Before diving in, it's important to acknowledge where we currently sit on the ladder. We must acknowledge as fans that our position is far from ideal nor acceptable, however, we must also consider the challenges we've faced throughout the early part of the season:
The extended absence of Mitchell Moses, both at the beginning of the season and more recently
Mid-to-long term foot injuries to key players Zac Lomax and Bailey Simonsson
The off-field distraction and uncertainty surrounding Dylan Brown’s contract situation
A wave of suspensions, including two for Kelma Tuilagi, along with bans for Ryley Smith and Josh Addo-Carr
The inexperience of a rookie head coach still finding his feet at NRL level
The departure of several experienced and influential players — including Clint Gutherson, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Maika Sivo, and Joe Ofahengaue
A very raw and inexperienced squad — at the start of the season, players like Iongi, "Kit Kat", Sam Tuivaiti, Ryley Smith, and Joash Papalii had fewer than 10 first-grade games combined. And with inexperience inevitably come error
Positives:
Signings:
Our recruitment for the season has undoubtedly been one of the brighter aspects. With signings including; Jack Williams, Iongi, Kit Kat, Lomax, JAC, Dylan Walker, Dean Hawkins, Joash & Jordan Samrani. Across the board, each player has at the very least met expectations, while many have exceeded expectations. Jack Williams, Iongi, and Kit Kat have stood out with consistently strong performances. There was initial scepticism — myself included — around the signings of Josh Addo-Carr and Dylan Walker. However, both have proven to be excellent additions. Addo-Carr has added a new dimension to our edge attack, offering a different style to what we were accustomed to with Maika Sivo. Meanwhile, Walker has been exceptional off the bench, regularly shifting momentum with his impact and versatility. Importantly, there hasn’t been a signing I’d categorise as a “miss.” Even those brought in primarily for development or Cup-level depth — such as Hawkins, Joash, Samrani, and Volkman — have shown encouraging signs when given the opportunity at NRL level.
Style of Football:
Gone are the days of Parramatta relying mainly on our left edge to generate points. While the Gutherson sweep play to Maika Sivo was highly effective, over time it became predictable and overused. This season, however, we’ve shown far more variety and creativity in our attacking structures. We’re now threatening across the park — not just down one channel. Through the middle, we’ve seen promising link-up play, often sparked by a Dylan Walker burst or a smart tip-on from Junior Paulo. On the right edge, we’ve found success through short balls to Kelma Tuilagi/Jack Williams or well-placed last-tackle kicks targeting Zac Lomax. Meanwhile, the left side continues to fire, with Isaiah Iongi and Josh Addo-Carr combining dangerously. Overall, our attack has evolved into a far more balanced and unpredictable system, capable of striking from multiple areas of the field.
Player Development:
A key example of our Player Development this season is Sean Russell. I’ll be the first to admit that over the past two years, I wasn’t a fan — whether he was on the wing or in the centres, I often felt he offered little in either attack or defence. But credit where it’s due: this year, Russell has taken a clear step forward. While he’s still not among the elite centres in the game, he’s become far more reliable defensively and noticeably stronger in attack.
Luca Moretti is another standout. He showed glimpses of promise in previous seasons, but before his injury this year, he was truly beginning to deliver on that potential with consistent, tough performances through the middle.
The emergence of young players like Ryley Smith, Sam Tuivaiti, and Joash Papalii has also been a welcome boost. All three have shown encouraging signs in their early NRL outings and bring much-needed energy to the squad.
We’ve also seen a resurgence in Junior Paulo’s form — back to playing with real intent — and continued strong contributions from players like Bailey Simonsson when fit.
Player Rention:
When the decision was made to release Clint Gutherson to the Dragons, it was met with heavy criticism. Many viewed Gutherson as the “heart” of the team — a leader whose effort and presence were invaluable. However, coach Jason Ryles saw things differently and placed his trust in Isaiah Iongi at fullback. So far, that call has paid off. Iongi has shown immense potential and looks every bit a future star. While Gutherson, as we saw on Saturday, can still be effective, it’s clear he’s beginning to slow down. I wouldn’t be surprised if next year is his last season at fullback.
Other key departures include Reagan Campbell-Gillard, who has struggled for form and impact this season, and Maika Sivo, who had become a shadow of his former self. Joe Ofahengaue was averaging just 65 run metres per game — a significant drop-off for a middle forward. Shaun Lane, ruled out indefinitely, had unfortunately not returned to his best football over the past two to three years.
Additionally, players like Wiremu Greig and Ryan Matterson have reportedly been encouraged or granted permission to explore other opportunities — a move many fans would agree is overdue given their limited impact in recent seasons.
Negatives:
Jmaine Hopgood & Will Penisini:
Throughout the Brad Arthur era, J’maine Hopgood was one of our most consistent performers — regularly punching out over 60 minutes with minimal errors and a strong defensive work rate. However, this season, he’s looked a shadow of that player. His minutes have been reduced, and he's become more prone to handling errors and giving away unnecessary penalties. That said, there’s no doubt the talent is still there — which is likely why Billy Slater has kept faith in him, selecting him in Queensland’s squad for Game 3. If Hopgood can rediscover his best form, it would go a long way toward stabilising and strengthening our forward pack.
