Nope, no room for him imo. He won’t get his preferred position of 5/8 over Burton. He won’t start over Preston or Kikau in the 2nd row.
However, if fit and focused. He could be worth the gamble in the lock role. We know Gus loves these type of “players who need to prove a point” signings.
I don’t even think he will last his contract there. Thought he would start alongside Collins but with the emergence of May and his suspension. He will fight for minutes with May, Whyte & E Butcher. Still would love him at the Dogs though.
Morrin would be good if he was surrounded by a better group of forwards. He has great footwork and tries his guts despite his size. I always wanted Kautoga to start the season because he was good in the trials and provides size compared to Morrin. Yes, you are right. Blessing in disguise.
Webster walked into a decent team and recruited well for his debut season.
CNK, Metcalf, Walker, Barnett, Nikoure and Ford. This season, RTS.
Johnson had a career season and their forward pack is immense. Even our “rejects” Montoya and DWZ were good last season. Most of the warriors squad would...
Kinda makes sense that Hughes is starting this week. Gus hyped him up all pre season and CC has barely given him playing time.
Keen to see how Kautoga goes in his debut. He is a big body and can play prop/edge.
I understand the shoutout but we need props more than a second rower. Would he play over Preston, Kikau or Curran when fit? Not sure if he can handle prop week in week out.
Morrin to be suspended for 2-3 games. He played well off the bench and was unlucky to not score. That drop ball and tackle was his worst 5 mins ever for us. He could be our Cotter.
Even the bunker thought it was fine. While the incident is unfortunate, you have to consider the variables: it was reckless and Mitchell’s history in foul play. I hope the referee’s in the game get demoted for weeks for the lack of care and unprofessionalism for player welfare throughout the game.
It felt like we were on top then Sutton decided to dictate the game to put Souths on top. Very questionable calls were made in the first half but had many chances to get back into the game in the second half.
You have to wonder why he isn’t the getting minutes. He was massively hyped in the pre season and looked decent in the trials. I don’t get CC’s forward rotations. Knight and Hughes played 14 mins each…
The Titans win gave us a false sense of security imo. We should always look to be improving not being content with mediocrity. Even our NSW cup side would beat them that day.
Hutchinson is not the answer, he kills momentum because his agility and speed is nonexistent. I rather try Sexton there...
It was against a poor opposition. We cannot we content with yesterday’s performance. We should always look to improve despite winning. JAC should be able next week and I’ll play Tracey at FB.
I understand the notion training hard and get rewarded for your efforts. However, that mentality has not worked for CC. He persisted with Perham and there is a possibility he may do the same with Salmon, Hutch and Taaffe.
Idk if this is true but the Talking League podcast said, Tracey came here to play fb. Seeing Xerri is 18th man. There might be possibility of a late switch with Taaffe. I can’t see it happening so soon as Tracey has had no preseason.
I understand the appeal of a ball playing fullback. I can see why CC has tried to find his Edwards/Walsh type of fullback. He tried it players who were former halves (Averillo, Taaffe and Perham).
Taaffe’s confidence has been shot since the Sharks trial. He made some errors in attack in the...
After today we need changes to be competitive. I understand we barely had the ball and looked gassed because of defence.
Taaffe > Tracey (if fit)
JAC > Xerri (Injury forced)
Hutch > Sexton (His combo with Burton was developing nicely).
Curran over Salmon
Kitone > Morrin (his size and energy...
Taaffe, Salmon, Poasa, Wilson, Hutchinson are all reserve grade standard players. We won’t get anywhere with them starting. However, our high paid players aren’t doing great either.
I wouldn’t even play him as a first resort. After last night, I rather try other options there. I wish Tracey was fit. We are slowly improving but I feel CC rewards players based on effort in training than talent.
Bro, I think it is being in denial and not being objective about our team. Yes, our defence improved in effort errors but we were still getting steamrolled by the big boys. If we stick with the same team last night. We are in for a long season.
I think he makes errors that kills momentum. Two dropped balls and gets dominated in defence. You are right, we don’t know how to use him or he doesn’t get involved much.
Bro, he didn’t even shine in a stacked team at the rabbits. I think we signed him after that one game lol. I think he is too small for fullback and gets dominated when carrying the ball. It’s like playing JAC there lol.
