Player Addin Fonua-Blake

[Ever Hopeful]

Sorry not buying the koolaid
You’re saying there’s no plan B if he got injured ?

Young guns stood up when trusted with the assignment against Penrith & Dragons. Belief goes a long way.

You know that is a different scenario entirely. Your cap is still invested the way you planned, you still have a squad you have engineered.

Sure if Cleary, Ponga, Hughes, DCE etc get injured a team can put in a plan to bridge the gap. Their clubs would be in a funk if if one of them decided to upsticks in January too. In longer term succession planning, and sustained success over a season(s) you need your big dogs to be accounted for - many a team has had their season derailed by losing a key player they can't afford to lose.

 

[Beastmode]

You know that is a different scenario entirely. Your cap is still invested the way you planned, you still have a squad you have engineered.

Sure if Cleary, Ponga, Hughes, DCE etc get injured a team can put in a plan to bridge the cap. Their clubs would be in a funk if if one of them decided to upsticks in January too. In longer term succession planning, and sustained success over a season(s) you need your big dogs to be accounted for - many a team has had their season derailed by losing a key player they can't afford to lose.

This argument doesn’t hold true if your key player is the reason everyone else is performing badly

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Which gun? None of them have proved themselves consistently at nrl level yet. I know there is an argument that they haven't been given the opportunity but surely the club knows who is and isn't ready to step up full time to nrl. There is a reserve grade for a reason, performing well in reserve grade and then doing the same in NRL are two very different things.

We have first graders that cant play at that level soooo

 

[MrFrankWhite]

You know that is a different scenario entirely. Your cap is still invested the way you planned, you still have a squad you have engineered.

Sure if Cleary, Ponga, Hughes, DCE etc get injured a team can put in a plan to bridge the gap. Their clubs would be in a funk if if one of them decided to upsticks in January too. In longer term succession planning, and sustained success over a season(s) you need your big dogs to be accounted for - many a team has had their season derailed by losing a key player they can't afford to lose.

This makes zero sense.

 

[Ever Hopeful]

This makes zero sense.

What specifically do you disagree with?

My points -

1. You are better to let go of a player that doesn't want to be at a club (even though it is a kick in the teeth to your chances of success)
2. From a social perception/sense of justice POV, isn't it just a little bit satisfying for a fan to see a player or agent not be able to take a club and its fans for a ride?
3. Your elite superstar leaving your club in the middle of preseason is a terrible situation
4. Your superstar being injured is very different to them bailing on the team unexpectedly.
5. The sustained success of a club is based on a sound multi-year plan and careful cap management.

 

[Emerald]

Been away for a little bit but heard some AFB thoughts on my travels.

A good mate who is great mates with Ivan Cleary (next door neighbours when he coached here and their kids went same schools etc) caught up with him when Ivan came over to support the Mt Albert Lions fundraiser. Was a bye week for the Panthers and the Warriors had just been dicked by the Tits. My mate asked him what his thoughts were on what was happening at the club and Ivan said the only reason teams lose like that is because of a toxic environment which he said was most likely caused by the rift that AFB is creating by being held here despite desperately wanting to leave. His thoughts were that it would have been much better for the club to have released him and bought up the next player in line while searching the market for a replacement.

Another mate who has an ear very close to the top of the club told me the exact thing a couple days later independently. The club are well aware of how AFB is starting to poison the well in the changing rooms but are basically stuck with him till the seasons end.

Kind of reminds me of Feleti Mateo in 2012 or Manu Vatuvei in 2016.

Left unchecked it is sure to cause damage that remains long after the cancer has been cut out. I'd honestly fuck him off now and bite the bullet about paying his salary to play for someone else...

I don’t have any access to inside knowledge, but there was another player movement thing which immediately preceded the mid season slump. Back in April we nearly beat the Storm (again), then beat the Raiders, Knights and Rabbits and drew with Manly, but then something happened and we lost to three supposedly easy opponents in succession, the Dragons (19th April), Titans and Knights again. The something that happened is the James Fisher-Harris announcement, on 17 April, just two days before the beginning of the slump.

If something - AFB throwing tamtrums - which shouldn’t affect how the team plays on the day does actually affect it, and very seriously, to the extent of the loss against the Titans ten days ago, could the Fisher-Harris announcement have put other noses out of joint or even exacerbated the bad feeling being generated by AFB?

 

[MrFrankWhite]

What specifically do you disagree with?

My points -

1. You are better to let go of a player that doesn't want to be at a club (even though it is a kick in the teeth to your chances of success)

That wasnt clearly articulated

2. From a social perception/sense of justice POV, isn't it just a little bit satisfying for a fan to see a player or agent not be able to take a club and its fans for a ride?

