Confused on Recruitment & Retention

[mightyrooster]

I don’t see the confusion. We went into this year knowing we had a lot of experience leaving and we were going to run with the young guys to see how they went. To find out which ones could cut it at NRL level. Nothing has changed. The club and Robbo will be in a better position to know which ones have a future, or otherwise, or who may still be a few years away. We probably always planned to add one or two experienced players from outside the club. Robson is one of those. Whether we still need DCE is a decision Robbo s left to make. Personally I wouldn’t but I’m not a first grade coach.

[caz]

from what i can see robson plays the full 80. rads might be best at lock but do we want only 40 mins from him and connor? i'd go connor at lock, rads on the edge with a bench of savala, wong, 2 props (assuming dce comes). savala to cover if someone goes down in the halves and otherwise play at lock for a stint

[Chook2]

from what i can see robson plays the full 80. rads might be best at lock but do we want only 40 mins from him and connor? i'd go connor at lock, rads on the edge with a bench of savala, wong, 2 props (assuming dce comes). savala to cover if someone goes down in the halves and otherwise play at lock for a stint

No I believe Robson, rads and Watson will all get around 60 min with Robson and rads starting and Watson off the bench!
rads is best in the middle and Watson needs game time! Rads can cover an edge if a player goes down so Watson will be 14
savala isn’t a 14.
bench
watson
nat butcher
Leniu
maybe a Vaa or Seve bro

[caz]

No I believe Robson, rads and Watson will all get around 60 min with Robson and rads starting and Watson off the bench!
rads is best in the middle and Watson needs game time! Rads can cover an edge if a player goes down so Watson will be 14
savala isn’t a 14.
bench
watson
nat butcher
Leniu
maybe a Vaa or Seve bro

unlike sandon who can play fb, hugo isn't much use if one of the back 5 goes down. you'd have to cover with an edge forward, say wong, in the centres. that's not ideal. otherwise i reckon hugo would go well at lock (as well as obviously providing cover in the halves).
your plan gets180 mins from robson, rads and connor, but with connor starting at lock you'd get a good half hour more out of the trio and use fewer interchanges. maybe rads plays his best footy at lock but he's great wherever he plays

[Rooster_6]

Big body and only will grow and get bigger.

Could we turn the kid into a decent ball-playing lock in the future (similar to Isaah Yeo) ?

I haven't seen anything that would suggest he would be a great ball carrier.

We've also already got Radley, Watson, Foketi & Steep a lock options. No need to develop Savala into one.

He did get some minutes in one of our trials at lock but he pretty much played as an extra distributor.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

I know many are soft on the DCE call, and I can understand why. Assuming he has agreed to terms, my guess is we wouldn't have made the unofficial offer acting on today's environment. Interesting times.

I was soft on the Robson signing from the get go. He's not my style of rake. Looks like A Watmough and makes a thousand tackles a game. Yes he is a gun defensive player in the guts. But I like some nip n zip threat outa base. We shall see. I hope he doesn't cost us our young gun in the making in young Benny.

So our development is super, coming along beautifully. Our recruitment lately (Mark Waqa excepted) has been knee jerk and not well thought through.

[Bansai Pipeline]

Watson is great but I don’t think he’s a diamond hard 9. So all for the Robson signing.

As for DCE the fact he mentioned the Fins again last week tells me we’ve gone cold… assuming we haven’t stitched it all up ages ago which is equally likely.

Personally I hope he goes to Redcliff. He’s actually the missing piece to that puzzle. A great team but all kids.

[Bansai Pipeline]

Watson as a Wing style sub is the ideal situation. Less tackling, more spark to start something

[MKCS]

I find that the forum highly overrates both Sandon and Hugo. Sandon is the most error prone half in the comp by a significant margin and has been pretty average in attack and defence whilst Hugo certainly has potential but definitely isn't ready to keep a player like DCE out of the starting 13.

So, if we've got these three absolute rippers coming through the ranks, why are we splurging big coin on Daly Cherry-Evans ? - are we potentially stunting the growth of our own future superstars ? Obviously one of the two (Hugo and Sandon) will be forced to pack their bags and head elsewhere for a fair go as we can't keep them all !

Because as it stands the only one we'll know to be a genuine great first grader is Walker. Sandon will never get that tag for himself because he is incredibly average and we still don't know what Savala will be because he's only played 11 games most of which have been pretty average as well.

Why the big cash on DCE? Here are some interesting stats.

