Official Match Day Thread: Roosters v Broncos

[Inflictor]

Panthers can have that in place because of their juniors, but where was that plan 40years ago? Penrith are also unique in that way.

our academy is pretty new, but it looks like that is our long term goal, but it might take 3-4 years for it to flourish, we have already bought Robson for next year, and one can only hope we have a succession plan for teddy. Halves look set with Walker and possibly rodwell.

its funny you mention Cronk being the master mind, but don’t give him or cam smith all the credit for Melbournes premierships?

In my opinion, I think sharks(2016) and dragons(2010) are the teams that won premierships more to do with coaching, rather than star players. Can’t think of many others that have won without plenty of stars in their team.

I agree with most of all you have been saying.

But the Dragons did have 17 rep players starting in the GF from memory. Be them from International to City/Country. They also rorted the system to get Gasnier in the team. Not forgetting Archer and Stone playing a big part in their success.

Sharks had other forms of assistance.

[milanja]

Penrith have 5-10 year plans with the recruitment and retention, hence why they can lose stars and still thrive. I just assumed all the good clubs (Roosters included) would do the same. Where is all our cap being spent?

It could also be argued, Cooper Cronk was the mastermind behind 18/19 (not Robbo) and previous to that SBW & Maloney in 2013.

Panthers can have that in place because of their juniors, but where was that plan 40years ago? Penrith are also unique in that way.

our academy is pretty new, but it looks like that is our long term goal, but it might take 3-4 years for it to flourish, we have already bought Robson for next year, and one can only hope we have a succession plan for teddy. Halves look set with Walker and possibly rodwell.

its funny you mention Cronk being the master mind, but don’t give him or cam smith all the credit for Melbournes premierships?

In my opinion, I think sharks(2016) and dragons(2010) are the teams that won premierships more to do with coaching, rather than star players. Can’t think of many others that have won without plenty of stars in their team.

[Lydon]

Rob Tioa was a shining light on a otherwise dark night.
looks the goods , big, strong, aggressive, fast with footwork. That's 1 position sewn up at least .
I honestly feel Sandon Smith is our new Kyle Flanagan . Sorry to say
Walker alone when he comes back will create enough opportunities for our edges to generate points.
There were also so.e promising signs from our forwards.

Unfortunately Sandon is not the long term answer at 6!

[The Brain]

I'm sure things will be a little different when players like Walker, Brandon Smith, Leniu, Butcher brothers, Radley, Billy Smith etc. are available.

But I can't remember the last time we didn't have a long list of players missing.

Something is not right with their training .

[Vasco]

I'm sure things will be a little different when players like Walker, Brandon Smith, Leniu, Butcher brothers, Radley, Billy Smith etc. are available.

But I can't remember the last time we didn't have a long list of players missing.

[Qld Chook]

Melbourne is the only team in 25 years that is always at that amazing level. Where was Penrith before this 5 years dynasty? broncos have been disappointing for numerous years, with all their advantages too. And then you have14 other teams that would love a snippet of the success of Storm,panthers and us, we’ve had so much good for the last 30years, I’m content enough to have a couple of lean years if progress is made.

Penrith have 5-10 year plans with the recruitment and retention, hence why they can lose stars and still thrive. I just assumed all the good clubs (Roosters included) would do the same. Where is all our cap being spent?

It could also be argued, Cooper Cronk was the mastermind behind 18/19 (not Robbo) and previous to that SBW & Maloney in 2013.

[BTRD]

if billy smith is fit next week, do we through marky mark on the right wing and drop dom young?

yes.

[bondi.boy]

Testing

[Rooster1908]

what type of fix are you after? Top 4,top8?

Top 4 , maybe some descent recruitment.

[Steggles]

If Billy Smith is fit next week, do we through Marky Mark on the right wing and drop Dom Young?

Absolutely. That will strengthen our defence significantly and I don’t think we’ll lose anything in attack.

[milanja]

Injuries are a part of the game, yes they can be cruel at times but good clubs have depth to cover. Losing your half and hooker is admittedly hard to cover but I think Melbourne & Penrith could handle it and still make finals.

