Trent Robinson interview - SEN

[HunchoRooster]

Coach Robinson is a student of the game which may go over the head of some.

Need to face facts that Penrith have been too good for all teams in winning 4 in a row - should have been 5 except for their Barry Crocker first 46 minutes vs Storm in 2020.

Maybe some on here who lived through the Dragons 11 in a row can say what that was like ?

How do other teams prepare for the season when in the back of their minds they know they will need a lot of luck to be any hope of winning the comp vs such teams whether it be the Dragons back in the day or Penrith nowadays.

Some times you just have to tip your lid and acknowledge one team is just too good.

Interesting to read comments on other sites when they rate Penrith players against other players in their positions i.e starting 13 - Cleary, Yeo and Fisher -Harris are the only Penrith players most would rate number 1 in their position as far as a starting 13 goes - not many rate their interchange players against other teams one's

What is the secret for this success then ? - The Sydney Ron Casey said the best boxers where the one's who were the hungriest that came from below average to poor backgrounds - money was a motivation but so was helping out their families.

Quite a few of the Penrith players come from housing commission suburb backgrounds so that could well be a factor.- Probably told at school they wouldn't amount to anything - labouring/factory jobs there destination post school or Centrelink welfare payments.

I don't think any Penrith player that left was offered more by Penrith to stay - Luai was offered 800 k by Penrith for an example which was no match for the Wests Tigers 1.2 mill a season - Not about a new challenge and money was a factor not only from an individual position but a family perspective.

Maybe the Roosters players are too pampered living in the Eastern Suburbs ?

Him coaching our team consistently making the same errors doesn't go over my head. I respect Trent Robinson but I question his true desire for the day in day out nowadays.

I also respect your passionate diatribe on the Riff aswell. No doubt their consistency is almost super human and robotic at times, I tip my hat to them on that. I still believe that we have shite the bed with a poor run of form on numerous occasions mixed in with some awful luck with injuries and that has actively contributed to them winning.

I don't wish to look at how they do it or why they are successful, I wish to look at how we beat them and why are we not successful.

In terms of the 11 in a row. I wasn't alive. An almighty effort but the comp was comoletely different playing field back then. No salary cap. They basically had the Australian team playing for them and a huge geographical advantage over other Sydney clubs. Still have huge respect for the great players they had though.

[Rooster_6]

I wouldn't say no!

Who would you place above him?

James Tedesco
Kalyn Ponga
Scott Drinkwater
Reece Walsh
Latrell Mitchell
Tom Trbojevic
Dylan Edwards

Given he will also turn 29 in 2027, whilst I'm not saying they're better players now from what they've shown at ~5yrs younger I think Bula, Kini, Campbell & Fa'alogo would present as better value signings as well.

[SamKerrSimp]

The biggest issue we have had in the last five years is our halves!
Blooding a new kid doesn’t happen over night… easts are hoping this kid is their long term half..
Its not an easy task… but worth pursuing.
Throw in all the rule changes during this time, and I think they have done well.
There hasn’tt been much on the market during this time either.
while easts were winning comps, Penrith were building.
And Bellyache can develop halves.. not many others can!
What should easts have done in these 5 years?

Great post.

Trent Robinson got it spot on when he moved Sam Walker to 6 the problem was that we didn't have a 7 and Keary seemed reluctant to take on the role. I'll always be a fan of Keary but from the outside looking in it appeared that he didn't put as much effort in to playing halfback as he could or should have. Hindsight is 20-2 but ultimately Keary should have been moved on a few years ago but maybe being ruthless with Maloney and seeing it bite us in the arse made the coach hesitant to do that again.

RE: Penrith, Gus was regularly mocked by germs like Phil Rothfield and NRL fans because he spoke about his "5 year plan" and while it took longer to come true in first grade they eventually started dominating the lower grades with the same team moving up every year until it started dominating first grade and now they have a well oiled machine taking advantage of their junior base.
It took almost 10 years for the 5 year plan to bear fruit just as it took 6 or 7 for our rebuild to get a premiership in 2013 and we spent heavy to get over the line in the end.

Bellamy wouldn't be a thought if Melbourne didn't cheat the salary cap to keep their star players they still benefit from it today and through all of the cheating he still only has 3 premierships in 20 or so years.

