Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by greeneyed »

Josh Hodgson: "I love this club more than to let my own ego stand in the way"



Canberra Raiders hooker Josh Hodgson spoke for the first time today about his decision three weeks ago to stand down as co-captain.

He dismissed stories about him "fighting and arguing" with his coach Ricky Stuart as "laughable" - and stressed it was his decision alone. But he wouldn't be drawn on the reasons for standing himself down from the Green Machine's leadership.

Hodgson acknowledges that a new generation is coming through the ranks at the Raiders - with Tom Starling named at No. 9 this week, while he will return from a calf injury on the bench. But recent stories suggesting he may be on the move to the Brisbane Broncos came as a surprise to him and his family.

"It was news to me. I don't buy too much into that," he said.

"I'm not daft. I'm an old bloke. I've been around a while but I've still got a lot of good years left in me yet... four or five good years in me left."

"Tommy's been playing some good footy. If he's the next generation in terms of what they want to bring throughout the club I'm fine with that."

"I love this club more than to let my own ego stand in the way."

"That was the first I'd heard about it. So it was a shock to me and a shock to the family."

Hodgson is contracted to the end of 2022 at the Raiders and says he'd like to play out his career in green. But he also says he'll have to take the decisions that are best for him and his family.

"First preference would be to spend those four or five years in Canberra," Hodgson said.

"You've got to do what's best by you and best by your family and your career. Your career's so short in terms of your life, you can't have any regrets."

"I've never had any regrets so far in terms of big decisions I've made. I've always made the right ones for myself and my family."

Hodgson says that the meeting where he told Ricky Stuart he would be standing down as co-captain was an amicable one - and that his relationship with the coach is good.

"Some of the stories have been a little bit laughable... saying that me and Stick are fighting and arguing and all that," Hodgson said.

"When I stepped down it couldn't have been more amicable. We shook hands and a pat on the back and just went about business as normal."

"We've got a pretty good relationship. We know when it comes down to rugby that business is business."

"Sometimes you've got to talk business, but that doesn't affect your personal relationship off the field. So me and Rick will never blue in terms of a big way."

Hodgson says Stuart was "gutted" by the decision to stand aside and the coach asked if Hodgson wanted to to take a bit longer to think about it. But Hodgson had made his mind up and he knew that he wouldn't change it.

"It went down as well as it could have done with Ricky. We left on really good terms after the meeting and the boys went about business as normal."

Hodgson admits it was a difficult decision to stand down from the captaincy - but it was his decision and his decision alone.

"It was probably the hardest one I've made in my career," he said.

"Probably the toughest thing I've had to do. I just felt it was right at that time."

"The bunch of blokes here and the quality of the players we've got, to be able to be captain of them is a massive honour."

"So it certainly wasn't a decision that I took lightly."

"I have my own values, I'm my own man. I make my own decisions, I'm a big boy. I'm never going to back down to someone else's opinion, if that's my decision, that's my decision."

"I felt for a few reasons it was just the right time had come."

"You hear multiple stories as to reasons why, agents aggravating things and all sorts."

"No one influences me, no one makes my decisions for me, I make my own decisions."

However, Hodgson would not be drawn on the precise reasons for his decision to step aside.

"We had enough fires starting all over the place these last few weeks. The last thing I need to do is start any more," he said.

"We've moved past it as a club. I don't think there's any reason for me to touch on it."

"It's a decision I made, I came up with it on my own. We're all going about business as usual and working as hard as we can just to turn it around."

"We're all good and all in the camp are really good."

"When you're losing games people look for reasons why you're losing."

"We're just not winning games. The boys are working as hard as they can. They're turning up for training with a smile on their face."

"They're doing all the right things. We just need to snap that losing streak and hopefully go on a little bit of a run."

Hodgson had fitness tests on Saturday and Monday and his injured calf has pulled up well. Hodgson signalled today that both he and Tom Starling will likely be on the field at the same time on Saturday - but indicated that he was not sure whether he'd be playing at "number nine or loose forward".

A report for The Greenhouse

Exit over ego: Hodgson won't stay in Starling's way, but A-OK with Sticky: https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/05/12/exi ... th-sticky/

VIDEO: Josh Hodgson speaks about his decision to stand down as co-captain: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/05 ... the-media/

Canberra Raiders star Josh Hodgson opens up for first time since stepping down as captain: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239

‘I’m not daft’: Josh Hodgson breaks silence on rumoured rift with coach: https://7news.com.au/sport/rugby-league ... -c-2820442

Raiders hooker Josh Hodgson hits back at "laughable" recent reports in fascinating interview: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239

Die-hard fan gets a Raiders lime Canberra Milk tattoo: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by greeneyed »

I'm guessing all the comments about how Josh is the person making the decisions reflected this story, at least in part:

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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Get back the Ten »

If the problems aren’t the player’s or coach then the problems are easily solvable get a new board of directors


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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Ruben Daley »

greeneyed wrote: May 12, 2021, 2:43 pm I'm guessing all the comments about how Josh is the person making the decisions reflected this story, at least in part:

Yep, for sure.

