Desperate bulldogs to scour the globe for talent

B-Train

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I wasn’t there with him mate. You?
Haha. I wish I was so i could see what was going on during these top secret missions to England!

You guys don't care that he went there twice and nothing appears to have come from it?

I've been wanting us to make more English signings for years, especially seeing how great Graham was and what a club legend he became.

If we don't end up signing anyone from the ESL in the next year then I'd say the trips were a waste of time and money.
 

Natboy

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Haha. I wish I was so i could see what was going on during these top secret missions to England!

You guys don't care that he went there twice and nothing appears to have come from it?

I've been wanting us to make more English signings for years, especially seeing how great Graham was and what a club legend he became.

If we don't end up signing anyone from the ESL in the next year then I'd say the trips were a waste of time and money.
Just remember mate that speculation is about a bloke under contract and a coach we’d have IF we wanted him. Wait and see
 

B-Train

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Must've been - knows all the details!
(Oh - apart from the fact we were never chasing Holbrook).
For a bloke with such a bad track record, Hill has just been appointed to the board of Touch Football Australia - clearly they think he's ineffective too.
Touch Football Australia Dinkum Dog? Really?

Raelene was one of the most inept CEO's the NRL has ever seen and she landed the job as head of the ARU!

Greenberg was the head of Stadium Australia, Canterbury and now the NRL and look at the damage he's doing to the code!
 

B-Train

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Just remember mate that speculation is about a bloke under contract and a coach we’d have IF we wanted him. Wait and see
Of course... That's all we can do. Wait and hope. Hopefully soon our patience is rewarded. But I think it would be near negligent of the club to not sign some of the best talent from the ESL when we have so much cap space and expiring deals.

The increasing influence of English players in the NRL and Canberra's success have proven that this is the best generation of English players since the 70's and 80's. We'd be mad not to try and get another Jonathan Davies, Garry Connelly or James Graham to club.

But I don't think it's unfair to speculate on Hill's voyage overseas when that scrutiny comes with the role of CEO and we haven't yet signed anyone from the ESL in the several months since those trips...
 

Natboy

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Of course... That's all we can do. Wait and hope. Hopefully soon our patience is rewarded. But I think it would be near negligent of the club to not sign some of the best talent from the ESL when we have so much cap space and expiring deals.

The increasing influence of English players in the NRL and Canberra's success have proven that this is the best generation of English players since the 70's and 80's. We'd be mad not to try and get another Jonathan Davies, Garry Connelly or James Graham to club.

But I don't think it's unfair to speculate on Hill's voyage overseas when that scrutiny comes with the role of CEO and we haven't yet signed anyone from the ESL in the several months since those trips...
True but media scrutiny with absolutely no proof. It’s good your patient. You’re in rare company here mate haha
 

DinkumDog

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Touch Football Australia Dinkum Dog? Really?

Raelene was one of the most inept CEO's the NRL has ever seen and she landed the job as head of the ARU!

Greenberg was the head of Stadium Australia, Canterbury and now the NRL and look at the damage he's doing to the code!
Yes, really.
The point is, so many people criticise the current administrators as being useless, yet other bodies are willing to hire them. Lynne is CEO of the Australian Paralympic Committee.
So they are obviously not useless. I'm not talking about prestige necessarily, I'm talking about the fact that they are not stupid or ineffective as so many on here charge.

Raelene I agree with, cannot explain how she got RA job and the results are clear to see - another disaster.
Greenberg I don't think is a dope by any stretch. I'd love to see so many of his critics have a go at his job for a week with the politics and poison surrounding you. Most would sink very quickly.
 

DinkumDog

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Haha. I wish I was so i could see what was going on during these top secret missions to England!

You guys don't care that he went there twice and nothing appears to have come from it?

I've been wanting us to make more English signings for years, especially seeing how great Graham was and what a club legend he became.

If we don't end up signing anyone from the ESL in the next year then I'd say the trips were a waste of time and money.
Don't care? As a paid up Member?
Of course I care.
Again - citing alleged stupidity - if I were the Chair - a second trip would not be anything speculative - it would be something more formal if I were to approve company funds to travel.
Again - just because something is not announced doesn't mean it wasn't done! How many times need this be said??
 

B-Train

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Yes, really.
The point is, so many people criticise the current administrators as being useless, yet other bodies are willing to hire them. Lynne is CEO of the Australian Paralympic Committee.
So they are obviously not useless. I'm not talking about prestige necessarily, I'm talking about the fact that they are not stupid or ineffective as so many on here charge.

Raelene I agree with, cannot explain how she got RA job and the results are clear to see - another disaster.
Greenberg I don't think is a dope by any stretch. I'd love to see so many of his critics have a go at his job for a week with the politics and poison surrounding you. Most would sink very quickly.
When did I say Hill was useless though? Being the CEO of a football club much more complex and is completely different to being the CEO of any other business, even another big company or organisation.

You don't have to deal with a salary cap, players into high profile off field incidents or trying to secure sponsors all while pleasing a fanbase...

The CEO role of the NRL is absolutely a poisoned chalice and generally a thankless task but it's clear that Greenberg is over his head and has done a poor job in his role. The fact that the game is losing ratings and crowds and the balance of the competition is as bad as ever is proof enough let alone how bad the refereeing and judiciary inconsistencies, as well as favouritism for certain clubs etc have gotten.
 

B-Train

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Don't care? As a paid up Member?
Of course I care.
Again - citing alleged stupidity - if I were the Chair - a second trip would not be anything speculative - it would be something more formal if I were to approve company funds to travel.
Again - just because something is not announced doesn't mean it wasn't done! How many times need this be said??
There's been probably six months since those trips Dinkum.. They could have signed someone for 2020 in that time?

