Soft

[silvertail]

Soft ... is what we dished out in round 1 and the trial. Wooden spoon contenders. Pretenders. Worst start I can recall since following Mamly early in 1972.

Contrary to reports today that Hasler is under pressure, he is the one person that can steer the ship towards our next premiership. Problem is, he can’t get rid of so much dead wood. Having said that, Hasler needs to stop being so loyal to to assumed best roster. Start dropping poor performers. I can stomach a young inexperienced player making basis errors.

 

[Jerry1]

Cant argue with that but there needs to be a plan & soon.

 

[KNUCKLES]

Shop players to other teams (taupau, suli) let all the off contract dead wood go and try and pick up quality cheaper options looking for a starting gig like Billy Smith, Tyrone May, Isaac Lumelume, Franklin Pele, Jaxson Paulo, Braidon Burns, Jaimain Jolliffe etc

 

[Frogz]

What dead wood do we need to get rid of and how do you plan to replace it all, before that big spoon sits in Penns office?. I doubt Des has the answers to the modern game. Have a look at his current record. Our owners don't appear to give a sh1t, so why should anyone else.

 

[silvertail]

Not in the mood to name any of the dead wood. I reckon Des knows. He just needs to be less loyal. Loyalty has paid off for him at Manly in the past. Moving forward, hope he realises that may not be the right thing to do.

 

[KNUCKLES]

What dead wood do we need to get rid of and how do you plan to replace it all, before that big spoon sits in Penns office?. I doubt Des has the answers to the modern game. Have a look at his current record. Our owners don't appear to give a sh1t, so why should anyone else.

Forget about this year lol
We need to plan ahead to save ourselves of this **** for the next few years. Buy the talent before they get the shot elsewhere.

 

[madmax]

Shop players to other teams (taupau, suli) let all the off contract dead wood go and try and pick up quality cheaper options looking for a starting gig like Billy Smith, Tyrone May, Isaac Lumelume, Franklin Pele, Jaxson Paulo, Braidon Burns, Jaimain Jolliffe etc

Wow that list really is an exciting one......NOT. I’m at a loss to understand the let’s get rid of Marty & Suli brigade. At least Marty gives his all week in week out. More than what all our other forwards do. Suli has been injured & one game back is expected to be a superstar. I know what he can do as he showed in 2019.....but hey let’s get rid of them whilst we keep Parker, Garrick, Gosiewski, Boyle etc.

 

[KaZa]

cant let go of dead wood if you keep bringing in dead wood. Viscous cycle.

 

[The Who]

DESpicable has been here three years so much of the roster is his making. If there is "dead wood" in the top 30 then DESpicable has had the chance to make a tree-change.
Have the Penns forgotten that DESpicable crapped on the club and we supporters when he went to the Dogs for money? That didn't work out well, except for his bank balance.
And now, after creating a losing culture, the Penns are reportedly rewarding him with two further years at a salary I'll guarantee most of us can only dream about.
I'm amazed that the Penns have been successful in business with this kind of flawed logic.
I think, perhaps, that I just care too much about the once mighty Sea Eagles. Sure, I'll always follow them; I've got a 60 year habit. But I won't be shelling out for tickets to Brookie until I can see their performances match my passion.

 

[KNUCKLES]

Wow that list really is an exciting one......NOT. I’m at a loss to understand the let’s get rid of Marty & Suli brigade. At least Marty gives his all week in week out. More than what all our other forwards do. Suli has been injured & one game back is expected to be a superstar. I know what he can do as he showed in 2019.....but hey let’s get rid of them whilst we keep Parker, Garrick, Gosiewski, Boyle etc.

I never said keep the latter their all off contract.. if we keep players on big contracts ie. Taupau and suli.. u can bet your bottom dollar at least half of these player will be extended due to lack of wiggle room. Lumelume is better then garrick, may or Smith is better than Parker etc etc. But I guess we will just stick with what hasn't been working for us

 

[madmax]

I never said keep the latter their all off contract.. if we keep players on big contracts ie. Taupau and suli.. u can bet your bottom dollar at least half of these player will be extended due to lack of wiggle room. Lumelume is better then garrick, may or Smith is better than Parker etc etc. But I guess we will just stick with what hasn't been working for us

Mate I’m not sure why you think
Marty is on big dollars? Nor Suli! Marty is on similar money to other props & nowhere near what some props are getting. Suli resigned last year on less than previous so not costing us a lot. Same with Walker. At the moment we have those guys at bargain prices. For mine neither of the Trbo brothers are value for money with Tom on $1m plus & Jake on $950k. DCE is on too much also. If we get rid of Marty, Suli & Walker we will be paying much much more for replacements.
Fox also reporting that Cust & Harper are being chased by other clubs! Apparently unhappy at non selection for round 1. I feel these two are just the beginning with Schuster, Olakau’atu probably looking at options also. It annoys me that other clubs can see the talent in our young brigade & are willing to poach / outlay money to get them yet we are blind & do nothing!!!! We sign an injured hooker who may not play this year yet have an exciting young hooker in Birt that could get a game to show his wares. Look at Harry Grant....came from nowhere & showed what he has. The club extends Hasler for 2 more years but risk losing many young stars with their lackadaisical attitude towards giving them a chance. We have as many young stars as the Panthers & could be doing much better on the field IF ONLY given a chance but the club persists with out of form & average players week in week out. I’m tired of hearing that these guys are not ready or haven’t played 1st grade blah blah blah. Tell that to the Panthers & Knights etc. I totally understand your thought process mate.....I honestly believe we have the foundations to really give this year a shake.....IF ONLY!!!!

