“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to play NRL every week. As a kid you grow up and that’s what you want to do." Gosford-born, now 22 year old, Jonah Pezet told The Queenslander last year.
This could be a make-or-break signing or a missed opportunity for the Ryles era. Pezet has divided some Eels fans, and there are plenty of “ifs” and moving balls. And until a signing is confirmed this is all hypothetical.
Cons & Threats
Two generals in one team? Too many cooks? Mitchell Moses is a dominant seven, and Pezet appears to want that role long-term, though he could compromise to play full-time NRL.
Pezet is a risk, for sure. All signings are. Maybe he’s not yet the superstar we’d pay him to be. He's still getting his body ready for the gladitorial week-to-week grind of NRL. And also every young half goes through dark nights of the soul; even gets dropped. Sam Walker. Ash Taylor. Tim Smith. Next Big Things.
It’s an expensive risk. Beyond the Raiders, Pezet won’t be short of suitors. He’d likely be number three on the Eels’ salary cap after Moses and Junior Paulo. Number two not long after. (Refer Salary Cap Blog)
If it's really a loan deal, while waiting-on-Munster, we would be a pit stop of convenience, doing more service to the Storm than our club. How did the Harry Grant loan deal work for the Tigers? In that case, we should stick with Ryles’ “The Future is Now” philosophy developing project players like Joash Papali’i, Dean Hawkins, or Lorenzo.
Pros & Opportunities
Pezet could provide a short,mid, and long-term spine solution. The heir to Mitchell Moses. A spine that could grow together for the next 10 years plus, building around it.
In the short term, he could ease our over-reliance on Moses and his fitness, as has missed large Turbo-Ponga-esque chunks of games in recent seasons. This year, the Eels have a 54% win ration with Moses, 27% without.
Why couldn't Pezet play six for a while? He has 15 games at six, 20 at seven, and 15 off the bench at Cup and NRL levels. The Broncos won a grand final with a two-sevens in the halves (Reynolds-Hunt), while Storm have succeeded with three fullbacks and a Grant spine.
In 18 NRL games with the Storm, Pezet has scored two tries, kicked five from six goals, and maintained a win ratio of almost 85%.
He has also shown he’s team-centric. “I’m confident in my ability to play 80 minutes at halfback,” he said, but he’s willing to play six or off the bench. "What’s best for the team.”
And who better to mentor him than Moses? A win-win. Moses spent the first half of his career at six with the Tigers, and the second half at seven with the Eels. On the Sixes and Sevens podcast, Moses said he wished he had a senior seven to guide him.
Bottom Line
In the bold V'Landys Universe of Attack, Attack, Attack, we don't have the supreme x-factor talents like Reece Walsh or Payne-Haas tanks through the middle to compete in a gunslinging, power shoot-out. We'll need to continue to build resilient systems with some creative enterprise. Winning on guts and pressure and nuance. A strong kicking game will be critical. Pezet provides added points of attack and opportunities, reducing pressure on Moses. His utility value to play both six or seven or off the bench is a plus, not a negative.
In the end, Jonah Pezet could be a luxury we can’t afford or the cornerstone we can’t afford to miss. The Ryles era is just getting started and this decision could define it. Will history remember it as bold brilliance or a missed opportunity, a Waterloo moment?
Source of Johah Pezet quotes: The Queenslander
Related blogs: Salary Cap , Where Do We Fit in the New Era?
Replies
With Jonah being 23 at the start of next season and Moses being 31, I really hope the Eels give Jonah long enough to learn from Moses so he can take over the #7 jersey whenever Moses hangs up his boots. Halves usually hit their peak in their late 20's therefore, Jonah will play his best and most consistent football in 4 or 5 years.
Jonah got tongues wagging with that finals performance and rightly so, but he's been on the cusp of 1st grade for a while now and up until a few weeks ago he hasn't exactly looked like a player with a ridiculous skill set to be worth paying big dollars for especially if we get into a bidding war with Canberra for example. Personally I'd rather wait and hope for a Burton type player to become available. I'd rather pay a mill for Burton than 650 for Pezet, that's just my opinion. I think it's a little premature to be thinking about a Moses replacement when I reckon he easily has another 5 years in him. Moses is our 7, we need to be looking at a 6 with spunk and X factor that can offer something different to Moses
Agree its too early to look for a Moses replacement. So any idea of buying Pezet because he could one day replace Moses is poor thinking. I am not saying I have the answer on who should play 6 next year because I am not confident in Joash or Pezet. Plus Lorenzo at least 1 year away if he improves his defence.
Well it is not just "sign him as Moses has 4 years left and work it out from there"
Ryles would sign Pezet to be our 6 in someway he likes them to play, bonus being when Moses retires he can be the 7. It's not the main reason to get him.
At this stage just have to see, we could sign Cleary and no guarentees he works out. Just the way it is.
"A strong kicking game will be critical"
You're spot on there mate. Having another good kicker in the side should benefit us. It would take the pressure off Mitch and make our last tackle options less predictable.
Mitch will not do less kicking because Pezet is in the side, he will be a better kicker than Brown just the same.
I thought I read somewhere that Parra had offered him 1.5m over 3 years.....that seems reasonable under the circmstances that he is a "rookie" yes that right peeps, he is a "rookie".
Rookie in the sense that technically this would be his first full year starting.
I'm not too concerned about fit because JR knows exactly how he's going to use Pezet or he wouldn't have gone and got him.No doubt he'd have laid the gameplan out and his usage and that'll be that.
2 generals I don't see it we got our Field Marshall Pezet can be the general if he likes but there's only one guy running this team for the next 3 years and that's Field Marshall Moses.
It was clear all the way along JR was looking for Moses sidekick and if confirmed now he's found him.Papali'i Volkman and all the rest will battle it out for a potential halves spot down the road because as above if this signing is confirmed in 3 weeks then I don't see any halves movement outside of injury.
The Galvin chase was basically the writing on the wall that we were never set with what we had in the cupboard..Now just get us that enforcer in the foward pack cough Tino cough cough and then the timeline for success speeds up expediently.
Great point Coryn. Ryles not only knows how to use him, he has coached him before at Melbourne. He has seen this kid play for years, knows how he plays and how he is around the club. Had Galvin not come available, Pezet was always the no.1 choice to replace Brown. Then when Galvin signed with the Dogs, Ryles went for Pezet. The crumbs were there when on a podcast Anasta mentioned another 6 Ryles liked then stopped himself saying more due to conflict of interest. Put 2 and 2 together since he manages Pezet and Ryles has worked with Pezet before that it had to be him.
In terms of generals, who is to say Galvin wouldn't of been that? He would have demanded the ball along with Moses. Pezet is a smart kid, he will know how to run the game around Moses and if Moses is out through Origin for example, Pezet takes control, not a case of looking at Brown and saying "Do something".
Not saying this signing is a slam dunk, no idea if it will be but it is a good signing in principle. Ryles so far has not been too far off in his recruitment. Iongi, Kautoga, Williams, Papali'i, Samrani has done a job, JAC. Da Silva probably so far has been the one where he didn't kick on til the Knights game but also did not have a pre-season with us.
But he has done well with his recruitment so far, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
The only thing I'd say is combination your basically starting from scratch again putting in yet another new piece on that left side.This is where the system is important how quickly if signed can Pezet strike up atracking and defensive consistency with those around him.
Defensively more so as I believe if we are to make finals next year this is why we'll do it.There's indicators there of potential but the consistency isn't that's where this team has to get to.
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