The Halfback Conundrum

[Les Misérables]

Yeah tbh if I remember correctly all the good halfbacks ie. Reynolds etc were signed up and than Pearce announced he wanted to leave so yeah no real elite 7 has been on the market since well one we could realistically get.

Plus elite 7s right now are extremely scarce and has been for a while now, I don’t blame that on OB at all hell even the Roosters got lucky with Walker that he lived up to his potential but even he was a risk singing when they got him.

We're not even trying to find a marquee. Our foremost marquee target has been Brooks. We've conceded from the outset tl finding a middle of the road half

And ill put this to you. The Roosters won't go longer than 1 season without a gun 7. I don't know how they'll do it but I'm confident they'll be true to form and they'll get someone from somewhere before the start of next season. Because that's what the best clubs do.

 

[jamesgould]

'Recruitment' lol c'mon Gouldy.

OB has ran that narrative the entire time, being that he only focuses on getting the team ready for game day and seemingly leaves everything else to his staff. No one buys that, it's honestly quite absurd. But I understand why he'd be motivated to paint things that way.

A close mate of mine works as an assistant coach in the NRL and is of the opinion that it is '100% the head coaches fault' that we hadn't signed a 7.

Re the 'timelines of a marquee half', Mitchell Pearce himself never came off contract. So according to that previous summary, which from memory assesed when players were coming off contract, we wouldn't have signed Pearce either.. You don't find good halfbacks on your evening walk, you need to be overt and aggressive in your pursuit of one and eventually circumstances will unfold in your favour, as they had done for us with Pearce.

If Brown was anything like OB we wouldn't have signed Pearce. And we wouldn't have signed Ponga either.

Pearce asked for and got a release from the Roosters and as this article shows was on the market - it says Knights, Sea Eagles and Sharks were all interested: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/mi...wo-years-of-nrl-contract-20171120-gzp6zm.html

 

[BTP]

This is OB's 6th season.

And I lay blame squarely at OB for our failure to replace Pearce. The excuses are BS. If you have marquee money available for a halfback and you've got 5 years to find one there's no excuse. There's no excuse for that. You've just failed.

Obi has said multiple times he isn’t involved in the recruit process. Whilst I’m not sure that the best way I also don’t know how other coaches operate and if they’re involved.

Teams have recruitment officers for a reason.

 

[Les Misérables]

Obi has said multiple times he isn’t involved in the recruit process. Whilst I’m not sure that the best way I also don’t know how other coaches operate and if they’re involved.

Teams have recruitment officers for a reason.

Obviously the head coach doesn't administer the role of recruitment, that's what the recruitment guy does. The head coach, however, gives the orders, the staff prepare the meal.

For OB to say that he leaves recruitment to recruitment is slight of hand. Obviously he doesn't manage things, but he does oversee it, he makes the final decisions. Unless of course he'd have us believe that he hasn't picked any of the players at the club, he just coaches whoever finds their way onto his roster.

 

[Brad tighe]

Always thought Lamb was the better out of him and Cogger but Cogger is still playing firsts and Lamb is in local comp, doesn’t seem right.
Not saying Lamb was a big future star

Lamb absolutely craves up local league daylights ahead of any other half in that comp

 

[Les Misérables]

Pearce asked for and got a release from the Roosters and as this article shows was on the market - it says Knights, Sea Eagles and Sharks were all interested: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/mi...wo-years-of-nrl-contract-20171120-gzp6zm.html

Correct. Outside of his contract period.

And we beat two other 'better' clubs to his signature, too. Money talks.

 

[jamesgould]

Obi has said multiple times he isn’t involved in the recruit process. Whilst I’m not sure that the best way I also don’t know how other coaches operate and if they’re involved.

Teams have recruitment officers for a reason.

I’ve seen an interview with Brian Smith where he said even when he was at the Roosters (so 2010-12) the head coach job was getting far too big to also handle recruitment, juniors, NSW Cup, all that sort of stuff. So based on that I’d say it’s very common that the head coach is pretty much solely involved in coaching first grade these days. And even then the more technical stuff seems to get left to the assistants.

Of course the head coach will have a role in recruitment as to whether sides see him as someone they want to play under, and I’m sure the players will meet with the head coach. But it might not be a huge amount more than that.

 

[BTP]

Obviously the head coach doesn't administer the role of recruitment, that's what the recruitment guy does. The head coach, however, gives the orders, the staff prepare the meal.

