Who to keep from roster

[B-Train]

100% agree with you on Topine. Speaking of precious positions, how did we manage to give one to Napa??

He never should have been signed. I hated the signing from the start and he's gotten worse every year since. I can't wait til that cat leaves the club next year.

 

[Spoonman84]

Pretty good point.

Paul Kent made a fair comment on NRL 360 last night. We need to recruit blokes who can change the way the team plays.

He mentioned Cotric. He came here and is playing "Canterbury" football as opposed to "Canberra" football. Its a burn but its deserved. He is making errors that he just didnt make at Canberra.

We need a kill in the spine and up front. Players that can change our team. I dont think either Burton and JAC can do that given that Burton is young and that JAC is a winger. It really needs to be someone like B.Smith. He is a winner that will drag blokes along with him.

I cant think of too many others to be honest.

We are crying out for a natural born leader that can turn attitudes around on his own.

I think it was in 2005 when Manly recruited Ben Kennedy and he was a vital piece in their recruitment that led towards a couple of premierships.

We need to find a Kennedy but that might be very much easier said than done as I cannot think of anyone available in that mould off the top of my head.

Thomspon is the closest thing we have to that forward leader but I'm not sure if he has it in him to be the alpha dog we need. It certainly isn't Jackson.

My worry with Tbaz is the lack of empathise he has on forwards. Even going back to his time at Manly he was happy to open the check book for the backline and would go to the bargain bin for the pack.

 

[Howie B]

We are crying out for a natural born leader that can turn attitudes around on his own.

I think it was in 2005 when Manly recruited Ben Kennedy and he was a vital piece in their recruitment that led towards a couple of premierships.

We need to find a Kennedy but that might be very much easier said than done as I cannot think of anyone available in that mould off the top of my head.

Thomspon is the closest thing we have to that forward leader but I'm not sure if he has it in him to be the alpha dog we need. It certainly isn't Jackson.

My worry with Tbaz is the lack of empathise he has on forwards. Even going back to his time at Manly he was happy to open the check book for the backline and would go to the bargain bin for the pack.

100% agree. We need a big gun in the forwards

I would consider bringing Finucane home

 

[Spoonman84]

100% agree. We need a big gun in the forwards

I would consider bringing Finucane home

Thats a great call he would be a perfect fit for that!

 

[The DoggFather]

Just got a random text from one of our sponsors....

Looks like Crapa and Floppa will 100% NOT be at our club next year.

He messaged because he hates Crapa NEARLY as much as I do lol

 

[Howie B]

Thats a great call he would be a perfect fit for that!

I think he is either off contract or close to it. Would have taken unders to stay with them so might be after a pay day.

We should get Isaac to get the ball rolling

 

[Spoonman84]

I think he is either off contract or close to it. Would have taken unders to stay with them so might be after a pay day.

We should get Isaac to get the ball rolling

If you want the big players you send in the big guns and they don't get much bigger than Isaac

 

[B-Train]

Thats a great call he would be a perfect fit for that!

Just depends on the salary/length of contact he wants. He's over 30 and has a lot of mileage and injuries lately.

He's ideal from a toughness and leadership standpoint and still a really effective player. Obviously his history with us helps.. But if he's chasing a three year deal on 450-500k, then it's pretty risky. If it's two years at 350-400k then it's worth it..

At least Ben Kennedy or even Jason Smith at Canberra had plenty of skill to help them play into their thirties.

 

[Cook]

Just got a random text from one of our sponsors....

Looks like Crapa and Floppa will 100% NOT be at our club next year.

He messaged because he hates Crapa NEARLY as much as I do lol

That’s to be expected though. We need to shift a few more on unfortunately. Let him know though, we appreciate his support through sponsorship

 

[The DoggFather]

That’s to be expected though. We need to shift a few more on unfortunately. Let him know though, we appreciate his support through sponsorship

You're right, more trash to take out.

 

[Spoonman84]

Just depends on the salary/length of contact he wants. He's over 30 and had a lot of mileage and injuries lately.

He's ideal from a toughness and leadership standpoint and still a really effective player. Obviously his history with us helps.. But if he's chasing a three year deal on 450-500k, then it's pretty risky. If it's two years at 350-400k then it's worth it..

At least Ben Kennedy or even Jason Smith at Canberra had plenty of skill to help them play into their thirties.

If not Dale who else comes to mind? I’d rather roll the dice getting him back even if we did pay overs or have to give him a extra year. I’d have no issue giving him $500k for 3 years because he brings something we desperately need.

 

[B-Train]

If not Dale who else comes to mind? I’d rather roll the dice getting him back even if we did pay overs or have to give him a extra year. I’d have no issue giving him $500k for 3 years because he brings something we desperately need.

Yeah there's little out there from a leadership perspective. I just worry about Dale (one of my favourite players when with us) not being as suited to the new rules, having made a million tackles and concussions and having several injuries the last few years not lasting more than another year or two before there's a steep drop off.

I hope I'm wrong as he's a great bloke, reliable player and great leader but like I said, his game lacks skill to be able to get him by like Kennedy, Menzies and J.Smith when their body ages..

He's still worth a look for sure. Money isn't as much as an issue as length of the deal for me. Two years would be perfect. But he might want more security and rightly so from his perspective..

 

[Howie B]

If not Dale who else comes to mind? I’d rather roll the dice getting him back even if we did pay overs or have to give him a extra year. I’d have no issue giving him $500k for 3 years because he brings something we desperately need.

