PARRAMATTA management has reacted angrily to the club's woeful early-season form by indefinitely suspending all negotiations with off-contract players.
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We've had KK and especially Mateo higher up the pecking order for longer and now they've been over looked for a handful of games rookie. They must be peeved. Mateo would have been my first priority as a re-signing.
Personally I think Ozzy has made a big blunder with the Morts deal. I don't think he is worth the reported 250k. Yes he was in our GF run but he was signed to massive coin before the season really kicked off. Possibly just so the bulldogs couldn't get him. I think he has been our worst performer so far this season. He just seems yards below other guys in attitude.
Management can react angrily if they want but their the ones who decided who they should negotiate with and must take some of the blame for player attitudes. The Morts deal feels like the Finch deal. We secured them because of pressure that other clubs would wrap them up.
This probably won't teach them a lesson, the attitudes may even get worse and we will probably lose some more players.
Therein lies the problem for me.
We have a guy who has played about 10 - 15 games with limited success telling the media that another guy who has played 3 games is a 'great' player.
On what basis is he making that call? Kelly is a young guy who should be given a baptism of fire like any other player but Mortimer probably figures that with the kind of money being thrown at guys like him and Kelly they have already proven themselves.
They both have a long way to go in terms of development and before they can be considered 'great' players worthy of big money deals.
Unfortunately that isn't how it works these days. They pay them first and hope they earn their money. And if you look at a guy like Karl Filiga, currently trotting around for wenty, you realise the potential harm it can cause.
After watching the remaining games from the weekend, and yes I know weather conditions for our game were bad, we looked like a team in slow motion.
If DA wants to motivate his front rowers he should get them to look at Petro's game for the Panthers on Monday.
Let's not kid ourselves. These blokes might run into each other at top speed and play tough contact sport with injury, but at the end of the day, they're not immune from feelings of hurt, rejection or feeling like they're not appreciated. I was happy we re-signed Morts but, at the time, was concerned we paid massive overs for him to the point where we would unnecessarily lose one, possibly two, of Mateo, KK or Inu.
Furthermore, the club have very publicly lauded Morts as 'a player you can build a club around'. Now that may well be true, but for a kid who's played just over a dozen games, it's a pretty big wrap and I could see how other, more experienced players, might feel aggrieved.
Couple that with the slight fracas between Hayne and Grothe against Manly and the fact that Hayne - a 22 year old kid - is (quite rightly mind you) blowing up his more senior players for lack of effort and you have all the ingredients for a season of discontent.
Of course, this is all speculation, but if there were elements of truth to it, which I suspect there might be, let's hope DA can nip it in the bud sooner rather than later!
How would you feel at work if you didn't know if you had a job after this year yet others around you are locked in and secured? You wouldn't feel loved, you wouldn't feel motivated and wanted and you would feel lost. Some of these guys look lost and are playing without definition.
In addition, seeing a kid like Morts get $250K in front of Mateo, then Inu and KK etc that would piss them off 100%. Morts is a good young kid who has a lot of talent but is yet to prove himself and show he is our future. Whilst i think he can be i would have signed others ahead of him. Mateo is playing out of position at 13, he should have been signed as our 6 and told to strip a few kilos and get fitter etc otherwise yeah he won't be here at the end of the season. Same with KK, if he is not our 6, 7 or 9 he will also go. He is a great utility spark but if other clubs are offering $$$ to play 6 elsewhere he will go. Inu has already been shown the door in my eyes by signing Burt and he will also leave because he is getting good offers and better than what we can offer.
Look, we can't sign everyone thats life and thats football but we should have sorted out whos staying and whos going and maybe we have already done that without knowing. Please don't tell me the hopes and prayers of winning a premiership have been pinned on the back of a $70K reserve grade back up 7. If that is the case we won't make the 8.
I am hoping to see a change to the halves later today with probably KK to 6 and Morts to 7 whilst i would like to see Mateo at 6 he is not fit, is out of form and if he isn't part of our future there is no point playing him there.
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