Like I said, if he felt genuinely hard done by he had other avenues to vent before getting to this point. Anyway, no interest in going back and forth to add another 20 pages to this thread. Frankly, your comment on Coffs is disgraceful and tells me everything I need to know. Like I said, clown show.
You know the answer to that question dude. It’s to make the bad press/distraction go away and I’m sure it’s something his legal team are counting on as well. It’s not as black and white as a pay out = admission of guilt.
The pile on comment is a cop out. It would be warranted if there was no...
Tell you what, curiosity got the better of me and watched the 360 segment on this. Anasta has turned into one of the better media personalities out there. Very articulate and isn’t afraid to tell it as it is. He summarized the ridiculousness of the situation really well
Love what’s he’s brought to the club. Only a matter of time before he’s back to his best form. We saw glimpses of what he can do when he gets some space in that last try against the knights.
Jackson is getting horrid advice on this one. He and his legal team are obviously seeing the dollar signs and want to play this out in the press to pressure the club into a higher payout.
But this is not the legacy you want to have as a professional footballer. Expect to hear from all sorts of...
Yeah same. I just worry because it’s a young team we lose confidence if our results don’t reflect the football we’re playing. That’ll be Ciraldos major challenge week to week and hopefully we start to get some luck with injuries.
Hope the boys keep the intensity up for this one. It’s very winnable but we haven’t earned the right to get complacent against any team and I’m a bit worried we’ll be a bit flat after the Storm game. Hope I’m wrong but this should be seen as a must win going into the bye. This game I think will...
Some good signs but we are being hamstrung by a 7 that has no feel for the game. Mahoney I think as well has been poor.
Kikau and Tracey impressive and team as a whole is staying in the fight
I agree they definitely got leg ups in the 2nd half. But that tends to happen when a team is down to less players, the 50/50 calls go their way. On balance, I actually think the game was refereed ok for once, believe me we got a few calls too that could’ve easily went the other way.
The reality...
So despite the 2nd half being a tough watch, decided to take in the game again on replay with the emotion taken out of it now.
Burton and Kikau were still standouts but our best player on the field without doubt was Kurt Mann. He is a super, super player. In absolutely everything in attack and...
Won’t happen but club should pull out of the Easter Fri clash from now on. Souths have free rein in this fixture to get away with murder. It’s become an absolute piss take for the club since 2015. That last 5 mins of the first half, Sutton was terrified to penalise Souths any more than he...
What we have in the first month of the season is 1 great win and 3 gutsy losses. I think a 2-2 record is probably more deserving given the teams effort but it is what it is. Our draw to kick off the season is horrendous and unfortunately we’re getting no luck. I’m confident the team starts to...
Another thing on today’s game, Belmore was rocking. If we can turn it into a genuine home ground advantage then we’ll be all the better for it.
I was on the hill and in front of me there was an older guy with his 20 something son. After we scored our 4th try the older guy looked like he...
Still funny to me that less than 2 weeks ago some supporters were calling for Kiraz to be dropped from centre for Xerri. Kiraz is elite but so many still underestimate the kid.
Anyway, great win. Souths are terrible so we should feel confident next week although the officials will be on a...
Yeah he seems like a pretty low IQ player. But reality is we need the size and his numbers have been decent in NSW Cup. Hopefully he can hold his own against the Titans pack.
Disagree mate. That Parra error, regardless of when he dropped it, killed us in that game. It was early but gave Parra all the momentum early and we wasted boatloads of energy defending in the first half. He also threw a ridiculous ball to Fox which shows his in game awareness is terrible. The...
Honestly looking through that Titans team, there’s no reason we can’t win this and win it pretty well. Tino is the only player they have that worries me.
Titans will be up for it but if we play a disciplined game we should come out on top
Tell you what, if you thought this refereeing performance was bad just wait until round 4 when we play a 0-3 Souths team. The @ss raping will be historic
I honestly reckon the first 10 rounds will be brutal for us, I’m predicting 3 wins or so if that. The opening stretch of our season is horrible and the team just isn’t there yet to be able to cause upsets.
I do reckon the 2nd half of our season will really ignite though and as combinations...
Let down badly by our spine in that game. Our forward pack are our forward pack, they’re not the biggest but they’re gutsy.
But gutsy doesn’t win games when you play robotic one out football.
Yeah the Foxx situation with the club seems a little iffy to me. The rumours about waiting out, not rocking up to the season launch, etc. I’m not suggesting anything untoward about this injury but there just seems to be a whole lot of smoke.
I do wonder if in some way he’s angling for a move...
