We'll have Sutton and Bateman replacing two blokes who have phoned it in for at least the last season and a half.
Assuming we don't recruit a replacement for Austin we have Williams, Hingano and Wighton as options.
Wighton is head and shoulders above Austin in defence. He also has a better passing game and is a much more willing competitor. We'd be better in attack and defence with him and Cotric in the spine.
Williams has his defensive issues, but he is a well rounded half who in combination with Hodgo, Sezer and Cotric/Wighton for an off season should be able to get the job done as the number 2 guy.
Hingano, if he sticks around should be given every chance to earn the number 6 but at the moment he's 3rd down my list of options for 5/8th.
If we could get another middle forward, preferably someone on the verge of rep footy, we're in better shape roster wise than this year.
On the proviso that the UK boys + whoever else we buy/blood in in at prop are even solid, I actually like the look of our squad next year as opposed to this year.
Boyd and Paulo are fat and immobile and easily exposed. We got away with it in 2016 but since then other teams figured us out. Bringing in even average replacements might improve the team. A decent prop signing would be handy though.
The less said about Austin the better. I reckon he is the mental embodiment of this team. He needs to go and if that is to tear it up at another team, so be it.
Its probably an exercise in futility with SuperCoach at the helm, but in Hodgson, Tapine, Papalli, Cotric, Rapana, Leilua (on his day) we do have a core of players who you wouldn't trade for any or many others in their position. I think if you could sign a half immune to Stuart and his penchant for destroying halves, and a good prop our squad would actually be in pretty good shape.
Barring prop #2 our entire forward pack are all current internationals for Australia, NZ and England. That's pretty **** decent by any standard.
Rapana and Cotric are both stars. Leilua is devestating when he's switched on. Croker is solid, and there's enough there with Wighton and Sezer if they are up for it on gameday.
The problem is Supercoach.
Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is just the train that's about to hit you.
Abbey is on contract. Hunt supposedly also but nothing official anywhere, same for Guler.
Horsburgh and Hala are on contract but development players at the moment. They will probably get upgraded. Kris and O'Hagen as well. That would take us to 29.
The last 5 or 6 places are really just emergencies though, they will probably not play any first grade.
Timbo wrote: ↑August 9, 2018, 10:44 am
Barring prop #2 our entire forward pack are all current internationals for Australia, NZ and England. That's pretty **** decent by any standard.
Rapana and Cotric are both stars. Leilua is devestating when he's switched on. Croker is solid, and there's enough there with Wighton and Sezer if they are up for it on gameday.
The problem is Supercoach.
Bingo.
Thats a quality forward pack, even if it is missing a really centred leader, like a burgess or Graham.
Thats also a very strong backline.
On paper that better than this year has turned out. The question is what will Ricky do with it.
If we could just pick up a half, an even half competent half to play five-eighth outside Sezer who wasn't a complete liability in defence, you could argue pretty heavily that we've got a substantially better side for 2019.
As it is our game management is an issue and Williams is still a turnstile. Wighton in the halves helps the defence issue, but makes the control issues worse.
Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is just the train that's about to hit you.
Any word if we are done recruiting for 2019? Every indication the club has given is we have no money left. If that is true, the best we can hope for is the below;
6 interchanges? Otherwise it's a bit undersized, bench especially.
Wighton to 5/8. It's all the rage again but last time he had everyone tearing their hair out with his lead boot and lack of creativity.
Cotric at FB. He'll be solid defensively, I have no doubt. He has good awareness and a big body and likes contact. How he goes in support and running set plays I don't know. Cotric will be a good footy player but whether it's at FB or he ends up Luke Lewis style in the middle or 2nd row with that frame I don't know. Him tearing it up vs struggling a bit will be as important as Wighton at 5/8. We'll have 2 players "out of position" (I know Cotric has played a bit of FB but he was a centre mostly?) in the spine in a team low on leaders and confidence...
J. Bateman. I think Havilii will be a decent fill in at lock if needs be. Or leave Papa there and play Guler/Knight? Least of my worries considering the above.
Wiki Special wrote:Any word if we are done recruiting for 2019? Every indication the club has given is we have no money left. If that is true, the best we can hope for is the below;
Wiki Special wrote:Any word if we are done recruiting for 2019? Every indication the club has given is we have no money left. If that is true, the best we can hope for is the below;
BadnMean wrote: ↑August 9, 2018, 7:15 pm
That could be a top 8 side up there Wiki Special.
It has a number of "if's" though...
6 interchanges? Otherwise it's a bit undersized, bench especially.
Wighton to 5/8. It's all the rage again but last time he had everyone tearing their hair out with his lead boot and lack of creativity.
