Lodge, you Monster

[lsz]

Everything you say makes perfect sense but to acquire the grunt we need, we have to offload salary cap

No one is paying us to purchase jurbo at 950 or tommy at 1.1 currently and oku is a keeper. Brooks has 3 more years.

Not sure but it seems koula looks overpaid and maybe we release him, and little hoppa complicates that

One of our biggest recruiting issues has been offloading 500k worth of talent and needing to replace it with 1.5 million.

Foz was the closest we got on 350 and we sent him packing

We are not winning a comp anytime soon and there is no rebuild without cap space. Its just about taking the emotion out of it

Seibs way of signing players for 3 years and elevating them into the aquad in 1 or 2 years is new to us and may help a bit. Its a strategy

Our forwards have been planks for years , but we have played a style of game that doesnt suit them at all which seems crazy. One of the reasons we went well in 21 was tommy but our try scoring had the forwards resting every 6 minutes while garrick converted and we got the ball back. In 21 in both semis the bad guys took early leads but the pack fought back , we gained momentum , and the score wasnt that bad

On both occasions brain poop from Dce killed it. A blindside play to saab who was on the touch line in our own half .

Then after a big walker break on last it goes to chez 10 m out who double pumps, gets caught throws a desperate ball to oku who is forced to grubber. It goes dead , heads drop and intensity drops. Manly done

Just as halfbacks need the forwards , the forwards need the half to cherish the opportunities they create and not splurge them like a drunken sailor

Not trying to turn it into a dce dump but how the half and forwards go are very cloely linked and not at all seperate

The notion of "maybe we release him" is part of the fantasy thinking that leads to more fan frustration.

Tolo is signed until 2027, and unless he goes to the Rah Rah, much like the shoe, we would be taking on some of his contract in future years.

The salary cap is currently $11,250,000 with an additional $300,000 Veteran & Developed Player Allowance, likely allocated to the Turbos and DCE.

While the practice of back-ending contracts has seemed to stop, many clubs still carry cap money from players no longer at the club. Contracts with staggered increases make it difficult to understand the true financial picture for any club.

So.....while it is fun to speculate on potential moves, it will always be frustrating because we lack the information to make accurate predictions.

 

[BOZO]

Lodge the lovable Manly Cookie Monster who keeps Crumbling from one long term injury to another

 

[LeonardCohen]

The notion of "maybe we release him" is part of the fantasy thinking that leads to more fan frustration.

Tolo is signed until 2027, and unless he goes to the Rah Rah, much like the shoe, we would be taking on some of his contract in future years.

The salary cap is currently $11,250,000 with an additional $300,000 Veteran & Developed Player Allowance, likely allocated to the Turbos and DCE.

While the practice of back-ending contracts has seemed to stop, many clubs still carry cap money from players no longer at the club. Contracts with staggered increases make it difficult to understand the true financial picture for any club.

So.....while it is fun to speculate on potential moves, it will always be frustrating because we lack the information to make accurate predictions.

Not to mention he was almost best on ground the other night (a) playing out of his usual position and (b) with an MCL injury. Why we would look to release one of our best young players is beyond me.

 

[Pete W]

Agree the game is changing and the style of prop is changing with it.

We need at least one more quicker nimble prop.

I see AOA as the one in danger. Would be on more coin. He has slow leg speed even for a prop.

I think, if they keep developing accordingly, guys like Navale and Dunford look to be the type we need more of in the middle.

But we really need to recruit externally for a gun edge forward, and a little more traditional in style than Ola'akautu

 

[jbb/james]

The notion of "maybe we release him" is part of the fantasy thinking that leads to more fan frustration.

Tolo is signed until 2027, and unless he goes to the Rah Rah, much like the shoe, we would be taking on some of his contract in future years.

The salary cap is currently $11,250,000 with an additional $300,000 Veteran & Developed Player Allowance, likely allocated to the Turbos and DCE.

While the practice of back-ending contracts has seemed to stop, many clubs still carry cap money from players no longer at the club. Contracts with staggered increases make it difficult to understand the true financial picture for any club.

So.....while it is fun to speculate on potential moves, it will always be frustrating because we lack the information to make accurate predictions.

