Official Blayke Brailey

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Jaws
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Has to be the schlong surely. Intimidating in scrums when not wearing jocks.

Saw an old game on Fox the other night with Cliff Lyons in the old style shorts

No way am I putting my head in and down for a tackle near that python

 

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From DT 17/11/2021

Cronulla have moved to take rising star Blayke Brailey off the dummy-half merry-go-round by tabling a new three-year deal.
The NSW Emerging Blues hooker remains on the open market with his current Cronulla Sharks contract due to expire at the end of the 2022 season.

The threat of rival hookers Brandon Smith, Reed Mahoney, Api Koroisau and Josh Hodgson creating a tailspin of demand for class dummy-halves across the NRL is a contributing factor in the Sharks wanting to take Brailey out of the shop window.


The Sharks, led by coach Craig Fitzgibbon, have made it clear to Brailey’s manager David Riolo that they want the NSW under-20s hooker locked-in at the club for at least the next three years.
 

BurgoShark

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That's great news.

A little reminder for the baggers: Blayke Brailey is 23; Michael Ennis wasn't a starting hooker in the NRL until after his 24th birthday.
 

BurgoShark

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Not so much bagging, just no need to get carried away and pay overs.
I'm not referring to that post HB - just the general Brailey bashing at the tail end of the year. People are stuck in 1991 and think the hooker's only job is to scoot.
 

HaroldBishop

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I'm not referring to that post HB - just the general Brailey bashing at the tail end of the year. People are stuck in 1991 and think the hooker's only job is to scoot.
Fair enough, I've been critical of him for that.

How much would you pay to extend him for three years?
 

BurgoShark

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Fair enough, I've been critical of him for that.

How much would you pay to extend him for three years?
Can’t speculate on dollars because none of us know what players are actually paid.

The question is, do I think that between 2023 and 2025 he is going to be good enough to be one of the highest paid players on this team (top 7-8)? If yes, then he gets paid more than whatever $ value you come up with.

I think yes. Kennedy, Hynes, Finucane, McInnes are the only currently contracted players who should be earning more than him in 2023.
 

HaroldBishop

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Can’t speculate on dollars because none of us know what players are actually paid.

The question is, do I think that between 2023 and 2025 he is going to be good enough to be one of the highest paid players on this team (top 7-8)? If yes, then he gets paid more than whatever $ value you come up with.

I think yes. Kennedy, Hynes, Finucane, McInnes are the only currently contracted players who should be earning more than him in 2023.
Not sure I agree with that logic, Burgo.

Just because he might eventually be good enough to be in that group doesn't mean we can't get a better hooker for the same money, if you know what I mean.

I know you said "do I think......." rather than he will, but we're in trouble if he's our 4th highest player in just over a year unless we see dramatic improvement in him. Very dramatic.
 

BurgoShark

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Not sure I agree with that logic, Burgo.

Just because he might eventually be good enough to be in that group doesn't mean we can't get a better hooker for the same money, if you know what I mean.

I know you said "do I think......." rather than he will, but we're in trouble if he's our 4th highest player in just over a year unless we see dramatic improvement in him. Very dramatic.
That’s not how contracts work though. Sometimes you pay a guy a little more in year 1 and hopefully you save a little at the beck end of the deal.

Also re: the bolded, that is the guys currently contracted for 2023 I am referring to. It’s assumed others are signed/re-signed between now and then. He should still be top 7 though.

You and I are seeing very different things in his game though. I think he is easily a top 5 player on the team, and has been for 2 seasons. There is improvement in him for sure. He’s already good though.
 

HaroldBishop

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That’s not how contracts work though. Sometimes you pay a guy a little more in year 1 and hopefully you save a little at the beck end of the deal.

Also re: the bolded, that is the guys currently contracted for 2023 I am referring to. It’s assumed others are signed/re-signed between now and then. He should still be top 7 though.

You and I are seeing very different things in his game though. I think he is easily a top 5 player on the team, and has been for 2 seasons. There is improvement in him for sure. He’s already good though.
Top 5 in our team last season is a pretty low bar.

I'm definitely not saying he's crap but I want to see quite a bit of improvement before he's earning say 500k.
 

BurgoShark

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Top 5 in our team last season is a pretty low bar.

