Ben Condon

[Disco]

@Disco , this is what you're trying to make sound positive:

Panthers 28 - Us 6
Roosters 26 - Us 12
Us 25 - Raiders 6
Sharks 34 - Us 22
Rabbits 40 - Us 22
Eels 22 - Us 20
Storm 28 - Us 8
Cowboys 28 - Us 26
Us 36 - Storm 30
Roosters 20 - Us 10
Eels 36 - Us 20
Sharks 40 - Us 6
Raiders 48 - Us 6

The bold results are our wins versus the top 8. Not sure if you remember the Storm game, or how they were coming home with a wet sail like the week before where we capitulated against The Cowboys? I felt dirty - and absolutely as though they almost won despite the result. They flogged us in that second half.

But let that sink in - what you're trying to make sound positive, mate.

I've not said a thing positive.

I simply replied to a comment that said we had been flogged by all top 8 teams bar one, which is incorrect. We won 2, lost 2 by 2 points and lost one by 10 points.

No comment at all on positivity or negativity.

 

[maxta]

Mate, the top 8 teams all flogged us every game this season bar one. We haven't beaten a top 4 team in three years. Remove: Walker, Foran, Davey, Taupau (and some depth), include Tuilagi & Condon & tell me how we've bridged that divide between us and say The Panthers (or any of the current top 8 teams)?

Good question - fair question too
Firstly I feel we basically have 4 or more quality signings already in our own yard.
Tom T will be back fresh and let's be honest - is in the top 3 players in the NRL when fit to play.
Not only the X factor he brings, but is 1 of those few Star players that simply lifts the players around him, same as Brett Stewart did back in the glory days.
I thought we missed our 2 key front rowers much of 2022, who are up with the best in Aloiai and Paseks....Alaoia was near the best front rower in the comp at 1 stage and Paseka has all the ingredients apart from lacking enough mongrel, but everyone forgets his age, I feel 2023 will be his best yet.
The Schu who was admittedly was ordinary in 2022, will be ready to show why he was so highly rated just last season and gets his shot at 5/8 and I won't be suprised if he wins the best player in his position afetr getting himself to the right playing weight....much to prove and I think he will.
Garrick who played admirably on 1 leg is near most improved player in the NRL and will be only better in 2023.
I feel Weekes is like a quicker version of the verstile Nicho Hynes and though needs more time, will get it next season and offer another point of attack.
The reliable Croker will have a backup 9 off the bench named Roach and this will help a key area that has been a key issue for us in recent times compared to those "Top 4" sides who win tempo through that middle....Roach will be a "suprise signing" imo, so watch out for him to add zest in the middle.
The signings I am mixed on as expected more, but had a chat to someone this week who says we have "very little $$" to play with, so if we are to land 1 bigger name signing, that will be it.
I do think Tuilagi will be a good signing and look twice the player he did at Tigers.
I know very little about condon and this almost got me in trouble a few times in my younger days....

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Paseka has all the ingredients apart from lacking enough mongrel,

He's an interesting prospect that is for sure. He has such a nice big smile.
I would say the fact that opposition bullies never target him is 100% a deliberate strategy. If anyone ever made him mad he'd be almost impossible to contain.
Maybe some Manly undercover operatives should try to bribe a foolhardy opposition player to smack him one day, or to say something mean about his mother. It might be to our advantage!

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

As for Condon (the subject of this thread!) he's a very big body who can find the tryline. A canny recruit because he's so big a half can't be expected to defend him one-on-one near our line. Add to Schu creating hesitation and Turbo posing a continuing threat, and I can see Condon (and/or Tuilagi) prospering on a left edge. Either of them can also spend time in the middle.
The Condon knockers will be eating their words! (That's my fearless prediction) 🙂

 

[Ryan]

I've not said a thing positive.

I simply replied to a comment that said we had been flogged by all top 8 teams bar one, which is incorrect. We won 2, lost 2 by 2 points and lost one by 10 points.

No comment at all on positivity or negativity.

We have very different benchmarks mate. If a team scores 20+ points and wins, regardless of the score, that's a poor showing to me. Means we were weak in defense and hot lapped.

I've explained my position on the storm game

 

[Disco]

Nothing said about good performances or poor.

