Rumour Brandon smith done deal

NPC83

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I reckon wipe this squad off at your own peril if they are fit..

1. James Tedesco

2. Daniel Tupou

3. Joseph Suaalii

4. Joseph Manu

5. Paul Momirovski

6. Luke Keary

7. Sam Walker

8. Matt Lodge

9. Brandon Smith

10. Lindsay Collins

11. Angus Crichton

12. Sitili Tuiponiua

13. Victor Radley

14. Connor Watson

15. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves

16. Nat Butcher

17. Egan Butcher
Top 4 mate. They would have beat the Rabbitohs last year in the finals but ran out of troops.
 

Flanagun

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I reckon wipe this squad off at your own peril if they are fit..

1. James Tedesco

2. Daniel Tupou

3. Joseph Suaalii

4. Joseph Manu

5. Paul Momirovski

6. Luke Keary

7. Sam Walker

8. Matt Lodge

9. Brandon Smith

10. Lindsay Collins

11. Angus Crichton

12. Sitili Tuiponiua

13. Victor Radley

14. Connor Watson

15. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves

16. Nat Butcher

17. Egan Butcher
Hooker is a glaring weakness for them.
 

TwinTurbo

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Top 4 mate. They would have beat the Rabbitohs last year in the finals but ran out of troops.
As they did in 2022 and 2021, making 3 years in a row that they “ran out of troops”. Does anyone really think that’s a coincidence? That’s it is nothing more than just plain bad luck? I don‘t, their roster is aged, the coach over trains them, they have a drastic drop off in quality past their top 15 which means that almost half their Cap is spent on 5 players. Even the sombrero Cap hasn’t saved them.


Always a Bulldog
 

NPC83

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As they did in 2022 and 2021, making 3 years in a row that they “ran out of troops”. Does anyone really think that’s a coincidence? That’s it is nothing more than just plain bad luck? I don‘t, their roster is aged, the coach over trains them, they have a drastic drop off in quality past their top 15 which means that almost half their Cap is spent on 5 players. Even the sombrero Cap hasn’t saved them.


Always a Bulldog
As a staunch dogs fan I hope the roosters miss the finals. But reality is they have an envious roster and a fairly elite system. We’ll just have to wait and see but I stand by my comments they will make the top 4. Also think they have managed the HIA issues amongst some of their players the last couple years really well so I don’t necessarily agree with the overtrained theory. They have everything they need to be successful
 

TwinTurbo

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As a staunch dogs fan I hope the roosters miss the finals. But reality is they have an envious roster and a fairly elite system. We’ll just have to wait and see but I stand by my comments they will make the top 4. Also think they have managed the HIA issues amongst some of their players the last couple years really well so I don’t necessarily agree with the overtrained theory. They have everything they need to be successful
I think their roster past 17 is below average for a Top 8 team. There were plenty of complaints from players when they did a full preseason again during the Covid break in 2020 and Robinson has a history of rushing players back after injury (yes, they do follow the concussion protocols but shit would hit the fan if they didn't). Their injury record is there for all to see. Is it coincidence that they have had players injured for long periods the last 3 years in a row, I don't think so.

Their injury list right now is nothing flash;

Sydney Chooks
  • Joseph Suaali'i (head knock, Round 1)
  • Luke Keary (jaw, Round 1)
  • Sam Walker (COVID, Round 1)
  • Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (back/hamstring, Round 1)
  • Joey Manu (facial fracture, Round 1-2)
  • Connor Watson (knee, mid-season)
  • Sitili Tupouniua (knee, mid-season)
  • Billy Smith (knee, mid-season)
Only Parramatta is worse with 9. We all know that shit happens when it comes to injuries, but with the Chooks it's too regular to be just bad luck.


Always a Bulldog
 

D0GMATIC

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I think their roster past 17 is below average for a Top 8 team. There were plenty of complaints from players when they did a full preseason again during the Covid break in 2020 and Robinson has a history of rushing players back after injury (yes, they do follow the concussion protocols but shit would hit the fan if they didn't). Their injury record is there for all to see. Is it coincidence that they have had players injured for long periods the last 3 years in a row, I don't think so.

Their injury list right now is nothing flash;

Sydney Chooks
  • Joseph Suaali'i (head knock, Round 1)
  • Luke Keary (jaw, Round 1)
  • Sam Walker (COVID, Round 1)
  • Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (back/hamstring, Round 1)
  • Joey Manu (facial fracture, Round 1-2)
  • Connor Watson (knee, mid-season)
  • Sitili Tupouniua (knee, mid-season)
  • Billy Smith (knee, mid-season)
Only Parramatta is worse with 9. We all know that shit happens when it comes to injuries, but with the Chooks it's too regular to be just bad luck.


Always a Bulldog
Penrith had a similar issue with injuries about 10 years ago. You can blame bad prehab/rehab, but sometimes its just bad luck.
 
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