Your team for 2018

We have won two premierships with largely local squads, developed from the ground up. Brian Smith and Wayne Bennett both tried to buy a premiership, and both ruined the club for a decade.

I'm not running down the players that have been bought - I'm just not buying into the outrageously inflated expectations most of you have, given that imported players very, very rarely live up to the hype.
I would love nothing more than to see a quality football team of players all from Newcastles junior sustem in saying that
I think it's important to have a team of good players on the field if we need to buy imports to fill positions that we dont have a good local to do the job so be it.
As far as recruitment and expectations have we ever Signed a half of mitchell pierces quality or a young prospect with as much talent and natrual class as ponga.
 
Who on here said 1 in 100 or maybe 1 in 1000 become good enough to make it in the NRL if that's true and i don't doubt it that's a lot of locals to go through before you get an NRL standard team of just locals ...Besides that though i think were going ok with the amount of locals we have in the side .I would love a team than can compete of just locals but that's not going to happen especially with other teams coming and throwing big money at juniors ....
 
We have won two premierships with largely local squads, developed from the ground up. Brian Smith and Wayne Bennett both tried to buy a premiership, and both ruined the club for a decade.

I'm not running down the players that have been bought - I'm just not buying into the outrageously inflated expectations most of you have, given that imported players very, very rarely live up to the hype.

if we had juniors that could do the job, and are the potential superstars you make them out to be we wouldnt be buying anyone. Fact is we dont and they're not.believe it or not newcastle isnt the only place that can produce decent footballers.
 
We have won two premierships with largely local squads, developed from the ground up. Brian Smith and Wayne Bennett both tried to buy a premiership, and both ruined the club for a decade.

I'm not running down the players that have been bought - I'm just not buying into the outrageously inflated expectations most of you have, given that imported players very, very rarely live up to the hype.

Take Andrew Johns out of the side, do we go as successful as we did, let alone win 2 premierships?
 
We have won two premierships with largely local squads, developed from the ground up. Brian Smith and Wayne Bennett both tried to buy a premiership, and both ruined the club for a decade.

I'm not running down the players that have been bought - I'm just not buying into the outrageously inflated expectations most of you have, given that imported players very, very rarely live up to the hype.

I haven’t heard any “outrageously inflated expectations”, just people excited about the new players on board. Feels like a new chapter for Newcastle after we’ve struggled for so long. There’s hope. My expectation and hope is to push for the 8. That’s not shooting very high at all. I’ve actually heard people on this forum say finishing 12th would be accepted. Wtf is that? That’s expecting and accepting failure. That’s not even mediocrity, that’s bottom of the barrel. That’s the complete opposite to what you’re saying you’re hearing/seeing from the fanbase.

As for our past success, we had the best player to ever play the game. Local juniors or not, without Andrew Johns, we likely wouldn’t be in the history books.
 
I doubt any side has won the competition with all locals even back in the old days when you had to reside in the area shifty things were done.
Another thing is who qualifies as a local as some young players are signed up from other areas and come through the junior ranks and most of us assume because they have been in the system for 5 years or more that they are in fact locals.
We need non locals as well as locals to make a strong side, if we had an Andrew Johns we wouldn't have needed a Pearce but alas they don't come along very often.
 
Frankly, no team wins premierships without having a roster loaded with imports.

I dont know for sure, but id be very interested to know what the highest ratio of locals to imports is for a premiership winning team in the last 30 years. I reckon it'd be 50/50 at best, at absolute best

And it could only be a handful of teams, namely Brisbane, Newcastle, Penrith or perhaps Canberra

Our 17 for next year could get close to 40/60
 
I really couldn’t give a s*** if you were from Newcastle or the North Pole, if you put on the red and blue jersey, compete and bust your bum every week than that’s fine in my books. I’m sick of hearing about this ridiculous locals v imports debate. Sione, Lamb, the Saifiti’s, Fitzgibbon and Barnett are the only names that spring to mind from recent times that have looked to be solid first graders, the rest have been underwhelming or reserve players at best, and funnily enough we’ve still been a bottom rung team. How about we let this team play and develop together and judge them once the seasons over before sprouting crap about whether they were worth being signed or not because of the fact that aren’t fully fledged novocastrians. This team has plenty of potential and I’m dying for this season to start.
 
Spot on Matty.

Even with our premiership winning sides I think at times folk overlook Robbie O, Mad Dog, Timana Tahu, Owen Craigie, Matt Parsons, Ben Kennedy, Tony Butterfield, Bedsy, Darren Albert plus others were not locals. Sure some of them may have come from Dubbo, Singleton, Scone, Taree and Queensland as Juniors but they were not local Newcastle Clubs' kids.

