Milford is a shadow of the player he was and can be. He is at his best running amok and playing what he sees in front of him, not being the leading or controlling half of the team that the coach wants to transform him into.
As good as he absolutely is as a leader of men, Wayne is stuck in a coaching mentality that has passed the game by years and years ago. We can't go with teams that apply constant pressure in the ruck, run hard, get quick PTB's while we refuse to wrestle, and in turn get slowed down in the ruck by the same wrestling, which the NRL has proven no willingness to do anything against.
I know Boyd has been a great servant of the club, has had a career year in 2016, and has matured in leaps and bounds, deservedly earning the captaincy. But while he can on occasion turn it on, he really isn't a match winner or someone we can rely on to regularly grab a game by the scruff of the neck, and guide the rest of the team to a win.
Which is why I find the notion that he commands close to a $1M a year, absolutely ridiculous!
Despite reaching the GF in 2015, and well aware we might not have come as far... I think that if not for Boyd as mandatory fullback, we could have looked towards the future and started building a dominant spine of:
1- Milf
6- Hunt
7- Taylor
9- Macca
Now, we might have a last chance with a good offer to Taylor, but not if we pay overs to Boyd, so we could have a spine of:
1- Kodi (Isaako/Allen as backup)
6- Milford
7- Taylor
9- Macca
No one will convince me any other spine combo with Boyd as FB would be better than either of the above, and Darius would perfectly cover our most glaring deficiency in the backline as left centre.
For the second time, Wayne is going to screw the team as a whole to reward his protégé, and potentially deny us the chance to grab the playmaker we really need...
I'm afraid this and Wayne's refusal to do what other teams do in slowing down the ruck, may well keep us away from the Holy Grail.
I am not a defeatist, because I know we have the cattle to turn it on and make a dent, and I really hope I am wrong about the above, but I am absolutely certain we could be better coached. 2015 really was the exception that confirms the rule, and unfortunately obfuscated the obvious...
P.S. Bring on the hate lads!