Eels Blogs

Replies

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  1Eyed Eel September 9, 2009 at 11:52am

  Yeh, I saw this headline and crapped myself too. Thankfully there is no substance to it, and it doesn't look like anything more than wishful thinking. I reckon before the tax issues hit we were deadset to lose Fuifui, but its now nowhere near as financially attractive to go over there and most of the top players can earn as much staying in Australia. Parra will look after Fui, I reckon.
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    Dan > 1Eyed Eel September 9, 2009 at 11:54am

    I would think so too, but they have made some ordinary decisions in regards to player retention in the past... Hope your right mate.
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      Bourbon Man > Dan September 9, 2009 at 3:56pm

      Correction: under the auspices of Emperor Fitzgerald, they've made some ordinary decision in regards to player retention.
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        Dan > Bourbon Man September 9, 2009 at 4:43pm

        Haha... correction indeed.
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  Camo73 September 9, 2009 at 5:10pm

  I don't recall one foolish recruitment decision this year. So far so good.
  We would be mad to let go of Fui. Props have a limited life span (most of them at least) and Fui is in sensational form. It's like he's finally worked out how to really play this year. He always had mongrel and potential but struggled for either motivation, consistency or the ability to play his style within the rules.
  
  I would say he is one of the most marketable players in the game and every club would be lining up for his signature. There will be plenty of time to head off to get fat in England later in his career.
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  Hugh September 9, 2009 at 7:02pm

  given the way that the club have handled sigining Poore, Shackleton, Tahu & re-signing Hindmarsh & Hayne you would think Parra officals would be quick to point out that Parra have re-signed Fui. i reckon hes a good chance of going but i dont think D Anderson would let him go if they didnt have a replacement in mind. Fui has been damaging and it would be huge loss (about 108kgs haha) i think its not the end of the world.
  
  lets look beyond 2010, Mannah & Latimore will be around alot longer and could offer the club more.
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  Eeldarado September 9, 2009 at 9:12pm

  Moimoi is in career best form he could easily go on for 2 more seasons at the eels and obvioisly all eels fans would be gutted if he did leave the guy is a cult hero!!!
  
  But and as hugh said we need to look beyond and after 2010 it will be a different Forward pack most notably with the exclusion of Cayless the eels need to move and make Mateo an absolute priority signing!! and Mannah has shown maturity way beyond his years!!
  
  We have lost many forwards over the years a notable loss was Glenn Morrison and we have a glut of backline stars coming through and we will also be under threat from Super league, and the obviously Salary cap restraints are going to come into play but I hope the Club does not waste the entire cap on the Ferrari of a backline we have, and are trying to secure now, when IMO the engine room has not been priority , has been neglected "put on the backburner" when there have been noticeable deffiencies for so long!!!!
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    GOlling > Eeldarado September 10, 2009 at 9:08pm

    Mateo is not an absolute priority signing !! Good if we could keep him but not a keep at all costs.
    
    Hayne is an absolute priority signing as is Mortimer. You cant have any more given the cap and you dont need 3 ball players
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    Active September 10, 2009 at 7:09am

    Gee I hope you are correct and they want cayless. As much as cayless has been the rock for us over many many seasons, I beleieve the time has come for cayless to move on. I think cayless earns around the $350k mark which in this day and age is way to much for frontrowers with the lack of output and penetration that he delivers each week.
    
    Now don't be too quick to shoot me, its not personal, its a football business decision. If we good get rid of cayless it further improves our chances of securing hayne and we should also be able to get a up & coming forward.
    
    What I would luv to see parra do a lot more of is where we have immediate gaps within our existing roster and no immediate young kids coming through - is to identify young forwards on the market that are yet to make a name for themselves. This way we get them at a song. We must be able to spot untapped talent. That is talent ready for first grade. This is the only way we can get quality players and remain under the cap. Guys like smokin Joe have been awesome for us. (Yes I know he was not young - but he was first grade hardened & we got him cheap)
    
    The further benefit of cayless moving on is that we clean out these over priced players that burn our cap. $350k for cayless & $180k for lowrie is just way over market value. If we want the Haynes & co retained this must be cleaned up.
    
    Remember there even came a time for the greats of the game to eventually move on from their clubs - Fulton, Fatty, W Lewis, L Thompson & so on & so forth. I do except that its not always about money, but there always comes a time. I think now is the time for cayless. Our three immediate props for NY are Poore, Fui & Mannah. Our recruitment guys have already made this decision. Its now time for cayless to move on.
    
    Thanks for all of the great years of service & loyalty. Our loyalty to you has been the great package that you have been on. I believe that is now even.
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      1Eyed Eel > Active September 10, 2009 at 10:10am

      I'm not sure if you're suggesting Cayless shouldn't see out his contract to the end of next year. If thats the case I would suggest this would be a terrible thing to do.
      
      Both Cayless and Hindmarsh are the backbones of this club. They are the blokes who mentor the young blokes. Blokes like Tim Mannah, Mitchell Algood and I dare say it even the likes of Justin Poore will learn something next year from the old hard head.
      
      Its all too easy to ignore the impact that players have off-the-field in terms of team dynamics. You force a player like Nathan Cayless to move on before he's ready and it doesn't do anything for team harmony. In fact, it can leave a serious dent in your roster in terms of personality and experience. Manly, for example, have pretty much exactly the same roster this year as last year - what's the difference. Not having the experience of Beaver around has clearly had its impact and that kind of thing happens time and time again when the most senior players leave.