DCE Linebreaks: 4 - Savala & Smith combined linebreaks: 5

DCE Linebreak Assists: 5 - Savala and Smith combined linebreak assists: 6

DCE Try Assists: 7 - Savala and Smith combined try assists: 7

DCE Offloads: 9 - Savala and Smith combined offloads: 3

DCE Tacklebreaks: 20 - Savala and Smith combined tacklebreaks: 16

DCE Kicking Metres: 3802 - Savala and Smith combined kicking metres: 3597

But wait there's more ... the Reece Robson signing ! - no disrespect to the bloke, he's a quality hooker and is the incumbent #9 for NSW, but did anyone else's see Benaiah Loelu play tonight ? The kid was bloody decent for his first crack at first grade. He looked like he'd been there for years, sharp out of dummy-half, solid in defence, and just brought a real energy to the team.

My biggest fear, and it's a legitimate one, is that we're going to pull a "Sam Verrills" again. Remember that sting ? Lost one of our own promising young dummy-halves because we went out and signed Brandon Smith (how did that work out for us !?). So, If we lose Benaiah Loelu at the end of the year or soon after, then seriously, all this bullshit talk about developing young talent is just pointless. It's a kick in the guts for anyone who believes in our pathways.

No team would give up a current Origin hooker with a great record of consistency for a young 21 year old hooker in hopes it works out. Robson is about to turn 27 meaning he could spend the next 5-6 years at the Roosters.

As for Verrills, with respect to him what has he done since leaving the Roosters?

[Inflictor]

I find that the forum highly overrates both Sandon and Hugo. Sandon is the most error prone half in the comp by a significant margin and has been pretty average in attack and defence whilst Hugo certainly has potential but definitely isn't ready to keep a player like DCE out of the starting 13.



Because as it stands the only one we'll know to be a genuine great first grader is Walker. Sandon will never get that tag for himself because he is incredibly average and we still don't know what Savala will be because he's only played 11 games most of which have been pretty average as well.

Why the big cash on DCE? Here are some interesting stats.

DCE Linebreaks: 4 - Savala & Smith combined linebreaks: 5

DCE Linebreak Assists: 5 - Savala and Smith combined linebreak assists: 6

DCE Try Assists: 7 - Savala and Smith combined try assists: 7

DCE Offloads: 9 - Savala and Smith combined offloads: 3

DCE Tacklebreaks: 20 - Savala and Smith combined tacklebreaks: 16

DCE Kicking Metres: 3802 - Savala and Smith combined kicking metres: 3597



No team would give up a current Origin hooker with a great record of consistency for a young 21 year old hooker in hopes it works out. Robson is about to turn 27 meaning he could spend the next 5-6 years at the Roosters.

As for Verrills, with respect to him what has he done since leaving the Roosters?

Wins at halfback in 2025
DCE 5 from 10. 2 from last 6.
HUGO 4 from 6. Dogs game unlucky.

I could only imagine if he and Sandon were starting halves earlier that stat would be even better. It will be interesting to see that stat if Walker and Hugo team up.

You can throw as many stats up as you like. DCE has had a shit year. Is that because father time is catching up with him? Could that get even worse next year and he ends up like Townsend playing NSW Cup at $1M? That is the massive risk we take. Whereas if Hugo and Sammy gel well then there is no risk and we have that $1M for all the top ups that are about to hit us or risk losing those young guns. All for one unknown. There are no guarantees with DCE. It is literally a $1M gamble.

[Bansai Pipeline]

He’s a kid. Shows promise. Takes ages for a half.

[ism22]

I find that the forum highly overrates both Sandon and Hugo. Sandon is the most error prone half in the comp by a significant margin and has been pretty average in attack and defence whilst Hugo certainly has potential but definitely isn't ready to keep a player like DCE out of the starting 13.



Because as it stands the only one we'll know to be a genuine great first grader is Walker. Sandon will never get that tag for himself because he is incredibly average and we still don't know what Savala will be because he's only played 11 games most of which have been pretty average as well.

Why the big cash on DCE? Here are some interesting stats.

DCE Linebreaks: 4 - Savala & Smith combined linebreaks: 5

DCE Linebreak Assists: 5 - Savala and Smith combined linebreak assists: 6

DCE Try Assists: 7 - Savala and Smith combined try assists: 7

DCE Offloads: 9 - Savala and Smith combined offloads: 3

DCE Tacklebreaks: 20 - Savala and Smith combined tacklebreaks: 16

DCE Kicking Metres: 3802 - Savala and Smith combined kicking metres: 3597



No team would give up a current Origin hooker with a great record of consistency for a young 21 year old hooker in hopes it works out. Robson is about to turn 27 meaning he could spend the next 5-6 years at the Roosters.