I’m resigned to the fact this rebuild will happen at a snails pace until the kids in the lower grades are ready and come up together.
All these articles about us completely turning over our entire roster in 2 years like it’s only a good thing. The reality is these guys have played almost no...
Eels halves and front rowers are superior but their backline doesn’t really worry me. It is a winnable game though if we minimise errors and get quality ball to our strike players.
Team selected is predictable if you were paying any attention to the trials. What’s interesting is it seems...
Bro how are people doubting Kiraz at this point? I’ll happily point you to our last regular season win against the dolphins. He played centre and put up these stats:
185 run metres (a team high)
3 tackle breaks
3 offloads
1 line break
If the kid wants to play centre then let him, he’s earned...
Well we needed at least 2 other front rowers before the season started so seems like that box is ticked. I’ll reserve judgement on it until I see this guy and tatevano play
Really tough to choose a 17. Kiraz, Crichton, Addo Carr, Burton, King, Mahoney, Preston, Kikau, Curran and Hughes are the only ones that should be cemented at this stage. The other 7 spots are absolutely up for grabs and you could go either way.
I think we should stop classifying Roar articles as news. This reads like a glorified sharks fanboys take on the game. How about this gem -
For the Sharks, they played as you would expect their professional outfit to operate.
Anyone who watched that game could see the Sharks were woeful and a...
I’m surprised there are as many negative comments as there are tbh. The sprinting off the line and gang tackling was really great to see and for the most part there’s definite defensive chemistry within the team. Enough to suggest we’ll be competitive.
Ciraldo and JT have a job to do with the...
Hard to really make any sort of judgement based on that. I’ve really been impressed with the defensive improvement in the 2 trial games but the attack just isn’t there at the moment. Having said that, if I had to pick between the 2 I’d pick defense every time. Attack will click in time and...
This is a ballsy move but one I like for so many reasons. No more dual captains + club captain rubbish, Burton and Mahoney can focus on their games and most importantly it shows that we have a captain that personifies work ethic, high training standards, a winning mentality and being a leader in...
Lots of positive signs for me too. Even being down at halftime I was really happy with the defensive intent from the team. Attack was a bit rusty but you can see the potential, just lacking a bit of polish.
The most pleasing thing was our go forward. If our pack can do that against proper NRL...
It’s honestly bizarre the hate this kid cops on here. His first season with us was really strong in a bad team and his form dropped off during the 2nd half of last season like most of the team.
I would’ve liked to have seen him play with a bit more purpose yesterday but it’s 1 half of a trial...
We should definitely keep him but I also think he’s massively overrated on here purely because our front row is so thin that he stands out by comparison.
Almost impossible to not improve on last season. My worry though is if our forwards lose the battle most games (which on paper they probably will), we’ll run out of puff in the last quarter of games and leak points.
Yeah that’s more or less my take on it too. He’s no doubt doing it tough because it was obvious how much the kid loved this club and he’s probably realising his footy career may be done. But club needs to do everything it can to settle it asap, we don’t need the distraction and we don’t need to...
It’s almost always a waste of time to pursue a Roosters player that they want to keep. That soulless club will use every trick in the book - third party deals, promises of life after football, etc to keep their players. Club rightly should walk away if he’s playing games because Politis is...
Maybe. But the ‘at least he’s trying hard’ commentary around Mahoney will get really old really fast if he’s constantly making the wrong decisions out of dummy half. Him playing up to his ability is way more crucial to our success than any other player in the spine
I would argue it’s Mahoney to be honest. Burton was poor 2nd half of the season but surprised Reed isn’t getting more heat from Dogs supporters given how badly his form dropped off.
This was always the risk, not only a lack of quality but a lack of depth in the middle. I’m still baffled why Gus wasn’t more aggressive earlier in the off season when there were actual middles available. It’s a massive worry.
This is all fantastic to read. Most promising thing is Sam Hughes, we really need him to have a breakout season. Hopefully he really kicks on this year. Kid probably sees he has a massive opportunity to not only make consistent first grade but even a starting spot.
Positive impact is definitely Crichton, kid is a winner.
Overall impact in terms of our season hinging on their form is Mahoney. Had a terrible 2nd half of the season last year and he absolutely needs to return to his Eels form if we’re any chance.
I still can’t fathom going into 2024 with that front row.
Frankly I think it’s a cop out to say there’s nothing on the market available. If that’s the case there are 2 options. Hit the phones and try to make a deal with another club - even if it’s the English league. Or you take a punt and sign...
