King signs at GC = Bruce stays ?

[Rocket]

You would think now that Ben King has re-signed at GC that we now got to sign up Bruce for 1-3 years extra ?

With McCartin in limbo it leaves Max King, Membrey with Marshall / Ryder.

Or do we bite bullet for Howard ? Don’t know enough about this bloke.

[Secret Kiel]

Nup

[SaintPav]

Does this really need a separate thread?

[Dis Believer]

You would think now that Ben King has re-signed at GC that we now got to sign up Bruce for 1-3 years extra ?

With McCartin in limbo it leaves Max King, Membrey with Marshall / Ryder.

Or do we bite bullet for Howard ? Don’t know enough about this bloke.

Would think Howard in and Battle back forward if needed, especially with Roberton looking like getting back on the park....

[Joffa Burns]

I think its pretty clear that Marshall will play KPP forward and Ryder as no.1 ruck.
With Howard and Carslile as KPP defenders battle may play the swingman role.

A friend suggested PA are interested in Wilkie being the steak knives in the Howard deal, I have no idea if correct or not.

[desertsaint]

be nice to have a chf. pretty important position.

[Sainternist]

The idea of trading Bruce was to restructure our forward line in accomodating for Max King, not Ben King!!

[desertsaint]

The idea of trading Bruce was to restructure our forward line in accomodating for Max King, not Ben King!!

correct but again, who plays chf? we have no one that is a good fit next season.
membrey would be solution, but not ideal, battle is shaping as a very good defender and would be learning on the job, not ideal without a good onfield mentor, roma the same.

[saintsRrising]

The idea of trading Bruce was to restructure our forward line in accomodating for Max King, not Ben King!!

Not so sure about that.

I think Bruce this year was so that we did not need to use our 2020 first in any trades to get some key targets in (which has turned out to be Hill, Howard and Jones) so that we could use it in a possible Ben King Trade.

Bruce amd Max along with Membrey can all easily play in the one forward line. King at FF, Bruce the roaming CHF and Membrey as the ideal "third tall".


If the thought to move on Bruce for restructuring, it would have been due to wanting to play two genuine rucks (ie Marshall and Ryder) in the one team, with the compromise that one plays as forward when the other is rucking.

[Devilhead]

I think its pretty clear that Marshall will play KPP forward and Ryder as no.1 ruck.
With Howard and Carslile as KPP defenders battle may play the swingman role.

A friend suggested PA are interested in Wilkie being the steak knives in the Howard deal, I have no idea if correct or not.

Wilkie as steak knives in deal for a Port reserves player

[Enrico_Misso]

The idea of trading Bruce was to restructure our forward line in accomodating for Max King, not Ben King!!

correct but again, who plays chf? we have no one that is a good fit next season.
membrey would be solution, but not ideal, battle is shaping as a very good defender and would be learning on the job, not ideal without a good onfield mentor, roma the same.

Paddy plays a stay at home chf role - anchored at true chf in his spherical bubble suit.

[Secret Kiel]

I think its pretty clear that Marshall will play KPP forward and Ryder as no.1 ruck.
With Howard and Carslile as KPP defenders battle may play the swingman role.

A friend suggested PA are interested in Wilkie being the steak knives in the Howard deal, I have no idea if correct or not.

Yeah but Wilkie would be one of those real nice expensive steak knives, the one with the mahogany timber handles and blades cut from Japanese samurai sword steel.

[groupie1]

A contract is a guarantee. Ben King is not off the table at all. Manager advised him to extend for the financial guarantee. He can still be traded.

[remboy]

A contract is a guarantee. Ben King is not off the table at all. Manager advised him to extend for the financial guarantee. He can still be traded.

100% agree. At the end of next season Ben King will be just as available as ever. All the new contract does is give him a big pay rise and Gold Coast gets a bit bit more bargaining power.

[groupie1]

A contract is a guarantee. Ben King is not off the table at all. Manager advised him to extend for the financial guarantee. He can still be traded.

100% agree. At the end of next season Ben King will be just as available as ever. All the new contract does is give him a big pay rise and Gold Coast gets a bit bit more bargaining power.

