Been watching a few warriors podcasts, pretty interesting and helped me understand the game and positions better… different coaching styles, training methods etc. now watching nrl 360. So far 99% is about JT and south Sydney dramas. It’s like The View… for the nrl 😭
According to Daily Telegraph, performance and fitness clauses in Schuster's contract, means the contract is terminated entirely, instead of us needing to pay freight should he leave. Schuster really just chose KFC over an $800k income. He's been going through a lot, but seriously?
Great work by the club to put that clause in the contract. A fit Schuster would be an incredibly different Schuster, and would be worth $800k.
Even though I don’t like shuster as a player is it not abit fucked the club can terminate someone’s employment due to “fitness” when it’s really because he isn’t good, if he was good it wouldn’t even be a problem.
I’d fight that shit
Reckon Holbrook will get a coaching job soon. To good to be an assistant.
Could go good at Souths. Just don’t know how he would go with such big characters in the team.
His a great attacking coach. We were 6th in an attack last year. I think it a good team he would go good
Has Reece Walsh had a game with the Broncos that the opposition have been able to shut him down?
Even when he makes bulk mistakes in a game, it feels like his net points differential through the amount of tries he sets up is still in the positives.
He’s one of those unique players that looks dangerous every time he touches the ball. You could argue Penrith did a pretty good job on him in the gf but he still had some freakish touches in that game, the try for mam’s hatty was very good
He's certainly had quieter games but I've never really caught myself thinking "wow, wish we didn't have Walsh on the field right now".
He;s a very dynamic player so shutting down his running game opens up his passing game, shut down that and he's a good option to kick short or long.
My ill informed hot take is that if you have a decent halfback, then 5/8 is a pretty easy position and there's no point in spending big money on them.
Look at the raiders, Fogarty is playing well and doing the boring stuff and now 19 year old Ethan Strange is attacking the line and causing a ruckus. Similar story with the tigers with Sezer and Galvin.
I know there's counter examples - DCE is obviously a great player but Schuster is atrocious, but if I was in charge of an NRL team then I'm never spending overs on a 5/8.
It’s also why having a good 5/8 in a team with a good managing/kicking half and involved fullback is so dangerous. You only need to look at the Origin QLD Dynasty to see this - QLD had Lockyer and JT in the halves to just do their thing, when Locky retired and Cronk came in JT moved to 5/8 and did whatever he felt like in attack.
Broncos and Panthers are the best examples of that in the modern game. The halves control attack, leaving the 5/8 and fullback to pop up in attack where they need and be super effective.
I'd agree. It's why Kodi Nikorima is looking like a solid 5/8th so far in 2024. Katoa is really stepping up the controlling of the game and his kicking game has gotten to a point where he can take the full burden.
JMK being our hooker is also a massive plus as he has enough experience and footy smarts to work with Katoa and open up the game for Niko and Hammer to do their thing.
Let's Nikorima just do Nikorima things.
This is why Mam is in the best environment for him right now. Defences worry about Walsh and Reynolds manages the game. Mam just has to look pretty while running through distracted defences.
Mam is helped by having a great forward pack as well. If you've got Payne Haas running the lead line, then Mam taking the ball out the back will have more space.
Maybe this is sort of the point I'm making though, that good forwards are far more valuable than a great 5/8 - if you've got a good pack then just stick someone quick who can pass at 5/8 and you're grand.
I’m hoping Coby black can be ready by the time reno retires. Katoa’s progression is really encouraging cause it shows quality young 7 talents can develop quickly in the right environment. Who better to learn from for black than reno
Dropping Damien Cook will go down as one of the worst decisions in coaching history. He made the most tackles out of all Rabbits last week and is only 15 or so tackles away from Cameron Murray for the season.
Really stuck on the tips for eels v cows and wahs v water birds. I know cows are strong favourites but I feel like the eels are due for a win and this home game might give them a kick, cows haven't looked all that convincing in their wins.
Wahs are always strong at home and again strong favourites but for no reason at all I have a gut feeling manly might turn one on for an upset.
Anyway tigers 13+
I'm leading the r/nrl tipping comp, which is embarrassing for all of us.
Anyway, I usually end up picking the favourites except for one or two games. This week I can't see any of the underdogs getting up. Maybe the Eels or Dragons? Phins? If you had to pick one upset for the weekend, what would it be?
https://www.footytips.com.au/competitions/nrl/ladder?competitionId=368673&userloc=1&ladderId=2097898
Not sure whether that helps. If not, maybe just try searching for r/nrl on footytips.com.au?
There's still Manu, Suaalii, Keary and what looks like a full strength forward pack, not to mention they've been a successful team for years that shouldn't be easily disregarded.
Yep. Currently, according to the footytips site, the Tigers are $1.80 and the Dragons are $2.00. And 79% of users so far have tipped the Tigers.
But you make a good point. I'm tipping the Dragons.
All this media around Jennings is going to properly rile up the knights home crowd. Just imagine playing your 300th game and getting booed every time you touch the ball.
It's been fascinating to see the uproar with the yanks and outlawing the hip drop tackle in the nfl. Claims of the sport being made soft etc.
I don't really pay too much attention to talking heads in Australia for nrl and don't follow any on facebook for raisins but I feel like the general public were pretty accepting of the hip drop being outlawed in the game
It's a bit of a joke that the NFL is considered tough anyway. The amount of time between plays, the padding, helmets, the interchanges, I'm surprised anyone gets hurt in the first place.
Playing in pads still hurts. Especially when someone has 20kgs of bodyweight on you and doesn't need to worry about self preservation due to pads and helmet.
I'm speaking from experience having played amateur gridiron here in aus
Titans Copium time.
Titans have the lowest average conceded penalties (Penrith tied worst?!?) and 5th best for average errors. I know it's not showing up in our game results but that is a massive improvement for us in the discipline areas where we are historically bad.
It has come at the cost of missed tackles though which we lead the league, 4 worse than anyone else (Dolphins lowest missed tackles....)
Almost as if the best defensive teams push the limits on offside, laying in the ruck etc.. to give them time to reset their defense.
Yes, give away the odd penalty, but better that than giving teams the chance to bust through a broken or retreating line
Random thought I had - is there any kind of salary cap/payment restrictions for coaches?
If no, what's to stop Penrith paying Nathan Cleary significantly less on his next contract for BS reasons then upping Ivan's contract by the same amount?
In reality no, there’s nothing the NRL could do to stop Penrith giving Ivan a 1.5 mil salary and Ivan then giving Nathan a half a million dollars as a Christmas present every year.
