What type of players do the Storm recruit?

[Locky888]

They just recruited Nick Meaney from the Bulldogs and I'm trying to figure out why? I must admit I don't know much about the guy.

Here are my thoughts:
- He's young @ 23
- There's upside potential for improvement/development
- He's cheap

In the past the Storm have recruited nobodys and made them into household names: Hynes, Papenhuyzen, Jahrome Humes, Harry Grant, Brandon Smith etc.

Seems like the Broncos are doing the opposite and recruiting older established players. AR, Capewell, Pereira, Mead, Asiata. Maybe they should take a leaf from the Storm playbook and stop recruiting dinosaurs all the time. Moneyball the team with cheap younger no-brand players with upside potential.

 

[Foordy]

They just recruited Nick Meaney from the Bulldogs and I'm trying to figure out why? I must admit I don't know much about the guy.

Here are my thoughts:
- He's young @ 23
- There's upside potential for improvement/development
- He's cheap

In the past the Storm have recruited nobodys and made them into household names: Hynes, Papenhuyzen, Jahrome Humes, Harry Grant, Brandon Smith etc.

Seems like the Broncos are doing the opposite and recruiting older established players. AR, Capewell, Pereira, Mead, Asiata. Maybe they should take a leaf from the Storm playbook and stop recruiting dinosaurs all the time. Moneyball the team with cheap younger no-brand players with upside potential.

The Storm are able to recruit those "nobodys" because they have a core group of established players already in their side.

what we've done is jettison our established players in favour of the highly rated youngsters. which can be fraught with danger if they don't get surrounded by the already established and proven performers to learn from.

you can't just start recruiting like the Storm. you first need to take the time to build the core of the team first, which is what we are trying to do now. that's where the likes of Reynolds, Capewell, Mead etc come in.

When Bellamy came to the Storm, he didn't just start recruiting like he does today. he started setting up his systems and getting his core right ... and once he had all that sorted he was able to bring in the rejects, the nobodies, the late bloomers etc (oh, and a second set of books helps as well)

if we try to take a short cut and recruit like the Storm now, before we get our core right ... we'll continue to lose to them on the field

 

[Cult]

I'll tell you who they don't sign.. Victorians

 

[BroncosFever]

They just recruited Nick Meaney from the Bulldogs and I'm trying to figure out why? I must admit I don't know much about the guy.

Here are my thoughts:
- He's young @ 23
- There's upside potential for improvement/development
- He's cheap

In the past the Storm have recruited nobodys and made them into household names: Hynes, Papenhuyzen, Jahrome Humes, Harry Grant, Brandon Smith etc.

Seems like the Broncos are doing the opposite and recruiting older established players. AR, Capewell, Pereira, Mead, Asiata. Maybe they should take a leaf from the Storm playbook and stop recruiting dinosaurs all the time. Moneyball the team with cheap younger no-brand players with upside potential.

We recruited Brenko Lee who isn't exactly a star and people on here carried on like he was a good depth signing

 

[Nashy]

Don't they have their little computer program that spits out a number based on stats and shit?

 

[BroncsFan]

Meaney probably gives off a Corey Thompson vibe and along the lines of Mead and previously Steve Turner i.e. undersized winger that can be a bit of a workhorse, but can finish a try.

I think Thompson is miles better, and I would say he and Mead are both definitely storm players. I wouldn't mind Thompson at the broncos if I'm honest, but Meaney looks like a guy that just gets on with it. He knows that he has to take a hit up on every get out set, he can cover wing and fullback, he's a back-up goal kicker (been an issue for the storm) and he's probably just a generally smart footballer.

What he doesn't have is electric speed or super athleticism... pending how he goes in the storm system he's probably a back up fullback and back up winger for them, but Steve Turner played a lot of games for the storm so if they can get a Turner lite he could play a lot of games for them.

He'll also be cheap as chips, which is something else the storm like... a footballer that knows his role and doesn't warrant a huge paycheck

 

[Big Pete]

Meaney probably gives off a Corey Thompson vibe and along the lines of Mead and previously Steve Turner i.e. undersized winger that can be a bit of a workhorse, but can finish a try.

