Connor Watson signs with the Roosters

If this Clune rumour is true we may very well have pulled our offer and started looking at replacements, it popped up pretty quickly.
 
SportsFan said:
Long time lurker here (finally got the account set up). What we'll never know is if your golden 'men of old' would have ever stood a chance against current players. Wayne Pearce for example was second row (arguably quite good) & 5ft11/89kg. Mitch is 6ft & 91kg & would get demolished in the the second row...
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Firstly, welcome to the boards Sports Fan 😉 👍

Re your comparison between past and current players.....for clarity, Junior Pearce was always a lock and that was a different role to the modern day role of a lock or second rower. He was the first of any players(by 5-7 years at least) to be a professional when it came to training, diet, etc. which was partly the reason why he was held in such high esteem by fans and players because he absolutely maximised the attributes he had.

His fitness and motor was equivalent to that of Kurt Gidley and his defensive technique suited the era he played in, remembering that they didn't have interchanges then - they had 4 reserves and once replaced, you didn't go back on. So his era players required stamina and fitness to be an 80 minute footballer, which meant he probably carried 3-4 kg less than he would have in the modern game through weights, etc.

So would he be a 'star' in this era? For mine it would be an unequivocal yes. That is based on both his physical and mental toughness and his ability to adapt to the needs of the modern game - if I was to equate him to a modern day player I could see him as a Cam Murray style or Liam Martin, with the expectation that his body size would have been developed to suit and his other attributes would still see him performing at a level above his peers....and I would guarantee that any of the modern day coaches would love to have him in their team
 
I think Mann is the replacement for Watson, he takes that Utility roll and if we are looking at Clune clearly we don't want him playing in the halves.
 
daniels said:
I think Mann is the replacement for Watson, he takes that Utility roll and if we are looking at Clune clearly we don't want him playing in the halves.
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Would be funny if Origin star Mann is number 14 for QLD nest year and Watson isn't even in the conversation for NSW.
 
krustykraz said:
Would be funny if Origin star Mann is number 14 for QLD nest year and Watson isn't even in the conversation for NSW.
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I genuinely think Watson will struggle to crack the NSW side. That's not being spiteful because he's leaving, but the NSW forwards and bench have been stacked these past few years. He'd have to compete with Papenhuyzen, Wighton and probably Schuster for a bench spot. Those three are all skillful ball players and can kick. Watson has improved hugely this year, but I'd be picking any of those three before him for a 14 spot.
 
knightime said:
I genuinely think Watson will struggle to crack the NSW side. That's not being spiteful because he's leaving, but the NSW forwards and bench have been stacked these past few years. He'd have to compete with Papenhuyzen, Wighton and probably Schuster for a bench spot. Those three are all skillful ball players and can kick. Watson has improved hugely this year, but I'd be picking any of those three before him for a 14 spot.
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And Nicho Hynes
 
I reckon as someone mentioned we pulled the offer after he missed the club imposed deadline. If that happened I applaud the club for not letting a player hold them ransom and for not paying overs.

I don't see Watson making the origin team as a 14....theres better players infront of him.

Good luck to him at the rorters.
 
knightime said:
I genuinely think Watson will struggle to crack the NSW side. That's not being spiteful because he's leaving, but the NSW forwards and bench have been stacked these past few years. He'd have to compete with Papenhuyzen, Wighton and probably Schuster for a bench spot. Those three are all skillful ball players and can kick. Watson has improved hugely this year, but I'd be picking any of those three before him for a 14 spot.
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As of right now, for sure. If the Roosters are back up there next year though, you never know. Players in successful sides get noticed more & he already looks good in a mid table team. I do agree though.
 
There was an interview with Watson on NRL tonight.
He said all the media stories are bull.
He is great mates with O'Brien and spoke with him the entire way through his decision process.
Says he is going back to the Roosters to get himself out of his comfort zone and push himself.
Looked quite emotional like it was a tough decision.
Pretty classy.
 
Watson has clearly said that there’s still a job to be done here before he goes. It was both him and Kalyns dream to win a premiership here together although it may not come true He’s still got knights as his top priority right now and the thought of leaving Kalyn and the collective behind should push him more to show us what we were missing out on.
 
krustykraz said:
There was an interview with Watson on NRL tonight.
He said all the media stories are bull.
He is great mates with O'Brien and spoke with him the entire way through his decision process.
Says he is going back to the Roosters to get himself out of his comfort zone and push himself.
Looked quite emotional like it was a tough decision.
Pretty classy.
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This does kind of make sense. If he stays at Newy he’s not taking Brailey or Clifford’s jersey. Will just have to content himself with coming on and running around in the middle for 40 mins a week.

This seems like a silly thing to say about a guy who’s scored a solo try in a grand final, but Sam Verrills is bang average at best among #9’s in the comp, and is injury prone to boot & has always struggled to play 80 mins. He’s not a great defender like Brailey; his service is okay but not great; I know he’s looked good, but that Roosters team is so good that they’ve brought SG Ball hookers into first grade when they needed to and still won anyway.

With Watson’s motor and running threat, if he’s gonna be a starting spine player, he has a much better chance to do that there than with us. It may even happen by default given the injuries they’ve been having down there. And even if he doesn’t take that spot, he’ll have the job of spelling both Sam & Victor in the same game every week. A bigger role, more minutes.
 
I liked that Connor was talking about "career moves" and what's best for his "career". Players don't often refer to it as that (even though it is their profession). Connor seems to be a professional looking to be the best version of himself. He also has side businesses, as far as I'm aware. Being at the Roosters should give him plenty of great business connections to help set him up to keep earning after he finishes playing.

The thing I didn't like was that Connor felt "comfortable" here. That's not a dig at him, but rather at our club culture. I hope that's something that can change. At full strength, we're still an average team. I hope the players who come into the side are hungry and eager to take us to the next level.
 
Comfortable doesn’t necessarily mean things like laid back, lazy etc. It could mean he is happy and settled with his surroundings and friends and able to give more to his job/business, two sides
 
It’s also kind of an easier/lower responsibility role, that “spark plug” guy off the bench. He’s a bit of something extra, but the four spine players, the Saifitis etc impact the result way more. He doesn’t wanna just come on and look good and have people saying “wow we need to find a bigger role for him!” on social media. He wants to actually have a big role, wants to be the guy. Hard to hate on him for that. I should clarify I was joking when I called him a traitor 😂
 
Treachery! Going for less money to that vile, fowl, and soulless club. It is a poke in the eye for our town and our football team. May ill-fortune, misery and woe dog your heels at that accursed club. Now.......where did I put those voodoo dolls?
 
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