Re: At last the Rhinos are investing in the team correctly. : Wed Oct 18, 2023 12:26 pm
Agree - last year's recruitment was a strategy driven by cap constraints, rather than going cheap. We had very little cap space and Smith focused on bringing in depth and some younger players who were closer to first team than Academy kids. One of his early comments was that there were virtually no hungry reserves in their early 20s who he could pick when injuries bit. Instead in some positions it was either move players around or pick 17 year olds.The strategy was always going to be hit and miss, and maybe in a couple of years most of them will have gone. But we unearthed McDonnell who looks a gem, and a couple of others look like being OK squad players. Even Hooley after his disastrous start looked like he'd be a very good reserve if he'd stayed. The only absolute dud was Olpherts, who looks like being reserve at best if he stays.
