It's been a little while since I have made a blog, but I have been reading a lot and I am really enjoying the platform we've got here on this site. I thought I would go through a few topics that are on my mind at this stage of the season.
1. When will the team fly to Darwin?
It seems like acclimatisation will be an important factor in this match-up and I am curious if anyone knows what the plan is? Because it is our "home game", I guess we might arrive at least a few days earlier to do some community related activities. I worked in Darwin and coming from NSW, I can honestly say that the heat is overwhelming!
This could make for a really exciting game because the tough conditions will favour the fitter, more agile players.
2. The team selection.
This is only my personal opinion, but I don't think that Willie Tonga will walk straight back into the starting lineup for this match. Ryan Morgan has probably been doing just enough to keep BA happy and I feel that he wouldn't go changing a winning team.
In saying this, I am confident that BA is not thinking long term, and his decision on the team will not be influenced by who will be around next year. One of the reasons I love his style so much is because he just doesn't bullshit. I think he will name a side that he feels is the current strongest side regardless of player shift in the off season. For this reason, I reckon we could see Kenny Sio (if fit) come back in and replace Bureta Faraimo (who had an outstanding debut).
3. Junior Paulo's possible ban.
This one looked pretty bad to me, whilst I don't think it was truly intentional, it was one of those unlucky collisions that the NRL wants to limit. There has been emphasis placed on the safety of the ball catcher mid-air and I wouldn't be surprised if he cops a one week ban.
In saying this, it wouldn't be the worst thing for us given that we could play a more mobile forward off the bench (possibly Kenny Edwards if fit). I actually think that having to make a "forced change" would be the easier option for BA because our forwards have been going quite well in our recent wins.
4. Tepai Moeroa!
Wow, this kid is just amazing. Such a great find for us. I followed one of the links posted in a previous blog to watch some of his junior highlights in both league and union. He certainly has held his own so far and it's hard to believe he is only 18 at the moment. BA has uncovered some quality youth so far this year and if they can avoid injury (like poor old Jacob Loko), we will be in a great position looking forward.
5. Our transfers and retention.
Now I am not 100% informed, but from what I can tell we have not bought any new players for next season (correct me here)...
I think we honestly have the team to challenge for finals football already. There has been talks of a $4 million offer to DCE for 2016. This is an exciting prospect but I don't want to be waiting that long to get excited!
If we can field a full strength team next year (for the majority of the year, hoping for reasonable luck with injuries) we will be able to match it with the successful clubs and win more games than we lose throughout the season. That tends to be enough to make it to the top 8.
Currently we are 10 wins from 19 games. We have had a rough time with injuries so far. Depth is a really important factor in a successful NRL club and we have been blooding players all year.
Chrissy Sandow and Corey Norman are going well, I will be happy to see both of them play together in the halves next year. They are definitely an improved combination and have come a long way since the earlier rounds of the year (post Luke Kelly at halfback). A heavy pre-season knowing who your partner is will help too.
Our retention of the young blokes such as Pauli Pauli, Tepai Moeroa and Vai Toutai is fair enough. They are young and wrapping up a medium length contract is a good thing in terms of limiting expenditure in our salary cap. Although Toutai is definitely a "depth" option in my opinion.
The losses of Tonga, Sio and Moi Moi are all that spring to mind. Are there any other players that will be leaving?
I think these players have been really good for us and will be missed for sure, but I reckon we have some good talent to cover for them. Maybe we can expect a debut next season from young John Folau... I'm really not sure who our wing and centre replacement will be.
Alright, that's about all I can think of... Will be interested to know what people think though, cheers :)
Replies
Whilst we may have some talent coming through to replace our first graders who are leaving, do we have the quality of players ready to replace them if/when they get injured?
Great blog Tyron.
I think a lot of our depth players, player #18-#25 will come from our Under 20's team and a lot of them won't have first grade experience. Whilst this isn't the best thing for any team as it's nice to have back-up players with a bit of first grade experience I just don't think we can afford to bring anyone in externally to be able to fill these positions in the top whilst staying under the salary cap.
It's a shame that it has been worked that way but when you look at our Top 17 team for next year it is still a strong team that can not only score but also defend points and our young forwards that mightn't have been quite ready to play week to week first grade will be better for the experience and will only be better players next year for the run.
P.S next year is the 5th year of our plan.
Feces dont you want to sell hayne and buy a few of these losers with his salary?