I think the concept of teaching and mentoring IS SOMEWHAT overated/stated in this case.
Volkman is being made out to be a real benefactor, he hasn't come back after looking at the market, he has come back because we asked him to.
Yes learning and mentoring are an essentail and it comes back to levels and opportunities, not the least being ego's. I doubt that Volkman may see it as an opportunity to learn or being mentored by Luai. That being said, I think he see's a lot of opportunites, not the least the likelyhood of him playing a lot of first grade, given the opportunity that the current halves situation offers, I don't see Volkman as a starting half in any existing NRL side, Parra aside currently and not next year to start.
I'm not against the hiring of Luai but I have to agree with the general consensus, he has hardly set the world on fire via the Tigers experiment.
Now in saying that, I suspect there are some deeper happening's at Tigers that have clouded the issue. I think that Luai can be good for us and I hope his ego drives him that way. Apart from him being a very good player, one of the things he brought to the Penrith process from the very beginning was his tremendous enthusiasm around anything from a tackle to a try and jumping over everybody......this is what I hope he brings to Parra, albeit for the short time....thats where the learning and mentoring can really be effective....5/8 play, nah! follow me boys "I will lead you" this is not going to be needed in his actual game and with Moses being there he can compliment his own role and not worry about that.
Obviously I expect him to be involved with any developing player, contrary to the "experts" on here thinking he is not going to be the slightest interested about Parra, looking after his TPA's, etc, and if he does that, he will look like a fool......I don't think he is a fool and I know there are fools on here that are thinking that way. You know the usual mob who want to be critical rather than constructive.
Elite sports people can be very coceited and egotistical but part of theat ego drive is making themselves look good and by that the team they play's for. I reckon the ego is reasonably fragile after Tigers and he we will be determined not to be like that with Parra.
Let's hope I am right because one way or another he will be there next year.
One final thing, just stop for a second and see and understand the comradeship that exists with Penrith, pretty much to this day. It is the key component that makes them the champion team they are. If Parramatta is to ever again hit the heights that we want them to, then that same comarardie needs to become entrenched as well. Luai may just be the type that could be the catalyst for that same enthusiasm....... anything can help!
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Pretty fair assessment and I agree old fella
Thank's Bobby, its a shame only the older and wiser seem to understand these things.....its a bit like rushing to the bottom paddock where the Mares are waiting ....when to quote the mighty Sir Col, we can just stroll down and do them all.
Volkman is being made out to be a real benefactor, he hasn't come back after looking at the market, he has come back because we asked him to.
I don't see Volkman as a starting half in any existing NRL side, Parra aside currently and not next year to start.
I feel you just contradicted yourself. He did come back after seeing the market and realising not much was out there. You just said, i agree, he more likely is not a walk up starter for another team. If he was, he would have signed a deal by now.
If Volkman isn't a starting half in any other NRL side right now, which is spot on, then he didn't come back to the table as a favor because we "asked him." He came back because his market value dictated it and Parra offers him the best opportunity. He might see it as "What do i prefer, being a reserve for Moses and Luai at a club i know, with coaches and players i know, if it goes pear shaped i am in a comfortable environment. Or go elsewhere with more expectation, with not many if any people i know and if it goes bad i am shafted to the side". If he has realised, good chance he has, that he is more likely a back-up in 2027, it is better to be one at Parramatta.
He went out to see what was on offer, as he was entitled to do, more likely has gone out and seen those who are interested are only offering similar to what we are. 1-2 year deal on limited money. If he is getting similar deals, he is better off staying. SL probably has offered a good deal but doesn't want to go. But he has come back to the table after exploring the market Poppa.
Overall Poppa, i liked your blog, it was a fair read and there are a couple of decent points in there. Particularly on Luai.
I was under the impression he was looking at ESL as well and primarily, that's where the contradiction takes place, I was careful to differentiate his offers/requests. searches because to be honest...I didn't know. What sort of money would he get in ESL, ie, what would Bevan French be on? Just as a matter of interest if Volkman had Frenchies elite speed, he would probably be a $1m half....yes he is not slow and quicker than I thought and could still end up being quicker with the benefit if a preseason and sprint training, that side step he seems to have developed just about beats everyone on first look.....coaches will be studying him now when they play Parra.
As an aside these things get pretty tricky when you look at say Roosters who lose Walker and have built in half backs around him. This is where the dilemma comes into being, we havan't had this type of depth around our halves, one of these reasons a player like Burton is so attractive, meets all your backline needs and is a terrific kicker and an elite goal kicker to boot.
He was looking at SL before being picked in FG for the Titans game. As soon as him being in FG was regular, he knew he was too good for SL.
If uncle Gus manages to take him for a succulent Chinese meal, it's all over. Volkman will be wearing the blue & white next year. End of story.
Dogs offeting 1.2 3 yeat deal
If Gus offers him a starting role he more likely goes. But he hasn't as of yet.
Your closing statement on camaraderie is a really good point Pops - and it's the reason I don't like the Pezet signing and equally dislike the Luai signing.
Camaraderie builds over time, it is the shared bond of going through hard things together. It was a big part of BA's run to the Grand Final. That team was glued together, forged in fire, and they played for each other and their coach.
Luai is here for a season and his eyes will be firmly focused on his role at PNG (both on and off the field). We are his "side gig" for the next season...not the main event. If we were already a bonded side with just a tiny missing ingredient I could absolutely see the purpose in throwing Luai in to help "ice the cake" for the year and win us a premiership. But we're clearly not that side. We're not close to a premiership run...heck most of us would be thrilled to make the Top 8.
We are clearly in a rebuilding phase - this is the time when the team should come together and start forging that fire. It's why players like TDS, Iongi and Volkman excite me...they're learning together, improving together, growing together. Now that is camaraderie and it is genuinely something we should and could harness. Luai is the opposite of that. He was all set on being the big man to turn the Tigers around, then that got hard so now he's going to be the big man that sets PNG off on the right foot. Oh, with a short stop at Parra so the cash keeps rolling in.
Let's not forget the Tigers are paying Luai $500k to not play for them and leave a year early.
I cannot see any reality in which the Luai situation turns out well for us. I'd love to be wrong and I hope I am...I hope this comment gets thrown in my face a year from now. But the economics of the situation just don't work. Luai has no incentive to help Parra, we were a desperate club who made a desperate decision and I guarantee if we were faced with the same decision right now we wouldn't make the same one. Luai will spend much of next season focused purely on PNG and his TPAs there - that mission is bigger than the NRL, and for Luai it is tied to all his future earnings.
On the downside he will occupy the position in our top grade, depriving someone else of getting the experience. Then just as the combinations start to gel...he's gone, and we are starting another new season with yet another spine combination. And the purchase of Luai may just cost us the signature of Volkman who, now with Joash on the outer, is suddenly a very needed piece of our puzzle.
The Pezet signing was a predictable 100% failure. The Luai signing is not as bad (because he is clearly better than Pezet) but the situation is almost just as prone to failure. It blocks our pathways for another year, doesn't open a premiership window, and it locks in yet another spine shuffle the next season. Apart from Luai the only person this potentially helps is Ryles if it lets him scrape some semi-decent result in 2027 and extend his own coaching contract.
If Luai was bought for a year to develop our young playmakers we would have been much better throwing money at one of the many excellent recently retired playmakers who would consult their services. Off the cap, much better use of resources, and a much more flexible arrangement. The Luai situation stinks of desperation/knee-jerk reaction by the Eels and I don't think it'll serve us well. I hope I am completely wrong.
They are also paying Benji as coach for the next 4 seasons. I wouldn't take their decision making as an indicator of good work.
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