Re: SL RD 7 | Hull KR (A) : Sun Apr 02, 2023 12:45 pm  

KaeruJim wrote:

Smith had his hands tied regarding new signings for this year, and has tried to add some depth in key positions. I’m relatively happy with Sangare and McDonnell and MacDonald.

Yes there is more dead wood and I’ve posted before I’d not f about and I’d ring the changes. This could be done for next season as various contracts come to an end.

We now have O’Connor, Holroyd, Gannon, Walters starting to cement themselves as first grade players and Johnson, Simpson, Sinfield not too far behind so yes the prospects of a new home-grown generation look good.

There are a number of other good players coming through the academy. We had bad luck with Walker, and a few other young prospects haven’t developed as we wanted but I honestly feel we are only a FB and SO away from being a very decent side now.

Totally agree the club have spaffed 3-4 years on really poor signings and just got the rebuild completely wrong. However there are genuine reasons to be positive now - IF we can get rid of excess salary cap and invest it in the correct areas.

What a load of balderdash !

Johnson , Sinfield and Simpson have played a handfull of games between them and Gannon ( mainly due to injuries) Holroyd only had a handful of good games and Walters can't get in the team so they are hardly cemented in the first team, then you pick out full back as a place we need a player , yet Myler is our best player .
Some of this years signings are just cheap and somewhat bizzare .

Re: SL RD 7 | Hull KR (A) : Sun Apr 02, 2023 1:05 pm  

Not quite sure what your point is?

Which signing other than Olpherts (which is certainly looking questionable) is cheap/bizarre? Bear in mind we had apparently very little room under the cap with a squad which was deficient in so many areas, so its not as though we could just throw out half the team and bring in superstars.

Roberts, Hooley, Ruan and Warren were signed to add depth and with a focus on the future. Sangare and Lisone were signed to add bulk to the pack, which they do. Macdonald was brought in to add strike and pace, which he undoubtedly does. McDonnell is one for the future as well but already looks a solid player.

The reality is we got rid of a couple of players who'd been clogging up the place for years (Sutcliffe and Dwyer are doing amazingly for Hull I see) and strengthened where we could. But we didn't/couldn't get rid of our top earners because a huge chunk of our cap was tied up in players under contract.

Off contract this year are Fusitu'a (who may be OK but definitely not worth big bucks), Tetevano (marquee in name only), Sezer and Austin. This will not only clear a huge amount of cap space but also clear key positions for incoming players. As they're all overseas players we should be able to go hard to recruit the best we can from the NRL. Bentley will also be on a wedge and supposedly wants to try the NRL, so there's another potential chunk of cap there.

I'm with KaeruJim - we're starting to look like we've got some solid players and some really good younger players about the place, but we need to improve our spine hugely. I'd also say full back and one of the halfbacks.

Re: SL RD 7 | Hull KR (A) : Sun Apr 02, 2023 1:51 pm  

Once were Loiners wrote:

Not quite sure what your point is?

Which signing other than Olpherts (which is certainly looking questionable) is cheap/bizarre? Bear in mind we had apparently very little room under the cap with a squad which was deficient in so many areas, so its not as though we could just throw out half the team and bring in superstars.

Roberts, Hooley, Ruan and Warren were signed to add depth and with a focus on the future. Sangare and Lisone were signed to add bulk to the pack, which they do. Macdonald was brought in to add strike and pace, which he undoubtedly does. McDonnell is one for the future as well but already looks a solid player.

The reality is we got rid of a couple of players who'd been clogging up the place for years (Sutcliffe and Dwyer are doing amazingly for Hull I see) and strengthened where we could. But we didn't/couldn't get rid of our top earners because a huge chunk of our cap was tied up in players under contract.

Off contract this year are Fusitu'a (who may be OK but definitely not worth big bucks), Tetevano (marquee in name only), Sezer and Austin. This will not only clear a huge amount of cap space but also clear key positions for incoming players. As they're all overseas players we should be able to go hard to recruit the best we can from the NRL. Bentley will also be on a wedge and supposedly wants to try the NRL, so there's another potential chunk of cap there.

I'm with KaeruJim - we're starting to look like we've got some solid players and some really good younger players about the place, but we need to improve our spine hugely. I'd also say full back and one of the halfbacks.

Agreed. You'd have to say that all of Agar's big ticket additions: Tet, Fus, Sezer, Bentley and Austin, have for differing reasons, not been consistent value for money. Could well see most, if not all of them depart. I really hope the club have already made decisions about who they want to get rid of and are actively lining up replacements now. We badly need a couple of players (see French & Field) who can win a game out of nothing.