Ive not predicted anything except we are not winning a title anytime soon

Of course we lack information,

Keppie was released as an example as many players in the league are each and every year. Clubs do it all the time . Its an accepted practice

I was just going through what i considered to be our highest paid players . I forgot tolu was signed until 27 as someone mentioned we need expensive middles. My question, how do we pay

Fan frustration belongs to each fan for there own reason and josh ailoi resigned so expect more. Frustration can also occur when people say we need this and that with a full cap but we have 2 fullbacks signed until 27 and some think hoppa is better than both

 

[LeonardCohen]

Frustration can also occur when people say we need this and that with a full cap but we have 2 fullbacks signed until 27 and some think hoppa is better than both

Koula is not on fullback money though. It’s pretty clear that they asked him just to play 1 until Tom had some match fitness and was ready to go again.

Also, we don’t know that the cap is full because it changes all the time, year to year. It’s not our job as fans to balance the books because we aren’t privy to inner workings of them. It’s just an observation to say we need better middles. How we go about getting them and/or who they are and what money they’re on is all hypothetical so it’s not worth getting frustrated about or even thinking about because we would be shooting in the dark and they don’t come to us for advice anyway!

 

[Scorpio]

I think we need young, bustling, agile, diverse, mobile forwards like Leniu, Leota, Martin, Fainu types. We have way too many of the same type of forward. That's why I think we actually look much better when Lawton slips into that backrow spot.

Woods, Lodge, Sipley, James, Condon, B Trbojevic, J Trbojevic, Aloiai, Paseka, Brown are all the lumbering power types of forward. Some of them look like they are running in quicksand (which absolutely is NOT the way the 2024 NRL game is played). Some are probably a tad long in the tooth, or have been injured so much, they are consistently trying to get back to full match fitness.

Come on Recruitment and Retention. Let both Woods / Lodge go. Add James, Condon. With that money get one MODERN today type of forward. I have NO idea why we re-signed Brown either - for TWO years no less !

Anyways - let Dragons pay to rehab Lodge. We are already paying Tom Trbojevic, and now Schuster for the next three years for permanently sitting on the sidelines (or attempting to come back).

For the record I otherwise agree that I think we need some more variety in the type of forwards we have... I don't think it's worth upending our current forward roster to do it though.

 

[Ryan]

For the record I otherwise agree that I think we need some more variety in the type of forwards we have... I don't think it's worth upending our current forward roster to do it though.

That's fine too. We just then have to get used to the status quo when it comes to results and position on the ladder. Or is there some magical button that we can press that will turn things around for us after 10 years, from doing the same thing?

 

[Scorpio]

That's fine too. We just then have to get used to the status quo when it comes to results and position on the ladder. Or is there some magical button that we can press that will turn things around for us after 10 years, from doing the same thing?

That goes to my earlier point about coaching 'capital' to spend.

If you want to have a proper clean out of contracted players, you usually need someone like a Gould or Bozo whose club roles are/were absolutely secure, and they don't have to be a man manager of their players.

A coach usually doesn't have that luxury, unless they're already very successful... which comes with a premium. They risk "losing the dressing room" and if the gamble doesn't pay off then it affects their future prospects too.

Look at Geoff Toovey, it was reported that he didn't want to keep some senior player/s in 2014, that was really the beginning of the end of his tenure... But the subsequent clean out, despite the following newspaper headlines, did not achieve overwhelming success either.

So, continuing to iterate the squad given some of the contracts the coach inherited is the best we can do for now. Based on some of his changes, I'm optimistic that he is at least aware of where changes can and should be made.

 

[Dion Johnson]

Not to mention he was almost best on ground the other night (a) playing out of his usual position and (b) with an MCL injury. Why we would look to release one of our best young players is beyond me.

Release Garrick before Koula, reported salary for Koula is 650K a season..

 

[jbb/james]

Koula is not on fullback money though. It’s pretty clear that they asked him just to play 1 until Tom had some match fitness and was ready to go again.

Also, we don’t know that the cap is full because it changes all the time, year to year. It’s not our job as fans to balance the books because we aren’t privy to inner workings of them. It’s just an observation to say we need better middles. How we go about getting them and/or who they are and what money they’re on is all hypothetical so it’s not worth getting frustrated about or even thinking about because we would be shooting in the dark and they don’t come to us for advice anyway!