The term was getting flogged.

For mine get flogged is 13 plus.

Sure you can lose by 2 and it be a poor performance, but regardless of your performance if you lose by 2 you werent "flogged".

Anyhoo, semantics on the use of hyperbolic language.

 

[mickqld]

....
The signings I am mixed on as expected more, but had a chat to someone this week who says we have "very little $$" to play with, so if we are to land 1 bigger name signing, that will be it.....

I cannot for the life of me understand how we don't have some $$ to go to market with. We've just unloaded Taupau, Walker , Davey, Foran thats got to be at least $1.8 mil. I know we upgraded a few but seriously compare us to the top 8 lineups as well as what the dogs are recruiting and tell me we don't have the $$. DCE, Tom , Jake are our only marquee players now. The rest can't be soaking up nearly $7 mil.

 

[Matai's shoulder]

I've not said a thing positive.

I simply replied to a comment that said we had been flogged by all top 8 teams bar one, which is incorrect. We won 2, lost 2 by 2 points and lost one by 10 points.

No comment at all on positivity or negativity.

How dare you reply to a factually incorrect statement with the truth!!!

 

[eagleron]

How can you say Des doesn't realise it when he is the guy who did sign Galavao!
And built his packs around blokes like Watmough, Gifty, Buhrer. Shane Rodney. And props with leg speed like Kite.
He's now got Lawton playing second row, and he signed Bullemor who has leg speed.
True, Condon and Tuilagi seem larger types but maybe he wants them to balance the addition of another smaller dynamo type forward?
I confess I am bemused by the number of long term fans who believe Des Hasler doesn't understand rugby league. Bemused, I tell you.

Frustrating teams that already have a stacked roster can re-,sign Walker, pick up Lodge, pick up Brandon Smith, re-up Suaali - here we are ****ing Tuilagi and Condon.

And if anyone tells me they aren't like us cap wise..they are paying an absolute mint for Tedesco, JWH, Keary, Chrighton, Tupou & trust me Manu would be on mountains of money.

One bloody season they have been without a Hooker (well, they have Verrills ) but Friend retired. What do they do? Hmm, there's a hole, let's pay $800k for Brandon Smith.

What about our flop recruitment. Playing an under sized halfback that can't kick, run out of dummy half but has heart and can tackle for 4 years - no resolution.

And people wonder why we can't beat a top 4 team (okay, once in three years), this season we can't beat a top 8.

And yet people still find ways and excuses to defend Des and recruitment (he crafted this team, he got his staff).

Yet we get a 44 metre on average plod, that's played 0 games this season (well, 2 but his coach refused to put him on the field), and Tuilagi, who's had many 30 odd metre games. Are we changing our names to the Manly Warringah pylons here ?

It would actually be funny watching our forwards in a sprint race. Would be like heading down the local nursing home and running a sports carnival - 0 intensity, mobility, aggression or speed.

So mate, it's frustrating to read the names we are being linked to. And if we are cap strapped - release players. If it has to be DCE or Tom (whoever) make it happen so we can balance our roster and make moves. With such a crap roster , we need our better players to be able to take the field. If not, flush em out.

Anyways, that rant wasn't directed at you mate. You're a great fella. It's just annoying. I sat up and watched the Chooks Bunnies game tonight with all those send offs, and FMD, our team is unrecognisable against these real rugby league teams. It's weird watching team mates fight in the trenches with each other. Not our princesses, all stroppy for being asked to wear a shirt with an inclusivity rainbow. Cream-puffs, top to bottom.

Radley, L Martin types are what we need mate. Condon and Tuilagi are literally the opposite of what we need, which is to get faster, tougher , more intense in our middles. And we've lost Taupau now, out biggest metre maker - ugh.

I agree with what you say mate, for a start if the league is fair dinkum they've got to drop the ridiculous TPA system, not every club can attract the kind of sponsorship deals that the Roosters and Storms of this world can source, making for the most imbalanced competition of any sport I can recall seeing. I could list a thousand things these lazy bastards at league headquarters could do to give the battling clubs a better go as could most people on here, it's currently a competition of different classes with those at the top unlikely to find themselves dropping to the level that the bottom eight find difficult to climb above, the cap is a farce and those clubs with smart accountants will always find ways to circumvent its restrictions. Unless V'landys gets off his well upholstered backside and fixes all the things we all know are dividing the competition then what you see is what you're gonna get for the foreseeable future

 

[Eagles4Life]

How dare you reply to a factually incorrect statement with the truth!!!

