How things can change so dramatically so quickly.

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I remember some moron who jumped on the forum and starting personally attacking me because I said we didn’t need a clean out.
He or she hasn’t posted since! Very quiet from the muppets who were calling for the heads of all and sundry!

the turnaround is sweeter for those of us who stuck solid through the difficult first month!
 
At least someone gets it lol
I said last year in the middle of our slump, I'm glad we're losing.. without tom, last season really exposed our dead wood.. toms a band aid, he wins us matches, but take him out, we still have the same Deadwood players that don't put in unless toms around to do the hard work..
Few wins and people love to gloss over this FACT, yet the same ppl will scream and carry on once tom goes down and the 40 plus point hidings resume

I am not as despairing as that ... I don't think our players are deadwood ... but why they were incapable of performing for over 16 games without Tom is a mystery ... losing I could understand ... but a loss of all semblance of form by every player is bizarre ... good players became bog average ...
 
At least someone gets it lol
I said last year in the middle of our slump, I'm glad we're losing.. without tom, last season really exposed our dead wood.. toms a band aid, he wins us matches, but take him out, we still have the same Deadwood players that don't put in unless toms around to do the hard work..
Few wins and people love to gloss over this FACT, yet the same ppl will scream and carry on once tom goes down and the 40 plus point hidings resume
The deadwood players seemed to go okay without Turbo in 2019.
 
I remember some moron who jumped on the forum and starting personally attacking me because I said we didn’t need a clean out.
He or she hasn’t posted since! Very quiet from the muppets who were calling for the heads of all and sundry!

the turnaround is sweeter for those of us who stuck solid through the difficult first month!

AKA .. the great Proclaimer ...
 
I am not as despairing as that ... I don't think our players are deadwood ... but why they were incapable of performing for over 16 games without Tom is a mystery ... losing I could understand ... but a loss of all semblance of form by every player is bizarre ... good players became bog average ...
Using your chessboard analogy - I would say that Tom is the Queen.
 
I am not as despairing as that ... I don't think our players are deadwood ... but why they were incapable of performing for over 16 games without Tom is a mystery ... losing I could understand ... but a loss of all semblance of form by every player is bizarre ... good players became bog average ...
Various posters (including myself) have previously set out a number of relevant factors that might explain this. But you're right, if you choose to ignore all those explanatory factors, then it indeed remains a mystery.
game master twitch GIF by Hyper RPG
 
Tom is still important to our chances but there are some differences now.
Harper and Olakau'atu have meant that the right side attack is not dying with Siro/Suli all the time and DCE has started to form a combo with Saab.
Jake is not just passing the ball out the back and is actually taking on the line more.
Foran before injury was starting to take more of the direction of the side off of DCE.
Schuster has given the side another attacking point(on the left) and taken the defensive focus off DCE.(Interesting to see DCE working over to the left and combining with Schuster too)
Garrick has learnt to lower his centre of gravity and spin at the point of contact making it harder to push him back.
Saab is putting his body on the line all the time(took D.Tupou so many years to achieve that)
Croker is glacially improving and is slowly involving himself more in the attack with a few choice darts and kicks from dummy half.
The changes whether intended or forced have put some serious energy and enthusiasm into the side(Sipley,Harper,Olakau'atu,Schuster)and we saw the injection of a new guy in Lawton whose energy was contagious.
Tom is the guy however who does provide the spark and the momentum for many attacking raids,but there are always players who have had a big impact on their teams and it is why they get paid the big bucks.Pretty sure Wally Lewis lifted a lot of average Queenslanders into stars for a day or three.(Cam Smith is another who comes to mind)
 
Various posters (including myself) have previously set out a number of relevant factors that might explain this. But you're right, if you choose to ignore all those explanatory factors, then it indeed remains a mystery.
game master twitch GIF by Hyper RPG

I was unaware the the jury was out and your other factors were accepted as fact .... personally I discount the co-vid explanation as nonsense, all teams were in the same situation ... and whilst I respectfully won't enter into a debate on the loss of Keith Titmus as a reason, it is something that can't be qualified ... the figures of win/loss with and without Tom on the other hand can .... and the numbers would still be overwhelming even with a 50% seasonal adjustment and discount for an early plea ...
 