And if he gets injured you just medically retire him

 

[Cook]

If not Dale who else comes to mind? I’d rather roll the dice getting him back even if we did pay overs or have to give him a extra year. I’d have no issue giving him $500k for 3 years because he brings something we desperately need.

McGuire just signed with Saints for 18 months. Good pickup, especially with cowboys chipping in and the length of the deal. I wouldnt be keen on Dale for anymore the 2 years.

 

[B-Train]

Just got a random text from one of our sponsors....

Looks like Crapa and Floppa will 100% NOT be at our club next year.

He messaged because he hates Crapa NEARLY as much as I do lol

That one had to be an obvious one, even before this season. The way both have shat on the jersey each game this season and clearly not given a fuck just put the final nail in their coffins.

I'm sure Des will find room for the Turtle. Good riddance. Hopefully both finish the year in Reserves when we finally get to play some youngsters.

 

[DinkumDog]

It is worth keeping in mind that there are 30 contracted players out of which only 13 are guaranteed to play NRL any given week plus 4 with a reasonable chance that they will play. The other 13 are back ups or backs ups to the back ups. Replacing a $115k player (NRL minimum) with another $115k player doesn't save any Cap space. We can't get rid of 2 x $115k players and replace them with 1 x $230k player, because we still need to have 30 players. A lot of the players people keep wanting to get rid of are back ups to the back ups and on minimum or close to minimum contracts, like Crichton, SKatoa, or Roumanos who isn't even a back up to the back up.

To free up Cap space (which is the only thing that is relevant) we need to look at players in positions that command well above the minimum, spine obviously being top of that list, then specialists like prop and centre. Ogden is a prime example, he's a prop and commanding prop money which currently he doesn't deserve. He isn't doing the job as a bench player or even as a back up. Atoni similarly, right now he isn't justifying the Cap space that he consumes, sure he's playing OK'ish occasionally, but he's on far from the minimum so there is a lot (of Cap space) to be gained by moving him on. Conversely Meaney who is a very decent back up for full back or wing. Then there are players who may well be back ups right now, but they may just well be regular NRL players in the not too distant future, Okunbor is an example of that, they are worth keeping on potential, but be prepared to cut them loose when they aren't.

Our issue as I see it right now is we don't have any real gun players, the ones you just give the ball to and know they can create something out of nothing. The inspirations that lift the players around them. We need at least 2 of them, preferably in spine positions. And flicking a back up to the back up on the minimum is not going to help one bit in securing them (because you have to replace them with another back up to the back up on the minimum).

Go Dogs

I agree with a bunch of this.
The other issue apart from the cap or total cost of the squad of 30 is availability. Just because 15 players are off contract doesn’t mean 15 (or say even 12) can he moved on - depending on who’s available to replace them either by junior promotion or external recruitment. I get the leap to ‘get rid of them all’ (or most) based on how the team is performing, but I reckon it’s more realistic that we’ll see a similar situation to last year: ~8 players leaving.

 

[Roger the alien]

My 2 cents

* Players like Napa and Hoppa are gone, their performances show that.
* Players like Lewis, Meaney and C Smith are all on contracts for $300k+, I doubt any of them are willing to take pay cuts let alone drop back to minimum wage like we'd all want them too.
* Ogden knocked back our offer of $250k because he thinks he's worth more (says it all really).. so he's gotta go, no more players looking for big contracts and a free ride. ( Elliott's a prime example of someone who fleeced us for more money).
* Atoni and Okunbor I would like to keep however I think they've shown enough promise to get a better offer elsewhere as I'm sure as hell not overpaying them to stay.

 

[bradyk]

My 2 cents

* Players like Napa and Hoppa are gone, their performances show that.
* Players like Lewis, Meaney and C Smith are all on contracts for $300k+, I doubt any of them are willing to take pay cuts let alone drop back to minimum wage like we'd all want them too.
* Ogden knocked back our offer of $250k because he thinks he's worth more (says it all really).. so he's gotta go, no more players looking for big contracts and a free ride. ( Elliott's a prime example of someone who fleeced us for more money).
* Atoni and Okunbor I would like to keep however I think they've shown enough promise to get a better offer elsewhere as I'm sure as hell not overpaying them to stay.

Who else is going to pay Lewis, Meaney and C. Smith for e.g. 300k? An average back-up (where they're as players currently) aren't going to get that type of money.

 

[B-Train]

I agree with a bunch of this.
The other issue apart from the cap or total cost of the squad of 30 is availability. Just because 15 players are off contract doesn’t mean 15 (or say even 12) can he moved on - depending on who’s available to replace them either by junior promotion or external recruitment. I get the leap to ‘get rid of them all’ (or most) based on how the team is performing, but I reckon it’s more realistic that we’ll see a similar situation to last year: ~8 players leaving.

There are other things to factor in though. Say you only keep Renouf, Meaney and Okunbur for a similar amount to what they're on now as none have earned an increase in salary..

Then you dump the rest... Napa, Hoppa etc are on decent money. Even guys like Lewis, Chrichton, Britt, Ogden, JMK, Katoa etc are all on a fair bit more than the minimum of 115k.

Some are likely on between 250-350k. So if you replace most of those players with mainly juniors and minimum or near minimum wage players and upgrade with the available roster spots on more quality, then you free up a decent chunk of extra cap space by moving on dead weight.

 

[B-Train]

Who else is going to pay Lewis, Meaney and C. Smith for e.g. 300k? An average back-up (where they're as players currently) aren't going to get that type of money.

You're missing his point. That's close to what they're currently earning with us and that will come off the cap next season. Replace all three with minimum wage players/juniors and you generate 550k in cap space.