Joseph Tapine

[Tommy Smith]

McKendry is pants. His neck injury has derailed his career.

I'd rather give Frei an extended opportunity tbh.

[Bigchook]

McKendry is pants. His neck injury has derailed his career.

I'd rather give Frei an extended opportunity tbh.

Had forgotten about his injury. Haven't seen him play for a while. If he could get back to where he was he'd be worth it.

[Darkone]

Tapine has been offered to us out of spite for Ricky

As injury cover & if he gets in the mood it's a bargain basement for 2016

Another SST for mine

[Guest]

Tapine isn't gong anywhere in 2016

[Yak]

SST has put up a picture with Vincent Leuluai saying he's excited to be playing alongside him on the weekend, which may suggest Leuluai has made the 17. They've followed very similar paths to first grade, regularly named as 18th man without ever getting the nod, looking very promising in the Nines both having scored awesome solo tries. I'd be more than happy to see Vincent given his chance in the hope that he, like Taukeahio, proves to be one of those players that is "good" in the lower grades but as soon as they taste first grade they turn into "great" players. Tapine would be great to have for the year as well considering more injuries in the backrow could easily happen and he is a superb talent.

Realistically to be a top 6 side this year we need: 1. A few young guns to fire consistently in first grade similar to the way SST did from round 1 last year. Namely, Leuluai, Burgess, Nikorima and maybe even Mitchell.
2. We need those players with around 70-100 games experience to really go to the next level. Napa needs to be JWH to start the season, aggression is the key. Liu needs to open up his game and become the attacking weapon he's always promised to be. The left arm offload should be unleashed this year. Kane Evans will continue to improve. His offloading late last year was the best in the comp from a prop. And Hastings will have to show experience well beyond his years which he is certainly capable of. He needs to really order the boys around early and make his presence felt to take the pressure off Nikorima.
3. Jake Friend and Blake Ferguson will have to have the best years of their careers so far. They are the focal points of attack now given the loss of ammunition.
4. And finally the defensive attitude will have to be there every round. We don't have the strike to score 30 points a game anymore. Robbo has his work cut out for him here but I'm a believer. When you look at our available list for the first half of the season compared to other teams we look about 9th or 10th best in my opinion but if we can hover around 8th until round 10 we're a chance of coming home strong once the big guns are back.

[ism22]

What has the guy done wrong?

Nothing. The club just said 'since you gonna leave, we're not gonna let you train'.

He's then said 'fark you, I'm gonna go get legal advice because that's a breach of contract IMO'.

If they're gonna be like that, he might be wanting a club to train with.

[ism22]

Tapine has been offered to us out of spite for Ricky

As injury cover & if he gets in the mood it's a bargain basement for 2016

Another SST for mine

Another Matagi you mean? 1 Season wonder...

[milanja]

He isn't coming.

Said he would prefer to go to raiders early if anything.

[Kingsgrove-Loiner]

Another Matagi you mean? 1 Season wonder...

We should have kept Matagi, he would have improved out of sight this season.

Looking like a worse decision now, given our injuries.

[dj_sta]

We should have kept Matagi, he would have improved out of sight this season.

Looking like a worse decision now, given our injuries.

Definitely should have kept Matagi. Even before the injuries.

He was good when he played for us last year and could have been better this year. But in saying that I think he left chasing a FG spot and we couldnt give him one.

[Chook]

SST has put up a picture with Vincent Leuluai saying he's excited to be playing alongside him on the weekend, which may suggest Leuluai has made the 17. They've followed very similar paths to first grade, regularly named as 18th man without ever getting the nod, looking very promising in the Nines both having scored awesome solo tries. I'd be more than happy to see Vincent given his chance in the hope that he, like Taukeahio, proves to be one of those players that is "good" in the lower grades but as soon as they taste first grade they turn into "great" players. Tapine would be great to have for the year as well considering more injuries in the backrow could easily happen and he is a superb talent.

Realistically to be a top 6 side this year we need: 1. A few young guns to fire consistently in first grade similar to the way SST did from round 1 last year. Namely, Leuluai, Burgess, Nikorima and maybe even Mitchell.
2. We need those players with around 70-100 games experience to really go to the next level. Napa needs to be JWH to start the season, aggression is the key. Liu needs to open up his game and become the attacking weapon he's always promised to be. The left arm offload should be unleashed this year. Kane Evans will continue to improve. His offloading late last year was the best in the comp from a prop. And Hastings will have to show experience well beyond his years which he is certainly capable of. He needs to really order the boys around early and make his presence felt to take the pressure off Nikorima.
3. Jake Friend and Blake Ferguson will have to have the best years of their careers so far. They are the focal points of attack now given the loss of ammunition.
4. And finally the defensive attitude will have to be there every round. We don't have the strike to score 30 points a game anymore. Robbo has his work cut out for him here but I'm a believer. When you look at our available list for the first half of the season compared to other teams we look about 9th or 10th best in my opinion but if we can hover around 8th until round 10 we're a chance of coming home strong once the big guns are back.