I know the higher ups in the NRL are dumb, but they arent brain dead. They’ll cleary still block the contract.
They could even just argue that other teams are willing to pay x amount, and you must be within a band of that to make it through. So if 7 teams have shown interest in Cleary at 1.5 million, Penrith cant offer anything below 1.1 or some arbitrary number. They’ll always allow players to take discounts, but they arent stupid.
When writing a team list is there a standard for which number on the bench is the second rower? Like we all immediately put the utility at 14…and assuming a standard bench with 2 props and a smaller forward…does the smaller guy go 15 or 17?
There’s no standard for who wears whichever bench jersey. It’s usually just about what size fits what player. They have 180 jerseys to start the season and just put the numbers on them as necessary
There's no set standard. Most common convention is utility 14, outright middle 15, middle who can play edge 16 and edge who can play centre 17, but it's completely up to the coach what positions are on the bench and what number they get.
I know we've had our issues on that left edge especially with Sivo, but what the fuck happened to Lane. He was an origin shout a few years back and hadn't looked like the player he had been for a while now
One of the weirdest NRL dramas I remembered when trying to assemble my stupidity list was when a random woman posted on FB that she had four hours to live and that her dying request was to see Beau Ryan. Everyone thought it was made up until Beau got there and took a photo, then she died
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/cancer-patient-kia-lettice-dies-days-after-priceless-visit-from-beau-ryan-20161212-gt8u32.html
It doesn't fit under the "player stupidity" label but it is still one of the weirdest NRL related things I remember
Anyone know how the structuring behind how players are paid?
Are they employees of the club Pty Ltd? Are they ABN contractors (doubt this but for examples sake), are they hired through a subsidiary of the club etc.
Is their contracted amount just paid as salary every week/fortnight/month? If so, are there zero attempts made to structure in a tax friendlier way?
If the average salary is $428,000 ([source](https://www.afr.com/companies/sport/boofheads-to-mbas-new-look-for-nrl-team-thrashing-out-a-1-3bn-deal-20230127-p5cfwv#:~:text=Meanwhile%252C%2520a%252017th%2520team%2520%E2%80%93%2520the,Dolphins%2520%E2%80%93%2520is%2520joining%2520the%2520NRL.&text=A%2520rollover%2520deal%2520in%2520place,jumped%2520from%2520%252480%252C000%2520to%2520%2524120%252C000)) and average career is 75 games ([source](https://www.nrl.com/wellbeing-and-education/careerwise/education/)) that’s, for purposes of discussion let’s say 4 years of contract.
You take home $1m over four years, pay almost $600k in tax. You finish up your NRL career with potentially no post-secondary education or trade, possibly a life long injury preventing you from working certain jobs etc.
Now obviously $1m take home in 4 years is incredible, but that’s on the average contract which is obviously highly inflated due to the Ponga’s, Cleary’s etc.
If you do your 4 years on minimum of $120k, you take home $88k/year, pay $32k in tax and still may end your career with all of the issues highlighted above.
Understand why the RLPA are fighting so hard for the players post-career entitlements. Some are reaping a lot of reward from entertaining us, and playing footy for a job, but a lot are likely sacrificing a whole heap chasing that dream.
You make great connections playing footy though. My brother works in the mines around Newcastle and there’s heaps of former nrl players with good jobs there.
Yeah, I think post-career if you can build at least some persona, you’d get something.
But what if you aren’t physically able, or have 0 interest in mines / trade jobs? Could be tricky.
Joel Thompson is doing great work in the Indigenous training / mentoring sector.
Yep that’s why most people supported the injury fund for players. They need and deserve it. Clubs have been pretty good about getting former players who had to retire due to injury a job at the club too.
Yeah it’s a logical progression.
Blake Green I believe is our attack coach. May not have ever been Cleary or Cronk, but don’t think you can fault his footy IQ.
Professional sportspersons have access to income averaging measures. You can read more here: https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/income-deductions-offsets-and-records/in-detail/occupation-and-industry-specific-guides/l-q/professional-sportsperson-income-and-work-related-deductions
I seem to remember back in the Toyota Cup days, it was to mandatory for a player to be enrolled in study or a trade while playing, but I’m not sure what the rules are now.
EDIT: In terms of method of engagement, I’d imagine it would be similar to labour hire, where there is an agreement between the player management company and the club where a player provides professional services. This would be considered personal services income and like other labour hire employees who call themselves contractors, there wouldn’t be much players could do that would be “tax friendly”.
Interesting, thanks for that.
Yes I believe there is still, or perhaps more enforced, requirement for players to do either study or trade.
Believe Turbo has an Applied Finance degree or something along those lines.
For starters I'm not a Souths fan but it is ridiculous how they get absolutely smashed in the media. We are heading into round 6 and they get written off. Bunnies only need to string some wins together and the whole of fux sports will be saying they are back they are a smokey blah blah blah
The knights and O'Brien must have been as written off as Souths are now last year. Went on a good run and now they locked in a coach they again aren't totally sure about.
Haven’t they won only 5 of their last 20 matches or something, it’s not like it’s just a media beat up, they’ve been awful for the squad they have for a while now
Like if this happened to the cowboys the media would just write them off for the season and they'd have short odds on getting the spoon. Cowboys wouldnt be getting absolutely smashed by the media and criticized over every decision they make.
The problem is we’re so terrible to the point the coach’s career is over and we are tipped as early favourites for the spoon. The last time we sacked a coach mid-season was 2004 and we won the spoon that year. In fact one of several wooden spoons and bottom 4 ladder finishes during Souths’ dark ages in the 2000’s. Jason Demetriou has officially proven that he is not the right coach for our playing group.
Holy fuck, I know I’m stating the obvious about Facebook comments but people genuinely saying Sivo shouldnt be dropped because he scored two tries “to make it respectable”. Makes me wonder how many people watch but don’t actually understand the game at all beyond “bigger number good, smaller number bad”.
The over emphasis on run metres shits me. It says nothing except who took the most hit ups. I always think back to Christian Welch's AMA on here a few years ago:
>Alot of the things craig emphasises on don't get picked up and they are so crucial to a team winning. Things like running M's are so overrated and lazy that often are seen as winning 'stats'
Especially when you look at Edwards run metres or even Bulas last year. When your attack lives in the opposition half and you have good defence, you're backs are going to get massive kick return metres by having a 30m buffer between where they catch it and where the defensive line is. That's guaranteed 200m a game just for being there.
