Mitchell Moses will miss Round 14 for the Parramatta Eels but will he turn out for the NSW Blues in Game 2 of State of Origin? The Tip Sheet tackles that uncomfortable question and more as the Blue & Gold ramp up for a King’s Birthday long weekend clash against the Canterbury Bulldogs on Monday.
The Manly Sea Eagles have finally committed to hot shot interim coach Keiran Foran with reports emerging today that the two parties have agreed to a 3-year deal. It is a big week for contracts on the whole with the first tenders for the new broadcast rights coming in while Connor Watson has confirmed his future with split tenures across the Dragons and Chiefs.
With respect, we don’t have a competitive roster even at full fitness. This is a bottom 4 roster (bottom 6 at best) at full fitness. The backrowers can’t defend (which Ryles doesn’t seem to hold them accountable for given their inconsistent attacking flashes) and the middle is the weakest in the competition. We don’t wrestle well at all and our contact is weak. The backs are bottom 4 in the nrl even at full strength. We are amongst the slowest team in the comp. We still concede the most metres per set (as we have done for years). We still have a putrid kick chase. So Let’s not kid ourselves about where we might be when healthy and what injuries have meant for this squad. We weren’t top 8 contenders at full strength. And that begs the question: what was the plan for this year? What is the plan now? There doesn’t seem to much direction other than tossing out a team and hoping they are competitive? Why are reserve grade backs still full of Ron Massey standard players? Is it not worth promoting more promising juniors? Why are players in nrl like tualagi who may not be with us next year? Why is tuivati and walker unsigned when they are valuable parts of the team? Who is our backline getting slower while others prioritise speed?
I get the podcast seeks to be positive and not linger in pessimism about the team/club and I respect that. It is nice to hear different perspectives to my own. But I just think the front office (from the ceo down) are responsible for a shitshow that has been so predictable and avoidable. I don’t trust them to make the right calls and they’ve had far too much time but kept making similar mistakes. What other organisation pats themselves on the back for failures like this front office does? They’ll probably still tell us about pre season comp and a couple wins at end of last year. Maybe they’ll bring up the gf (non)appearance and the avoid acknowledging the fundamental flaws in the team even then. The joint stinks. Perception is reality in this game of recruitment and retention.
Anyway, I respect Ryles and the coaches who are trying to squeeze a lemon that doesn’t have much to give
Often other fans ask me where we spend our money. They tell me how they go looking for our full squad and are shocked and hour poor the quality is. Even the injured players aren’t that good. And I tend to agree. We overrate our players and lack top end quality.