The Greenhouse

Zac Woolford set to secure new deal at Canberra Raiders

The Canberra Raiders will meet this week to commence negotiations on re-signing hooker Zac Woolford.

We‘ve scheduled a meeting with Zac’s management to start that process,’’ Raiders CEO Don Furner said. “We’re all on the same page that we want Zac to stay in Canberra — and we’re confident Zac wants to also stay.’’

Read more: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport ... eb0ee0efac

well I can't read the article but "his management" would be insane to do anything else but sign up. His form could disappear down the dunny here, or he could go to another club as a no-name third-stringer.

Or he could be really good, and why not here?

he's been very good, hope he keeps trending up

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I’ll allow it.

Lui_Bon wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 12:44 am
well I can't read the article but "his management" would be insane to do anything else but sign up. His form could disappear down the dunny here, or he could go to another club as a no-name third-stringer.

Or he could be really good, and why not here?

Yep. Strike while the iron is hot. He's been floating around reserve grade for many years. Finally got a shot and has made something of it. The window is open and he needs to jump through it.

He has been offered a decent contract once before but the people around him thought it was a good idea to go elsewhere. Look where that ended up - 5 years in the wilderness.

Hopefully the same mistake is not made a second time.

If there is a huge outlier in offers, he should obviously take the bigger deal... I dont think anyone should take significantly less in professional sports

However if the difference in money is fairly negligible, he has to carefully weigh the risks
He's been a journeyman for a reason, and when players like him find their niche in the league, that's when it makes sense for IMO, to sacrificing a little money if required, to stay at the club and situation they finally broke through in. Nothing is guaranteed and he could easily fall off here as he could anywhere, but a change of scenery has additional level of risk and that's is not something id want to do if i were him unless the offers are significantly different in the money paid.

Does Luke Priddis have a son?

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Good.
He's been very good since he got into FG here.

A no frills type hooker who is just good at his core business- distributing and getting the team rolling. There's more skill and footy nous in that than many realise.

He's shown just enough running and just enough cleverness at the ruck in the 5m zone to keep teams honest. And I actually hope he just keeps underplaying that- get the ball to Timoko and Cotric efficiently in the 10m zone, they'll win more than their share of 1v1s.

We may have lucked into a low cost hooker who gives some great value by allowing others/the team to perform better. And probably without ever needing a big salary to keep him... Which may allow us to find that but extra to spend elsewhere in the spine to partner Jacko.

bonehead wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 9:09 am Does Luke Priddis have a son?

Don't go there.

We might be looking to offload Starling in the near future. I was never convinced he was a long term solution, but it has been a very rapid fall from grace.

Roger Kenworthy wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 11:40 am We might be looking to offload Starling in the near future. I was never convinced he was a long term solution, but it has been a very rapid fall from grace.

Dolphins need players. Maybe we can offload Starling.

bonehead wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 9:09 am Does Luke Priddis have a son?

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Good one Boney.

Happy if we do sign Zac Woolford based on his form since he came back here and got his chance in FG. Defensively strong. His passing game is top notch and it looks like he has developed a kicking game as well.

Raiders_Pat wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 12:09 pm

Roger Kenworthy wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 11:40 am We might be looking to offload Starling in the near future. I was never convinced he was a long term solution, but it has been a very rapid fall from grace.

Dolphins need players. Maybe we can offload Starling.

Starling is the type of player that I think would be reasonable easy to move (with freight) if that’s what the club wanted to do

There is always clubs looking for what he can hypothetically give you

Canberra Raiders offer Zac Woolford two-year deal

The Canberra Raiders are set to offer hooker Zac Woolford a two-year deal to keep him at the Green Machine until the end of the 2024 season. The club met today with Zac and his father Simon.

"I haven't sent him the offer yet, but we've talked about two years," CEO Don Furner said. "He came through our juniors, left, and then to get picked up at 25 from state Cup - it is a good story."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14280

Get it done DFJ. Skillful 9s are in short supply.

I wouldn't think.it would be a huge pay?? Ya get extra because of your dad??

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Botman wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 6:45 pm

Raiders_Pat wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 12:09 pm

Roger Kenworthy wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 11:40 am We might be looking to offload Starling in the near future. I was never convinced he was a long term solution, but it has been a very rapid fall from grace.

Dolphins need players. Maybe we can offload Starling.