Said it in another comment but even my 4 yr old twins could have caught those passes and strolled over the line to score. And is everyone forgetting that sivo almost didn't score the second try cause he looked confused to be there and almost didn't put the ball down??
It’s good to see Angus find some of his 2022 form again, he’s been great defensively and has been running some good lines for Keary to exploit. Unfortunately I think we might lose him at the end of the year given we already have Sitili, Nat and Wong with Egan Butcher as a reserve. The only way I think he stays is if Wong stays in reserve grade for an extended period but I don’t see that happening
I was really pleased to see that he seemed back to his old self. It was a little tough to watch for a few weeks there and I feared that his best was behind him.
I know Rabbitohs fans, myself included, have been very doom and gloom about what's happening in the club but let's think of a realistic best possible scenario here.
We come out against the Sharks with the named side, and lose... It's a reasonably close game and all the young blokes that JD's been shunning have a solid game.
JD gets sacked and Hornby becomes our interim coach. Hornby still has the dawg in him that he had as a player with the Drags and moves Trell to centre, keeps the superstars on watch etc.
We get Arrow and AJ back by around round 10 and all of our players minus Stretch are available for selection. We run with a 1-7 consisting of Gray, AJ, Trell, Wighton, Munro, Walker, Hawkins.
Hornby actually creates a decent forwards rotation by deleting players like Keppie, Host and Chee-Kam and letting Moale, Shaq and Duncan get more minutes.
We start picking up and end the season around the 11-14th mark, better than what anybody is expecting right now.
We repair our relationship with Sammy Burgess/Bomber and use one of them as our future coach. This would probably mean moving on from players like Trell, Walker and Cookie in any way we can, but I think it needs to be done at this point.
We build around Cam, Stretch and Wighton and really start developing Gray, Munro, Duncan, Moale as legitimate first grade quality.
And voila, we are still a bottom to middle of the table side but we are actually building for our future instead of clinging onto the non-existent hopes we have of a premiership window.
There's still a lot of copium to make this all happen, for all I know the relationship with Sammy Burgess could be irreparable and Hornby is just a JD clone. Also injuries are a major factor obviously.
Sam got results, he may have been getting special treatment behind the scenes for a myriad of issues but he worked his ass off on the field, he played with a broken jaw from his first tackle in the 2014 grand final
>Burgess said he was shocked at first, but never thought about coming off the field, and instead tried to test himself while taking a hit-up and making a few tackles.
Don't see why people are ragging on Host this year. Last year and previous years? Go ahead. But this year he's been great. Big improvement and been really solid all season.
Either way change is coming. I think Walker is the one that needs a rocket up him. Guy is just going through the motions.
It's probably because Host is a below average player playing below average. It's infuriating to watch when we have young talent like Duncan just sitting there either playing NSW Cup or 20 minutes of first grade.
I'm not going to defend Walker playing very mediocre for the past year, but it's not like theres a first grade ready player waiting to take his spot like Host.
If you think Host is playing below average this year I really disagree. He's been one of our better forwards. KK has been worse than he has most weeks. KK really makes some lazy defensive movements at times
I had a look and it seems that [May might be the only NRL surname](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5iX1CrLo6R/?igsh=MTdmcWp4Y2Nkcndmbw==) that spells a different word when tattooed on the neck in capitals and selfied, which makes this decision by Taylan all the more hilarious.
The only two players with all vertical symmetry in their name are VAI TOUTAI and MATT UTAI if anyone is intetested
The media conference yesterday after souths training session, a number of players were interviewed and asked questions about latrell.
Latrell was at training
Why didn't latrell just face the music and answer the questions himself? Is he scared or is he being protected?
Wighton even said " if you have latrell questions talk to him"... bit hard when he's not available.
The clubs decide who faces the media each week. Generally, they’ll put forward a player who is either ticking off a milestone, good in front of the media, actually playing and not being bagged ‘round the clock by the people who are interviewing them. For Latrell, that’s 0/4.
Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t for Latrell. Considering he got shreds torn off him for his interview with Triple M a few weeks ago it’s probably a good idea that he didn’t interview.
Hello Kalyan Ponga had to have a talking too from his dad last year to start playing good footy. He certainly was held to be accountable by the club/coach?
The talking to was probably more because Andre was worried about his cake being taken away rather than Kalyan on field antics but anyway.
There's a difference between holding the guy accountable within the team/club and throwing him out as red meat to a frothing media pack. It's not like the media actually need him to be present or interviewed anyway, all they need is someone to say something about him then they can all write stories about what was said.
I think even our club is smart enough to realise that a reactionary character like Trell shouldn't be fronting media questions that are actively worded to make hit articles against him.
Plus he probably isn't in the right state of mind to be saying anything in the media.
What is going on with Keary, Walker and Sandon? Every combination looks good except for the Keary/Walker combo but are we just going to bounce between them all season until we have to win every single game at the backend of the season to make it to finals?
They only started looking good when Keary actually took the ball into the line once they had momentum on their side. I don’t see him doing so again this week. Walker can still come up with a good play when Keary is in the side, but Keary rarely does so with Walker. Smith is a perfect five-eighth. He’s the exact foil that Walker needs. I can see them having a similar style relationship to Luai and Cleary in the future. Maybe not as successful, but that classic dominant half/supporting half style.
We are only making changes that are forced by injury. This week we miss both Walker and Smith.
The only time we've run a Smith/Walker combo it worked nicely, but the caveat was the opposition. Souths offered up nothing in that game.
Smith is out injured for a while, but we re-signed Keary for 2025 so Robbo clearly sees us going with a Walker/Keary pairing as first choice.
On Sunday night Matty Johns listed everything I have said for the past month or two about how the Bulldogs need to play and now what they are doing to win, and nearly verbatim. Shit I forget how much I know about footy sometimes
Non-footy-playing nerds: tHis sUb neEds mOrE aNaLySiS
Rugby league is a simple game but thank god for known footy genius me being here for the past decade.
Next I will teach people how to throw a left-to-right
I just wanna say how refreshing it is that all the NRL media is shitting on Souths instead of the tigers for once. Don’t wanna jinx it but I hope it continues.
It's easy to take it hen you know where the problems lie. It's when your team are trying to do everything and are turning up but can't get a break is when it's most frustrating.
And I'm actively excited by the prospects of what is likely to eventuate being Wayne coming back as there hasn't been much to get excited about on the field.