As for Will Penisini, I was anticipating a breakout year. With two of the game’s most powerful wingers outside him, I expected a significant boost in both his attacking output and defensive stability. So far, though, that lift hasn’t materialised. There's still time, but he’ll need to find another gear in the back half of the season to reach the level many were expecting.
Lapses:
While the team is still relatively inexperienced, that can’t fully excuse some of the lapses we've seen in both attack and defence this season. The most recent examples — our abysmal first half against the Dragons and Chris Randall’s try last week — highlight just how costly these moments can be. Randall’s effort, in particular, was one of the softest tries you’ll see a back-rower score at this level.
These kinds of breakdowns can be momentum-killers and swing games dramatically. While there has been some improvement in addressing them, there’s still a long way to go before we become a consistently disciplined and resilient side.
Replies
Funny I just read this post and I swear, its that good, it must of be written by Chatgpt 😂😂
Lol
I use AI as a lazy way of getting information quickly. Do I trust AI? Don,t really know.
My concerns about AI is the long term affects it has on being human . What affect would it have on you maybe reading a book,poetry, maybe listening to music composed by AI. Looking at Artworks,movies etc created by AI. Where does individual real life emotions, story telling etc fit into what makes humans what they are. Are we going to simply become receptors rather than participants. At another level in the distant future would you like to support Robots running around in football jerseys rather than real people warts and all
There are actually people who have had poor relationships with partners and many who can,t get into a relationship that are basically married to an AI partner who strokes ones ego to give them everything they want in a perfect relationship. Hmmm
https://youtube.com/shorts/OwYYI8Iz9gE?si=bs-nsgTiB4VUezHH
Randy/TAD — fascinating points gents.
AI's a tool. Should we stop using cars because they ain't fully human? The sky's the limit with it — but like a gun, it can be misused and abused and likely will be.
It can be a life-saver. A friend of mine is a government contractor who flies helicopters and does some work for various governments. One time, in poor weather where visibility was poor, a deadly tornado suddenly appeared without warning. But he narrowly avoided it. How? He was warned by advanced AI-systems, which are not the norm. It saved his life and everyone on board.
Less human self-expression is the least of our worries.
The problems with AI for me are its potentially catastrophic consequences. Not because of AI — but our flawed nature.
One domino side-effect is rising unemployment. AI is starting to be used everywhere from bus-drivers to factory hands. It'll become increasingly widespread.
Another is us becoming puppets. Gov'ts are investing heavily in AI and the cyber world. It's basically going to be a monitoring & controlling tool for them in the completly inter-twined digital universe we live in. Privacy won't exist. Even if you go off grid. Digital currency will be another step in that process. Everything will be digital. Total control at their fingertips. But that's the tip of the ice-berg: Just watch Mission Impossible's Dead Reckoning Part I.
Are we wise enough, with our current financial structures and evolutionary mindsets, to avoid all that from happening? Can we evolve our nature and actually work together in a wiser, more unified, more organized and more practical way? Honestly, I doubt it.
AI might not be the problem — we might be.
Spot on HOE" AI might not be the problem _ we ( might?)will be". How easy will it be to do something like deport people who don't tow a party line. I read something that said China can use this technology to punish people by turning off services like water and electricity for periods of time if you speak out against a Government.( Maybe even raid your bank account?)
Weather forecasting and things like drug molecule hunting protein folding are excellent use cases for specialised AI (less so LLM}, but have nothing at all to do with attribution or engagement on a site where folks are talking through their points of veiw and interacting with each other. Strawman arguments aren't usually your go, Hoe. You have refered to 1EE as a kind of virtual pub... would you speak to someone at the pub if they were running their replies through an LLM, then reading them off at you. I would think that bloke a massive tosser at best, and i would ignore the everliving fuck out of him If you copy a chunk of a journos work , you attribute, right. So why not AI.....If folks take the time to humanise the output, no dramas.
I feel my brain atrophing when i read joyless pointless personal opinions with no personality, no wit and only possibly correct factlets.
If everyone else here is happy with an ever increasing increasing load of ":straight out the machine"replies/comments and blogs with no up-front acknoledgement, so be it. The site will be what we deserve.
If anyones interested, these seem relevant (links Ars technica, a reputable mostly pro-ai site)
in-the-age-of-ai-we-must-protect-human-creativity-as-a-natural-reso...
Scientists once hoarded pre-nuclear steel; now we’re hoarding pre-AI content
Chicago Sun-Times prints summer reading list full of fake books
“Just give me the f***ing links!”—Cursing disables Google’s AI overviews
Depessing read Randy.I am really enjoying this winter I have been sitting in the garden and going to a number of Bush walks thinking about so many people that have passed away in my lifetime. The world is changing in a big way from the time I got excited about watching the first black and white tv when they came on th market in the mid 50,s. That technology has accelerated in the last 60 years or so. I can,t imagine what the world will look like in the next 30 years or so. I really feel for my grandson and his generation. Make living with nature great again
Randy I usually do a clean out around our trees.Quite a lot of rubbish left after the cyclone. Started burning a fair bit of it. Great feel sitting around a fire to relax , to think and also a wonderful cave man type situation to get a good conversation started.Must be related to past life experiences.
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