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Hey Snowman - Is bomber capable of giving Moylan the Josh Hannay treatment ?
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Hey Snowman - Is bomber capable of giving Moylan the Josh Hannay treatment ?
We tried to force out a fit Josh Hannah on a much smaller contract. Unhealthy Moylan on great dosh would probably just keep not playing and raking in cash
CrazyMatt
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Cronulla turn attention to $3m in contract calls on coach and stars
Author
Dan Walsh
NRL.com Reporter
Timestamp
Tue 6 Oct 2020, 01:24 PM
Dan Walsh
Cronulla are set to kick off more than $3 million in player contract decisions and talks around coach John Morris's future, however negotiations with Shaun Johnson will be delayed until his recovery from an Achilles rupture is well under way.
Sharks CEO Dino Mezzatesta has dubbed their 2020 campaign a "pass mark without question" given the rise of several local juniors and Morris's second finals appearance under considerable off-field duress.
But with end-of-year reviews beginning this week, the fact that four of Cronulla's five biggest earners come off contract in 2021 now comes under the microscope.
Johnson, Matt Moylan and Josh Dugan (all understood to be earning around $800,000 or higher) and Aaron Woods (believed to be on roughly $600,000) will be able to field official rival offers from November 1, with the Sharks to weigh up their 2022-23 roster structure over the next three weeks.
The season-ending Achilles tear suffered by Johnson has put extension talks with the Kiwi half on hold until at least early next year.
Talks had been flagged off the back of Johnson's best campaign in years – his 23 try assists from 16 games are still the most by any player – until he went down against the Roosters last month.
Facing a minimum six-month recovery period that will have Johnson battling to be fit for the start of next season, the Sharks will shelve contract discussions until the 30-year-old is well into his rehabilitation.
"It's a shame SJ got injured when he did because he was certainly best on park and we certainly missed him out there," Mezzatesta told NRL.com.
"Not taking anything away from Connor Tracey and Chad [Townsend], they put in a great first half against the Raiders ... It's just a shame for SJ because just at a time when we should be talking about his career beyond '21 with the Sharks we've got to wait and get him through a rehab which is more important than anything."
Moylan is reportedly set to be given permission to talk to rival clubs about an early release for next season, though Mezzatesta declined to comment on those suggestions.
The injury-plagued fullback, as well as Dugan, Johnson and Woods will be on the open market next month though, with any new Sharks deals unlikely to be sorted by November 1.
Next season will also be the first of Morris's tenure when he is operating with a full salary cap after wearing $353,000 penalties in each of his opening two campaigns as head coach.
However, the club won't be making any significant inroads in the player market until 2022.
Talk of Shane Flanagan returning to the club once his NRL head coaching ban expires next season continues to do the rounds to Mezzatesta's bemusement.
Along with the Sharks' biggest earners, Morris's own future will be broached once more after preliminary discussions were put on hold leading into the finals.
"We've got some considerations with the players off contract, there's a quite a few people off contract next year so there's some big calls," Mezzatesta said.
"We will have to get onto that pretty quickly though.
"We always wanted to concentrate on the finals first and not have any distractions, and that's how it went. It's a shame we're out but the players can hold their heads high. Now is the time to start really getting into the details of those questions.
"We've always said that John Morris has a contract until the end of 2021, he's still our coach and that we would wait until the end of the year and let's regroup.
"Just like the players that come off contract at the end of the year, our coach comes off contract at the end of the year, so all those discussions, we'll get into the detail. We'll have those deeper discussions about the future and what's in store for everyone."
Speaking after Saturday's fighting loss to Canberra, Morris pointed to the bright future Cronulla has with the likes of Sione Katoa, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Blayke Brailey, Connor Tracey, Toby Rudolf, Royce Hunt and Siosifa Talakai making significant development strides in 2020.
Cronulla's finals appearance came despite copping a spate of mid-season injuries and losing Bronson Xerri (ASADA ban), Josh Morris (Roosters) and Matt Prior (Leeds Rhinos).
As players prepare to leave Cronulla's COVID-19 bubble with a club presentation event that is hoped to include family members, Mezzatesta sees room for improvement and the potential to do so.
"It is a pass mark no question because we're playing semi-final football in a tough, tough year," he said.
"But would you say that we're all there absolutely thrilled with it too? Probably not given our roster is a formidable one.
Sharks: Finals Week 1Sharks: Finals Week 1
Sharks: Finals Week 1
"We believe in our roster and we've got some serious talent. Take nothing away from the boys, they had a strong year and the effort they put in, you can't question it.
"Some of the players and some of the talent we've blooded this year we've shown we've got a foundation to be semi-final material for a long way to come.
"It's just cranking it now to get that momentum for a top four spot ... It's definitely a pass mark but the club knows it can do much better."
CrazyMatt
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Thank you egg.
Milkshark
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Doesn't take a genius to figure that out
snowman
Total gronk
it gave me covid trying to comprehend it
egg
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No Wuckers
These guys look to me like players we could sign next year, relative to what we need, can afford, are available.
