HappilyManly
Journey Man
http://makingthenut.com/from-the-couch-round-16-5/
From The Couch: Round 16
Filed in From The Couch, NRL by Nick Tedeschi on June 28, 2015 • 2 Comments
Where Will Kieran Go: The Kieran Foran saga is set to drag on well into next week and perhaps even longer as the unlucky five-eighth looks to make some hay with the sun well and truly set. And that won’t be at Parramatta with the Eels delusional if they think they can pull this from the fire.
Why in the ghost of Jack Gibson would Foran go to the Eels? If, by some miracle, he did nut out a deal it would be less a sign of loyalty and more a sign of downright stupidity because there is no way he could arrive and trust the club to do right by him or even the club as a whole and in no way could the money he expected be guaranteed.
Foran is too smart for any of that. He won’t wear the blue and gold. Not now. Not ever. And with him will go the career of Brad Arthur and any chance of a resurgence in the next few years for Parramatta.
His most likely destination is the Sydney Roosters. They have room to move in the cap – a result of preparations to make a play for Jarryd Hayne – and no club is safer with its third party agreements, all to go with the fact they are a destination club and Foran’s best mate is none other than Mitchell Pearce. It is all lining up …
Manly remain a hope but they will need to be extremely creative with their accounting with very little room to move in the cap. They must also deal with the fact they are a club likely in decline and that Foran is very much a part of the old guard with the Stewarts, Steve Matai and Anthony Watmough, a faction that does not think overly highly of Daly Cherry-Evans.
Canterbury and the Gold Coast have also been mentioned as candidates but Foran is long odds to end up at either. The Bulldogs are not in the market for halves and nobody of Foran’s demeanour is heading to the Titans.
Whatever way you look at it though, the Eels and Foran are done and there is nobody to blame outside of Parramatta.
Rumour Mill: There is plenty of controversy brewing at Manly with powerbroker Bob Fulton telling incoming coach Trent Barrett that Fulton’s son Brett will be his assistant. Brett has no coaching experience outside of local junior football – an interesting leap. Many in the club will be less than impressed when it comes to pass. Trent Hodkinson will be out as Canterbury starting halfback post-Origin. He will join the Knights in 2016 to boot it would appear. Cronulla and the Bulldogs are in the mix to sign Canberra outside back Brenko Lee for next season. Zeb Taia is expected to return to the NRL next year and it will be with St George Illawarra. The Titans are making enquiries about signing Rugby player Quade Cooper, a move that would seem remarkably Titans.
Manly Collapse Update: The Sea Eagles have reportedly lost the race for international Greg Bird. Bird is set to join the Raiders in 2016 despite a deal with Manly being virtually done. Manly desperately need hard-headed forwards to add some stiffness to their fragile pack and will be devastated that they couldn’t move the likes of Feleti Mateo quick enough to secure the decorated international.
Referee Power Rankings: Ashley Klein did his utmost to get Parramatta home on Saturday night with some obscene decisions that cost the Dragons two competition points. A day after the Bryson Goodwin try was astonishingly sent upstairs as a no try – despite the fact video refs cannot rule on forward passes – Klein awarded a no try to the Dragons despite the play being clearly legal and backwards. Video ref Shayne Hayne confirmed the decision. It was one of the great stitch-ups.
1. Gerard Sutton (1)
2. Gavin Badger (2)
3. Jared Maxwell (3)
4. Ben Cummins (4)
5. Grant Atkins (6)
6. Gavin Morris (N/A)
7. Matt Cecchin (5)
8. Ashley Klein (7)
From The Couch: Round 16
Filed in From The Couch, NRL by Nick Tedeschi on June 28, 2015 • 2 Comments
Where Will Kieran Go: The Kieran Foran saga is set to drag on well into next week and perhaps even longer as the unlucky five-eighth looks to make some hay with the sun well and truly set. And that won’t be at Parramatta with the Eels delusional if they think they can pull this from the fire.
Why in the ghost of Jack Gibson would Foran go to the Eels? If, by some miracle, he did nut out a deal it would be less a sign of loyalty and more a sign of downright stupidity because there is no way he could arrive and trust the club to do right by him or even the club as a whole and in no way could the money he expected be guaranteed.
Foran is too smart for any of that. He won’t wear the blue and gold. Not now. Not ever. And with him will go the career of Brad Arthur and any chance of a resurgence in the next few years for Parramatta.
His most likely destination is the Sydney Roosters. They have room to move in the cap – a result of preparations to make a play for Jarryd Hayne – and no club is safer with its third party agreements, all to go with the fact they are a destination club and Foran’s best mate is none other than Mitchell Pearce. It is all lining up …
Manly remain a hope but they will need to be extremely creative with their accounting with very little room to move in the cap. They must also deal with the fact they are a club likely in decline and that Foran is very much a part of the old guard with the Stewarts, Steve Matai and Anthony Watmough, a faction that does not think overly highly of Daly Cherry-Evans.
Canterbury and the Gold Coast have also been mentioned as candidates but Foran is long odds to end up at either. The Bulldogs are not in the market for halves and nobody of Foran’s demeanour is heading to the Titans.
Whatever way you look at it though, the Eels and Foran are done and there is nobody to blame outside of Parramatta.
Rumour Mill: There is plenty of controversy brewing at Manly with powerbroker Bob Fulton telling incoming coach Trent Barrett that Fulton’s son Brett will be his assistant. Brett has no coaching experience outside of local junior football – an interesting leap. Many in the club will be less than impressed when it comes to pass. Trent Hodkinson will be out as Canterbury starting halfback post-Origin. He will join the Knights in 2016 to boot it would appear. Cronulla and the Bulldogs are in the mix to sign Canberra outside back Brenko Lee for next season. Zeb Taia is expected to return to the NRL next year and it will be with St George Illawarra. The Titans are making enquiries about signing Rugby player Quade Cooper, a move that would seem remarkably Titans.
Manly Collapse Update: The Sea Eagles have reportedly lost the race for international Greg Bird. Bird is set to join the Raiders in 2016 despite a deal with Manly being virtually done. Manly desperately need hard-headed forwards to add some stiffness to their fragile pack and will be devastated that they couldn’t move the likes of Feleti Mateo quick enough to secure the decorated international.
Referee Power Rankings: Ashley Klein did his utmost to get Parramatta home on Saturday night with some obscene decisions that cost the Dragons two competition points. A day after the Bryson Goodwin try was astonishingly sent upstairs as a no try – despite the fact video refs cannot rule on forward passes – Klein awarded a no try to the Dragons despite the play being clearly legal and backwards. Video ref Shayne Hayne confirmed the decision. It was one of the great stitch-ups.
1. Gerard Sutton (1)
2. Gavin Badger (2)
3. Jared Maxwell (3)
4. Ben Cummins (4)
5. Grant Atkins (6)
6. Gavin Morris (N/A)
7. Matt Cecchin (5)
8. Ashley Klein (7)