This is a tough one and the involvement of managers - most particularly Moses - really rubs me the wrong way.

I believe Hodgo when he says the decision was his but that doesn't mean Moses isn't doing things in the background. I also believe it's possible he and Ricky are still on good terms but that doesn't mean Ricky isn't making decisions about Hodgo to negate Moses' meddling. Ricky loved Bateman on and off the field, that was clear. But he made the decision to let him go rather than concede to Moses.

Regardless, it's always going to be a problem when the coach is making decisions that aren't 100% about what's the best way to win the next footy match.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Botman »

That's a really good bit of PR from Hodgson
Whether there is just smoke or fire with that situation, it should put to bed that fire for now
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by TongueFTW »

Botman wrote: May 12, 2021, 9:21 pm That's a really good bit of PR from Hodgson
Whether there is just smoke or fire with that situation, it should put to bed that fire for now
Agreed. Thought Hodgson came across really well. One thing I will say - it has been clear for some time that Stuart spends a lot of his energy trying to control the media narrative. I suspect this has caused some friction in the playing ranks.

I think some of the stuff around Hodgson’s form has been overblown. He has 5 try assists in 6 games. There have been a few times he has overplayed his hand (the Parra second half is a good example), but I really don’t think he is the issue in attack. Defence is another matter. I have been saying for a few weeks that I was concerned teams had found the “blueprint” to control territory against the Raiders - target Hodgson for cheap post contact metres, kick deep to Rapana, then compress the defensive line since we will only do low risk dummy half/one out runs out of trouble. I think Hodgson needs some help defensively in the middle so he isn’t as isolated or targeted. Coming out of our own end, we can use some of Hodgson’s ruck deception to be more varied, look to spread when we can. Just the threat of it means teams can’t compress their defence so much, which makes going through the middle easier.

Again, I stress - if this team has any aspirations at all of doing anything this year, Hodgson has to be firing. I really think the team needs to really focus on the defence, it has been abysmal this year. When you leak cheap points, you start panicking in attack as you play catch up, which leads to combinations appearing worse than they are in reality. I don’t buy the narrative that “you can’t defend” with the new rules. Teams like Melbourne and the Panthers are defending fine. We have held the Titans to 4 points this season, and they are a good attacking team. It can be done.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by badonkadonk »

The fact that Hodgo stood down as captain weeks before it was leaked was a massive fail on all fronts. It was always going to come out, so to not get on the front foot was a really bad look for the club. It only made a bad situation even worse and reflects badly on the entire organisation.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by nachopants »

I honestly believe two things happened.

1) Hodgo isn't playing 80 minutes because we're using Starling to inject some pace for 20-30 minutes
2) He's either the captain and lead playmaker on our side or he's not. It's how he creates our structure and drives crash plays around the ruck which got us to the GF. If we want to use various other playmakers then the captaincy can also be passed on. It's not THAT much of a drama.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Timbo »

Hodgo may have lost some of that dynamic skill he had around the ruck, but he's still got an outstanding footballing head on his shoulders.

He could very easily become a hooker/lock combo fulltime with Starling taking on the #9 fulltime. His defence is still very strong and he adds more to the team than he takes away in the right context.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by greeneyed »

Agree with a good part of the posts from badonkadonk and nacho.

I suspect the explanation is pretty simple. The coach made the decision to put Hodgson on the bench for the Cowboys match. It was signalled the previous week against the Eels when Hodgson was taken off the field early. Before it could be announced, Josh suffered the calf injury. That’s pretty much been reported in mainstream media. Now he’s fit, the coach this week is doing what he planned for the Cowboys game.

I suspect Josh probably wasn’t that happy about the narrative that the team looks better as a unit with Starling... as it did in the second half of the year in 2020, with Starling’s style suiting the new rules. But in any case, Josh takes the view he’s not the co-captain if he’s playing limited minutes off the bench. He was made co-captain because he was close to the action for 80 minutes. Maybe he also doesn’t want the pressure if captaincy while fighting to get his No. 9 jersey back. But as Josh has explained it’s an amicable meeting, the team was advised. And everyone gets on with it.

