The Life Of Brian (Kelly)

[40 years an eagle]

Didn't think we'd be in that big of a hole given the players released and the lack of quality signings. Not that Kelly would be on big coin

I would guess the upgrades to Api etc probably offset the money gained from releasing the Wright triplets. We then spent on 3 or 4 new guys, so maybe that squared the ledger.

In Kelly's case, I imagine it was the size of a few offers floated we would need to compete with that caused the problem, not the size of his existing contract.

I have a sneaky Des has someone lined up who will be taking the rest of what we have left and he rates that higher than hanging onto Kelly.

Sorry to see him go but maybe he will be back in a couple of years.

 

[Snake]

Didn't think we'd be in that big of a hole given the players released and the lack of quality signings. Not that Kelly would be on big coin but I'm guessing he makes way for extensions / upgrades for Suli, Api and Siro. You look at our roster vs Chooks for example and I can't see how we are in cap squeeze even with the $330K penalty

It's comparing apples and oranges. The Chooks don't have to pay overs to build the squad they want because (a) the players wanna be there and (b) they top everything up with third party deals.

We've got guys like Walker on halfback coin playing in the centres, Sipley on FG money playing NSW Cup, Lloyd Perrett is on the same kinda coin as Taukeiaho at the Chooks.

We've got Taupau, Walker, Chez and Trbo's on more than half the cap and we've gotta squeeze another 25 players in....makes it hard.

Looks like Taupau will stay now that Kels has left.

 

[yokahontas]

Sad to see him go, but wish him all the best. Kelly always put in a good effort for Manly, and comes across as a genuinely good young bloke. I don’t doubt his decision has a lot to do with family, as he’s obviously very close to them; they’ll be doing 1/10th of the travel to watch him play on the Gold Coast, that’s for sure. Can’t begrudge a decent kid that.

 

[mickqld]

It's comparing apples and oranges. The Chooks don't have to pay overs to build the squad they want because (a) the players wanna be there and (b) they top everything up with third party deals.

We've got guys like Walker on halfback coin playing in the centres, Sipley on FG money playing NSW Cup, Lloyd Perrett is on the same kinda coin as Taukeiaho at the Chooks.

We've got Taupau, Walker, Chez and Trbo's on more than half the cap and we've gotta squeeze another 25 players in....makes it hard.

Looks like Taupau will stay now that Kels has left.

Surely we don't need to unload players like Kelly seeing we've been lifted from the Myles, Lussick Snake and Matai contracts of the last 2 years and added virtually none.

 

[Harvies elbow]

Oh hell no. Not denying he’s quick, but he’s a ball-hog, lazy AF in defence, and a monumental dead**** who would be right back to spending more time in the headlines than on the field the second he was out from under the Bronco-protective umbrella of the Qld media. Huge bags of no thanks

But other than that you're quite happy with him?

 

[Jigzkiller]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Kelly was released to keep us under the cap, not to free up space for a replacement. Perrett is next to go.

The only way we will dip into the market for anything decent is if Taupau is released. Otherwise, it's depth signings. Hoppa is a pipe dream.

With the squad we have if we are even close to being over the cap questions should be asked. Even taking into account the 350k off our cap we shouldn't be so tight. Not doubting what you are saying just someone my guess Bozo came in and stuffed our cap.

 

[Woodsie]

Great
Parker (reserve grader)
Suli (shouldn't play at all)
Garrick (reserve grader)
Elliott (reserve grader)
Funa (Jersey Flegg player)

Ok Ryan, here's the opposing positive spin on some of those players ... just because it is in my nature ...

Parker .... is still only 22 and has had as many good moments as bad .... playing for a season out of position on the wing and outside Suli was a nightmare ... excellent depth and cheap ...

Suli .... still only 21 .... and from when he arrived at 120kg's he continued to improve in speed and fitness (even under the Mangey slob) and by the end of the year showed plenty of power and pace ...... just not a centre for mine ...... but I think you will be pleasantly surprised by his finishing on the wing and his kick returns ...... looks happy in the training photos so all hope is not lost ....

Funa .... injured a bit last year but was obviously thought enough of to have been made a part of our top 30 last year .... he played a few games of reggies against the men and by all accounts acquitted himself very well .....

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Sad day , but we move on.

Good work Brian, but that’s the last player I build up as every one I do ends up leaving!!

 

[40 years an eagle]

With the squad we have if we are even close to being over the cap questions should be asked. Even taking into account the 350k off our cap we shouldn't be so tight. Not doubting what you are saying just someone my guess Bozo came in and stuffed our cap.

Really?

We have 9.27M after the penalty.
DCE, TT, JT, Walker.Tapua and Thommo cost us about 5M.
That leaves around 4,2M to pay 24 other guys.
It averages out to around 178k each.

