LOL@Roosters…

[Vasco]

I think your error is probably in overstimating the roster. It's a top 4 roster but I wouldn't call it elite, there were a lot of questions leading into the comp that still remain in my opinion.

And no it most definitely wasn't a must win game. We are 4pts off first, 2pts off second, that's the privilege I'm talking about..

Who has a better roster?

[Jacks Fur Coat]

Souths & Brisbane.. easy

I'd have to say I know very little of around half of Souths team, so couldn't say they have a better roster. Maybe they are locals who have come up through the ranks. Regardless Big Ears derserves credit for getting them where they are.

[Rooster_6]

Player for player is what I mean. Ours is the best - I can’t be convinced otherwise.

No gelling is definitely an issue but that’s what happens when you chop and change.

To me (& I know many others agree) it’s really simple.
Bring back Walker, Manu to centre, Suuali to wing & Turpin to the bench.

As for our halves rating, they were absolutely flying at the back end of last year and no one was worried about them then.

I don't think they were flying at the back end of the season though. I think Keary really started to shine after some pressure was taken off him but I thought Walker took a step backwards and as a combination I wasn't convinced.

Again this is just my opinion, I would agree that the general consensus is that we have an elite roster and that we had fixed the issues in the halves at the back end of last year.

I made the below post in November during off-season and haven't seen much yet this season that would make me change my mind on it.

I think it has more to do with the change in roles from Round 16 onwards. He had to take on far more of the kicking and organisational duties which took away from his running game and creative playmaking.

As a 5/8 he was averaging 35 touches a game, as a halfback slightly more at 41 touches per game but it's what he was doing with those touches that really took away from his strengths in my opinion.


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From transition as a 5/8 to halfback he was 16% more likely to kick the ball with each touch and 13% less likely to run the ball, passing pretty much stayed the same but what isn't measured there is the type of distribution that makes up those passing numbers. A lot more of that passing as a halfback is organsining the side, controlling play 5 before the kick & ensuring you're not out of position for play 6.

Don't get me wrong he had some real success with his kicking game, some of his short kicking was brilliant and we saw him strike up a really nice combination with Nat Butcher, short kick close to the line. But I just think his strength is his running game and ability to create space for others.

Who knows, maybe the coaching team see this as part of his development, and he will continue to play as a more traditional halfback for the next couple of years whilst Keary is still around developing his kicking and understanding of the game, and we'll just continue to see glimpses of his flair and creativity. But I hold hope that's not the plan and there's something install to help unlock Walker in our system a little more next year whilst not completely destroying the combo he and Keary built in the back end of the season.

[bondi paul]

Todays performance was like watching a Anderson/Fittler coached team.

• Ok so here goes my take on things.The centre of excellence and culture trip focus has taken away our primary purpose. The 1st season of covid we saw lots of new players and the following season none were given any opportunity.
• Debatable captaincy
• 11seasons of mistake ridden teams which was smothered by individual brilliance of point scoring.The brilliance has disappeared /grown old
• Questionable and bewildering team selections and odd public comments made by the coach.
• Possible disharmony due to players contracts and the coaches pets.
• The unprecedented negative media in my 50 plus years coupled with the above point.
• Yes people within the coaching staff.
  I don’t have answers to the style of game being coached or with the disinterest shown by nearly all of the squad but one could say nor does the coach.

[Bates]

What a mess!

[Ray Stehr]

I’m ashamed.. we have a squad others would dream of and they are just not performing.. questions need to asked about the coaching..

Maybe our team is just crap.

[Rooster1908]

Really? Because I think our roster is the best of all NRL clubs right now..

Who has better roster right now? Take away form, because form wise we are well down the pecking order.

Dolphins

[Qld Chook]

Dolphins

Nope, just better coached unfortunately

[Bates]

You can have 11 rep players in your team but if your halves pairing is rubbish you're going to struggle like we did today.
It's sad for both Keary and Manu. Moving Manu weakened 3 positions. A rookie error from an experienced coach.

[HunchoRooster]

I'm not writing our season off. A hallmark of Robinson era Roosters has been some bafflingly bad performances sprinkled in during the season even when we finish well and eventually win comps. Think of the Newcastle game with the badge kiss for example... it's usually while we work on our combinations and iron out issues. The difference with this team is that the team isn't as blessed with individual brilliance, has no natural leaders like Cordner, Friend, Cronk, etc. and we have players who are not good enough to play first grade for the Roosters in the 17 most weeks.

The halves look rudderless no matter what the combination is, the coach makes poor decisions and overthinks everything. Our forwards are hot and cold and worst of all, our defence is incredibly soft and nowhere near where it was a couple seasons ago.

The loss of Latrell, the Moz boys, Cronk, Cords, etc. is huge. Cannot be understated. The club has 2 options. Feel sorry for themselves and hark back to the glory days and accept the current crop aren't the best and make do... or fulfill the so-called motto of the club and play for premierships and get the best in class to make sure we are a chance every year.

The season can be saved because apart from Souffs (yuck), nobody is actually playing consistently well enough to stake a claim at the premiership. That being said, the Riff will dish out a lesson to us if we play like that again.

[The Marshall]

We have been privileged, no doubt about it. But we have an elite roster, how about we make the most of it? Is that too much to ask.. I don’t think so.

I’d honestly rather support a team with a fair roster that turns up, has a crack and plays to their potential every week than tune into what I have this season.

This game was nearly a must win for us IMO and we blew it. We have Penrith in Penrith next week with a 5 day turn around.