You talk a lot of sense man. I think our points will come from Hastings and Nikorima, not early on, but as they experience first grade together I think our coaching staff can have em firing.

Chook.

[takethe 2]

Im a believer in blooding younger players but looks like we will have too many in FG to ensure consistency in an 80 min game. Im all for signing an experienced player if they became available. what ever happened to Brenton Lawrence ?

[LeCoq]

SST has put up a picture with Vincent Leuluai saying he's excited to be playing alongside him on the weekend, which may suggest Leuluai has made the 17. They've followed very similar paths to first grade, regularly named as 18th man without ever getting the nod, looking very promising in the Nines both having scored awesome solo tries. I'd be more than happy to see Vincent given his chance in the hope that he, like Taukeahio, proves to be one of those players that is "good" in the lower grades but as soon as they taste first grade they turn into "great" players. Tapine would be great to have for the year as well considering more injuries in the backrow could easily happen and he is a superb talent.

Realistically to be a top 6 side this year we need: 1. A few young guns to fire consistently in first grade similar to the way SST did from round 1 last year. Namely, Leuluai, Burgess, Nikorima and maybe even Mitchell.
2. We need those players with around 70-100 games experience to really go to the next level. Napa needs to be JWH to start the season, aggression is the key. Liu needs to open up his game and become the attacking weapon he's always promised to be. The left arm offload should be unleashed this year. Kane Evans will continue to improve. His offloading late last year was the best in the comp from a prop. And Hastings will have to show experience well beyond his years which he is certainly capable of. He needs to really order the boys around early and make his presence felt to take the pressure off Nikorima.
3. Jake Friend and Blake Ferguson will have to have the best years of their careers so far. They are the focal points of attack now given the loss of ammunition.
4. And finally the defensive attitude will have to be there every round. We don't have the strike to score 30 points a game anymore. Robbo has his work cut out for him here but I'm a believer. When you look at our available list for the first half of the season compared to other teams we look about 9th or 10th best in my opinion but if we can hover around 8th until round 10 we're a chance of coming home strong once the big guns are back.

Brilliant post, Yak, mate.

I agree on all fronts but I'm a bit more optimistic about our prospects. Having seen the (potential) team lists on the NRL website the other day, I still think that despite our player losses, we have one of the most balanced and 'deep' squads going around.

If you look at the top four from last year:

Cowboys: They are much the same side as last year. I think their strength lies in their forward park - they lay the platform for the backline which is more or less dominated by Thurston and Morgan. They are certainly beatable; as we showed in North Queensland last year.

Melbourne: Again, I think their strength lies in their forwards - their squad hasn't changed all that much. If anything, they have lost some solid depth players in the backline. They are always well drilled and I expect them to be amongst the top four again this year but like last year showed, if they lose a key player (ala Billy Slater) for an extended period, they will come back to the field.

Broncos: I think their backline and forwards are on equal footing. I think we've got them covered in the forwards but they have a stronger backline. They are no easy beats but certainly beatable.

Of the rest, I think Parramatta, the Warriors and Penrith have the best balanced squads. Despite their recruiting in the forwards, I think Parramatta's go forward is their weaknesses - they have recruited a few yesterday's hero and have lost some young, upcoming forwards who whilst inexpierenced last year, ripped in. Their backline is much stronger than last year. The Warriors have a reasonable squad - their centres and wingers can be very hot or cold and their coach hasn't got what it takes to mix it with the likes of Robbo.

Canterbury and Souths are what they are. I won't be surprised is Hopate is a flop at the Bulldogs too. Manly is the other team that comes to mind as having recruited well but they are patchwork - Walker at five eigth is an unknown quantity and I suspect their style and steele will change somewhat given Barrett is now in charge; they don't worry me, though.

Anyway - my point is, when you breakdown squads and assess them across the board, we are well within a chance of making the top four again. Finally, I hope Abraham Papalli gets a crack at some point this year; provided he has bettered his fitness base, he could be something special if he gets a taste of the top grade.

[ism22]

Im a believer in blooding younger players but looks like we will have too many in FG to ensure consistency in an 80 min game. Im all for signing an experienced player if they became available. what ever happened to Brenton Lawrence ?

He's playing for Manly and looks happy doing so... seems like it was a fake rumour.

IMO we shouldn't go spending on players right now... gotta wait for the right ones to show up. There's still that June transfer period if we have a MASSIVE hole in out team. We don't really know what we need until we have watched ourselves struggle along.

This season is a MASSIVE chance for some young guns to prove they can wear the pants. Based on their success/development I think we can start thinking about signings.

[mightyrooster]

What a story this is. Stupid rule where you can sign with another club a year in advance.