Opinion King & Knight are an upgrade on TPJ & Thompson

[Roger the alien]

I tend to agree but I think at least Pangai Junior though he turned out a dud did have the agression I think KIng and Knight lack. That Haas or Leota impact. Maybe we can adapt and utilize their ball playing ability. A bit like say Tapine or how Steve Price use to play.

But I think we need at least one beast in our front row. Maybe someone like Mariner or Montgomery or even Booth if he comes back fit.

Mariner should never be called a beast, the guys a quitter if anything.

 

[1967]

Thanks for speaking the truth about King, those who are rubbishing him should take a really good upercut.

You’re welcome mate … Kingy has been great for us, hate knowing he had to play injured for us this year, but very thankful to him that he did ..

 

[bcmf]

Tpj is rubbish. Error and penalty machine. Seem to remember he was out for a solid period of the year as well. Obviously same is said about Thompson

the other two kinda win by default cause they were available when needed. Knight has injury history so touch wood

 

[Nate DAWG]

You’re welcome mate … Kingy has been great for us, hate knowing he had to play injured for us this year, but very thankful to him that he did ..

King should not of played through injury IMO. He was not making a difference at all. I am a fan of King. In 22 he had an awesome year but I’m not sure he has the game to be a leading prop. I reckon he is a great off the bench. I hope I’m wrong and he smashes it because we need him to play out of his skin to even compete

 

[04 Dreaming]

We are seriously outgunned for middles. Our top 3 middles king Sutton and knight all wouldnt even be gauranteed a bench spot at any other club in the comp. Whats Paul vaughan up to this yr?

 

[Jippst]

I don't buy the whole" there's no one out there" BS,deals are done all the time & from what I've heard, is that Gus loves doing deals,so as a few said earlier ,get this shit done soon as we need a Proper tackle 1 Props !

 

[Kelpie03]

I don't buy the whole" there's no one out there" BS,deals are done all the time & from what I've heard, is that Gus loves doing deals,so as a few said earlier ,get this shit done soon as we need a Proper tackle 1 Props !

IMHO, while it appears that he has done some great things in getting our junior path ways in order, Gus hs failed in signing any worth while middles for us, was told that Spencer' s did not have the right attitude might of wanted to go to the rotters anyway, a few middles like that big Parra one (can't remember his name) remained un signed for a long time.
Gus would have known how bad we are for a good Middle or two, for me the Jury is still not quite in on him.

 

[Cook]

Tpj is rubbish. Error and penalty machine. Seem to remember he was out for a solid period of the year as well. Obviously same is said about Thompson

the other two kinda win by default cause they were available when needed. Knight has injury history so touch wood

I agree, the amount of pressure TPJ put team under is ridiculous. Fair enough he could make meters, yet that many errors, penalties. Forcing our team to tackle, when should be on attack. Then whilst tackling, would sprint out of line and get made to look stupid. Again putting team under more pressure trying to cover he’s errors. We will be a lot more balanced without him there. Can actually build pressure, or get into the grind without knowing an error is coming

 

[Natboy]

I agree, the amount of pressure TPJ put team under is ridiculous. Fair enough he could make meters, yet that many errors, penalties. Forcing our team to tackle, when should be on attack. Then whilst tackling, would sprint out of line and get made to look stupid. Again putting team under more pressure trying to cover he’s errors. We will be a lot more balanced without him there. Can actually build pressure, or get into the grind without knowing an error is coming

Agreed. He’d do something great then destroy it with a dumb penalty or error at a crucial time. The bloke is a momentum killer. Good riddance

 

[diddly]

Both TPJ and Thompson were generally defensive liabilities - both were often the cause of staggered defensive lines by being a step behind the other defenders - TPJ would also rush out of the line and Thompson was rarely the first shoulder in a tackle.

 

[DinkumDog]

How do you take TPJ out and not replace and get better. I don’t see the logic.

