Right now I wouldn't say it's a better list. Although each year its not really playing ability that causes our season to go south. Or is it?
I agree with this. It’s not a better list.
What it is though, is a better balanced one, especially if we can get Moale across the line. Paseka will be like a brand-new signing too, a borderline Origin prop finally fit and firing. Turbo was carrying a knee injury all year, and for once he’s put Manly first by taking the time to recover properly in the off-season. I think we’ll see a lot more from him next year.
We finally have some middles who can go forward with high tackle efficiency, and they don’t look as lumbering laterally as we’ve been in past seasons. Across the squad we’ve got depth in most positions. Hooker, halves and second row are still light, but even there we’ve got some likely youngsters coming through.
The side will be far better organised with Fogarty running the show, while still having plenty of individual attacking brilliance in Turbo, Koula and Haumole. There’s strike across the park. The question has always been whether we can lay a platform and not totally capitulate in defence.
Adam O’Brien, while many sneer at that signing, is actually a well-regarded defensive coach. I think he’ll be a big addition. The biggest question mark for me is we still have a lot of players suited to the 13 role, solid defenders but not great at making metres. You can really only fit one of those types in a side.
Brooks will need to improve or make way for Walsh. I’d like to see him add more to his short kicking game and expand his toolkit beyond just running.
All in all, I think we will improve. There’s no excuses for Siebs this year given the ‘weapons’ he’s got at his disposal.
