only 18 fit players to choose from

[fletch]

there was some interesting comments from Smith in his after match press conference yesterday:

- he stated he only had 18-19 fit players to choose from, so its obvious in his mind none of the current NYC squad are being considered for first grade, which is a bit dissapointing as Ethan Lowe would surely be a better option than Koups at the moment.

- he mentioned salary cap restraints, so those hoping for mid season signings will be dissapointed, its a bit puzzling given the massive clean out we had at the end of last year and the disposal of Mason and the sacking of Friend, where did the extra $200k end up?

- he jokingly called for any hookers that are interested in playing for match payments to contact the club, obviously has no intention to rush Friend back and doesn't consider Jones an option even on the back of his encouraging performance in the All Star game. The injury to Jaubs is fairly serious and could see him gone for 2 months.

[Guest]

Besides Ethan Lowe, I don't think there is anyone else in NYC that deserves a chance.

I thought a couple of the Jets players might get a shot. Linnett and Towers have been playing well in the backs and Bateri looks good in the forwards.

If we have already hit our cap limit, we are going to be in trouble if we start getting some injuries in the backs. It will be tragic if blokes like Linnett can't get a run in firsts due to the fact we can't have their salaries count against the first grade salary cap.

Assuming their form this year continues, blokes like Myles, Pearce and Carney will be playing rep footy in some form. SKD and JWH will also be in contention for NZ. We will be scratching for players when these guys are out!

[Guest]

Lowe isn't ready. He has a great attitude and work ethic but i don't think he is physically ready for 1st grade.

Backs are easy to bring up, Forwards usually aren't up to it that early.

If you want to bring someone up instead of Koups, it should be Baiterri from Newtown.

[supermario]

i think this is a prefect example as to why we need a properly run Reserve Grade comp.

Under 20's are being touted as the next big thing, but most of them do not have the Physical and mental readyness for First grade.

[Guest]

i think this is a prefect example as to why we need a properly run Reserve Grade comp.

Under 20's are being touted as the next big thing, but most of them do not have the Physical and mental readyness for First grade.

Agreed. The NYC should be replaced with a full blooded reserve grade competition. No age barriers. If you aren't playing first grade, you are playing second grade. And second grade should run exactly as the NYC does. Ie. Played before each first grade game

Third grade should then be your NSW/QLD cups. Again with no age barriers

[Guest]

Agreed. The NYC should be replaced with a full blooded reserve grade competition. No age barriers. If you aren't playing first grade, you are playing second grade. And second grade should run exactly as the NYC does. Ie. Played before each first grade game

Third grade should then be your NSW/QLD cups. Again with no age barriers

I don't think the high profile NYC gets does the players any favours either. It just serves to pump up egos that are already inflated. Who can blame a kid for having and ego when he is 18, everyone tells him he is a future world beater and the games get such a high profile?

If a kid has real talent, before he gets to 1sts, he should be tested against grown men in reserves. Any problems in attitude or mental strength will usually be sorted out here.

[Guest]

I don't think the high profile NYC gets does the players any favours either. It just serves to pump up egos that are already inflated. Who can blame a kid for having and ego when he is 18, everyone tells him he is a future world beater and the games get such a high profile?

If a kid has real talent, before he gets to 1sts, he should be tested against grown men in reserves. Any problems in attitude or mental strength will usually be sorted out here.

Yeh visibility is an issue for youngsters. They get too much coverage these days. A proper reserve grade comp is the only way to go. Scrap the U20's altogether and bring in an all ages reserve grade competition. We would probably see less than half of the current U20's crop in a reserve grade team

[Guest]

there was some interesting comments from Smith in his after match press conference yesterday:

- he stated he only had 18-19 fit players to choose from, so its obvious in his mind none of the current NYC squad are being considered for first grade, which is a bit dissapointing as Ethan Lowe would surely be a better option than Koups at the moment.

