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Grandpa Joe said:
His not a starting half in any top 8 club, his a great utility at 14.

People however are vastly overrating him.

Sharpes ceiling is WAY higher and Crossland speaks for himself at 9.

His not in anyway the best 6, 7 or 9 at the club, just a talented backup.

Hell at 9, his behind Graham as well, but his versatility in the halves as well makes him the perfect 14.

He won't ask for walk - people stop taking Billys offhand comment by Billy as a rumour he wants to walk.

Any other top 8 club he fills the same role and is probably on more money here and treated better than he would be at most places.

So tired of this discussion.
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The problem when talking about ceiling is that it’s projected and opinionated.

Lots have high ceilings that never live up to it, Jonah was talked about as a future Kangaroo and now he struggles to make first grade.

Latrell looked like he was on the path to be a future immortal at the roosters and at that time that was his ceiling but now he is a nowhere near that is just a fat centre that rarely makes the park.

Sharpe definitely has a better ceiling as a FOOTBALLER, if he lives up to all of his potential we won’t know until he hits that 26 mark to which I’d argue he should have cemented himself in the Kangaroo and Blues squad if he was to fully live up to his ceiling.

Sandon just is the better half I couldn’t care what you think about him these are statistical facts and if you don’t like them than that’s on you, come talk to me when Sharpe grabs 10 try assists.

By calling Sandon a back up yet having better half orientated stats than literally Brown and Sharpe is more showing on those two than Smith…

I agree I’m very tired of this conversation, you can refuse statistically factual evidence, at the end of the day it’s junior bias to which we are famous for overstating the talent of some juniors and Smith was never going to win no matter what he did.



Ps. In before the idiotic and incredibly flawed “stats don’t mean anything” argument that people with no idea say in order to try and negate an argument without realising it makes them seem like they just don’t know what they are on about.

Anyway I’m done with the Smith vs Sharpe debate because I know who here deal with fact and who deals with junior bias so from now on I’m just going to assume people who try and discredit Smith just have no clue what they are one about when talking about halves
 
Every successful club has a player like Smith who can (and has done this season) come in and do a job. And in Smith, we've got one of the better ones.

IDK why it's still even a debate which team has gone through this season with their 6 and 7 intact to this point, let alone for the whole season?

PS. We likely wouldn't be running Smith and Harrison on the bench at the same time if Harrison couldn't also cover lock and we weren't so down on troops.
 
KPGreatness said:
Ps. In before the idiotic and incredibly flawed “stats don’t mean anything” argument that people with no idea say in order to try and negate an argument without realising it makes them seem like they just don’t know what they are on about.
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Hey I freely admit I have no idea what I’m talking about haha. It’s an footy forum, most of us don’t, tbh … it’s meant to be fun. And not quite what I said anyway, but you do you! Happy for you that you have all the answers.
 
jamesgould said:
Hey I freely admit I have no idea what I’m talking about haha. It’s an footy forum, most of us don’t, tbh … it’s meant to be fun. And not quite what I said anyway, but you do you! Happy for you that you have all the answers.
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Feel free to go off James, its good for the soul haha

If we let Sandon go now and he went to another team and killed it everybody would whinge, we keep him and people whinge

No matter what Matt Hunter is probably another year of nsw cup from being comfortable to play NRL
Butler and other juniors are 2-3 years away probably

Any player in our club gets my support anytime they run on the field, they may have stinkers but like you say the constant barrage of complaints is boring and hs no use at all
 
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I don't get the Smith conjecture. If he wants to leave at some point, that's one thing. But there's no sensible reason for the club to consider the benefits of a premature exit of a classy back up half/hooker.

Without him we'd be one injury away from Cup quality replacements in the spine. For $400k p.a. Smith offers insurance against many common issues, including in-game variables like HIA, injury etc.

He is the best value contract we have at the club. I don't understand what there is to discuss. He is a crucial component of our weekly team sheet and an even more important component of our squad
 
Les Misérables said:
I don't get the Smith conjecture. If he wants to leave at some point, that's one thing. But there's no sensible reason for the club to consider the benefits of a premature exit of a classy back up half/hooker.

Without him we'd be one injury away from Cup quality replacements in the spine. For $400k p.a. Smith offers insurance against many common issues, including in-game variables like HIA, injury etc.

He is the best value contract we have at the club. I don't understand what there is to discuss.
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Totally, and unlike some I think he could easily find a starting spot at another club ... the question is what side, he might prefer being in a successful 17 here (and let's face it, starting a good chunk of the season due to injuries) than going somewhere like Perth or the Tigers to start and losing most games.

But he's a great squad member to have, looking forward to actually seeing him come on as an interchange hooker at some stage, I think he could carve up in that role.

There's no universe where we release him, unless he comes to us wanting to leave for a better opportunity.
 
I even get where this chat has even come from besides forum boredom.

Sandon hasn’t come out and said anything, neither has the club. It’s purely fans saying “this player is better than this player”.

We have him, we need him, he’s a great player to have as either a starter or depth. That’s it lolz.
 
KPGreatness said:
The problem when talking about ceiling is that it’s projected and opinionated.

Lots have high ceilings that never live up to it, Jonah was talked about as a future Kangaroo and now he struggles to make first grade.

Latrell looked like he was on the path to be a future immortal at the roosters and at that time that was his ceiling but now he is a nowhere near that is just a fat centre that rarely makes the park.

