scot
I'll unleash these on you
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2005
- Messages
- 856
- Reaction score
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I am so tired of hearing about how bad the Dogs are at letting top players go. So I am going to critically analyse each significant player we've lost and the influencing factors, and then we can debate over time how much we've really lost.
Steven Price - Hate to say it, but the move to NZ probably extended his career and good form. This is the hardest one to call as far as I'm concerned, so I will say Yes we have missed him.
Jonathan Thurston? I think the move out of Sydney and back home was what he needed. I don't believe we were going to get his best football from him. We did have 2 inconsistent years from him, even if injury did aid the process. I definitly don't believe he would have won 2 dally m's with the Dogs. We probably had no choice here despite the rantings from a certain former Dog who hosts a radio show, that Thurston was desperate to stay. Also, the club had re-signed Sherwin when he was considered the best halfback after Andrew Johns, so the club had to go with the 'devil they knew then the one they didn't' so to speak in this situation, and at the time Anasta had also been in strong form.
Have we missed him? we lament what he is doing elsewhere, but we can't be sure it would have happened for us, and I don't believe the coaching staff are responsible for this inibility to get the best out of him.
Ben Harris? hahaha, I'm surprised he hasn't attracted the same level of preparation of fan abuse that we've been organising for Willie. That was a no win situation with a selfish young men. Selfish because when he left the injury toll was kicking in. He was asked to stay for a month to help the club through a rough period, his English club had agreed, but no, that was too much for him.
Braith Anasta? A change was what he needed. We weren't going to get his best from him. That is not a club fault or even his fault. A fit Holdsworth or Maitua in No 6 is as strong as Anasta at his best. Have we missed him? Same answer for Thurston.
Roy Asotasi? Yes. This was the major mistake and I don't even need to go into why, especially when you consider that O'Meley was asking for a release at the time the club were in negotiations with Asotasi.
Mark O'Meley? I think we have gotten his best years from him. Good luck with the retirement fund. I certainly don't begrudge him but I think he will struggle to get back into the rep teams, and he is possibly getting too slow for the modern game. Will we miss him? we would have missed his leadership with No Mason now, but I think he was becoming a weak link which will be exposed in rd 4.
Nate Myles? Yes. Should have somehow kept him
Brent Sherwin? we've had his best. No
Mason? hahahahahahaha, oh hindsight is a wonderful thing...Asotasi, Myles and possibly Anasta would still be in blue and white...Will we miss him? Time will tell...I hope not...we will miss his presence at times next year, so we need Cleal, Williams or Tsoulos to stand up and take this role. Armit is not fot this role.
So, by this logic, the club really only misses Pricey, Asotasi and Myles...and as stated in this post, hindsight is a wonderful thing in relation to Asotasi and Myles.
Steven Price - Hate to say it, but the move to NZ probably extended his career and good form. This is the hardest one to call as far as I'm concerned, so I will say Yes we have missed him.
Jonathan Thurston? I think the move out of Sydney and back home was what he needed. I don't believe we were going to get his best football from him. We did have 2 inconsistent years from him, even if injury did aid the process. I definitly don't believe he would have won 2 dally m's with the Dogs. We probably had no choice here despite the rantings from a certain former Dog who hosts a radio show, that Thurston was desperate to stay. Also, the club had re-signed Sherwin when he was considered the best halfback after Andrew Johns, so the club had to go with the 'devil they knew then the one they didn't' so to speak in this situation, and at the time Anasta had also been in strong form.
Have we missed him? we lament what he is doing elsewhere, but we can't be sure it would have happened for us, and I don't believe the coaching staff are responsible for this inibility to get the best out of him.
Ben Harris? hahaha, I'm surprised he hasn't attracted the same level of preparation of fan abuse that we've been organising for Willie. That was a no win situation with a selfish young men. Selfish because when he left the injury toll was kicking in. He was asked to stay for a month to help the club through a rough period, his English club had agreed, but no, that was too much for him.
Braith Anasta? A change was what he needed. We weren't going to get his best from him. That is not a club fault or even his fault. A fit Holdsworth or Maitua in No 6 is as strong as Anasta at his best. Have we missed him? Same answer for Thurston.
Roy Asotasi? Yes. This was the major mistake and I don't even need to go into why, especially when you consider that O'Meley was asking for a release at the time the club were in negotiations with Asotasi.
Mark O'Meley? I think we have gotten his best years from him. Good luck with the retirement fund. I certainly don't begrudge him but I think he will struggle to get back into the rep teams, and he is possibly getting too slow for the modern game. Will we miss him? we would have missed his leadership with No Mason now, but I think he was becoming a weak link which will be exposed in rd 4.
Nate Myles? Yes. Should have somehow kept him
Brent Sherwin? we've had his best. No
Mason? hahahahahahaha, oh hindsight is a wonderful thing...Asotasi, Myles and possibly Anasta would still be in blue and white...Will we miss him? Time will tell...I hope not...we will miss his presence at times next year, so we need Cleal, Williams or Tsoulos to stand up and take this role. Armit is not fot this role.
So, by this logic, the club really only misses Pricey, Asotasi and Myles...and as stated in this post, hindsight is a wonderful thing in relation to Asotasi and Myles.