Starling is the type of player that I think would be reasonable easy to move (with freight) if that’s what the club wanted to do

There is always clubs looking for what he can hypothetically give you

I just finished watching the tape of the NSW Cup game from Sunday and I haven't seen any of our dummy halves, including Woolford, pass quite as crisply as Trevylian. Or make those clean line breaks - well maybe Starling - but I could easily see the club deciding that a Woolford/Trevylian punch is what they need. As opposed to a Starling punch on.

He has shown that he can handle the core responsibilities of being a FG hooker with a little bit of attacking flair in his dummy half runs, and he can play ~60 minutes without getting gassed.

I agree that Starling is the one that starts to look a bit odd one out moving forward. If Trevelyan is coming through, and Woolford has a biggish body which allows him to slot in as a ball-playing lock to play a double-hooker mode, we may look to offload him.

Good on him for locking in his future when his chance came.

It makes you wonder how many other quality players are wallowing away in NSW cup waiting for a similar opportunity.

Lui_Bon wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 11:11 pm

Botman wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 6:45 pm

Raiders_Pat wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 12:09 pm

Roger Kenworthy wrote: ↑June 22, 2022, 11:40 am We might be looking to offload Starling in the near future. I was never convinced he was a long term solution, but it has been a very rapid fall from grace.

Dolphins need players. Maybe we can offload Starling.

Starling is the type of player that I think would be reasonable easy to move (with freight) if that’s what the club wanted to do

There is always clubs looking for what he can hypothetically give you

I just finished watching the tape of the NSW Cup game from Sunday and I haven't seen any of our dummy halves, including Woolford, pass quite as crisply as Trevylian. Or make those clean line breaks - well maybe Starling - but I could easily see the club deciding that a Woolford/Trevylian punch is what they need. As opposed to a Starling punch on.

Ill go a step further, i believe at this stage that's exactly what the should do
I think if Trev got some real NRL minutes we'd get pretty confirmation he and Woolford are the two best hookers at the club

Crash Ball wrote: ↑June 23, 2022, 9:27 am Good on him for locking in his future when his chance came.

It makes you wonder how many other quality players are wallowing away in NSW cup waiting for a similar opportunity.

I doubt there’s a lot, the clubs are all linked to NRL clubs in some form.

greeneyed wrote: ↑June 23, 2022, 9:37 am

Crash Ball wrote: ↑June 23, 2022, 9:27 am Good on him for locking in his future when his chance came.

It makes you wonder how many other quality players are wallowing away in NSW cup waiting for a similar opportunity.

I doubt there’s a lot, the clubs are all linked to NRL clubs in some form.

Listening to another pod this week a comment was made that the Mounties cup team are still amateur, part time players, and getting results against full time nrl backed squads. Could be some diamonds in that sort of situation…

Ricky has to give Trevilyn some more game time.

I think he's deliberately holding him back to get him used to a number of factors, like rehabilitation, preparation, training and the step up to NRL


As we know Rick is protective of kids coming thru.

I think while we are still pushing for the 8 Rick won't risk two rookie 9s. I can understand why.

Next season though, I do hope it's fair game. Trevilyn will be a year wiser, stronger and more confident.

This kid is a great 9. I look forward to seeing more of him in green.

I think the late footwork and power of Taps and Papa, (lesser extent Hors) and the direct carry of Sutton suits Woolfords simple and direct style of game play. He seems to somewhat suit our forwards needs too.

I don’t think his simple Hooker play would be as effective for some other NRL teams with a less dominant set of middle forwards. For example he would probably suit a strong NRL team, but not Tigers or Bulldogs who’s forwards would get eaten alive by a Hooker without deception.

I previously noticed a fair few of Starlings runs used to come off the back of Sia and Lui. Those two old heads were very good at subtle moves to impact the markers (such as playing the ball to the left or right of the markers if there was an opportune time for a dummy half run).

I think the excellent work by Taps to stand in the tackle or gain post impact meters is good for the team but not for Starling’s style of play. He wants the prop to take the tackle immediately and play the ball ASAP after first contact.

2 years at the right money is a mutually beneficial outcome here.

He gets time to prove he is the long term solution; and the club gets time to assess whether his good form is sustainable or just a flash in the pan.

It would be nice if the good bits of business the club did like this weren’t completely negated and superseded by the awful business done such as the half decade deals for has-been veterans.

BJ wrote:I think the late footwork and power of Taps and Papa, (lesser extent Hors) and the direct carry of Sutton suits Woolfords simple and direct style of game play. He seems to somewhat suit our forwards needs too.