Thanks mate. It's nice to post here and not get ridiculed... let alone be agreed with!

[Spinner]

Once we get Hill, Howard and Ryder completed we can hold out for Bruce to the very end. Would be interesting to see how it falls.

Dogs would need to pony up more than 32 you would think.

[SaintPav]

You would think now that Ben King has re-signed at GC that we now got to sign up Bruce for 1-3 years extra ?

With McCartin in limbo it leaves Max King, Membrey with Marshall / Ryder.

Or do we bite bullet for Howard ? Don’t know enough about this bloke.

Would think Howard in and Battle back forward if needed, especially with Roberton looking like getting back on the park....

Sounds nice in theory but Battle is not a crash and bash forward like Bruce. He also found his place in the backline and was playing well there before Jake came back into the team.

Bruce wasn't the KP player we needed to cut loose and I think we are going to regret letting him go, big time.

[To the top]

Acknowledging that my assessments of what players bring to the table differs significantly from the assessments of others on here, I venture that Marshall as a key forward will be a turning point with his skill set and athleticism

Ryder will ruck with occasional support from Marshall - and we still require ruck support behind those 2 (a late Pick from a State League?)

Membrey as the “third tall” will round out a dangerous attack - with Gresham, Billings and Long in support

[longtimesaint]

Taking Marshall out of the ruck is madness as he is shaping as another Grundy.
Playing Ryder as the number one ruck will damage our clearances as he is no longer very athletic.

[Secret Kiel]

Taking Marshall out of the ruck is madness as he is shaping as another Grundy.
Playing Ryder as the number one ruck will damage our clearances as he is no longer very athletic.

Surely the plan is for Ryder to be the mentor/backup to RoMa and also the spare forward option to replace Bruce structurally while Max King develops and tries to establish himself in the team.

[Rocket]

What are we hearing re Bruce deal ? Not a lot in media.

Would like to keep ....dangerous forward line with him, King, Membrey and perhaps Battle.

[Secret Kiel]

What are we hearing re Bruce deal ? Not a lot in media.

Would like to keep ....dangerous forward line with him, King, Membrey and perhaps Battle.

Battle is now forever a backline player, more chance of Carlise being moved forward especially if Dougal makes a case as the Carlisle replacement down back.

Bruce is replaced by Ryder in the short term.

[groupie1]

Acknowledging that my assessments of what players bring to the table differs significantly from the assessments of others on here, I venture that Marshall as a key forward will be a turning point with his skill set and athleticism

Ryder will ruck with occasional support from Marshall - and we still require ruck support behind those 2 (a late Pick from a State League?)

Membrey as the “third tall” will round out a dangerous attack - with Gresham, Billings and Long in support

I agree with Membrey being able to play 3rd forward will be more beneficial to us than we think. He's rarely had that opportunity and he will monster any 3rd defender in the comp one-on-one.

[Secret Kiel]

Acknowledging that my assessments of what players bring to the table differs significantly from the assessments of others on here, I venture that Marshall as a key forward will be a turning point with his skill set and athleticism

Ryder will ruck with occasional support from Marshall - and we still require ruck support behind those 2 (a late Pick from a State League?)

Membrey as the “third tall” will round out a dangerous attack - with Gresham, Billings and Long in support

I agree with Membrey being able to play 3rd forward will be more beneficial to us than we think. He's rarely had that opportunity and he will monster any 3rd defender in the comp one-on-one.

The fact RoMo could be that versatile, i.e. a full time forward that rotates in the ruck or the other way around is a positive either way in my book.

Like a few other soldiers who have desperately been battling manfully for the past few seasons while waiting for the cavalry to arrive, I suspect Members is jumping out of skin to take the field in 2020. He will surely benefit, he jumps at the ball and marks it at the apex like the old number 12.

[kalsaint]

You would think now that Ben King has re-signed at GC that we now got to sign up Bruce for 1-3 years extra ?

With McCartin in limbo it leaves Max King, Membrey with Marshall / Ryder.

Or do we bite bullet for Howard ? Don’t know enough about this bloke.

Howard at centre half back and Battle back at CHF. He has the leading, marking and long kicking attributes needed for the role and would have learnt a few forwards tricks while back this year.