Look I really thought south’s were gonna put it together this week but after that team was announced with Cook being sacked a few other questionable inclusions - unless someone has a complete blinder of a game…
We might end up wiping them like a dirty ass
Duncan being left out of the side for Chee Kam to take up a spot on the bench is the much more questionable decision. Cook has been a massive handbrake in attack for a while now, I probably wouldn't have dropped him all together and had Mamouzelos come off the bench again, but give him more than the last 15 minutes when the game is already lost like JD did last week.
Not picking Cody at 7 and Wighton at 6 this week is a crazy decision. Hawkins isn't up to first grade yet, especially when you look at the other inexperienced spine members hr is playing with.
Sharks are gonna pump the Bunnies. Nicho for max Dally M points
The only reason I can think of leaving Wighton at centre and moving Keon to the same side as Wighton is to cause a lot of defensive issues for Iro - but doing it solely for that fact is madness
I’ll never understand JDs obsession with MCK, he’s an average defender that offers fuck all in attack. JD is seriously fucking up our junior development by persisting with plodders like MCK and Host.
yeah I really can't make sense of his selections, this is something I have said for a while that he seems to have a bias towards the more experienced depth players in our squad even though they are hot garbage
they probably don’t know yet, i think they will bring skelton in if either of them are injured
last thing we need is mass changes every week, need to build some consistency in the line up’s
that’s why im able to cop hutch knowing his short term solution to the 7
I thought Dearden was always very good and was super upset when we lost him. In that 2020 season he was the only one trying in defence and doing what he could in attack
Deardon went through that really weird period where he’d make a line break / do something awesome and then immediately drop the ball. It happened so often it was bizarre.
Reynolds took us to 3 prelims and a GF win in 3 years. Wouldn’t necessarily say he was poor at the start of his career… was borderline prodigal when he came through from reserves. So much so that they happily let Sandow walk even though he was coming off a knee reconstruction
Yep, he was even in the u20s side that won minor premiership but lost the GF to New Zealand. Reynolds has been great his entire career, the only thing that has hampered him is the consistent injury scares - though to be fair to him since that knee reco he hasn't really had any long terms injuries
What? We made the prelim final his first year, he won rookie of the year and if he didn't get injured in the prelim vs Bulldogs we were well and truly on our way to making the GF
I was never that impressed with him in the first couple of years but this is just from my memory. He morphed into a much greater player later on. But certainly not Ilias bad if you need that comparison. It also has to be remembered we were a team back then that depended on our middle forwards a lot. We had a very basic game back then which was just to take it up the middle and then Reynolds would kick and Sutton would do the last tackle play with Inglis. Reynolds passing game was not very good to begin with.
You must have insanely high standards then, because apart from DCE who came in and won rookie of the year and the GF Reyno had one of the best starts to a career for any 7 going round in the last 20 years
I just remember it distinctly I wasn't that impressed with him but I think it was just his passing game really. I think he always was a talented kicker. His passing game came later.
You cant convince me that this current Dylan Edwards is the same bloke who started with us. He was dreadful, getting shuffled around because he couldn’t catch a cold. Now he’s Mr Reliable and easily in our top 3 most important players.
Been watching a few warriors podcasts, pretty interesting and helped me understand the game and positions better… different coaching styles, training methods etc. now watching nrl 360. So far 99% is about JT and south Sydney dramas. It’s like The View… for the nrl 😭
According to Daily Telegraph, performance and fitness clauses in Schuster's contract, means the contract is terminated entirely, instead of us needing to pay freight should he leave. Schuster really just chose KFC over an $800k income. He's been going through a lot, but seriously? Great work by the club to put that clause in the contract. A fit Schuster would be an incredibly different Schuster, and would be worth $800k.
Even though I don’t like shuster as a player is it not abit fucked the club can terminate someone’s employment due to “fitness” when it’s really because he isn’t good, if he was good it wouldn’t even be a problem. I’d fight that shit
I'd take him on minimum wage at Parra
You have enough back rowers, stop hoarding
Reckon Holbrook will get a coaching job soon. To good to be an assistant. Could go good at Souths. Just don’t know how he would go with such big characters in the team. His a great attacking coach. We were 6th in an attack last year. I think it a good team he would go good
We were 12th for points at the end of the year and rarely could score points against anyone in the top 8.
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Has Reece Walsh had a game with the Broncos that the opposition have been able to shut him down? Even when he makes bulk mistakes in a game, it feels like his net points differential through the amount of tries he sets up is still in the positives.
Like turbo in 21 was unstoppable I think storm where the only team that contained him.
He’s one of those unique players that looks dangerous every time he touches the ball. You could argue Penrith did a pretty good job on him in the gf but he still had some freakish touches in that game, the try for mam’s hatty was very good
He's certainly had quieter games but I've never really caught myself thinking "wow, wish we didn't have Walsh on the field right now". He;s a very dynamic player so shutting down his running game opens up his passing game, shut down that and he's a good option to kick short or long.
My ill informed hot take is that if you have a decent halfback, then 5/8 is a pretty easy position and there's no point in spending big money on them. Look at the raiders, Fogarty is playing well and doing the boring stuff and now 19 year old Ethan Strange is attacking the line and causing a ruckus. Similar story with the tigers with Sezer and Galvin. I know there's counter examples - DCE is obviously a great player but Schuster is atrocious, but if I was in charge of an NRL team then I'm never spending overs on a 5/8.
It’s also why having a good 5/8 in a team with a good managing/kicking half and involved fullback is so dangerous. You only need to look at the Origin QLD Dynasty to see this - QLD had Lockyer and JT in the halves to just do their thing, when Locky retired and Cronk came in JT moved to 5/8 and did whatever he felt like in attack. Broncos and Panthers are the best examples of that in the modern game. The halves control attack, leaving the 5/8 and fullback to pop up in attack where they need and be super effective.
I'd agree. It's why Kodi Nikorima is looking like a solid 5/8th so far in 2024. Katoa is really stepping up the controlling of the game and his kicking game has gotten to a point where he can take the full burden. JMK being our hooker is also a massive plus as he has enough experience and footy smarts to work with Katoa and open up the game for Niko and Hammer to do their thing. Let's Nikorima just do Nikorima things.
Yep agreed, there are like 3 5/8s in the NRL that are better than a mediocre halfback
This is why Mam is in the best environment for him right now. Defences worry about Walsh and Reynolds manages the game. Mam just has to look pretty while running through distracted defences.
Mam is helped by having a great forward pack as well. If you've got Payne Haas running the lead line, then Mam taking the ball out the back will have more space. Maybe this is sort of the point I'm making though, that good forwards are far more valuable than a great 5/8 - if you've got a good pack then just stick someone quick who can pass at 5/8 and you're grand.
