Graham a Rooster

[Guest]

Ciraldo is another average, average player.

Should have gone after Houston, may drop the odd ball and give away a few penalties, but always makes a tonne of tackles, plenty of hard yards too, and has some mongrel about him. Still very young also, but now has 3 years experience under his belt, and comes off contract next season. Would slot straight in where Fitzgibbon left off:

Myles
Friend
Paea
Mason
Houston
M Aubs/Anasta

[Guest]

who is this cameron ciraldo????

[Guest]

good signing imo. He along with penrith's michael gordon would be two great pickups that would give our backline some much needed speed. When we let mini go eventually id be replacing him with gordon straight away. I think these 2 have had a few injuries in their careers that has hampered their progress but they both offer no more in the point scoring and speed stakes than any other players, give a bit of experience both being mid-late 20s and have clean off-field records. These are the sorts of signings we need to be making. In terms of the make-up of the team, im lead to believe that cam ciraldo of newcastle will be on his way announced in the next couple of weeks which is another smart little signing imo by the club.

on the where graham should play debate, i say wing. Id rather see pez in the centres and graham on the wing than vice versa. He is defensively very good and has proven himself a really great finisher.

In terms of my side for next year, I really hope that we pickup ryles, ciraldo with graham and carney already unofficially confirmed. As I have already put forward and will do so in the future the team off the exact roster, heres my side including the players that we are strongly linked with/likely to get:
1. Carney
2. Graham
3. Perrett
4. Williamson/Linnett (reliant on pre-season form)
5. Miniciello
6. Anasta
7. Pearce
8. FPN
9. Friend
10. Ryles
11. Myles
12. Ciraldo/Conn
13. Maubs

14. Paea
15. Mason
16. Cherrington/Symonds (dependent on form)
17. Jones

I like the balance and look of this side. The first question that will be thrown at this side is carney at fullback. imo, anasta does not have the workrate and capabilities to play lock forward and is too slow for centre or I dare say fullback. His only position is 5/8 and I think he does a good job here. The idea of carney at fullback initially hit me with a great deal of suprise and I thought it would be a really poor decision. Having thought about it again, I think it could be crazy enough to work. Firstly, Carney has the speed and ability to break the line and support in attack that is characteristic of the best fullbacks going around so in terms of his natural game, I think it would work perfectly. It would also serve as a good way to slowly reintroduce him to first grade and proffessional footy giving him this sort of free role. Secondly, it is probably a real possibility as Smith has done a similar thing with Gidley turning a half into a fullback which has worked wonders. Personally, I dont think it should be a permanent move as once anasta retires, carney at 5/8 would be a great option however if it works out, considering we have one of the best young halves in the game (miller) coming through, this would allow us to accomodate pearce and miller in the halves as well as carney from fullback.

The argument regarding perrett in the back three I agree with as if carney plays 5/8 then perrett should be fullback imo however I would prefer him in the centres instead of graham as it wasnt that long ago that this bloke struggled far more than skd under the high ball and positionally on the wing. I thought he did really well as a centre in attack last time he played there as he has really good ball skills, can break tackles easily, good acceleration off the mark and hits holes really really well. Graham has that extra yard of pace, is defensively more capable on the wing and is arguably a better finisher than pez so that seems the best fit. If he can work on his one-on-one defence in the offseason, he will be a force to be reckoned with in the centres.

The pack I think has a nice balance to it. Mason on the bench adds that extra experience from the interchange and impact as well that might see him get back to his damaging best. I think as others have argued, myles works well in the backrow playing as almost a third prop except having the freedom to run a bit wider and therefore being able to shoulder a larger defensive workload as his role isnt primarily hit-ups anymore. Ryles would be a good pick-up in the experience stakes. Macks stats highlight not only the strong workrate of this bloke but what mack left out was his offload and linebreak assist stats. We are talking about a bloke that was the best prop in the game a few years ago. If we dont get him Id be inclined to go after clinton from the broncos who is also being shopped around for similar reasons and experience/hardness up front. I think FPN has come a long way in 2009 and has proven himself an exceptional starter with great ball skills and footwork at the line, a willingness to learn and a bit of mongrel. Maubs at lock is key. Would add some speed and skill from his days as a back but most importantly will serve to shoulder the workload left by fitzy. The other backrow spot therefore is left to be fought out by ciraldo and conn. Both now early 20s, have had injuries hamper their progression but no one doubts their abilities. Both have good workrates in defence and can play decent minutes. There is a lot of jeremy smith about conn including the fact that they both seem to be developing late and ciraldo is prior esc in the way he goes about his business which could be a handy sort of thing to have in the backrow.

