President Clinton wrote: ↑February 3, 2024, 11:59 am
I haven’t read through the thread - but it seems to me that they are counting this game as a suspension for Wighton because none of the other rep games counted for him. Whereas Kris and JHW had three (?) NZ games count already, I presume.
How can it count for wighton when he officially retired from rep footy last season ?
Sorry, question already raised, obviously I didn't read the whole thread either
greeneyed wrote: ↑February 3, 2024, 7:58 pm'I knew it was going to be a long shot': Canberra Raiders star Sebastian Kris opens up on NRL All Stars decision
Sebastian Kris always thought counting the NRL All Stars game towards his suspension was a "long shot". It's why he instantly moved on and switched his focus to being ready for the Canberra Raiders' pre-season trials and then Round 2.
"I knew it was going to be a long shot, considering I haven't played in that yet," Kris said. "I can't do anything about it, just focus on getting my body ready for Round 2."
Confirmed he’s mostly training at centre. Thinks Schiller or Hopoate favourites for left centre Round 1.
Getting in early but Hopoate shouldn’t even be in contention for first grade at all. Should be behind every other outside back on the books at wing or centre. Hosking or Sasagi should also be ahead of him as centre fill ins.
Hypothetically, Chevy Stewart isn’t ready for NRL come round 1 (did only turn 18 recently), who goes into fullback? I’m guessing Rapana particularly after Crawley’s comments about him being the fittest he has ever been etc.
Dylan’s Raiders wrote: ↑February 4, 2024, 1:00 pm
Hypothetically, Chevy Stewart isn’t ready for NRL come round 1 (did only turn 18 recently), who goes into fullback? I’m guessing Rapana particularly after Crawley’s comments about him being the fittest he has ever been etc.
Dylan’s Raiders wrote: ↑February 4, 2024, 1:00 pm
Hypothetically, Chevy Stewart isn’t ready for NRL come round 1 (did only turn 18 recently), who goes into fullback? I’m guessing Rapana particularly after Crawley’s comments about him being the fittest he has ever been etc.
I truly dont think Kris is going to play any fullback this year unless it's an in game move to cover injury... but yeah that is pretty on brand for Stuart.
Come on, there's no way in the world Kris is FB this year. Even stubborn Ricky moved him from there late last year.
It will be interesting if Strange has a good game at centre (if he's named there) v Knights though. Even if he does, I hope Ricky sticks to the long term plan and not be dictated by his reluctance to changing a winning team.
Predicted Raiders team: 1. Xavier Savage 2. Jordan Rapana 3. Ethan Strange 4. Matt Timoko 5. Albert Hopoate 6. Kaeo Weekes 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Josh Papalii 9. Zac Woolford 10. Emre Guler 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Joseph Tapine 14. Tom Starling 15. Morgan Smithies 16. Pasami Saulo 17. Zac Hosking
Team Tips: Kaeo Weekes is the favourite to be given first crack in the five-eighth spot with Jack Wighton leaving for Souths. The forward pack is pretty settled although Corey Horsburgh will be missed for a few weeks due to suspension. Emre Guler will take his spot for the first month. The versatile Seb Kris will also miss a month through suspension. Xavier Savage was in good form in the NSW Cup last year and will likely be given the nod at fullback but has competition from rising star Chevy Stewart. Ethan Strange was blooded in one game against the Storm last season and held his own. He is the front runner to partner the hard-running Matt Timoko in the centres. New recruits Zac Hosking and Morgan Smithies are likely to nab bench spots.
Fox Sports wrote: ↑February 11, 2024, 5:40 pm
The versatile Seb Kris will also miss a month through suspension.
Really good example of what i always bang on about with people who cover our game. Not knowlegable enough to get the basics right and so far up their own **** that they dont do the research to make sure they dont make **** idiots of themselves
2 jokers on this by line and presumably an editor too. Embarrassing.
Fox Sports wrote: ↑February 11, 2024, 5:40 pm
The versatile Seb Kris will also miss a month through suspension.
Really good example of what i always bang on about with people who cover our game. Not knowlegable enough to get the basics right and so far up their own **** that they dont do the research to make sure they dont make **** idiots of themselves
2 jokers on this by line and presumably an editor too. Embarrassing.
Yep it’s unbelievable how disconnected the rugby league media is from reality. Some ridiculous insights way too often.
My favourite was talk in the paper and on channel 9 about the key role Josh McCrone would play off the bench for the Raiders. Despite him going to the Dragons.
Fox Sports wrote: ↑February 11, 2024, 5:40 pm
The versatile Seb Kris will also miss a month through suspension.
Really good example of what i always bang on about with people who cover our game. Not knowlegable enough to get the basics right and so far up their own **** that they dont do the research to make sure they dont make **** idiots of themselves
2 jokers on this by line and presumably an editor too. Embarrassing.
