It seems to me that Parra may just be starting to have some luck go their way. Things that may seem like a loss initially are turning out well.
A few examples -
Is Wayne Bennet still a super coach or has he lost touch with the game? I know we made a (very poor) attempt to sign him but I feel as though we dodged a massive bullet by missing him and then a made a fantastic move in signing Ryles. Would anyone take Bennet over Ryles at the moment? I wouldn't. Seems Wayne spends a bit too much time trying to tinker with the game instead of coaching his team. His results have been average for some years now. Today, media reports are quoting Wayne's impassioned defence/support of the kick off rule change but I see that ALL 17 clubs are against it. i.e. He can't even convince souths to support it. And then people like Matty Johns have dead set blasted it.
The Galvin saga might just be another.. I was keen for him to sign with us but since he didn't, I looked at him with fresh perspective. I think we might have avoided a player whose ego MIGHT outweigh his ability (and I'm not saying the kid can't play). His signing did the dogs no favours last year. And I can see young Joash growing into a great 5/8. He's a footy player and has already had to fight for every opportunity which builds great mental toughness. A training report from TCT suggests his passing game is on the rise and his running game is already a massive strength. I can see this turning out well for us. Even Pezet for 1 year may turn out to be good luck in that he helps Joash develop over the next year before 5/8 becomes his own. And Pezet will cover any Moses' absences much better than anyone else from recent years.
Another example is the players we let go, especially Reg. I saw it as a head scratcher move but he was terrible for the tits. And Gutho was very solid for the Dragons but Iongi is on his way to being 1 of those generation players. His attack is brilliant but it was his abilty under the high ball and last ditch defence that I found pleasingly suprising.
When I heard Dylan Walker had signed I thought "mm, fair player. Might go ok" but must have been close to signing of the season.
I've seen Parra as having absolutely no luck for many years but sense a turning of the tide now. We all know that luck plays a part in winning comps and it's pretty much impossible if your luck is consistenly bad.
As a final thought, can the Lomax situation also end up as a win for us? It has the potential to land us a decent centre which we definitely still need. Time will tell on that 1.
Replies
ScottX, lots to digest there. Great questions. Just wanted to pop in and say thanks for the insightful contribution.
My gut feel is that we’re more aligned up top than we’ve been for a long time, and that’s starting to filter through. That helps R&R.
We don’t have billionaire benefactors backing the cause though, so it’s old-school hard yakka plus a bit of luck with injuries and off-field stuff.
I’ll need to chew on some of your questions more deeply and come back to them later.
Hey Acme, does this count as a blog by someone who was previously deterred becoming more active and adding more content?
I think it does
I think you should learn to swallow and leave the "chewing" to Hoey!
...says the goat-blower
Hopefully Acme does, and more posters too, even if it’s from the opposite point of view.
Disagreement and criticism are okay, often healthy, as long as we keep things civil and step back if discussions start to go off the rails.
That's only really happened once in the last week or so, which is encouraging.
Hard to say for sure, it would seem so. Let's say yes to get the ball rolling
I hope you're right ScottX, we could definitely use a little luck. I did see Wayne Bennet speak a few weeks ago and he was a very interesting bloke to listen to. I would not be betting against him at this stage, he's still got something to offer.
Truth be told, it was that exact thinking about WB that led to this blog and I was hoping for some thoughts from everyone in this specific regard. I just found it interesting that his own club isn't supporting the rule change that WB seems quite passionate about yet in our own backyard the club seems to be backing everything JR does 100%.
Acme, just curious: What were the most interesting things to come out of that Bennett talk?
Like you, I enjoy listening to and learning from people in the game, and he’s obviously a great coach. I remember Bup raising some deep reservations about him a while back.
I was never sold on Bennett for us, mainly because he tends to hang around for only 2–3 years. A short-term fix. Also, I feel clubs tend to regress (the Dolphins aside) after he takes his magic dust with him.
Rylesy feels more like a long-term, Brian Smith–type, who wants to build the club from the ground up. He’s very different to Smith stylistically, who's more tactical, but that long-term approach appeals more to me. I really hope he succeeds.
I don't believe in.luck. Ryles has made some great decisions and has the club in a good position to move forward. Whilst most thought getting rid of Guth and rcg were head scratchers, Ryles had a clear vision to turn this roster around. Most if not every signing he's made have more than succeeded.
Just one thing, im rating Lincoln Fletcher as Brown's 2027 successor ahead of Lorenzo and Joash, and i think Ryles is seeing this also, especially at training. Need to lock him up until 2029. 30
Also sign Rylsey until 2032 asap imo
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