2023 Recruitment & Retention Thread

slotmachine said:
Watching how Dylan brown is turning himself into a million dollar player now joey has pissed off, might be better not having him around at all.
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Matty Johns is the one you want coaching the halves, he has a proven track record of being successful. He was helping the Tigers when they won the comp and was at Melbourne helping their halves, including Cronk
 
Maxibon said:
Is Garrick the Manly player who has gay siblings?
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I think so? He was one of the players who was the face of their Pride jersey promotion either way and with reports of how it’s split their dressing room, no prizes for guessing which side of the fence he’s on.

Come to Newcastle, home of the mandatory Kalyn Ponga cheek kiss every day at training!
 
MontyBrogan said:
Have said for years that moving Ponga to 6 would be huge for us. There's a bunch more people that can play fullback at a first grade level than there is blokes who can play in the halves.

If Garrick is the guy that instigates the shift, I'm all for it - despite his relatively low ceiling. I wish Hodgkinson had kicked on harder.
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I hope Ponga goes well in the halves but to insinuate that Ponga can play halves is maybe jumping the gun just a bit, the last time he played in the halves was not great ... Infact it didn't really work at all as he needed more room imo , But let him train there all off season and who knows he will hopefully kill it .
 
Ethan said:
I hope Ponga goes well in the halves but to insinuate that Ponga can play halves is maybe jumping the gun just a bit, the last time he played in the halves was not great ... Infact it didn't really work at all as he needed more room imo , But let him train there all off season and who knows he will hopefully kill it .
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You seem to be judging it off how Ponga played a few years ago. Have you seen him play in 2022? He plays like a half. And space? How often is he running these days anyway? His natural tendency these days is to look to set people up rather than do it himself.
 
Joshhh said:
You seem to be judging it off how Ponga played a few years ago. Have you seen him play in 2022? He plays like a half. And space? How often is he running these days anyway? His natural tendency these days is to look to set people up rather than do it himself.
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Since being here he has played there once when the coach tried him there and it didn't work so yes i am judging it of that because there is nothing else to judge it on.. What are people judging it on when they say he should play half they haven't seen him do it , at least not successfully.
Seems to have become a non starter anyway with Johns saying it wont happen because one he's a f/b NOT a half as Johns and Slater both said and two he has had enough concussions without tackling forwards .
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
So wait we’ve got, in the top 30:

Gagai
Best
Young
Hunt
Tuala
Mapapalangi
Lucas
French

Then on top of them we’ve got Mann, Jones & Sasagi who can fill in there.

That’s overkill unless, yeah, some players are moved on.
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With 8 full time outside backs + 3 utilities with experience playing there being overkill, something’s definitely gotta give.

When you add the fact there are already 27 spots filled with Mapapalangi and Lucas being promoted straight to the top 30, I reckon some players must be on the **** list and they’ll be trying to move them on & replace them before their contracts are up. Definitely that’s the vibe you get, there will be an attempt at a clean out.

Based on who played NSW Cup today while two very very young players got elevated over them into firsts, here’s my guess for said **** list:

Hymel Hunt
Jack Johns
Potentially Kurt Mann after going out drinking while having a bleeding-related injury.
 
My understanding was that he was told he needed to stay off the drink while rehabbing the leg. If so that’s a massive breach of what’s expected and potentially grounds for tearing up his contract.

That’s the thing about when a coach has trust in a player. It’s not unconditional. It can be destroyed.
 
Ethan said:
I hope Ponga goes well in the halves but to insinuate that Ponga can play halves is maybe jumping the gun just a bit, the last time he played in the halves was not great ... Infact it didn't really work at all as he needed more room imo , But let him train there all off season and who knows he will hopefully kill it .
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I really feel that we would have stuck with it longer if we had a proper Fullback to replace him, not Mr "fill that hole" Watson
 
Probably just some big-noting merkins, but I’ve had a little bit of a lurk on the Sea Eagles fan forums, some people on there who claim to have good mail are saying that the Garrick to Newcastle thing is definitely on…

… and also the clubs are talking about a swap involving Bradman Best…
 
Manly were keen on Bradman as a 12-year old before we signed him, and I think his old man played for Manly in some capacity as well.
 
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