I can say im certainly not pleased with the way things are trending for the Tigers. The 2 wins are a bit of false form. Sharks were terrible in their game against Tigers whilst the eels unsurprisingly bashed the Tigers forwards but were unable to fire a shot in attack off the back of it.
Being easily accounted for by the Dragons and Dolphins does not leave me believing the side is improving.

Ive asked what problems he caused at Roosters or Rep sides. Now lets go over what youve written.
Got dropped from Origin for poor form and a sin bin in 2019.
This is true, he was dropped. He is also one of many players to be dropped from a rep side for poor form. The sinbin also was hardly the ‘stupid’ decision you’ve labelled it. Most players are happy to commit a professional foul to prevent a try. The try Qld scored in that time, a 95m run off an intercept, can hardly be linked to the sinbinning. That aside, it was hardly as though his dropping or supposed reaction was problematic. NSW went on to win the series.

He left Roosters because they would not sign his brother.
There is no evidence of this. In fact the evidence would contradict this. Latrell signed with Souths in 2020. Shaq signed a train and trial contract in 2022 before eventually earning an upgraded contract. Furthermore, if leaving a club for better money and playing opportunities (fullback) elsewhere is considered to be causing problems for Roosters then over half the players in the competition have been causing problems for their (former) clubs.

So, it appears he has caused very few problems at Roosters or NSW. In fact he has helped deliver premierships in 2 of his 4 years of first grade at Roosters. He has won Origin series for NSW and the only season he was dropped for poor form, NSW still won the series.

Onto to the Souths stuff.

Souths signed his brother, paid him stupid amounts of money and let him play fullback.
We’ve touched on the brother. Now to be honest if he isn’t Latrell’s brother i don’t think he gets the opportunity to earn his spot. So i wont disagree that this point is entirely baseless. However, he did have to earn his spot and he has done so.
They have paid him well. Not sure what quantifies as stupid amounts of money but as a player and a drawcard Latrell is rightfully highly paid. Has his performances (on and off field) provided Souths with a return on their investment. Debatable, but certainly not a definitive no.
He has been the best fullback option at the club for some time. I don’t think it is so much they let him play fullback as much as he is their preferred fullback option. This may or may not change in the future.
They sent him overseas for rehab.
Yes. They are protecting their investment. Just like Manly with Trbojevic, Storm with Papenhauzen and a couple others who’s names escape me currently.
Signed Whigton when they couldn’t afford to.
The implication is that Souths only signed Wighton because he is Latrell’s mate. Wighton is also a damn good footballer. I’d say that Souths only had the opportunity to sign him because he is Latrell’s mate but took that option for their own benefit, not Latrell’s. We need to wait and see if he proves to be a good signing.

So whilst all of the above is in fact Souths being good to Latrell. For the most part it is also simply Souths trying to do what is best for Souths.

You go on to say that he has repaid Souths with unnecessary suspensions, poor work ethic and a bad attitude.
I largely agree with the unnecessary suspensions. I noted that in my original comment. I do however question the suspension argument, at least some of it. For example, there is no doubt in my mind he did not intend to hit Manu high. Hit him hard, yes. High, doubt it. Did he deserve his suspension, yes. Do i think he should be blamed for Souths missing their premiership shot as a result, no. Plenty of players are suspended from finals for incidental actions. There have however absolutely been some stupid and easily avoidable suspensions in Latrell’s past, with the latest the prime example.

Poor work ethic and bad attitude. We have no idea what he is like behind the scenes to know if this is true. It may well be that Mitchell indeed has a poor work ethic and a bad attitude and the rest of the team has had jack of it. It could be just as true that he is actually the one trying his best to lift the team in the face of any number other things that are the root cause of Souths current poor performances.
There is something wrong at Souths. Good teams don’t just unravel as they have done without reason. We just dont know if that reason has anything to do with Latrell.

This is a baseless statement. What problems did he cause at Roosters or in any rep side? Aside from missing games due to suspension and injury, it is unkown if he is in fact the cause of any problems at Souths.

Still better than most but not good enough to win the comp.

All fair comments mate. Yet, i see it differently.

I personally wouldnt call them flat as tacks. Yes, the handling errors were poor but if they were truly flat they would not have defended as strongly as they did, nor found the energy to mount some sort of challenge towards the end.
I dont believe either team made a statement. Panthers would be happy for the win, away from home and missing troops as you said. Roosters were well beaten in the sense that they were never truly in the fight. They however weren’t well beaten in the sense that it wasn’t that the Panthers that tore them apart, moreso the Roosters beat themselves.
If i were coaching that side i’d be buoyed by the fact that they held their line for so long and came up with trys (or no trys) in the few attacking chances they had. Yes, the scoreline shouldn’t paper over cracks. But, the loss exposes those cracks that need to be addressed and most appear to be simple fixes. There were plenty of reasons to believe if the Roosters got their handling right they can get over the Panthers in their next match up.
They were never in a position to give Young any ball last night (due to their poor handling). I don’t think it can be judged if the Roosters do/don’t have the structure to utilise Young when they spent the game in their own half.
Nothing you have said is wrong. I just see things differently so will agree to disagree.

