Morgan
SGI NSW Cup
Not saying I agree but the rumour was that McInness' service out of dummy half wsd poor and used to stifle the attack.
Griffin & Hunt
- Thread starter jodragon40
- Start date
RedVHeartbeat
SGI NSW Cup
Pity the board cant also see that. Word is he has already been offered the extension so it is imperative now for one of the Qld clubs to gazump our 'big money' offer before it is too late.
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RedVHeartbeat
SGI NSW Cup
If that was the case it did not stand out like a bandaged big toe. Besides others do step into dummy half from time to time. As long as McInnes was making us huge metres thru the middle, setting up tries close to the line plus tackling at 93% effective, he was a valuable asset. So we should have payed him accordingly and not let him walk..
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RedV01
SGI NSW Cup
And James Graham was well passed his best when he joined the Dragons.
Morgan
SGI NSW Cup
It all came down to money. Shonkies are reportedly paying him around 700K. i.e. around the same as JDB. For a top quality hooker, that's a bargain but McInness isn't a top quality hooker. He's an interchange forward utility.
RedVHeartbeat
SGI NSW Cup
Paul Vaughan, Tyson Frizell, Tariq Sims, Cameron McInnes, Luciano Leilua. That is some serious footy cred and promise this club has let go in recent years.
Morgan
SGI NSW Cup
I agree in principle but Leilua wasn't a shadow of the player he is now.
RedVHeartbeat
SGI NSW Cup
That was on Mary's patch. Still he never took a backward step. Like all gingers.
RedVHeartbeat
SGI NSW Cup
He was green but still talented. Mary could have managed him better. After all he was virtually still a kid.
When the Tigers announced Leilua was leaving did we think for a moment about bringing him home as surely he had matured since leaving us and would have been a much needed asset to our engine room. I am guessing no we did not as Griffin felt we had most bases covered with his Bronco U20s and rejects and did not need a quality young forward. I feel sure Lucie would have returned as he played all his junior footy at this club and loved the place. The biggest mistake this club ever made was hiring Anthony Griffin.
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Chris M
SGI NSW Cup
And Price and McGregor. 3 big mistakes in a row.
RedVHeartbeat
SGI NSW Cup
He sure was for us for a few seasons. Dont recall him having a utility role.
What in your view constitutes a top quality hooker today? Are they in the same mould as great hookers such as Ian Walsh, Noel Kelly, even Steve Edge and Benny Ellias decades later when a hooker actually still stuck his head into a volatile scrum and had to rake the ball from scrambling legs and the feet, while trying at the same time to avoid an uppercut from his opposition rake. That was the prime role of the hooker in those days. They also gave service and took the ball up on occasions. They were also as hard as nails. Todays 'hooker' is precisely what McInnes and Damien Cook are.. smaller statue and speedy. Cameron Smith was a little in the mould of that traditional hooker in my view.
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Morgan
SGI NSW Cup
Hunt, Korasau, Cook, Grant, even Brailey has McInnes coming off the bench as a running forward. Also Mahony.
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RedV01
SGI NSW Cup
Griffin getting McGuire from the Cowboys and Leilua going to the Cowboys pretty much sums up the Dragons recruitment and retention over the last 2 years.
RedVHeartbeat
SGI NSW Cup
It sucks!!
RedVHeartbeat
SGI NSW Cup
Played lock last game. If he is not hooker that is where I'd have him. Did the club bring him to Shark Park to play hooker or a utility? Reckon if the former he'd welcome a return to the Dragons. But like with Leilua no room. Morgan I will accept you never rated McInnes and leave it there.
Morgan
SGI NSW Cup
He'd have to lose a lot of weight to be the same hooker he was during his time at the Dragons. I think he's moved on from hooker and is now a specialist running forward. He was a good hooker. As you said about the rumour regarding his poor service out of dummy half. It wasn't really obvious like it was with Mitch Rein but seems no other coaches wanted him as a hooker either so I guess there is some truth to it.
Morgan
SGI NSW Cup
I just noticed this. You are 100% wrong. I rated him and rated his as a hooker. Just saying the rumour was that his service out of dummy half was quite poor. And he wasn't worth more than 500K a season.
It seems the rumour wasn't far-fetched as no other clubs want hm as a dummy half. And I think 500K is generous for him as a running forward.
If they were on the same or similar money, I'd easily prefer McInnes to McCullough to play hooker. But I recognise it's unlikely either of them will take us to the promised land. As a running forward, no thanks in regard to McInnes, IMO.
jodragon40
SGI NSW Cup
That's called development
GCRV
SGI NSW Cup
Should have kept him but as bad as Hook has been, that one was on Baldy McGregor, not Hook.
jodragon40
SGI NSW Cup
He was always going to develop into an offloading 2nd rower sometime you need patience