Re: SL RD 7 | Hull KR (A) : Sun Apr 02, 2023 2:11 pm  

Once were Loiners wrote:

Not quite sure what your point is?

Which signing other than Olpherts (which is certainly looking questionable) is cheap/bizarre? Bear in mind we had apparently very little room under the cap with a squad which was deficient in so many areas, so its not as though we could just throw out half the team and bring in superstars.

Roberts, Hooley, Ruan and Warren were signed to add depth and with a focus on the future. Sangare and Lisone were signed to add bulk to the pack, which they do. Macdonald was brought in to add strike and pace, which he undoubtedly does. McDonnell is one for the future as well but already looks a solid player.

The reality is we got rid of a couple of players who'd been clogging up the place for years (Sutcliffe and Dwyer are doing amazingly for Hull I see) and strengthened where we could. But we didn't/couldn't get rid of our top earners because a huge chunk of our cap was tied up in players under contract.

Off contract this year are Fusitu'a (who may be OK but definitely not worth big bucks), Tetevano (marquee in name only), Sezer and Austin. This will not only clear a huge amount of cap space but also clear key positions for incoming players. As they're all overseas players we should be able to go hard to recruit the best we can from the NRL. Bentley will also be on a wedge and supposedly wants to try the NRL, so there's another potential chunk of cap there.

I'm with KaeruJim - we're starting to look like we've got some solid players and some really good younger players about the place, but we need to improve our spine hugely. I'd also say full back and one of the halfbacks.

I will give you McDonnell and Macdonald the rest are very ordinary to say the least and if you just want bulk then why not just sign a couple of Sumo wrestlers .
Why you can not see that Myler has been our best and most creative player the last 3 years is beyond me .
Yes though i agree to shipping out Seizer , Austin , Faz and Bentley along with Tetevano

Re: SL RD 7 | Hull KR (A) : Sun Apr 02, 2023 2:30 pm  

ploinerrhino wrote:

I will give you McDonnell and Macdonald the rest are very ordinary to say the least and if you just want bulk then why not just sign a couple of Sumo wrestlers .
Why you can not see that Myler has been our best and most creative player the last 3 years is beyond me .
Yes though i agree to shipping out Seizer , Austin , Faz and Bentley along with Tetevano

Myler was our best player over those years. He wasn’t our best, I would say that would comfortably be Mik followed by handley. He was one of our best because of how Agar wanted to play, the structured, move it wide with a fullback coming into the line and going through the line or throwing the final pass. Myler is a good player at doing that, as he was a halfback.

That isn’t how Smith wants to play, I would say it is clear as day that isn’t his style. As such the effectiveness of myler will diminish (he is also getting older and his biggest weakness is he lacks pace).

In terms of the signings, given what was available and when Smith came in I would say Sangare was a good signing. Big body, looked decent in the World Cup and SL last year, good impact player and isn’t old. Lisone I am less sure about but in terms of style and attributes he is the kind of player we should have been looking at.

I’m not sure who you were expecting us to sign? Can you for example name a player we didn’t sign who moved in the off season, was in a position we needed and was available when smith came in?

The test is the end of year. You have 4 quota spots opening, big money players, one a marquee and two half backs all OOC. Additionally you have Bentley who won’t be cheap.

There is some absolutely rubbish that gets posted on here. Some people need to be more like Rohan! When you win it isn’t as great as you think, when you don’t win it isn’t as bad as you think. You inherit what you inherit and you cannot just magically get rid of contracted players, especially when you come in mid season.

Re: SL RD 7 | Hull KR (A) : Sun Apr 02, 2023 2:43 pm  

Lprhino wrote:

Myler was our best player over those years. He wasn’t our best, I would say that would comfortably be Mik followed by handley. He was one of our best because of how Agar wanted to play, the structured, move it wide with a fullback coming into the line and going through the line or throwing the final pass. Myler is a good player at doing that, as he was a halfback.

That isn’t how Smith wants to play, I would say it is clear as day that isn’t his style. As such the effectiveness of myler will diminish (he is also getting older and his biggest weakness is he lacks pace).

In terms of the signings, given what was available and when Smith came in I would say Sangare was a good signing. Big body, looked decent in the World Cup and SL last year, good impact player and isn’t old. Lisone I am less sure about but in terms of style and attributes he is the kind of player we should have been looking at.

I’m not sure who you were expecting us to sign? Can you for example name a player we didn’t sign who moved in the off season, was in a position we needed and was available when smith came in?

The test is the end of year. You have 4 quota spots opening, big money players, one a marquee and two half backs all OOC. Additionally you have Bentley who won’t be cheap.

There is some absolutely rubbish that gets posted on here. Some people need to be more like Rohan! When you win it isn’t as great as you think, when you don’t win it isn’t as bad as you think. You inherit what you inherit and you cannot just magically get rid of contracted players, especially when you come in mid season.