Winning is all that matters. See how may distractions there are when you entertain then? Its why the Warriors cant win. They dont put winning first. Fuck your feelings. (not you )

3. Your elite superstar leaving your club in the middle of preseason is a terrible situation

Then dont recruit badly

4. Your superstar being injured is very different to them bailing on the team unexpectedly.
5. The sustained success of a club is based on a sound multi-year plan and careful cap management.

Keeping unwanted players around regardless of outcome, yet again signals to your men that you prioritise other things above winning.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

At the upper echelons of male physical competition, you simply wont succeed unless everyone buys in 100%. Shit you might get that and STILL lose.

How are you going to win if only 16/17 people are commited?

 

[Dantheman]

We have first graders that cant play at that level soooo

Do you even like the club?

 

[Beastmode]

Do you even like the club?

Not when they’re losing.
Do you?

You don’t play to “participate”. That nonsense if for 5 year olds. You play to win.

Not sure what I’m even arguing about now

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Do you even like the club?

Enough to post on the forums for close to a decade

 

[mrblonde]

and everyone bagged the fark out of them for releasing him- guess youre damned if u do, damned if u dont

I thought the bagging was because of the amount of money Matt Lodge got, not the decision to let him leave itself.

 

[Ever Hopeful]

I thought the bagging was because of the amount of money Matt Lodge got, not the decision to let him leave itself.

He was paid for a year he wasn't even contracted for (player option).

The anger was that, and that our owner had allegedly done something so dodgy that we were having to pay out a huge part of our future cap to keep it hushed up.

With Lodge, O'Sullivan and Moses involved it was probably worth it to get rid of them all.

 

[jonesy101]

He was paid for a year he wasn't even contracted for (player option).

The anger was that, and that our owner had allegedly done something so dodgy that we were having to pay out a huge part of our future cap to keep it hushed up.

With Lodge, O'Sullivan and Moses involved it was probably worth it to get rid of them all.

Not sure if its been said already but they were talking on NRL360 last night about Moses negotiating a release for O'Sullivan to join the Knights where O'brien happens to be a Moses client. Already players under Moses are being linked to the club.

 

[Defence]

I thought the bagging was because of the amount of money Matt Lodge got, not the decision to let him leave itself.

Anytime someone asks for a release you hear that- we should make him play it out or we should make him rot in reserve grade or the storm wouldn’t release him…
Generally I’d agree that if a player wants out u should just release him but this was a bit different- he was the best forward in the world last year and there was no notice.
At the time playing on one more year seemed a decent compromise.
The thing is- u guys seem convinced we’d be better off if we had released him when in reality no one farkin knows.
Maybe we’d be sitting last.
Your guess (because that’s what it is) is as good as mine

 

[Beastmode]

Anytime someone asks for a release you hear that- we should make him play it out or we should make him rot in reserve grade or the storm wouldn’t release him…
Generally I’d agree that if a player wants out u should just release him but this was a bit different- he was the best forward in the world last year and there was no notice.
At the time playing on one more year seemed a decent compromise.
The thing is- u guys seem convinced we’d be better off if we had released him when in reality no one farkin knows.
Maybe we’d be sitting last.
Your guess (because that’s what it is) is as good as mine

My point is you made your bed so sleep in it. Not point crying over split milk and saying this and that about AFB like it’s all his fault. That doesn’t sit well with me. Surely management knew the risk and have to accept how it’s played out. Accept responsibility of their decisions. If we’re pointing fingers - point it at Wendy, CG and Robbo

 

[Defence]

My point is you made your bed so sleep in it. Not point crying over split milk and saying this and that about AFB like it’s all his fault. That doesn’t sit well with me. Surely management knew the risk and have to accept how it’s played out. Accept responsibility of their decisions. If we’re pointing fingers - point it at Wendy, CG and Robbo

I’m not pointing fingers at anyone- why would I? I don’t know if they done the right thing or not- neither do u…
The dragons denied bent hunt a release and now he’s re-signed- lomax got denied a release and has had a breakout year.
Would u have granted both those guys immediate release’s?

 

[#robbiemears]

With AFB, the Warriors are sitting 13th out of 17 teams. There are 12 teams ahead of us without AFB that seem to be coping just fine.

 

[Defence]

With AFB, the Warriors are sitting 13th out of 17 teams. There are 12 teams ahead of us without AFB that seem to be coping just fine.

And where do u think those 12 teams would be if they released their best player in the off season with no replacement?

 

[Inruin]

With AFB, the Warriors are sitting 13th out of 17 teams. There are 12 teams ahead of us without AFB that seem to be coping just fine.

They don't have any of our other players either....