2021 Season

The cowboys aren't struggling from lack of talent.

They are in a funk at the moment and can only drag themselves out of it.

I think it's time for one of those honesty sessions between the players and start working for each other as that isn't happening with them at the moment. Manly in a similar situation.

Cap management is one thing, but complete disarray in the team isn't from one or two players getting top coin, it's something the whole squad has to overcome.

I find the game is still good to watch, but the rules mean the good teams are going to route the struggling teams more easily as there is much less time for the D to get set and adjust. Should we be artificially keeping the poorer teams in contests though? Or by getting shredded, will they be forced to improve and become more competitive?
 
The impact of the new rules is not as simple as bad teams worse, good teams better. You’ve got players like James Fisher Harris, Isaah Yeo, Jai Arrow, Kodi Nikorima, Connor Watson, Tyrone Peachey, etc etc who thrive under these rules and have become much, much more valuable. Then guys like Nathan Brown, Jake Trbjoevic, Josh McGuire, Matt Lodge, David Klemmer, I think become less valuable.

I’ve intentionally chosen a grab bag of guys there - players who were already good but have become elite, players who were elite and are now less so, players who were average or going downhill who are now actively a liability, and players who weren’t so good or had issues who have improved a lot.

Jake Trbjoevic is probably my favourite example on this list. I always thought the Sea Eagles were overpaying, but I never would have disputed he was a good player. Now with these new rules, a fairly immobile but very strong lock with a big body who can ball play and play hard for 80 minutes is just not valuable anymore in a league where so many teams can just play their 5th best spine player or a utility for big minutes at 13. And all of a sudden the fact that he’s not the most nimble bloke in the world, that makes him a bit of a liability; you don’t really want a brick in 13 to tackle rampaging props, you want a bit of footwork there.

Manly signed him before the rules came in to a long term deal believed to be in the $800K-$1 million a season range. I did think it was not a good deal at the time, but add in the new rules and it’s a *horrible* deal. It’s not merely bAd rOsTeR mAnAgeMeNt, it’s a failure to anticipate rules they had no reason to suspect were about to be introduced & recruit accordingly. It really isn’t fair.

Would Newcastle have wanted Klemmer, a very fit but not super mobile (read: not *amazing* at jumping the gun in D and allowing us to pin the oppo near their own try line) workhorse prop, for 5 years on huge money, if they new these rules were coming? Probably not, I suspect.

Teams plan rosters out years in advance and the new rules distort the market value of players who were already signed to long term deals. I can’t believe this fact isn’t talked about constantly.
 
It will just take 1 coach to come up with a new game plan that exploits the new rules and everything will change again.

I get the feeling that different coaches are trying different things right now, and when one gets a good formulae worked out, they'll all copy.
 
I’d be kicking for touch constantly all game, especially against sides like Penrith who are so good at both carting the ball out of their own end and pinning the oppo near their own line. I think you want to slow the game down from minute one and try not to get drawn into the battle of attrition in the middle, because they’re just better at it than you.

Surely though they eventually change the rules back so there’s actually a penalty for being way offside against a team coming out of their own end lol... sorry the six again is worthless to the team in possession, especially when most of them are handed out on tackle 1.
 
packo said:
38 Points is not impressive. Be nice if we played a little more attacking footy but.

TPJ has been a real improvement this year no silly penalties.
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Yeah Souths really turned it on in the second half, Titans looked good in the first half.
 
Just watching the broncs v eels and had a double take at a bloke that runs like Danny Levi.

Well ill be, it is Danny Levi.
 
Just had a look at the ADF v turkey highlights.......some of those ADF blokes run like a bull at a gate. Definitely show some of these NRL props how to run haha. The centre looks as quick anything too.
 
Never seen someone look so disinterested in a player coming up against his former club than Fifita tonight. By god he has been dreadful.
 
not from me, mate. I couldn't care for the back and forth tbh, Titans are **** and have less stomach than the Knights, which is not too flattering for the poor old Tits tbh.
 
Not to sure what you’re on about there if I’m honest. Wasn’t trying to have a go. All you see on here is posters continually say the team not turning up against the sh*t sides so not sure how you would classify the Knights as flat track bullies.
 
cowboyman said:
Not to sure what you’re on about there if I’m honest. Wasn’t trying to have a go. All you see on here is posters continually say the team not turning up against the sh*t sides so not sure how you would classify the Knights as flat track bullies.
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Knights are a whole lot of not much. You hear the player speak defence but I don't trust it. The attack well.........….........
 
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