Re: Troubled times ahead : Wed Aug 24, 2016 7:58 pm  

The Biffs Back wrote:

I hope that Segeyaro stays as he's been great for us since his arrival
I still haven't seen him hit his 2014 Penrith Panthers form yet though so theres plenty more to come from him if he stays

My Main concerns for 2017 revolve around us having a quality Hooker in place and also that some of our ageing players that have suffered injuries year on year get back to having an injury free run
How they will go with another year on the clock next season?

Burrow, Magsy and JJB are still contracted until 2017
Delaney and Ablett until 2018

IMO we have 5 players there that will be with us for at least the 2017 season that are sadly on a downward spiral performance wise and unless they choose to retire early then we are not going to get the major overhaul that our squad requires due to the salaries that these players are on,If these players miss as many games in 2017 then we could be struggling again

However If we keep Segeyaro, Or sign another quality 9, and all these 5 players have a good injury free run then we could still be in the mix for honours as sadly the standard in SL is 5h1te

Agree with where you are coming from, think JJB is out of contract in 4 games time.

Re: Troubled times ahead : Wed Aug 24, 2016 10:31 pm  

Delaney isn't as old is he ? Just always seems knackered and to be playing injured.

Ablett had rumours about retirement I think so won't know until end of the season if that's true. I think last year he was ever present which really effected his performances towards the end of the season. I still think he can do a job in a team that isn't missing key parts of its spine.

Burrow and McGuire both look done, albeit for different reasons.
Mags simply hasn't had the fitness or form to lead the team as captain or even really make much difference. With a proper game running 7 we might see more from him next season if he can keep fit but can't see him going beyond that.

Burrow is problematic in that he can't fulfill the 7 role we need or be effective enough as a back up hooker. He just doesn't have the core hooker skills and his presence interferes with the defensive line up. Yet he always gets picked and always gives it 100%. Sadly that isn't enough anymore.

Next year for our spine us anyone's guess . A returning Hardaker or newly converted Sutcliffe at #1, two of Mags/Burrow/Lilley and maybe Sutcliffe for #6&7, Segeyaro or unknown at #9 and then a random often alternating 13 from pretty much any of our back rowers ,Singleton or cuthbertson .
Those questions need answering quickly by GH so he can reinforce and ageing team missing key positions .