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"spoiler alert, this might be a clue."
"HOE i wonder if the plan is for Smith to be like Walker once he moves on?"
"Glad you said it and not me, I said similar a few months ago and got called out that i had no idea about anything.
I know stats are not always the main indicator of player performance, but Smith had 0 Try Assists in 2025. Now TDS has only one in his…"
I know stats are not always the main indicator of player performance, but Smith had 0 Try Assists in 2025. Now TDS has only one in his…"
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Don't rate him at all . Still needs time in lower grades
So if you don't rate him why put him in lower grades for time? If you don't rate him time in lower grades won't matter.
TDS is still young, with plenty of improvement left in him. He could still play Flegg in 2026 ffs. And despite being two years younger than Ryley Smith, he has played nine more NRL games.
Well said Pou. I think the issue involved with Da Silva for some fans is their affinity for Smith. He is such a fan favourite anyone that is taking game time away or is adding competition is bad it seems. I really like Smith but the hate for Da Silva is ridiculous.
Its is almost a physcological trait of the site.
It seems to me that once some consensus comes through that people on here have their minds made up for them. Then that is it.
My initial reaction to TDS was not that positive, that said after rationalisation he is just another younger player, with ability that gets knocked because he didn't meet an expectation.
My expectation is that he is a fine understudy for Riley Smith, but is still unproven but more than capable of doing that..... unfortunately if he meets those expectations he will or Riley in turn, look for opportinities to move somewhere else.......what is a top class hooker worth 550/600?......how much can you then afford to pay his understudy and expect to retain him for ? Is this type of conclusion inevitable and as such acceptable? How long is it dependant on his success and how good and quickly becomes so.
Could we teach him to play in the halves, to make the absolute true utility he could evolve into....at present the RS & TDS options are a one/two punch?.......whilst I like that idea, the practicality of doing it is questionable.
Last question, dummy halves and halves seem to be quiet interchangeable, does anyone know whether TDS has a kicking game as well?
Da Silva is a potentially elite dummy half. He would already be on very good money, probably $600k+ and will eventually be taking the majority of minutes at dummy half. Perhaps as early as 2026. Smith might start every game but could end up only playing 20 minutes per week. There is also the option of spending some minutes as a middle forward for his defensive effort.
Well Ryles was adament, even after Smith debuted that he wanted a 2nd Hooker. Tried to get Brailey for a while.
He must see Smith as something else. But i do not see him signing Da Silva on decent coin and for so many years just to be a 14 or back-up. Now if Smith outrights beats him then so be it, but Ryles has seen more of Smith than Da Silva and saw something.
Top class hookers worth 550-600? I'm no pimp but I'm sure they're worth a lot more than that
Smith is great at the effort areas but he is a one trick pony. He offers very little in attack.
Glad you said it and not me, I said similar a few months ago and got called out that i had no idea about anything.
I know stats are not always the main indicator of player performance, but Smith had 0 Try Assists in 2025. Now TDS has only one in his career but has not played the amount of mins Smith has either. Da Silva also has 5 tries to Smith's 1.
Smith has heart and effort, that is how he has won people over and i like him too. He seems like a top bloke a real club man. Da Silva has more potential. Doesn't mean he is better than Smith right now or will be better than Smith overall, but Da Silva's potential is higher than Smith's.
Some here were even saying Smith's passing was better than Mahoney's which i felt was a case of recency bias. Smith's passing is great, but he had a few odd passes in the year. To say his passing is better than Mahoney's is asinine honestly.
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