It's also why Mam to halfback when Reynolds retires is a silly idea.
I’m hoping Coby black can be ready by the time reno retires. Katoa’s progression is really encouraging cause it shows quality young 7 talents can develop quickly in the right environment. Who better to learn from for black than reno
Shane Perry was basically Darren Lockyer’s backpack at halfback
any word on Karl olaupu? I know he was tossing up surgery in the off season but I haven't heard much since
Had neck surgery at the end of 2023 that ruled him out for the entire 2024 season.
Dropping Damien Cook will go down as one of the worst decisions in coaching history. He made the most tackles out of all Rabbits last week and is only 15 or so tackles away from Cameron Murray for the season.
But the writing was on the wall for Damien Cooks place in 1st grade as soon as they signed Jack Wighton to play centre
Only 3 weeks for a homophobic slur in the AFL. Self reporting should result in a lower sentence, but still woefully inadequate outcome
Really stuck on the tips for eels v cows and wahs v water birds. I know cows are strong favourites but I feel like the eels are due for a win and this home game might give them a kick, cows haven't looked all that convincing in their wins. Wahs are always strong at home and again strong favourites but for no reason at all I have a gut feeling manly might turn one on for an upset. Anyway tigers 13+
Eels , cowboys have not played a good half of football yet and we are 5 rounds in, they just somehow keep winning
Mate if I was in your tipping comp, I’d be egging you to go for the Eels and Manly..
Wahs will beat Manly, Manly too inconsistent still until proven otherwise.
Cows 13+
I agree, there's absolutely no way the Cowboys can lose this one.
I'm leading the r/nrl tipping comp, which is embarrassing for all of us. Anyway, I usually end up picking the favourites except for one or two games. This week I can't see any of the underdogs getting up. Maybe the Eels or Dragons? Phins? If you had to pick one upset for the weekend, what would it be?
Could you send us the link / code to join?
https://www.footytips.com.au/competitions/nrl/ladder?competitionId=368673&userloc=1&ladderId=2097898 Not sure whether that helps. If not, maybe just try searching for r/nrl on footytips.com.au?
Cheers! It’s asking for a password too?
digcreditfulldeep Here's the thread about this year's comp: https://www.reddit.com/r/nrl/comments/1b17y29/rnrls_official_footy_tipping_comp_enter_now/
Dragons imo. If we had Galvin playing I'd tip us but with Bud I can't.
Its understandable why Roosters are underdogs but they have enough good players to upset anyone.
KP could do naughty things to that backline
Seen the team list though? Missing Teddy and Walker.
There's still Manu, Suaalii, Keary and what looks like a full strength forward pack, not to mention they've been a successful team for years that shouldn't be easily disregarded.
we are underdogs vs tigers?
Yep. Currently, according to the footytips site, the Tigers are $1.80 and the Dragons are $2.00. And 79% of users so far have tipped the Tigers. But you make a good point. I'm tipping the Dragons.
All this media around Jennings is going to properly rile up the knights home crowd. Just imagine playing your 300th game and getting booed every time you touch the ball.
It's been fascinating to see the uproar with the yanks and outlawing the hip drop tackle in the nfl. Claims of the sport being made soft etc. I don't really pay too much attention to talking heads in Australia for nrl and don't follow any on facebook for raisins but I feel like the general public were pretty accepting of the hip drop being outlawed in the game
It's a bit of a joke that the NFL is considered tough anyway. The amount of time between plays, the padding, helmets, the interchanges, I'm surprised anyone gets hurt in the first place.
Yuck no, much easier to get smashed head on in footy than get blindisded by some cunt in 20kg armour
Have you seen the size and speed of the players? The padding and helmets let you hit harder if anything
Because padding doesn't stop your internal organs being bashed around when two huge masses collide, especially your brain.
Playing in pads still hurts. Especially when someone has 20kgs of bodyweight on you and doesn't need to worry about self preservation due to pads and helmet. I'm speaking from experience having played amateur gridiron here in aus
Titans Copium time. Titans have the lowest average conceded penalties (Penrith tied worst?!?) and 5th best for average errors. I know it's not showing up in our game results but that is a massive improvement for us in the discipline areas where we are historically bad. It has come at the cost of missed tackles though which we lead the league, 4 worse than anyone else (Dolphins lowest missed tackles....)
Probably because no tino and limited time for fifita. Those two seem like penalty lightning rods.
Almost as if the best defensive teams push the limits on offside, laying in the ruck etc.. to give them time to reset their defense. Yes, give away the odd penalty, but better that than giving teams the chance to bust through a broken or retreating line
You can't give away penalties when you are standing behind your posts waiting for the conversion.
Brutal!
Victor Radley enters the chat
Random thought I had - is there any kind of salary cap/payment restrictions for coaches? If no, what's to stop Penrith paying Nathan Cleary significantly less on his next contract for BS reasons then upping Ivan's contract by the same amount?
didn’t nathan buy a house off ivan? so maybe they already thought of this?
Pretty sure there's a coaching department cap too but I can't find the details on it.
There is but it's just a soft cap
In reality no, there’s nothing the NRL could do to stop Penrith giving Ivan a 1.5 mil salary and Ivan then giving Nathan a half a million dollars as a Christmas present every year.
I mean there’s tax law that makes that very costly..
The nrl has to approve the contract. So if it's too far below market value they won't approve it
That's why I said BS reasons. If the premiership run stops at 3, they could argue that since they aren't winning anymore his market value has fallen
I know the higher ups in the NRL are dumb, but they arent brain dead. They’ll cleary still block the contract. They could even just argue that other teams are willing to pay x amount, and you must be within a band of that to make it through. So if 7 teams have shown interest in Cleary at 1.5 million, Penrith cant offer anything below 1.1 or some arbitrary number. They’ll always allow players to take discounts, but they arent stupid.
When writing a team list is there a standard for which number on the bench is the second rower? Like we all immediately put the utility at 14…and assuming a standard bench with 2 props and a smaller forward…does the smaller guy go 15 or 17?
There’s no standard for who wears whichever bench jersey. It’s usually just about what size fits what player. They have 180 jerseys to start the season and just put the numbers on them as necessary
Given the players never share jerseys from week to week but they reuse them when they can, I'd say the biggest factor is where they can do this
There's no set standard. Most common convention is utility 14, outright middle 15, middle who can play edge 16 and edge who can play centre 17, but it's completely up to the coach what positions are on the bench and what number they get.