I’ve got no doubt that if we were 100% committed to getting Luai he would’ve come here.
I reckon it would’ve been a monumental mistake by the club so I’m relieved it panned out the way it did.
I’m not convinced on Ciraldo yet but the simple fact is unless we address the front row he’s being set up to fail in 2024 and there’s only so much he can do.
We’re 1 quality front rower short of being competitive under a good coach and 2 away from a top 8 contender. Our backline combined with...
My biggest concern is we not only lack quality in the front row but also depth. Can you imagine if King and/or Knight get injured long term during the season? We are absolutely up shit creek (which you could argue we are anyway fully fit in that department). If Gus isn’t frantically trying to...
Gus has been around the game long enough to know when a player is genuinely interested in signing for us or we’re being used as leverage. That’s more than likely why he pulled the pin when he did.
Still a big blow though. I really hope we have a plan b because we can’t afford to push ahead over...
Ugghh I really hope that $5.5 million figure in the smh article is wrong and we only had a chat to him.
I can’t remember this 10 day negotiation point ever being brought up so much with ANY other player signing. Makes you wonder why it’s being repeated so much.
A 5 year deal for Luai is a bad deal for the club and there’s nothing anyone can say to convince me otherwise.
If we’re aiming to sign him as a 7 that’s ridiculous for an unproven primary playmaker.
If we’re aiming to sign him as a 6 that’s even dumber and a panic move that’s not needed
Nope. Not a fan of this move and hope the Tigers end up overpaying for him.
This is the first time since supporting the Dogs I genuinely can’t make sense of our recruitment strategy. In the past, I may not have agreed with the player we signed but understood the need to fill a specific...
If we’re seriously going into 2024 with a prop rotation of King, Sutton, Patolo and Hughes then someone needs to give Davey Middleton the heads up that the NRL for and against record will well and truly be obliterated. I can’t wrap my head around what a complete and utter failure in recruitment...
4 underwhelming signings it must be said. We are so badly in need of a prop it’s not funny. We’re setting this team up for failure if we don’t bolster the front row stocks. God forbid we cop injuries there as well then it’ll be close to a wooden spoon finish.
This reeks of Politis putting a call in and telling his manager they’re getting rid of JWH after 2024 and to hold firm 1 more year when they can give him 1 mill under the cap and another mill in brown paper bags. And I’m being dead serious.
I could be wrong but Warriors don’t put out that press release saying letting him go is being considered unless they’re leaning towards doing exactly that. Might be trying to suss supporter reaction before making a call.
Still can’t believe how the cards have fallen in our favour here though
No idea why people are fussed with this one. He had a decent season but it was a contract year so it’s to be expected. Has been bog average most of his time with us. Why do you think he could only get a 1 year deal? He’ll be in the ESL after that.
Yeah I reckon there’s obvious truth to this one. Weidler had a story about the club having some issues with him didn’t he? That story doesn’t see the light of day without Gus giving the nod.
I don’t really have an issue with his social media post but I think the main issue is he flat out lied...
In fairness to Thompson, the Bulldog team he walked into was a clown show compared to what Jammer had. Not saying he hasn’t been disappointing but hes had a rotten run of luck since signing.
I’d be surprised if the club didn’t at least offer him a scaled down offer. We’re woefully short of...
He may not see firsts till later in the season but I’m going with Oloapu. Kid has all the tools, if he puts in a big pre season then the sky’s the limit.
Yeah hopefully Ciraldo learnt from that scenario. I’ve got doubts Crichton is the long term solution there but if he dedicates the off season to training in that position he’s skilful enough to make it work hopefully.
Nah I disagree. Problem is people suffer from recency bias. No doubt he had a bad last third of the season. His form and confidence fell off a cliff, but so did most of the team.
Games against Tigers, Cowboys, Raiders, Dragons, etc he was very good in the halves for us. We need to stick with him...
Happy to give Crichton a go at fullback and if it’s not working then we still have one the worlds best centres. Also crazy that people legitimately feel like Hutchinson is a better option at five eighth than Burton.
Crichton and Burton in the centres…leaving us with a NSW Cup quality spine...
Nothing wrong with those specific recruits, we just haven’t set them up for success very well.
Burton - the club needed to pair him with an experienced 7 for his own development. He can’t be expected to be chief playmaker. He isn’t playing well but it’s not through lack of ability. This kid is...
I really admire the optimism of anyone thinking we’re going to turn up and finish the season with a win. Most of our so called players couldn’t be assed having a go in our last home game. You really think they’ll give a shit in the Gold Coast?
This will be Titans 20+ and the disgruntled player...