All in all I think that is a well balanced side with a good mixture of youth and experience across the park. A bit experimentative but I think it needs to be and at least spark a little discussion

I like what you're saying about Carney at fullback and I think it just might work as crazy as it sounds. In analysing his game, he is a dangerous ball runner with a good kicking and passing game. But the only problem I can see with this positional change is his ability under the high ball and his field positioning. The best general kickers in the game like Jamie Soward would have a field day kicking into corners and taking advantage of his inexperience. Also I've changed my thoughts on Graham at centre and I'd rather Perrett there because he was impressive on Sunday. I'd like to see the following team start the season off.

1. Anthony Minichiello
2. Phil Graham
3. Mitch Aubusson
4. Sam Perrett
5. Fine Moeakiola
6. Todd Carney
7. Mitchell Pearce
8. Frank Paul-Nuusuala
9. Jake Friend
10. Nate Myles
11. Willie Mason
12. Tom Symonds
13. Braith Anasta (c)

14. Lopini Paea
15. Anthony Cherrington
16. Jared Wearea-Hargreaves
17. James Aubusson

That's a really good team IMO. I was tossing up between Tom Symonds and Daniel Conn for the other backrow starting position but chose Symonds because he offers the team a bit more in attack with his wide running game and he also has a high workrate. Lopini Paea is on the bench because I think he offers much more to the team as an impact player than a starter. I don't know about Anasta at lock but he's got nowhere else to play. I wasn't sure who to put in the 5 jersey because there are a few vying for that spot but I gave it to young Moeakiola just for the fact that he seems to fit what we need from our wingers at the moment (size, speed and workrate). Earl had his chance this year and I think if he keeps up his form, he can be back up there next season. Towers IMO is a fullback and I'm not too sure how much speed Williamson has to be able to play wing, although if he is pretty quick, it's a toss up between him and Moeakiola. SKD needs to play Newtown IMO for a wake up call. To continually pick him in the side when he plays like he is currently tells him that he is playing well enough to play first grade when in fact that is not the case. I'm not saying put the kid in Newtown until his contract expires but let him work on things and than bring him back up when he does this. Smith should be looking for an attitude change from SKD. Look what happened against Newcastle. The bench spells out explosiveness and impact. They are all impact players who I think can pick up the intensity midway through halves when the other teams tire. We seemed to lack a killer punch when we were leading games and couldn't shut it out because our intensity never picked up when it had to. Cherrington and Wearea-Hargreaves will be a devastating 1-2 combo from the bench with their aggressiveness. I put James Aubusson on the bench because he is a specialist hooker and we need one for Jake Friend to have a break. But if Jake Friend can play 80 minutes week in week out, bring Ben Jones onto the interchange bench as a utility instead of Aubusson as we need Friend to play 80 minutes he is that important to our side.

[Guest]

Phil Graham most likely not going to come to Roosters just heard it on NRL News but we might be getting Cameron Ciraldo.

Bro... The guy who made the thread said that he asked Phil himself and he said yes so wtf r u on?

[Horry]

Not Phil but Peter O.

[Guest]

Well? Horry, is it gonna happen or not?

[elo]

Well something sure must have changed (Brian Smith/Sa sacked?) as he openly said on ABC the deal with us had fallen through and no other NRL clubs were interested so he was looking at England.

A solid signing if it goes through, he has speed to burn and plenty of experience.....better than the current duds.

[Guest]

Ffs. has he signed or not? so confussed...

[Guest]

He is a good signing and hopefully wasn't too pricey.

I just want SA gone!

[Guest]

Horry is making up alot of ****ing shit. I just watched news and he said he is going to England. **** off horry.

[Guest]

So tell us. Is it bs or not? Horry?? Hello....

[supermario]

Horry is making up alot of ****ing shit. I just watched news and he said he is going to England. **** off horry.

Dude seriously, you have no idea.

i can tell you now that Horry is not making up shit, what he has been told has also been told to me by club officials.

[Guest]

Well. I don't know anymore, if i'm wrong Sorry Hoory. Just angry coz i don't lik been told sh*t. So either **** u Horry or **** you tv

Also may i ask who told you?? POS?

[supermario]

Well. I don't know anymore, if i'm wrong Sorry Hoory. Just angry coz i don't lik been told sh*t. So either **** u Horry or **** you tv

Also may i ask who told you?? POS?

Look, what horry told you is what POS told him, thats the same information i got from people in the head office.

they are obviously wanting to chase graham so all it is now is a waiting game to see if he signs or not.

[Guest]

Look, what horry told you is what POS told him, thats the same information i got from people in the head office.

they are obviously wanting to chase graham so all it is now is a waiting game to see if he signs or not.

Oh i see. Thanks for clearing that up.