Pre-Season

[Wolfie]

I reckon staggs year will be MASSIVE.

People have shocking memory regarding how good he can be. He absolutely destroys opposition centres who are talked up against him when he's at his best. Makes them look 3 or 4 levels below him.

Even though he had his worst attacking year he ironically got a lot better at his worst area - defensive decision making. He's had so many long term injuries now, this year will be massive. He will outshine farnworth by a fair distance I believe

He needs a big year and he's capable of it. To do it though, and I keep saying it, he just needs to stop being so one dimensional. His game has become too easy to close down.

I think his defence improved in a lot of ways as well, but he's still got this habit of looking for the big individual defensive hit imo where he needs to make sure he is a better team defender. The coaching staff really need to get that right edge of Riki, Staggs and Cobbo working as a unit, i think they defend too much as individuals.

 

[Sproj]

If Staggs shoulder was totally busted, no wonder he couldn't use his fend all that much.

 

[Wolfie]

If Staggs shoulder was totally busted, no wonder he couldn't use his fend all that much.

It would have hampered him, but i've seen a couple of players with serious shoulder injuries and they wouldnt have been able to do the sort of things Staggs was still managing to do. He had plenty of mobility in it.

I still find it difficult to believe that the club wouldnt have known he had a tear seeing as he was having to get it strapped. If they actually didnt then we really should be asking questions about them.

 

[Lockysillegitimatechild]

He needs a big year and he's capable of it. To do it though, and I keep saying it, he just needs to stop being so one dimensional. His game has become too easy to close down.

I think his defence improved in a lot of ways as well, but he's still got this habit of looking for the big individual defensive hit imo where he needs to make sure he is a better team defender. The coaching staff really need to get that right edge of Riki, Staggs and Cobbo working as a unit, i think they defend too much as individuals.

I agree he is one dimensional, but that dimension is bloody devastating for opposition's when he is in form and injury free. People only notice the lack of diversity in attack of a player when they are out of form. You could put most of the top players in the history of the game in the "limited variety" box, it's just that they did that one component really, really well whilst improving or being ok at nearly everything else.

I believe he did a labral tear? He did very, very well to play the season out...

 

[Lockysillegitimatechild]

It would have hampered him, but i've seen a couple of players with serious shoulder injuries and they wouldnt have been able to do the sort of things Staggs was still managing to do. He had plenty of mobility in it.

I still find it difficult to believe that the club wouldnt have known he had a tear seeing as he was having to get it strapped. If they actually didnt then we really should be asking questions about them.

It's not the mobility, it's the stability that would have been off-putting.

 

[Wolfie]

It's not the mobility, it's the stability that would have been off-putting.

I did mine a few years ago. Strapped up it was fine, never really had any dramas with it even lifting at work. Once that strapping came off though it was pretty painful to move but it was managable. Took me about 2 months to get over mine with a cortisone injection but i wasnt playing a contact sport every week. I'd say Kotoni carrying on playing just never allowed it to heal. Thankfully i havent had mine come back.

From what i can gather, Kotoni's was pretty similar to mine. Its less of a tear and more like the tendon is frayed. A bad tear he wouldnt even be able to lift his arm.

 

[Lockysillegitimatechild]

I did mine a few years ago. Strapped up it was fine, never really had any dramas with it even lifting at work. Once that strapping came off though it was pretty painful to move but it was managable. Took me about 2 months to get over mine with a cortisone injection but i wasnt playing a contact sport every week. I'd say Kotoni carrying on playing just never allowed it to heal. Thankfully i havent had mine come back.

From what i can gather, Kotoni's was pretty similar to mine. Its less of a tear and more like the tendon is frayed. A bad tear he wouldnt even be able to lift his arm.

I appreciate you had a similar injury and for the lay person you are 100% correct.
But I can't imagine you were tackling 110kg ripped athletes running at near full speed with fatigue. The labrum aids in shoulder stability, tape will feel good when you pick up a book or bag but even a 1% drop in stability (the labrum provides about 20-40% of the shoulder's stability that isnt directly related to the congruent shape of the joint) would make you think about it every minute of every game with the above scenario occurring...

 

[Wolfie]

I appreciate you had a similar injury and for the lay person you are 100% correct.
But I can't imagine you were tackling 110kg ripped athletes running at near full speed with fatigue. The labrum aids in shoulder stability, tape will feel good when you pick up a book or bag but even a 1% drop in stability (the labrum provides about 20-40% of the shoulder's stability that isnt directly related to the congruent shape of the joint) would make you think about it every minute of every game with the above scenario occurring...