- he mentioned salary cap restraints, so those hoping for mid season signings will be dissapointed, its a bit puzzling given the massive clean out we had at the end of last year and the disposal of Mason and the sacking of Friend, where did the extra $200k end up?

- he jokingly called for any hookers that are interested in playing for match payments to contact the club, obviously has no intention to rush Friend back and doesn't consider Jones an option even on the back of his encouraging performance in the All Star game. The injury to Jaubs is fairly serious and could see him gone for 2 months.

The comments relate to the top 25 and the second tier cap. Our salary cap is made up of the salaries of our nominated 25 squad members. These players may be playing in firsts, Jets or NYC. If we then bring players outside our 25 (from Jets or NYC) into the first grade team, there is then a second tier cap of something like $300k. Once we have used that then we are over the cap. Coaches don't generally like to go into the second tier cap in the first five weeks for obvious reasons!!

That's a pretty harsh injury toll though.

[Guest]

there was some interesting comments from Smith in his after match press conference yesterday:

- he stated he only had 18-19 fit players to choose from, so its obvious in his mind none of the current NYC squad are being considered for first grade, which is a bit dissapointing as Ethan Lowe would surely be a better option than Koups at the moment.

- he mentioned salary cap restraints, so those hoping for mid season signings will be dissapointed, its a bit puzzling given the massive clean out we had at the end of last year and the disposal of Mason and the sacking of Friend, where did the extra $200k end up?

- he jokingly called for any hookers that are interested in playing for match payments to contact the club, obviously has no intention to rush Friend back and doesn't consider Jones an option even on the back of his encouraging performance in the All Star game. The injury to Jaubs is fairly serious and could see him gone for 2 months.

If Ethan Lowe was going that good he should be playing for Newtown before the NRL. Young forwards need a bit of experience playing against men instead of kids in NYC. Dylan Sharp from what I have seen played at a similar level as Lowe in NYC last year and cannot crack the Newtown lineup this season.

[Cockadoodledoo]

If Ethan Lowe was going that good he should be playing for Newtown before the NRL. Young forwards need a bit of experience playing against men instead of kids in NYC. Dylan Sharp from what I have seen played at a similar level as Lowe in NYC last year and cannot crack the Newtown lineup this season.

Correct weight....

[morley101]

If Ethan Lowe was going that good he should be playing for Newtown before the NRL. Young forwards need a bit of experience playing against men instead of kids in NYC. Dylan Sharp from what I have seen played at a similar level as Lowe in NYC last year and cannot crack the Newtown lineup this season.

Dylan Sharp has retired...

[Guest]

Dylan Sharp has retired...

Yes but why did he retire?

[BUDDY]

The comments relate to the top 25 and the second tier cap. Our salary cap is made up of the salaries of our nominated 25 squad members. These players may be playing in firsts, Jets or NYC. If we then bring players outside our 25 (from Jets or NYC) into the first grade team, there is then a second tier cap of something like $300k. Once we have used that then we are over the cap. Coaches don't generally like to go into the second tier cap in the first five weeks for obvious reasons!!

That's a pretty harsh injury toll though.

Considering Smithy made this statement knowing JWH was ready, that leaves 6 or 7 players from our squad of 25 who aren't available through injury.

The ones I can think of are Cherri, Symonds and Jaubs. You can probably add Friend as he was in our top 25 at the start of the year. Cordner was probably not going to be used this year as I doubt Smithy is the kind of coach to throw a 17 year old in the deep end. So who are the other players missing from our top 25 that are not available?

[Kingbilly]

The comments relate to the top 25 and the second tier cap. Our salary cap is made up of the salaries of our nominated 25 squad members. These players may be playing in firsts, Jets or NYC. If we then bring players outside our 25 (from Jets or NYC) into the first grade team, there is then a second tier cap of something like $300k. Once we have used that then we are over the cap. Coaches don't generally like to go into the second tier cap in the first five weeks for obvious reasons!!

That's a pretty harsh injury toll though.

I see a nail, I see a hammer and a decent old whack, smack bang in the middle.