[Bates]

James Tedesco
Kalyn Ponga
Scott Drinkwater
Reece Walsh
Latrell Mitchell
Tom Trbojevic
Dylan Edwards

Given he will also turn 29 in 2027, whilst I'm not saying they're better players now from what they've shown at ~5yrs younger I think Bula, Kini, Campbell & Fa'alogo would present as better value signings as well.

Teddy - Yes. Interesting that Teddy will ONLY be 32 when it suits our argument and now 29 is over the hill.
Ponga - Yes.
Drinkwater - No. Paps just ahead imo.
Mitchell - BIG NO. His best position is centre and is one of the games best strike centres. Pretty sure you've mentioned the same thing in previous threads.
Turbo -Yes
Edwards - Yes but only just.

I have him a bees dick behind the top 4. Paps was pushing Teddy for the NSW jersey before his serious leg injury.

The timing will be perfect with Teddy potentially retiring at the end of 2026.

[Bates]

Sally's on his high horse again.

[Rooster_6]

Teddy - Yes. Interesting that Teddy will ONLY be 32 when it suits our argument and now 29 is over the hill.
Ponga - Yes.
Drinkwater - No. Paps just ahead imo.
Mitchell - BIG NO. His best position is centre and is one of the games best strike centres. Pretty sure you've mentioned the same thing in previous threads.
Turbo -Yes
Edwards - Yes but only just.

I have him a bees dick behind the top 4. Paps was pushing Teddy for the NSW jersey before his serious leg injury.

The timing will be perfect with Teddy potentially retiring at the end of 2026.

I didn't say 29 is over the hill, I used his age within the context of value for money.

I would much rather sign a 22-23yo fullback for big money than a 29yo as you're potentially getting 10-12 years out of them instead of just 4-5 years.

Papenhuzyen for me is an exceptional ball runner, timing, balance and acceleration off the charts. But his ball playing really drags him down, amongst NRL fullbacks this year he ranked 10th for average try assists per game and 11th for average line break assists. Which is only slightly below average but when you factor in that he played in one of the most dominant attacking sides in the comp they really are low tier numbers.

I don't agree with signing Ponga over Teddy but at least we are talking about a generational talent.

I just think there are much more exciting options out there.. A 29yo Papenhuyzen feels like we are aiming too low.

[Bates]

I didn't say 29 is over the hill, I used his age within the context of value for money.

I would much rather sign a 22-23yo fullback for big money than a 29yo as you're potentially getting 10-12 years out of them instead of just 4-5 years.

Papenhuzyen for me is an exceptional ball runner, timing, balance and acceleration off the charts. But his ball playing really drags him down, amongst NRL fullbacks this year he ranked 10th for average try assists per game and 11th for average line break assists. Which is only slightly below average but when you factor in that he played in one of the most dominant attacking sides in the comp they really are low tier numbers.

I don't agree with signing Ponga over Teddy but at least we are talking about a generational talent.

I just think there are much more exciting options out there.. A 29yo Papenhuyzen feels like we are aiming too low.

How old was Cronk when he gave us a hand? Paps will potentially be playing his best footy around that time.

I'm not a fan of stats in footy as they don't tell the full story. Each club has a different playing system. Papenhuyzens numbers would change significantly if he was playing for a different club so it's all relative. Melbourne play a heavily structured style of footy in which Ryan has a set role. Bellamy most likely doesn't want him ball playing when he chimes into the backline and encourages him to play more direct.

[Rooster_6]

How old was Cronk when he gave us a hand? Paps will potentially be playing his best footy around that time.

I'm not a fan of stats in footy as they don't tell the full story. Each club has a different playing system. Papenhuyzens numbers would change significantly if he was playing for a different club so it's all relative. Melbourne play a heavily structured style of footy in which Ryan has a set role. Bellamy most likely doesn't want him ball playing when he chimes into the backline and encourages him to play more direct.

Cronk was an organising halfback and arguably the best in his class. Papenhuyzen is a ball running fullback who is mid-tier in his class. Ball runners typically don't age as well as ball players. I just don't see the comparison. Again if the argument was over someone who's in Cronks class like a 29yo Kalyn Ponga then I agree you can justify the exception.. I just don't think Papenhuyzen is at that level.