Cotric at FB. He'll be solid defensively, I have no doubt. He has good awareness and a big body and likes contact. How he goes in support and running set plays I don't know. Cotric will be a good footy player but whether it's at FB or he ends up Luke Lewis style in the middle or 2nd row with that frame I don't know. Him tearing it up vs struggling a bit will be as important as Wighton at 5/8. We'll have 2 players "out of position" (I know Cotric has played a bit of FB but he was a centre mostly?) in the spine in a team low on leaders and confidence...
J. Bateman. I think Havilii will be a decent fill in at lock if needs be. Or leave Papa there and play Guler/Knight? Least of my worries considering the above.
I can't disagree with what you have said re: Wighton and Cotric. I think Wighton is a far better player now than when we first tried him at 6 and would acquit himself well now. And with our squad as currently constructed for 2019 I don't like any of our other options there.
As others have mentioned we have 4 players who are probably at their best at centre - Cotric, Croker, Leilua and Wighton. I would actually prefer to move Leilua on to be able to afford a spine player with his money. Play Wighton at left centre, Cotric at right centre and Croker at left wing.
Wiki Special wrote: ↑August 9, 2018, 6:58 pm
Any word if we are done recruiting for 2019? Every indication the club has given is we have no money left. If that is true, the best we can hope for is the below;
I think Sutton and Knight will be in the mix and probably over L. Bateman and Murchie. I can't wait to see Sutton play. He sounds like an Aiden Tolman type of player. Not the biggest prop around but one who will do his job and put in each and every match. I think Knight simply needs more time in FG. He is athletic and I can't see why he is not starting in front of Paulo right now.
We need new thinking about our defence though. They interviewed the Roosters Coach Robinson last night and he talked about how he has the players moving as a unit and how they train to cover one another in different scenarios on the field. He admitted to dreaming about defensive structures. The last time Sticky thought about defence was when he last opened de-gate.
Mickey_Raider wrote: ↑August 7, 2018, 11:11 am
On the proviso that the UK boys + whoever else we buy/blood in in at prop are even solid, I actually like the look of our squad next year as opposed to this year.
Boyd and Paulo are fat and immobile and easily exposed. We got away with it in 2016 but since then other teams figured us out. Bringing in even average replacements might improve the team. A decent prop signing would be handy though.
The less said about Austin the better. I reckon he is the mental embodiment of this team. He needs to go and if that is to tear it up at another team, so be it.
Its probably an exercise in futility with SuperCoach at the helm, but in Hodgson, Tapine, Papalli, Cotric, Rapana, Leilua (on his day) we do have a core of players who you wouldn't trade for any or many others in their position. I think if you could sign a half immune to Stuart and his penchant for destroying halves, and a good prop our squad would actually be in pretty good shape.
I'm with you Mickey. We still have a really good core of players here. Getting rid of some liabilities should see a big transformation in the attitude of our team heading into 2019.
I'm not sure what we do with Leilua as he is the other player who embodies the way we play. If that guy's head is screwed on he is a match winner, but he has lost us more games than he has won over the past 2 seasons. I'd be happy to cut him loose and put Cotric in the centres, but I doubt it will happen.
I wrote off this season around about round 3. You could tell from the get-go that the year would be a disaster. Pissing off Paulo, Boyd and Austin is a really good start. Given we offered contracts to all three, it's more good luck than good management...but I'll take whatever we can get.
For the record, I also really like Williams and Sezer as a halves pairing.
We have recently been losing games entirely because of our defence (and atrocious refereeing) rather than "game management" or our attack.
I know it's a popular sport on this forum to bag the **** out of both of our halves, but I'm really quite comfortable with our attack and they way these two guys work with Hodgson. Our current halves are not even remotely close to the biggest issue Stuart has to fix with this team.
S82, I don't think there has been much wrong with Sam Williams form since his return from injury. In fact with him doing the bulk of the short tactical kicking it has taken a load off Sezer. As you said, there is not much wrong with our attack as the Stats for this year demonstrate.
Interesting that Sticky is at last talking about decision making in defence. We don't see much from BJ. He simply stays out on the center he is marking. He doesn't seem to care that a try is going to be scored to his left. He just stays fixated on the opposition center. The try he let in last week was a perfect example. His opposite center ran an angled line towards the side line (but he didn't have the ball) and Joey, regular as clockwork, slid to cover him. Only problem was the hole he left made a try inevitable. The side may be able to cope with a BJ but not when we also add Paulo and Austin to the mix. We then become target practice for the opposition play makers.
Watching last nights game between The Rabbits and the Roosters illustrated to me that the Raiders will never win a premiership as we just don’t understand the importance of defense. More so, over the last week with our leadership team talking up that we are the best attacking team in the comp further illustrates that we just don’t get it.
Stuart has an unwillingness to break up this team and has no future plan to focus on our defense from what I can see. Even with our new recruits for next year from England we have again bought attacking players and not defensive orientated players.
I have now come to the realization that 2019 will be similar to this year. Great attacking team, however will finish in the bottom 8 as we just don’t get it. Sigh