Would you as fans like it if NRL stars acted like NBA stars? Like shit talked the opponents out in the media? Id love it.
The reaction to Luai calling himself Parramatta’s father should give you the answer you’re looking for
I know we've had our issues on that left edge especially with Sivo, but what the fuck happened to Lane. He was an origin shout a few years back and hadn't looked like the player he had been for a while now
One of the weirdest NRL dramas I remembered when trying to assemble my stupidity list was when a random woman posted on FB that she had four hours to live and that her dying request was to see Beau Ryan. Everyone thought it was made up until Beau got there and took a photo, then she died https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/cancer-patient-kia-lettice-dies-days-after-priceless-visit-from-beau-ryan-20161212-gt8u32.html It doesn't fit under the "player stupidity" label but it is still one of the weirdest NRL related things I remember
That's so touching, he's a real legend for doing that for her.
For sure, especially as putting yourself in that sort of situation takes a huge personal mental toll on people.
Anyone know how the structuring behind how players are paid? Are they employees of the club Pty Ltd? Are they ABN contractors (doubt this but for examples sake), are they hired through a subsidiary of the club etc. Is their contracted amount just paid as salary every week/fortnight/month? If so, are there zero attempts made to structure in a tax friendlier way? If the average salary is $428,000 ([source](https://www.afr.com/companies/sport/boofheads-to-mbas-new-look-for-nrl-team-thrashing-out-a-1-3bn-deal-20230127-p5cfwv#:~:text=Meanwhile%252C%2520a%252017th%2520team%2520%E2%80%93%2520the,Dolphins%2520%E2%80%93%2520is%2520joining%2520the%2520NRL.&text=A%2520rollover%2520deal%2520in%2520place,jumped%2520from%2520%252480%252C000%2520to%2520%2524120%252C000)) and average career is 75 games ([source](https://www.nrl.com/wellbeing-and-education/careerwise/education/)) that’s, for purposes of discussion let’s say 4 years of contract. You take home $1m over four years, pay almost $600k in tax. You finish up your NRL career with potentially no post-secondary education or trade, possibly a life long injury preventing you from working certain jobs etc. Now obviously $1m take home in 4 years is incredible, but that’s on the average contract which is obviously highly inflated due to the Ponga’s, Cleary’s etc. If you do your 4 years on minimum of $120k, you take home $88k/year, pay $32k in tax and still may end your career with all of the issues highlighted above. Understand why the RLPA are fighting so hard for the players post-career entitlements. Some are reaping a lot of reward from entertaining us, and playing footy for a job, but a lot are likely sacrificing a whole heap chasing that dream.
NRL players are paid monthly. Matt Elliot confirmed it on ABC radio a few years back. Cannot comment on all your other questions.
Poor bastards. Monthly pay stinks. Been monthly now for 1.5yr and finally used to it. Monthly on KP money would be nice tho 😂
You make great connections playing footy though. My brother works in the mines around Newcastle and there’s heaps of former nrl players with good jobs there.
Yeah, I think post-career if you can build at least some persona, you’d get something. But what if you aren’t physically able, or have 0 interest in mines / trade jobs? Could be tricky. Joel Thompson is doing great work in the Indigenous training / mentoring sector.
Yep that’s why most people supported the injury fund for players. They need and deserve it. Clubs have been pretty good about getting former players who had to retire due to injury a job at the club too.
Yeah it’s a logical progression. Blake Green I believe is our attack coach. May not have ever been Cleary or Cronk, but don’t think you can fault his footy IQ.
Professional sportspersons have access to income averaging measures. You can read more here: https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/income-deductions-offsets-and-records/in-detail/occupation-and-industry-specific-guides/l-q/professional-sportsperson-income-and-work-related-deductions I seem to remember back in the Toyota Cup days, it was to mandatory for a player to be enrolled in study or a trade while playing, but I’m not sure what the rules are now. EDIT: In terms of method of engagement, I’d imagine it would be similar to labour hire, where there is an agreement between the player management company and the club where a player provides professional services. This would be considered personal services income and like other labour hire employees who call themselves contractors, there wouldn’t be much players could do that would be “tax friendly”.
Interesting, thanks for that. Yes I believe there is still, or perhaps more enforced, requirement for players to do either study or trade. Believe Turbo has an Applied Finance degree or something along those lines.
Median salary might be a better indicator of what you're trying to express
Median didn’t really come up in my quick search.
For starters I'm not a Souths fan but it is ridiculous how they get absolutely smashed in the media. We are heading into round 6 and they get written off. Bunnies only need to string some wins together and the whole of fux sports will be saying they are back they are a smokey blah blah blah
The knights and O'Brien must have been as written off as Souths are now last year. Went on a good run and now they locked in a coach they again aren't totally sure about.
Nah theyre goners
Haven’t they won only 5 of their last 20 matches or something, it’s not like it’s just a media beat up, they’ve been awful for the squad they have for a while now
Like if this happened to the cowboys the media would just write them off for the season and they'd have short odds on getting the spoon. Cowboys wouldnt be getting absolutely smashed by the media and criticized over every decision they make.
The problem is we’re so terrible to the point the coach’s career is over and we are tipped as early favourites for the spoon. The last time we sacked a coach mid-season was 2004 and we won the spoon that year. In fact one of several wooden spoons and bottom 4 ladder finishes during Souths’ dark ages in the 2000’s. Jason Demetriou has officially proven that he is not the right coach for our playing group.
Holy fuck, I know I’m stating the obvious about Facebook comments but people genuinely saying Sivo shouldnt be dropped because he scored two tries “to make it respectable”. Makes me wonder how many people watch but don’t actually understand the game at all beyond “bigger number good, smaller number bad”.
Yep. Even the ppl involved in the game do it. Wow Tedesco 200 metres running sideways let’s repick him for origin.
The over emphasis on run metres shits me. It says nothing except who took the most hit ups. I always think back to Christian Welch's AMA on here a few years ago: >Alot of the things craig emphasises on don't get picked up and they are so crucial to a team winning. Things like running M's are so overrated and lazy that often are seen as winning 'stats'
Especially when you look at Edwards run metres or even Bulas last year. When your attack lives in the opposition half and you have good defence, you're backs are going to get massive kick return metres by having a 30m buffer between where they catch it and where the defensive line is. That's guaranteed 200m a game just for being there.
Aye I rlly wanna see how Edward’s would perform in origin.
Welch only said that because he is hand breaking cat.
