Regarding quality,I just dont think our salary cap can compete with NRL so we are getting the ones that are surplus to requirements.

I also think home grown talent isn't good enough to stretch to 12 teams and there seems to be a struggle getting the u18s to advance into first team.

Tet is an interesting one. He's the big aggressive prop we needed when we signed him. It's kind of unfortunate that the game has moved to outlaw a lot of the elements of the game where he played on the edge. He now looks like a liability because the game has moved on, and we haven't been able to train it out of him.

Still a decent player IMO

High and late tackles have always been outlawed. Hes just dumb especially when cameras are on him.

Park the stadium to one side for a moment. The senior squad and overall club coaching situation is as bad now as it was in 1996 when GH and Paul Caddick took over. We have a good group of young kids coming through, but our senior players and coaches are so far away from what is required to support and develop those kids we risk wasting their talent.

The club need to come out and be honest with the fans about where we are at and how we plan to move forwards, otherwise they will lose interest and it actually gets worse from here…

Club strikes me as a bit greedy and short sighted. I’m appalled to hear about the lack of support for our junior and reserve grades. And to hear that the kids who played at halftime had to pay entrance fee……what!
I can accept any defeat, but want to see things run a bit better for the foundation, and for fans…..

Really? I'll be honest, I don't look at the stats much. But daft bans aside, he seems to run the ball in quite fast four or five times a game. I'd say hard if he made a few more metres following contact. Maybe overly subjective on my part but he's rarely a dominant figure

I think too much as been spent on upgrading the ground and not on good players

But the club probably hasn't spent as much on players salaries in its history as this season. The board spent relatively big because they saw it as an opportunity given other clubs might be cutting their cloth carefully after Covid and lower tv money.

It's the quality of what that playing group is producing that's the issue. And whether they just aren't as good as had been thought/as they're being paid or if it's a performance issue which could perhaps be addressed. I'm sure it's a bit of both in reality.

I'm sure you're right,but crikey we are definitely not achieving any sort of value in performance.I'm not even sure out of recent performances who the marquee players are.I'd take a stab at David Fusitu’a and Tet,but I am really unsure in that respect.

So now the dust is settling on yet another totally inept performance, it’s time to look at what we can do in the short term to fix things up. I’d start with the defence, if we make ourselves harder to score against we will be “in” every game we play. Defence is about three things, technique, communication and attitude. Working on technique can take time, but attitude and communication should be easy fixes, assuming the players see a future with the club.

We need to make it totally transparent that some players don’t have a future at the club, and start playing the slightly more experienced younger players together to improve the attitude and culture at the club. It’s not time to drop the young ones in, but we have a clutch of 19-23 year olds that should either be playing or leaving to show they can make it or make room for the next batch. I’d be looking at getting them enough game time so they are battle hardened for next season.

We need to find ways to ship out players like Briscoe, Sutcliffe, Donaldson, Thompson, Dwyer, Mellor either during the season to create space for new signings, or at the end of it at the latest. I’d rather have enthusiastic and talented kids playing and learning for the future than players who realistically aren’t going to improve and are part of the problem rather than the solution.

In terms of coaching, we need to bite the bullet and give HKR what they want for TS and DM now, because the changes cannot happen soon enough for us. TS needs to be given the contract he wants and DM still has so much to learn that another 4 years under Tony will turn out to be a blessing. If Tony won’t come then we need a coach with absolutely no connection to the club previously so they don’t carry any baggage. They then get to call the whole coaching side of the club, and appoint who they want so we have a highly skilled and focused coaching organisation, not the half d bunch we have now.

I’d play the following when everyone is fit for the rest of this season. Others can come in when we have injuries.

1. Walker (we need to know if ha has it or not).
2. Fusitua (no point bringing him here if he ain’t going to make a difference).
3. Newman (the best Centre prospect at the club).
4. Broadbent (again we need to know what he can do).
5. Handley (he’s made the position his own).
6. Austin (we have no other realistic option, but I wouldn’t renew him).
7. Sezar (but he gets told that unless we see a big improvement he’s gone).
8. Mik (playing in not more than 20 minute bursts).
9. Leeming (can’t believe he’s captain… he’s our best shot at the moment).
10. Tetevano (again in 20 minute bursts, he must start making an impact or he’s gone).
11. Martin (mainly for his goalkicking, but must be much more dynamic with the ball)
12. Bentley (he’s had a very slow start, but is very capable and we need to see it)
13. Smith (but not at first receiver, he’s very capable but is making too many mistakes)

14. Prior (plays in 20 minutes spells and must make his presence felt)
15. Holroyd (the best (only?) Prop prospect we have)
16. Johnson (when fit, he can be the best hooker at the club, Myler when he’s injured)
17. Gannon (very raw but what a prospect, he needs 1-2-1 coaching but will be a great)


You’ve then got players like O’Connor, Tindall, Walters who are close, and Myler who must be kept around to fill the inevitable gaps that come from injuries. Most of the rest can / should be moved on.

What would you do?

Hard to disagree with this. Great post.

Brilliant post, agree with everything.

On the players mentioned we need to let go, most of them are out of contract end of season and have a youngster ready to replace them, so thats a blessing.

Briscoe gone - Tindall 3rd choice wing with potential to be more
Mellor gone - Walters backup 2nd row with potential to be more
Dwyer gone - Johnson first 17 hooker, already better imo
Thompson gone - New, big NRL prop needed, using the money saved on these 4 contracts, should be able to afford good quality

Do everything we can to try and offload Suttcliffe and Donaldson, cant believe we actually changed Suttcliffes mind to stay, such a basic player.

Martin and Austin also out of contract so lots of quota places and cap for a new coach to work with.

We need to trim the squad of numbers, use the wages saved on fewer but better quality players and back up with our best youngsters. It pains me watching Corey Hall doing so well, im delighted for him, but Broadbents better and cant get a look in because of our love affair with 2 donkeys who've barley got a centre attribute between them.

Agreed on the coaching, the only familiar face acceptable to me would be Smith on a good length contract, im leaning towards a total fresh start with no previous links, but wouldnt complain at Smith, he's atleast got a long and impressive CV as a head coach and fits what iv just said about how i want us to shape our squad. If Danny comes with him as assistant, im good with that, he cant be any worse than Long, but not with the idea of him taking over any time soon.

A really good post.D keeps you in the game but you need some x factor to win them.Maybe l would bench Cam Smith due to his errors,and put in O'Connor.I know this will not be popular but we should have at least 2 overseas spots available particularly one of them should replace Prior.Won't he be 35 this year,I think we just need a couple of offloading props 30 yrs or below who could do more mins if necessary.Hope Johnson comes to fruition but we have been there with McShane,Hood,Robbie Ward,all touted students of Buderus .With regards to Dwyer you'll never see the best of him behind a beaten pack.

We need more motivation in the form of club acronyms. What does it take to be a Rhino:
R espect
H umble
I nspirational
N oligable
(as) O ne
S side before self

Whoop

Agreed