DCE now linked

[caz]

The issue is the message you are sending to all future junior talent.

Watching Sandon and Savala get an opportunity only for the club to sign a 36yr old over the top of them is not a great advertisement for the clubs desire to develop halves.

We are currently in conversation with the Harold Matthews player of the year (a half) to re-sign on for the next few years, an outstanding talent.

I guarantee the conversation is centred around which club will give him the best chance of development and will give him an opportunity once he's deserved it. I'd be curious to know how he and those advising him feel about the Roosters jumping at the first shiny half to come off contract.

If I'm a young half I want to be at Melbourne because they almost always promote from within.

sure, i'm ambivalent about signing dce.
does he give us the best chance to win the comp next year? probably
is paying him 1m the best use of our salary cap? maybe not.
does it mean we'll lose current halves that we want to keep? probably not.
does it send the wrong message to halves that we're developing? it's only for one year so yes and no.

when all's said and done it's a gamble to sign him and a possible missed opportunity if we don't. i'm glad i don't have to make the decision

[Rooster_6]

Promote from within?

Storm bought Hughes from Qld in 2017, after he'd played a singular game for both the Titans and Cowboys.
Storm bought Munster in 2013 from the Central Qld Capras in the Qld Cup.
Storm bought Papenhuyzen in 2017 from Wests Tigers.

Penhuyzen is the exception and I said almost always, because there are some exceptions to the rule like Papenhuyzen and Ben Roberts but over the last decade you wont find many more.

There's nothing that says pathways must be teenagers recruited at an early age, recruiting more mature aged players from QLD who slipped through the Broncos net is a fantastic recruitment and development pathway. Don't be mistaken because of the age they were when they were signed.

[Rooster_6]

It isn't like we're signing some random 36 year old though, this is the current QLD Origin captain and halfback who would probably play for Australia at end of year if Nathan Cleary was unavailable.

I never used the term random, I labelled him a shiny half. I get the temptation I really do.

The argument for DCE isn't an illogical one, I just hold a different opinion.

I also think as of today both Mitchell Moses & Sam Walker are superior halfbacks to DCE and I wouldn't have Katoa far off either. And that gap will only grow as age continues to come for DCE.

[Rooster_6]

sure, i'm ambivalent about signing dce.
does he give us the best chance to win the comp next year? probably
is paying him 1m the best use of our salary cap? maybe not.
does it mean we'll lose current halves that we want to keep? probably not.
does it send the wrong message to halves that we're developing? it's only for one year so yes and no.

when all's said and done it's a gamble to sign him and a possible missed opportunity if we don't. i'm glad i don't have to make the decision

I feel fairly similar, I'm not going to be mad by any means if we sign DCE and there's a fair chance it doesn't cost us re-signing like Mareko but I just don't think you can look at in isolation as "only one year" because it's a pattern of behaviour.

We are the fat kid who's sworn to a diet but jumps every time a little bit of chocolate gets waved at us on the open market.

[Chook2]

Now murmurs of DCE coming before June 30
with the sudden departures of cheese, and guys like dom uoung - Townsend and sandon smith wouldn’t be out of question

especially when you don’t bellieve we still need more money after letting go $4m of the salary cap last year

[The Brain]

Now murmurs of DCE coming before June 30
with the sudden departures of cheese, and guys like dom uoung - Townsend and sandon smith wouldn’t be out of question

especially when you don’t bellieve we still need more money after letting go $4m of the salary cap last year

You didn't have to be Einstein to see this coming

[mightyrooster]

I’m sick of all this uncertainty around DCE. I wish the decision would just be made and announced and all this speculation would come to an end.

[A Country Member]

The clearing of top 30 spots is indicative of promotion and possibly acquisition of external players

[Mickie Lane]

I’m sick of all this uncertainty around DCE. I wish the decision would just be made and announced and all this speculation would come to an end.

Nah I love it
Its Days of our NRL

[Mickie Lane]

What's the good of spending time and money developing players only to wave them goodbye and sign old players in their late 30's?

Might as well not have junior teams, and just buy a first grade team like the Storm and Dogs have done.

Like the Storm lol
You say they bought Hughes, Munster Paps?
They were no names who came into their system & became champions.
Dogs, Tigers, Newcastle, Dragons are clubs that buy established players from other clubs the Roosters used to do it a lot but now they do what Melbourne & Penrith do which is buy young players & put them through their pathway system & buy 1 or 2 players.
To say Melbourne buy a first grade team is so off the mark.

[nayfo]

I’d be super keen for him to join this year!

[HDTONE]

I’d be super keen for him to join this year!

Hmmm. The bloke who was gonna give his all for Manly this year.

Or is stuff so shitty at Manly the whole sides better off if he walks early ?

[Bates]

Signing DCE especially this season will end up being one of the biggest fark ups in the history of our club imo.

[HunchoRooster]

I feel like if DCE doesn’t sign with us there will be so much egg on the collective face of the media who would’ve missed the mark horribly. Given 80% of the stuff written about the club revolves around signing him, if we didn’t, it would be a terrible look and loss of faith for the old heads and boys club that is RL media.

That being said. I’m in the minority that think it’s a good signing and will only be a matter of time when we announce it.

Anyone talking down the credentials of a player who has played nearly 350 NRL games, 25 Origins and 20+ test matches in some of the most competitive eras in rep footy, clearly has an agenda against the bloke.

He’s not a match winner. Never has been. Neither was Cronk. The only thing I fear is perhaps we don’t quite have the strike power and match winning talent we had in 2018. Hopefully I’m wrong and the likes of Sammy, Marky, Toia do what Keary, Manu and Latrell did back then. DCE is an upgrade on what we have no matter how you look at it. Back the club to get it right.

[HunchoRooster]

I never used the term random, I labelled him a shiny half. I get the temptation I really do.

The argument for DCE isn't an illogical one, I just hold a different opinion.

I also think as of today both Mitchell Moses & Sam Walker are superior halfbacks to DCE and I wouldn't have Katoa far off either. And that gap will only grow as age continues to come for DCE.

Great news that we already have Sam Walker then!

Having 2 of the Top 4-5 halves in the comp at our club sounds like a good idea to me.