My take on O'Sullivan

[Guest]

recruitment isnt just about discovery its also about signing and retaining the right players which apart from releasing Tamou, I cant fault Osullivan at all so far. I agree with what Mack said as well and think also he needs to be given some time. He is experimenting big time on unearthing the next big thing by bringing across a couple of south africas brightest prospects and i think once players like williamson, moeakiola and blair hit first grade, our opinions of him will change.

Tamou was definitely a very big loss. O'Sullivan should have signed him for another two years but chose instead to sign Stanley Waqa. As talented as Waqa is, Tamou has come along in leaps and bounds and has started to cement a spot in the Cowboys line-up. In the NYC, Tamou was monstering blokes left, right and centre and has the uncanning ability to offload in any situation. O'Sullivan also needs time to weave his magic. He arrived at the club when the salary cap was full and he's slowly working on the roster that will be successful in the near future. I agree, once Williamson, Moeakiola, Blair, Boyd Cordner etc. debut and hit the NRL, joining fellow young guns like Jones, Symonds, Friend etc, O'Sullivan's input will finally show on the big stage.

[Guest]

Since O'Sullivan has signed, the only players I really regret losing are Tupou and Tamou, and to a lesser extent, Shillington and Winterstein.

Roberts was never going to stay. Shackleton was good, but deadset, some of the young forwards coming through are going to be far better - watch for Cordner and Warea-Hargreaves to rip it up. Like it was said before, Cordner was dominating U20's before getting injured, at the age of 17. Tupou and Shillington were good as gone the moment O'Meley and Mason were signed, believe me on that. Soliola had a case of the Hodges - he needs a change of scene to bring out the best in him, he just wasn't performing for us the way we needed him too. Winterstein is a loss, but if Blair, Williamson, Towers and Waqa turn out to be anywhere near as good as their potential indicates, it will be a distant memory.

Like I said before, we have re-signed a tremendous amount of youth already, as well as unearthing some more talented players we should look into re-signing, like Isaac Maliota (prop), Cheyse Blair (centre/fullback), Ethan Lowe (backrow), Fine Moeakiola (wing), Olireti Samuela (hooker) and Dane Cordner (prop/backrow). Whether Carney comes or not, we are setting ourselves up to be in a VERY good position in the coming years. However, a LOT of the responsibility will fall on Minichiello, Paea, Myles, Anasta, SKD and Perrett.

[Guest]

Since O'Sullivan has signed, the only players I really regret losing are Tupou and Tamou, and to a lesser extent, Shillington and Winterstein.

Roberts was never going to stay. Shackleton was good, but deadset, some of the young forwards coming through are going to be far better - watch for Cordner and Warea-Hargreaves to rip it up. Like it was said before, Cordner was dominating U20's before getting injured, at the age of 17. Tupou and Shillington were good as gone the moment O'Meley and Mason were signed, believe me on that. Soliola had a case of the Hodges - he needs a change of scene to bring out the best in him, he just wasn't performing for us the way we needed him too. Winterstein is a loss, but if Blair, Williamson, Towers and Waqa turn out to be anywhere near as good as their potential indicates, it will be a distant memory.

Like I said before, we have re-signed a tremendous amount of youth already, as well as unearthing some more talented players we should look into re-signing, like Isaac Maliota (prop), Cheyse Blair (centre/fullback), Ethan Lowe (backrow), Fine Moeakiola (wing), Olireti Samuela (hooker) and Dane Cordner (prop/backrow). Whether Carney comes or not, we are setting ourselves up to be in a VERY good position in the coming years. However, a LOT of the responsibility will fall on Minichiello, Paea, Myles, Anasta, SKD and Perrett.

Tamou was definitely a very big loss. O'Sullivan should have signed him for another two years but chose instead to sign Stanley Waqa. As talented as Waqa is, Tamou has come along in leaps and bounds and has started to cement a spot in the Cowboys line-up. In the NYC, Tamou was monstering blokes left, right and centre and has the uncanning ability to offload in any situation. O'Sullivan also needs time to weave his magic. He arrived at the club when the salary cap was full and he's slowly working on the roster that will be successful in the near future. I agree, once Williamson, Moeakiola, Blair, Boyd Cordner etc. debut and hit the NRL, joining fellow young guns like Jones, Symonds, Friend etc, O'Sullivan's input will finally show on the big stage.

Is it just me or is Mack and Footy the same person having a discussion with himself?

[Guest]

Since O'Sullivan has signed, the only players I really regret losing are Tupou and Tamou, and to a lesser extent, Shillington and Winterstein.

Roberts was never going to stay. Shackleton was good, but deadset, some of the young forwards coming through are going to be far better - watch for Cordner and Warea-Hargreaves to rip it up. Like it was said before, Cordner was dominating U20's before getting injured, at the age of 17. Tupou and Shillington were good as gone the moment O'Meley and Mason were signed, believe me on that. Soliola had a case of the Hodges - he needs a change of scene to bring out the best in him, he just wasn't performing for us the way we needed him too. Winterstein is a loss, but if Blair, Williamson, Towers and Waqa turn out to be anywhere near as good as their potential indicates, it will be a distant memory.