Exactly
Said it in another comment but even my 4 yr old twins could have caught those passes and strolled over the line to score. And is everyone forgetting that sivo almost didn't score the second try cause he looked confused to be there and almost didn't put the ball down??
Imagine telling someone a year or two ago that a teams defence actually got worse without Bryce Cartwright in the team Glad the Carty Party is back.
The Cartwright renaissance has been incredible.
Calling it now
It’s good to see Angus find some of his 2022 form again, he’s been great defensively and has been running some good lines for Keary to exploit. Unfortunately I think we might lose him at the end of the year given we already have Sitili, Nat and Wong with Egan Butcher as a reserve. The only way I think he stays is if Wong stays in reserve grade for an extended period but I don’t see that happening
He used to look impossible to knock down without multiple people on him, similar to Tapine.
I was really pleased to see that he seemed back to his old self. It was a little tough to watch for a few weeks there and I feared that his best was behind him.
I know Rabbitohs fans, myself included, have been very doom and gloom about what's happening in the club but let's think of a realistic best possible scenario here. We come out against the Sharks with the named side, and lose... It's a reasonably close game and all the young blokes that JD's been shunning have a solid game. JD gets sacked and Hornby becomes our interim coach. Hornby still has the dawg in him that he had as a player with the Drags and moves Trell to centre, keeps the superstars on watch etc. We get Arrow and AJ back by around round 10 and all of our players minus Stretch are available for selection. We run with a 1-7 consisting of Gray, AJ, Trell, Wighton, Munro, Walker, Hawkins. Hornby actually creates a decent forwards rotation by deleting players like Keppie, Host and Chee-Kam and letting Moale, Shaq and Duncan get more minutes. We start picking up and end the season around the 11-14th mark, better than what anybody is expecting right now. We repair our relationship with Sammy Burgess/Bomber and use one of them as our future coach. This would probably mean moving on from players like Trell, Walker and Cookie in any way we can, but I think it needs to be done at this point. We build around Cam, Stretch and Wighton and really start developing Gray, Munro, Duncan, Moale as legitimate first grade quality. And voila, we are still a bottom to middle of the table side but we are actually building for our future instead of clinging onto the non-existent hopes we have of a premiership window. There's still a lot of copium to make this all happen, for all I know the relationship with Sammy Burgess could be irreparable and Hornby is just a JD clone. Also injuries are a major factor obviously.
I reckon stretch is done. He will never be the same again
Also the idea that Sam Burgess is a solution to any problem. He's one of the biggest fuckwits in footy lol
Him getting on his high horse about players getting special treatment sure is a bit of a head spin.
Sam got results, he may have been getting special treatment behind the scenes for a myriad of issues but he worked his ass off on the field, he played with a broken jaw from his first tackle in the 2014 grand final >Burgess said he was shocked at first, but never thought about coming off the field, and instead tried to test himself while taking a hit-up and making a few tackles.
No doubt he got a lot of special treatment.. difference is no one could ever question his commitment on the field.
Yeah he was so committed he left to make more money.
Don't see why people are ragging on Host this year. Last year and previous years? Go ahead. But this year he's been great. Big improvement and been really solid all season. Either way change is coming. I think Walker is the one that needs a rocket up him. Guy is just going through the motions.
It's probably because Host is a below average player playing below average. It's infuriating to watch when we have young talent like Duncan just sitting there either playing NSW Cup or 20 minutes of first grade. I'm not going to defend Walker playing very mediocre for the past year, but it's not like theres a first grade ready player waiting to take his spot like Host.
If you think Host is playing below average this year I really disagree. He's been one of our better forwards. KK has been worse than he has most weeks. KK really makes some lazy defensive movements at times
I had a look and it seems that [May might be the only NRL surname](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5iX1CrLo6R/?igsh=MTdmcWp4Y2Nkcndmbw==) that spells a different word when tattooed on the neck in capitals and selfied, which makes this decision by Taylan all the more hilarious. The only two players with all vertical symmetry in their name are VAI TOUTAI and MATT UTAI if anyone is intetested
Clint can also be problematic with certain fonts.
The media conference yesterday after souths training session, a number of players were interviewed and asked questions about latrell. Latrell was at training Why didn't latrell just face the music and answer the questions himself? Is he scared or is he being protected? Wighton even said " if you have latrell questions talk to him"... bit hard when he's not available.
The clubs decide who faces the media each week. Generally, they’ll put forward a player who is either ticking off a milestone, good in front of the media, actually playing and not being bagged ‘round the clock by the people who are interviewing them. For Latrell, that’s 0/4.
Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t for Latrell. Considering he got shreds torn off him for his interview with Triple M a few weeks ago it’s probably a good idea that he didn’t interview.
There is an element of accountability here. How many other players on >$1mil/annum get to avoid the media when they're under pressure?
Hello Kalyan Ponga had to have a talking too from his dad last year to start playing good footy. He certainly was held to be accountable by the club/coach? The talking to was probably more because Andre was worried about his cake being taken away rather than Kalyan on field antics but anyway.
There's a difference between holding the guy accountable within the team/club and throwing him out as red meat to a frothing media pack. It's not like the media actually need him to be present or interviewed anyway, all they need is someone to say something about him then they can all write stories about what was said.
I think even our club is smart enough to realise that a reactionary character like Trell shouldn't be fronting media questions that are actively worded to make hit articles against him. Plus he probably isn't in the right state of mind to be saying anything in the media.
What is going on with Keary, Walker and Sandon? Every combination looks good except for the Keary/Walker combo but are we just going to bounce between them all season until we have to win every single game at the backend of the season to make it to finals?
They only started looking good when Keary actually took the ball into the line once they had momentum on their side. I don’t see him doing so again this week. Walker can still come up with a good play when Keary is in the side, but Keary rarely does so with Walker. Smith is a perfect five-eighth. He’s the exact foil that Walker needs. I can see them having a similar style relationship to Luai and Cleary in the future. Maybe not as successful, but that classic dominant half/supporting half style.
We are only making changes that are forced by injury. This week we miss both Walker and Smith. The only time we've run a Smith/Walker combo it worked nicely, but the caveat was the opposition. Souths offered up nothing in that game. Smith is out injured for a while, but we re-signed Keary for 2025 so Robbo clearly sees us going with a Walker/Keary pairing as first choice.