He took himself out mate - he retired with a year to run on his deal. Whilst I’m sure the club were glad to make some cap savings based on his output - it also made things harder by there being so few replacement options in such a tight market. So I don’t think it’s a blunder by the club - they’re playing the hand they were dealt - and obviously will be looking for a mid-season pick-up ASAP - a decent chance someone ‘homesick’ will become available, just have to wait.

 

[King Gus]

I still have hopes we are getting 2 props from cowboys from what I’ve heard.

 

[D.O.W.]

Knight and King in the middle last year got owned. How do you take TPJ out and not replace and get better. I don’t see the logic. Thommo you could replace with a witches hat but TPJ was our only player capable of making metres in the middle

Agree…TPJ for all the sh!t he’s copped on here was our alpha-dog and actually bent the line, Pele was the only other player capable of bending the line but he rarely ever made it onto the pitch, no current middle in our squad bends the line or strikes any ounce of fear in the opposition… unless Ciro has an incredible game plan focused on speeding up the ruck and play “fast-ball” through speedy backs, I’m not sure where the meters are going to come from (maybe he adopts the Penrith model where fullback and wingers combine for 30-40m in the first 3 hit-ups of a set?)

Hughes is probably the guy that may give us some grunt up front with his sheer size and decent leg speed, Booth is a massive unit but I heard someone on here mention he’s a cat in a big body so that renders him ineffective - I feel like Gus has done some calculations and figures a rival team will need to buckle on Cap pressure before a ball is kicked in 2024 (likely comes from Cowboys and Tigers or a disgruntled player somewhere)… 1 quality middle changes everything, we become very competitive… 2 quality middles and we are then talking top 8

 

[flamebouyant]

Edwards is a prop and Hopoi is a lock, which still makes him a middle?

Edwards is no prop! He is a ball playing lock every day!

 

[flamebouyant]

It’s a fair assessment, not many would move players on without a contingency in mind, but I do feel Gus is working toward something bigger and he’s super conscious of not ruining our cap only to get a little better, his aim is sustainable success year on year vying for top 4 finishes as opposed to fighting for a finals berth or making up the numbers in the finals.

I’m predicting he’ll pick up a handy middle just before the season kicks off or mid-season ahead of going hard for 2025.

We have to trust him.. I don’t want to make the 8 for 1 season or be on the fringe year on year, I want us to be back in top 4 for decades to come…. That is Gould’s ultimate vision.

Neither were "moved on". TPJ retired from rugby league, and Thomson was simply not retained after producing little, and playing even less over the duration of his contract.

 

[D.O.W.]

Neither were "moved on". TPJ retired from rugby league, and Thomson was simply not retained after producing little, and playing even less over the duration of his contract.

You’re right, poor choice of words… it was clear TPJ had other goals and Thommo offered little value. After that was clear, we probably needed a good contingency plan up front since Pele also left for the Super League leaving us thin… easier said then done though given how scarce the market is… in some way, I think the scarcity was probably unexpected by Gus but he’ll have a plan B, C, D and E up his sleeve - clever operator.

 

[Sloth]

Weird thinking that TPJ got picked for origin 1 last year. Wondering if not getting picked again made him dummy spit on league.

I agree with you! I still think that Freddy killed TPJ’s attitude to league when he picked him.
TPJ was showing great signs of form again before being selected. Freddy coming out saying that he was a gamble then hooking him in the first game when he was one of the few trying to make something out of a dog shit origin side.

Same goes for Nico, just wasn’t publicised because he’s not the poster boy for the media. They sure love their young crying halves.

 

[bradtalo]

We need to play RFM in the middle (190cm 110gs) if he can get back to his form of a few years ago it could work out for us and I hope Patolo is injury free and comes good at 185cms 110kgs

 

[albatross]

King’s form was pretty good at the start of last year, then he carried an injury and his form dropped. He’s no world beater but he’s much better than he showed in the 2nd half of 2023

 

[DinkumDog]

I still have hopes we are getting 2 props from cowboys from what I’ve heard.

Have you heard or do you ‘know’?
Have they taken photos in 2023 jerseys and then passed those jerseys to current teammates ? .