I remember some moron who jumped on the forum and starting personally attacking me because I said we didn’t need a clean out.
He or she hasn’t posted since! Very quiet from the muppets who were calling for the heads of all and sundry!

the turnaround is sweeter for those of us who stuck solid through the difficult first month!
We will still have a bit of a clean out mate. You can call it a rationalisation if that makes you feel better. We have a number of players that are superfluous to requirements. It will happen regardless of what you and I (and any others on here) have to say about it. A minimum 5 players from our current 30 man squad won't be with us in 2022. Who they will be is up to Des and club admin, and the NRL contract system. 3/4 of those players are likely to have been chosen in the first round seventeen. Just stating facts, and as you are connected to the club, you would probably already know who they are.
 
We will still have a bit of a clean out mate. You can call it a rationalisation if that makes you feel better. We have a number of players that are superfluous to requirements. It will happen regardless of what you and I (and any others on here) have to say about it. A minimum 5 players from our current 30 man squad won't be with us in 2022. Who they will be is up to Des and club admin, and the NRL contract system. 3/4 of those players are likely to have been chosen in the first round seventeen. Just stating facts, and as you are connected to the club, you would probably already know who they are.
A clean out is max exodus, not the culling of fringe players and not offering players contracts when their deals expire.
It won’t be a clean out, it’ll just be the usual recruitment practice that most clubs go through every year.

even Penrith who went to the gf last year lost regular starters in Tamou and Mansour. There will always be movement in the squad regardless; I’m talking about systematically dismantling the roster which is what people were calling for; it won’t happen.
 
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With Harper & Parker cementing their starting positions the last 6 weeks, Suli on notice (& looking like he's responding positively to said notice), Tuipolutu debuting yesterday & Funa also in the wings, I have a feeling Walker's on borrowed time.
 
What I find was key to this turnaround are:

(1) Hasler always believed when all of us didn’t . I think he knew things that we didn’t and applied his strategy accordingly.
(2) His loyalty in player selections during those early rounds gave the opportunity for players to gel early.
(3) The rule change has favoured us. Haslers mantra has always been that possession is key, and he was drumming that into the team from round one. Now the rules have changed possession is critical, and our team has emerged prepared.
(4) The rule change has allowed DCE and our tall timber’s to flourish. Thank goodness we invested in tall timber’s, even though it may not have seemed a good idea when AFB left.
(5) The emergence of Schuster. He brings an extra dimension as does obviously Tommy Turbo.

At the end of the day, Hasler has always been very pragmatic about how he does things but for us, right now, it is paying off.

NYEagle
 
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Re. Dramatic change-
Indeed, I agree. Just ask Ricky Stuart.

In the words of the great Ron Burgandy, “Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast.” .
 
The loyalty topic is an interesting one,some praise it and some bagged him for it.
Did he know what we had and was just holding the side together because he knew that with a few players like Tom coming back that things would right,or was it just dumb luck?
When you look at the sides like the Tigers and Broncos who have been chopping and changing and now the Raiders,it seems like it has a negative impact on the playing group and makes the coach look like they are grasping at straws.(Maybe a few strategic changes is a better option?)
Sticking with the guys and holding out until some big guns return looks like it may have been a worthwhile tactic.
In saying that....if some guys are not producing then yes,changes should be made,when you look at the Cowboys and how Payten has approached the situation,that seems to be successful for them.Things were not working and he pulled the trigger on some players and it seems to be starting to develop a more cohesive side but still a work in progress.
Maybe if Des had just made a couple of changes when things were not working, (instead of making sweeping changes that some wanted)some here might have been happier....
 
How things can quickly change indeed !

It is a long way to the top
If you want to Eagle Rock
Hang on to your seats feathered friends
The are still lots of twists and turns before the season ends
 
The sample space of games this year may well suggest that @court83 has a point.

We were getting flogged without Tommy, bottom of ladder stuff. We won one cripple battle against the Warriors.....just. Then Tommy returns and we look like a top 8 team. He makes such a difference to this side. Look at his influence on our win loss ratio with and without him over his career since moving to fullback. He is key
Probably #1 player in comp ,He is our golden Key.
 

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