As a Segway from my previous blog of - "For & Against - 2016 vs 2017" - we urgently need to recruit running forwards and more importantly outside backs that are very fast and can find the line.
At our peak last year we were running 12th in Attack and currently we are also running 12th in Attack. With Semi moving on we will continue to struggle in attack and I don't see much improvement in attack next year. Guys like Hoffman, Auva'a, Takairangi are solid, but they won't win you a GF.
We desperately need attacking weapons to support French, Gutherson and Jennings moving forward. When Jennings first cracked the NRL he was as fast as James Roberts and a real tearaway. But now he has come back to the field and is not in the top group of guys pace wise and has only scored 6 tries this year.
In my opinion we need to 'money ball' and chase guys between the age of 16 and 23 that are exceptionally quick, but may have been overlooked due to other weaknesses in their game or haven't had a decent chance to impress.
When I talk about backs with exceptional pace I mean guys that run under 11 seconds for 100 metres and even those guys that might be professional sprinters who can run low 10 seconds for 100.
We had success in recruiting Semi from Fiji with no league background but what have we done since?
Guys like Josh Addo-Carr, James Roberts, Suliasi Vunivalu, Marika Korobete, Gideon Gela-Mosby and Javid Bown have all been on the market recently and would have greatly assisted us with their pace and try scoring ability. With the exception of Roberts they all would have been cheap but we decided to sign Takairangi, Hoffman and others.
If you follow the NFL and US College Footy you will know that thousands of Gridiron players miss the cut for the NFL and give their game away. Hundreds of these guys would be ex-sprinters who can run low 10 seconds for 100 and have the athletic ability to make the transition to league, but history shows NRL clubs at not that advantageous to looking outside the square.
Our two biggest weaknesses is our frontrow and we have Evans and Meehan for 2018 which hopefully will improve us in this area.
But our outside backs need to be dramatically improved for us to be a top 8 team in attack and to win a GF. Speed cannot be taught and you either have it or not. Even the great Steve Renouf was a terrible defender and struggled when he first made the jump to the NRL, but what he did have was blinding speed. With training and guidance Renouf went from the worst defensive centre to the best defensive centre in the game and it all revolved around being super quick and getting himself into the right position and location to make the tackle. Josh Addo-Carr played little NRL at the Tigers because he was perceived to be a poor defender, but with training he is now a very strong defender and becoming a Superstar of the game - why because he is the exceptionally quick.
Therefore, is Parra searching the world for the next speedster from the Pacific Islands, South Africa, Europe, Northern America etc.,? If I had to guess not.
Come on Parra we need improvement in our recruitment moving forward.
Replies
Couldn't agree anymore mate, I'd be pushing to buy a centre for next year to replace Taka. With Semi going next year French or Hoffman will slot onto that left flank with the other on the right. TBH our recruitment for 2018 has been nothing special...... We brought a prop who couldn't make the roosters not even the bench and another prop who hasn't played for 2 years. IMO I'd LOVE for the Junior Paulo rumour to be true and for us to sign another quality outside back.
If I was in Parra management I would start fostering an inter-agency relationship with NFL recruiters such as the guy that managed Hayne in the US. Somebody that follows US college footy and college sprinters closely who can source sprinters that might not make the cut for Olympic teams and college footy players that don't make the cut for the NFL with the view to bring across to play in the u18's, u20's and or ISP - ie., Money Ball. If Hayne returned to the club we could also use him as a go between.
We definitely need some speed in the backline. Taka must be one of the slowest centres in the game. He basically makes up for it with size and good ball playing ability, but he aint no speedster.
Who we aim for is anyone's guess? Maybe there is a fast outside back in junior grades?
The Wiff have several fast backs, maybe poach one of them?
I also think that we need a very solid and experienced, yet young, forward. Klemmer would be great but a similar style player if not him.
There won't be any speedsters that come onto the market in the NRL, guys that run under 11 seconds. The last quick guy that was on the market was Korobete but that has gone quiet.
We need to money ball and look further abroad and my suggestion would be US college and NFL ex-recruits that run low 10 seconds. We need to start money balling now.
This
How long will it take to get them up to speed?
About 10 seconds, or if we are lucky under 10 :)))
I've suggested about 10 times over the past 18 months that we need quick outside backs to improve our attack - the last 18 months.
For your information there is probably only 2 or 3 guys currently in the NRL that run under 11 seconds and those guys are not on the market (Addo-Carr & J.Roberts). Therefore, I am confident those guys won't be released from their clubs.
If we could pluck Semi from obscurity we can do it again, just need the confidence, time and foresight to do it again. I suspect the club spends very little on recruitment in regards to salaries, but it should be doing a lot more.
Why fight and scrap with the other 15 NRL clubs with trying to find the next home grown league young superstar when we could have the whole NFL rejects to ourselves.
Our recruitment for next year has been very poor. If Evans is the only player coming then we'll go backwards. The only area that is sorted is our halves. Backline and forwards need attention.
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