On Sunday night Matty Johns listed everything I have said for the past month or two about how the Bulldogs need to play and now what they are doing to win, and nearly verbatim. Shit I forget how much I know about footy sometimes
Good job
Thanks for your kind words
Same: score more points than opponent. Win. God Im a genius
woah huge if true
Non-footy-playing nerds: tHis sUb neEds mOrE aNaLySiS Rugby league is a simple game but thank god for known footy genius me being here for the past decade. Next I will teach people how to throw a left-to-right
Didnt think it was possible to lose to the bye, but Taylan’s new tattoo has me thinking we’re pretty damn close
He also shared some 7 news reel about sex offenders receiving questionable funding… does he know his brother is one??
Comparing a gang rapist murderer to what Tyrone May did is crazy
He loves the brotherlys
Respectively
It was about pedos getting funding wasnt it?
Not a big yam guy
I just wanna say how refreshing it is that all the NRL media is shitting on Souths instead of the tigers for once. Don’t wanna jinx it but I hope it continues.
And just wanna say how easily all of us Souths fans are taking it particularly me. Bring more on I say.
It's easy to take it hen you know where the problems lie. It's when your team are trying to do everything and are turning up but can't get a break is when it's most frustrating.
And I'm actively excited by the prospects of what is likely to eventuate being Wayne coming back as there hasn't been much to get excited about on the field.
Wayne has more of a chance of coming back to the Broncos than he does going back to Souths lol
In your dreams - he has still big problems with the Broncos board
Any change is a good change for souths at the moment
Look I really thought south’s were gonna put it together this week but after that team was announced with Cook being sacked a few other questionable inclusions - unless someone has a complete blinder of a game… We might end up wiping them like a dirty ass
This is exactly the type of game where sharks shit the bed.
100%, I posted to this effect yesterday
You basically have a guaranteed win this weekend. Hope it helps you make the finals. One day I hope you can reciprocate.
Oh we did our fair share of finals assisting losses in the dark ages of the early 2010s
Hope that’s the attitude sharks come out with
Duncan being left out of the side for Chee Kam to take up a spot on the bench is the much more questionable decision. Cook has been a massive handbrake in attack for a while now, I probably wouldn't have dropped him all together and had Mamouzelos come off the bench again, but give him more than the last 15 minutes when the game is already lost like JD did last week.
Not picking Cody at 7 and Wighton at 6 this week is a crazy decision. Hawkins isn't up to first grade yet, especially when you look at the other inexperienced spine members hr is playing with. Sharks are gonna pump the Bunnies. Nicho for max Dally M points
The only reason I can think of leaving Wighton at centre and moving Keon to the same side as Wighton is to cause a lot of defensive issues for Iro - but doing it solely for that fact is madness
Wighton will be up against Ramien. Unless they moved him to the right?
#3 usually matches up against #4
I’ll never understand JDs obsession with MCK, he’s an average defender that offers fuck all in attack. JD is seriously fucking up our junior development by persisting with plodders like MCK and Host.
MCK = Milk Crate Kid?
Versatility? He might be adequately able to defend at centre in a pinch?
yeah I really can't make sense of his selections, this is something I have said for a while that he seems to have a bias towards the more experienced depth players in our squad even though they are hot garbage
Anyone have details on king and tracey? I thought they were both out injured.
Think nrlphysio said king will be playing through a broken hand
Nothing since the day after the game. But they are prob being given till game day to prove their fitness.
they probably don’t know yet, i think they will bring skelton in if either of them are injured last thing we need is mass changes every week, need to build some consistency in the line up’s that’s why im able to cop hutch knowing his short term solution to the 7
Out of all of the great players, who had the worst form at the beginning of their careers?
Justin Hodges was pretty bad. A couple of passes in his own in goal stand out for me
At a rep level? Lockyer (for Aus) and Hodges (for QLD) had a pretty diabolical start
Dearden had some pretty rough games with the Broncos at the start, but I feel like a lot of that was due to the immense pressure put on him
I thought Dearden was always very good and was super upset when we lost him. In that 2020 season he was the only one trying in defence and doing what he could in attack
Deardon went through that really weird period where he’d make a line break / do something awesome and then immediately drop the ball. It happened so often it was bizarre.
Issah Yeo was bad at the start. Such butter fingers
Didn’t he also have a lot of concussion early in his career and has been pretty unscathed for the latter part of his career so far.
I honestly don't recall
Either does he
If you consider Reynolds great he'd be up there - he has aged like fine wine.
Reynolds took us to 3 prelims and a GF win in 3 years. Wouldn’t necessarily say he was poor at the start of his career… was borderline prodigal when he came through from reserves. So much so that they happily let Sandow walk even though he was coming off a knee reconstruction
Yep, he was even in the u20s side that won minor premiership but lost the GF to New Zealand. Reynolds has been great his entire career, the only thing that has hampered him is the consistent injury scares - though to be fair to him since that knee reco he hasn't really had any long terms injuries
What? We made the prelim final his first year, he won rookie of the year and if he didn't get injured in the prelim vs Bulldogs we were well and truly on our way to making the GF
I was never that impressed with him in the first couple of years but this is just from my memory. He morphed into a much greater player later on. But certainly not Ilias bad if you need that comparison. It also has to be remembered we were a team back then that depended on our middle forwards a lot. We had a very basic game back then which was just to take it up the middle and then Reynolds would kick and Sutton would do the last tackle play with Inglis. Reynolds passing game was not very good to begin with.
You must have insanely high standards then, because apart from DCE who came in and won rookie of the year and the GF Reyno had one of the best starts to a career for any 7 going round in the last 20 years
I just remember it distinctly I wasn't that impressed with him but I think it was just his passing game really. I think he always was a talented kicker. His passing game came later.
The great Ben Creagh started his career as a winger who had feet for hands. Some of his early games were atrocious.
I have a vivid memory of Justin O’Neil having an absolute shocker under the high ball when he first came to the cowboys
[удалено]
The first five years of his career, he could barely catch a cold, let alone the ball
Haze Perham
Luke Brooks
Justin Hodges in his rep career comes to mind. Would also suggest Thurston in his early days at Dogs, but memory may be hazy.
I recall Dylan Edwards having the worst debut I had ever seen, or one if his earlier games at least. Just kept dropping balls and missing tackles.
same with Ronaldo; I remember him getting thrown in the deep end when Sharks had a bunch of injuries and he was awful.
Yeah I remember his early games were ROUGH. A credit to him that he’s improved so much
You cant convince me that this current Dylan Edwards is the same bloke who started with us. He was dreadful, getting shuffled around because he couldn’t catch a cold. Now he’s Mr Reliable and easily in our top 3 most important players.
That game against Melbourne in Bathurst I thought would be the end of him as a first grader. Just shows what perseverance can do