The Sunday Telegraph today confirms the 1Eyed exclusive that Kris Keating is off to the Dogs. However, it also reveals that Canterbury paid just $180k for Keating.
If that is the case it indicates that Parramatta offered Keating $100k less than it contracted Daniel Mortimer for. That comes upon revelations about how much we were outbid by the Warriors, which also indicated that not only we did offer Feleti less than we paid for Mortimer but that we expected him to take a pay cut.
I think it is a given that we paid too much for Mortimer. I said at the time of his re-signing that I would have gone no higher than $150k for his signature given he had not yet proved himself past a promising debut season. We are paying huge money for Timana Tahu, who has not yet shown he is worthy of a $300k season package.
Given the scraps offered to our current roster, surely we have a marquee signing up our sleeve. If indeed there is another marquee signing on the horizon, it is almost certainly the most important one we will make perhaps for this entire decade.
I will say that unless it is Cooper Cronk, I cannot see a solution out of this mess we now find ourselves in. At the moment, we're trying to build a team around Jarryd Hayne and Daniel Mortimer. That strategy is doomed for failure. A team built around Cronk and Hayne is another story. However, if the strategy is to bring back an aging half from Super League as a stop-gap measure while we persist with the long-term vision that Daniel Mortimer will make the grade.
Players are either creative or their not. You can't teach instinct and the ability to play what's in front of you. I still believe Daniel Mortimer is much better cut out for hooker, where his tenacity, speed off the mark and support play can all be used to good effect.
I've been able to stay positive, because I've always believed that eventually the Eels would see the light move Kris Keating to seven and I remain vehemently of the opinion that he would be a success in that position. I now don't have a light at the end of the tunnel to look forward to. Whatever spark the Parramatta administrator strike next, it has to be the right one because otherwise there will be dark days ahead.
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The only one that almost made it was P J and that was on the back of Parra signing J Taylor to share play maker role with and Brian Smith managing his game time.
Signing Orford, Monaghan or Kimmorely could work but only as "playing " teaching aide for morts and humble.
Is it co-incidence that the performance of our halves is going backwards after A Johns was cut? i honest;y thought we were taking steps in the right direction 3 weeks ago.
At the time 95% of people on this site said they were stoked we signed morts and didn't give a shit how much we paid because he's worth every cent. Well don't they look like tools.
I made a blog saying the signing of Tahu was a massive risk, that if I was in admin I wouldn't have brought him back especially on the sizeable coin we were paying him. 95% of people said I was a dickhead and Tahu will prove me wrong, well pssssssssssh.
Honestly if the Cronk signing doesn't happen, and the only way it will is if the Storm straight up can't keep him and we know they will try every possible way to do so, and then Cronk has to want to come to us which will be hard to do in itself because there will be a lot of interest from various places, then we are right royally screwed for next season.
Yes we will compete with the best teams on our day, due to our defense and ability to create freak plays off the back of Hayne, yet consistency will be next to non-existant and atm our depth is looking very, very thin.
I'm with you i'm hoping admin have some strategic purchases in line to help the culture of the team, but there doesn't seem to be that much talent on the market (apart from storm rejects).
BUT, there was a light last night. Our forwards were brilliant...to a man. If we could replicate that effort every week, along with a competent half, we would be unstoppable.
Tahu was not a smart buy. He is over the hill and not a good long term swap for Inu and Mateo. Poore is fine but not worth those bucks when we could have bought shillington for half the price. You dont pay top dollar for props.
This year hurts as we have not competed week in week out. Cayless must be watching his career come to a terrible end. A decade of choking at the critical moment. All promise and no delivery.
You are the optimist when the rest of us are writing the team off. The shining light when all we can see is darkness ahead.
You are also a realist who speaks honestly.
Last week I began to utter the words "we're stuffed". This week I have started to think beyond 2010. I know we're not out of it yet. We still have time to get back in to the 8 and could do anything from there. After a display like the one I saw last night I'm not sure we can do it though.
We tried hard. We defended hard and we had NOTHING in attack. Our last tackle attacking kicks were absolute rubbish.
The one bright light for me last night was my 4 year old winning on the doubles. The guy beside us dropped one of his and my little boy picked it up and gave it back to him. Because of his honesty in giving it to him the guy said that my boy could keep it. Home side 1 and Opposition 7. $100!
Wake up Coach.
That little exaggerated dummy inside before he hits an outside support is embarrassing to watch in its simplicity.
I have faith in DA but it seems like they must have allready written of kris keating but i dont think you can say he has had a good consistent run at his favoured position of 6 to build form.
Hypothetically if we aren't able to sign cronk (i see this as a possibility because he seems to be staying at Melbourne) there isn't many other quality halves on the market that i can think of, i like Mortimer he is probably just going through second year syndrome and he will come good again but i dont think he is a dominant ball playing halve which we need. So seeing as though we have just about sold all our halves we will need to buy someone.