We might have won that

[Vasco]

We were the only team capable of shocking the Riff tonight.

We would have made it a contest.

We screwed up big time against Souths.

I hope the team realises that.

Mate I hear what you are saying.

I think this season was a classic case of could've, should've, would've.

[Vasco]

The team may improve next season, but I believe there are too many weaknesses to win a comp.

[Tommy Smith]

The team may improve next season, but I believe there are too many weaknesses to win a comp.

If we can't beat Penrith next year then no one else will get close.

With Melbourne and Parra projected to be significantly poorer I don't see where else the threat comes from tbh.

Penrith are not just great, but they're great at the right time with few to no legit competitors.

[Johnny Brass]

Toops is fine - has has always looked like he is on Valium. Thats just his standard look. He has never had to play like he is possessed because 1 Toops stride is equivalent to 4 To'o strides. And you can't teach height.
He is 31, and I think he could still squeeze 3 more good years out.

Concerns for me are:

1. Radley. Hot-headedness aside, he has not progressed as a player compared to the likes of Cameron Murray. Just a couple of years ago they were neck and neck for the best no.13 in the game, however Radley is no longer in that conversation. With the way the game is adjudicated now he is also becoming a liability to the team.

2. Sitili. Runs a good line, but atrocious in defence and poor decision making. He is a big heavy body, and that acl recovery will take a while and will be very prone to happening again. It will impact his agility in attack. I'm not sure he brings enough.

3. Keary. The concern is more our prospects if he has to retire. Not concerned re his n field form and is still my fave half in the NRL..not his best year, but a tonne of great moments. It's more the psycological. I hope he can come back strong next year mentally and avoid head knocks. If we lose him there is sweet fk all on the market....in the event Keary has to retire that leaves gaping hole... whoever we get to replace in that scenario will be a big step down in quality. We would not be making top 4.

4. Collins. Maybe it's just me, but I do not get the hype. He is not a bad prop, but he is down the pecking order against plenty of others in the NRL. In our own team I have JWH, SST and Lodge all clearly ahead of him. Manages to squeeze into Origin regularly due to short troop numbers north of the border...but isn't a patch on the other maroon bookend Tino Fa'asuamaleau. Has he hit his ceiling?

5. Depth generally speaking. We do not have the quality outside the top17 that a lot of other clubs do.

Pretty fair assessment Steakface, I would probably add left centre as an area of concern.
Generally when a team wins a comp they unearth a couple of young guns during the year who play exceptionally well on relatively minor contracts.
The world cup might play a factor as these days so many teams have players involved where in the past it was just the Aussies and Kiwis and shortens the pre season.
The panthers are a step ahead of the pack but they have climbed the mountain twice now and been up for three years playing at a high intensity which is hard to maintain and stay motivated. There is an old boxing saying its hard to get up and do your roadwork when you sleep in satin sheets.

[Mickie Lane]

The Roosters at full strength I think would of beat Penrith this year.
I actually think the Penrith team last year was better than this year with Burton, Capewell & Momo in their side.
Hopefully with no Api & no Kikau next the Panthers come back a bit & other clubs like the Chooks hopefully get better.

[Steakface]

Pretty fair assessment Steakface, I would probably add left centre as an area of concern.
Generally when a team wins a comp they unearth a couple of young guns during the year who play exceptionally well on relatively minor contracts.
The world cup might play a factor as these days so many teams have players involved where in the past it was just the Aussies and Kiwis and shortens the pre season.
The panthers are a step ahead of the pack but they have climbed the mountain twice now and been up for three years playing at a high intensity which is hard to maintain and stay motivated. There is an old boxing saying its hard to get up and do your roadwork when you sleep in satin sheets.

Well said, especially in regards to that last quote.

For 2023, I reckon the Eels have done their dash. They are losing too many players, and could be argued they need a coaching clean out....not Arthur, because i think they really want to play for him. More the support coaching staff. Strategy is poor, and they got there off individual brilliance.

Storm are class, and they'll challenge again.

Cows should be better for the run. Cows especially aren't losing anyone of note, they'll be thereabouts.

If Reynolds stays fit, the Broncos will be up there especially with Walsh coming.

We'll be in the mix too, but there are question marks as alluded to above.

Top 8 will likely be something like this

1 Storm
2 Panthers
3 Broncos
4 Cowboys
5 Roosters
6 Sea Eagles
7 Sharks
8 Rabbitohs

I reckon Eels dont make the 8.
I reckon the Bulldogs to be the big improvers (8th-9th finish)

[BondiBob]

The only way the Chooks would have beaten Penrifff was if they all caught Covid . Our forwards would be unable to match their pack and there goes the game

[ChookMaster]

If we can't beat Penrith next year then no one else will get close.

With Melbourne and Parra projected to be significantly poorer I don't see where else the threat comes from tbh.

Penrith are not just great, but they're great at the right time with few to no legit competitors.

Us and Souths.

They showed more than enough during the year did the bunnies.. they will be better for it next season and have a few highly rated juniors about to peep their head through ( Duncan, Karapani, Mamo )

Hate to say it but they will be one of our biggest threats again, next year along with Penrith of course.