Yep it’s unbelievable how disconnected the rugby league media is from reality. Some ridiculous insights way too often.
My favourite was talk in the paper and on channel 9 about the key role Josh McCrone would play off the bench for the Raiders. Despite him going to the Dragons.
Its' unreal hey?
Like ****, there are passionate and invested people who want to give this game the time and attention it deserves and who can provide valueable insight and interesting perspectives and stories on our game... Nick Compton is a great example of a dude who loves RL, who watches the game, engages in it properly, understands it and writes really cool and interesting **** about the game
These jokers? Honestly replace them with AI, no one will miss them. Worthless.
Fox Sports wrote: ↑February 11, 2024, 5:40 pm
The versatile Seb Kris will also miss a month through suspension.
Really good example of what i always bang on about with people who cover our game. Not knowlegable enough to get the basics right and so far up their own **** that they dont do the research to make sure they dont make **** idiots of themselves
2 jokers on this by line and presumably an editor too. Embarrassing.
Yep it’s unbelievable how disconnected the rugby league media is from reality. Some ridiculous insights way too often.
My favourite was talk in the paper and on channel 9 about the key role Josh McCrone would play off the bench for the Raiders. Despite him going to the Dragons.
Forget about the Dragons, I enjoyed talk of him playing Origin even more!
Fox Sports wrote: ↑February 11, 2024, 5:40 pm
The versatile Seb Kris will also miss a month through suspension.
Really good example of what i always bang on about with people who cover our game. Not knowlegable enough to get the basics right and so far up their own **** that they dont do the research to make sure they dont make **** idiots of themselves
2 jokers on this by line and presumably an editor too. Embarrassing.
Yep it’s unbelievable how disconnected the rugby league media is from reality. Some ridiculous insights way too often.
My favourite was talk in the paper and on channel 9 about the key role Josh McCrone would play off the bench for the Raiders. Despite him going to the Dragons.
Forget about the Dragons, I enjoyed talk of him playing Origin even more!
To be fair on the rest of them, I only remember Joey being on that train. He probably watched Mullen, one game of McCrone and whoever played for Broncos every Friday.
NRL round 1 predicted teams: Early Mail and latest injury news from every club
CANBERRA RAIDERS
Key positional battles Fullback/five-eighth
Verdict: The Raiders have a really tough and talented pack but it’s the lack of star power and experience in key spine positions that has everyone tipping they will be the team to drop out of the top eight.
Which is why the battles for fullback and five-eighth are so crucial. Ricky Stuart can either keep Seb Kris at fullback or put him back in the centres and play Jordan Rapana in the No. 1 for what will be Rapana’s final NRL season. Young gun Chevy Stewart looks the goods, but the question is when he is physically ready to handle the week-to-week rigours of NRL. As for the five-eighth battle, it will most likely come down to new recruit Kaeo Weekes and rookie Ethan Strange. Both are very promising players, but they’re not Jack Wighton yet.
Raiders’ predicted Rd. 1 team
1. Jordan Rapana/Chevvy Stewart
2. Jordan Rapana/Nick Cotric
3. Ethan Strange
4. Matthew Timoko
5. Albert Hopoate
6. Kaeo Weekes
7. Jamal Fogarty
8. Josh Papali’i
9. Danny Levi
10. Joseph Tapine
11. Hudson Young
12. Elliott Whitehead
13. Morgan Smithies
14. Tom Starling
15. Trey Mooney/Zac Hosking
16. Ata Mariota
17. Emre Guler
1. Stewart
2. Cotric
3. Hopoate
4. Timoko
5. Rapana
6. Weekes
7. Fogarty
8. Guler
9. Levi
10. Tapine
11. Young
12. Whitehead
13. Smithies
14. Starling
15. Hosking
16. Mariota
17. Papalii
... which I do not like. For me it's Hoppa, Cotric, Guler, Levi, Starling out and Strange, Savage, Woolford, Puru and Mooney in.
I’d much rather Guler starting than coming on at the 20 minute mark with zero impact-Paps has more impact with no energy at that point in the game
It's certainly a more dynamic second group of players.
If Guler provides zero impact coming off the bench (which I agree with) then what good is he starting when his opposition is fresh? It'll be zero impact either way. He's a passenger out there and I hope to see him playing minimal first grade this year. He can step in if we see some injuries but that should be about it.
"The game owes me nothing, I owe the game everything." - Alan Tongue
1. Stewart
2. Cotric
3. Hopoate
4. Timoko
5. Rapana
6. Weekes
7. Fogarty
8. Guler
9. Levi
10. Tapine
11. Young
12. Whitehead
13. Smithies
14. Starling
15. Hosking
16. Mariota
17. Papalii
... which I do not like. For me it's Hoppa, Cotric, Guler, Levi, Starling out and Strange, Savage, Woolford, Puru and Mooney in.
