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The Roar

Graeme Docker

Roar Rookie

Joined January 2021

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Graeme Docker is a Balmain Tigers nut and a Test cricket tragic. An ex-rugby flanker for the Drummoyne Dirty Reds and a veteran of C grade community cricket with the Shanachies CC. He has modelled his bowling style on John Howard and his batting on Bob Hawke. He currently resides as a Roar rookie and remains a slave to most major sporting events.

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Cliff Lyons was better than all of them, his sleight of hand was unparalleled. Thurston 2nd. But i’ve only seen 80’s onwards.

Who is the ultimate playmaker in NRL history?

Hi Nat
I’m pretty sure I never said that the Tigers developed him, but please correct me if I did. Thank you for conceding that he would not have played origin. That was the subtext of the article,that he shouldn’t have been there, hence the final line ‘the message to Madge’. I like Harry Grant a lot and I wish him all the success in the world. I was happy to have him in our jersey, he played very well, and of course I wish we could have kept him. The sour grapes are not mine to crush. It should be Freddy Fittler and the Blues lamenting that maybe Grant should have never been there in game 3. Even Cameron Smith should feel a bit dirty about being moved on when he desired one more season, that is no way to treat your greatest clubman. As for the swap, the gains to Harry Grant, Melbourne and Queensland were massive, the gains to the West Tigers were not. That inequity is why I think the player swap was a failure. As for Origin, it’s good that Queensland won, a Blues three peat is rarely a good thing for Origin.

Is player swapping moral?

it’s interesting that it is deemed acceptable by french rugby league and the uk super league to allow him to continue. Do Issys comments somehow only affect Australians?

In the NRL, sorry seems to be the hardest word

Issy needs to be educated about how and why using social media to post ancient religious homophobia can be very harmful and even deadly. Particularly for young gay people in devout Christian families. If he is able to understand and acknowledge this then he should be entitled to continue his career in Australia. As for the scum who commit violent acts against women, they should never play the game again.

In the NRL, sorry seems to be the hardest word

Hi again Nat, the article is not about a dislike for melbourne, you’ll have to wait a couple of days for that one. It’s actually not even about player swapping. It’s about poor decision making and forward planning by the West Tigers. It’s about the fascinating trajectory of Harry Grants career, and that Queensland and Melbourne are the beneficiaries his meteoric rise. Can you concede that? Harry Grant was destined to succeed and play rep footy, that’s for sure. But can you tell me when you think he would have debuted for Queensland if he didn’t play for the Tigers last year?

Is player swapping moral?

Nat the point is to win a premiership, not just a handful of games. For most clubs that takes years of team building. I will give Madge the benefit of the doubt that he was gambling on the chance of maybe retaining Harry Grant. That is the only excuse for aiding the dynasty of the most successful team in the comp. The West Tigers need to plan to hopefully vie for a premiership in the next 5 years, borrowing Harry Grant and treating Momarovski as excess waste in 2020 was not a forward thinking plan.

Is player swapping moral?

Playing first grade gave Harry Grant the chance to make a rep team. Harry was very good but he had very little first grade experience coming in to 2020. He played really well and mostly looked pretty good but was certainly rough around the edges, as you would expect. Harry Grant should have been biding his time in Melbourne. If the Storm wanted to give Grant time in first grade in 2020 that should have been their prerogative. The point is Nat, if Grant doesn’t play for the Tigers in 2020, he doesn’t play Origin in 2020. He would come into 2021 still more or less a rookie. Harry now has a season of first grade under his belt, a rep jumper and bucket loads of confidence. At the Storm he would likely have had no food at all due to the state cups being cancelled. The development of Harry Grant as a player has been fast tracked, operation warp speed. To answer your other questions, Josh Reynolds should have had first crack at the number nine for the Tigers or a suitable player should have been signed from elsewhere, not borrowed. And finally, yes, the first Tigers rookie to make a rep team was Robert Graves when he played a test match for Australia on February 10, 1909.

Is player swapping moral?

Hi Guy, we generally do see a bit of player movement in the first part of the year but player transfers must be finalised before the midnight June 30 deadline.

Is player swapping moral?

Momirovski was the Tigers best player in 2019, I watched every game. Who was your pick?

Is player swapping moral?

Hi Nat, thanks for your comments. My major argument here is that the Storm now have a fully fledged first grader and rep player coming back to them. That can only strengthen the Storm and I don’t think it is wise for other clubs to be aiding their rivals, particularly the most formidable club in the competition.

Is player swapping moral?

thanks Matt, so I take it you think player swaps in the NRL are a good innovation?

Is player swapping moral?

Yes. If Cleary stays fit, 51% chance.
Yes. 80% chance that Benny has at least one last rodeo, but only 10% in 2021
No. 1% chance that Knights improve on 2020 in 2021
Yes. 99% chance Foran makes a huge difference and Manly make the 8
No. 5% chance for the 8 unless they sign the accountant, then yes 75%

Five big questions ahead of the NRL season

sorry Greg, to suggest that there is any possibility that “Simpkin is now going to become twice the player he would have been had he not spent a year learning off of Grant” is utter nonsense. Under a development contract, a player may play from round 11 onwards, so you are correct that Simkin could not have been tried until then. However the Tigers did have a capable dummy half in their squad named Josh Reynolds who is paid huge dollars mostly just for getting splinters.

Is player swapping moral?

G’day Barry, just wanted to ask you a few questions away from a current conversation. Do you play fantasy football at all? I have an idea for a series and I wanted to run it by you.

