We'll need a new five-eighth.

[Lydon]

How do you work that out when both are earmarked as number 7's - one will leave

Sammy can play 6..

[Roosterfarian]

Can he kick further than 35metres? Seriously, has he got a decent long kicking game or one that can develop.

You didn’t see his kicks in the second half of that trial game Niccy mun? It was probably the highlight of the whole game.

[HunchoRooster]

I think we are being harsh on Sandon. The kid is a homegrown talent and has played less than 30 first grade games, nearly all of those games has been as a utility or out of his natural position. He needs time to develop his confidence and his style of play. The talent is there.

I don't think he is anywhere near being our biggest issue. Townsend was signed for gods knows what reason. According to many of the brains trust on here it was to be a serviceable cover capable of guiding the team around the park and managing the game well with his kicks. He can't do that anymore and wasn't that good at doing it in his prime. Sandon should be judged how he plays with Sammy W as the 7, with a more dominant creative player.

The forwards have been poor for a while, from the back end of last year and the start of these trials. Most 6's would struggle to do anything behind these pack performances. It's an unenviable task coming in replacing a 3 time premiership winning 5/8, especially when the team is in the position its currently in.

He needs to play more games and weed out errors in his game that comes with being a rookie half and find his feet. If we are having this conversation in 2 seasons time and our forwards are firing but our 6 can't ice his plays, then we can be a bit more cut throat with it.

[Headless Chook]

That was the best game Granville has played! He was immense and played out of his skin however Thurston won CC Medal and rightly so imo. He delivered when the stakes were high!

Points

3. Thurston
2. Granville
1. Morgan and Scott.

Did he really deliver? Other than the field goal what exactly did he do? It was Morgan who delivered when the stakes were at their highest

[Rooster_6]

Of course there is a succession plan as why bother with Academies and Junior Reps and or for that matter Senior Reps then if there is no plan to develop players to NRL standard in a succession plan scenario - just recycle and sign players cut by other NRL or EPL Clubs Instead.

You're just flat out being dishonest now, you've completely removed all context from your original point, yes pathways are inherently succession plans but I was responding to your claim that the Roosters wouldn't start developing young fullbacks because Tedesco was signed as a 10yr player.

[Rooster_6]

I am not necessarily pointing the finger at you, just the Chookpen as a collective. We need a 5/8 who is ready to play First Grade at a high level now. Not a guy who is 18 years of age. I feel like the powers that be at our club have been asleep for the past few years.

See I think we can't afford to not give this 18yo kid a path to first grade. Letting him go to pay Brown or Galvin a million dollars is very short sighted and reality is neither of the two I mentioned turn us into a premiership contender so why not show some patience, save some money and enjoy watching players we actually developed instead of trying to take a shortcut to success.

[roosterproud]

halves perform better when the grunts set the platform. We don't have a platform. our first three set plays are winger and centre runs, one off the ruck 5hit. a second row or forward for tackle four with hopefully an offload then a kick straight to the fullback or winger zzzzzzzz

[HunchoRooster]

See I think we can't afford to not give this 18yo kid a path to first grade. Letting him go to pay Brown or Galvin a million dollars is very short sighted and reality is neither of the two I mentioned turn us into a premiership contender so why not show some patience, save some money and enjoy watching players we actually developed instead of trying to take a shortcut to success.

Good point, most of our premiership winning sides or really strong sides of the past have been built largely off homegrown talent or players brought in on the cheap. Which is contrary to the popular narrative.

What we have done so well with recruitment, particularly under Robbo, is get that supplementary boost that is almost like the missing ingredient or finishing touch on a project. We spent big on Cronk because we had all the tools and lacked the organisational voice on the pitch. We gained Teddy to fill the void left by Mini but Teddy walked into a backline of homegrown stars like Tupou, Manu and Latrell.

SBW was an xfactor signing. We already had a strong young team coming through and that added presence did us the world of good as it turned out.

To me, signing a huge propsect like Galvin or an established name like Brown for huge money wouldn't be conducive to our usual strategy of the past decade. Tying up unproven players on long term big money deals almost with the expectation that they'll lift our team up and play their best footy with us is not a Roosters thing to do. We see so many other also-ran clubs do it and we shouldn't be sucked into it. Truth is, our window is slammed shut for the foreseeable future and we should grin and bear the results whilst the new crop of youngsters come through. I don't know if we have the right coach to get the best out of them but that remains to be seen. Buying big in the halves whilst there are obvious gaps everywhere in the squad would be a mistake.

[Bates]

Did he really deliver? Other than the field goal what exactly did he do? It was Morgan who delivered when the stakes were at their highest

I recommend you watch the game again. I thought the Broncos were going to run away with it at one stage.