For OB to say that he leaves recruitment to recruitment is sleight of hand. Obviously he doesn't manage things, but he does oversee it, he makes the final decisions. Unless of course he'd have us believe that he hasn't picked any of the players at the club, he just coaches whoever finds their way onto his roster.

Yeah fair enough. I’ve always thought it weird that he wouldn’t have an opinion on who he wants in his team. It’s probably not high on his list but he’d absolutely be advised on 1st team players.

 

[HarVeeGee13]

Correct. Outside of his contract period.

And we beat two other 'better' clubs to his signature, too. Money talks.

You can’t just omit the fact he sought and got that release for reasons which had *absolutely nothing* to do with us though! If the Roosters never sign Cronk, we don’t get Pearce, no matter how overt our pursuit, no matter how hard the money is talking or how delicious Mrs Brown’s butter chicken is. Period.

You keep on insisting on this narrative where you can simply go from club to club shaking trees really hard until an incumbent rep halfback falls out. It’s just not a thing. It has never happened.

The club can put itself in a position to take advantage *if the right opportunity does arise*, but they can’t just snatch whatever player they want from the whatever club.

 

[HarVeeGee13]

We're not even trying to find a marquee. Our foremost marquee target has been Brooks. We've conceded from the outset tl finding a middle of the road half

And ill put this to you. The Roosters won't go longer than 1 season without a gun 7. I don't know how they'll do it but I'm confident they'll be true to form and they'll get someone from somewhere before the start of next season. Because that's what the best clubs do.

I have a sneaking suspicion they’ll nab this kid called Sam Walker…

 

[Frank McWilliams]

I’m over all this “Search For A Star” No obvious star is available for 2025 so let’s just make the best of what we’ve got, Cogger or Hastings. Once decided then the Coach should devise a plan to get the best out of whoever and sort the most suitable side to play to a plan with everyone backing that decision. Whinging about what we haven’t got is at this time an absolute waste, better to be working on what we have whilst ensuring we have future players signed.

 

[krustykraz]

O'Brien imo is a big part of the problem with our halves.
Not so much for the reason above, but we buy halves from other clubs and they seem to get worse the longer they stay here.

We can't seem to develop promising junior halves into first graders.

Also any good 7 won't want to come here to play the style of football the Knights play, that would have been a big part of Pezets decision.

 

[Les Misérables]

You can’t just omit the fact he sought and got that release for reasons which had *absolutely nothing* to do with us though! If the Roosters never sign Cronk, we don’t get Pearce, no matter how overt our pursuit, no matter how hard the money is talking or how delicious Mrs Brown’s butter chicken is. Period.

You keep on insisting on this narrative where you can simply go from club to club shaking trees really hard until an incumbent rep halfback falls out. It’s just not a thing. It has never happened.

The club can put itself in a position to take advantage *if the right opportunity does arise*, but they can’t just snatch whatever player they want from the whatever club.

Im not making the claim that an attempt equates to success. Im making the claim that if the attempt isn't made there is no chance of success.

If we weren't overtly in the market to overpay a halfback we likely wouldn't have signed Pearce, wed have been out-competed for his signature. That's how it works. Brown salivated and throated Pearce for weeks on end and ended up paying him 20% more than he was gonna get elsewhere lol that's what it took to sign him.

Signing a marquee player, let alone a marquee 7, is a deliberate and difficult process because there are 16 clubs and half as many top tier halfbacks. Yes, we need to be shaking trees as part of our pursuit of a 7. The same way that Gould shook the tree of Connor Votano while he had 2 years left to run on a contract and found a fullback for his club when he couldn't find one in the NRL. Why aren't we doing the same to the best junior halves in the country? It's not as if we couldn't offer them everything they've ever wanted. So either we're actively doing it and it is going unreported or we're just happy doing retail window shopping from the off-contract list.

There are ways and means and I'd just like to see us be more aggressive. It's been 5 years under OB and you can count on a few fingers the meaningful signings made in that period.

 

[Les Misérables]

I have a sneaking suspicion they’ll nab this kid called Sam Walker…

Ah yea forgot about him. Explains why Moses isn't already there lol

 

[Good Times]

You can’t just omit the fact he sought and got that release for reasons which had *absolutely nothing* to do with us though! If the Roosters never sign Cronk, we don’t get Pearce, no matter how overt our pursuit, no matter how hard the money is talking or how delicious Mrs Brown’s butter chicken is. Period.

