The "Mark My Words" Thread

HarVeeGee13 said:
I mean it’s substantially the same pack that’s carried them to four bottom 4 seasons in a row. The likes of Nanai and Luki look like nice talents but it’s a big ask to expect players so young to make a big difference, and Luki may not even be there come round 1.

Taumalolo isn’t the clear best forward in the NRL anymore and even if he was, they still have the same problems: too many old guys, too many guys with poor defensive mobility, too many guys prone to very poor defensive and handling errors. As brilliant as he’s been, they were still a losing team over the last years of his prime, and now he’s showing clear signs of decline.

Everyone looks at their roster as being good on paper but held back by coaching, but they’ve been so bad for so long… maybe it isn’t actually that good on paper? Maybe a lot of their players aren’t terribly good?

I mean, some of them were good. They play for us now 😂

In short, if you’re tipping them above us, then you’re tipping us to finish no higher than 15th.
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Got to imagine they are looking at that Tal contract now and wondering what they were thinking.
 
Jacob Saifiti finally gets an Origin call up.

Jake Clifford to be crowned Danny Buderus Medallist

Dom Young to force his way back into the team by round 8 and keep his spot
 
- Klem starts pumping out the offloads again
- we sign luke brooks, mid season
- tuala gets dropped for Dom
- Pongas kicking game has gone to another level
 
Great Thread

Young to get starting spot but will still struggle with confidence
Phoenix to have a great season
Clune will become a fan favourite after his first few games but will battle to maintain consistency.
We see Ponga do stints in the halves
Hodgson to have a breakthrough season and get interest elsewhere
Top 6 season
 
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Bradman Best to be considered for Origin and enjoy a huge season, benefiting from early ball. Knights to use the edges well.

Knights to run in the bottom 8. No doubt injuries will be a factor. Defensively weaker than 2021. But with a wholesale reinvention of our attack we resemble the Knights of old with some eyes up footy.

Ponga to have a big season. He will leave imo due largely to Watson's departure, something i suspect he is bitter about. An unforgivable error on O'Brien's part that will lead to O'Brien's sacking at seasons end once Ponga signs elsewhere. Not enough criticism was levelled at O'Brien for mishandling Watson's contract negotiations imo, given how critical his re-signing was to Pongas future at the club. Very dumb, wreckless and disappointing to see Watson leave. It is was an enormous error.
 
Les Misérables said:
Bradman Best to be considered for Origin and enjoy a huge season, benefiting from early ball. Knights to use the edges well.

Knights to run in the bottom 8. No doubt injuries will be a factor. Defensively weaker than 2021. But with a wholesale reinvention of our attack we resemble the Knights of old with some eyes up footy.

Ponga to have a big season. He will leave imo due largely to Watson's departure, something i suspect he is bitter about. An unforgivable error on O'Brien's part that will lead to O'Brien's sacking at seasons end once Ponga signs elsewhere. Not enough criticism was levelled at O'Brien for mishandling Watson's contract negotiations imo, given how critical his re-signing was to Pongas future at the club. Very dumb, wreckless and disappointing to see Watson leave. It is was an enormous error.
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A lot of big assumptions in here lol. Inaccurate assumptions by all reports.

Even if they are accurate, we shouldn’t sign a player on big money just to keep his mate around. No one should be bigger than the club and a team should not be one bloke’s plaything.
 
Les Misérables said:
Bradman Best to be considered for Origin and enjoy a huge season, benefiting from early ball. Knights to use the edges well.

Knights to run in the bottom 8. No doubt injuries will be a factor. Defensively weaker than 2021. But with a wholesale reinvention of our attack we resemble the Knights of old with some eyes up footy.

Ponga to have a big season. He will leave imo due largely to Watson's departure, something i suspect he is bitter about. An unforgivable error on O'Brien's part that will lead to O'Brien's sacking at seasons end once Ponga signs elsewhere. Not enough criticism was levelled at O'Brien for mishandling Watson's contract negotiations imo, given how critical his re-signing was to Pongas future at the club. Very dumb, wreckless and disappointing to see Watson leave. It is was an enormous error.
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How was Watsons contract negotiations mishandled exactly?

From what I hear we offered him more than the Roosters are paying him and he still left. He makes his own decisions and sometimes players decide it's time to move on.
 
Also head coaches generally aren't involved in negotiations. They may have a say in who they want and don't want but the money side comes down to the GM & head of recruitment.
 
Watson's departure increases the odds of Pongas departure. We offered Watson peanuts and he left.

Watson is Pongas best mate. They've lived together for years. Watson indicated he wanted to stay but wanted more money than the Knights were apparently prepared to pay. For him to sign with the Roosters without even informing the Knights of his intention to do so indicates disgruntlement, frustration, perhaps even spite.

OBrien is quoted as saying how shocked he was that Connor left, and that he thought everything was fine.. He was wrong. His lack of judgement lead to Watson being persuaded by Robinson.

The thread is one for predictions. And from where I'm standing, this is the easiest of the bunch to predict. If I were Ponga, and my best mate was signed to the club for a few more years that would impact my decision to extend or sign elsewhere
 
I don't think the Watson situation was about money.
I believe it was about how his future and position in the team was sold to him.
And it looks as if Robinson sold it to him a lot better than Obi did.

Coaches probably don't negotiate pay, but they would have a big impact on if a player signs or not.
 
krustykraz said:
I don't think the Watson situation was about money.
I believe it was about how his future and position in the team was sold to him.
And it looks as if Robinson sold it to him a lot better than Obi did.

Coaches probably don't negotiate pay, but they would have a big impact on if a player signs or not.
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Watson spent months negotiating with the Knights to get his price up. Once it was clear that wasn't going to happen, at that point it became about career development. Which to be fair, is a sensible way to handle it. I'd only pick the Knights over the Roosters if the Knights were paying me considerably more. He wanted to stay. The Knights seemingly thought they had him locked up at that price. They were wrong. And its an error of judgement that undoubtedly impacts Pongas decision to stay or go.

Wreckless stuff, all considered. If Ponga leaves the club is in big trouble. Watson was one of the lower structural blocks in the jenger tower it seems. Why even risk that?
 
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