I’m always interested in comparing my personal assessment of a player with the experts and other fans, and at times I find myself a touch isolated.
Recruitment and retention along with trying to keep within the cap is a fascinating and difficult assignment that is easy to be critical of, especially after the event.
The subject of Mark Geyer’s delight is reported in Daily Telegraph as being Kurt Capewell.
“I have no doubt Kurt Capewell will play Origin for Queensland this year,” he said.
“I actually thought he was the best value player on the open market.”
Geyer said that he was ecstatic when he heard the Panthers were chasing him and he is deceptive with his pace, has a strong offload and is a born rugby league player.
I have nothing against Capewell but I see a below-average player who makes a great effort, but is closer to the lower grades than State of Origin.
Kurt Capewell is now stranger to the lower grades. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
One of us is going to be wrong – at least in the short term – but I’ll be having a good look at how Capewell goes. It’s a strange concept to be so keen on a 26-year-old import who wasn’t keenly sought by other clubs when there were so many promising juniors lurking about the district who have largely vanished.
Another Panthers player who looked unreal when I first saw him in first grade is Jarome Luai. Dangerous and fast, I thought he could be a special player. I’ve changed my mind after seeing him when playing in an under-performing outfit and I wasn’t impressed at all. I’m not tipping big things from him any more.
A third player under my spotlight who has been mentioned in the same breath as Paul Gallen is Billy Magoulias from the Sharks. My concern for him is that he already looks a bit like Gallen, body wise, but is just starting out.
Early footage of Gallen shows a slim and speedy young buck and this is how many top players begin. I could be wrong but I’m not seeing a huge future in first grade for him.
A few other players who I wouldn’t be keen on if I was a recruiter include Tyrone Peachey, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Kurt Mann and Brodie Croft, and I’ve also got a hunch we’ve seen the best of Wade Graham and Joey Leilua.
No doubt some of these players will prove me to be wrong, but these are my thoughts if I’m putting myself in the shoes of an NRL recruiter.
Anyone care to explain why I’m wrong or nominate some players that they don’t rate as highly as most?
Sam
Guest
Damn. Somehow stumbled across this article. Did not age well at all.
Nat
Roar Guru
Really? Bahaha... " I have nothing against Capewell but I see a below-average player who makes a great effort, but is closer to the lower grades than State of Origin" taken from the article, your words. “If he played reserve last year he was clearly closer to reserve grade than SOO” Your statement within these comments. Obviously wrong, he never played reserves at all last year. Don't go claiming you never said it.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Before you get stuck in to someone you need to at first understand what they are saying. Andrew McCullough and Darius Boyd are closer to reserve grade than 1st grade in my opinion. it doesn't matter how many useless stats you want to throw at me it doesn't alter or make my opinion any less valid. I didn't say Capewell was a reserve grader at all so it's a waste of space pretending I did. Most people replying seem to understand it but you two seem to lack the capacity.
Nat
Roar Guru
Honestly I'm stuck between laughable and sad. He makes a statement, immediately gets proven wrong then he dismisses the statement. I guess if he can't make a point then it's harder to get it disproven.
Nat
Roar Guru
Life or Death? No. Lightweight, absolutely lightweight. Light on any analysis, reasoning or (your favourite word in the absence in facts) logic. Maybe you should have just rattled off 480 contracted players and see what sticks. Then next year you can tell everyone how right you were.
Big Daddy
Guest
Once again you deflect from the premise of the article. Every time some one challenges you , you deflect to Bob Fulton or Darius Boyd who have nothing to do with Capewell. Both Nat and myself have furnished stats to say he is not your average reserve grader. Mark Geyer has obviously made a bold statement which is his opinion which may be right or wrong. He may play SOO , I don't really know but on the evidence provided he stands a chance.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
How can Boyd be sent to reserves as he's such a decorated SOO player and according to you they will always be favored?
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
It's a lightweight opinion article and only you are carrying on like it's life or death. You're the one who adamantly peddles the line that Bob Fulton deliberately selected weak NSW SOO teams for years to favor his club Manly and you expect anyone to take you seriously? How about you put that in headlines and write an article on it. Make sure you explain that it's not comedy because that's how it will be taken by most.
Nat
Roar Guru
Really? You are waffling now buddy. I know you haven't missed the point again, just trying to avoid it. But I do understand you're standing behind ego not analysis. But you keep telling me what I would've done based on your bent POV.
Big Daddy
Guest
Go for it Nat. ????
Nat
Roar Guru
Beep Beep Beep... "I didn't write the headline" "It's only a small part of the article" "If he played reserve last year he was clearly closer to reserve grade than SOO" Nope, he played all 25 games of the season and the Qtr Final against Manly. He was 18th man for Qld twice. Boyd? Nope, my most recent comment on him was to find form or go to ISP and I've made that comment many times now. Wrong again. I'm as critical of him as I am anyone but unlike you, I will support my criticism with some type of reasoning. Show me anywhere in this where you've offered any analysis or reasoning? Your "philosophy" is to spew words on a page but worse still, you back up so quickly when challenged. Still waiting for an article from me? I have written a few. You've commented on them. Wrong again. Anything else?
