Re: Dead wood out?! : Fri Aug 31, 2012 1:38 pm  

10 years ago you could sign internationals from the NRl because of the exchange rate and the low Aussie salary cap.

10 years ago I could get in a 36 inch waist jeans and didn't need to pish seven times through the night.

WTF does 10 years ago have to do with now?

Re: Dead wood out?! : Fri Aug 31, 2012 1:47 pm  

G1 wrote:

10 years ago I could get in a 36 inch waist jeans

Re: Dead wood out?! : Fri Aug 31, 2012 1:50 pm  

Biff Tannen wrote:

I would agree with all of that.The big worry has always been that with so many of our golden generation coming through at the same time,then of course the time will come when they will depart at the same time aswell.

As you say,Its a comfort to know our three-quarter line looks set fair for the next decade or so.

The pack is getting to be a big worry now though as the likes of Ellis, Ali, Eastwood and Buderus have been replaced by mediocre plodders and Kylie and JP (How bad would our go forward have been without him on Saturday?) are on their last legs.Lets hope Singleton when he gets the chance,takes it.Hopefuly we will bring Amor back for next year.

The next Two seasons are huge as to how long our transition is going to last.If Mac isnt prepared to start bringing the young lads through in the pack,en mass, then we are going to be left picking up the likes of Moore and Griffin on a regular basis as its clear we wont be spending the big bucks.

Is Mac up to the task? im not sure.But if he isnt then it does not matter how good our backs are,if our pack gets battered week on week we will not be back at the top table of Super League.

singleton will still only be 20 next season , so wouldnt put to much pressure on him carrying the team at such a young age from a prop, he needs more game time next year thats all , he has been described by many as the new jamie peacock, well jp was well into is late 20s when he started playing prop, mac as allready quoted " he reminds me of a young jp ". as for amor he wood be a good signing , hes done is apprentiship in the prop world and is now the right age 25 ish to make an impact. another post further down metioned ambler , he not even at the club no longer !

Re: Dead wood out?! : Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:21 pm  

knockon wrote:

singleton will still only be 20 next season , so wouldnt put to much pressure on him carrying the team at such a young age from a prop, he needs more game time next year thats all , he has been described by many as the new jamie peacock, well jp was well into is late 20s when he started playing prop, mac as allready quoted " he reminds me of a young jp ". as for amor he wood be a good signing , hes done is apprentiship in the prop world and is now the right age 25 ish to make an impact. another post further down metioned ambler , he not even at the club no longer !

He is very young still as you say and certainly for a prop.My point was we need to start blooding him soon in the first team.let him get the chance to mix with the likes of JP and Kylie next season where he wont be expected to lead the pack.Them two will be gone very soon and it will be a much tougher apprenticeship served alongside the other bunch of mainly average props we currently have and alot more will be expected of him,and probably too soon.

Re: Dead wood out?! : Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:40 pm  

Agree BT time for Singleton to get game-time imo and not just 10 minutes then disappear for 3 months.
Would love us to recall Amor and IF Achurch turns out to be a good un then i think we can let Kylie and Moore go along with Kirke and Hauraki.
For me i'd like to see Griffin and Bailey as starting props with JP ,Amor and Singleton to come off the bench Achurch covers FR and BR ala Kirke plus IF we can sign a new LC or trust Keinhorst that frees up Abbo for the BR aswell.

Re: Dead wood out?! : Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:58 pm  

El Diablo wrote:

:LIAR:

Busted!

Re: Dead wood out?! : Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:59 pm  

Whatever we think of McDermott's decision to put Keinhorst on the bench in the Final, this must indicate that he does think the lad is just about ready to make the step up as a first team regular and could mean he is going to be given the LC jersey from the off next season.

I personally hope this is the case as, although Ablett is a capable centre he is a better backrower and its not as if we are flooded with great back row options at the moment.

If we recalled Amor,McShane and Singleton with a view to giving them regular game time next season alongside Ward and Keinhorst this would be a good start in the re-building proccess IMO.But Mac has to be brave enough to start doing it.

Re: Dead wood out?! : Fri Aug 31, 2012 3:24 pm  

I keep reading posts regarding us recalling Amor for next season but we've passed up on that option and now it's purely down to Amor to decide where he wants to go so we no longer have any say. Also there are rumours he's going to Hull but I've no idea how that can happen unless we or Wakey sell him on to them.

The fact we've backtracked somewhat and now lost control of the decision makes me think that we are still not 100% sure about him and if Amor senses the same he might prefer to stay where he feels wanted and has been given a chance.

IF we desperately wanted him back why did we not exercise our right before end of July when we had total control over the decision??

Re: Dead wood out?! : Fri Aug 31, 2012 3:57 pm  

Superted wrote:

Completely agree with this.

What I would say is that if this is the case, a coaching structure needs to be in place to get the absolute maximum from the players at our disposal - This is one of the areas we fall down on in my opinion. With the current playing rostar, the tactic is to coast through the season and try and lift for the business end to save our old guard from burning out (I've mentioned on other threads I dont like this as a long term solution, but that is a seperate arguement). However, even for this lift, the attacking and defensive structures are still way behind other top teams. Even if we want to coast through the season and keep the players fresh for the business end, the same attacking and defensive structures should be in place all season long, with greater rotation of players to keep them fresh.

Isn't this the point I make about eight pages back ?

Can anyone name me a single player in our squad, that has improved their performance under the current head coach ?

About the only reasonable argument might be Zak, but given he is a player who is developing, it could be argued that he is merely fulfilling his potential.

In the past, look at Andy Hay .... A journeyman player, who was turned in to a GB international as a result of his performances under Graham Murray.

There's a bus load of players that look better under Tony Smith at Warrington, even players who on paper should be over the hill. How come TS can do it and McDoughnut can't ?

We have the squad depth and potential to be better than 5th even with the players we currently have on our books.

Get the coaching set up right and so many of the other issues that we have evaporate.

Re: Dead wood out?! : Fri Aug 31, 2012 4:31 pm  

Richie wrote:

Ten years ago, we still had to wait two more to be champions, then wait another three after that.
Currently, we are reigning champions, and have been champions four out of the last five years.

Yes, and our recent success is due to the team building we began ten years ago. Re McGuire, Burrow et al with quality signings along the way.