Recruitment & Retention 2027

P

puff

SGI Jersey Flegg
George Sancti said:
Of course, the late Rex Mossop always did it with style. Today’s journalists just swing wildly without any of his finesse.
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There are still some good ones these days. But what is funny is how critical some of the shit journalists/pundits are of players and coaches. The lowest quality NRL player is still a very good Rugby League player. The lowest quality Rugby League journalist is not a good journalist.
 
Frank Facer

Frank Facer

SGI Jersey Flegg
The reports on Burton are very good. He could be playing first grade by 2028 and be Gutho's replacement. He also could be better than Bula. If we sign Bula for 900K a season for say 3 seasons. That could block Burton's path and and or have 900K salary cap space taken up, by someone who, we have a better option. It could also mean we lose Burton.
 
Eric

Eric

Staff
Frank Facer said:
The reports on Burton are very good. He could be playing first grade by 2028 and be Gutho's replacement. He also could be better than Bula. If we sign Bula for 900K a season for say 3 seasons. That could block Burton's path and and or have 900K salary cap space taken up, by someone who, we have a better option. It could also mean we lose Burton.
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He will probably start out as a winger. Has a good game for a winger.
 
Dave03

Dave03

SGI NSW Cup
I think it would be a good move for both us & Su'a to trial him in the middle to gauge his effectiveness. If he can replicate Keaon performance then interest in him goes up from other clubs which increases contract $$$, he's a known commodity as a 2rf. It would also open up edge spots for the likes of Jacob, Nick T, Egan etc. I'm very confident he would perform better as a middle than the likes or Guler, Kerr, Sele & Lawrie.

I'd mainly want to see it for contract purposes, I'm happy to extend him if he's effective through the middle.
 
Frank Facer

Frank Facer

SGI Jersey Flegg
To all those who say/think Flanno got the team he wanted after getting the job at the end of 2023. Who are the players you think Flanno should have signed instead that would have signed with us. When he took over at the end of 2023. There were no players he could pick up that were that good for 2024. We almost had Fonua Blake signed, but he pulled out at the last minute. He said he would like to to have signed Manu from Easts, but he went to Japanese rugby instead. We made a big play for Dearden but he re signed with Nth Qld for a reported 300k less that offered by another club. I believe Galvin already had his future clubs lined up before wanting out of Wests. Cobbo knocked us back. We made a play for Doueihi to play lock for us last year, but he knocked us back. Brown went to Newcastle for 1.3 mil a year over 10 years. We should have given Tamale a go and hung on to him. Lomax wanted out before Flanno got here. Flanno turned him into a winger, but Lomax didn't want to play wing and was on 850K a year. Hunt wanted out before Flanno got here. He was on big money. Was toxic. Said he wouldn't play hooker for us, but then signed with Brisbane for almost half what he was on with us and was happy to play hooker for them. He did manage to sign Atkinson who I was happy with and am even more happy with after yesterday's game. He signed Koloamatangi for next year, who I am very happy about us signing. He has debuted more juniors than any other coach has since Brown coached us over all of his years. Those juniors will take time to become good first graders. He has said he sees Reed as a future long term halfback, but doesn't want to rush him. Many on this forum feel that is the correct thing to do. We have not been a club that good players are interested in signing with and have lost many good players to other clubs over the last 15 years. It was always going to take at least 3 or 4 years for Flanno to turn things around. Dean Young is waiting in the wings to take the first grade coaching position. If Flanno didn't take the job, it would have been either Young or Hornby. I think many of you criticising Flanno expect him to perform miracles as a coach. He hasn't had the cattle so far, but is developing a team. Give him until next year before writing him off.

I don't think Flanno has got the team he wanted. He got the team that we already had. He signed Gutho, Cook and Holmes all as players who were let go a year before their current contract expired. You could even call them off cuts. Flanno has had to made to with who he could sign, not who he wanted to sign. If he can get us performing and making he semis by next year. Then we may become a more attractive team for prospective good players to sign with us. If Flanno can get us making the top 8 by next year, I will consider that a pass mark and a step in the right direction. You all have to remember before Flanno took over, we had only made the semis once in the previous 12 seasons and had finished very low on the ladder the previous years before he signed. You also have to remember he took over a team who was either favourite or second favourite for the wooden spoon.
 