Many posters on here have a very dim view of factually correct statements.

In fact, (yes the pun was intended), the usage of clear and concise language, that is supported by logical argument, is strongly discouraged.

Verily, this dictate is written in invisible ink, in the imaginary Silvertails manifesto on "facts-speak".

 

[Wombat64]

FMD, imagine how excited people would be we signed someone good .....

 

[Ryan]

How dare you reply to a factually incorrect statement with the truth!!!

I explained why I made the statement dumb dumb. And I hold to it. When you're having 20 pumped past your defense , regardless of what we score, we've been pumped.

We got a new arsehole torn from us in that rare win against The Storm - not sure if you watched, blow in.

 

[Matai's shoulder]

I explained why I made the statement dumb dumb. And I hold to it. When you're having 20 pumped past your defense , regardless of what we score, we've been pumped.

We got a new arsehole torn from us in that rare win against The Storm - not sure if you watched, blow in.

You tried to justify a factually incorrect statement by saying conceding 20 points is your definition of a poor performance, and I am the dumb dumb. Good for you Mr Master of Doom.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Ripped, Torn

Rip’s wife for many years until her death in 1987 was the great American actress Geraldine Page.

Their NYC letterbox was emblazoned with this -‘Torn Page’.

 

[Ryan]

You tried to justify a factually incorrect statement by saying conceding 20 points is your definition of a poor performance, and I am the dumb dumb. Good for you Mr Master of Doom.

I absolutely believe that if the opposition put 20+ on you regularly, it's the definition or very poor performance , structures and attitude.

Like I said, we got the 2 points for that win over Melbourne, but in my view it was a loss, for many, many more reasons. In fact, it was a flogging.

Having your team hosed down, exposed, shown up like we were in that game (which was actually a replay of the Cowboys game), where we were destroyed in that second half is a flogging.

And the rest of the league saw it, and replicated it if you look at a lot of the latter scores much worse than 20.

I get that will be too complicated for you to comprehend though, so please don't respond.

 

[voicefromthehill]

The old play the ball not the man imposter again reveals his true self

 

[Disco]

I explained why I made the statement dumb dumb. And I hold to it. When you're having 20 pumped past your defense , regardless of what we score, we've been pumped.

Ok great, so just to confirm, in the attached image we would say the Roosters got flogged/pumped?

I thinking I'm getting it...

 

[Matai's shoulder]

I absolutely believe that if the opposition put 20+ on you regularly, it's the definition or very poor performance , structures and attitude.

Like I said, we got the 2 points for that win over Melbourne, but in my view it was a loss, for many, many more reasons. In fact, it was a flogging.

Having your team hosed down, exposed, shown up like we were in that game (which was actually a replay of the Cowboys game), where we were destroyed in that second half is a flogging.

And the rest of the league saw it, and replicated it if you look at a lot of the latter scores much worse than 20.

I get that will be too complicated for you to comprehend though, so please don't respond.

Got it. You can’t win a game of footy if you concede 20 points or more. Even if you score more than what you conceded. Not sure how Canberra and Cowboys won in week 1 of the finals despite conceding 20 points, but you seem to know everything so I’ll trust you on this one.

Please don’t respond.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

As for Condon (the subject of this thread!) he's a very big body who can find the tryline. A canny recruit because he's so big a half can't be expected to defend him one-on-one near our line. Add to Schu creating hesitation and Turbo posing a continuing threat, and I can see Condon (and/or Tuilagi) prospering on a left edge. Either of them can also spend time in the middle.
The Condon knockers will be eating their words! (That's my fearless prediction) 🙂

Phew , someone else’s head will roll if he’s a failure , and it won’t be ME!!

 

[Matai's shoulder]

Ok great, so just to confirm, in the attached image we would say the Roosters got flogged/pumped?

I thinking I'm getting it...

I can't wait till the Storm get stripped of the 2020 Grand Final "victory" for conceding 20 points. Couldn't happen to a more deserving club...