2020 Pre Season and Trial Games

Naden has become a strange one for me, can obviously play but wasn't rated here at all in a position we haven't been strong in. Cogger is about the only other one let go who has kicked on. Not including Meaney, who was made an offer.

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Owey said:
Naden has become a strange one for me, can obviously play but wasn't rated here at all in a position we haven't been strong in. Cogger is about the only other one let go who has kicked on. Not including Meaney, who was made an offer.

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Naden is going well, granted. From memory, I think we offered Cogger a deal also, but he understandably wanted a spot where he would otherwise have been stuck behind Pearce here. Elliott is also going well, although he's more in a backup role currently behind Turbo, same as when he was depth at the Titans. Personally, I think he's underrated.
 
knightime said:
If they are up to first grade standard, then they wouldn't have ended up on the "scrap heap", such as Saifitis, Sione, Barnett and Fitz. The players which have been let go during Brown's tenure have not kicked on at other clubs in the top level, because they have not been up to first grade standard.
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Moving to another system as a 20 or 21 year old puts you back years. It's real easy to say they could kick on in a new system, but most don't.
I see people saying how easy it is to just move, but I also see 3 or 4 from other systems join our reserve grade every year - like Woolford, Kiah Cooper, and several who only got 1 or 2 games this year, and 1 in 20 kicks on.
It's pure fantasy that all the guys Brown cut were just rubbish players. He cut about 50 young guys who got a firstgrade off season, and statistically, it would be freakish bad luck if all those guys he picked to train at a firstgrade level were just rubbish. Either Brown is the worst talent scout ever, or he can't coach young players - one or the other.
 
Billy said:
Moving to another system as a 20 or 21 year old puts you back years. It's real easy to say they could kick on in a new system, but most don't.
I see people saying how easy it is to just move, but I also see 3 or 4 from other systems join our reserve grade every year - like Woolford, Kiah Cooper, and several who only got 1 or 2 games this year, and 1 in 20 kicks on.
It's pure fantasy that all the guys Brown cut were just rubbish players. He cut about 50 young guys who got a firstgrade off season, and statistically, it would be freakish bad luck if all those guys he picked to train at a firstgrade level were just rubbish. Either Brown is the worst talent scout ever, or he can't coach young players - one or the other.
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His talent scouting is undoubtedly his best skill, but he is no Bellamy or Robinson.
 
knightime said:
His talent scouting is undoubtedly his best skill, but he is no Bellamy or Robinson.
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So we agree.
He recruited a lot of talented young guys, couldn't coach them to reach their potential, and cut them, and 9 out of 10 ended up on the scrapheap.
 
Billy said:
So we agree.
He recruited a lot of talented young guys, couldn't coach them to reach their potential, and cut them, and 9 out of 10 ended up on the scrapheap.
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He recruited a lot of talented young guys, including Momoisea, Toa and Ponga, all of whom are doing well enough. But of the 50 or so you mention earlier which have left since Brown started, I'd be very surprised if anyone could coach them to their potential. The turnover was needed to get the quality roster we have now. The juniors we have coming through now are far better than those which have left us over the past 4 years.
 
knightime said:
He recruited a lot of talented young guys, including Momoisea, Toa and Ponga, all of whom are doing well enough. But of the 50 or so you mention earlier which have left since Brown started, I'd be very surprised if anyone could coach them to their potential. The turnover was needed to get the quality roster we have now. The juniors we have coming through now are far better than those which have left us over the past 4 years.
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Slightly better - not far better.
If all those guys kick on next year and you put it down to Brown, fair enough.
I will too, I'll put it down to Brown …. leaving at a good time.
 
Billy said:
Slightly better - not far better.
If all those guys kick on next year and you put it down to Brown, fair enough.
I will too, I'll put it down to Brown …. leaving at a good time.
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The juniors are far better, but we'll agree to disagree on that. If they kick on next year, I'll credit Brown for his efforts in clearing out the dead wood and getting the good ones here. But we need a new coach to get the best out of them. I'd say even Brown knew that when he resigned.
 
Billy said:
To'a, Sasagi and Christian Ma’anaima named in the junior Kiwis side.
I think all 3 have played in Kiwi agegroup sides before, but the two odd things about Christian Ma’anaima being selected is he was a wing or centre last time he played for the kiwis and is now a giant prop - and he is the second best Kiwi under 20s prop at the Knights behind Daniel Ticehurst, who wasn't selected.
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Well the kiwi selectors must have read that post.
The final side doesn't have Sasagi, who I assume is still worried by stress fractures in his back, but To'a, Ma'anaima have made the side, and they named Daniel Ticehurst from outside the original squad.
Ma'anaima is 17/18 and played under 18s this year, and Ticehurst trained with under 18s last year, so is 18/19.
The are both 6'5" or 6'6" and super aggressive.
A couple more in our long list of middle forwards coming through.
It wasn't long ago that we seemed to go 10 years with Joel Edwards and Korbin Sims our only notable middle forward juniors, and now we have a list of about 10 who all look to have potential, all the way down to Max Bradbury in the under 16s.
 
So Tex Hoy was talked up a lot as having a good chance to play firstgrade next year in the presentation night last night.
It won't be at fullback unless Ponga is injured.
His other position is 5/8 mostly, although he has done some time at centre and wing.
He is a running 5/8 with a lot of energy - basically a bigger but less experienced version of Watson, but with an actual passing and kicking game.

If we don't buy and experienced 5/8, I can see the new coach spending most of the offseason deciding between Watson, Lino, Mann, Crossland, Searle and Hoy for the 6 jersey. All of them have strengths and weaknesses for the position. None of them look like a standout.
 
Petero went on forever but at the same age as Klemmer is now he'd played about 80 first grade and rep games, Klem is at about 170 it looks like.
 
Lord of the Skraelings said:
Sensational - Not, all it is, is putting more miles on his legs that we don't need.

Has there even been a top class prop who's maintained it after 30 that goes as hard as he does?
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Yeah, Webcke and Petro are standouts in that area, maybe throw Chief and Lazarus into the conversation too.
 
slotmachine said:
Petero went on forever but at the same age as Klemmer is now he'd played about 80 first grade and rep games, Klem is at about 170 it looks like.
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Petero was famous for 'not feeling pain' or at least not telling the doctors about it and playing on, and it always freaked out his coaches because they didn't know whether they were injured or not. Webcke played in some big matches with concussion effects as documented in his book as well.

Both tough nuts for sure but I'm not sure whether some of those guys would get away with those sorts of things in the modern game with HIA tests and clubs/the NRL being open to being sued for negligence if they aren't taking care of the best interests of their players.
 
A list of trial matches came out today but no Knights game on it yet.
Anyone know when training kicks off?

We will have a team at the 9's in Perth 14-15 of Feb.
 
it was reported a few weeks ago that all the coaches and I assume the trainers etc will all have a camp at a wests owned facility at Port Stephens.
I expect they'll come out of that with a plan for the preseason.
 
Ponga should get an extra week or three off.
He has had to stay in training for a month longer than the others and didn’t look that flash after a long season anyway.
The kid can’t say no, but he should learn how.
 
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