The Hard Truth and it could implode the playing group

[Andrew..]

It's just getting so much harder for the non wealthy clubs to stay competitive and unfortunately thats what we are nowadays. What makes it worse is the that most of us have grown up watching Manly as a powerhouse when Arko had the same clout as Politis.
As a result we were forced to gamble and we went all in on the big 3 but it's fair to say they've probably peaked and now we're actually worse off now than we were 3 or 4 years ago.
So in essence we need a rebuild but we're going to have to wait because I think our current owner sees our club more as a novelty than a passion so he'll just wait and use the NRL's money rather than come up with a creative solution.

 

[bob dylan]

You are a far better judge than me if you can work that out after 38 minutes in first grade this year

On the other hand the fact he has only been given 38 minutes might say something.

 

[lsz]

On the other hand the fact he has only been given 38 minutes might say something.

Honestly I think that 9 is close the hardest position on the field - I would think it takes time for almost every player

 

[lsz]

Trouble is, I didn’t work it out after 38 minutes. I’ve followed his path since Harold Matts and seen him play countless times over the last 5-6 years. He is not a star in the marking. I appreciate that players take time to develop and grow into roles and all those things. But I am commenting on his talent, his raw attributes, not his ability to learn what first grade is about.

Compare a player like Ben Condon to a player like Sam Fainu. One has all the attributes to be a star, the other is toiling away for the occasional opportunity off the bench as depth. Gordon is the dummy half equivalent of Condon; a guy with limitations, looking for opportunities. Therefore, I’d like us to look at buying the dummy half equivalent of Sam Fainu; Serious talent and potential. A Blake Mozer or Tallyn De Silva, etc.

At the same stage he did not look bad in some of his rep football last year. I am not saying he is going to be the worlds greatest player but I do think for the majority of players, no matter what they do in the grades before (good and bad) it takes some time

 

[Bringbackcliffy]

Agree with all that.

But in Manly Mentality. It's standards setting. We all know how fragile and weak these players have been.

So far we can see there is still a long way to go. But equally there is improvement there. The way we played last night is real visible change. Some of the decision making is vastly improved.

They haven't yet changed the culture and mentality of this group completely, but I think we can at least see, that work in progress, with moments players instinctively regress.

This must the longest period of learning or a work in progress ever. Playing very poorly and losing winnable games and then lifting but still losing harder ones is not a recent trend. You can bank on it. It’s beyond the coach. It’s just the manly way. Love your optimism but are we better than 2023, 22, 21, 20,19…seriously you could keep going. I’m struggling to understand by what measure are we improving or showing signs we have a side on the up. Our $ is heavily invested in aging stars or players who just don’t return enough value when it matters. Sadly the clubs desire to hang onto a handful of local Jnrs and pay them way over value has really impacted the balance and quality of this and previous squads.

 

[Bringbackcliffy]

It's just getting so much harder for the non wealthy clubs to stay competitive and unfortunately thats what we are nowadays. What makes it worse is the that most of us have grown up watching Manly as a powerhouse when Arko had the same clout as Politis.
As a result we were forced to gamble and we went all in on the big 3 but it's fair to say they've probably peaked and now we're actually worse off now than we were 3 or 4 years ago.
So in essence we need a rebuild but we're going to have to wait because I think our current owner sees our club more as a novelty than a passion so he'll just wait and use the NRL's money rather than come up with a creative solution.

That’s it. Our squad is actually worse. We may get lucky with a medical retirement but with the big 3 likely to play longer than they should it will take a ruthless and brave admin to pick players on form. Jake’s speed in 2026 is going to be entertaining not to mention TomS body.

 

[God]

If they where the good guys they like to portray themselves as they'd take a paycut for the benefit of the team, but I don't see that happening.

 

[Carl]

For those DCE knockers, did you notice the player who was backing up the two breaks we made down the right edge? Yep; that 35-year-old bloke who plays every minute of every match and who is one of the few bright sparks in our attack! Had he been passed the ball on either occasions we would have scored.

He's so often the one who is backing up and he should have gotten those passes.

 

[Eagle 1]

WOW! Just imagine if we won last night? If a couple of decisions went our way we could have easily won and the genesis of our performance would be no different! However the site would be singing the praises across the playing group and even some blowing virtual kisses to mestrov and Seibold…and a like… Anyway just summing up the hyperbolic ride of a footy fan site…. GO Manly

Agree on what you say UE, but we blew our chance of a win with the Garrick brain fade.