[007]

Pretty fair assessment Steakface, I would probably add left centre as an area of concern.
Generally when a team wins a comp they unearth a couple of young guns during the year who play exceptionally well on relatively minor contracts.
The world cup might play a factor as these days so many teams have players involved where in the past it was just the Aussies and Kiwis and shortens the pre season.
The panthers are a step ahead of the pack but they have climbed the mountain twice now and been up for three years playing at a high intensity which is hard to maintain and stay motivated. There is an old boxing saying its hard to get up and do your roadwork when you sleep in satin sheets.

Johnny Brass - an excellent watch in my opinion.

Marvin Hagler on Dedication - RossBoxing.com

[Eggspert]

Well said, especially in regards to that last quote.

For 2023, I reckon the Eels have done their dash. They are losing too many players, and could be argued they need a coaching clean out....not Arthur, because i think they really want to play for him. More the support coaching staff. Strategy is poor, and they got there off individual brilliance.

Storm are class, and they'll challenge again.

Cows should be better for the run. Cows especially aren't losing anyone of note, they'll be thereabouts.

If Reynolds stays fit, the Broncos will be up there especially with Walsh coming.

We'll be in the mix too, but there are question marks as alluded to above.

Top 8 will likely be something like this

1 Storm
2 Panthers
3 Broncos
4 Cowboys
5 Roosters
6 Sea Eagles
7 Sharks
8 Rabbitohs

I reckon Eels dont make the 8.
I reckon the Bulldogs to be the big improvers (8th-9th finish)

For the first time in a loooong time I can finally see the Storm struggling & missing the top 4 again.

They have lost both Bromwich bros, The Cheese & Felise Kafusi. Thats just way too much class to lose in one hit. Their forwards & team will struggle next year.

[Tom Verlaine's Ghost]

Their coach doesn't worry about playing them into a season.

It's foot on the gas from the get go which has won them 2 GF's out of 3.

A much younger squad, though, than ours. It's unlikely our squad could win a premiership like that.

[weplayforprems]

Well said, especially in regards to that last quote.

For 2023, I reckon the Eels have done their dash. They are losing too many players, and could be argued they need a coaching clean out....not Arthur, because i think they really want to play for him. More the support coaching staff. Strategy is poor, and they got there off individual brilliance.

Storm are class, and they'll challenge again.

Cows should be better for the run. Cows especially aren't losing anyone of note, they'll be thereabouts.

If Reynolds stays fit, the Broncos will be up there especially with Walsh coming.

We'll be in the mix too, but there are question marks as alluded to above.

Top 8 will likely be something like this

1 Storm
2 Panthers
3 Broncos
4 Cowboys
5 Roosters
6 Sea Eagles
7 Sharks
8 Rabbitohs

I reckon Eels dont make the 8.
I reckon the Bulldogs to be the big improvers (8th-9th finish)

I can’t see a universe where us and Penrith are not top two. Cows won’t make top 4. They will get a tougher draw and don’t have the element of surprise anymore.

[BillyBonkers]

Us and Souths.

They showed more then enough this season did the bunnies.. they will be better for it next season and have a few highly rated juniors about to peep their head through - ( Duncan, Karapani, Mamo )

Hate to say it but they will be one of our biggest threats again, next year along with Penrith of course.

Agree

[trewhella]

Toops is fine - has has always looked like he is on Valium. Thats just his standard look. He has never had to play like he is possessed because 1 Toops stride is equivalent to 4 To'o strides. And you can't teach height.
He is 31, and I think he could still squeeze 3 more good years out.

Concerns for me are:

1. Radley. Hot-headedness aside, he has not progressed as a player compared to the likes of Cameron Murray. Just a couple of years ago they were neck and neck for the best no.13 in the game, however Radley is no longer in that conversation. With the way the game is adjudicated now he is also becoming a liability to the team.

2. Sitili. Runs a good line, but atrocious in defence and poor decision making. He is a big heavy body, and that acl recovery will take a while and will be very prone to happening again. It will impact his agility in attack. I'm not sure he brings enough.

3. Keary. The concern is more our prospects if he has to retire. Not concerned re his n field form and is still my fave half in the NRL..not his best year, but a tonne of great moments. It's more the psycological. I hope he can come back strong next year mentally and avoid head knocks. If we lose him there is sweet fk all on the market....in the event Keary has to retire that leaves gaping hole... whoever we get to replace in that scenario will be a big step down in quality. We would not be making top 4.

4. Collins. Maybe it's just me, but I do not get the hype. He is not a bad prop, but he is down the pecking order against plenty of others in the NRL. In our own team I have JWH, SST and Lodge all clearly ahead of him. Manages to squeeze into Origin regularly due to short troop numbers north of the border...but isn't a patch on the other maroon bookend Tino Fa'asuamaleau. Has he hit his ceiling?

5. Depth generally speaking. We do not have the quality outside the top17 that a lot of other clubs do.

I think you picked out some of the deficiencies that I didn’t want to go for being labeled a sledger.
yep, more so with my comments about Toops and JWH…..they were starting to look old this year and age catches you very quickly in the NRL, I guess I just see the signs of battle hardened warriors that have have lost their will and their body giving out.
An 8 year old mare that has had 60 starts..won a few group 1s as a six year old but starting to lose a couple of lengths from the top class.

Verrills isn’t dynamic enough and Radley as mentioned is too wild. Nobody cares about how tough you are when you lose.
I like Victor but he looks like he too is suffering from continued head trauma.

[Johnny Brass]

Johnny Brass - an excellent watch in my opinion.

Marvin Hagler on Dedication - RossBoxing.com

Thanks for that James, he was one of my favourites