I said it would be different for him playing a contact sport, but in terms of the actual stability its all going to depend on how bad it was. It probably just deteriorated over the year to the point where he needed to go and get it tidied up. Probably wouldnt have needed to if he dealt with it sooner.

The thing is what you are saying just shows how dumb and selfish Staggs was if he was keeping it secret. He wasnt playing for the team no matter what he says, he was playing for himself. If you are a liability, which he would have been if his arm was going dead when blokes ran inside him, you pull yourself out of the team for the good of the team because you cant do your job properly. If it was the club asking him to play thats different all together. We've done that to players in the past and its never ended well for them with shoulders.

 

[BroncosFever]

I reckon staggs year will be MASSIVE.

People have shocking memory regarding how good he can be. He absolutely destroys opposition centres who are talked up against him when he's at his best. Makes them look 3 or 4 levels below him.

Even though he had his worst attacking year he ironically got a lot better at his worst area - defensive decision making. He's had so many long term injuries now, this year will be massive. He will outshine farnworth by a fair distance I believe

He was good last season, we aren't paying him to be our version of Tommy Turbo, we just need him to do a role and provide the odd moment of brilliance and that's what he does. He came back in 2022 off the back of a significant surgery in 2021 and a few fans were throwing their arms in the air when he wasn't zipping past them like he did pre-injury.

Had he have went for that surgery, the same people saying he should've got the surgery would be the same people saying he's a waste of cap space as he's always injured, you just cannot win sometimes.

 

[Wolfie]

He was good last season, we aren't paying him to be our version of Tommy Turbo, we just need him to do a role and provide the odd moment of brilliance and that's what he does. He came back in 2022 off the back of a significant surgery in 2021 and a few fans were throwing their arms in the air when he wasn't zipping past them like he did pre-injury.

Had he have went for that surgery, the same people saying he should've got the surgery would be the same people saying he's a waste of cap space as he's always injured, you just cannot win sometimes.

If a player needs surgery, they need surgery. Injuries are a part of footy, they generally cant be helped. What you dont do is make any injury you have worse by hiding it.

Any player though who is always injured is going to get people saying they are a waste of cap space, same as one who is always getting suspended. Only difference is you cant help getting injured.

 

[Sproj]

If a player needs surgery, they need surgery. Injuries are a part of footy, they generally cant be helped. What you dont do is make any injury you have worse by hiding it.

Any player though who is always injured is going to get people saying they are a waste of cap space, same as one who is always getting suspended. Only difference is you cant help getting injured.

This, to me, is really coming across poorly from you. No doubt you will keep defending your view and that’s your prerogative but the guy played through a totally busted shoulder to try and help his teammates make the finals. He could have said screw it, literally and been back in time for the World Cup but he sacrificed that for his club.

You are known not to like the guy, again that’s your right but give credit where it is due and acknowledge the context. We were decimated at times last year with injuries and in Cobbo’s case, selfishness and immaturity on top of injuries. On top of that, our other gun centre went down for the season as well. We also for some reason shipped Arthars off to the Warriors which literally left Lee, Mariner and Hoeter to cover Farnworth, Cobbo at times and if Staggs had surgery, him too. Mariner was impressive at times but clearly not ready for week to week footy.

Staggs literally took one for the team, that should be applauded not dismissed because you once had an injury that might have been similar likely doing a desk job. it just comes across as sour grapes regardless of your intention.

 

[Big Del]

Several will tell you with a straight face that he is QLD Cup standard, they must be fantastic at the poker table.

He was below Q cup even .
Couldn`t make a bust , couldn`t score a try or set one up . Even Brenko looked better .

Hoping that is all behind him or a reshuffle of the deck is required .

 

[Mustafur]

Staggs is a hot and cold player but he isn't anything other then a first grade player, when he is firing he is the best in the game, he has the best fend in the game.

 

[BroncosFever]

He was below Q cup even .
Couldn`t make a bust , couldn`t score a try or set one up . Even Brenko looked better .

Hoping that is all behind him or a reshuffle of the deck is required .

Yeah, the NSW selectors thought so too

 

[Wolfie]

This, to me, is really coming across poorly from you. No doubt you will keep defending your view and that’s your prerogative but the guy played through a totally busted shoulder to try and help his teammates make the finals. He could have said screw it, literally and been back in time for the World Cup but he sacrificed that for his club.