Kurt Dillon. Wasn’t he a tackling machine?
Matt Frawley. If Benji doesn’t work out.
Caleb Aekins. Looks like a must if we can pull it off.
Lachlan Burr. Older middle.
Brenko Lee. Our centre stocks rely on a fit Dugan and Ferris, which to me seems a bit iffy. We don’t want Goodwin playing centre, or any of the other wingers and Talakai is too valuable elsewhere.
Richie Kennar. As above.
Luke Metcalf. Former Shark.
Drew Hutchison. Anyone know anything about this guy? Played in England. In the chooks system now so can’t be hopeless. Again, SJ backup.
Regarding fullback next year, I like the idea of Connor Tracey being tried there, as someone on the forum suggested.
Kurt Dillon. Wasn’t he a tackling machine?
Matt Frawley. If Benji doesn’t work out.
Caleb Aekins. Looks like a must if we can pull it off.
Lachlan Burr. Older middle.
Brenko Lee. Our centre stocks rely on a fit Dugan and Ferris, which to me seems a bit iffy. We don’t want Goodwin playing centre, or any of the other wingers and Talakai is too valuable elsewhere.
Richie Kennar. As above.
Luke Metcalf. Former Shark.
Drew Hutchison. Anyone know anything about this guy? Played in England. In the chooks system now so can’t be hopeless. Again, SJ backup.
Regarding fullback next year, I like the idea of Connor Tracey being tried there, as someone on the forum suggested.
Tiger Shark
Jaws
I think it's the other Penrith fullback we're after - Dane Laurie, or however you spell it. Would still prefer Corey Allen though.
On Dillon, that's a hard pass, he was in our system and we let him go. I'd rather give game time to Pele or Vasquez, or Tolman if we get him. Plus I think we're talking to a few other props.
Sparkles
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Definitely like Allen, he'd be an upgrade on 2020 Kennedy. And maybe we'd have a shot if Latrell is stepping back into the fullback role next year, as you'd expect. I hear kids today just don't want to wait for their chance, so a starting role might be enough to get him to move
The Iluka product, Daine Laurie. That’s even better for me. Country boy, but older. Allen would be great, but I don’t bank on players breaking contract to come here. Hopefully they have some salary cap issue to sort out and move him on.
Tiger Shark
Jaws
And if they get JAC.
You have Latrell, JAC, Campbell, Johnstone all starters, that's one centre spot left for Marsters, Gagai and Roberts. Allen is a winger but not a centre.
No room for him.
They also have Burns I think, I know they are trying to move on Roberts
Tiger Shark
Jaws
Forgot about him, he's a pretty good player too. Can't keep them all.
A quick summary of our depth
(I don't want to list players in more than 2 positions or we'd go way too deep, also the order is roughly what I see as order of choice likely next season but many may be close or you'd have them the other way around or something, or big changes over preseaon).
The main point of this post is to try and show our player list all together to highlight strengths and weakness
* denotes currently unsigned but also not signed anywhere else
Fullback: Moylan, Kennedy, Dugan, Ferris*
Wing: Katoa, Mulitalo, MacDonald, Hiroti*, Goodwin*
Centre: Dugan, Ramien, Ferris*, Hiroti*, MacDonald, Goodwin*
5/8: Johnson, Moylan, Townsend, Tracey, Trindall, other Williams*
Halfback: Johnson, Townsend, Trindall, Tracey
Prop: Woods, Hamlin-Uele, Rudolf, Fifita, Hunt, Williams, Vasquez*, Pele
Hooker: Brailey, King*, Paterson
2nd Row: Graham, Talakai, Wilton, Nikora, Sorensen*, Carr*, Milne*
Lock: Rudolf, Graham, Talakai, Sorsensen*, Williams, Magoulias*
My main takeaways
Fullback we need another player ideally in front of Kennedy, or otherwise ahead of Dugan, because Moylan really can't be relied on to play there and we don't want to dig into our centre depth. Outside signing likely needed but hard to afford anyone decent with Moyza on the books.
Centre & Wing gets shallow very quick if we don't re-sign anyone or bring anyone in. Seems smart to keep Ferris and Hiroti.
Halves are quite deep and we really could have some good competition for a pairing until Johnson gets back. The right outside signing could be useful but not needed if Trindall stays, if he leaves could sign experience or promise. Moylan fit could be a good six until Johnson returns, which kind of conflicts with me saying ditch him in the fullback section but ditch him is still my preference.
Hooker: This is kind of Brailey and then nobody, which is how we played all 2020 too. King was a good second choice but has worse legs than Moylan, and Paterson I haven't seen enough of. Soro, Mags and Tracey can all fill in as hookers but certainly can't be counted as hookers. Depending on how Paterson has been training we could need some depth here.
Props are set, across the season as a whole Woods was our most important prop, don't @ me
Expect him to be less important next season and may or may not be worth keeping on a much smaller deal. Fifi is too far down the chart for his price tag and I'd move him if possible.