You keep on insisting on this narrative where you can simply go from club to club shaking trees really hard until an incumbent rep halfback falls out. It’s just not a thing. It has never happened.

The club can put itself in a position to take advantage *if the right opportunity does arise*, but they can’t just snatch whatever player they want from the whatever club.

Nah. Now that we've missed on Leo and Jonah and have cash to splash (and it's well known that we do), I'm expecting Cleary and Moses to be kicking in our door on Monday to get a piece of that pie.

In fact, I think every player interested in a bigger pay day will be rushing here ASAP, essentially along the same plot line as Rat Race to do so. There will be swarms - nay, hordes - of players tripping over themselves and causing traffic mayhem to get here. It'll be worse than the Boxing Day sales on Pitt Street; the likes of which neither me or ye have ever seen, unfortunately.

 

[BTP]

O'Brien imo is a big part of the problem with our halves.
Not so much for the reason above, but we buy halves from other clubs and they seem to get worse the longer they stay here.

We can't seem to develop promising junior halves into first graders.

Also any good 7 won't want to come here to play the style of football the Knights play, that would have been a big part of Pezets decision.

So he was a big part of the success in 2023??

 

[jamesgould]

Im not making the claim that an attempt equates to success. Im making the claim that if the attempt isn't made there is no chance of success.

If we weren't overtly in the market to overpay a halfback we likely wouldn't have signed Pearce, wed have been out-competed for his signature. That's how it works. Brown salivated and throated Pearce for weeks on end and ended up paying him 20% more than he was gonna get elsewhere lol that's what it took to sign him.

Signing a marquee player, let alone a marquee 7, is a deliberate and difficult process because there are 16 clubs and half as many top tier halfbacks. Yes, we need to be shaking trees as part of our pursuit of a 7. The same way that Gould shook the tree of Connor Votano while he had 2 years left to run on a contract and found a fullback for his club when he couldn't find one in the NRL. Why aren't we doing the same to the best junior halves in the country? It's not as if we couldn't offer them everything they've ever wanted. So either we're actively doing it and it is going unreported or we're just happy doing retail window shopping from the off-contract list.

There are ways and means and I'd just like to see us be more aggressive. It's been 5 years under OB and you can count on a few fingers the meaningful signings made in that period.

I think everyone knows we’re after a decent half, we literally just had a huge go at getting Pezet.

 

[KPGreatness]

Im not making the claim that an attempt equates to success. Im making the claim that if the attempt isn't made there is no chance of success.

If we weren't overtly in the market to overpay a halfback we likely wouldn't have signed Pearce, wed have been out-competed for his signature. That's how it works. Brown salivated and throated Pearce for weeks on end and ended up paying him 20% more than he was gonna get elsewhere lol that's what it took to sign him.

Signing a marquee player, let alone a marquee 7, is a deliberate and difficult process because there are 16 clubs and half as many top tier halfbacks. Yes, we need to be shaking trees as part of our pursuit of a 7. The same way that Gould shook the tree of Connor Votano while he had 2 years left to run on a contract and found a fullback for his club when he couldn't find one in the NRL. Why aren't we doing the same to the best junior halves in the country? It's not as if we couldn't offer them everything they've ever wanted. So either we're actively doing it and it is going unreported or we're just happy doing retail window shopping from the off-contract list.

There are ways and means and I'd just like to see us be more aggressive. It's been 5 years under OB and you can count on a few fingers the meaningful signings made in that period.

I agree with the Gould/Votano part that’s why I’m all guns in Toby Rodwell very very promising, people point to his contract like it means jack these days, the fact is he is 18 ish stuck being 22 year old Walker, 21 year old Smith, why not let it “slip” publicly that we would be interested in signing the young half and hopefully he wants it and asks for a release from the roosters to pursue a nrl birth one he won’t get u less Walker and Smith drop of a cliff.

A 3 year $300-400k contract to play in the NRL might be enough to tempt him to make the switch.

It’s time we start knocking down doors of NRL clubs like they do to us it’s time to be the team people hate.

As you said we can’t wait around and beg a elite 7 falls into our laps we’ve been doing that since Joey retired, we got to make sh** happen

 

[Thieves Like Us]

Did I miss something? Has Votano officially signed with the Dogs?

 

[jamesgould]

Did I miss something? Has Votano officially signed with the Dogs?

There was just one article saying they’re interested, I think?