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
I'm looking at the future not the past. It's not unfairly critical to suggest some recent SOO players are closer to reserve grade than SOO , at least two of them are at the Broncos.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
I reckon Wade Graham hit a peak a few years back Chilli and he's been very average in the big games since then , although I stand corrected if that's wrong. It goes for a few Sharks players , I thought we would be good in SOO with a core of their title winning team on deck but they disappointed unlike Storm and Chook players who have largely maintained form. As for recruitment and retention I don't know how the fans are at the Bunnies but if the recruiters listened to many of the Manly fans we would be collecting wooden spoons and they don't seem to get it. Every single player we offloaded form our golden spell was a correct call and more needed to go earlier (in hindsight) but many fans were ballistic when Glenn Stewart , Ballin , Buher and others were tapped on the shoulder. Luckily they didn't know Jamie Lyon was pushed. If anyone is troubled by my assessment of Capewell they should question why the Sharks offloaded him and recruited again Ramien for a lot more dollars? ( I presume). Capewell is loyal and reliable as well as being a current SOO player (according to one) whereby Ramien has been at heaps of clubs and isn't a SOO player. It's a simple equation, they are prepared to gamble on Ramien because when in form he's devastating and Capewell isn't.
Big Daddy
Guest
Capewell made 19 appearances in 2018 and 25 in 2019 in top grade so I would hardly call him closer to being a reserve grader. I expect him to register similar numbers at Penrith and if he makes SOO good luck to him.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
The Broncos recruitment has had it's dark times but luckily for them you aren't one of them. You'd let the untested Payne Hass go and hang on to the proven SOO player Josh McGuire. You'd knock back Luke Keary because you've already got Milford who is a SOO rep and Keary isn't. Flegler and Carrigan would be let go for which SOO forwards? You would have kept Boyd instead of Ponga or Turbo before they played SOO? At times I would definitely ''brush'' experienced SOO players for some players with potential. The fact that Dylan Walker played SOO is not that interesting to me. I'm more interested in how he plays and last year he was not bad without excelling. I would definitely be happy to let him go if Josh Schuster plays some 1st grade and looks the goods. Cade Cust is full of potential as well. I don't rate Walker as highly as most particularly at 5/8 but I suspect he's good enough to be in a title winning team in that role.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
You better speak to the person who wrote the headline if it's giving you sleepless nights! An NRL forum is going to be really interesting if every comment on players, teams and coaches is positive. No doubt you are leading by example in this regard? You never throw people under buses? (your term) Many Broncos fans are hoping Darius is banished to QLD cup or somewhere, you think they are out of order and I think they should say what they believe. I'll stick to my philosophy but just be careful that you don't throw anyone under a bus because it may appear to be a touch hypocritical I'm still waiting for you to write an article, it's great being a full time critic but maybe you should have a crack yourself.
Nat
Roar Guru
Yeah maybe. There's a 100 reasons to let a player go or just not be in a position to match other offers. At the sharks, he's behind Nikora and Graham, both 80min backrowers, and a loooong que of backs. Why wouldn't he assess his options? Does the fact he didn't attract a high-money bidding war make him a reserve grade standard? That's the premise FT has used to disagree with Geyer and the main point of the article. I'm all for opinions, I have a few myself. If I'm presented with a fact that is alternate to my opinion I would change it. Opinions can and should change based on new information/circumstances.
Nat
Roar Guru
"It’s a minor part of the article" It is literally the headline of the article! He wasn't "mentioned" in relation to SOO, he was in Camp twice! He is in Qld camp right now in Brisbane. Just because you throw BJ, Graham and Luai under the bus as well doesn't detract from the fact that the whole premise of the article started wrong, mainly because you put no effort at all into it, and now you're backing up harder than a B-double.
Nat
Roar Guru
I'll say it again just because you seemed to have missed the point. A player must have a list a outstanding qualities that makes them suitable for selection in State of Origin. Quatlities that make them better than all other comers in their respective positions. Even if they aren't stand outs at that level, they are still better than most at that time, in that position. Eg: where do you rate Dylan Walker? His Origin career isn't as glittering as others, does that make him reserve grade standard? If you, as a recruiter, would rather brush an experienced Origin player and pay-for-potential (as is your example), then I guess it would be Titans / WT job for you.
Chilli
Roar Rookie
Nat you are nit picking a bit bro. As speculation is all most of us can go by I think it’s extremely obvious that Sharks let him go or offered him big unders. With the retirement of Gal they should have been desperate to keep Capewell if they had any sort of opinion on the kid.