Weirdler reporting snake wants a a new deal for 2017

[SeaEagleRock8]

Might have trouble asking Bob Batty, he died several years ago.

 

[Rex]

Historically, the media's bs dirt stories have been exactly that.

Hopefully this story follows that trend.

 

[Disco]

He is as good as Brett was at the same time...actually he shades Brett slightly because he is a little bigger and stronger. This kid will be dominating in 2 seasons.all the good judges say it as well. I would be grooming him for fullback start of 2016. Not knocking Brett, but that's how Manly roll. Ask Bob Batty and Wombat. Both could have kept playing but went out at their peak. Turbo or bust

You honestly believe Tom T at fullback with a combination of 2 wingers would be stronger than B Stewart at fullback with Tom T on the wing?

I'm loving what I'm seeing from Tom T and I think he will be a superstar but people are getting seriously swept up in the hype, he still has plenty of development in him

 

[cherry_poppins]

I don't think so. Snake at the end of next year will be it. TT will be ready then. If we don't blood him then he wont be any good and may go else where. Remember when snake could not catch a high ball and could not play well at night. He got to be great because we gave him a go as a young guy and he turn out great. We need to do the same with TT. He needs to be our fullback at the end of next year and Snake should go to the UK and play out his career like Beaver did.

Mavin!

 

[Rex]

No room for more players to be bought all because 1 player is getting $1.5 a year!

How do you get $1.5m a year?

$10m over 8 years is $1.25m a year by my calcs.
i.e. $50k more than Foz is getting.
And an unspecified part of that is TPAs, isn't it?

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-the-top--its-just-footy-20150606-ghi5au.html

 

[Merdy33]

If people really think that Trbojovic at this moment is a better fullback than Brett then I feel they are massively overrating him

That is no disservice to TT at all, but I haven't seen anything at all that puts him anywhere near Stewart class in the number 1. No doubt he will be a great player, as shown by his try against the Cowboys, but outside of that he hasn't done a lot of superstar stuff. He caught a couple of balls to stroll over and grab a double v Canberra and has looked safe under the high ball other than the 1 big bolt against the Cows

We haven't seen yet if he has Stewarts ability to put people over for tries, which is vital for us at the moment, and I don't think he would be anywhere near Stewart defensively, I doubt he could have made the tackle Stewart did that nearly saved the game at the death v Cowboys

Give the kid time to grow before saying he is better than possibly our best ever fullback

Agree. Was it only last year that people on this site wanted Snake punted for Hiku? What a joke that turned out to be.
People are too easily swayed by 'the next big thing'.
Punt either Tafua or Hiku and give Tom two seasons playing next to Snake on the wing, and I give you our next superstar fullback.

 

[Wombat Legacy]

You honestly believe Tom T at fullback with a combination of 2 wingers would be stronger than B Stewart at fullback with Tom T on the wing?

I'm loving what I'm seeing from Tom T and I think he will be a superstar but people are getting seriously swept up in the hype, he still has plenty of development in him

Of course he has plenty of development-IF Brett stays, I have little doubt he will continue as fullback. IF he stays. No surprises here if he is granted a release at some point in the future. Just a feeling I have.
In agreement to what you said, TT should be locked in now as a winger. Last weeks relegation was a bad move in my opinion

 

[Merdy33]

We should only talk a new deal when he remembers how to return a football from kicks.

Even at his peak he was never a strong kick returner

 

[KOMORI]

Agree. Was it only last year that people on this site wanted Snake punted for Hiku? What a joke that turned out to be.
People are too easily swayed by 'the next big thing'.
Punt either Tafua or Hiku and give Tom two seasons playing next to Snake on the wing, and I give you our next superstar fullback.

Given that Killer may well be out for a month (totally guessing here lol) it'll be a moot point in the short term. Hiku and Skivvy in the centre, Taufua and Tom T on the wings until further notice one would think.

 

[HoldenV8]

Tommy will be our next long term fullback, of that there is no doubt. But the emphasis there is on next. Right now he is not as good as Snake, not many are really. Yes he's bigger, he's stronger, he's probably faster. But he has nowhere near the amount of experience Snake has and that is something you can't replace with an 18 year old kid no matter how good he is or will become. I also agree that he's not as good defensively as Snake is, yet, but given time he probably will be.

I have no problems blooding Tom on the wing for 2 or 3 years until Snake retires. He adds some much needed pace to the backline, is safe under the high ball and as we've seen he knows how to score.

Slater, Boyd, Hayne, Inglis, Mini, RTS.....they all played their first 2 or 3 years on the wing or in the centres before moving to fullback. Many consider Alex Johnston to be a better fullback than Inglis, but right now he has to bide his time on the wing while Inglis plays fullback for the Vermin. And you can add fullbacks from the past who had to play elsewhere before moving to the #1. Players like Dale Shearer, Tim Brasher and Brett Mullins immediately come to mind (Edit: I initially had Darren Lockyer on the list but realised I got it backwards. He started at FB and later moved to 5/8).