If they make some signings for 2021 from the ESL then it would have been worth it. Hopefully that's the case
 

DinkumDog

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When did I say Hill was useless though? Being the CEO of a football club much more complex and is completely different to being the CEO of any other business, even another big company or organisation.

You don't have to deal with a salary cap, players into high profile off field incidents or trying to secure sponsors all while pleasing a fanbase...

The CEO role of the NRL is absolutely a poisoned chalice and generally a thankless task but it's clear that Greenberg is over his head and has done a poor job in his role. The fact that the game is losing ratings and crowds and the balance of the competition is as bad as ever is proof enough let alone how bad the refereeing and judiciary inconsistencies, as well as favouritism for certain clubs etc have gotten.
I didn't cite you specifically mate - I said 'many on here'.
Your posts are generally very reasonable - all good.
You're right - it's a thankless, difficult job and could simply not be done by someone inept.
I reckon the Member Forum is going to be very interesting - lots of people want to know more - we'll soon see how much they're willing to reveal on the night...

Greenberg - not perfect sure, but I think he's doing a better job than Dave Smith did. At least he knows the game.
He's handled the off field incidents quite well in my view. I don't think we can blame him for the refereeing - much more an operational role.
Yes, the buck ultimately stops with the CEO, but he can't do everything.
If anything I think Beattie was responsible for holding the NRL back - he was not a great choice for Chairman in my view and he's had a relatively short tenure.
V'Landys is a good operator and much more hands on. I hope he really takes an active role in driving the NRL forward.
 

DinkumDog

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There's been probably six months since those trips Dinkum.. They could have signed someone for 2020 in that time?

If they make some signings for 2021 from the ESL then it would have been worth it. Hopefully that's the case
I don't think the plan was ever to sign anyone high profile for 2020 in the final year of cap pain.
As you say, 2021 possibly and yet to be revealed...
 

B-Train

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I didn't cite you specifically mate - I said 'many on here'.
Your posts are generally very reasonable - all good.
You're right - it's a thankless, difficult job and could simply not be done by someone inept.
I reckon the Member Forum is going to be very interesting - lots of people want to know more - we'll soon see how much they're willing to reveal on the night...

Greenberg - not perfect sure, but I think he's doing a better job than Dave Smith did. At least he knows the game.
He's handled the off field incidents quite well in my view. I don't think we can blame him for the refereeing - much more an operational role.
Yes, the buck ultimately stops with the CEO, but he can't do everything.
If anything I think Beattie was responsible for holding the NRL back - he was not a great choice for Chairman in my view and he's had a relatively short tenure.
V'Landys is a good operator and much more hands on. I hope he really takes an active role in driving the NRL forward.
All good Dinkum Dog!

Yeah I hope Vlandys makes a difference but seeing him already potentially in bed with Politis doesn't inspire me with confidence.
 
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Natboy

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Who is Ken that just called Talkin’ Sport?
 

Tassie Devil

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There's been probably six months since those trips Dinkum.. They could have signed someone for 2020 in that time?

If they make some signings for 2021 from the ESL then it would have been worth it. Hopefully that's the case
From memory, those articles where we're getting all the info about thos trips to England stated that the age of signing players simply for the next year are over and planning 1-2 years ahead is now the norm. In other words, such trips were / are long-term planning. I guess it's wait and see?

On the one side I do share your concern @btrainben as too often we're not coming up with the goods in such negotations and I hope that they're continually evaluating why. However, on the other side I'm really holding back on judgement for a little while longer when things are more transparent. The reality is that all companies attempt to get the best possibly employees but it doesn't always work out. We can't expect every triup to bear fruit but the very fact they're going to those lengths is a definite positive sign. No?
 

B-Train

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From memory, those articles where we're getting all the info about thos trips to England stated that the age of signing players simply for the next year are over and planning 1-2 years ahead is now the norm. In other words, such trips were / are long-term planning. I guess it's wait and see?

On the one side I do share your concern @btrainben as too often we're not coming up with the goods in such negotations and I hope that they're continually evaluating why. However, on the other side I'm really holding back on judgement for a little while longer when things are more transparent. The reality is that all companies attempt to get the best possibly employees but it doesn't always work out. We can't expect every triup to bear fruit but the very fact they're going to those lengths is a definite positive sign. No?
Well it was exciting and an encouraging sign at the time as we were hoping for Thompson or some other up and coming English players to be signed. Since several months have passed it makes you wonder more than anything. We'd all love to have something tangible instead of uncertainty and having to keep waiting.

As I said to Natboy, we have no choice but to wait and hope and I'm not going to be calling for anyone's head until more time has passed and everything unfolds. But if by halfway through 2020 no major signings have been secured, then we should all be very concerned.

If somehow Hill's trips result in a pipeline of English talent coming over, then we'll be thrilled. Until that time there will be more scrutiny, conjecture and second guessing. That's just a part of professional sport...
 

Natboy

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What was said?
A bloke who sounded like an ex-jockey whingeing about the club making excuses, not signing Fijians & asking who our head of recruitment was. Definitely a kennel complainer. He was quickly put in his place by a bulldog, rooster & tiger haha
 

Horse

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A bloke who sounded like an ex-jockey whingeing about the club making excuses, not signing Fijians & asking who our head of recruitment was. Definitely a kennel complainer. He was quickly put in his place by a bulldog, rooster & tiger haha
Lol sounds like what @Certified G was babbling on about yesterday
 
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