It’s a big decision and a big deal in one sense. But it’s an obvious decision/outcome in another sense... having taken the decision that Hodgson is on the bench.

Not publicly announcing the decision straight away was a mistake. Hodgson says the coach offered him more time to think, so perhaps the club is motivated by thinking he may change his mind. Good intentions. But then the info dribbles out two weeks later, and it looks like the club was hiding it. Which fuelled the media reports about conflict. And the events get painted in a very different light. It is a bit of a painful transition, but because the public narrative wasn’t controlled it’s a bush fire, not a grass fire. Lessons in that, but everyone had the best interests of the club and individuals in mind, in the circumstances.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Northern Raider »

Get back the Ten wrote: May 12, 2021, 6:52 pm If the problems aren’t the player’s or coach then the problems are easily solvable get a new board of directors
Exactly. Our 2nd half capitulations are clearly the result of decisions made in the boardroom.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by mobrulesall »

Can we get Josh and Tom working like Grant/Smith are? Obviously differnet players
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Northern Raider »

mobrulesall wrote: May 13, 2021, 11:41 am Can we get Josh and Tom working like Grant/Smith are? Obviously differnet players
I'd say no. Smith is a middle forward and part time hooker. Josh and Tom are both hookers. A closer comparison is how Starling an Havili worked last year.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Raiders_Pat »

Northern Raider wrote: May 13, 2021, 12:38 pm
mobrulesall wrote: May 13, 2021, 11:41 am Can we get Josh and Tom working like Grant/Smith are? Obviously differnet players
I'd say no. Smith is a middle forward and part time hooker. Josh and Tom are both hookers. A closer comparison is how Starling an Havili worked last year.
Smith sees himself as more of a hooker who is a part-time middle forward
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Northern Raider »

Raiders_Pat wrote: May 13, 2021, 12:47 pm
Northern Raider wrote: May 13, 2021, 12:38 pm
mobrulesall wrote: May 13, 2021, 11:41 am Can we get Josh and Tom working like Grant/Smith are? Obviously differnet players
I'd say no. Smith is a middle forward and part time hooker. Josh and Tom are both hookers. A closer comparison is how Starling an Havili worked last year.
Smith sees himself as more of a hooker who is a part-time middle forward
Correct. He does view himself in that light. I put him in the category of Victor Radley. Outstanding middle forward. Bog average dummy half.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Raider47 »

Nrl360 reporting that Hodgo is about to sign for Brisbane :(
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by greeneyed »

Raider47 wrote: May 19, 2021, 6:37 pm Nrl360 reporting that Hodgo is about to sign for Brisbane :(
I don't think they said that did they? Just that Brisbane were interested. Also they're interested in Nicho Hynes. Looking to free money this way:

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... c0ca2eab94

EDIT: Having gone back they did have a headline saying "Broncos close in on Hodgson". And they did do a lot of Hodgson speculation.

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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by LastRaider »

1 - Hynes
6 - Staggs
7 - Reynolds
9 - Hodgson

Great, Brisbane are going to be ahead of us on the ladder next year due to our failure to recruit!
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Botman »

LastRaider wrote: May 19, 2021, 7:17 pm 1 - Hynes
6 - Staggs
7 - Reynolds
9 - Hodgson

Great, Brisbane are going to be ahead of us on the ladder next year due to our failure to recruit!
Dont worry, friend
Kevvie Walters will have something to say about that
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Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by LastRaider »

Botman wrote:
LastRaider wrote: May 19, 2021, 7:17 pm 1 - Hynes
6 - Staggs
7 - Reynolds
9 - Hodgson

Great, Brisbane are going to be ahead of us on the ladder next year due to our failure to recruit!
Dont worry, friend
Kevvie Walters will have something to say about that
I’m still shocked that Kevie was able to land Reynolds.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by -PJ- »

LastRaider wrote: May 19, 2021, 7:22 pm
Botman wrote:
LastRaider wrote: May 19, 2021, 7:17 pm 1 - Hynes
6 - Staggs
7 - Reynolds
9 - Hodgson

Great, Brisbane are going to be ahead of us on the ladder next year due to our failure to recruit!
Dont worry, friend
Kevvie Walters will have something to say about that
I’m still shocked that Kevie was able to land Reynolds.
He(Reynolds)heard Wayne is returning.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Botman »

LastRaider wrote: May 19, 2021, 7:22 pm
Botman wrote:
LastRaider wrote: May 19, 2021, 7:17 pm 1 - Hynes
6 - Staggs
7 - Reynolds
9 - Hodgson

