Re: DoR - New Coach - Investor & Adam - New signings : Tue Dec 24, 2024 1:30 am  

Chris71 wrote:

That’s my point, whilst Cross isn’t world class quality he is a decent centre and would more than improve us in an area we are lacking. Without any quota spots and a pretty abysmal pool of players that were available by the time we started shopping then I’d be disappointed more if we didn’t make a play to sign Cross.

Think under Cartwright every player has an opportunity to improve and also gives Cartwright & Myler chance to fully evaluate where we are come the mid point of the season.

The noises coming from the club to me indicate that things can & will be changed should players of quality become available.
We still have to be realistic as to where we were and where we are currently, hopefully with the improvements at the club we’ll see an decent up turn in games which will help in terms of the next recruitment cycle.

But adding another average Joe if he is coming on say a 2year deal doesnt help at all in the next recruitment cycle.We are now overloaded with additions on 2/3 year contracts and several of those would have to be offloaded end of 2025 season if we are to add some necessary real quality and pace especially at centre,and add some depth in second row and front row
Just dont see the logic or strategy because unless we offload or pay off players then we are left with virtually the same squad we have in 2025 playing in 2026
If the club has money to spend then save it and find one or two top quality players who can provide some excitement on the field get fans interested again and start pushing into the top four

Re: DoR - New Coach - Investor & Adam - New signings : Tue Dec 24, 2024 7:12 am  

I know it never paints the full picture on things like defence and positioning etc but if you look at his recent YouTube highlights he actually seems far from the solid player (guilty myself on another thread) most have had him down as. He’s mostly played wing last season but he looks like he’s a really good runner out of backfield making breaks and has a lot of pace. Would 100% add needed strike and pace to our backline.

He played in the centres a couple of seasons ago at SL if you go through the highlight vids, and assuming he can still make a fist of defending in that position he’d be a cracking signing. So much so I’m now convinced the likes of Leigh or Saints would highjack any deal if he was available.

Re: DoR - New Coach - Investor & Adam - New signings : Tue Dec 24, 2024 7:25 am  

bonaire wrote:

But adding another average Joe if he is coming on say a 2year deal doesnt help at all in the next recruitment cycle.We are now overloaded with additions on 2/3 year contracts and several of those would have to be offloaded end of 2025 season if we are to add some necessary real quality and pace especially at centre,and add some depth in second row and front row
Just dont see the logic or strategy because unless we offload or pay off players then we are left with virtually the same squad we have in 2025 playing in 2026
If the club has money to spend then save it and find one or two top quality players who can provide some excitement on the field get fans interested again and start pushing into the top four

Another moan, if only you went to the fans forum to mention your concerns.

Re: DoR - New Coach - Investor & Adam - New signings : Tue Dec 24, 2024 8:32 am  

bonaire wrote:

if we are to add some necessary real quality and pace especially at centre

I’d agree that signings like Briscoe, Hardaker, Holmes and Chamberlain are somewhat stop gaps but if a Cross deal did happen he’s in his prime years, got plenty of pace, a good injury record and is a proven top 6 SL player with a decent try scoring record.

In an ideal world I’d have hoped we could have brought in someone like a Lafai in his 20s, but players of that quality and age only ever come over now with some kind of baggage or issues, it would always be a risk. Super duper Rovers (who can do no wrong) have done well with the likes of Evalds and Burgess proven SL quality who wouldn’t have ever been classed as superstars, I’d also include Gildart in that too as he never got a look in really at NRL level.

A hypothetical scenario but if Cross did happen but there’s no reason we couldn’t have a backline of Moy, Martin, Cross, Rapana, Barron for 26. A lot of pace there.

Re: DoR - New Coach - Investor & Adam - New signings : Tue Dec 24, 2024 9:32 am  

DSJ1983 wrote:

I know it never paints the full picture on things like defence and positioning etc but if you look at his recent YouTube highlights he actually seems far from the solid player (guilty myself on another thread) most have had him down as. He’s mostly played wing last season but he looks like he’s a really good runner out of backfield making breaks and has a lot of pace. Would 100% add needed strike and pace to our backline.

He played in the centres a couple of seasons ago at SL if you go through the highlight vids, and assuming he can still make a fist of defending in that position he’d be a cracking signing. So much so I’m now convinced the likes of Leigh or Saints would highjack any deal if he was available.

Always sceptical of highlight reels after seeing Pele, Okunbor and Bieneks, but looking at Cross' from 2024, he does have good footwork and is a good finisher

Re: DoR - New Coach - Investor & Adam - New signings : Tue Dec 24, 2024 11:57 am  

bonaire wrote:

But adding another average Joe if he is coming on say a 2year deal doesnt help at all in the next recruitment cycle.We are now overloaded with additions on 2/3 year contracts and several of those would have to be offloaded end of 2025 season if we are to add some necessary real quality and pace especially at centre,and add some depth in second row and front row
Just dont see the logic or strategy because unless we offload or pay off players then we are left with virtually the same squad we have in 2025 playing in 2026

If the club has money to spend then save it and find one or two top quality players who can provide some excitement on the field get fans interested again and start pushing into the top four

Whilst I get where you are coming from with Cross, I do think you are being a little blind to our current situation.
If we remain a bottom-four side, then our chances of acquiring 'top quality players' becomes doubly difficult, as we found with Lachlan Lam. The chances are anyone of decent standard will most likely have a more tempting offer put to them from someone else.