I think Thompson is miles better, and I would say he and Mead are both definitely storm players. I wouldn't mind Thompson at the broncos if I'm honest, but Meaney looks like a guy that just gets on with it. He knows that he has to take a hit up on every get out set, he can cover wing and fullback, he's a back-up goal kicker (been an issue for the storm) and he's probably just a generally smart footballer.

What he doesn't have is electric speed or super athleticism... pending how he goes in the storm system he's probably a back up fullback and back up winger for them, but Steve Turner played a lot of games for the storm so if they can get a Turner lite he could play a lot of games for them.

He'll also be cheap as chips, which is something else the storm like... a footballer that knows his role and doesn't warrant a huge paycheck

Steve Turner was actually one of the best backline prospects when they signed him from the Panthers in 2003. He was considered the long term fullback option for the Panthers but then Wesser, Rooney and Lewis really came into their own that year and he had to look elsewhere. It was a good coup for Melbourne who had to find somebody to replace Marcus Bai who was the first real emerging star they had on their roster (followed quickly by Kimmorley).

Unfortunately Turner had a string of injury issues that really impacted him. He suffered a serious knee injury against the Broncos and struggled to get consistent game-time as a result then he suffered a freak foot injury that basically robbed him of an entire season.

I think he was still one of the best wingers in the competition when he returned in 2006 but he didn't quite become the freak that he promised to be. For instance I remember he replaced Slater in 2004 and scored a hat-trick against Penrith only to suffer another serious injury.

I wouldn't mind doing a deep dive on Melbourne at some point because I read into what they were doing when Brisbane signed Seibold. I was looking for Seibs to make similar moves...and he basically did the complete opposite.

 

[ZTop]

Meaney probably gives off a Corey Thompson vibe and along the lines of Mead and previously Steve Turner i.e. undersized winger that can be a bit of a workhorse, but can finish a try.

I think Thompson is miles better, and I would say he and Mead are both definitely storm players. I wouldn't mind Thompson at the broncos if I'm honest, but Meaney looks like a guy that just gets on with it. He knows that he has to take a hit up on every get out set, he can cover wing and fullback, he's a back-up goal kicker (been an issue for the storm) and he's probably just a generally smart footballer.

What he doesn't have is electric speed or super athleticism... pending how he goes in the storm system he's probably a back up fullback and back up winger for them, but Steve Turner played a lot of games for the storm so if they can get a Turner lite he could play a lot of games for them.

He'll also be cheap as chips, which is something else the storm like... a footballer that knows his role and doesn't warrant a huge paycheck

He does actually have serious speed. We don't really see it that much but that boy can run

 

[IceWorks]

They sign good players that are improving, seems like that works ok for them.

 

[BroncsFan]

I wouldn't mind doing a deep dive on Melbourne at some point because I read into what they were doing when Brisbane signed Seibold. I was looking for Seibs to make similar moves...and he basically did the complete opposite.

It is becoming more and more apparent that Bellamy has a deep understanding of how to win a football game.... like the fundamental principles required to win a football game and understanding of the nuances and tactics that can be coached into a team to incorporate them into their play.

He introduced wrestling, because he realised that winning the play the ball was the key... due to the flow on effect of creating momentum. The grapple, etc. is a blight on the early forms of wrestling, but the fundamental principle of getting a player onto their back is the real goal of wrestling and has basically become a must have in modern league. To me, prior to wrestling games were a little more frantic and attacking plays were very much off the cuff... everything looked unstructured.

Ultimately Bellamy probably built on what Ricky Stuart had created through his Roosters back in the early 2000's. I think he basically built his game off the back of a fast moving defensive line (attack through defence) and might've introduced the dummy half running game from outside backs that we all know of today (i.e. your wingers have to take 20 hit ups and make 150m a game).

The broncos kind of pioneered it with Wendall and Lote making meters to give the forwards a break, but I believe it may have been the roosters that perfected it... although it may have been a storm innovation back in the early Bellamy days?? I don't think it was though, because I recall it being a staple of early 2000's NSW origin teams.

Nowadays Bellamy has absolutely perfected a game plan that dominates rugby league... slow down play without the ball and speed it up with the ball.

