai, he needs to be replaced from outside the squad ASAP, otherwise we'll feel it when Hodges decides to call it a day.

.. which begs the question why they've possessed the most aimless and impotent attack in the NRL for a large portion of this season .... ?

 

[jarro65]

.. which begs the question why they've possessed the most aimless and impotent attack in the NRL for a large portion of this season .... ?

Well said.

 

[Bucking Beads]

The question is do we have any guns coming through?? I know Timu I think it is could be anything. A gun backrower who scores many tries but what else is there?

 

[m1c]

.. which begs the question why they've possessed the most aimless and impotent attack in the NRL for a large portion of this season .... ?

Really? Did you not read 'when fit' to put it into some form of context? Throughout this 'large portion of the season' how many of those players have either been on the sidelines or playing injured?

Before our slide, which you should note culminated with those players being unfit, we were top 3 in the comp for attack.

Calm ur farm m8.

 

[Ari Gold]

Long term success is dictated by getting players either before they debut, or very early in their careers. Look back through all the competition winners of the NRL era - there are no bought premierships. Signing big names very rarely will return long term success.

You blokes are kidding yourself if you believe we don't have strike-power. Hoffman, Hodges, Reed, Parker, Thaiday, Gillett are all game-breakers when fit. The big concern is losing Gagai, he needs to be replaced from outside the squad ASAP, otherwise we'll feel it when Hodges decides to call it a day.

By and large you are right about Premierships not being completely bought, but lots of teams have had a buy or two in there that made a difference. Think Jamie Lyon for Manly for instance.

As for your list of game breakers:

Hoffman - in defense yes, but he is not at all a game breaker in attack.
Reed - He can finish and pop a pass but calling him a game breaker is a stretch.
Parker - No way. He lays a great platform as a forward but he does not break games open. Origin 3 was a huge anomaly.

The rest I agree on though frankly Thaiday hasn't broken a game open in a long while. And what's most alarming is that none of our so called game breakers are part of our spine.

 

[m1c]

Are you forgetting the Hoffman who, before he was nailed in consecutive weeks by Inglis and Graham, playing on with a painful sternum injury, was consistently running near 200m a game for us?

Thaiday - Playing injured from very early in the season. Have you already forgotten his great form down the right edge for us?

Parker - He breaks more tackles than just about any other forward in the game. So many of our plays stem from either this or his offloads.

 

[Ari Gold]

You are mistaking players who do their role well as game breakers. They are not the same thing. Running 200m is a strong performance, but if you are ineffective inside the red zone as a fullback you are not a game breaker.

And again, the way you describe Parker, that's a good forward doing a good job, but it's not being a game breaker. Game breakers set up score tries when the game is in the balance - they are go to players in attack that teams want to touch the ball in the final 10 mins - nobody sits around with the game in the balance wishing Parker touches the ball more in the opposition 20.

 

[vertigo]

Stats wont show it but we have to be the worst team in regards to set plays used in the opp. 20.