Do we really think our roster is elite? I think our roster has hollowed out over the years since 2019. Some
veterans becoming inconsistent, younger players who looked so promising in 2020 and 2021 have gone backwards and not many elite level players. We need a decent centre if Manu is going to be a 5/8 or a decent 5/8 if he is a centre. Our outside backs are not elite outside Manu and he is not one of them at the moment. Walker and Keary are imo to similar and our kicking game is awful at the moment. We need some variety in that half or 5/8 role. If Walker deserved to be dropped then so does Keary after today or Suaalii for that matter. He has been atrocious in the centres. Tedesco does not look as effective since he became captain and doesn’t seem to have a presence on field.
Our system has not adapted to the way the game is currently played and officiated. To many missed tackles, to many sin bins and the forwards beaten through the middle a number of times this year , just like today.
We are a long way from another premiership and we have not been elite for 3 years and need to stop talking like we should be better we are a middle of the road team and need to revamp some positions on our roster and change our system.

[HunchoRooster]

To those saying we don't have the best or most elite roster, look at it on paper. Yes games aren't won on paper but that's kind of the point of the argument... we aren't winning games with the best squad on paper. Lies with the coach.

1. Teddy (Captain of Australia - Captain of NSW - Dally M winner - best player in the world)
2. Tupou (2nd most prolific try scorer in Roosters history - NSW representative)
3. Suaalii (apparently worth 1.5mil a season in union, one of the most hyped prospects in the history of the sport)
4. Manu (current golden boot winner, Kiwi fullback but still the best centre in the world)
5. Paulo (a minimum wage signing for us but has played in a grand final)
6. Keary (3 time Premiership winner - at a time best half in the world)
7. Walker (apparently a weak link that we have the luxury of playing in ressies despite him probably getting a walkup start at 80% of clubs in the NRL. One of the hottest prospects the game has ever seen).
8. JWH (club legend, Kiwi legend, say no more)
9. B. Smith (hooker of the year 2021, premiership winner, Kiwi hooker, marquee signing on 800k a season)
10. Collins (Australian and QLD starting prop)
11. Crichton (Australian and NSW starting backrower)
12. Nat Butcher (2-time premiership winner before the age of 25, another "low value" player who would walk into any NRL 17)
13. Radley (2-time premiership winner, England international and Player of the Tournament at RLWC)
14. Turpin (60+ games of first grade experience at hooker but yet another minimum wage signing)
15. Lodge (One of the best props in the game when on form, earnt 700k a season at last 2 clubs)
16. Sitili (Tonga International, Premiership Winner)
17. Egan Butcher (junior on small wage that was courted by multiple clubs before re-signing)

Not to mention Nathan Brown, Baker, May, Whyte, Allan, Billy Smith all having NRL experience, some with Origin experience.

Now look at the Panthers line-up or even the Broncos. It doesn't compare. We have a rep player in almost every position in 17. It's embarrassing to see where we are.

[Eggspert]

Maybe our team is just crap.

Not crap, we seem to have a coach who has slipped down the pecking order & can't find a way back.

Maybe the message after 11yrs is old & nobody is listening anymore or not buying into what he's selling.

[Maxy Walker]

The problem is the team is nowhere near elite in the most important positions, the halves. Keary and Walker together aren’t elite. They weren’t cutting it which has created other problems like Teddy overplaying his hand and Manu having to learn a new position to try to spark something.

I think the team probably can’t be serious contenders until they find a quality half. Time to get the chequebook out.

[Qld Chook]

To those saying we don't have the best or most elite roster, look at it on paper. Yes games aren't won on paper but that's kind of the point of the argument... we aren't winning games with the best squad on paper. Lies with the coach.

1. Teddy (Captain of Australia - Captain of NSW - Dally M winner - best player in the world)
2. Tupou (2nd most prolific try scorer in Roosters history - NSW representative)
3. Suaalii (apparently worth 1.5mil a season in union, one of the most hyped prospects in the history of the sport)
4. Manu (current golden boot winner, Kiwi fullback but still the best centre in the world)
5. Paulo (a minimum wage signing for us but has played in a grand final)
6. Keary (3 time Premiership winner - at a time best half in the world)
7. Walker (apparently a weak link that we have the luxury of playing in ressies despite him probably getting a walkup start at 80% of clubs in the NRL. One of the hottest prospects the game has ever seen).
8. JWH (club legend, Kiwi legend, say no more)
9. B. Smith (hooker of the year 2021, premiership winner, Kiwi hooker, marquee signing on 800k a season)
10. Collins (Australian and QLD starting prop)
11. Crichton (Australian and NSW starting backrower)
12. Nat Butcher (2-time premiership winner before the age of 25, another "low value" player who would walk into any NRL 17)
13. Radley (2-time premiership winner, England international and Player of the Tournament at RLWC)
14. Turpin (60+ games of first grade experience at hooker but yet another minimum wage signing)
15. Lodge (One of the best props in the game when on form, earnt 700k a season at last 2 clubs)
16. Sitili (Tonga International, Premiership Winner)
17. Egan Butcher (junior on small wage that was courted by multiple clubs before re-signing)

Not to mention Nathan Brown, Baker, May, Whyte, Allan, Billy Smith all having NRL experience, some with Origin experience.

Now look at the Panthers line-up or even the Broncos. It doesn't compare. We have a rep player in almost every position in 17. It's embarrassing to see where we are.

Nicely said. Can’t argue it, we are underperforming massively.