It was clear toeven Stevie wander we lacked forward lastnight, and with Ryles clering the decks & with the possability of JR retiringat the end of 25 or 26
WE need Forward
we need to be aggresive big forwards
who do we get ? who do we target ?
I dont think Guymer is a 2nd rower (Im not even sure he is a footballer)
Im starting to realy like Kautoga and with more football in him the better he will get
Williams i dont think is a starter
Re-sign Walker for 2 more years past his current deal
Replies
Years of successful planning hmmm I don't think the clubs had that consistently Mutts.I mean did Gurr get us in that spot 19-22 that's the closest I've seen in the last 20.Not sure about now.
Exapnsion and Lack of pathway success and development is going to hinder this process IMO.Recruiting the type of talent and expectation fans starved of success is going to be really tough.Patience I feel is going to have to be a real buzz word because I don't see us sniffing finals let alone winning premiership inside the next 2 years.
I think at best if JR gets us competitive and in the finals in the next year or 3 I'll chalk that as being a pass mark for him.
I get your point but I'd rather trial younger players from within like he has been doing then persist with the likes of Matto & Lane. And there are still some forwards coming onto the market this year that represent better value then those two! (Hetherington, Burns, Bullemor plus in the hooking ranks you have a plethora of good options: Mozer, Liddle, Starling, Paix). And in conjunction with that go hard at 1 or 2 quality backs that will be available for 2026.
I don't know if it has been mentioned yet but Talangy (sp) 4 try assists against a good side. Have we made a mistake?
Talagi to Papalii for the first try. FMD
No we didn't make a mistake, we have our 5/8 locked up long term. No wait...what?
Haha
I heard there is a guy called Galivin or something who is quite good also
Mutts, the club would have to of moved on Brown or Moses to accommodate Talagi to play 6 like he wanted, then complaints would happen why did we let Brown or Moses go.
It sucks, you cannot keep them all. Then there was the talk we wanted him to be our future 1, but as soon as he signed with Penrith we announced Iongi straight away nearly. Ryles identified Iongi from the start so that makes me think Talagi was not planned to be our Fullback either.
So we wanted him but not at Fullback and his path to 6 was not there. It sucks but the club did what they thought was best keeping the likes of Brown. Now Brown went on to move on, and that is on the club, but at the same time the club did what they thought was best to keep Brown. They are idiots though Talagi's path, like Sanders, was cut off for a bit of time, he didn't even want to play Fullback so it was either we move Brown on or say you are not our 6. Then Penrith came in with an offer to play 6 and took it, most would.
Yeah it is not great but at the same time many here, including yourself, saying he is not that good and needs a lot of work to be put into him. But now it is bad as he doing decent at Penrith?
No guarentee's we get Galvin but i would rather him over Talagi any day of the week and i think Talagi will be a quality 15 year first grader.
Interesting stuff, I have been a big critic of Talagi and I am watching with interest his development through Penrith.
I feel the commentary have a huge focus on anything positive he does and he has had some good moments. My further belief is if he was still at Parra, he would be playing Reserve Grade for all the reaons LB said.
Penrith have nursed him like an infant child being transferred from Breast to Bottle, full credit because you can see the positives. I also see Talagi well outside of the line defence and generally his involvement is restricted, full marks to Ivan Cleary for managing same, probably only Penrith and Storm are capable of hiding the developing player the way this has been done.
Nobody yet has realised he is not that quick and in a normal defensive position he will be run over, good luck because with the silver spoon he will have every chance.
1 ounce of foresight solves this puzzle. We have zero foresight. Think about it.
We let our local product walk because his path was blocked, only to find his path was merely 12 months away. It's laughable stuff.
If we do get Galvin for 2026 it will be the greatest shamrock kissing, leprechaun stroke of good luck you've ever seen. Zero strategy, complete arse.
How you deal with not winning a premiership can wear you down and be forever miserable. How you deal with it is an individual thing. I have been following the Eels since the Thornett years. . We had the Gibson era and since then not much. How do you cope with that? Maybe the best way is not to put all your eggs in the one basket and if your basket keeps you miserable all the time maybe it is worth while spreading your interest amongst getting satisfaction from supporting other team wins. I think many of us already do have a kinda hierarchy of certain teams winning over others already. Maybe worthwhile to just ride the wave and wait for your time again. Lots of teams in the competition and more to come. Every person supporting any team is in the same boat we are in.