This sort of stuff isn’t that uncommon, in fact there’s stories about Mason doing it numerous times to O’Meley to get him fired up (made up quotes). Wouldn’t surprise me if it was him.
The real issue is someone thought it was needed. We got humiliated 66-0 by the Knights last time they played...
There were some OK signs despite the loss. The biggest for me was King had his best game in I don’t know how long. Also thought Sexton and Edwards did well.
Our 2 biggest issues at the moment are our star five eighth and hooker are woefully out of form. I will die on the Burton is a five eighth...
Aside from the Raiders 1st try, that’s one of our better defensive efforts in some time.
Our 2 captains have been so out of sorts though and I know Burton cops plenty on here but Mahoney has had way too many of these games. Has had a really poor season vs what was expected of him
Yeah true, I forgot about those. Though no guarantee Wilson would’ve got there if he caught them. Have to watch the replay on those again.
Aside from that though, our attacking kicking game was awful and I lost count how many times Mahoney went for the short ball to a forward to barge over the...
Hate the guy but can’t argue with a lot of what he’s saying.
Our defense is shambolic and our attack, which was looking much better with Sexton, somehow has regressed massively after the bye. We didn’t look like scoring yesterday.
Way too many of these performances this year for it not to be a...
I’m saying if the Dragons offer Thompson overs to get him, you really think we’re gonna match it? You think he’s loyal enough to take unders? If so, there’s a bridge in Sydney I’d like to sell you.
Definitely need an enforcer, that’s priority number 1. I don’t watch enough of other teams to really comment on who that could be but whether it comes from the NRL or Super League it’s a no brainer.
I would prefer we keep TPJ and Thompson regardless. That might be close to impossible with the...
Need to treat this like our grand final. The last performance against them was an embarrassment to the club and the boys need to make it right. End their season.
It’s definitely a risk, no doubt. But given what’s happened this season I can’t see the club signing him without a thorough look at his medical history and current condition.
As for the interview he gave, things change. After the game against the Knights I swore to everyone that would listen...
I get it’s his first season and our squad depth isn’t great but there’s no way you can give Ciraldo a pass at this rate. We’ve regressed so badly and our defence is historically bad.
You obviously have to stick with him and hope like hell he learns from this first season to go on and become a...
We’re not playing finals so couldn’t care less how understrength Souths were. I’ll take any win after last weeks performance.
I’d love to get a better understanding of why our defence is so so bad though, especially in the back end of games. There were lots of kids out there sure, but these...
Honestly club has no choice but to re-sign him. We’re struggling for middles so badly you can’t afford to lose him tbh.
I actually rate Thommo and thought he had a really good 2021 season with us but he’s had a crap go with injuries. He can’t be expected to carry the forward pack though which is...
Yeah agree this is good leadership and hats off to him. He isn’t shying away from the grilling. He was also straight on Twitter after the game answering angry fans.
I wouldn’t put much stock into the Perham comment, that’s just him protecting his player who’s probably a bit rattled from the...
Ok so usually club gets benefit of the doubt with signings from me but I think it’s been proven now that’s not deserved.
I personally think it’s crazy to sign a young reserve grade half to add to the numerous young halves we already have to turn our fortunes around. What exactly will he do...
Burton isn’t in great form but the answer isn’t to move him to centre. I still can’t understand any fan who would want this.
Hes an out and out five eighth being forced to play halfback because the club failed to recruit a proper game manager.
Hes also a so much better half than anyone at the...
There has to be something going on behind the scenes and whatever it is, needs to be addressed asap. Ciraldo should have had this team primed against an average Knights team, at home, after a weeks rest. Some of those defensive efforts were so bad that it was actually laughable and it almost...
Scary thing is feels like this team is completely incapable of bouncing back from a performance like this. Players look cooked, coach and captain judging by the press conference are oblivious on how to fix it. We are also about to enter a brutal 3 week stretch. Things could get very ugly for the...
Something is definitely off with the team. Players look like they don’t want to be out there. Have a feeling we’ll be reading Gus vs Ciraldo power struggle articles sooner rather than later.
Man, watching that press conference…this club is in desperate need of leaders.
Mahoney saying fans don’t have the right to boo…well he frankly doesn’t have the right to be captain of this club if he’s going to go out there and play with the iq of a garden gnome.
Yeah I really don’t understand the continual selection of Perham either. It’s obviously due to Ciraldo thinking we don’t have a good enough replacement.
Sometimes I wonder if we backed Averillo to be our fullback and he trained there the whole off season what difference that would make...