There is one issue (tackling) in this area but I'll highlight it in lock
Second row is deep enough but Nikora needs to slide down the list or get a lot better. If Graham did go to 13 we might want someone else to come into this list. Regardless of where he plays Graham needs to be better (fitter, healthier, whatever the issue was)
Lock: This is a cluster ****. I put Rudolf first because he played a lot there this year but it's not ideal our first three choices are a young important prop or our best two edge players. I'd like to see our middle stiffened up a lot and using someone who can make a lot of tackles here which isn't really how we want to use any of the first three on the depth chart, which suggests outside player needed. If it was someone like Tolman (prop) we could keep Rudolf at 13. Asiata is very 'Bomberball' but doesn't do our defence any favours. Sorensen I think maybe could be moulded into a middle tackler with a reasonable pass, but should be kept regardless for forward depth.
We have a roster of 26 signed for next season so only four spots to fill if nobody leaves.
Assuming nobody leaves I think Sorensen, Hiroti and Ferris are probably all keeps, I'd love to bring in a fullback. If Trindall does leave that opens up a spot I'd probably hold off filling until a clear need appears (unless right half available). Mags is another who may seek out other options and assuming we hold Sorensen I wouldn't rush to replace him unless there was a good 13 option on the market.
(I don't want to list players in more than 2 positions or we'd go way too deep, also the order is roughly what I see as order of choice likely next season but many may be close or you'd have them the other way around or something, or big changes over preseaon).
The main point of this post is to try and show our player list all together to highlight strengths and weakness
* denotes currently unsigned but also not signed anywhere else
Fullback: Moylan, Kennedy, Dugan, Ferris*
Wing: Katoa, Mulitalo, MacDonald, Hiroti*, Goodwin*
Centre: Dugan, Ramien, Ferris*, Hiroti*, MacDonald, Goodwin*
5/8: Johnson, Moylan, Townsend, Tracey, Trindall, other Williams*
Halfback: Johnson, Townsend, Trindall, Tracey
Prop: Woods, Hamlin-Uele, Rudolf, Fifita, Hunt, Williams, Vasquez*, Pele
Hooker: Brailey, King*, Paterson
2nd Row: Graham, Talakai, Wilton, Nikora, Sorensen*, Carr*, Milne*
Lock: Rudolf, Graham, Talakai, Sorsensen*, Williams, Magoulias*
My main takeaways
Fullback we need another player ideally in front of Kennedy, or otherwise ahead of Dugan, because Moylan really can't be relied on to play there and we don't want to dig into our centre depth. Outside signing likely needed but hard to afford anyone decent with Moyza on the books.
Centre & Wing gets shallow very quick if we don't re-sign anyone or bring anyone in. Seems smart to keep Ferris and Hiroti.
Halves are quite deep and we really could have some good competition for a pairing until Johnson gets back. The right outside signing could be useful but not needed if Trindall stays, if he leaves could sign experience or promise. Moylan fit could be a good six until Johnson returns, which kind of conflicts with me saying ditch him in the fullback section but ditch him is still my preference.
Hooker: This is kind of Brailey and then nobody, which is how we played all 2020 too. King was a good second choice but has worse legs than Moylan, and Paterson I haven't seen enough of. Soro, Mags and Tracey can all fill in as hookers but certainly can't be counted as hookers. Depending on how Paterson has been training we could need some depth here.
Props are set, across the season as a whole Woods was our most important prop, don't @ me
Expect him to be less important next season and may or may not be worth keeping on a much smaller deal. Fifi is too far down the chart for his price tag and I'd move him if possible.
There is one issue (tackling) in this area but I'll highlight it in lock
Second row is deep enough but Nikora needs to slide down the list or get a lot better. If Graham did go to 13 we might want someone else to come into this list. Regardless of where he plays Graham needs to be better (fitter, healthier, whatever the issue was)
Lock: This is a cluster ****. I put Rudolf first because he played a lot there this year but it's not ideal our first three choices are a young important prop or our best two edge players. I'd like to see our middle stiffened up a lot and using someone who can make a lot of tackles here which isn't really how we want to use any of the first three on the depth chart, which suggests outside player needed. If it was someone like Tolman (prop) we could keep Rudolf at 13. Asiata is very 'Bomberball' but doesn't do our defence any favours. Sorensen I think maybe could be moulded into a middle tackler with a reasonable pass, but should be kept regardless for forward depth.
We have a roster of 26 signed for next season so only four spots to fill if nobody leaves.
Assuming nobody leaves I think Sorensen, Hiroti and Ferris are probably all keeps, I'd love to bring in a fullback. If Trindall does leave that opens up a spot I'd probably hold off filling until a clear need appears (unless right half available). Mags is another who may seek out other options and assuming we hold Sorensen I wouldn't rush to replace him unless there was a good 13 option on the market.
snowman
Total gronk
if they get JAC they wont have roberts
egg
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Great Call , they want Chad back ?
Paul Turner
Personal information
Full name Paul Turner
Born 4 July 2000 (age 20)
Whangarei, New Zealand
Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 92 kg (203 lb; 14 st 7 lb)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/leagu...g-gun-paul-turners-nrl-debut-wins-high-praise