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
I asked AI Does AI require more energy ? You can read the response
The climate change science I posted above comes up with à seriously bad out look. By 2050 lots of people will die starting with order people. Bush fires,floods, cyclones, power outages, food shortages, housing, labour, , viruses, insurance etc will be huge issues. Look at what the climate affects are happening now in the Northern Hemisphere.
AI says their additional infrastructure in the near future will require power require.about an additional amount of what USA is currently using. USA have ceased most renewable energy projects are are going fossil fuels big time
Sorry the full article didn't come out. Cut and paste.hmmm. If interested ask AI how much additional power will the system need and see what response it comes up with.
I have a car with a function that records a lot of information about the car performance. One feature records every time I exceed the speed limit . We have a number of hills where I live with downhill speeds of 60 . The number of recordings going over 60 are enormous. If a cop checked the notification app I would be without a licence long time ago. ÀI ? Hmmm
TAD, I know you're gentle soul and not a Luddite, but have you fantasized bashing that AI thing in your car with the largest hammer you can find? Just curious lol.
Everybody knows dash cam footage is a double-edged sword. If you are in the right and the victim of some other driver etc, your dash cam footage is your friend. When you are the perpetrator, doh! Police can access that footage. This is common knowledge, but what is naive is the idea that AI, which is basically a glorified data aggregation tool, won't be utlized by insurers, police, the State in general, to remove that aggregated data from being the 'private property' of the driver and turn it into a surveillance (retrospective and prospective) and compoliance tool. That's just naive. Each normalization of using AI to farm out cognitive labour is just naivety about the trojan horse potential.
Too true, Tad. All the AI fans will be shitting bricks about living in Airport One once they realize that being gung-ho to farm out cognitive labour to a psychopathic bullshit machine also comes with an added bonus: insurance agencies and police services extending their monetization and monitoring of your behaviour to unparalleled lengths. Yeah, it's not a bonus, with cognitive laziness just ushering in punitive behavioural regimes.
punitive behavioural regimes.''...coming soon to a s̶t̶o̶r̶e̶ fucking everything near you.
We are handing long, invisible levers to government and billionaires. They are going to use them
They will get a different answer Tad, even with the same prompt. It will probably be similar, but crucial details can vary, sometimes wildly
TAD, you're a wise soul. I agree. AI is a fast-moving work in progress.
Also, I suspect advanced AI (and the more dangerous) is being worked on behind public eyes. For some time.
All the horses have bolted — the Ai Killers are a few decades late.
Ultimately, in the AI virtual world the battles we have will still be between people.
PS: I do share your concerns about climate (there are consequences of spewing out gigatonnes of crap into the atmosphere non-stop) and other things we can talk about in private. One disaster at a time lol. Climate is not a beneficial discussion on here. It'll just go round in circles. Best to let people be.
HOE I did see something on line basically saying much the same about what we are on about. Two camps. . Climate change is a big one for me. I know of some people who have experienced homelessness and mental anguish as a result of major weather events and lack of support with getting out of this mess. It's not a pretty future for anyone facing that type of event. There definitely will be more ever increasing that type of life-changing experience. Please don't take the differences of opinion personally.You are a much valued asset to this site cheers
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