Simple solution.....Release Jake Trbojevic! There are plenty of forwards out there better than him & on half his salary. With the money saved we’d be in the market for some real good signings......we could get Staggs & Welch with the coin he’s on!
How can you actually justify releasing Jake over Marty if you were to get rid of a key player. Ludacris.
Jake has been one of our best for years and even in recent defeats has been one of the only to rise and actually have a go. Scored a try or two and tackled his heart out.
For the past few years he has been one of the best forwards in the comp, no argue. This year he has been average compared to that form.
Taupau has always been a hitman but never actually reached that ‘elite’ category that Jake has been in for years. I really liked Taupau but theres a reason why he couldnt crack the starting side of New Zealand for years... he is a high impact 30-40 minute player with a brain fart per game. I rate Taupau highly still but not nearly on the 750k he’s on.
I would rather pay 900k (overs) for Jake who has proven himself at the highest level, is younger and is a future captain of the club.
The jake trash talk is a bit if a joke IMO... much worse players in the team when looking at late performances... Marty one of them... got completely outmuscled by Panthers pack. At least Jake still held his own.
Marty has been far surpassed by AFB this year. I would prefer a Christian Welch for 500k who is solid and reliable along with Jake and let AFB, Paseka and Keppie be the impact middle forwards.
Also to add to this about your “factual statements” you claim you rely on above, Marty’s metres per game was roughly 118m... Addins was 184 (Second best to JT, this stat was from about 2 weeks ago or so). 118m per game is extremely low for a starting forward especially of one on Marty’s coin.