Let's be honest its time for our team for 2021!

kurtsux said:
Burton looks the goods
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on the back of about 5 good games he seems the best young prospect right now. A year ago the NSW selectors thought Crossland was better, and 5 good games from Crossland next year and he could be the next "flavour of the month".

If we want young prospects - we have them in Crossland and Hoy.
But the argument seems to be we need someone like Green to come in and take all the pressure off Pearce right away. Even old Benji for a year would fit the bill better than signing yet another kid to train up.
 
Billy said:
on the back of about 5 good games he seems the best young prospect right now. A year ago the NSW selectors thought Crossland was better, and 5 good games from Crossland next year and he could be the next "flavour of the month".

If we want young prospects - we have them in Crossland and Hoy.
But the argument seems to be we need someone like Green to come in and take all the pressure off Pearce right away. Even old Benji for a year would fit the bill better than signing yet another kid to train up.
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I’d feel more confident with Crossland at 6 than I would Hoy, but that’s to be expected seeing as Crossland has all the attributes of a half as he’s grown up playing in that position where Hoy would need to learn over a period of time.
 
With Brailey back at 9 then Mann is the most likely 6 unless we buy someone, spine etc is Ponga, Mann, Pearce, Brailey and Watson 14. Crossland, Hoy, Randall as back up hopefully playing reserves
 
Mann should never go back to 6, unless we are desperate. I really dont get how people keep putting him there as an option given Pearce.

If Pearce was a dominant half that could be relied on to handle his role, id be happy with Mann at 5/8. In fact with Ponga chiming in it would be brilliant. But he cant, so we need a 5/8 that can share the load with Pearce.
 
Don’t want Mann at 6 either but realistically don’t see us signing a 5/8 who will fill the needs of Coach, Team and Pearce so he is most obvious. I think Mann’s best position is centre but if not that then 14
 
Billy said:
on the back of about 5 good games he seems the best young prospect right now. A year ago the NSW selectors thought Crossland was better, and 5 good games from Crossland next year and he could be the next "flavour of the month".

If we want young prospects - we have them in Crossland and Hoy.
But the argument seems to be we need someone like Green to come in and take all the pressure off Pearce right away. Even old Benji for a year would fit the bill better than signing yet another kid to train up.
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1000 percent Billy. Everyone ignores our talent and thinks any other player from another club is just what we need! Does my head in.
 
Matty23 said:
If we don’t sign a 5/8 why not just put Crossland there? More than capable first grader, an actual half with a kicking and passing game and his defence is more than efficient after experience playing hooker.
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Unless someone perfect for our needs comes up, I'd like to see the coach decide on either Hoy or Crossland, and spend the whole off season working on plays for them.
Browny spent a whole off season working on plays for Ponga and it really worked.
This off season, Ponga is out for most of it, and Pearce really doesn't need to work on much (if he can't do it now, he never will) - so we can make every play we work on focus on the young 5/8 - much like Brown did for Ponga.
 
But like a few years gone, didn’t we have a couple of pretty good halves and they copped plenty, no one wanted them and they drifted off to other clubs, Roosters and Dogs, sure they are not top line now but let’s be realistic are Crosslands and Hoy better than what they were, do they have more potential than Lamb and Cogger had. They didn’t go on but did we cruel the chance they had playing in the worst system and coaching we had in years. They might make it in a few years but Lamb was our local best prospect at 5/8 since Mullen but the system let him down.
Now we are saying let’s make a go of the locals give Crossland and Hoy a chance.
I am all for local juniors being given the opportunity but let’s be fair in our judgement, if they are good support them but if not top quality don’t knock them, locals don’t cost big/huge dollars and generally support and love the club.
We all want another Joey but he might have had problems in some of the sides in the past 5-7 years
 
Lamb wasn't quite up to NRL standard imo and i think that showed even more when he played for the chooks .
Cogger on the other hand looked the goods i thought but hasnt quite been as good as i thought he could be for whatever reasons .
Like the Don there will never be another Joey .
 
This is the team I would like to see start next season, because they all earned it in the off season. They trained too well to be left out .

1 Ponga
2 Lee
3 Best
4 Young
5 Hunt
6 Crossland
7 Pearce
8 Klemmer
9 Brailey
10 Daniel
11 Barnett
12 Frizzel
13 Jacob
14 Watson
15 Fitzy
16 King
17 Another Glasby type from home or not , or a big monster prop.
I dont think Sione will be here next season (super league someone said wants him) and if Mann's mum is unwell he will probably go closer to her too.
 
I don't think Young will be ready, but if he is, I think he'll be used as a tall winger.
O'Brien came through the Melbourne system when they loved tall wingers who could jump like Folau, and one of the few things we heard about last off season was that a lot of what they were doing was kicking to Lee and getting him better at bat backs and winning the leap.
I can see us with Lee on one wing and Young on the other, and I also noticed that they were doing a lot of kicks for Shiba at the end of the season and he was winning the leap more often than not.
 
1. Ponga
2. Lee
3. Tuala
4. Best
5. Hunt
6. Crossland
7. Pearce
8. Klemmer
9. Brailey
10. D Saifiti
11. Fitzgibbon
12. Frizell
13. Barnett

14. Watson/Mann
15. J Saifiti
16. Sione
17. Jones/Saulo

Certainly need another forward or two, a second rower and if we can’t get a 5/8 I’d be putting Crossland there. Bench is very light as well.

Hopefully we see further development in players like Hoy, To’a, Momoisea, Jones, Croker, Sasagi, Huth, Young and King.
 
Centre is suddenly our strongest position.

Best - freak who has to be in the side when fit.

Tuala - Great first year for us and young and improving.

Shiba - some games he is one of our best and other games he is one of our worst. If they can make him consistent he deserves a spot.

Toa - played a lot of centre in the juniors but probably needs to develop a passing game and his defence might have to improve for centres.

Hunt - also a centre for most of his career

Sasagi - hell of an athlete who seems to be playing centre in his last few outings.

Young - bio says centre is his main position

Dylan Lucas - trained with firstgrade and played in the trials and 9s as a centre. He is a likely looking lad.

8 guys for 2 positions - 3 if one of them plays wing.
 
Question what is behind the Blake Green 'released to the Knights' by the Doggies. Is this factual as Gardner has a very definite view of buying guys with dodgy knees.
 
member 2299 said:
Question what is behind the Blake Green 'released to the Knights' by the Doggies. Is this factual as Gardner has a very definite view of buying guys with dodgy knees.
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What makes a dodgy knee?
Moga and Griffin had multiple knee reconstructions in their early 20s and Hodkinson had no cartilage left and had bone rubbing on bone in both knees.
Green seems to have had no knee problems till doing a partial ACL at age 34.
Moga, Griffin and Hodkinson all had chronic problems, but maybe Green has a 1 off issue that can be fully repaired.
 
However Billy the three of them were signed before the Wests takeover and Phil has been reported as saying they were very wary signing future players with a knee history.

Are you aware of any official announcement on his release to the Knights? The whole thing over Mitch's future and support with a good 5/8 is very secret it seems.
 
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member 2299 said:
However Billy the three of them were signed before the Wests takeover and Phil has been reported as saying they were very wary signing future players with a knee history.

Are you aware of any official announcement on his release to the Knights? The whole thing over Mitch's future and support with a good 5/8 is very secret it seems.
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Same injury as Beau Fermor at about the same time of year, and Beau didn't get onto the field till well into the next season(round 8), so we might not know if he gets a spot in the top 30 till halfway through next season. He might just spend next year training up Hoy and Crossland for the first half of the season and replacing them for the second half.
 
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