Would love to see us win one of the youth titles this year. Would give some credence to the theory that we are back in serious business as a youth production line. Just hope the new rules don't ruin the competition at that level.

All in all, not bad.

Tired of the shortcut methods that failed us last year already.
Yes it’s preseason, yes we need some practice yadda yadda but as others have said you have to earn the right to play, yet we went for some ridiculous options instead of doing the basics well. If we can’t or won’t focus on the basics and instead plow forward stubbornly with this corner cutting then we’ll be back in the mire again next year.

Can’t see why some people were expecting Frawley to suddenly be prime Lockyer / Thurston etc when he’s been brought in to be the controlling half. Some of the dummy spitting was hilariously ott. “Get him on a plane back to Aus & take Rohan with him!” Was a highlight.

The kids looked brilliant, well drilled, confident and I’m looking forward to seeing them integrated into the team in the correct manner. A definite highlight.

Still loads to come back in and I’m sure we’ll be all the more better with a serious preseason. Please no more gimmicks, put them to bed, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel.

that's my worry.
not sure a leopard can change its spots though.
time will tell

I do think some are over egging the things like short kick offs - that was quickly dropped last year in the season proper and wasn’t our main issues at all, dumb rugby was a greater issue, I think this new squad has a greater rugby IQ than last years.

Frawley was given way too much unfair stick when he signed, he’ll be a far better player for us than the one he’s replacing.

It's not the kick offs in themselves but the mentality it creates that leads to the dumb rugby, how much of last preseason was pssed away on short cutting gimmicks at the cost of working on the fundamentals which was then detrimental to performances in the season.

Why completely change the normal ebb and flow of a typical game to practice something you're then going to do away with (aside from when you're already 40 points down). No, if that continues it's speaks more to where the team will be lacking mentally when it matters.

I think Olpherts will be very useful this year, IF the online and game day abuse by fans stops. Had a complete loss of confidence last year, not helped by fans imho. How about getting behind him and being supportive? Is a quick, powerful 3/4 and useful. Much more raw ability that Kershaw for example….

well said, get behind the lad.

I attended most of the games last year and I don't recall any game day abuse beyond the despairing groans most fans make on the back of continued clangers. Can't speak for the online stuff as I stay away from it. What I will say is that the answer to all this lies with the player. If he: - A) Attempts to compete for high kicks and doesn't leave for teammates B) Cuts out the lateral running in yardage carries C) Cuts out the litany of dropped ball both in contact and out of it - he'll be a much more popular player. He's been told that the club "want to move in a different direction" at the end of his contract so it's really up to him to put it right this year in terms of looking after his own future. I'm sure there is a better version of Olpherts than we saw last year because there couldn't be a worse one. Not sure of the 2024 vintage on the evidence of Boxing Day - two fairly simple finishes v one appalling pass across the face of his own posts that could have easily cost a try and turned the game in Wakeys favour. He'll get my full support when and if he plays, but it will take a lot for me not to expect an error every other time he touches the ball.

Fusitu’a makes nothing like the number of mistakes that Olpherts does, and rarely when under no pressure. I’d prefer to see the kids play than Olpherts, they would benefit from the game time.

I think most peoples issue with Olpherts is when things went wrong for him last year instead of going forward he started to shy away from the high ball etc.

To compare him to Fusitua is laughable. Fusitua has his issues (namely his injury record) but is solid or more under both the high ball and coming out of yardage.

That's a very lazy comparison, in my opinion. They are poles apart in terms of ability.

Don’t agree with that……

Respectably Shabs, that's BS. If you're putting olpherts anywhere near fusitua on ability you need to give your head a massive shake.

Not just about ability though is it. Look at Fusitua’s game percentage/injury record. Compare salaries. Fusi clearly much more talented, but worth 3x more in terms of productivity to the team?