The forgotten players: Adelaide Rams

Hi Hard Yards, I think the player swap will die a quick death. Either way I can’t see a Burbo or a Lurbo ever having their development fast tracked by another club. As for a Jurbo or a Turbo being leased, it would be sacrilege, their fans would not accept it. It is very rare for a Sea Eagle great to play any good footy at another Sydney club. When Fatty went to the Roosters his best was way behind him, when Watmough went to the Eels that was also on a pension plan. If their great players are given the tap while still playing good footy, they are generally shipped off to England.

Is player swapping moral?

Barry, I think you should up the criteria to a minimum of 198 games, forgive the players who had a season or two in England and select the team from all clubs pre 1997, except of course for players from Manly-Warringah or Queensland. And surely the selectors can find a spot in the starting thirteen for one B.Beath, have a word to them please.

The forgotten one-club stalwarts

Hope i’m not a glass half empty bloke, but when you barack for the Tigers it definitely drives you to the drink. I give the Storm and Harry Grant full credit for the player he was before round 1, 2020, and without the season for the Tigers he would likely be at the a similar stage in his development now. But Walter, this is as far as I know, the first time such a swap has ever been done. It is not a normal practice. I’m sure both coaches thought it would be mutually beneficial, and in the short term it meant the Tigers had a very good player for one season. But where is the long term benefit? Where is the forward planning?

Is player swapping moral?

Hi Barry, it was never really about morality, that was just a cheeky comparison to other types of morally questionable swapping. As for the Tigers, isn’t team building about forward planning? There was no forward planning by the Tigers in this deal, apart from the delusional gamble that the Storm might release Harry Grant at the end of the season.

Is player swapping moral?

Paul, you seem to think that swapping players between rival clubs is a normal thing to do? Simkin may not have been physically ready, but I bet he would have loved the chance to show that was. Further if the Tigers needed a hooker then they should have done what every club has done always and forever, sign one or develop one. With the NSW and QLD cups suspended there would have been many suitably hardened and experienced players sitting on their hands and available to be signed.

Is player swapping moral?

Hi souvalis. Exactly that. Experience, that is what it is all about. That is where you develop, on the field and in the heat of battle. Harry Grant would have got that experience maybe in 2021. But if Grant was still a rookie the Storm may well have let Cameron Smith have the swan song he desires, while Grant would have been brought along from the bench. In this scenario Grant does not get a full season of first grade under his belt until 2022, he would then be unlikely to have been tried in Origin until 2023. It’s an amazing turn of events for Harry Grant and the Tigers made it happen for him.

Is player swapping moral?

My point is that the Tigers gained nothing. Harry Grant was not ‘an origin class hooker’ when he arrived at the Tigers. He would never have been picked for Queensland without that season of first grade under his belt. The Storm now have a developed first grader, the Tigers developing hookers sat on their hands all year. It’s a massively beneficial for the Storm. It’s massively regressive for the Tigers. Where is the long term benefit for the Tigers?
As for Momarovski, he might not get a ring but he still won a premiership and I hope he wins another one this year, maybe Bellyache can give ‘Moma’ his ring, he’s got plenty of ’em. As ever, Walter, the Storm prove to be astute and elite, while my beloved Tigers remain a complete basket case, and that was the underlying point of the article.

Is player swapping moral?

Hi Paul. 1. Momarovski was already a fully fledged first grader and one of our best players, sending him to Melbourne boosted their stocks in the outside backs, winner Melbourne, loser Tigers. 2. Harry Grant was a rookie with only two appearances to his name, he would have had little or no game time in 2020 because he was behind Cameron Smith and Brandon Smith. Instead he came out of the season 2020 a good twelve months ahead of his development. He then played a major role in QLD winning origin. Winners: Melbourne, Queensland, Harry Grant. 3. In late 2019 the Tigers signed promising young hooker Jake Simkin ahead of the 2020 season. Simkin was identified as a rising star and is also a Queenslander. While Harry Grant was getting that full season under his belt Simkin sat on the sidelines, unable to play any footy because the NSW Cup had been cancelled, Simkin is now twelve moths behind in his development. Losers: Wests Tigers, Jake Simkin. There is no question as to who the winners and losers were in this whole affair. Harry Grant should have been the one missing out on footy and Simkin getting potentially a full season of first grade. The two players are now poles apart in their development.

Is player swapping moral?

Walter, the hapless Tigers developed a player for the most powerful club in the competition. They did so while they’re own young hooker sat and watched. After a full season of first grade Harry was ready to play SOO…for Queensland! If Grant doesn’t play in game three it may well have been a different result. To top it all off, the reigning premiers now start season 2021 not with a rookie dummy half but with a fully certified match winning origin player. And the Tigers, they have to start all over again and develop the kid that sat and watched it all happen, what more they will probably make him do it from the NSW cup.
As for the Warriors, that was an entirely different and unique situation, and those player loans were certainly warranted and necessary. But apart from that scenario, why would rival clubs be trying to help each other?

Is player swapping moral?

😂 Who Madge and Bellyache, that’s not a pretty picture

Is player swapping moral?

Thanks Barry. The Tigers should be investigated by the integrity unit for developing a player for a rival club, while their own rookie, Jake Simkin, sat on the sidelines all season. It’s just diabolical.
But the integrity unit are just there to put out player spot fires and keep stuff out of the media, aren’t they?
Can you remember clubs doing any such player loans in the past?

Is player swapping moral?

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