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Frank Facer

Frank Facer

SGI Jersey Flegg
Dave03 said:
I think it would be a good move for both us & Su'a to trial him in the middle to gauge his effectiveness. If he can replicate Keaon performance then interest in him goes up from other clubs which increases contract $$$, he's a known commodity as a 2rf. It would also open up edge spots for the likes of Jacob, Nick T, Egan etc. I'm very confident he would perform better as a middle than the likes or Guler, Kerr, Sele & Lawrie.

I'd mainly want to see it for contract purposes, I'm happy to extend him if he's effective through the middle.
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I think Luciano is the one we should be moving to prop. I actually think he could make a very good prop and compliment Toby and Koloamatangi in the prop rotation. A few years ago I did consider Sua as a middle forward, but since then I think he has played very well on the edge for us. Sua is tough enough to play middle, but he would be another lighter prop in our already light prop rotation.
 
P

puff

SGI Jersey Flegg
Frank Facer said:
To all those who say/think Flanno got the team he wanted after getting the job at the end of 2023. Who are the players you think Flanno should have signed instead that would have signed with us. When he took over at the end of 2023. There were no players he could pick up that were that good for 2024. We almost had Fonua Blake signed, but he pulled out at the last minute. He said he would like to to have signed Manu from Easts, but he went to Japanese rugby instead. We made a big play for Dearden but he re signed with Nth Qld for a reported 300k less that offered by another club. I believe Galvin already had his future clubs lined up before wanting out of Wests. Cobbo knocked us back. We made a play for Doueihi to play lock for us last year, but he knocked us back. Brown went to Newcastle for 1.3 mil a year over 10 years. We should have given Tamale a go and hung on to him. Lomax wanted out before Flanno got here. Flanno turned him into a winger, but Lomax didn't want to play wing and was on 850K a year. Hunt wanted out before Flanno got here. He was on big money. Was toxic. Said he wouldn't play hooker for us, but then signed with Brisbane for almost half what he was on with us and was happy to play hooker for them. He did manage to sign Atkinson who I was happy with and am even more happy with after yesterday's game. He signed Koloamatangi for next year, who I am very happy about us signing. He has debuted more juniors than any other coach has since Brown coached us over all of his years. Those juniors will take time to become good first graders. He has said he sees Reed as a future long term halfback, but doesn't want to rush him. Many on this forum feel that is the correct thing to do. We have not been a club that good players are interested in signing with and have lost many good players to other clubs over the last 15 years. It was always going to take at least 3 or 4 years for Flanno to turn things around. Dean Young is waiting in the wings to take the first grade coaching position. If Flanno didn't take the job, it would have been either Young or Hornby. I think many of you criticising Flanno expect him to perform miracles as a coach. He hasn't had the cattle so far, but is developing a team. Give him until next year before writing him off.

I don't think Flanno has got the team he wanted. He got the team that we already had. He signed Gutho, Cook and Holmes all as players who were let go a year before their current contract expired. You could even call them off cuts. Flanno has had to made to with who he could sign, not who he wanted to sign. If he can get us performing and making he semis by next year. Then we may become a more attractive team for prospective good players to sign with us. If Flanno can get us making the top 8 by next year, I will consider that a pass mark and a step in the right direction. You all have to remember before Flanno took over, we had only made the semis once in the previous 12 seasons and had finished very low on the ladder the previous years before he signed. You also have to remember he took over a team who was either favourite or second favourite for the wooden spoon.
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Yes. Poor Flanno. All he wanted was to sign AFB, Manu, Deardon! So unfair that you can't just ask Santa for the players you want. No one is saying he got the players he wanted. We are saying that this Roster, nearly 3 years after his appointment, is of his making. This is the roster that he in fact did build.