Our only recourse in that scenario is to put more money on the table to sway a deal our way, but in its self can cause problems further down the line. We need to push ourselves further up the ladder, to at least mid-table respectability, in order to make ourselves a more enticing prospect for high quality players to want to come here to then help push us onto top four challenges.

Due to the fact that we have contrived to dig ourselves into an almighty pit over a number of years, we are not going to able to get where we all want to be in one single leap, it's not going to happen that way I'm afraid. If we are to be challengers once more, then it will almost certainly have to be done in stages, from bottom-four to mid-four to challengers and (hopefully) winners. And we will have to shop accordingly in order to reach our initial, albeit modest, goals first, of at least looking like a club with intentions to succeed once more.

I don't think Cross is a perfect signing, if it comes to pass, but he would improve a weakness in the current squad to a degree and in turn hopefully help push us in the right direction. The key question for me with Cross would be length of contract. Two years maximum would be best, but if he holds out for a three year deal then Myler/Cartwright have to weigh up their options, would that hamper future recruitment to an unacceptable degree? These are the type of decisions Myler and Cartwright have to get right if we are to be successful once more.

Because of the last five years, we really are a long way back from where we would all like to be. This is going to take some time to fix the mess we have got into. Making some signings that on the surface appear to be underwhelming is a situation we are probably going to have to accept for at least a further year. We need to make ourselves an attractive proposition to potential quality targets in order to achieve our longer term goals.

It's not ideal, but it is the harsh reality of where we are right now and there is no getting away from the fact that it is a long road ahead of us and we have to plan accordingly. I'm sure every single black & white would love to be watching a top-two side by 2026 but it is extremely unlikely to happen in that short space of time. I'm afraid that's just the way it is right now, but we live in hope, we always do!!

Re: DoR - New Coach - Investor & Adam - New signings : Tue Dec 24, 2024 12:10 pm  

my only real issue with cross is that it will likely be a 2 or 3 year deal meaning we have him, hardaker and chamberlain here at least for 25 & 26, possibly 27 for 2 of them when none are really at the level of player we would ideally like. Centre is a key attacking position and along with 2nd row, one of our weaker areas which limits potential to improve there for another 3 or 4 years

Re: DoR - New Coach - Investor & Adam - New signings : Tue Dec 24, 2024 12:16 pm  

For me the weaker positions are Chamberlains and Briscoes. Briscoe will hopefully (cos he's finished) be understudy to Martin so if we get Cross he would be first choice ahead of Chamberlain so in improvement imo

Re: DoR - New Coach - Investor & Adam - New signings : Tue Dec 24, 2024 12:22 pm  

Steve0 wrote:

Always sceptical of highlight reels after seeing Pele, Okunbor and Bieneks, but looking at Cross' from 2024, he does have good footwork and is a good finisher

Agreed. The highlights don’t actually lie, Pele, Okunbor and Bienek are all big units capable making for a semi decent highlight reel. This highlights don’t show the serious issues with fitness, work rate etc those players had at SL level. At least with Cross he has the highlights with the footwork, speed, finishing but we also know that he’s managed to consistently play well for 3 seasons in a SL side that’s always in and around the play offs, those other players didn’t have that track record.

Now that the chance of a marquee level overseas centre (would have been my priority) has sailed Cross would tick all the boxes for a realistic signing. Like I say I think we’ll struggle to pull it off as I think he’ll be in demand by lots of clubs.

Re: DoR - New Coach - Investor & Adam - New signings : Tue Dec 24, 2024 12:49 pm  

Jake the Peg wrote:

my only real issue with cross is that it will likely be a 2 or 3 year deal meaning we have him, hardaker and chamberlain here at least for 25 & 26, possibly 27 for 2 of them when none are really at the level of player we would ideally like. Centre is a key attacking position and along with 2nd row, one of our weaker areas which limits potential to improve there for another 3 or 4 years

100% see that logic and personally I wouldn’t have gone for Hardaker (age) and Chamberlain on multi year deals for that exact reason. I think Cross though is the type of player who could maybe step up a level or two, he’s a late bloomer in his career. I also think we have to look at what’s available in context to other SL clubs. Keighran and Wardle are the benchmark best centre combo in SL, top players but when you compare to some of the top SL centres over the years the level has definitely dropped. I just don’t see where the centres the quality of prime Seniors, Lyon, Watkins, etc would be available to any SL club. Even any homegrown superstars will be snapped up by the NRL nowadays in their early 20s.