Panic stations for Raiders, plus poor old Trent

I'm with you blokes and been saying it for weeks, they need youth out there because the game is so much faster. Hudson is a turnstile which isn't what you want from a forward, tapine can be as well if he turns his back. Wighton isn't firing and hope hodgo get back to full fitness because he isn't there after the acl injury. Papali even said he took a week off and did fitness...that just shows the Canberra fitness levels are not right for this speed. Couple that in with bench mismanagement just makes things worse. I hope for better things but 2021 isn't for the green machine. The premiership window is closing fast. Lui needs a chance and Sutton has been solid.

I suppose I could do with a top up Taree but usually don’t go near it until after 5 pm. I think the squad is well due a bit of injection of youth – I’d like to see Valemei, Timoko and Harley-Shields get a decent run – we need some speed and enthusiasm – the squad ain’t getting any younger. At least Kris is getting a go but I’d like to see Simonsson do a lot more. Hear you about Scott but I’d give him the rest of this season to show us if he has anything. Hudson Young. Not sure what to make of him. One minute he’s Origin material and the next he’s a dud who can’t tackle letting in soft tries. He might be better suited to the middle so lock might be a good spot for him this week.

I find it amusing how Trent Barrett received all the accolades when Penrith improved so markedly last year. He was given credit for the Panthers attacking prowess in particular. The addition of Luai and Api was all it took. Luai took enormous pressure off Cleary and the two have ignited the Panthers with the creative service from Api. So Trent got the credit, moved to Canterbury and ... Canberra are lacking speed in my opinion. They have big units right across the park. The new rules have made speed a more valuable commodity.

Geoff, what about Hudson Young? Reynolds could be a genuine target, it's obvious that Williams & Hodson want out. I'm sure that they would free up at least 1.3 million of cap space. If Croker can be retired, there's more money available. I think your wrong on Scott, he's sh-t. How I view it is how desirable a player would be on the open market to other clubs. No one else would want Scott. How much are the Raiders paying for him? Timoko is a much better option, but will we ever know. Ricky has assembled a wonderful squad, does he have the ability to bring the best out of them? Past performances are a good indicator of future performances. Roosters, Sharks, the Kangeroo's, NSW, Parramatta. How did that all go? Geoff, I love to read your opinion on the Raiders, you are a true fan, but if your half full glass is beer, it's gone flat & warm, tip it out & get a fresh, cold one.

Reynolds ain't going to the Raiders Taree. The club would have to pay huge overs to get him and I suspect he's more interested in staying at the Rabbitohs or going to the Sharks or Broncos. I wonder if they might make a play for Milford if the Broncos want to let him go and George Williams returns to England. Hear what you are saying about Ricky playing favourites but I think he's had a huge wake up call in the past 5 weeks. He knows Jarod is on the way out. There is no escaping it. The acid will be on him from here on. Its how its managed that is critical. Ricky had words to Hodgson after the Eels game when we folded in the second half and Hodgson has spat the dummy on given up the captaincy when there were accusations of him stifling the attack. A lot of this has had an unsettling effect on the team but it had to be confronted at some stage. Unfortunately its had an effect on team performances. Maybe it will be for the best in the long run. Lui was probably the only one who was hard done among the forwards by not being selected in earlier matches but he now has his chance against the Bulldogs. You can rubbish Scott but I thought he had some reasonable games prior to him busting his ribs but he needs to do a lot more in the coming weeks. The backs are very thin on experience at the moment given the injuries to CNK, Croker and Rapana. I guess I'm a glass half full sort of guy. A lot of these issues were building up and now that they are out in the open it will be interesting to see whether the team can respond.

Ricky Stuart can't admit that he's wrong. I don't know if his height exasperates his 'short comings'. Ricky Stuart also plays favourites, if you follow the Roar, it's all been written before, Jack Wighton is the No. 1 favourite, Jarrod Croker is 2nd, Hudson Young is apparently 3rd & Emre Guler 4th. The Raiders have one of the best squads in the NRL, there is depth is all positions, most of the squad of 30 has played NRL. So why is it going so bad? Dunamis Lui. Hasn't played a game this year. Why? He isn't injured, I checked. He seemed to go alright playing SOO, for QLD, but in Ricky's view he isn't up to Raiders standard. Ricky picks Guler over Lui & Ryan James. Why? Curtis Scott, was released by the Melbourne Storm, last night on NRL 360 Craig Bellamy said that if you don't meet the Storm's standards you are let go. What a great pick up Ricky, Scott hasn't struck a blow since he started at the Raiders, he is a dud. But Ricky picked him up so he has to keep picking him to prove to Ricky that Ricky is always right. WRONG. Matt Timoko is a hard running enthusiastic, great defending centre. But if Ricky drops Curtis Scott for Timoko, Ricky is WRONG. Ricky is never wrong. Jarrod Croker, is not up to NRL standard, mother time has passed poor old Jarrod by, it's a shame, but he is too slow, can't tackle for sh-t & has been that way for at least 2 years. But Ricky know's best & last year signed Jarrod until the end of 2024. Wrong Ricky, Wrong. Let's hope that Jarrod can be medically retired to save Ricky from being wrong. Sebastian Kris is a more than capable replacement for Croker. Lastly, if Hudson Young came onto the NRL player market, who'd want him? No one. He get's worse by the week, but Ricky for some reason 'wrongfully' known only to him, keeps picking him. Does he miss more tackles than he actually makes, I doubt it but that's what it seems like. Ricky picks good old matey Hudson over Soliola, Rushton, Harawira-Naera, Horsburgh & even Tarpine. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Ricky. Here's a tip to be right Ricky, let Hodson go to the Bronco's, let George Williams go home & spend that money on Adam Reynolds. Right Ricky, you got it. You'd never be wrong with Reynolds.

I think the Doggies need to do a lot more than just grind away this year, getting ready for next year, Christo. You've rightly pointed out they're going to pick up more players next season and no doubt they'd be wanting a more dominant pack. The problem is I don't think they can write off this season and look forward to next. If I was a Doggies sponsor or fan, I'd be wanting way more than what I'm getting,during the last 15 rounds of this year. I don't want promises that things will be better, I'd want to see improvement. They've got enough quality players right now to be winning more than 1 game after 9 rounds. Some how Barrett and his staff need to devise a cunning plan to get them on the right side of the ledger. If he can't do better soon, maybe he's not the right bloke for the job.