I'm definitely not saying he's crap but I want to see quite a bit of improvement before he's earning say 500k.
The dollar value is irrelevant. The point is that if the Sharks don’t make him one of their highest paid players, someone else will. He’s already better than 2/3 of the hookers in the comp while playing with a powder-puff forward pack for a coach who has no idea. Trust me - when those two things get fixed you will see his value to the team.

Whatever he is asking for, you won’t get a better hooker for that money. The list of hookers better than Brailey is a very short one - and you’d have to think that he stays at the Sharks for little less than what the market would throw at him.
 
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Top 5 in our team last season is a pretty low bar.

I'm definitely not saying he's crap but I want to see quite a bit of improvement before he's earning say 500k.

Mate, he's going to be earning 500k on his next contract or very close to it imo.

We extended his contract it was to be starting hooker when we let Jayden go to the Knights so he's already on pretty good money I feel
 

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Even ignoring the dummy half running thing Brailey was fairly average this season for us. He made tackles and gave some service and occasionally made a decent run from the ruck but week to week was he a key contributor to our performances on field? Not really. He had a few goodish/decent games, some trash games but was mostly mediocre and in the bottom run of hookers in the comp IMO

no one is really saying he can't or wont improve but more so just commenting on what we have seen from him this far (particularly in 2021) and not seeing the hype as much as before.

I would hope our hooker is in our top 5 best players and if he is paid accordingly so be it

I think he will get better under Fitz and with some help from Mcinnes ect But on season 2021 the only players I prob would have ranked Brailz above would be

Fifs
Wade
Nikora (had a few good games though)
Mags
Chambers
Dugan
Hunt

So Brails not even in top half of our best players in 2021

(im not including the non regular squad players like Pele or Metcalf as too little to judge them on and wouldn't be fair based on limited games while Brailey had to contend with an entire season of fatigue and pressure ect). Fifs , Wade, Duges ect also had limited games due injury/form but were regulars prior and we know what to expect at this stage so I feel fair to compare
 
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HaroldBishop

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The dollar value is irrelevant. The point is that if the Sharks don’t make him one of their highest paid players, someone else will. He’s already better than 2/3 of the hookers in the comp while playing with a powder-puff forward pack for a coach who has no idea. Trust me - when those two things get fixed you will see his value to the team.

Whatever he is asking for, you won’t get a better hooker for that money. The list of hookers better than Brailey is a very short one - and you’d have to think that he stays at the Sharks for little less than what the market would throw at him.
That just can't be justified mate imo. The rumours are Mahoney is being offered 650k, he's comfortably better than Blayke imo.
 
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Even ignoring the dummy half running thing Brailey was fairly average this season for us. He made tackles and gave some service and occasionally made a decent run from the ruck but week to week was he a key contributor to our performances on field? Not really. He had a few goodish/decent games, some trash games but was mostly mediocre and in the bottom run of hookers in the comp IMO

no one is really saying he can't or wont improve but more so just commenting on what we have seen from him this far (particularly in 2021) and not seeing the hype as much as before.

I would hope our hooker is in our top 5 best players and if he is paid accordingly so be it

I think he will get better under Fitz and with some help from Mcinnes ect But on season 2021 the only players I prob would have ranked Brailz above would be

Fifs
Wade
Nikora (had a few good games though)
Mags
Chambers
Dugan
Hunt

So Brails not even in top half of our best players in 2021

(im not including the non regular squad players like Pele or Metcalf as too little to judge them on and wouldn't be fair based on limited games while Brailey had to contend with an entire season of fatigue and pressure ect). Fifs , Wade, Duges ect also had limited games due injury/form but were regulars prior and we know what to expect at this stage so I feel fair to compare

Brailey was comfortably in our top half of players this year.
 

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Jaws
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let someone else make him one of their highest paid players then, there are better options at 9 than Brailey right now in similar $$$ ballpark. point from HB above re Mahoney
 

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Jaws
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Brailey was comfortably in our top half of players this year.

SJ, Katoa, Ronnie, Ramien, Wilton, Woods, Tolman, BHU, Talakai, Tracey, Moylan, Rudolf, Trindall, Jack Williams - that's 14 players right there that were better than Brailz

You will probs find that reflected in the 3-2-1 voting as well
 
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