I’d much rather Guler starting than coming on at the 20 minute mark with zero impact-Paps has more impact with no energy at that point in the game
It's certainly a more dynamic second group of players.
If Guler provides zero impact coming off the bench (which I agree with) then what good is he starting when his opposition is fresh? It'll be zero impact either way. He's a passenger out there and I hope to see him playing minimal first grade this year. He can step in if we see some injuries but that should be about it.
His best game of the year was our last against Newcastle, he all but started that game. Us fans can see he offers bugger all from the bench where you’re required to lift the team with energy and spark. When our pack is at full strength we all know he shouldn’t be in the 17
Guler is a big marshmallow. Doesn’t run hard enough, doesn’t tackle hard enough. You’d struggle to create a highlight real for him after what, at least 5 years of first grade? Papa, Taps, and Horse lead the way every week. Time to move on from vanilla props like Guler and Saulo and give the next generation like Mariota and Mooney a go.
It's perfectly fine to want guys like Mooney and Ata to be selected ahead of Guler and Saulo, i've been very vocal about my feelings on that too. Given where our squad is and what we're trying to achieve, we should be prioritising the higher ceiling and more dynamic players. We want to see if we can replace some of these C and B level players with A's and A+'s
But people should stop talking talking about those guys as if they cant play. They're both very capable NRL level players. When TLT happens in a few weeks there will middle forwards named in almost every team that they're both better than. And that remains true even if I agree that other middle should be ahead of them in our pecking order.
Finchy wrote:Guler is a big marshmallow. Doesn’t run hard enough, doesn’t tackle hard enough. You’d struggle to create a highlight real for him after what, at least 5 years of first grade? Papa, Taps, and Horse lead the way every week. Time to move on from vanilla props like Guler and Saulo and give the next generation like Mariota and Mooney a go.
Well they've just re signed Saulo for 2 more years so that won't be happening
Botman wrote: ↑February 15, 2024, 11:19 am
It's perfectly fine to want guys like Mooney and Ata to be selected ahead of Guler and Saulo, i've been very vocal about my feelings on that too. Given where our squad is and what we're trying to achieve, we should be prioritising the higher ceiling and more dynamic players. We want to see if we can replace some of these C and B level players with A's and A+'s
But people should stop talking talking about those guys as if they cant play. They're both very capable NRL level players. When TLT happens in a few weeks there will middle forwards named in almost every team that they're both better than. And that remains true even if I agree that other middle should be ahead of them in our pecking order.
Not sure if you’re referring to my comment, but either way I never said Guler and Saulo can’t play. They can, just at a very average level. Yes it’s better than most would hope to achieve, but it’s still average.
Similar to wanting Sanders over Fog. No one is saying Fog can’t play or can’t hang at this level. But once you’re a few years in and have seen their ceiling, it’s time to look to the future with a younger model with a (potentially) higher ceiling.
If it came down to parting ways with Guler and Saulo or Mariota and Mooney, I think most would keep the latter.
Guler and Saulo are workers, Ata and Trey have punch.
I'm ok with 1 of the workers because Tapine and Papa have both the motor of the workers plus the punch and when they come off we need balance
The thing is, I don't think that Guler and Saulo are actually workers either. They're called workers because they aren't dynamic, but they also don't really get through all that much work...
I think that if these four guys are given equal time out on the field, Ata and Trey are going to be putting their hands up for a lot more work than Emre and Pasami. Certainly in offense. Defence is a tricky one and I'm sure some will debate that Emre and Pasami are better defenders. That could be the case but they're hardly defensive gods anyway so I don't think that should get them into the team.
If Smithies is the defensive stud that he's made out to be then with him as our starting 13 maybe we can prioritise the ball in hand ability of our other middles.
"The game owes me nothing, I owe the game everything." - Alan Tongue
Andymachine wrote:The thing is, I don't think that Guler and Saulo are actually workers either. They're called workers because they aren't dynamic, but they also don't really get through all that much work...
I think that if these four guys are given equal time out on the field, Ata and Trey are going to be putting their hands up for a lot more work than Emre and Pasami. Certainly in offense. Defence is a tricky one and I'm sure some will debate that Emre and Pasami are better defenders. That could be the case but they're hardly defensive gods anyway so I don't think that should get them into the team.
If Smithies is the defensive stud that he's made out to be then with him as our starting 13 maybe we can prioritise the ball in hand ability of our other middles.
agree mainly but Saulo in particular is quite a defensive worker and Guler has shown his ability to punch out consistent minutes