You are known not to like the guy, again that’s your right but give credit where it is due and acknowledge the context. We were decimated at times last year with injuries and in Cobbo’s case, selfishness and immaturity on top of injuries. On top of that, our other gun centre went down for the season as well. We also for some reason shipped Arthars off to the Warriors which literally left Lee, Mariner and Hoeter to cover Farnworth, Cobbo at times and if Staggs had surgery, him too. Mariner was impressive at times but clearly not ready for week to week footy.



Staggs literally took one for the team, that should be applauded not dismissed because you once had an injury that might have been similar likely doing a desk job. it just comes across as sour grapes regardless of your intention.

This, to me, is really coming across poorly from you. No doubt you will keep defending your view and that’s your prerogative but the guy played through a totally busted shoulder to try and help his teammates make the finals. He could have said screw it, literally and been back in time for the World Cup but he sacrificed that for his club.

You are known not to like the guy, again that’s your right but give credit where it is due and acknowledge the context. We were decimated at times last year with injuries and in Cobbo’s case, selfishness and immaturity on top of injuries. On top of that, our other gun centre went down for the season as well. We also for some reason shipped Arthars off to the Warriors which literally left Lee, Mariner and Hoeter to cover Farnworth, Cobbo at times and if Staggs had surgery, him too. Mariner was impressive at times but clearly not ready for week to week footy.

Staggs literally took one for the team, that should be applauded not dismissed because you once had an injury that might have been similar likely doing a desk job. it just comes across as sour grapes regardless of your intention.

You can think what you like. I've said many times, my view that he is a grub is totally separate from what I think of him as a footballer. It's very. Very easy to separate the two things for me. Considering I was bigging the bloke up before he even played a game for us, even though I didn't like him kind of flies in the face of me having a problem separating the the player and the person.

What I believe you are overlooking is the context of was he keeping the injury secret. That's my problem with it. I've got no problem with a player playing through injury if they are asked to do it. Happens all the time. If you are keeping an injury secret to keep playing though, as the article alludes, that's where I think you have an issue. If you can't do your job properly because you are hiding injury, that's where I see the problem. That's not a team first mentality.

Again. If we asked him to play through the injury then that's fine, happens all the time. You are sitting down with the clubs medical staff and specialists and you have an educated opinion of what could and couldn't happen and you get a different preparation for games.

 

[pagey]

You can think what you like. I've said many times, my view that he is a grub is totally separate from what I think of him as a footballer. It's very. Very easy to separate the two things for me. Considering I was bigging the bloke up before he even played a game for us, even though I didn't like him kind of flies in the face of me having a problem separating the the player and the person.

What I believe you are overlooking is the context of was he keeping the injury secret. That's my problem with it. I've got no problem with a player playing through injury if they are asked to do it. Happens all the time. If you are keeping an injury secret to keep playing though, as the article alludes, that's where I think you have an issue. If you can't do your job properly because you are hiding injury, that's where I see the problem. That's not a team first mentality.

Again. If we asked him to play through the injury then that's fine, happens all the time. You are sitting down with the clubs medical staff and specialists and you have an educated opinion of what could and couldn't happen and you get a different preparation for games.

how do you keep it a secret when both NSW and broncos medical staff checked him over?
heaps of players push through injuries, even your golden boy has .

 

[Big Del]

Yeah, the NSW selectors thought so too

Oh FFS ! Are you attempting to troll me ?
My last three posts you have quoted and tried to make me out a fool .

They gave him a chance . What happened after that ? He didn`t score tries or set them up . He was pretty average after his 1 game off after Origin .

Started slow . Had a few good games got selected for Origin . Did nothing in Origin , Had a game off , then went to shit for remainder of the season .

I doubt the NSW selectors would have picked him if he was playing like he was post Origin .

Nothing personal against Kotoni .When he is in good form I am a big fan . Unfortunately he just was not good enough last season . And like I have said several times recently . If he doesn`t lift his game substantially he should not be in 1st grade .

 

[Sproj]

Oh FFS ! Are you attempting to troll me ?
My last three posts you have quoted and tried to make me out a fool .

They gave him a chance . What happened after that ? He didn`t score tries or set them up . He was pretty average after his 1 game off after Origin .

Started slow . Had a few good games got selected for Origin . Did nothing in Origin , Had a game off , then went to shit for remainder of the season .

I doubt the NSW selectors would have picked him if he was playing like he was post Origin .

Nothing personal against Kotoni .When he is in good form I am a big fan . Unfortunately he just was not good enough last season . And like I have said several times recently . If he doesn`t lift his game substantially he should not be in 1st grade .

Kotoni played better in his stint for NSW than either of Crichton or Talakai. Crichton in particular was abysmal the whole origin series.