The Clean Out 2025 Edition

[KNUCKLES]

He’s signed until 2027 so we aren’t allowed to offer him a decent pay packet to break his contract.

That's the point. How many times does it happen though. Alot

 

[LeonardCohen]

That's the point. How many times does it happen though. Alot

I can’t think of one example.

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

Always amusing to see the panic in some of these threads.

Admittedly I've been unable to watch the last two games and by all accounts we have been poor but we remain 2 points off 4th.

Try to watch replays of the last two games and you'll see every bad habit and poor option the Manly team has become known for writ large. The points on the ladder don't really reflect how insipid our performances have been.

But I think the most depressing part of it is how eerily familiar it all feels. Injured prop? Check. Injured Turbo? That's a given. Inability to defend? Yup. Silly penalties? Of course. Off-field calamity? Ask DCE. Dud forwards? Mais oui. Last year's problems are still this year's problems - hell, last decade's problems are still this year's problems. There's no sense of improvement or change of any kind, and it feels like 2025 is already another lost year.

Turbo might come back, and he might stay on the field for a few weeks, and we'll probably jag a win here and there. We might even string enough wins together to make the finals, although I wouldn't be putting money on it. But it is blindingly obvious that we are not serious contenders for the premiership. In fact it is blindingly obvious that we are not a serious club, or a serious team. We're just there to make up the numbers, and we're not even particularly good at that.

 

[KNUCKLES]

I can’t think of one example.

Addin Fonua Blake, Ben Hunt, Lachlan Galvin has agreed to join parramatta already. That's just off the top of my head. There would be many.

Edit.
Dce asked for a release last year. I wonder why?? Obviously had an offer elsewhere before November 1

 

[LeonardCohen]

Addin Fonua Blake, Ben Hunt, Lachlan Galvin has agreed to join parramatta already. That's just off the top of my head. There would be many.

Edit.
Dce asked for a release last year. I wonder why?? Obviously had an offer elsewhere before November 1

so you believe that it’s just a free for all and a club can just randomly select a contracted player, offer them a large sum of money and they’ll go back to their current club and agitate for a release and next thing you know, they’ll be suiting up in a different jumper and all will be well?! I think there is a lot more to it than that.

 

[KNUCKLES]

so you believe that it’s just a free for all and a club can just randomly select a contracted player, offer them a large sum of money and they’ll go back to their current club and agitate for a release and next thing you know, they’ll be suiting up in a different jumper and all will be well?! I think there is a lot more to it than that.

It definitely happens, no doubt about it.

 

[NYEagle]

I have to be honest, I don’t care about all this clean out talk any more. I am seriously starting to worry we are a wooden spoon risk.

Manly are one loss off the bottom after a soft draw with most games at home..

I’m curious to see if there is any shred of pride left in the current squad. I will instantly disavow myself of everyone in the current squad outside of Hoppa Jnr and Talau who are the only two players you can truly build a squad around.

NYEagle

 

[Thewestisbest]

Absolutely, but my point is not that we are doing well but that there is plenty of season ahead of us and that tearing the team apart for 17/18 year olds is an over reaction.

In my personal opinion of course.

It's a moot point considering 17/18 year olds aren't permitted to play firsts. I think people want to see younger guys with potential like Navale get a run. Especially when we lose a starting middle before kickoff rather than a small 24 yo winger who is average at this point. Too many old legs in the forwards where we have been completely outplayed these past three rounds.

 

[Disco]

It's a moot point considering 17/18 year olds aren't permitted to play firsts. I think people want to see younger guys with potential like Navale get a run. Especially when we lose a starting middle before kickoff rather than a small 24 yo winger who is average at this point. Too many old legs in the forwards where we have been completely outplayed these past three rounds.

Yeah the decision to play Faulalo over Navale was wild.

Made zero sense

 

[Tragic Eagle]

Yeah the decision to play Faulalo over Navale was wild.

Made zero sense

I call it stupidity.

 

[The Indian]

I agree this team is not up to it at the moment - no arguments and its bitterly disappointing what has happened so suddenly since our beloved skipper decided to jump ship.... BUT if we go for a full rebuild and start shipping out players and subsidizing them to play for other teams that's when they will lose me. That's a ticket for a spoon. I don't want a couple of spoon seasons.

And for my ten cents Koula is far from out problem. It's plodding lumbering forwards bought on the cheap at the end of their careers who can't make any yards whatsoever and a general lack of resilience in defence that ruins season after season for us.

FFS pick some forwards with some leg speed and across the board find some others who take pride in their defence and are happy to settle in for a fight and not just resort to wild ball movement sideways, ad lib, unstructured quick fix nonsense that the past 10 years has been plagued by.

Look at how the Bulldogs have rebuilt on the back of defence.

 

[Ben]

Yeah the decision to play Faulalo over Navale was wild.

Made zero sense

If an outside back went down everyone would have called it a master stroke.
You could argue that we could of moved Burbo to the centres and Bully to the backrow if that was to happen, moving our best prop to a position where he is virtually no existent is definitely not the right decision.
IMO this is why we had a specialist back on the bench, so we don’t weaken an already depleted prop rotation.

 

[Chunkytuna]

I agree this team is not up to it at the moment - no arguments and its bitterly disappointing what has happened so suddenly since our beloved skipper decided to jump ship.... BUT if we go for a full rebuild and start shipping out players and subsidizing them to play for other teams that's when they will lose me. That's a ticket for a spoon. I don't want a couple of spoon seasons.

And for my ten cents Koula is far from out problem. It's plodding lumbering forwards bought on the cheap at the end of their careers who can't make any yards whatsoever and a general lack of resilience in defence that ruins season after season for us.

FFS pick some forwards with some leg speed and across the board find some others who take pride in their defence and are happy to settle in for a fight and not just resort to wild ball movement sideways, ad lib, unstructured quick fix nonsense that the past 10 years has been plagued by.

Look at how the Bulldogs have rebuilt on the back of defence.

I agree we need some new forwards and preferably ones that aren't’ looking to bolster their super balances before they retire. But I also wonder/doubt whether this coach would be the one to bring a pack like you described, together and into a premiership winning team. Dogs haven’t by any means got a forward pack full of stars. But their head coach and coaching team has managed to create what looks to be at the moment a winning side.