I was just using the observation technique myself, that we may struggle to add them, but if we could what would we need to sacrifice

I was never frustrated, that comment was to give someone else an alternative view You cant be on ST this long and get frustrated by another YART style conversation

I agree we could do with dynamic middles but good props are always pretty expensive unless you make your own

I do not know the shape of the cap but , filling this years 30 seems to be about cut price and delaying the cost, its an indicator , could be wrong we might have millions

 

[Tragic Eagle]

IMO we need another two forwards. We need a fast hardworking mobile lock/second rower and another mobile prop forward. IMO Jake idoesn't have the speed to keep playing lock forward next seasom and should return to the front row rotation. Jake's defence inthe middle is very important to us. When all our front rowers are fit we should have Paseka, Jake, Lodge, Alolio and Sipley. This year has cofnirmed we are one quality prop short when you consider injuries and rep duties. Navale may come good as a Joe Galavi type lock/backrower but they will have to work hard onhis fitness duirng the off season. In view of Turbo's injury woes young Hoppa is importsant moving into the future and I rate him ahead of Koula and Garrick at Fullback. Provided we don't loose any backs we are fine in the backs.

 

[LeonardCohen]

I was just using the observation technique myself, that we may struggle to add them, but if we could what would we need to sacrifice

I was never frustrated, that comment was to give someone else an alternative view You cant be on ST this long and get frustrated by another YART style conversation

I agree we could do with dynamic middles but good props are always pretty expensive unless you make your own

I do not know the shape of the cap but , filling this years 30 seems to be about cut price and delaying the cost, its an indicator , could be wrong we might have millions

Yeah I get you. Sounds like we’re on the same page.

 

[Jay Eagle]

Retention and Recruitment is harder than most people on here think, I mean do you honestly think that just because you have the "money" or "desire" to get a player to your club then thats enough to make it happen??

there is NO MAGIC BULLET, all clubs are in the same position, they all have a "core" group of players, they all have a couple of marquee players and they all have some "juniors" that came through their system or came to grade with that club.
and no matter how much hoping or how much whinging we do thats the system.
Don't blame the club for not getting certain players, because they are not available or Manly was never an option to them regardless of what the media talk is.

All clubs have a core group, marquees, juniors and "roster fillers" to meet the NRL salary cap rules
and thats part of building a premiership winning team, getting the right "roster fillers" at the right prices to ADD value to the team , not just add "A Number".

I think Lodge fits that bill and at the right price, just like Aloia these are players we must have in our roster.

 

[Eagle 1]

Lodge's comeback date is looming. 12wks after injury in rd 11, looking at rd22 v Raiders appearance with the bye thrown in there. Slowly but surely we're getting back to full strength.

 

[Will on the hill]

Lodge's comeback date is looming. 12wks after injury in rd 11, looking at rd22 v Raiders appearance with the bye thrown in there. Slowly but surely we're getting back to full strength.

Nice to have some extra depth but I'm not sure he makes our full strength 17 anymore. My current power rankings of our props is Paseka, Brown, Aloiai, Bully, Sipley, Lodge. Good chance we never actually have all 6 fit and available so he will get games.

 

[Uber Eagle 72]

I honestly hope we don’t sign him beyond this year even if he makes a solid comeback at the end of the season. seems too injury prone and carries way more baggage than the average journeyman. Hopefully we can invest in some young talent with motor to bolster our middles.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Lodge's comeback date is looming. 12wks after injury in rd 11, looking at rd22 v Raiders appearance with the bye thrown in there. Slowly but surely we're getting back to full strength.

Until someone else important is injured in the interim.

 

[Dion Johnson]

By the write up he played ok coming back from the Pec injury,

ALL EYES WERE ON...

Despite Blacktown Workers suffering a heavy loss to the Raiders, Matt Lodge was impressive in what was his first game since Round 11.

Lodge got a well-deserved try in the 74th minute to go with his linebreak, three tackle busts, 158 metres and 23 tackles — three misses.

 

[globaleagle]

By the write up he played ok coming back from the Pec injury,

ALL EYES WERE ON...

Despite Blacktown Workers suffering a heavy loss to the Raiders, Matt Lodge was impressive in what was his first game since Round 11.

Lodge got a well-deserved try in the 74th minute to go with his linebreak, three tackle busts, 158 metres and 23 tackles — three misses.

sheesh...

I just posted that elsewhere.

~goes to delete it~

Lost forever, like a footprint on a beach, or ......

tears, in rain.