2023 Recruitment & Retention Thread

mullenmagic said:
Was instrumental in SG Ball's run into the finals, started for the u19 Blues and was given a development spot for this season all in the past 6 months

Go ahead and name 4 or 5 better.
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The oldest prop we have is 26... so I'll start with Saifiti x 2, Hetherington, Croker, Thompson, and then young Myles Martin.

Young props are not an issue for the Knights. We need a couple of older heads in there if anything.
 
It’s tough as we don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes either. Maybe Bradbury looks at it and thinks with the 5-6 ahead of him in the order now there’s more of a chance at the Sharks.

We needed a fullback for now and with our options in first grade and pathways I think we could afford to spare one. It will be good when we start recruiting some off contract players though so we don’t have to lose one to get one.
 
So we had 8 players make the NSW under 16s or Pacifica under 16s in 2019, It looked like our best ever crop of juniors.

Chris Vea’ila - pacifica fullback - has development deal at the Knights
Fletcher Myers - NSW centre - has a 2 year development deal at Manly
Jonah Pezet - NSW halfback - top 30 at Melbourne
Noah Reed - NSW prop - not sure where he is now
Noah Nailagoliva - NSW hooker - currently injured but still at the Knights I hope
Oryn Keeley - NSW second row - still at the knights
Max Bradbury - NSW second row - off to Cronulla?
Lachlan Crouch - NSW middle forward - captain of Cronulla Flegg side in 2022 - still at Cronulla
 
waynesworld said:
It’s tough as we don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes either. Maybe Bradbury looks at it and thinks with the 5-6 ahead of him in the order now there’s more of a chance at the Sharks.

We needed a fullback for now and with our options in first grade and pathways I think we could afford to spare one. It will be good when we start recruiting some off contract players though so we don’t have to lose one to get one.
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I’m gonna have to temper my initial frustrations on hearing this. We need Miller, Hodgson is an unknown, Pryce is unknown. Fletcher and David are very young. So Miller gives us that extra insurance.

I hate the thought of losing Bradbury, but the fair point is that we need and experienced forward over an untested rookie. According to Baz the knights are looking at two forwards. We do have other good quality forwards coming through for future seasons. I think between Miller and Hodgo we at least have two solid FB’s for this season.

If Bradbury goes on to be a SOO FG forward, so be it.
 
Defender1 said:
He has shown he's NRL standard and he can pretty much cover anywhere in the backline. Hodgeson obviously isn't ready and there's nothing to say Pryce is going to hit the ground running come Rd 1 in 2024. He may take time to adjust like some other pommie backs do. At worst, Miller is excellent depth, and there is nothing wrong with that. Wonder why Sharks fan aren't happy he's leaving?
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2025 is the issue though. contract A year too long imo.
 
It takes front rowers a bit longer to develop so the true potential of Bradberry won’t be seen for a couple of years. But the problem for the Knights is that the luxury of O’Brien banking on potential has been taken out of his hands. He doesn’t have the option to develop Bradberry any further & take the gamble on him playing SOO at senior level as well because he needs results now to save his career.

Also am I the only one who thinks Miller is very suspect under the high ball?
 
FB is a higher need for us right now than a junior prop who may or may not be good in time. The frustrating thing for me though is we are screaming for forwards also and one of our most promising juniors is being let go. Happy overall but I hope we have other prospects being fostered and held on to by the club.
 
Speedymetric said:
It takes front rowers a bit longer to develop so the true potential of Bradberry won’t be seen for a couple of years. But the problem for the Knights is that the luxury of O’Brien banking on potential has been taken out of his hands. He doesn’t have the option to develop Bradberry any further & take the gamble on him playing SOO at senior level as well because he needs results now to save his career.

Also am I the only one who thinks Miller is very suspect under the high ball?
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AOB has a say in recruitment but from everything the club says it’s Parr, Buderus & Zammit then probably Gardner who have more of a say on these matters.
 