Great, Brisbane are going to be ahead of us on the ladder next year due to our failure to recruit!
Dont worry, friend
Kevvie Walters will have something to say about that
I’m still shocked that Kevie was able to land Reynolds.
He could land peak Mal Meninga, Darren Lockyer, Alfie Langeer and Shane Webcke...
It can not be overstated how much Kevvie does not got dis
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Canberra Milk »

No no after seeing Hodgo on the weekend, we must keep him as a middle. Must

I don't want the bad old days of the Raiders where we lost a good player, then double down on the impact by using their money to upgrade a bunch of nuffs elsewhere

If we lose both Hodgson and GWilly without good replacements, then next year is basically a write-off/development year
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Raiders666 »

Yeah I'd rather keep Hodgo... I think he good be a good number 7. He could hog the ball as much as he wants
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Botman »

Canberra Milk wrote: May 19, 2021, 7:37 pm No no after seeing Hodgo on the weekend, we must keep him as a middle. Must

I don't want the bad old days of the Raiders where we lost a good player, then double down on the impact by using their money to upgrade a bunch of nuffs elsewhere

If we lose both Hodgson and GWilly without good replacements, then next year is basically a write-off/development year
They're gone mate, accept it
No need to use that money to upgrade **** players though, there is impact free agents available who can help transition us to the new era of RL. We need a genuine replacement for George, but our in house options for Hodgson are perfectly cromulent.
Get a good halfback replacement, get Dufty/Nicho, CNK moves to centre/wing... and we can salvage this on the run
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by afgtnk »

Upgrading at fullback is absolutely critical if we lose both Williams and Hodgson, and it's easier to do as well compared to the halves. Has to be the number one priority.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Botman »

afgtnk wrote: May 19, 2021, 8:27 pm Upgrading at fullback is absolutely critical if we lose both Williams and Hodgson, and it's easier to do as well compared to the halves. Has to be the number one priority.
1000000% agree
It's the simpliest and easiest way to improve our attacking structure and ball playing without trying to find that elusive elite half

Dufty or Hynes is a MUST. At the very least we need that. And it doubles up as solving another of the back 5 problems because CNK is the sort of player i think would be a very good and dependable winger or centre. Wherever we need him, and he's not cost prohibitive at those spots. The upgrade we signed him on is reasonable for those spots too.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Canberra Milk »

Botman wrote: May 19, 2021, 8:25 pm
Canberra Milk wrote: May 19, 2021, 7:37 pm No no after seeing Hodgo on the weekend, we must keep him as a middle. Must

I don't want the bad old days of the Raiders where we lost a good player, then double down on the impact by using their money to upgrade a bunch of nuffs elsewhere

If we lose both Hodgson and GWilly without good replacements, then next year is basically a write-off/development year
They're gone mate, accept it
No need to use that money to upgrade **** players though, there is impact free agents available who can help transition us to the new era of RL. We need a genuine replacement for George, but our in house options for Hodgson are perfectly cromulent.
Get a good halfback replacement, get Dufty/Nicho, CNK moves to centre/wing... and we can salvage this on the run
I accept GWilly, good as gone. Hodgson though, ok he "stepped down" as captain, and will want to play 9... any more to it?
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by -PJ- »

CNK has played test footy at centre. No problem there.

Imagine
1. Hynes
3. Kris
4. CNK
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Botman »

Canberra Milk wrote: May 19, 2021, 8:37 pm
Botman wrote: May 19, 2021, 8:25 pm
Canberra Milk wrote: May 19, 2021, 7:37 pm No no after seeing Hodgo on the weekend, we must keep him as a middle. Must

I don't want the bad old days of the Raiders where we lost a good player, then double down on the impact by using their money to upgrade a bunch of nuffs elsewhere

If we lose both Hodgson and GWilly without good replacements, then next year is basically a write-off/development year
They're gone mate, accept it
No need to use that money to upgrade **** players though, there is impact free agents available who can help transition us to the new era of RL. We need a genuine replacement for George, but our in house options for Hodgson are perfectly cromulent.
Get a good halfback replacement, get Dufty/Nicho, CNK moves to centre/wing... and we can salvage this on the run
I accept GWilly, good as gone. Hodgson though, ok he "stepped down" as captain, and will want to play 9... any more to it?
Yes. He's gone.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by afgtnk »

Botman wrote: May 19, 2021, 8:33 pm
afgtnk wrote: May 19, 2021, 8:27 pm Upgrading at fullback is absolutely critical if we lose both Williams and Hodgson, and it's easier to do as well compared to the halves. Has to be the number one priority.
1000000% agree
It's the simpliest and easiest way to improve our attacking structure and ball playing without trying to find that elusive elite half

Dufty or Hynes is a MUST. At the very least we need that. And it doubles up as solving another of the back 5 problems because CNK is the sort of player i think would be a very good and dependable winger or centre. Wherever we need him, and he's not cost prohibitive at those spots. The upgrade we signed him on is reasonable for those spots too.
Only issue is I don't see where CNK plays if he's moved.