Like I said before, we have re-signed a tremendous amount of youth already, as well as unearthing some more talented players we should look into re-signing, like Isaac Maliota (prop), Cheyse Blair (centre/fullback), Ethan Lowe (backrow), Fine Moeakiola (wing), Olireti Samuela (hooker) and Dane Cordner (prop/backrow). Whether Carney comes or not, we are setting ourselves up to be in a VERY good position in the coming years. However, a LOT of the responsibility will fall on Minichiello, Paea, Myles, Anasta, SKD and Perrett.

Would be happy to have Carney on board but given a few decent centres and having fitzy out the way should make a huge difference for Pearce and Anasta. A top flight prop wouldn't hurt either.

[Guest]

I think Myles and Paea will make a top front row. Paea in form is just as good as any of the props going around at the moment, he always has slow starts to the season.

[Chookies74]

Cheyse Blair is another from the SG Ball I really rate. Tall, rangy type player who is a bit like SKD.

Unlike SKD, hopefully, because he's still young, someone can teach him how to hold onto the ball and fully commit with a shoulder in defence.

[Cockadoodledoo]

Unlike SKD, hopefully, because he's still young, someone can teach him how to hold onto the ball and fully commit with a shoulder in defence.

Blairs another with shocking hands.. Looks like a great athlete but has no idea about positional play, defense or ball handling.

[elo]

Blairs another with shocking hands.. Looks like a great athlete but has no idea about positional play, defense or ball handling.

and good luck developing any of those skills under the current Easts coaching hierarchy.

[Guest]

Like I said, Blair looks a LOT like SKD. Tall, lanky, fast, strong, but apart from being physically apt for the role, his general skills are somewhat lacking.

Towers, on the other hand, is very small, but his skill level is outstanding.

[Guest]

Is it just me or is Mack and Footy the same person having a discussion with himself?

Why bother to pretend to be two different people? Doesn't make any difference. We just seem to have the same opinions on plenty of things and both have a lot of interest in our up-and-coming players that we like to share with those that are interested in who is coming through at this club.

[Guest]

Unlike SKD, hopefully, because he's still young, someone can teach him how to hold onto the ball and fully commit with a shoulder in defence.

Blair has always played fullback and only recently made the move to the centres in this year's SG Ball. I guess being a fullback didn't really have to tackle much but now it's a different story. What do you guys think is his best position. IMO centre is where he should play. He can have a big presence on the fringes of the ruck with his big frame and if he continues to fill out.

[Chookies74]

Like I said, Blair looks a LOT like SKD. Tall, lanky, fast, strong, but apart from being physically apt for the role, his general skills are somewhat lacking.

Towers, on the other hand, is very small, but his skill level is outstanding.

The 'big athlete' has been a trend for a while, eg Matt King and esp since the Islander kids have hit the big time.
Personally, I feel that the game will go back to natural talent to get around/through these bigger players who are great athletes, but not great footballers.
eg Matt Giteau. He's a brilliant footballer, and during a game can get through any defensive line.

[Guest]

The 'big athlete' has been a trend for a while, eg Matt King and esp since the Islander kids have hit the big time.
Personally, I feel that the game will go back to natural talent to get around/through these bigger players who are great athletes, but not great footballers.
eg Matt Giteau. He's a brilliant footballer, and during a game can get through any defensive line.

I agree with you. The game is totally different to what it was a decade ago. The players these days are MASSIVE and the body-to-body contact is the biggest of any sport nowadays. Recruitment managers now include body frame when looking for players. Usually it was a 'what you see is what you get' approach. But now recruitment gurus such as O'Sullivan look at how they can develop the body of an athlete using the training programs they have in place.

[Guest]

The 'big athlete' has been a trend for a while, eg Matt King and esp since the Islander kids have hit the big time.
Personally, I feel that the game will go back to natural talent to get around/through these bigger players who are great athletes, but not great footballers.
eg Matt Giteau. He's a brilliant footballer, and during a game can get through any defensive line.

I don't think that comparing a fly-half to a centre is very reasonable. These days, if you are playing on the edge of the ruck, You need to be built like a second rower with a bit more speed and footwork.

If not, the player becomes a liability when defending the line and also, defending the bomb.

[Rocky Rhodes]

Didn't he also discover

Slater
Smith
Cronk
Johnson
White
Hoffman
King

POS obviously knows what he is doing
We just need to have patience

So what!!! Who give a Fig what he has done for Melbourne. Chris Anderson won a comp for Melbourne so maybe you want him back.

What he does here is all that matters and at the moments he is delivering us spooooonnnnnsssss.

Tansey - waste of time flop
Sonny Tuiga - epic flop
Sisa Waqa - flopping off balcony flop
Daniel Conn - Con job flop it out to any chic flop
Drunkard Carney - flop over and hit the pavement flop

POS is an epic flop. Everyone will more than half a brain knows we need a quality centre and yet he has failed to deliver. Anyone who thinks he has done a good job here at easts is clearly deluded.