Good Times said:
FB is a higher need for us right now than a junior prop who may or may not be good in time. The frustrating thing for me though is we are screaming for forwards also and one of our most promising juniors is being let go. Happy overall but I hope we have other prospects being fostered and held on to by the club.
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i agree we are screaming out for forwards, but its experienced forwards we are in need of right now. The junior forwards, which it seems like we have a lot of and Bradbury is one of, wont help us over the next 2 seasons where Miller will help us straight away in a position we don't really have anyone to fill currently

Its basically coming down to - a need v a want

For all we know the club has spoken to Bradbury and said we have these players in front of you right now, so your options for development will be limited here. Go to the Sharks for a couple of years and develop with them, then we will bring you back

For Bradbury to be traded he will have to wanted to be traded
 
waynesworld said:
AOB has a say in recruitment but from everything the club says it’s Parr, Buderus & Zammit then probably Gardner who have more of a say on these matters.
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If that’s true it’s just another byproduct of O’Brien not being successful & needing a quick fix. If he had results on the board he could dictate who comes & goes without any obstruction.

The other thing people seem to be overlooking is that if they went out of their way to keep Pezet (and I realise there were problems with his father) they could keep Ponga at fullback & have one of the highest rated up & coming 7s ready to go.
 
Speedymetric said:
If that’s true it’s just another byproduct of O’Brien not being successful & needing a quick fix. If he had results on the board he could dictate who comes & goes without any obstruction.
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Not really if all head coaches ran recruitment there wouldn’t be recruitment managers at footy clubs. It’s best practice to have someone whose sole job is to coach the players we’ve got and have someone else look after the roster. Obviously you keep the coach in the loop but otherwise you want them worried about getting the best out of what they’ve got.

On your point re Pezet, after we sacked his old man he was going to be hard to keep.
 
waynesworld said:
Not really if all head coaches ran recruitment there wouldn’t be recruitment managers at footy clubs. It’s best practice to have someone whose sole job is to coach the players we’ve got and have someone else look after the roster. Obviously you keep the coach in the loop but otherwise you want them worried about getting the best out of what they’ve got.

On your point re Pezet, after we sacked his old man he was going to be hard to keep.
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I’m pretty sure Bellamy, Robinson, Cleary & Bennett get to decide who they sign & who they release. They aren’t just kept in the loop.
 
The Gidley flick said:
I can blame o Brien for some on field decisions and play but recruitment I can't
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The thing that has always concerned me about O'Brien is the players he 'didn't' bring with him from Melbourne or the Chooks. Why is that?

Look at someone like Ciraldo who has taken a chunk of good players with him from the Panthers. I'm surprised some on here haven't jumped all over that earlier (given their criticisms of AOB).
 
Defender1 said:
The thing that has always concerned me about O'Brien is the players he 'didn't' bring with him from Melbourne or the Chooks. Why is that?

Look at someone like Ciraldo who has taken a chunk of good players with him from the Panthers. I'm surprised some on here haven't jumped all over that earlier (given their criticisms of AOB).
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I think that's more gould than ciraldo
 
The Gidley flick said:
they are in the loop but ultimately it's the recruitment managers decision cause that's there job
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Really?

So if Paul Bunn walks into Bellamy’s office & says I’m cutting Munster Bellamy just nods & tells him “Yep, if you think that’s the way to go let’s do it”.

I don’t think so. The recruitment team is primarily there to scout future talent. Bunn bought Hodges to the Broncos for $500. In his first stint at the Storm after they were done for salary cap cheating he rebuilt the team from the ground up. In the 2016 GF the Storm team was mainly made up of blokes signed before they were 18 that Bunn recruited with a few of them like Munster & Welch still there & others like the Bromwich brothers only just moving on. Players like Papenhuyzen, Hynes, Olam etc were all also bought in by Bunn.

If you honestly think the good coaches are merely kept in the loop & don’t have the final say on Top 30 squads you are kidding yourself.
 
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