Our unbalanced squad.

[NorfolkStreetKid]

Our unbalanced squad makes us vulnerable when we lose 3 or 4 to injury or suspension or poor individual form..

We do not have enough mid tier experienced back up.

We have a great top 17, with 2016 games experience... average 119 games each.... BUT

the remaining 13 only have 278 games experience..... average 21 games each..... AND

NINE of those 13 have a combined 32 games experience... average LESS THAN 4 GAMES EACH.

Gaining Nathan Brown will help... he's played 138 games.... but who do we have to give up to make room for him ?

We can only have 30 players on full NRL contarcts right?

I understand it's a fine line to get the mix between experience and youth right,

I don't think we have got it right, we put too many eggs in too few baskets.

The cap increased 22 % this year..... probably meaning all our star players existing salaries went UP by 22%

We spend more than half of our cap on 8 players, at an average of $720,000

with the cap increase this year that might be only 7 players.

The remaining 22 players average $250,000 or LESS.

The minimum wage is $120,000.

We do not have any leeway to drop anyone for disciplinary reasons or poor form,

we are at the mercy of the footy gods as to whether we have a good season.

I don't think that's the way ro run a professional enterprise.

[Tommy Smith]

Norfolk, I don't think we're any different to any other top club.

The Storm have an injury crisis right now too and they're putting out a whole bunch of players I've barely heard of.

Souffs are down a few forwards and are relying on rookies like Moale and Shaq Mitchell plus DSF, Jed Cartwright and Chee Kam. Imagine if they were without a few more like us!

Penrith, well Penrith have rolled out the same forward pack for 3 years. They lose players to other clubs before they lose them to injury. They'd be in a world of hurt if they lost Yeo, JFH, Martin and Leota which even still isn't equivalent to our forward injury toll. Crazy, right?

I actually think we have good depth. But when you're down 6 forwards from your starting 17 there just isn't anything you can do.

The only argument going forward would be to place "availability" at the top of the recruitment policy. That way you might think twice about spending 1.5m between Cheese and Rads who are walking injuries. Maybe the club starts to look at how many games blokes play each year as a crucial factor in where to spend the money.

Take Ponga for example. The Knights gave him 1.4m a year when he's on the edge of retiring for HIAs. I wouldn't give him 500k. Bonkers salary cap decision.

[Headless Chook]

Every single club is at the mercy of the 'footy gods'

[NorfolkStreetKid]

Norfolk, I don't think we're any different to any other top club.

The Storm have an injury crisis right now too and they're putting out a whole bunch of players I've barely heard of.

Souffs are down a few forwards and are relying on rookies like Moale and Shaq Mitchell plus DSF, Jed Cartwright and Chee Kam. Imagine if they were without a few more like us!

Penrith, well Penrith have rolled out the same forward pack for 3 years. They lose players to other clubs before they lose them to injury. They'd be in a world of hurt if they lost Yeo, JFH, Martin and Leota which even still isn't equivalent to our forward injury toll. Crazy, right?

I actually think we have good depth. But when you're down 6 forwards from your starting 17 there just isn't anything you can do.

The only argument going forward would be to place "availability" at the top of the recruitment policy. That way you might think twice about spending 1.5m between Cheese and Rads who are walking injuries. Maybe the club starts to look at how many games blokes play each year as a crucial factor in where to spend the money.

Take Ponga for example. The Knights gave him 1.4m a year when he's on the edge of retiring for HIAs. I wouldn't give him 500k. Bonkers salary cap decision.

There IS something you can do...... you can take into account the risk of injury and suspension BEFORE signing players to big money contracts. That's what professional organisations do.

Crying about injuries when you haven't ALLOWED for the possibility is just not on.

Not being able to DROP a player because you haven't got any worthy replacements is not on.

Having to play borderline players in important positions on a regular basis is not on.

Yes i mean Hutch.

[NorfolkStreetKid]

Every single club is at the mercy of the 'footy gods'

Well they should be mitigating their potential bad luck by investing in players who have at least shown they can play first grade.

Have some common sense, understand what it takes to make up a SQUAD which can cover contigencies.

[Headless Chook]

Well they should be mitigating their potential bad luck by investing in players who have at least shown they can play first grade.

Have some common sense, understand what it takes to make up a SQUAD which can cover contigencies.

They would still be at the 'mercy of the footy gods'. We could have done all the mitigating possible in 2021 but could never have covered the amount of injuries we had given the limitations placed on clubs via the salary cap.

[King Salvo]

Who are the 8 players though ?

If you are not going to offer them decent coin then others will though and despite what players say they want to make as much money as they can from the game in the period of time they are in it as a player.

The days of having 2 first grade sides are long gone.

I would say it has more to do with the pathways once players start playing NSW Cup.

On the Weekend in the Roosters and or Norths NSW Cup games only 1 Roosters NRL Full Contract player played in either of these games - Siua Wong - 3 development players played also - Sandon Smith / Thomas Deakin and Vuate Karawalevu

Even last year for the Bears in NSW Cup it was 4 or so Roosters NRL Full Contract players playing only each week

Of course you have injuries and suspensions and 22 player NRL squads - 3 players cut 24 hours before the NRL game but if the NSW Cup side has already played before this cut off or the NRL game is interstate / overseas (NZ) game then these 3 players cut and the 19th player don't end up playing at all on particular weekends.

The bulk of NSW Cup squads are made up of very much part time footballers training 2 or so times a week whilst holding down a full time job and or study.

Not sure how often NRL Full Contract players train with a NSW Cup side if they are playing NSW Cup as they are training full time with the NRL Squad the same as development contracted players do.

The NRL players that do play NSW cup are at a higher standard as a player than the part time players are so are these players developing or maintaining these standards as a player when playing in NSW Cup.

Many criticise the standard of NSW Cup and rate Jersey Flegg a higher standard comp but of course there is a reason for this as I have mentioned above . bulk of NSW Cup squads made up of part time players.

Jersey Flegg you will find will have players that have come through the junior reps pathways together and also have greater access to the NRL Clubs training facilities, coaching and development than what the part time players in NSW Cup do.

The Roosters NSW Cup side is a transitional side to kick off the Roosters re-entry into the NSW Cup competition as part of the seamless transition pathways from Junior Reps to NRL/NRLW plan.

Obviously the Roosters have looked at the Penrith model where teams from Junior reps to NRL all train and play the same way so there is no shock for players progressing through the pathways in the way they will be expected to train , play or what is expected from them as a player as they will be used to it.

This is what I figure the Roosters want to replicate in having their own NSW Cup side - to implement/imbed into the pathway system the Roosters footy style from junior reps to NRL/NRLW

[King Salvo]

Well they should be mitigating their potential bad luck by investing in players who have at least shown they can play first grade.

Have some common sense, understand what it takes to make up a SQUAD which can cover contigencies.

which players have shown that they can't play NRL though ?

[King Salvo]

There IS something you can do...... you can take into account the risk of injury and suspension BEFORE signing players to big money contracts. That's what professional organisations do.

Crying about injuries when you haven't ALLOWED for the possibility is just not on.

Not being able to DROP a player because you haven't got any worthy replacements is not on.

Having to play borderline players in important positions on a regular basis is not on.

Yes i mean Hutch.

Can you name any professional sport organisation or teams in those sports that take into account injuries and suspensions in whether to sign players irrespective of the contract value.

If you took into account the risk of injury or suspension then you wouldn't sign any player -It's sport and the participants may get injured and suspended from time to time- It's part and parcel of sport of any kind that is played anywhere in the world and been the same way since organised sport began.

The Hutchinator is not Madonna