We all agree we have some outstanding juniors and they will improve immensely training and playing with the likes of Pearce, Lillyman, Guerra, all SOO players, Heighington an English International, all of whom have had lots of experience.

2018 will be a great year with no spoon for sure!!!!!!!!
 
Spot on Matty.

Even with our premiership winning sides I think at times folk overlook Robbie O, Mad Dog, Timana Tahu, Owen Craigie, Matt Parsons, Ben Kennedy, Tony Butterfield, Bedsy, Darren Albert plus others were not locals. Sure some of them may have come from Dubbo, Singleton, Scone, Taree and Queensland as Juniors but they were not local Newcastle Clubs' kids.

We all agree we have some outstanding juniors and they will improve immensely training and playing with the likes of Pearce, Lillyman, Guerra, all SOO players, Heighington an English International, all of whom have had lots of experience.

2018 will be a great year with no spoon for sure!!!!!!!!

Singleton, Scone and Taree - possibly even Dubbo - are locals imo. I'm sure I read somewhere that Watson grew up on the central coast wanting to play for the Knights. Our catchment has a fair geographical footprint and we should be doing everything we can to encourage and grow these areas, whilst also identifying and tying up the very best young talent coming through in any of these markets.
 
Central Coast is Rooster territory. That is why they got him. Our coaches in recent times have abandoned recruiting in country areas. Most North Coast kids are talent scouted by the Titans because we just ignored it.

The latte mob are putting a lot of money into Wyong and The Entrance.
 
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Not true. Watson grew up a street away from Jack Cogger and they played in the same comps as well as playing touch in the same team, and Tom Starling also grew up in the same area and his older brother was Watson's best friend. Watson also knew the Saifiti brothers from playing them on the central coast. Possibly our best junior last year, Bradman Best, comes from Uate's old club, Woy Woy.
The central coast is one of our best recruitment areas.
We also have the Dark brothers from Old Bar and the Croker brothers from Nabiac and Max Buderus from Taree, all from the mid north coast - and our latest recruit in under 16s is a fullback who is already an Australian rep and has been selected in the NSW squad from Ballina (he hasn't played a game for us yet).
 
Couple others to add to that list. Alex mckinnon and Tyler randell both from Aberdeen. So we definitely get out and about.
 
Bradman Best looks a great prospect. He is probably only 3 or so years away from first grade too, should it eventuate that he is good enough
 
Not true. Watson grew up a street away from Jack Cogger and they played in the same comps as well as playing touch in the same team, and Tom Starling also grew up in the same area and his older brother was Watson's best friend. Watson also knew the Saifiti brothers from playing them on the central coast. Possibly our best junior last year, Bradman Best, comes from Uate's old club, Woy Woy.
The central coast is one of our best recruitment areas.
We also have the Dark brothers from Old Bar and the Croker brothers from Nabiac and Max Buderus from Taree, all from the mid north coast - and our latest recruit in under 16s is a fullback who is already an Australian rep and has been selected in the NSW squad from Ballina (he hasn't played a game for us yet).

You’re obviously pro-local juniors but seem somewhat anti-Connor Watson... yet he could be regarded as a local junior. What gives?
 
You’re obviously pro-local juniors but seem somewhat anti-Connor Watson... yet he could be regarded as a local junior. What gives?
I see Billy's point that Watson is un-proven at 5/8. He hasn't started many games their and was a fullback in juniors. And we have Brock who has alot more first grade experience in the halves.
Don't get me wrong, imo Watson is a good player and has plenty of potential. I just don't believe he is a better 5/8 than Lamb at this point in time.
 
This is the team I would go with. I know it probably won't happen round 1.
1.Ponga
2. Ross
3. Sione
4. Moga
5. Skd
6. Lamb
7. Pearce
8. Lillyman
9. Watson
10. Dan
11. Guerra
12. Buhrer
13. Barnett

14. Levi
15. Ese
16. Heington
17. Jacob

18. Fitz
19. King
I would have Watson play 80mins. first 20 at hooker then the rest of the game as a utility used where needed.
 
Isn't that funny.
The way I see it, everyone else here is bizarrely enthusiastic about guys they have seen little of, and the really funny thing is, we have seen the same thing happen literally dozens of times, where guys like Cross, Reynoldson, Beau Henry, and heaps and heaps more were going to be the best we have seen.
People on this forum go mad for anyone who is from somewhere that isn't Newcastle, and 9 times out of 10 they end up with egg all over their face.
Here's your chance to be consistent. Youve been talking up our local talent for years with heaps of enthusiasm. Can you list a bunch of them that have gone on to be outstanding players for us over say the last 5 years?
 
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