Thompson is ok but far from best UK player.
He is a victim of playing in a team that is just wrong wrong wrong on so many levels that it would make even Thurston look poor.

The preparation for Thompson wasn't ideal.

I recon we move Jacko to the middle, with Elliott and Thompson.
We get rid of Tols who offers nothing in attack.

This is just one of those years, just about everything is going wrong.

RFM had the flu, him fully fit and a couple of lucky bounces we probably win.

3 out 4 balls bounced the Tigers way.

But we had the game won at 28-22 and stopped playing, again when Foran is off the field, our young halves typically make this mistake. It is partially luck, partially inexperience and partially a lack of instinct for the game.
Good teams put the opposition away before they stop playing.

I thought Montoya stuffed up there...and a crucial moment when pushed into touch. No use demeaning him any more. 3 of last 4 weeks we should have won..

Yes..... any other winger with half a brain would have gone to ground & avoided being pushed into touch.... 

Dumb play of the day was Lafai conceeding a penalty diving on the ball in the play the ball, Tigers were going nowhere. 
IMO the first  Cogger drop goal attempt is the same because we were well on top.
Montoya completes the trifecta, because he took an in between option. He need to run the outside line hard, or cut back in hard. In 2 minds he didn't fully commit. I don't think he is that bad, but he lacks the pace to be a winger and the defensive smarts to be a centre. He mostly runs hard, tackles well and catches the ball well.
He shouldn't be in our top 17, I wonder if he can convert to playing as an edge backrower. If he had more utility value he might be worth keeping.

But I wonder why we have the smallest and slowest Fijian winger in the comp. Did our boat stop on the wrong side of the island?

What are you smoking HD?

Montoya does run hard with 1-2m gains each hit up, as for good hands.... did you forget his effort in the last minute against the Dragons? 

There are so many that need to go at the end of season.... I liked how Doorey played today, surely there’s one or two more pups especially in the backs we can blood for the next 6 games or so to get some games into them rather than see the usual hacks Holland/Montoya/Tolman that surely won’t be with us next year. 

As for Lafai..... he’s done fekk all since getting a start back at the Dogs

Today he was horrendous defensively 

Just curious..... what’s Renouf done wrong to not get a start the past 3 games???

Dman's pipe . Hose 5.

Yep I don't understand that.

Anyone else think we should have received a penalty just on half-time? Katoa makes a 1 on 1 steal with about 10 seconds to go. Gets tackled and Cecchin calls held with 5 seconds on the clock. Katoa can't get a play the ball in and tigers players still holding him deliberately when it gets to 0. 

dogbone, I think there were a lot of decisions thst went against us or were ignored or conveniently missed like the Tigers holding down way too long in the tackles yet we were starved of any 6 again calls. Having said that we should have been more alert and stopped Leilua from scoring their last try....we really shot ourselves in the foot there.

There is abit of a lag between the on-screen timer and the ground timer, but it looked like Checcin couldnt wait to blow half time.
Has happened to some other teams too where the ref has blown full time with even 1 or 2 seconds remaining.

In any case, it seems the killer plays both came from Lafai who not only gave away the penalty from non-square marker to gift the Tigers territory, he then slips on the backline movement to create Leilua to have a 3 on 1 on Montoya and worst of all, he made next to NO effort to make up for his slip and provide some cover defence when Leilua didnt pass.

I thought Montoya did quite well to put doubt in Leilua by backpedalling and all he needed was cover support to come but Cogger was too far, Lafai didnt attempt and Meaney was just too small to stop BJ.

It was unfortunately 1 of those plays that needed everyone to work together to make up for the Lafai slip.
Stopping BJ from close range is no easy feat, he will just about score that no matter who the fullback is. The key to it was having the cover defence take his legs while the winger delays the draw and pass play. Montoya did everything right. The inside men just didnt react in time.

I like Lafai and believe we should keep him another year and work under Barrett. He has the ability like Hoppa to set up his outside men but we just arent playing to his strengths. His defence and attitude towards it is obviously down on par and needs to be addressed.

The other disappointment was the fact we had some really good chances to be in better field position to kick a field goal and squandered them.
It was appalling to watch us make only 40m from the 20m restart in 7 tackles. This was on 2 ocassions. Meaney then squanders the last set which would have been our best chance to send to Golden point.

I have said for many years that this paying style of 1 out hitouts where the backs do the first 3 or 4 before our forwards are in the frame is a sign of how badly we approach games, how badly we prepare ourselves and how bad our fitness levels are. 

It was most evident right there. Two chances with 7 tackle sets. All our players behind the 20m restart and yet we make 40m and attempt kicks from 35m out.
Disgraceful

There was a time to backpedal and a time to come in...that close to the line come in was the option. And how come M'bye all of a sudden kicks like Hasem meets Halligan...

May i also say we were EXTREMELY lucky we didnt have a repeat of the James Graham charge down penalty against Souths afew years ago....

Jacko is extremely lucky the refs probably thought twice given it was us on the receiving end again otherwise i reckon they blow that penalty any day of the week.

Application of 6 again is a joke.  Riddled with inconsistency and mainly applied on early tackles then ignored.

Yep, ditch the 6 again rule as it is too controversial and open to too much interpretation. The refs are hard pressed to make a correct decision at the best of times so I feel that this one needs to be shelved until the VR'L can guarantee some consistancy with referees' decisions.

These a post on roasted rugby league saying
josh addo Carr is either going 2 sign with 
westigers or bulldogs but the picture has addo car in
a westigers Bryden Lawyers sponced trains jumper 

Souths it is then...

We want the Fox.... 

Lol.
He can join his mate or brudder...

I meant brother.....stupid autocorrect!

Not at fullback or on fullback money...

$2 schooners!

Get me a Reschs now!

Depending on the team setup, I have no problem giving JAC $500k for 2 seasons. He will single handedly win you games you will otherwise lose.

The way i see it, we dont have ANY players other than maybe Foran who is worth more than 500k and we have money to spend.

Until we start filling in the spots that would normally command upwards of 500k, we may as well give it to a match winner.

I agree... would love JAC but we can’t outlay big $$$ after we just signed Cotric on a huge deal

As I said the other day... T Baz will need to uncover 1 or 2 bargain basement signings for the backs

Whatever we do, can we please not resign Tolman just for the sake of it.

We would stoop to a new low not even on the Parramatta scale if we used the "there was no better option available" excuse....

Well that is probably what it takes to get him.

Unlike other pretenders to the fullback spot he has the pace...

A shot at fullback is reasonable, money is always a matter of working out our priorities.
Money is much the same whatever position he plays...

If you want to pay Montoya money, you get Montoya.