Recruitment And Retention Discussion

Junior said:
do we forget the list of players who have been released early from warriors without compensation due to compassionate grounds?
AFB
Walsh
Dyl Walker
now Barney
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Fair point can't argue with that. I just don't think the Warriors will be able to do get a player in return for Barnett.
 
Having a strong initial response to Holbrook as coach in a post-AOB world is only going to assist our future recruitment prospects.

I'd say this is particularly relevant in the case of Mitch Barnett. Inevitably our first month of performances will become a factor when considering the appeal of returning home, albeit without knowing a timeline by which he intends to make a decision.
 
Im hearing (one removed from the horses mouth) that AOB thinks he can get Ponga to the Bulldogs, and is actively trying. I also spoke with a Bulldogs board member who intimated with a suggestive grin that they like their chances.
 
Les Misérables said:
Im hearing (one removed from the horses mouth) that AOB thinks he can get Ponga to the Bulldogs, and is actively trying. I also spoke with a Bulldogs board member who intimated with a suggestive grin that they like their chances.
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The beauty of our present roster construction is that the prospect of Ponga leaving no longer rings a bell signaling the death of competitiveness for a decade.

If Ponga leaves we are left with an undeniably special talent in Fletcher Sharpe playing his best position, a test half in Dylan Brown, a competent 23yo first-grader with upside potential in Sandon Smith, and another test representative in Phoenix Crossland - as well as plenty of change to bolster the remaining squad.

If Kalyn did want to leave, it would be disappointing because he is phenomenal, but life goes on.
 
Yeah the thought of him leaving doesn't make me want to slash my wrists anymore. But all things considered, would rather keep him.

If we can keep ripping teams apart, and the Dogs keep having these games where they are buried in the other team's half for 475 minutes but they can't score because they're running very clunky, slow block plays, this should help us do so.
 
I can see why they Dogs would be interested, their spine is incredibly underwhelming tbh. Burton is a centre who can send the ball into orbit, galvin isn't really much of anything yet, tracey and hayward are honest toilers.
 
I mean, we could move Sharpe to fullback but based on what we saw yesterday, there simply is no replacement for having both Sharpe and Ponga on the field at the same time.

If a couple of the young forwards coming through become special, then we will find ourselves in a premiership window. Losing Ponga changes that. Yea, we could use the money to buy someone else but whoever they bring in as a replacement won't be able to affect a game the way KP does.

He'd make the dogs an immediate premiership threat
 
I highly doubt there will be any kind of contract talks with Ponga until the end of the year. The new TV deal in 27 (I think) will allow teams to have 2-3 marquee players.

Ponga may need to take a slight haircut depending on various circumstances. I think we can all safely agree Sharpe will be a marquee signing his next contract. But I still can’t see why we couldn’t keep all 3.

A lot hinges on how the clubs performs the next two seasons which will effect his decision. In an interview recently he said it’s his 8th year he feels this year the club as a whole is in the best position it’s been.

If we a looking like pushing for a premiership why would he want to go back to playing AOB ball!? (Dogs watch this year) For me personally I take Ponga for his word. There has been nothing in the past to say otherwise.
 
Les Misérables said:
I mean, we could move Sharpe to fullback but based on what we saw yesterday, there simply is no replacement for having both Sharpe and Ponga on the field at the same time.

If a couple of the young forwards coming through become special, then we will find ourselves in a premiership window. Losing Ponga changes that. Yea, we could use the money to buy someone else but whoever they bring in as a replacement won't be able to affect a game the way KP does.

He'd make the dogs an immediate premiership threat
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I agree that a functioning spine that manages to effective combine Sharpe and Ponga is our best shot at a premiership, and also that Ponga to the Dogs would place them as a genuine premiership threat.

I would argue though that there are multiple strategies that could make you a genuine premiership threat, once you have a threshold of talent in the spine - the Dogs need someone like Kalyn because they aren't over that spine talent threshold right now.

I believe that a spine of Sharpe-Brown-Smith-Crossland is capable of reaching that threshold on its own, caveated upon Sharpe and Smith developing to their full potential. In that scenario, using Ponga's extra funds doesn't require finding a like-for-like replacement, and could be utilised in another position that might make us a genuine threat in a different way.

The natural example would be signing a top 5 middle forward to "replace" KP - it would change the way we play and the way we threaten the premiership, but I still believe we would be capable of genuine contention with that spine. The personalised example would of course have been Payne Haas - If we were to effectively trade KP for Haas and retain the above spine, I am quite confident we still have an opportunity to land in the Premiership window, albeit playing a different style.

I should state that none of the above should be taken as suggesting that I want KP to leave, the prospect of Ponga-Sharpe-Brown-Crossland (Smith backup) leaves me as excited as I have ever been for the future of the Knights. I would, however, suggest that the fate of the club is no longer shackled to the presence of KP, as has been the case since he arrived at the club.
 
Tobe Fair said:
Did you see the tears in Ponga's eyes in that on field interview. He ain't going anywhere he loves us.
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Yep same as when we beat the Raiders in that home semi in 23. He was crying . Yes he wants a premiership , yes we have paid him the big bucks .But he has given us virtually all our best moments in the last ten years. Hope he get that premiership , & I hope he gets it here .
 
slotmachine said:
Sharpe gives POS a boatload of leverage, not like laat time KP re-signed where the club had to bend over and pay him whatever he wanted.
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I would go as far as to say that Dylan Brown does as well, and Sandon to an extent. Obviously Kalyn is on another level of special from all of them, but also he's not a "square peg" as we've all observed. What we saw yesterday, it was way more heartening than the AOB version of it, but we certainly haven't stopped being A Kalyn Ponga Team, we just saw two different variations on it with Fletcher getting hurt and Sandon coming on. Did not at all look like Holbrook is approaching this with an idea that there's such a thing as "too much" getting Kalyn the ball in his sweet spots. That's always going to be a massive part of your role if you're in the spine with him.

Whereas Fletcher and Dylan are both basically lab-grown at fullback and five-eighth respectively, and they're both guns. Sandon, yes, whatever, "the Roosters didn't want him", but he's a handy little player and I think he can be a good halfback in the NRL for a long time, especially now that it turns out that Dylan Brown has secretly been a really good general play kicker all along, how funny is that. You put Dylan and Fletcher behind a dominant pack, you have competence at 7 and 9, I think these are still the building blocks of a really strong team.
 
Who goes night-night for Knight's Knight?

PS. Am I right in guessing Brisbane has offered Barney a dump truck full of Haas money if we're signing journeyman props to a 3-year deal (unusual for POS)?
PPS. Couldn't find this confirmed anywhere else either; it doesn't look like a site that would have accurate breaking news.
 
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