I don’t think his simple Hooker play would be as effective for some other NRL teams with a less dominant set of middle forwards. For example he would probably suit a strong NRL team, but not Tigers or Bulldogs who’s forwards would get eaten alive by a Hooker without deception.

I previously noticed a fair few of Starlings runs used to come off the back of Sia and Lui. Those two old heads were very good at subtle moves to impact the markers (such as playing the ball to the left or right of the markers if there was an opportune time for a dummy half run).

I think the excellent work by Taps to stand in the tackle or gain post impact meters is good for the team but not for Starling’s style of play. He wants the prop to take the tackle immediately and play the ball ASAP after first contact.

Yep, nailed it. Great observation.

The style of our starting front rowers and Starling don't gel. It looks super clunky at the end of the game. Starling looks good when he plays off the back of offloads and PTBs where the markers aren't set, but when that doesn't happen he forces the tempo a bit too much.

The Raiders version of the father/son dynasty has its 1st piece

Matt wrote: ↑June 24, 2022, 2:02 pm The Raiders version of the father/son dynasty has its 1st piece

Mick and Dane Tilse might think otherwise

It’s amazing how different we look when Zac is off the field.

He has been a surprise find, from playing Eliott there to finding Zac with a crisp passing game is a blessing.

Hopefully he continues to improve and can start to run more out of dummy half.

Starling needs a stint in NSW Cup to find some confidence. Hard to believe how good he was in 2020 and his form now.


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For a bit of light relief, I was watching our 2008 game vs Penrith when Campo put the cleaners through them. Tonguey played dummy half for much of the game when Buttriss went off injured. Crawley was our attacking coach.

What struck me was how often our front rowers received good ball wide of the ruck, outside the A or B defender. There was no huge focus on second phase play, but a real emphasis on isolating defenders and getting fast play the balls. The subsequent play was often a second rower running and outside-in line, or a quick shift to the centre to get a 1 on 1 situation vs his opposite. All pretty simple, but man it looked good. It obviously helped that we had TLL and Miller coming off the bench.

Anyway, I'd love to see a bit more of that with Woolford on the field. He has the passing game to hit his runner a lot wider than Starling can.

It also reminded me that for all the similarities between Campo and Wighton, Campo had a vastly superior passing game. At his best it was like watching Fittler or Daley. So good!!

Seiffert82 wrote: ↑June 27, 2022, 2:15 pm For a bit of light relief, I was watching our 2008 game vs Penrith when Campo put the cleaners through them. Tonguey played dummy half for much of the game when Buttriss went off injured. Crawley was our attacking coach.

What struck me was how often our front rowers received good ball wide of the ruck, outside the A or B defender. There was no huge focus on second phase play, but a real emphasis on isolating defenders and getting fast play the balls. The subsequent play was often a second rower running and outside-in line, or a quick shift to the centre to get a 1 on 1 situation vs his opposite. All pretty simple, but man it looked good. It obviously helped that we had TLL and Miller coming off the bench.

Anyway, I'd love to see a bit more of that with Woolford on the field. He has the passing game to hit his runner a lot wider than Starling can.

It also reminded me that for all the similarities between Campo and Wighton, Campo had a vastly superior passing game. At his best it was like watching Fittler or Daley. So good!!

I still enjoy watching Terry Campese play in Canberra Raiders Cup. His passing is still great, though the pace of footy is obviously a lot slower. But he just has some great skills with the ball.

Zac Woolford keen to finalise new two year deal with Canberra Raiders

Raiders hooker Zac Woolford is eager for negotiations on a two-year contract to be wrapped up soon as he eyes a prolonged future in the NRL.

"Those conversations have started and we'd like to get something sorted sooner rather than later," Woolford said. "I want to play footy in Canberra and everyone is well aware of that."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14280

https://www.zerotackle.com/rising-raide ... on-119522/

Brew wrote: ↑June 25, 2022, 9:53 am Starling needs a stint in NSW Cup to find some confidence. Hard to believe how good he was in 2020 and his form now.


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Agree, I think starling is out of form and confidence at the moment. The base is still there.

Hooker Zac Woolford to sign new two year deal with Canberra Raiders as early as this week

The Canberra Times is reporting that Canberra Raiders hooker Zac Woolford could sign a new two year deal as early as this week. The 25 year old son of former Raiders captain Simon Woolford returned to Canberra in the middle of April - and made his NRL debut for his junior club in Round 10 against the Sharks.

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14280