 

[Brookie Bob]

In a supporter's mind - like mine - it's easy to equate $$$ paid with influence in each and every win. If DCE is paid $1.3Mn each year, Turbo is on $1.1 Mn, and Jake is on $950K per year, then it starts to run around your head that DCE must be twice as good - or influential - as a player on $650K per year.

It's obvious that is not how it has worked out. Manly admin have rolled the dice at various stages and bid high to keep players that they felt they could build a team around. Right now we have $2.250 Mn of talent (Jake & DCE) under-done or out of form, and another $1.1Mn (obviously Tom) who struggles to get on the field.

This is our team's biggest issue. Suli's on $550K per annum; good coin, but not elite coin. It's not a bad pay packet for a center these days though.

In an ideal world we should only be paying DCE $1Mn at most, Turbo $900K, and Jurbo $800. There's a combined wage saving of $650K right there, enough for a quality outside back or hooker.

Unless the cap goes up, we'll be playing Moneyball (or 'Lowball') with the remaining 27 roster positions for some time; DCE's on excessive coin till 2023 and Tom & Jake till 2025. I wouldn't have a problem with what DCE/Jake/Tom are getting if we were leading the comp off the back of their combined efforts, but we've seen how that has played out so far this year.

If the salary cap was $9.5 Mn last year, then we probably had up to 15% of or cap spend sitting on the sidelines last year, with a high percentage of that from our highest-paid players.

I wonder what effect this has on the lower paid players. It must be disturbing to see people on your team getting three to four times what you're paid, not reflecting that in the quality of their performances. Or the higher paid players are continually injured, but still getting the big bucks while you put in on basic footy wage. Teams like to give the impression that they are all 'in this together', but I wonder.

 

[wedgetail eagle]

Soft ... is what we dished out in round 1 and the trial. Wooden spoon contenders. Pretenders. Worst start I can recall since following Mamly early in 1972.

Contrary to reports today that Hasler is under pressure, he is the one person that can steer the ship towards our next premiership. Problem is, he can’t get rid of so much dead wood. Having said that, Hasler needs to stop being so loyal to to assumed best roster. Start dropping poor performers. I can stomach a young inexperienced player making basis errors.

Agree. I heard an interview with Ricky Stuart talking about his time with the Roosters.
He spoke about how he made the mistake to stay loyal to older players & regretted ignoring advice when told to cut them & bring in younger players.
*Brett Finch Uncensored podcast.

 

[maxta]

Des best and worst attributes are in the mirror....
His "Desire and Passion" to win, is higher than the blokes he has running out of the field and he wants nothing more than a reflective energy, which we had maybe the 2008 - 2011 period.
His stubborness is perhaps due to the fact he has selected players based on who 'Des" wants out there to get the job done...as he should.
But I feel he has both the loyalty card, smothered in the "I will prove I got it right", where there will be a big form reversal to show the selections were not wrong, more a bad performance in that particular game....as in the Roosters game.
There is no doubt Des is a great competitor who wants success, but I fear his ego, which you want turned on, but not off the charts, often gets in the way of making change....
Personally I like Des and what he stands for, but I feel unless he can show a little more initiative in giving some hungry new blood with talent a shot, the season could turn ugly quickly and once moral and faith is lost by the players, it's impossible to get back....right now Des fate is in Des hands, as fans we can want changes and results, but the ball is really only in Des hands and we just have to support and hope and believe...that's hard, but I'll be tuning again against the Bunnies with hope regardless of the score, I am going to see 17 blokes digging deep and playing with some pride.

 

[Brisbane Tragic]

Wow that list really is an exciting one......NOT. I’m at a loss to understand the let’s get rid of Marty & Suli brigade. At least Marty gives his all week in week out. More than what all our other forwards do. Suli has been injured & one game back is expected to be a superstar. I know what he can do as he showed in 2019.....but hey let’s get rid of them whilst we keep Parker, Garrick, Gosiewski, Boyle etc.

Yep - I thought Marty was one our best - especially in the first half.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

I’m not sure sticking with the same 17 is sane.

I’m not sure wholesale changes are sane.

But for the love of god Des you can’t keep doing exactly the same things every week and expect a different outcome.

 

[Woodsie]

Problem is, he can’t get rid of so much dead wood.

Mate, I agree with your passion and share your hopes ... but with the exception of DCE he has re-signed every single one of .. whichever players you think of as "dead wood" ... this is his 3rd year ... he had no problems moving both Api and AFB along when both were still under contract ..