Also, if we can get jag a win against the Dragons this Saturday then another 2 points with the bye up next, we'll have a host of players coming back from injury and suspension including
Moses, Sam Tuivaiti, Moretti, Bailey Simonsson, Ritchie penasini, Ryley Smith most of them due back after the bye.
A run for the 8 is not out of the question
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I agree Blue Eel, Vella was always in the background here champ and lets not forget who his manager is; I was told by reliable sources from both sides each saying Parra and C'bury and something was not right with it all. Its why the NRL must have some nuts here and rubber stamp things more clearly but we are run by muppets.
Connor Tracey , we also went after JAC previously and missed him, rumours were quite strong we went after Garlick, Tom Starling , Cotric a few years back,Blaise Talagi , didn't we also have a crack at Klemmer too at one stage ? How can anyone claim we don't miss out on players when we literally sign fucking nobody most seasons 😂😂
Blake Wilson much like Moses trying to influence Galvin Gutho tried the same and failed.
Well, let's look at how quickly teams can turn around after sacking a coach due to poor performances. Barrett was head coach until mid year 2022 when he was sacked and Potter took over. They finished 12th. In 2023 Ciraldo comes in and they seemingly go backwards as he overhauls the roster, finishing 15th. Ciraldo's second year they finish 6th. Now they're top 4.
So I think 2 full seasons gives you a good gauge as to how a new coach is tracking. But it also depends on how the clubs approach it. The Dogs just decided to go and buy a bunch of players and they're continuing to do that.
While Ryles has cleaned out a lot of players, we're promoting a lot more from within as well.
And while we're questioning us being bottom of the ladder, part of that is down to how the stupid bye system works. We are literally 2 wins behind 5th place but somehow 3 wins behind 6th place. We've also been gradually improving this year, particularly defensively. We went from conceding well over 30 points per game to now 25 PPG and it's continuing to trend downwards.
At the same point last year we were dead last and conceding 29 points per game.
I've said this before, but not many out and out stars hit the open market. The vast majority of squads rely on talent ID and junior promotion to be competitive. Melbourne have signed 1 top of the line first grader in Xavier Coates over the last decade. Every other player they have either developed or they have been a journeyman. And that is how a lot of sides are put together. It's then up to the coaching staff to turn those players into a decent side.
Agree with this one Super it's why I'm not judging JR right now because it's an incomplete puzzle.I think you give him 2 full years building a squad and implementing how he wants to play we get a real gauge like you mention.
The Melbourne way is definitely the way to go 💯 % the thing I think that scuppers our efforts copying the same is the front office.They have quality throughout there organisation top to bottom I'm not sure we are quite at that level but again I bag them hard but they to need the same amount of time.Thing is your trying to beat the masters at there own game that's a tough ask.
But we will see.We definitely are seeing some little wins out there but just not the comp,eye picture.
Yeah the problem with relying solely on developing talent is that as soon as it's developed it's taken away by clubs with $$$.
We need to be able to sign some experience and in demand players to balance the squad. That's the right mix for success.
You can view this differently....
Clubs are required to spend at least 95% of the cap on top the top 30 players.
So does this mean Ryles and the coaching staff haven't managed to get the best out of their highest paid players... or the handful of highly paid players are over paid and aren't contributing like they should be.
Or the players below the highest paid player aren't putting the team in position for the mentioned to have the effect expected.Said this many a time and it's rampant all over the nrl if the supporting casts don't keep them in games and consistently do there jobs on the weekly these talented 7 figure guys can be rendered ineffective.
Thats why I'm of the addage of lifting the floor is more important than lifting the ceiling.Keeping the performance between good and bad as close as possible.
Good blog, Chief.
Good post well said nos.
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