Eels have announced Richie into the top 30 and Ryley upgrade to a development deal, meaning he is available for selection Rd 1.
not sure that Ryles will pick Smith this week but Hands will be looking over his shoulder and will have to perform to keep his spot.
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cool i like it
He easily could play. Its not 1 or the other. You can play 2 hooker, and I think we should.
I don't know what Ryles is thinking but the upgrade smells of wanting to get Smith in asap. He brings good energy and skills. Early on in the season it's a good idea to not rely on Hands to play 80 minutes.
Hands and Smith can also cover the halves if injuries occur.
I think more so it is also keeping him away from clubs circling. Granted a club could come in with a top 30 deal, but he is signed now and can play so that keeps him with us for now. Why not top 30? Well it makes sense upgrading an already signed development player to top 30 and giving Smith that spot. Agents these days will say why their client, who is on dev deal, did not get top 30 when a train and trialist did?
So many good things happening around the club right now. From what I've seen of smith in the trials he's deserving of a top 30 contract.
Great news, I was hoping this would happen
Richie was very strong in the first trial game and Smith has been a standout in both games looks to be ready to fix our dummy half issues good work Parra
Play Smith 9 round 1 - I've got a great feeling about this kid!!
I really like both players as prospects - Smith was our stand out player in the trials. Before he did his knee Richie Penisini was set to debut in our backline last year ahead of Talagi
Great news!! Definitely what we need is to fast track the development of Riley Smith and Ritchie. Great decision!! Well done.
Richard looks so far off being a first grade player.