Thurston's captaincy was exceptional! He kept his team calm and playing within their system. They didn't panic, he never overplayed his hand when they were behind and kept his team within reach. He also played his part in the last try which locked the scores up.

Then there was the golden point field goal to win his and the Cowboys 1st Premiership. You also need to factor in Bennett's game plan to limit his time and space which he adjust too.

[Rooster_Mark]

See I think we can't afford to not give this 18yo kid a path to first grade. Letting him go to pay Brown or Galvin a million dollars is very short sighted and reality is neither of the two I mentioned turn us into a premiership contender so why not show some patience, save some money and enjoy watching players we actually developed instead of trying to take a shortcut to success.

I was adamant last season that the club should have signed Ben Hunt for 2 seasons, which would have given us a halve with a long kicking game and some experience needed to cope with the loss of Keary, whilst waiting for the younger halves to grow. I think both Brown and Galvin are massively overrated and don't want either at the club tbh. I find it truly bizarre that we gave Townsend $300K, when it looked to me that he was too slow for NRL and should have retired.

I also want Rodwell to have a future at the club, however I can't remember the Storm letting go a bunch of experienced players and replacing them with no one and hoping some kids can step up in the future. It is also clear to me that May was let go for salary cap reasons, as we decided to upgrade Spencer from $500K to $850K, based on a few hitups against the Dragons. I am pretty sure no one was looking to sign him from us, but it was more to make a statement that the club was behind Spence, after his long suspension at the start of the year. Making emotional decisions on contract signings, instead of pragmatic ones never works out.

[HunchoRooster]

I was adamant last season that the club should have signed Ben Hunt for 2 seasons, which would have given us a halve with a long kicking game and some experience needed to cope with the loss of Keary, whilst waiting for the younger halves to grow. I think both Brown and Galvin are massively overrated and don't want either at the club tbh. I find it truly bizarre that we gave Townsend $300K, when it looked to me that he was too slow for NRL and should have retired.

I also want Rodwell to have a future at the club, however I can't remember the Storm letting go a bunch of experienced players and replacing them with no one and hoping some kids can step up in the future. It is also clear to me that May was let go for salary cap reasons, as we decided to upgrade Spencer from $500K to $850K, based on a few hitups against the Dragons. I am pretty sure no one was looking to sign him from us, but it was more to make a statement that the club was behind Spence, after his long suspension at the start of the year. Making emotional decisions on contract signings, instead of pragmatic ones never works out.

Really good analysis there mate. I tend to agree with all that. I wouldn't quite say Galvin is overrated, I think he'll be a world class long term half in the NRL. However signing him tomorrow would do farrk all for our situation. He is still a few years off it and developing. Paying any more than 500k for him is purely based off his potential and not the actual output you'll get from him in the next few years. Agree with Brown though. He seems like a bloke who'd be happy to scoop up 1mil a season and play for a struggling side as long as he was the main man making $$.

Hunt would've been the perfect veteran signing to come in and keep us ticking as a threat. The difference between Hunt and Townsend is that Hunt is actually still a good footy player.

The Spencer upgrade was absolutely bewildering. i like him as a player but hed effectively played 5 games for us before he was given a monster upgrade when he wasn't even able to negotiate with other clubs until end of 2025. Strange one.

[Bates]

Spencer's original deal with us was for only 2 years. He had a break out 2024 SOO series which started all the hype from Gould and Co.

By November 1 2024 he would've been free to start negotiating with other clubs so we upgraded his contract and locked him down until the end of the 2027 season.

[Headless Chook]

I recommend you watch the game again. I thought the Broncos were going to run away with it at one stage.

Thurston's captaincy was exceptional! He kept his team calm and playing within their system. They didn't panic, he never overplayed his hand when they were behind and kept his team within reach. He also played his part in the last try which locked the scores up.

Then there was the golden point field goal to win his and the Cowboys 1st Premiership. You also need to factor in Bennett's game plan to limit his time and space which he adjust too.

Yeah I don't need to watch it again. We're all allowed our own views and we'll agree to disagree on this one

[Mickie Lane]

Sorry but Sandon Smith doesn't have what it takes to help us win a comp. There's no spark, no nous and zero confidence. He's a nice lad but I can't see him being our long term 6.

Just say the Chooks got Munster or Dearden this year do you think we can win the comp?
The front row position is a bigger worry than 5/8 IMO

[GrubBER]

Why Not Adam Douhie, big boday running 5/8 with a big boot & A1 goal kicker. Won’t need to break the bank & most probably would ask for a release from the tigers because he’ll most probably be a centre or on the bench.

It’s not my first option but realistically it could happen for this year.

my first options would probably be,

Burton Galvin or Munster. Ones coming of age, the other is young & full of potential & Munster would bring experience