I use stats to confirm what I see when I watch the game, I form my opinions and the use stats to try and disprove my position. If I can't then it will form the evidence for why I have formed a certain opinion. Whether you like the stats or not my opinion is that he is not a very good ball player and you only have to watch his most recent game in the grand final to see that.

As for Melborune's style I just don't buy that given Billy Slater was a very proficient ball player for the Storm and Bellamy's structure has always had a sweeping fullback as an element of their attacking play.

[Bates]

Cronk was an organising halfback and arguably the best in his class. Papenhuyzen is a ball running fullback who is mid-tier in his class. Ball runners typically don't age as well as ball players. I just don't see the comparison. Again if the argument was over someone who's in Cronks class like a 29yo Kalyn Ponga then I agree you can justify the exception.. I just don't think Papenhuyzen is at that level.

I use stats to confirm what I see when I watch the game, I form my opinions and the use stats to try and disprove my position. If I can't then it will form the evidence for why I have formed a certain opinion. Whether you like the stats or not my opinion is that he is not a very good ball player and you only have to watch his most recent game in the grand final to see that.

As for Melborune's style I just don't buy that given Billy Slater was a very proficient ball player for the Storm and Bellamy's structure has always had a sweeping fullback as an element of their attacking play.

I'm comparing their age as you were implying that 29 was over the hill and poor value for money.

Slater was the complete fullback and played alongside different players and under different rules which would've made Bellamy's approach dissimilar to last season so you can't compare them.

Paps is a rep quality fullback who would suit our style of play. We'd be mad not to consider signing him if he became available and at the right price!

[King Salvo]

No need to go external for a fullback - develop internally

Rex Bassingthwaighte will be in the Top 30 squad in 2026. One assumes he will be developed over the next two years as the possible heir apparent for the fullback role when Tedesco retires.

Not sure of the contract status of Ethan King being another player the club had earmarked for the NRL fullback role at one stage.

[Headless Chook]

I'm comparing their age as you were implying that 29 was over the hill and poor value for money.

Slater was the complete fullback and played alongside different players and under different rules which would've made Bellamy's approach dissimilar to last season so you can't compare them.

Paps is a rep quality fullback who would suit our style of play. We'd be mad not to consider signing him if he became available and at the right price!

You are the only one who has said anything aboyt 29 being over the hill. R6 just said he would rather sign a 22-23yo then a 29yo unless the 29yo was top tier and I would agree that Paps is not at the top level of fullbacks at the moment

[Rooster_6]

I'm comparing their age as you were implying that 29 was over the hill and poor value for money.

I think you raise fair & rational points around why you think Papenhuyzen would be a good signing and it's ok to disagree on an opinion but you're deliberately misrepresenting my views. I've already clarified that I wasn't implying 29years is over the hill, you're just flat out being dishonest now so I'll leave it there.

[Rooster_6]

No need to go external for a fullback - develop internally

Rex Bassingthwaighte will be in the Top 30 squad in 2026. One assumes he will be developed over the next two years as the possible heir apparent for the fullback role when Tedesco retires.

Not sure of the contract status of Ethan King being another player the club had earmarked for the NRL fullback role at one stage.

The club is clearly backing youth as its first priority, we've got some best young fullbacks in the game coming through in Rex, Mikey Nassar & Lachlan Dooner.

Saw Dooner in some training photos the other day, he is massive. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets a run on the wing potentially this year.

[BondiBob]

Busting to know what this "certain style of way" is and why May who is approaching the best years of his footy career wouldn't be able to adjust. After all, Robbo has had the biggest influence on Mays style.

So so strange!

I have said it many times Robinson should be a politician he has all the slick sounding phrases that mean absolutely nothing - love to know what “the Roosters way” is because it is not working. I think he is too comfortable

[Easts75]

No need to go external for a fullback - develop internally

Rex Bassingthwaighte will be in the Top 30 squad in 2026. One assumes he will be developed over the next two years as the possible heir apparent for the fullback role when Tedesco retires.

Not sure of the contract status of Ethan King being another player the club had earmarked for the NRL fullback role at one stage.

Ethan King.....fark me I though going into a season with Sandon Smith in the halves was bad, I think that would trump it