I'm almost certain that he has created the prime objective that his forwards must always be working towards finding their front and gaining a quick ptb, because he has realised that in modern league you only really score off quick ptb's when the defence can't regroup. It's at the point where 120kg Nelson Asofa-Solomona will happily run between two defenders and dive at the ground, because he is well aware that with his size he can create a lightning play the ball for the rest of his team to play off the back of... and that is probably what Bellamy does best, he teaches his players the absolute fundamentals on aspects of the game that will get them wins.

Players from the storm system are just smarter. They understand what they're meant to be doing and because everyone has that understanding they play as a full frontal assault in attack and defence. I was watching storm's game against tigers and it's actually quite amazing when you watch a ptb and the whole attacking line is moving forward at the same time... like literally the whole team (blind side and open side) moving forward in unison and at the same speed. Everything is fast and coordinated/structured, and because they are all moving forward, the defence has to appreciate that anyone may get the ball. At all times anyone in the storm system must be ready to receive the ball; however I believe a fundamental component of their system is to not give the ball to someone in a worse position.

In the first game this year the storm absolutely blitzed the rabbits in the first half, but fell in a heap in the second. I think I commented that the storm are playing so fast that they can't actually sustain it over 80 mins... that the game had become too fast for the storm's system and Bellamy may have to slow them down. Instead the storm have just become fitter and adapted to a new break neck speed.

I thought for sure that when Harry came back from injury that he'd be starting and playing 80; however Bellamy has realised that it's almost a must that he has to have two hookers, because neither Harry or BSmith can sustain the tempo required for a full 80mins.

I think the storm are miles ahead of the panthers at this stage, because the panthers are very reliant on Cleary's kicking game and Cleary just being able to come up with a play when needed. I think the panthers are getting there slowly and Cleary's kicking game absolutely dominates the storm's collective kicking game; however the storm's system is so far beyond what other teams are doing that they're not completely dependent on a strong kicking game to win.

Their defence is exceptional on their own line, which means they don't concede often, and even away from their own line they have a fast line speed that keeps the opposition in their own end. In attack they make so many meters through their get out sets that a long kicking game isn't the be all and end all, and because every player is working towards quick ptb's they create plenty of opportunities to score tries without relying on individual efforts (the individual efforts are actually whoever created the quick ptb to begin with). Compare that to the Panthers who can at times be reliant on Cleary kicking a long bomb from inside his own 30m to the opposition's 20m/30m line... and when they get into attacking zones it's either their left hand side or Cleary coming up with an individual effort to create something for himself or someone else in the team.

To me the next best coach in the current era is Robinson and if he had a full strength squad it would be the roosters and storm just leaving everyone else in their wake, because both those teams play at incredible speeds in attack and defence and everyone knows their role and position on the field.

I think at this point Robinson is maybe the only coach that can pull the Broncos out of their current state (only because Bellamy seems like he wants to give coaching away); however unfortunately for us the roosters are the only other team with the finances available that can bankroll whatever the coach wants, so why would Robinson ever leave them.

 

[IceWorks]

Also the Storm recruiting is top notch.

Pity for the game they are in effect another QLD team playing their home games out of Melbourne.

 

[Lockysillegitimatechild]

I'll tell you who they don't sign.. Victorians

That's not fair... they've only had 30 years with multiple premierships (a couple from cheating) and a few origins down there to help their cause together with millions and millions of dollars help. They are trying real hard, they promise...

 

[Sproj]

Every Storm game I've been to, they've always had decent crowds, particularly compared to Sydney.

 

[Twbapony]

I think they look for brains as well. If what was said about Bellamy is true, that he pulls apart the opposing players and then lays out the game plan step by step for the coming weekend, maybe they take zero interest players and turn them into world beaters because they can think, remember and follow instructions. Something my father said to me about both AFL and NRL is that recruiters stopped looking for footballers (thinkers) and started looking for athletes (J. Roberts). I agree with his thinking because you can develop the footballer into an athlete, especially as he matures into his body, but you can put a brain into an athlete.

 

[Locky888]

I think they like to target players with speed, something you can't coach.
Papa, Coates, JAC

 

[Wolfie]

They sign players who do the one percenters. Basically they compliment quality with blokes who compete.

 

[mstreet]

Every Storm game I've been to, they've always had decent crowds, particularly compared to Sydney.

Ridiculous amount of Kiwis in Melbourne. Melbourne might be the New, New Zealand.

 

[lynx000]

Blokes without boats, but have the space for 1 or 4.