Sam Verrills yesterday

[The Brain]

A lot of assumptions that Verrills will stay.

That being the case and hoping it is what do we do with Watto and Hutch?

I can't see Verrills and one of these on the bench. We have surplus keeping all three plus Smith in our top 30 so I think one of them would be released.

I can because he has brains

[The Brain]

My main concern with Smith is he’s a bit of a loose cannon. I hope that doesn’t hurt us.

wouldnt change him plays his guts out..see rads...

[NorfolkStreetKid]

I like Verrils....................but Smith is a much better player.

He may be more potent in attack, but nowhere near as good as Verrills at dummy half or in defence. I don't like Smith and I reckon he will prove to be a dud buy for us. Time will tell.

[ARD]

He may be more potent in attack, but nowhere near as good as Verrills at dummy half or in defence. I don't like Smith and I reckon he will prove to be a dud buy for us. Time will tell.

I’d take Smith defending the middle, contact and line speed, every day of the week over Verrills - who’s effort and courage I don’t question but he’s not close to Cheese IMO.

[ARD]

A lot of assumptions that Verrills will stay.

That being the case and hoping it is what do we do with Watto and Hutch?

I can't see Verrills and one of these on the bench. We have surplus keeping all three plus Smith in our top 30 so I think one of them would be released.

Hutch offloaded or playing bears until we lose another 5 players to ACL and/ or Concussion.

[Rooster_6]

A lot of assumptions that Verrills will stay.

That being the case and hoping it is what do we do with Watto and Hutch?

I can't see Verrills and one of these on the bench. We have surplus keeping all three plus Smith in our top 30 so I think one of them would be released.

Sam Verrills has come out publicly and dismissed rumours he would leave and said he will be staying on next year and he’s not off contract until 2025.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable at this point to assume that he’ll be here next year.

[BraveTheWorld]

Comparing Smith and Verrills is apples and oranges, and who is "better" probably just depends on how the game is being officiated at the time, what the most optimal way to play is, and what type of team they're playing in. Some teams might prefer Smiths' bulldoging style, and to others, Verrills may be more valuable.

I'd really, really like to have both in our team. I've rated Verrills extremely highly since 2019. Remember that there was serious discussion prior to the '19 GF that we simply couldn't drop Verrills for a returning Friend.

Personally I'd like to see:
Smith 0-30 Mins
Verrills 30-80 mins
Smith on the bench from 30-55/60 mins
Smith back on at lock or wherever from 55-80 mins

We'll see what happens, but it's going to be exciting.

[eddie]

Personally I'd like to see:
Smith 0-30 Mins
Verrills 30-80 mins
Smith on the bench from 30-55/60 mins
Smith back on at lock or wherever from 55-80 mins

Sounds like a good plan.
We know Robbo likes having a dummy half on the bench.

[Inflictor]

Sam Verrills has come out publicly and dismissed rumours he would leave and said he will be staying on next year and he’s not off contract until 2025.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable at this point to assume that he’ll be here next year.

I have always loved Sammy and hope he stays. A combo of Smith and Verrills is probably the best dummy half rotation in the comp.

But I wouldn't put too much in a player saying he wants to stay. The club will have something to say if it feels they need to release him.

There are plenty of rumours that the Eels and Dolphins are sniffing around and remember Pearce also wanted to stay until he didn't.

My point being that I doubt we will keep Smith, Verrills, Watson and Hutch in our Top 30. Smith is signed. Verrills is signed until 2024. Watson and Hutch are signed until 2023.

We will have a surplus next year. I can't see us having Smith start and Verrill/Watson or Verrills/Hutch on the bench. To me something has to give. Personally I would get rid of Watson as I think Hutch adds more value in more positions. But I doubt that will happen.

[Johnny Brass]

I have always loved Sammy and hope he stays. A combo of Smith and Verrills is probably the best dummy half rotation in the comp.

But I wouldn't put too much in a player saying he wants to stay. The club will have something to say if it feels they need to release him.

There are plenty of rumours that the Eels and Dolphins are sniffing around and remember Pearce also wanted to stay until he didn't.

My point being that I doubt we will keep Smith, Verrills, Watson and Hutch in our Top 30. Smith is signed. Verrills is signed until 2024. Watson and Hutch are signed until 2023.

We will have a surplus next year. I can't see us having Smith start and Verrill/Watson or Verrills/Hutch on the bench. To me something has to give. Personally I would get rid of Watson as I think Hutch adds more value in more positions. But I doubt that will happen.

Watson has started to shine coming on in the middle in the role we bought him for, we don't have the power forwards and Cronks boot to play the way we did before when we had premiership success.
I was pushing to give Manu a run at 5/8 last year when Keary was out and we have looked so much more dangerous when he played there this year.
Toups and Suaalii are the best two yardage wingers behind To'o in the game and start our sets off , why not try something different from every other team in the comp and go with smaller agile players around the ruck with footwork as we have some of the best in the game with Teddy,Joey and Walker.
Trying to match Penrith set for set with Cleary's boot won't work in the long run and our forwards aren't as good as the other top sides anymore.
Smith and Verrils from dummy half could both be dangerous in that scenario.

[Kelby]

He may be more potent in attack, but nowhere near as good as Verrills at dummy half or in defence. I don't like Smith and I reckon he will prove to be a dud buy for us. Time will tell.

Prophet of doom.......................

[The Axe]

There is room for both players.
i can see radley being used as second row to rotate verrills/smith and keep smith on field for more minutes.
perhaps Robbo will soon experiment with sitili out for year.

regardless injuries will play a part in keeping both players

[redwhiteblue]

Sam Verrills has come out publicly and dismissed rumours he would leave and said he will be staying on next year and he’s not off contract until 2025.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable at this point to assume that he’ll be here next year.

Thank goodness..he's really one of my favourites