A pretty good 24 players considering their cost.

The problem is the big money DCE and the T brothers are on, and our inability to attract TPA's.

Blaming Bozo is ridiculous.

 

[BOZO]

Sad day , but we move on.

Good work Brian, but that’s the last player I build up as every one I do ends up leaving!!

Never lose your spirit mate . We all have seen players that we rated move on . I rated Tom Wright and he has moved on and good luck to both Tom and Kelly and BETTER LUCK to our current players .
If we had that sadness depressive attitude from losing players all those years following our team we would need anti depressants to get us through another season .
Focus on what he have at Manly mate . There are plenty of things to be happy about
Dont let that black dog of depressive catastrophic thoughts ruin your mental health

 

[BOZO]

Really?

We have 9.27M after the penalty.
DCE, TT, JT, Walker.Tapua and Thommo cost us about 5M.
That leaves around 4,2M to pay 24 other guys.
It averages out to around 178k each.

A pretty good 24 players considering their cost.

The problem is the big money DCE and the T brothers are on, and our inability to attract TPA's.

Blaming Bozo is ridiculous.

The incomparable Immortal has always been a winner and has never failed others have failed him

 

[MW66]

When the top 24 squad was announced (and I think they actually named 27) Hodkinson and Kioa were missing. I think the comment was that the NRL hadn’t registered the contracts as yet - maybe we were over the cap. Kelly may have been released to accomodate this. While I am extremely disappointed to see Kelly go, we don’t know the full make-up on our cap position, player salaries etc. It is also interesting to see Kioa obviously rated.

One player who has surprised me in the photos on the main website is Elliott (his size - bigger than I thought). He played a few games for the Roosters and had reasonable raps from memory. If he can tackle he might be the bit of extra experience we need to organise the backline and a Smokey for centre. With the need for solid FG to accomodate the squad overall we will need these type of players to step up.

 

[Kevinward777]

Ok Ryan, here's the opposing positive spin on some of those players ... just because it is in my nature ...

Parker .... is still only 22 and has had as many good moments as bad .... playing for a season out of position on the wing and outside Suli was a nightmare ... excellent depth and cheap ...

Suli .... still only 21 .... and from when he arrived at 120kg's he continued to improve in speed and fitness (even under the Mangey slob) and by the end of the year showed plenty of power and pace ...... just not a centre for mine ...... but I think you will be pleasantly surprised by his finishing on the wing and his kick returns ...... looks happy in the training photos so all hope is not lost ....

Funa .... injured a bit last year but was obviously thought enough of to have been made a part of our top 30 last year .... he played a few games of reggies against the men and by all accounts acquitted himself very well .....

Agree with most of this Woodsie... but I am at a loss remembering the good moments Parker had that balance out the bad ones... he had an absolute shocker of a year. His last performance against the Broncs was just the icing on the cake. I can’t think of a worse performing player who laced up a boot as many times as Parker did last season.

 

[double hoops]

It's kind of funny that DES has inherited a #ucked Salary cap, as opposed to left one for a change;-)

I see a big future for Brian. I think Manly will regret letting that boy go.

 

[redlineg]

Sad to see him go, but wish him all the best. Kelly always put in a good effort for Manly, and comes across as a genuinely good young bloke. I don’t doubt his decision has a lot to do with family, as he’s obviously very close to them; they’ll be doing 1/10th of the travel to watch him play on the Gold Coast, that’s for sure. Can’t begrudge a decent kid that.

Agree!
I think we would be pissed if he went to the rorters, riff or another Sydney team. He wants to go home. Can't begrudge him for that. Should be good watching him at Robina Stadium when Manly is not playing!

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

Good luck to him. He always did his best for us and I enjoyed watching him play. But if he's going to be happier elsewhere, you can't hold it against the kid.

 

[Dee Why Eagle]

Sad day , but we move on.

Good work Brian, but that’s the last player I build up as every one I do ends up leaving!!

thankfully for some

 

[Class of 96]

Sad day , but we move on.

Good work Brian, but that’s the last player I build up as every one I do ends up leaving!!

There is a bit of a moral in this story, and a cautionary tale. Can you restrict the build ups to say a Myles and Lewis type player?

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

There is a bit of a moral in this story, and a cautionary tale. Can you restrict the build ups to say a Myles and Lewis type player?

Sounds good

I’m 0/3 so far, so just let me know the next one you need the kiss of death on and the job will be done!!

 

[EOL now nesting on the GC]

I am a big fan of the kid but we need to be honest. Our defence was diabolical last year and as promising as Kelly is he was one of the worst.

Des wouldn't let a player go that he needs to rebuild our side so while I'm sad to see him go I trust the boss to fix it.

Also with all the drama going on none of us know which players were in the Barrett camp and continued to be. There is no room for disharmony now.