Moving Snake on because he doesn't get along with DCE off the field and/or supposedly doesn't get along with Tooves wouldn't be a smart move IMO, no matter how good people believe Tom to be as his replacement. If his body and form holds up I would not be against keeping Snake around in 2017 with Tom on the wing.

 

[SilverSkier]

Yeah I agree HV8. Snake really has creativity and awerness that is invaluable to our team. I can't help but think of when snake burst onto the scene scoring a try down the left hand side with ridiculous pace at Brookie vs?. I remember thinking damn ,this guy is special. Seeing Tom turbo I'm sorta thinking the same . Snake deserves a real Sea Eagles send off. Can't do it for every player that wears our colours but there's a certain few u have to stop and salute. Brett Stewart is one of them.

 

[Budgie]

If it were only about playing ability, I'd give him another year, with Turbo on the wing.
Aah, but if it were about politics .... Will he white ant the playing group? Is he Zorba's most powerful trump card in that playing group? Will he be an open channel to Weidler?
I honestly have no idea. But it would be a very big consideration given the hopeful emergence of the Turbos and Gutho. Along with DCE and Buhrer, it will be their team.

 

[lovefooty]

If it were only about playing ability, I'd give him another year, with Turbo on the wing.
Aah, but if it were about politics .... Will he white ant the playing group? Is he Zorba's most powerful trump card in that playing group? Will he be an open channel to Weidler?
I honestly have no idea. But it would be a very big consideration given the hopeful emergence of the Turbos and Gutho. Along with DCE and Buhrer, it will be their team.

This is what i am saying. If snake is going to be the big trouble maker in the side and feels he can get away with it because zorba is backing him , he should go sooner rather than later. It does not matter how good he was or is today, if the side does not jell together they wont win games or comps. It is better to go with TT now and he get the expertise in the job by doing it like snake did when he started.
Ps . Tooves has not been able to real snake into line as he has Zorba backing him. All the neutral players know it and are saying it. This is why they are not playing well together.

 

[EagleFromMay1967]

Currently 154 tries. At roughly 12-15 tries per year, given a decent half & forwards, and if given the extra 1 year deal Snake will finish up as easily the club's most prolific try scorer with approx 200. Depending on fitness, knees etc ~ maybe Snake wants to catch Irvine. More likely he wants to catch Grub Slater ! Has a point to prove.

Because of Slater, injury, has had little or no Green n Gold opportunities, but at club level, Snake is overall a classier act than BS. No dirty play, beautiful assists, defence as good as Eadie. Ive no doubt that Snake loves scoring and is probably quite competitive about records - celebrates milestones on field.. Yes kick returns are not what he focuses on , Eadie has this, but he plays to his strengths: support, attack in broken play, etc.
I don't want to see Snake in another NRL jersey, but i think we would all wish him well in an ESL contract to round out his deserved retirement savings.

 

[The Indian]

Snake is still great in big moments and has been a great for the club no question. In big attacking moments he has the best try scoring sense around. However on the physical aspects of the game he is quite often way down these days, I reckon they could get him a chair to sit on for kick returns or when we are at our own end. You can not spot him on camera for long periods each game.

We are already feeling the effects of two aging centres.......and were talking about 2017 for Snake.......well...... just saying.

 

[JenEagle]

He is an absolutely wonderful player. His talk and leadership in defence is second to none in the NRL and he will only be 32 in 2017 not 35 like Mason. It's a no brainer to give him another year in 2017.

Killer only has next year to go when he will be 34.

Matai will have 2 more years and turns 31 in 2 months. Skivi does look like he is struggling so this could be a stretch.

 

[Daddycool]

I think 1 more season extension is good for all concerned. By the end of 2017, Brett should be ready to retire and Tom will be ready to take over at fullback for 2018.

In hindsight I think they made a mistake in letting Glenn go, as both Stewart boys deserved to end their careers at Manly. Hopefully they give Brett the opportunity to do just that.

 

[HoldenV8]

Given Gifty's run with injuries over the past 2 years, including this current one, I'm kinda glad he's one injury we don't have to worry about because we have enough already. Sure I would have loved to have seem him finish his career here, he deserved that. But the last thing we needed was another injury prone ageing forward.

 

[Killer03]

I'd like to see how Snake looks over the next 12 or so months. Currently I believe he still has plenty to offer, but this can change quickly and players can age very quickly.

I like the thought of Tommy Turbo getting his apprenticeship on the wing (like many others have). He's not the answer this season to our problems, but blooding him now will help us in 2 and 3 years in my opinion.

 

[Peter C]

I'm all but certain Lyon will give it up at the end of this or next season. Ballin and/or Matai will give it up at the end of 2016.
I think Brett can play in 2017.

I'm fairly certain that both Matai and Ballin signed two year extensions from the end of this year, so they should be there till the end of 2017, I hope not.