I've got Kris marked for left centre.

Savage I believe plays as a left winger, so I've got him marked there.

Right winger I'd like us to upgrade on, if this is Rapana's final year. If he plays right wing, a combo of he and Scott is too slow and does nothing to solve our speed issues.

That leaves right centre. If he was to be moved, I'd move him there to replace Scott - on the proviso that he needs to develop enough skill to get a ball off to his winger.

Problem is the removal of Scott. My understanding is we're no longer having freight paid by the Storm come next year. 400k for him is too much, and certainly too much to be paying an outside back who's not in your best 13. I'm not confident we'll move him on though.
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Botman
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Botman »

I appreciate the need for pure speed, but i dont think you need it at every position.
If Savage is what we hope he is, and Dufty comes on board, i think we've made a substancial upgrade in speed

I think we could play CNK at right centre or right wing, pending on who came on... Scott? Simo? Semi? HSS? Timoko? who's going to step up and win a job. CNK can fill in. And yes that side of the footy might be a bit slower than you'd like but it's going to have the benefit of a higher level of ball playing. And power running in space and ball playing is as good an option as any if they can hold up defensively
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Ruben Daley »

afgtnk wrote: May 19, 2021, 8:40 pm
Botman wrote: May 19, 2021, 8:33 pm
afgtnk wrote: May 19, 2021, 8:27 pm Upgrading at fullback is absolutely critical if we lose both Williams and Hodgson, and it's easier to do as well compared to the halves. Has to be the number one priority.
1000000% agree
It's the simpliest and easiest way to improve our attacking structure and ball playing without trying to find that elusive elite half

Dufty or Hynes is a MUST. At the very least we need that. And it doubles up as solving another of the back 5 problems because CNK is the sort of player i think would be a very good and dependable winger or centre. Wherever we need him, and he's not cost prohibitive at those spots. The upgrade we signed him on is reasonable for those spots too.
Only issue is I don't see where CNK plays if he's moved.

I've got Kris marked for left centre.

Savage I believe plays as a left winger, so I've got him marked there.

Right winger I'd like us to upgrade on, if this is Rapana's final year. If he plays right wing, a combo of he and Scott is too slow and does nothing to solve our speed issues.

That leaves right centre. If he was to be moved, I'd move him there to replace Scott - on the proviso that he needs to develop enough skill to get a ball off to his winger.

Problem is the removal of Scott. My understanding is we're no longer having freight paid by the Storm come next year. 400k for him is too much, and certainly too much to be paying an outside back who's not in your best 13. I'm not confident we'll move him on though.
This is a good point. It also assumes Croker's current injury spells the end of his career.

I also think CNK might start getting homesick if he gets moved from fullback. It's a better position and one he's done extremely well in despite the rest of the team playing poorly. I'd be taking it as an insult to be shuffled to centre and be looking to see how things pan out at the Warriors. I know they've got Reece Walsh now but I figure he's more of a half.
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Re: Josh Hodgson stands down, Elliott Whitehead appointed co-captain

Post by Roger Kenworthy »

Canberra Milk wrote: May 19, 2021, 8:37 pm
Botman wrote: May 19, 2021, 8:25 pm
Canberra Milk wrote: May 19, 2021, 7:37 pm No no after seeing Hodgo on the weekend, we must keep him as a middle. Must

I don't want the bad old days of the Raiders where we lost a good player, then double down on the impact by using their money to upgrade a bunch of nuffs elsewhere

If we lose both Hodgson and GWilly without good replacements, then next year is basically a write-off/development year
They're gone mate, accept it
No need to use that money to upgrade **** players though, there is impact free agents available who can help transition us to the new era of RL. We need a genuine replacement for George, but our in house options for Hodgson are perfectly cromulent.
Get a good halfback replacement, get Dufty/Nicho, CNK moves to centre/wing... and we can salvage this on the run
I accept GWilly, good as gone. Hodgson though, ok he "stepped down" as captain, and will want to play 9... any more to it?
Did you miss the article where he denied all knowledge? That sealed it.

It seems mad to me that we'd let him move on. All of this is lining up to us being left empty handed in August and signing Milf. Then a summer of puff pieces on how he has the hunger back.
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