Far too harsh in my opinion Barry.
Yes, Roosters were their own worst enemy with their handling but they defended strongly despite their limited possession and field position.
Young’s 2 tries and 4 linebreaks from the first 3 weeks suggest he is not being starved of the ball. Sure he didn’t see any last night, but Roosters rarely had any attacking ball to give.
The gameplan to kick chase and give him no room to move may work when you are dominating field position due to the Roosters mistakes. It won’t be so simple if/when Roosters complete at an acceptable standard.
I still have concerns with Luai at the Tigers. Not due to his ability but I question if the Tigers pack can perform sufficiently to allow Luai to do his thing.

And this Blue hopes Edwards is nowhere near the Origin team.

I agree with a lot of what you say here. The lack of a long kicking game from either half is a real concern when coming out of trouble. I think Smith needs to take on more kicking responsibility as well as the roosters should utilise Sualii’s long kick as well.
However there were good signs in this game for Roosters as well. Despite high fatigue and decent Panthers attack the defensive line held for a long time with the first two Panthers try’s scored off kicks.
Keep that defensive resolve, reduce the errors and address the kicking for when needed and the Roosters will win plenty.

Because the whistle was blown before Api had made his run. This is deemed as the referee influencing the play (due to some defenders not chasing after hearing the whistle) and that run becoming void.

I’ve no faith in Benji rebuilding the Tigers. Not because of any perceived lack of work ethic, I think priorising his home life is a positive. When you hear some of the high regarded assistants speak of how much they have learnt and still need to learn I don’t trust a bloke with no coaching experience, at any level, can do the job.
I’ve been underwhelmed by all aspects of the football department since Madge was removed.

I believe Leniu in this instance was to foolish to realise that he was being racist. It is the only way i can make sense of the sequence of events.

Racist remark made, that Lenui himself didn’t regard as racist at the time.
As such, Leniu tells Robinson he didnt say anything racially motivated.
Robinson cast doubt in press conference whilst Leniu tells the press there was nothing in it, again he would have believed this at the time.
Leniu gets fired up about not leaving things on the field, as 1) that is his value, 2) he was still yet to understand the ramifications of what he said.
Finally, after some education and reflection Leniu understands that his comment is indeed racist and wants to apologies.

I agree with an earlier comment that it was textbook racism as it was a slur that Leniu would not use on a player of a different race. Furthermore, I don’t believe Leniu’s ignorance excuses his comments and still believe he should be punished accordingly. But i think a lot of the cynicism and some of the suspensions fans are calling for is somewhat over the top.

he moved there mid to late last season

It’s not a matter of Galvin looking elsewhere. I would not blame him at all if he did.
It is a matter of will Tigers release him? There isn’t a concern about fitting him in at the moment. He is already contracted, thus already has been fit in.
This may change by his next contract and this may be when the can’t keep them all principle comes into play. There are so many possibilities between now and then that it would be foolish for the club to grant an early release before Galvin is even 1st grade ready.

You’ve more faith in the Bulldogs than I do.
And a Rabbitoh is a human.

Galvin is 18, never played against men and built like a broom handle. He isn’t playing first grade anytime soon.
Who knows if his pathway will be blocked by the time he is first grade ready? If the club see his future in the halves they will create a pathway for him. Alternatively they may believe he will full out and be more suited to another position. Again they will create a pathway for him. It is just up to the club to pitch this pathway and have him buy into into it. It’s a conversation for him, his management and the club.

After all this I could understand Galvin may want to agitate for a release if he doesnt like Wests plan for him moving forward. But why would Wests want to release him? They have 2 more years to convince him that his future is with the club.

Why would the other club go for this? Galvin is signed til 26 Luai is signed from 25 without trading Galvin away. What do Tigers have to gain by releasing Galvin?

Disagree with most the comments regarding recruitment. The 17 may not have improved much but looking at players 18-30 this squad is much better than last year.
As for the best 17. In a team lacking talented middles Chris Patolo is a must on the bench and expect Sam Hughes to impress if given a chance.
I’d also reshuffle the backline a little. Kiraz and Crichton starting centres. Tracey fullback and Wilson wing.

I will be very disappointed if Ford is the one to drop to the bench. Has been the best reggies backrower for years waiting for someone to give him a shot. Finally got it and nailed it. He isn’t a highlights guy but consistent effort, work rate and line running who’s value is shown over 80minutes. It should be his position to lose in my opinion.
Also Barnett over Bunty.

Bennett had never heard of him until Peter O’Sullivan arranged a meeting. (According to Guru podcast).

The bigger problem with the move it to Campbelltown rhetoric is as Don pointed out it is Wests Ashfield that owns the brand. They are 2.5km from Leichardt oval. It is therefore in their best interests to maintain the inner west identity.

Can only hope so. Unfortunately him deleting the post suggests he wishes to stay.

I feel like I’ve been waiting an eternity for Clifford to announce himself as one of the better NRL halves.
He has shown glimpses of what he could be yet failed to make the most of his chances thus far. I haven’t yet given up hope on him.

To be honest I think that is more to do with the difference in quality between the 2 players than their coaching/developmental

Wonder if one of Smithies or Mooney are going to be used on an edge. If not I think Mooney could be gone at the end of the season. Too good for reserve grade and with the addition of Smithies too many middles being preferred ahead of him.

They have the juniors in the backline there already. Just no halves or 9 of substance.