Besides that one break, I have not been impressed. I think Taaffe will be the new Perham. We need to try Tracey back there once fit. Curran has been great since coming on.
100% on this bro. We took the punt on making Mahoney & Burton captain.We thought this would elevate and bring them to the next level. Unfortunately it didn’t.
The pressure of not being captain on Mahoney and Burton should help them focus on their form. I can see why we made this move. Making Crichton captain before playing a game speaks volumes of his leadership or a risky gamble.
We tried it with Jackson, Edwards and F Brown over the past few seasons. Curran would not be leaving a top 4 team to play bench for team that is bottom half of the table.
You are right, it appears he was welcomed back to training after the talk with Gus. However, Ciraldo probably would never pick him and it was mutual agreement to release him. Hope we aren’t paying any freight.
I don’t care for TPJ but this is not good look for the NRL. “A player suddenly retires and returns on a lower salary to another club”. It sets a dangerous precedent. At worst, he would have to sit out his contract length.
It’s a matter of playing time. Cowboys have a ton of good young forwards and his minutes/role will diminish year by year. Even if the cowboys chip in like 500k, they can use the extra to top up/extend the likes of Neame and Finefeuiaki.
This is true but their pack is stacked and I’m holding to hope he wants to be a consistent starter.
Their pack consists of Collins, JWH, Leniu, Wong, Butcher bros, Stili, Whyte and Crichton. If thy didn’t sign Leniu, I could see him staying.
I’m not against Gus and think he is doing his job well in pathways but we need to look at him objectively when it comes to recruiting for the first team.
This sounds like the ideal scenario as Warriors have a solid option.
You have consider AFB’s options, get similar money for the following.
Bottom tier teams: Dragons, Tigers & Bulldogs or a top 4 contender: Sharks.
Not buying the narrative Gus has something up his sleeve. AFB was available and he would have been a good pickup until our juniors were ready. I’m not saying paying whatever it takes but at least make an offer. I would if AFB and his management left a bad impression for us to walk away?
I agree, Gus has repeatedly said good halfbacks aren't available right now and we would try to breed our own. I can see stop gap solutions like Sexton, Hutchinson or Tracey play until one of our juniors are ready.
We picked up a solid first grader and swapped him for a junior with potential. Good business and we have depth in the backline and halves now. Just need a mid now..
If he is available, yes. I rather play Klemmer than Knight up front. Solid starting side but not sure on the bench.
King
Mahoney
Klemmer
Kikau
Preston
Curran
Hutchinson
Knight
Mann
Salmon
Listened to a podcast the other day (Talking League). They mentioned the Sharks have some talented juniors in their ranks (Iro & Dykes) so they are ok with letting him go. It was also mentioned, Tracey may not make the 17 most weeks unless Talakai moves to the forwards.
That is good to know! I want a decent fullback, and I am hoping this gamble pays off. As @bradyk said, he would be a great option at centre if all things fail.
I love the Crichton signing, but I think we would play him at FB to justify his salary. We know he is a freak of an athlete and his best position is centre, but he was a solid backup at FB when Edwards was out. It could be similar to the Bmoz experiment.
It's a good signing, but where would you play him? He does provide excellent cover in the backs/halves. We are finally building adequate depth to have a competitive 17. There's a possibility that Xerri might not be ready after being out of the game for so long.
Tracey
Kiraz
Crichton
Xerri
JAC
Fair enough that we knocked him back due to a failed medical. I wanted him because the options were very limited in the market and his experience might have been handy. Hoping we are chasing JT and AFB hard.
I hope the lure of a starting berth and a potential forward leader is enough to tempt him. JWH and Collins are mostly starting and Leniu not far behind.
You have to consider a few scenarios here.
1. This has gone public to push RFM to severe his contract with us. It’s definitely a ploy I have seen in the EPL (Sancho at Man United). We are trying to push the narrative that we are cut throat club. RFM is made the scrapegoat for the training...
This makes sense as they have a stack of forwards and JT minutes/role has changed over the past few years. With the emergence of Cotter & Neame they will be ok. We could even tempt them and offer to take 50% of his salary.