Consider last year's minor premiers. Many predicted them to get the spoon last year. Raiders haven't signed an in demand established first grader for years. (In fact they lost Wighton in that time.) They have recruited good available players who wanted an opportunity and they have coached them. It can be done.

Suppose that this is not an option for Shane. Suppose coaching is not his way. Suppose he needs to recruit a star-filled team and win with pure talent. Well, in that case he would want to be better at getting/keeping these players. You are telling us that he can't get any players he wants. He also wanted to keep Hunt and Molo but they didn't want to play for him. It seems attracting and keeping players is not his forte either.

As for the juniors that "will take time to become good first graders". It depends which ones you mean. But the Couchmans, Stewart and Egan have generally outplayed Flanno's vets. They are already good players. These guys becoming so good so soon has actually bailed Flanno out. If not for them we would have been hammered in Vegas and would have been down by 20 at halftime v Storm. Recall that we didn't win many games last year after Toby and Dylan joined Ryan on the out for the season list. We are also lucky to have Reed, LKT, Buchanan, LPT, Nick T., etc. continuing to develop. We are probably the most stacked team in the comp as regards local juniors. Other coaches can only dream of such a pipeline.
 
D

Dragon David

SGI Jersey Flegg
puff said:
Yes. Poor Flanno. All he wanted was to sign AFB, Manu, Deardon! So unfair that you can't just ask Santa for the players you want. No one is saying he got the players he wanted. We are saying that this Roster, nearly 3 years after his appointment, is of his making. This is the roster that he in fact did build.

Consider last year's minor premiers. Many predicted them to get the spoon last year. Raiders haven't signed an in demand established first grader for years. (In fact they lost Wighton in that time.) They have recruited good available players who wanted an opportunity and they have coached them. It can be done.

Suppose that this is not an option for Shane. Suppose coaching is not his way. Suppose he needs to recruit a star-filled team and win with pure talent. Well, in that case he would want to be better at getting/keeping these players. You are telling us that he can't get any players he wants. He also wanted to keep Hunt and Molo but they didn't want to play for him. It seems attracting and keeping players is not his forte either.

As for the juniors that "will take time to become good first graders". It depends which ones you mean. But the Couchmans, Stewart and Egan have generally outplayed Flanno's vets. They are already good players. These guys becoming so good so soon has actually bailed Flanno out. If not for them we would have been hammered in Vegas and would have been down by 20 at halftime v Storm. Recall that we didn't win many games last year after Toby and Dylan joined Ryan on the out for the season list. We are also lucky to have Reed, LKT, Buchanan, LPT, Nick T., etc. continuing to develop. We are probably the most stacked team in the comp as regards local juniors. Other coaches can only dream of such a pipeline.
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My instincts are that Flanno just doesn't have the true coaching ability in this day and age. A good coach should be able to motivate and inspire the players that are at his disposal but Flanno has stated that to win games you have got to have the cattle and this means that he needs to recruit a star-filled team just as you say puff and he will use that excuse for his failures in his rebirth as the head coach after being suspended twice when at the Sharks. Bellamy is the complete opposite with who he wants to be recruited and retained because he has worked out the best way to get players to perform much better than how they played before they joined his club.

Flanno is not the answer for the Dragons I'm afraid to say.
 
P

puff

SGI Jersey Flegg
Dragon David said:
My instincts are that Flanno just doesn't have the true coaching ability in this day and age. A good coach should be able to motivate and inspire the players that are at his disposal but Flanno has stated that to win games you have got to have the cattle and this means that he needs to recruit a star-filled team just as you say puff and he will use that excuse for his failures in his rebirth as the head coach after being suspended twice when at the Sharks. Bellamy is the complete opposite with who he wants to be recruited and retained because he has worked out the best way to get players to perform much better than how they played before they joined his club.

Flanno is not the answer for the Dragons I'm afraid to say.
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Saying "you've got to have the cattle" is throwing your current players under the bus. A good leader takes ownership. A good leader would say "my players are good enough, it's my job to help them win." Listen to Ryles press conference after the first round flogging by Storm: "I've got to go away and reflect on our preparation". Taking ownership.
 
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