Well if you are talking about rubbish posted on here , well one Myler does have pace and two no he did not do the same from half back , as for Sangare he looked that good in super league last year he had playing spells about the same length as Kylie did in his last year (without the same effect)

Re: SL RD 7 | Hull KR (A) : Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:56 pm  

ploinerrhino wrote:

Well if you are talking about rubbish posted on here , well one Myler does have pace and two no he did not do the same from half back , as for Sangare he looked that good in super league last year he had playing spells about the same length as Kylie did in his last year (without the same effect)

Not sure on your ability to read and understand. I said he was good at doing that (passing) as he was a halfback. At no point did I say he did the same from halfback.
However, as a half back he was required to pass the ball, more than say a centre or a winger who might transition to full back. Secondly, name a full back in SL who myler beats for pace? Myler wasn’t our best player - you said he was and offered no external evidence of it. I said he was one of our best and that was because of how Agar wanted to play. I also said Smith doesn’t want to play the same way and Myler’s effectiveness will diminish.


Sangare - what a daft point that is. First year in SL, playing for Toulouse who are at the bottom, inexperienced player and you are saying oh he doesn’t do long enough minutes. He had an impact when he played, he had impact at the WC for France. He has had impact for us and given time and patience (which you seem to lack) he will do longer minutes. So now your point has moved from he is a rubbish signing to he is rubbish because he doesn’t do long enough minutes?

What is telling is that despite asking you a fairly simple question which directly related to the point you decided to make, you weren’t able to even offer a basic response or name any player. I have set the question out below for you. So please enlighten me with your thoughts…….

I’m not sure who you were expecting us to sign? Can you for example name a player we didn’t sign who moved in the off season, was in a position we needed and was available when smith came in?

Re: SL RD 7 | Hull KR (A) : Sun Apr 02, 2023 4:20 pm  

This seasons signings have been a bit of a mixed bag.

Kind of what you’d expect considering that maybe only 3 of them were earmarked as First Choice 17 in Sangare, Macdonald and Lisone (in my opinion of course)

Olpherts has been crap, and we’ve not really seen enough of the rest. McDonnell has been a pleasant surprise.

As others have said it’s too many of the big money signings who aren’t performing consistently. We’ll have some good games, we’ll have some games like the other night, but I think we’ve seen enough to say we should see what Smith can do with the cap and quota.

Re: SL RD 7 | Hull KR (A) : Sun Apr 02, 2023 6:25 pm  

Once were Loiners wrote:

Not quite sure what your point is?

Which signing other than Olpherts (which is certainly looking questionable) is cheap/bizarre? Bear in mind we had apparently very little room under the cap with a squad which was deficient in so many areas, so its not as though we could just throw out half the team and bring in superstars.

Roberts, Hooley, Ruan and Warren were signed to add depth and with a focus on the future. Sangare and Lisone were signed to add bulk to the pack, which they do. Macdonald was brought in to add strike and pace, which he undoubtedly does. McDonnell is one for the future as well but already looks a solid player.

The reality is we got rid of a couple of players who'd been clogging up the place for years (Sutcliffe and Dwyer are doing amazingly for Hull I see) and strengthened where we could. But we didn't/couldn't get rid of our top earners because a huge chunk of our cap was tied up in players under contract.

Off contract this year are Fusitu'a (who may be OK but definitely not worth big bucks), Tetevano (marquee in name only), Sezer and Austin. This will not only clear a huge amount of cap space but also clear key positions for incoming players. As they're all overseas players we should be able to go hard to recruit the best we can from the NRL. Bentley will also be on a wedge and supposedly wants to try the NRL, so there's another potential chunk of cap there.

I'm with KaeruJim - we're starting to look like we've got some solid players and some really good younger players about the place, but we need to improve our spine hugely. I'd also say full back and one of the halfbacks.

Agree with all of this

Re: SL RD 7 | Hull KR (A) : Mon Apr 03, 2023 12:10 am  

What is most concerning regarding Smith`s current coaching abilities is his lack of Plan B. When he saw the conditions in Hull on Friday , it was obvious to all but Smith that we could not play a free flowing game with a passive defence . The match would be in a hard fought forward battle , backed up by a good kicking game - exactly how KR played it.
We had a poor kicking game , and most importantly of all ( and totally down to Smith ) made no attempt to put any pressure on the current best kicker in the league - absolutely brainless !!! To accompany this with our passive defence on such a night was a recipe for disaster . A coach needs to adapt to both ground conditions as well as the other teams strengths - on Friday night , Smith failed badly - he needs to learn quickly .