2023 Recruitment & Retention Thread

MontyBrogan said:
Happy not to bet on your "left one", but what ballplaying ability have you seen from Young that even remotely suggests he could play at fullback? As far as I can tell he has never played in that kind of role.

There also isn't a fullback in the comp that's his size (mainly talking about weight here) other than Latrell - who is the lowest involvement fullback in the comp. He only makes it work because he's a once in a generation freak whose limited touches are much more effective than anyone else in the sport. Betting that Young is that doesn't make sense to me.

Wouldn't say that there is no way we should let him train there to see, but pretty strongly convinced what the coaches would see is something that wouldn't come close to working in a real game.
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Well I've seen him run fast and run down the fastest man in league and did it over 40 or 50m. I've seen him run around and over people, I've seen him tackle well and hard, I've seen him get away some lovely passes when playing at centre in s/league and I've seen him improve out of sight rather quickly.
All i said was train him there and see how he goes , Your convinced it wouldn't work im exact opposite i'm convince he would do it and do it easy except for 1 thing , a kicking game .
 
If we don’t sign anyone to play fullback and we are hellbent on moving Ponga to 6 then you would have to consider Gagai at fullback for the one season until Pryce comes. For all his defensive flaws and his age Gagai did show he still has the ability to break the defensive line and link up with his outside man.
 
Oliver said:
If we don’t sign anyone to play fullback and we are hellbent on moving Ponga to 6 then you would have to consider Gagai at fullback for the one season until Pryce comes. For all his defensive flaws and his age Gagai did show he still has the ability to break the defensive line and link up with his outside man.
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What difference would there be having Young there instead of Gagai for a year till Pryce gets here. Doms younger , faster , bigger, can break a defensive line , knows how to score and we dont talk about his defensive flaws like we do with Gagai.
He also has the ability to link with his outside man as seen in his video's when playing at centre and got nice passes away and he is a much better player now .
I understand they probably won't move Dom and that's fine but what i dont understand is why you would want to put Gagai into one of your 4 most important positions when he was out of form most of the season. Everyone whinged about his defence and he is getting on in years instead of Young who was arguably our best player last season .
 
Ethan said:
What difference would there be having Young there instead of Gagai for a year till Pryce gets here. Doms younger , faster , bigger, can break a defensive line , knows how to score and we dont talk about his defensive flaws like we do with Gagai.
He also has the ability to link with his outside man as seen in his video's when playing at centre and got nice passes away and he is a much better player now .
I understand they probably won't move Dom and that's fine but what i dont understand is why you would want to put Gagai into one of your 4 most important positions when he was out of form most of the season. Everyone whinged about his defence and he is getting on in years instead of Young who was arguably our best player last season .
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Like MontyBrogan mentioned earlier, I just don’t think Young has the hands to play fullback. It’s one thing throwing flick passes at centre but to be an extra player maker at the back.. I just don’t see it with Young. He’s a runner of the ball and a very good one at that but in my opinion his game is best suited to the wing at this stage of his career.
Young would be similar to watching Joseph Sua'ali'i trying to play fullback.
Even though Sua’ali’i came through the juniors as a fullback.. he just looks awkward playing there and he is always looking to run when he should be passing.
 
The other thing about training Dom at FB through the off season would be he’d need to drop 3-4kg to cover the extra ground that FBs do versus wingers. Losing that weight would make him less effective coming out of our own end when he inevitably lines up on the wing come round 1. The Panthers (and England in the WC) are increasingly using their back five to do the early hit ups which allows their forwards to monster the other pack in defence. Leave the lad on the wing to let him develop into the best player he can be and get him tied down to a new deal pronto!
 
Ponga will likely only shift to 6 if we get an experienced 7 and that would have to be Brooks. If that happens then assuming we miss out on Garrick, very likely, then f/b will likely be Mann with Hodgson in reserves until he proves he can play game after game.
Dont see Young moving from r/wing but can see Gagai on l/wing, would play Hunt and Best, if fit/healthy/unbroken, in centres
 
Frank McWilliams said:
Ponga will likely only shift to 6 if we get an experienced 7 and that would have to be Brooks. If that happens then assuming we miss out on Garrick, very likely, then f/b will likely be Mann with Hodgson in reserves until he proves he can play game after game.
Dont see Young moving from r/wing but can see Gagai on l/wing, would play Hunt and Best, if fit/healthy/unbroken, in centres
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i'd have Mapapalangi ahead of both Best and Hunt as our centres. So Mapapalangi and Best i would start with

I'd have Young and Gagai as our wingers
 
I'd leave Young on the wing, he is more effective there with kick returns, which we need for yards.

Also don't wingers get paid more than centers now these days. I thought centers were the lowest paid position in the back line. If we were trying to keep Young by signing him as a center we would be overpaying for a center.

The same can be said for Manly trying to keep Garrick. Garrick will not stay at Manly to play center. He wants to play fullback, he has stated that. The only way i see him not coming to us next season is if Manly refuse to release him for 2023.

Manly may also be angling for a player swap. They want to keep Garrick and play him as a center, so they are after a center. They can have either Gagai because he seems past it or Best only because he is always injured
 
R4D5 said:
I'd leave Young on the wing, he is more effective there with kick returns, which we need for yards.

Also don't wingers get paid more than centers now these days. I thought centers were the lowest paid position in the back line. If we were trying to keep Young by signing him as a center we would be overpaying for a center.

The same can be said for Manly trying to keep Garrick. Garrick will not stay at Manly to play center. He wants to play fullback, he has stated that. The only way i see him not coming to us next season is if Manly refuse to release him for 2023.

Manly may also be angling for a player swap. They want to keep Garrick and play him as a center, so they are after a center. They can have either Gagai because he seems past it or Best only because he is always injured
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That would be a good way to offload Gagai. I definitely wouldn’t give them best though.
 
My biggest challenge in considering Dom for fullback, is the talking and defensive organisation a fullback needs to do in the modern game....he doesn't have the experience or capability to take on that responsibility.

I don't think a pre-season would give him what he needs...it is experience and game knowledge - remember he was not developed up as a junior in rugby league...he is very much still learning the fundamentals of the game.

I acknowledge he is a quick study and has come on leaps and bounds this year BUT he needs more time under his belt before he could be thrown straight into a NRL spine role like that IMHO
 
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