I disagree. Tracy was a regular NRL player and was making a difference on the field to the Sharks attack. Mann was a regular first grader and often starting in the back row. Turpin became a regular backup hooker at the Roosters and made a difference when he came on. Same with Hutchison who ended up playing just about every game in one position or another.
Taaffe is OK and I see him as young potential talent that we can develop but may play a role in top grade as well similar to what Souths did. He will probably lead our NSW side and develop into a good fullback or half when needed. It will certainly make a reserves stronger which is good. Whenever the Dogs dominate their reserves have always been strong as well.
I think the 'too many options problem' is a good problem to have and I think potentially our backline is strong and not all over the place. Having Crita, Fox, Kiraz, Xerri and Tracy in the backline seems as good as most sides. Tracy often played centre and added some unpredictability.
I agree our mids have a ? but as Gus said there were not many options on the market. What can you do but then concentrate on our existing mids. But the team is not just about the mids but how the entire team has been transformed from what it was in the last few years and I think the second year of CCs higher standards and filtering out those who are not invested will make a difference as time goes by.
This is a 5 year plan not a 2 year plan. The board wanted immediate results and Gus wants to develop talent. Trying to please both sides seems hard to do. But I can understand getting some experienced and committed players to mentor youth is a good idea as it brings them into play faster but also plugs some glaring holes we had in the meantime which may make some difference in whether we lose or win some games.
Really I think we are only one or two good mids from a top 8 side.
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