Sharpe definitely has a better ceiling as a FOOTBALLER, if he lives up to all of his potential we won’t know until he hits that 26 mark to which I’d argue he should have cemented himself in the Kangaroo and Blues squad if he was to fully live up to his ceiling.

Sandon just is the better half I couldn’t care what you think about him these are statistical facts and if you don’t like them than that’s on you, come talk to me when Sharpe grabs 10 try assists.

By calling Sandon a back up yet having better half orientated stats than literally Brown and Sharpe is more showing on those two than Smith…

I agree I’m very tired of this conversation, you can refuse statistically factual evidence, at the end of the day it’s junior bias to which we are famous for overstating the talent of some juniors and Smith was never going to win no matter what he did.



Ps. In before the idiotic and incredibly flawed “stats don’t mean anything” argument that people with no idea say in order to try and negate an argument without realising it makes them seem like they just don’t know what they are on about.

Anyway I’m done with the Smith vs Sharpe debate because I know who here deal with fact and who deals with junior bias so from now on I’m just going to assume people who try and discredit Smith just have no clue what they are one about when talking about halves
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I think it's pretty simple, Sharpe just seems to be a better fit with Ponga and Brown, allows them to take on a more dominant role. No team is going to play a Sandon Smith over a generational talent like Sharpe, and risk losing him. Sharpe definitely needs more time to develop into the 6 role, but he's doing a damn good job so far. It has nothing to do with junior bias. Also, please don't tell me that you believe Smith is better than Brown? Because he has better stats than him?

At the same time, we would be stupid to let Smith go. He is one of the best backup halves you can have, and this season is evidence that we need someone of his quality as cover. If Ponga, Brown or Sharpe go down, we can throw Smith in and know that he will perform for us. Knowing Ponga's injury history, he will likely start alot more games for us.
 
krustykraz said:
If we are going to compare players, Defence is 50% of the game.
Missed tackles in 2026
Brown 13
Sharpe 15
Smith 56, 11th in the comp

Also why can't we have Brown, Sharpe and Smith?
Oh, that's right, we do.

Side note Gags is 4th on that list with 63, yuck.

www.zerotackle.com

Most Missed Tackles | 2026 NRL Statistics - Zero Tackle

Who has the most missed tackles in NRL 2026?
www.zerotackle.com www.zerotackle.com
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You beat me to it.
I like Smith and I think he is a very important part of the clubs next few seasons. But to steal someone's name here, "defense wins games". In saying that I would like to think Sandon will be given every chance to develop that part of his game just like Fletcher will be given every chance to develop his play making skills.
 
KPGreatness said:
The problem when talking about ceiling is that it’s projected and opinionated.

Lots have high ceilings that never live up to it, Jonah was talked about as a future Kangaroo and now he struggles to make first grade.

Latrell looked like he was on the path to be a future immortal at the roosters and at that time that was his ceiling but now he is a nowhere near that is just a fat centre that rarely makes the park.

Sharpe definitely has a better ceiling as a FOOTBALLER, if he lives up to all of his potential we won’t know until he hits that 26 mark to which I’d argue he should have cemented himself in the Kangaroo and Blues squad if he was to fully live up to his ceiling.

Sandon just is the better half I couldn’t care what you think about him these are statistical facts and if you don’t like them than that’s on you, come talk to me when Sharpe grabs 10 try assists.

By calling Sandon a back up yet having better half orientated stats than literally Brown and Sharpe is more showing on those two than Smith…

I agree I’m very tired of this conversation, you can refuse statistically factual evidence, at the end of the day it’s junior bias to which we are famous for overstating the talent of some juniors and Smith was never going to win no matter what he did.



Ps. In before the idiotic and incredibly flawed “stats don’t mean anything” argument that people with no idea say in order to try and negate an argument without realising it makes them seem like they just don’t know what they are on about.

Anyway I’m done with the Smith vs Sharpe debate because I know who here deal with fact and who deals with junior bias so from now on I’m just going to assume people who try and discredit Smith just have no clue what they are one about when talking about halves
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More try assists absolutely does not mean “better half” though and it’s a pretty easy thing to explain.

Your job as a half isn’t to generate try assists for yourself, it’s to generate tries for the team.

Imagine the same two halves in 5 try scoring scenarios - quick play the ball, the defence has messed up their numbers. Halfback A converts those opportunities into 2 tries via direct try assists - short ball to a back rower, cut out pass over the top - and 3 blown chances - wrong option, kick when they should pass, pick your own outcome. Meanwhile Halfback B converts the same opportunities into 4 tries via drawing/holding up the next defender, and putting the ball through the hands, but doesn’t generate a “try assist” for himself on any because the last pass on each play was a fullback or a centre.

Is Halfback A better than Halfback B? It’s 2 try assists to nil, after all…
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
More try assists absolutely does not mean “better half” though and it’s a pretty easy thing to explain.

Your job as a half isn’t to generate try assists for yourself, it’s to generate tries for the team.

Imagine the same two halves in 5 try scoring scenarios - quick play the ball, the defence has messed up their numbers. Halfback A converts those opportunities into 2 tries via direct try assists - short ball to a back rower, cut out pass over the top - and 3 blown chances - wrong option, kick when they should pass, pick your own outcome. Meanwhile Halfback B converts the same opportunities into 4 tries via drawing/holding up the next defender, and putting the ball through the hands, but doesn’t generate a “try assist” for himself on any because the last pass on each play was a fullback or a centre.

Is Halfback A better than Halfback B? It’s 2 try assists to nil, after all…
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Welcome to the “idiotic and incredibly flawed” club, my friend. 🥲
 
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