2 concerns

[The Brain]

Not wrong. Cleary's admission a few years ago was too copy us..and lucky for him he has the cattle to do it.
Our slow starts are out of sync with all the changes to the game.
Coach Beetrootface MK2 now has to take a page out of Cleary's book...pile on the points early rest players in between lets say Origin..some 45 weeks out from the comp etc..

[Bates]

This is how i think Robbo will manage things for round 1.

Teddy - Best option. Lock in
Toops - Best option. Lock in
Young - You cant't lure a player of his calibre and have him playing Reggies. Plus Suaalii at centre was a disaster.
Manu - Best option. Lock in
Suaalli - He can't perform in any other position . It would be an outrage if he played Reggies.

Billy Smith - Reggies. It's a pecking order thing.

This is what I would do

Teddy
Toops
Billy Smith
Manu
Young

Move Suaalii on and spend that money elsewhere. Young is the better player Imo.

[Bates]

Not wrong. Cleary's admission a few years ago was too copy us..and lucky for him he has the cattle to do it.
Our slow starts are out of sync with all the changes to the game.
Coach Beetrootface MK2 now has to take a page out of Cleary's book...pile on the points early rest players in between lets say Origin..some 45 weeks out from the comp etc..

How does Cleary do it? He is so unassuming! Perhaps the difference is luck. Minimal injuries, largest junior RL catchment area in the world. Dunno but it Shi ts me.

[The Brain]

This is how i think Robbo will manage things for round 1.

Teddy - Best option. Lock in
Toops - Best option. Lock in
Young - You cant't lure a player of his calibre and have him playing Reggies. Plus Suaalii at centre was a disaster.
Manu - Best option. Lock in
Suaalli - He can't perform in any other position . It would be an outrage if he played Reggies.

Billy Smith - Reggies. It's a pecking order thing.

This is what I would do

Teddy
Toops
Billy Smith
Manu
Young

Move Suaalii on and spend that money elsewhere. Young is the better player Imo.

Don't know if Suali is a disaster at center.His first few games the year before was at center and he went real well..he recently admitted half this season his head was not in it..all the shit publicity etc.
Saying that..he is going and I should think he will remain on the wing.
Teddy's best games this year after every lay off he had..so take notice of that..Well the coach should.

[ARD]

Don't know if Suali is a disaster at center.His first few games the year before was at center and he went real well..he recently admitted half this season his head was not in it..all the shit publicity etc.
Saying that..he is going and I should think he will remain on the wing.
Teddy's best games this year after every lay off he had..so take notice of that..Well the coach should.

I agree; Suaalii is a kid. A phenomenally talented kid. He didn’t play his best footy at centre but to say he can’t play that position in the short term future, at his age and with his talents is ridiculous. I questioned moving him from wing last season and it proved a challenge but to put a line through it altogether it is shortsighted. He absolutely could be a very good centre.

[The Real King]

We lack elite level game management, resulting fatigue and then comes the errors, suspensions and injuries. Winning the comp will depend on Kez and Sam’s combination.

We lack any sort of game management and it has been like that since Cronk retired. Sam was an excellent organising half at junior level, not sure what happens to all these young players once they hit the NRL.
I hope Keary takes a backset this year. Walker now has the keys and is in the drivers seat and I am confident he will do well if the coach lets him.

[Steggles]

I agree; Suaalii is a kid. A phenomenally talented kid. He didn’t play his best footy at centre but to say he can’t play that position in the short term future, at his age and with his talents is ridiculous. I questioned moving him from wing last season and it proved a challenge but to put a line through it altogether it is shortsighted. He absolutely could be a very good centre.

But we already have two very good centres that have far better skills and performance in that position that Suaalii already. Why would we change that for a guy who is leaving for the ARU in 2025 for 3 years? Suaalii’s best position is wing and if he’s not better than Toups or Young, then he’s just not in the team.

I’ve heard Suaalii being compared to SBW at the same age. SBW was absolutely dominating the NRL at the same age; not sure if the same could be said about Suaalii. There’s a huge amount of media hype around the kid; not his fault, but we shouldn’t just find a spot in the team for him if he doesn’t quite fit. Harsh but reality.

[Steggles]

We lack any sort of game management and it has been like that since Cronk retired. Sam was an excellent organising half at junior level, not sure what happens to all these young players once they hit the NRL.
I hope Keary takes a backset this year. Walker now has the keys and is in the drivers seat and I am confident he will do well if the coach lets him.

Welcome and insightful first post. Walker copped a bit of flak from some more senior team mates this year. These guys need to pull their heads in and let Sam ‘own’ the team and call the shots. They need to let him be the player he can be and it’s on the coach and the captain to make that happen.

[rented tracksuit]

If suaalii gets picked at center over smith, I hope robbo gives us a justified reason for it.

good problem to have though.

Santa is real also bud.

[SupermanSupportsEasts4Eva]

It's the early season wins that help at the back end when injuries and form slumps hit hard. Our last 10 games or so this year were all 'grand finals' for us. Coming home with a wet sail is one thing, but when you have to rely on that just to scrape into the finals, it's not a recipe for success.

Exactly. I'd rather be coming 5 or 6 with 7 rounds to go, and then come home with a wet sail to finish in the top 2.

[Thirteen]

If suaalii gets picked at center over smith, I hope robbo gives us a justified reason for it.

good problem to have though.

I’m sure he’ll call us all individually and explain his actions and he’ll definitely start a thread on here too.

[Arties Pie]

I hope Sammy has been doing a heaps of deadlifts, squats, lunges or whatever else it takes to get that extra 10M from his kicks ffs.

It’s a very real issue, Compared to a lot of other teams it seems like we have to defend a seven tackle set every clearing kick as its always 10 meters shorter than what’s required.
That and neither half is organising the plays,In the past Keary had Pearce then Cronk to do this but neither current half is up to the task. Its our biggest weakness at the moment and what I feel is the only thing that is holding us back.
Lets hope these issues are being addressed in this offseason.

[roosterproud]

Sewarrelee to 11 or 12.
billy owns the left with 2poo
Joey and young on the right

[Steggles]

Sewarrelee to 11 or 12.
billy owns the left with 2poo
Joey and young on the right

I agree 100% on points 2 & 3, but I’m not sure I’d swap any of our top four 2nd rowers for Joe. He’s now a depth winger/fullback.

[Thirteen]

Sewarrelee to 11 or 12.
billy owns the left with 2poo
Joey and young on the right

If Swar can handle the defensive side of things I reckon he’d be a great second rower. I suggested that a long time ago on here and I got shot down. Problem is that there is no spot for him in the back row.