Cleary has missed lengthy stints during the last two years and still lifted the trophy, Munster was also out for alot of last year and Melbourne managed to nab the minor premiership. We have lost our aura under Robbo and are now rungs below both these clubs.

Melbourne is the only team in 25 years that is always at that amazing level. Where was Penrith before this 5 years dynasty? broncos have been disappointing for numerous years, with all their advantages too. And then you have14 other teams that would love a snippet of the success of Storm,panthers and us, we’ve had so much good for the last 30years, I’m content enough to have a couple of lean years if progress is made.

[Qld Chook]

When he's going to fix it would be nice

Good question, defensive lapses during last tackle 'chaos' as Robbo termed it has been an absolute mainstay during his tenure. There is no point in identifying it if you aren't going to fix it. May as well just bury your head further in the sand. That along with unforced errors leading to opposition long range tries and poor goal line ruck D have never been addressed.

[Qld Chook]

Recruitment and retention were thrown out the window when Sam and cheese got injured. All of a sudden you’re down four players instead of two: the two injured, plus 2 backups, to the backups.

realistically speaking, would I like a team that could compete for the comp, sure. But it didn’t pan out that way.

I’ll enjoy the ride, and the meltdowns I’ll probably have one too at some point in the season.

Injuries are a part of the game, yes they can be cruel at times but good clubs have depth to cover. Losing your half and hooker is admittedly hard to cover but I think Melbourne & Penrith could handle it and still make finals.

Cleary has missed lengthy stints during the last two years and still lifted the trophy, Munster was also out for alot of last year and Melbourne managed to nab the minor premiership. We have lost our aura under Robbo and are now rungs below both these clubs.

[Qld Chook]

Every team has to rebuild eventually. Melbourne underwent theirs a few years back when they lost Cronk, Slater and Smith in a period of 2 years or whatever it was. Bellamy and the Storm team recruited well though and had Grant, Hughes and Papenhuyzen ready to go BEFORE those players were gone and now a few years later all three are rep players or potential rep players that every club wants to sign.

The difference between us and Melbourne in particular is that Melbourne is recruiting well, is developing these players well and then they're immediately ready when called upon. With us we've put our faith in Sandon Smith who currently isn't anything past NSW Cup/Super League standard, we have no young potential star hooker, no young future star props and in a couple seasons when Tedesco is done we don't have anyone to replace him either. It also seems that instead of slowly blooding these young players into first grade they're just being thrown in there hoping they can do a job.

I have no idea why Robbo and the Roosters recruitment were seemingly so opposed to signing 2-3 good depth players who have first grade experience. Even an average forward with a hundred NRL games would've been a huge breath of fresh air last night.

This is exactly my point. There has been no forward planning at all, now we are getting what we deserve for it. I don't want a coach who can't plan ahead and leaves us in a position to get pumped by 50 points in round 1.

[Schooner]

Recruitment and development have been our biggest problem in recent years. Brandon and Young weren't smart buys and no-one expected Chad to be playing first grade. The NRL team was getting older as players kept extending and we kept looking to sign players at the back end of their careers. We were getting a backlog of very good young players who would probably leave if there was no certain path to NRL. We have already lost a few recently. By the end of last season several young players were ready to be introduced gradually into NRL We held off on this till late last season when Steep and King got limited game time, so now we have to replace several experienced players with young player with no experience all at once. I've been told by a good club source that Nick said he wanted them to start using academy players instead of buying veterans. He has admitted privately that this is a rebuilding year. Obviously, Nick and Robbo aren't going to make public statements suggesting we will struggle, they have to keep talking the team up.
Watching at the ground last night, I thought the young forwards went OK considering how well the Broncos were going. Sutton got the Broncos into our half continually which made our forwards look worse than they were. Very few sides defend well for long periods in their 20m zone. On the other hand, I thought the halves were pretty poor in attack and defence. Sandon seemed to be running the team more than Chad. Thats tough for a young player who hasn't played much in the halves in NRL. He has mainly come off the bench as a hooker. The biggest problem is backline defence. Chad puts pressure on his outside men and they can't handle it. I dont think Young will ever be able to defend. The others may improve with time. They desperately need a fit Billy Smith.