As for Verrills, with respect to him what has he done since leaving the Roosters?

Performance Highlights

• Appearances: Verrills has played in 9 matches so far this season.
• Defensive Work: He has made 276 tackles with a high efficiency rate of 93.89%, showcasing his defensive reliability.
• Offensive Contributions: While he hasn’t scored any tries this season, he has provided 3 try assists and 4 offloads, indicating his involvement in setting up plays.
• Running Game: He averages 32 running metres per game, contributing to the team’s forward momentum.
• 2024: 24 games — Verrills had a standout season, playing every match and leading the team in tackles with 872.

I think he's been solid in a garbage team? Lotsa tackles with a very high rate of efficiency.

He's played better than our marquee hooker who's on $900k a year. Not saying he's the best #9 in the comp but he's established himself as a solid, 80 minute, defensive hooker in a team where he'd be doing a LOT of defence without a lot of help.

It's all theoretical but if we'd kept him on say $500k a season then we woulda had more spare cash for recruitment/retention of other players and may not have had to sign Robson.

[MKCS]

Wins at halfback in 2025
DCE 5 from 10. 2 from last 6.
HUGO 4 from 6. Dogs game unlucky.

I could only imagine if he and Sandon were starting halves earlier that stat would be even better. It will be interesting to see that stat if Walker and Hugo team up.

You can throw as many stats up as you like. DCE has had a shit year. Is that because father time is catching up with him? Could that get even worse next year and he ends up like Townsend playing NSW Cup at $1M? That is the massive risk we take. Whereas if Hugo and Sammy gel well then there is no risk and we have that $1M for all the top ups that are about to hit us or risk losing those young guns. All for one unknown. There are no guarantees with DCE. It is literally a $1M gamble.

If you want to go off wins and losses than Hugo is better than Cleary, Sandon and Savala better than Luai and Galvin, Savala is better than Moses as well, luckily it doesn't really work that way and good players can play in bad teams.

If DCE has had a shit year then so have our halves as he matches their combined efforts or outright beats them in a lot of stats...that's their combined stats not individual stats

[Inflictor]

If you want to go off wins and losses than Hugo is better than Cleary, Sandon and Savala better than Luai and Galvin, Savala is better than Moses as well, luckily it doesn't really work that way and good players can play in bad teams.

If DCE has had a shit year then so have our halves as he matches their combined efforts or outright beats them in a lot of stats...that's their combined stats not individual stats

There you go. You've just proved that stats mean SFA yet you continually harp on about them. That is how you somehow want to justify that DCE is not having the worst year of his career yet you can't admit that maybe just maybe his time is up or is very close. The reason why Manly offered him a low ball one year contract. Not two. Not $1M. You are prepared to risk 2 years and $2M to see whether a 37YO who is currently playing shit, time is up. FFS

These are two young kids who have won games against all odds. Little experience with a team who has had injuries and had other young inexperienced kids in the team beating quality teams. 4 out of 6 together with one very unlucky loss to the Dogs. Swapping Hugo for Townsend has changed our team 180 degrees.

Half a season to go partnering Walker. Another pre-season. Hugo will improve even more.

[MKCS]

There you go. You've just proved that stats mean SFA yet you continually harp on about them. That is how you somehow want to justify that DCE is not having the worst year of his career yet you can't admit that maybe just maybe his time is up or is very close. The reason why Manly offered him a low ball one year contract. Not two. Not $1M. You are prepared to risk 2 years and $2M to see whether a 37YO who is currently playing shit, time is up. FFS

These are two young kids who have won games against all odds. Little experience with a team who has had injuries and had other young inexperienced kids in the team beating quality teams. 4 out of 6 together with one very unlucky loss to the Dogs. Swapping Hugo for Townsend has changed our team 180 degrees.

Half a season to go partnering Walker. Another pre-season. Hugo will improve even more.

- Never said stats don't mean anything, stats are obviously very important and if DCE had the exact same stats for us this year then we'd be much better off given he's nearly outperforming both our halves. As you yourself have said this is a down year for DCE so once he's with the Roosters, bit happier with his situation and around a much better overall squad his stats should improve but regardless even with his current stats he's outdoing both our current halves.

- I've openly admitted many times that DCE is on the back end of his career, it's a big part of why I think we need him, experienced player who has done it all in the game to lead around our much younger side.

- Manly offered him 2 years at 750k a season, hardly a low ball.

- If DCE is playing shit and his time is up then you must feel that way about our halves as well because again, DCE is outdoing their combined efforts on most stats.