2020 Roster Speculation

[willhelm]

G'day fellas. With all that's going on, I thought it might be a good time to start up a thread on roster speculation for next year. I know there's a lot of turmoil at the moment but in a salary-capped system, such troubling times can often be a blessing in disguise as they provide the opportunity for introspection, the identification and cutting of deadwood, and general future planning/proofing. Just look at the Knights -- they were in a far worse predicament than we are currently in having won 3 wooden spoons in a row and with fewer promising juniors coming through. After several years of heartache, they now have a top quality roster including one of the best halfbacks in the game in Mitchell Pearce, the best front rower in the game in David Klemmer, and the next big thing in Kalyn Ponga. I know that we are currently caught up in the media maelstrom but it will move on in time and we have a good core of youngsters (Arrow, Brimson, Fotuaika, Kelly, Whitbread, even Ash Taylor once he gets his head right under a good coach) as well as some top juniors coming through in the next year or two (Tanah Boyd, Treymain Spry, Darius Farmer).

So, with that said, I wanted to provide a bit of optimism and discuss what we think our roster will look like next year. All good to include new recruits who you think we should target but please be realistic, i.e. no James Tedesco or DCE. Please also consider contracts, i.e. while it's fine to suggest we should try to find a way to release someone like Shannon Boyd, don't assume it will be possible. To start us off, here's my first choice 17:

Coach: Justin Holbrook

1. AJ Brimson
2. Dane Gagai {new recruit}
3. Kallum Watkins
4. Brian Kelly
5. Dale Copley
6. Tyrone Roberts (gk)
7. Ash Taylor
8. Moeaki Fotuaika
9. Nathan Peats (vc)
10. Ryan James (c)
11. Bryce Cartwright
12. Kyle Turner {new recruit}
13. Jai Arrow

14. Matt Parcell {new recruit}
15. Jarrod Wallace
16. Jai Whitbread
17. Keegan Hipgrave

Backup backs: Treymain Spry, Phillip Sami, Anthony Don {new recruits required - maybe Herbie Farnworth from the Broncos?}
Backup halves: Tanah Boyd, {new recruit required - no idea who other than maybe Jamal Fogarty}
Backup hookers: Mitch Rein
Backup forwards: Shannon Boyd, Leilani Latu, Kevin Proctor, Sam Stone, Darius Farmer

This is a total of 27 players, so 3 new recruits or upgraded juniors/development players will be required in addition to the three new recruits I have already proposed.

Release/leaving/retiring:

• Tyrone Peachey (chief stonekicker can head back to Penrith if he is willing to take a paycut, else stick him in reserves until he does)
• Brenko Lee (shoddy defense with no signs of improvement; will never fulfil his potential)
• Ryley Jacks (least creative halfback I have ever seen; just making up numbers)
• Jack Stockwell (the very definition of a plodder)
• Will Matthews (no comment required)
• Michael Gordon (love him but time for the old man to retire)
• Jesse Arthars (enjoy never getting a run behind the plethora of centre & wing options at the Broncos)

General comments:

• The biggest gap in our roster is a metre-eating winger. Someone like Corey Oates or Blake Ferguson would be the dream, but they are obviously not attainable. Instead, I propose we go after Dane Gagai as he appears to be surplus to requirements at Souths. Only issues I can see are that he will command top coin (around 700k/yr I believe) and may agitate to play centre instead of wing.
• I was ecstatic when we signed Nathan Peats back in 2016 and, while his form has been well down this year and last, I believe that he will come good again under a better coach. He's the leader of our forward pack and we desperately need a core group of experienced players to lead the team and take as much pressure off Ash Taylor as possible. For me, this has to be Peats, James, Wallace and Roberts with Arrow being groomed for future leadership.
• I prefer Wallace off the bench to provide a bit of spark and go forward around the 20 min mark. MoFo is a future superstar and imo is second only to Payne Haas in the rankings of next gen props, so I want him starting with James to lock down the middle of the park with Peats and Arrow in the first 20. Wallace will probably kick up a stink about losing his starting jersey, so this will be the first big test of the new coach's resolve and man managing abilities.
• I've seen some positive comments about Jack Stockwell during match threads but I really don't see what everyone else does. To me, he is the distilled essence of plod, and I want him as far from the Gold Coast as possible.
• I like the aggression and energy that Hipgrave brings to the team (when fit) so have kept him as a bench player. He's also versatile and can cover the middle or edge. He seems to have gotten some of the boneheadedness and errors under control and has a lot of improvement left in him. He was hot property last time he was off contract for good reason.
• I am confident that Tyrone Peachey will leave at season's end, so I left him out of the team. I just can't see the new coach carrying such an ungrateful sod and allowing him to undermine the team culture. I'm certain that Mick Gordon's recent comments about players being free to leave if they don't want to be here were alluding to the Peach.
• Having Carty on that right edge with Ash Taylor would provide a creative threat that I believe would require extra attention from defenders (relative to the predictable, one-dimensional Proctor) and would give Ash some extra breathing room to bring back that deadly short kicking game that we know he has. Honestly, this is Ash's biggest weapon and the new coach should be figuring out what the hell happened to it and how to bring it back.
• Apart from Peachey, the players I have listed for releases don't command a huge amount, so it may not be possible to get Gagai. Turner and Parcell wouldn't be hugely expensive though, and I believe would provide good bang for buck. In Turner's case, he's a good kid who has had a rough run with injuries but you know he will put in 100% no matter what, which is exactly what we need for the culture we are trying to build. Parcell is an Ipswich boy so may be persuaded by the opportunity to live closer to home (though I note from Instagram that, like a typical millennial, he appears to be having a ball travelling around Europe). Jake Turpin is a good alternative to Parcell as @NZFan suggested previously but I think he would command a higher salary and there would be more competition for him.

Thoughts?