No, but you need to use your overseas spots carefully so I presume the new coach rates him highly

Not managed to find that life yet?

Was mentioned on the FC site some weeks ago, to general derision.

Best of luck

Nahh you stick with Will Sharpe

Quite the busy season for a good few of your lot!

8.7 games a season. similar to marquee signings seymour and mckinnons apps the past 3 seasons.

Gidley hasn't been playing FB at the Knights this year. They've been using Wes Naiqama, particularly towards the end of the season.
I'm surprised Sheldon hasn't been on laughing yet.

Shannan was a handy backup fullback at the Knights behind Kurt Gidley till this year.

Now we have bought Darius Boyd, who may be the number 2 fullback in the world and will push Gidley into the halves or hooker, and also 21 year old local junior Pete Mata'utia has cracked firstgrade on the wing, but is a specialist fullback and has pushed Shannon onto the wing in reserve grade. We also have Wes Naiqama in career best form and about equal to Shannon as a fullback.

In short - fullback is easily our strongest position with 2 of the world's top 5 on the books and a great junior prospect, so Shannon is 4th or 5th choice for next season.

Who hasn't been?



That happens with every post.

Just as a heads up, this is inter Hull warfare. There's no room for reasoned argument here...

Great post.

This detailed analysis is based on what?

You being an utter ras clart?

It was wasn't it. Well done. Concise. That's what we like.

Quote ="Faithful One"icon_lol.gif'" Never mind, try this it may help. litemind.com/top-3-reasons-to-im ... ocabulary/

Quote ="Faithful One"icon_lol.gif'" Never mind, try this it may help. litemind.com/top-3-reasons-to-im ... ocabulary/

I just don't see how, after what many rovers fans have said about Seymour being average because he doesn't play for the first team, that Mcdonnell, a player, I'm guessing the majority of you had never even heard of, can be classified as 'star class' by watching some videos on YouTube. Just thought it was funny... Hence the

He was never classified as star quality, the word 'looks' was present in the post which would be just an opinion based entirely on the YouTube videos, must be a trait in FC fans to bend people's posts to score points, purposely choosing to read what they want and not what was intended.

I've not heard of him before now, looks star quality though, hope we sign him.

Clark Gable (great sig.)
So do I.

Well I've seen both Seymour and McDonnell play in the NSW cup this year.
Both looked a class above that comp, and both were being kept out of firstgrade by better options.
I suppose it comes down to what your side needs because they are very different players, but Seymour is a quality playmaker in his old age, and McDonnell can turn a game with his quality runs from fullback.
Seymour probably has his best behind him, and 24 year old McDonnell would be hitting his peak in the next few seasons.

Roopy you do know Seymours 27?

I know he's been around for nearly 10 years and been on the slide for the last 3 or 4.
He debuted in 2002.

I know McDonnell has been around for 4 or 5 years and is just about at his peak - might still have a bit of improvement in him.

I wouldn't want either at my club except as backup players, but they might be OK in ESL.

We'll have to agree to disagree there.

But what will help both players is having extended runs in first team football.

And you've just been taken over by a rich man, appointed Bennett, signed a couple of soo players of course you wouldn't want them at your club.

NRL is a few notches up from SL and players who were on fringes of teams over in Oz are often top performers over here, you only have to look at Dobson for us (and Wigan, Cats), he was dream team no 7 for two seasons, also Blake Green became our player of the year and looks a very good stand off in SL.

I am not too worried about McDonnell as he is likley to look a better player here than in Oz, same goes for a lot of those for other clubs as well such as Carmont at Wigan, similar number of NRL games before coming here and looking a superb player.

Carmont was very different.
He was a guy who came late to pro football.
He got his start in his mid 20s for the Knights under a scheme we run where we bring up one or two guys from the local comp each year to do pre season training with the Knights, and he was actually getting better and better at the Knights and i'd say he was a quality player when he decided to stop playing for peanuts and go to the ESL. He suffered from a poor reputation because he was crap for his first year in the NRL, and NRL coaches had already pidgeonholed him.

Dureau is an interesting one as well. He had an amazing junior career where he won an under 18s title, was the dominant half in the under 20s in the minor premiership winning side (lost the grandfinal due to a coaching stuffup that involved him being moved to 5/8 for an injured Luke Walsh coming back from the seniors), and in reserve grade he took the side Luke Walsh had won a wooden spoon with to the top of the table. Brian Smith hated his style and tried to get him to change it, basically to play second fiddle to Jarrod Mullen, and that near ruined Scott's game. All Trent Robinson did for Scott was to tell him to play his natural game, and he went back to being the player who took the Trent Robinson coached Knights reserve side to the top of the table, till Scott was promoted to firstgrade.

I think McDonnell will go OK, but he isn't a star like Dureau has always been except for 2 years under BS and Rick Stone, where he played very irregular football and was never allowed to call the shots, which is what he does well.

I dont think we will really know how either player will do in ESL until they actually play a few games. It was the same as Blake Green, alot of bulldogs fans at the start of last year were saying he was a reserve grade player and would probably just do OK for us but that didnt turn out to be the case.

On the other hand McDonnell go be at the other end of the scale and not do anything at all for us.

But im sure Sandercock knows enough about the guy and has seen him play more then we have so obv must feel confident he's good enough to do the job.

Had a look at the stats for this nrl season, and he compares well to other "marquee" full back signings in super league. Similar tries in fewer games and more mpc

Shannon is well up to speed as an attacking player. He has even been MOTM several times for the Knights in games we have won easily, because his backing up and gap running skills really shine through when your team is on top.
He suffers very badly when compared with Kurt Gidley in defence.
If a player makes a break and goes one on one with Kurt Gidley, Kurt will bring him down. Kurt would have a fair go at a bull elephant if it ran at him.
If a player makes a break and goes one on one with Shannon, pretty fair chance he will score.

Kurt is better than Shannon in other areas, mostly to do with him being the fittest player in the game and able to spend a lot of time at dummy half or as a playmaker in attack, taking the pressure off half the team, but the real difference is that Shannon will look good when your other players lay the platform, and Kurt will lay the platform himself and prop up half the players on the field as well.