Nick Cotric returns to Raiders on three year deal

[Matt]

The Raiders are being sensible in expecting more than $150,000 in freight on a $650,000 deal. Cotric presently not worth more than $450,000. Makes sense to release Simonsson, Cotric would still be a worthwhile upgrade.

Agreed

[greeneyed]

The Raiders are being sensible in expecting more than $150,000 in freight on a $650,000 deal. Cotric presently not worth more than $450,000. Makes sense to release Simonsson, Cotric would still be a worthwhile upgrade.

I look at it this way Cotric walks into a wing position. Bailey is fighting it out with Semi and other players coming through

I agree. Cotric is a significant upgrade talent wise and in terms of ceiling. But Cotric has also been below his best for two years. $450,000 is still very good dollars for a winger… so you’d want Cotric playing near his ceiling at that price. No doubt, Simonsson costs a lot less, but overall, worthwhile trading.

[Botman]

Squeeze the dogs for another 50k of freight, and do the deal with Cotric and Simo

[sprintman]

Eels forum think Simmo is a done deal

[FROG]

Anyone have any idea what simmo would be on? I'm guessing circa 350? If true, then you'd have to think Cotric for another 100k would be worth it

[julian87]

Surely Simonsson wouldn't be on more than high 200s given where he was signed from and the fact 2021 was the only real season he was pencilled in as a starter.

[Northern Raider]

Surely Simonsson wouldn't be on more than high 200s given where he was signed from and the fact 2021 was the only real season he was pencilled in as a starter.

He was re-signed at the end of 2019 where he finished as a backup winger/bench player. Being part of the top 17 we would likely be on 200k-300k. If they already knew Rapana was off to Japanese rugby he may have gotten a little more as he was the logical replacement starter.

[Seiffert82]

Far out. Cotric for Simonsson and still have a roster spot open is a deal you get done.

Even at $500k for Cotric, which is about what we were willing to pay him a few years back.

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[Ruben Daley]

Far out. Cotric for Simonsson and still have a roster spot open is a deal you get done.

Even at $500k for Cotric, which is about what we were willing to pay him a few years back.

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Yep. This is a no-brainer.

I always had hopes for Bailey and maybe he can still reach them but I don’t think we have to worry about letting him go.

[Old School Green]

Done deal you’d suspect.
Stick is close with Gould and Barrett and this wouldn’t have leaked to this extent if it wasn’t at dot i’s and cross t’s stage. Great outcome as discussed.
Bailey’s partner is in Sydney and he is there all the time. I’m sure Parra know what they are getting and it works for them, system-of-play wise and cap wise.
Looking forward to having cotric recapture his best in green

[Hong Kong Raider]

Would love to see Cotric come back. Much better player than Bailey. Dogs need to contribute $200,000 which would be fair.

Our backline is looking better now.

With Curtis Scott and now increasingly looking like Bailey joining the Eels, I wished we played Parra twice next year.

[Raiders666]

Done deal you’d suspect.
Stick is close with Gould and Barrett and this wouldn’t have leaked to this extent if it wasn’t at dot i’s and cross t’s stage. Great outcome as discussed.
Bailey’s partner is in Sydney and he is there all the time. I’m sure Parra know what they are getting and it works for them, system-of-play wise and cap wise.
Looking forward to having cotric recapture his best in green

I thought Ricky and Gould hated each other ?

[FROG]

Let's not forget Don's brother is also an assistant coach at the dogs

[Old School Green]

Done deal you’d suspect.
Stick is close with Gould and Barrett and this wouldn’t have leaked to this extent if it wasn’t at dot i’s and cross t’s stage. Great outcome as discussed.
Bailey’s partner is in Sydney and he is there all the time. I’m sure Parra know what they are getting and it works for them, system-of-play wise and cap wise.
Looking forward to having cotric recapture his best in green

I thought Ricky and Gould hated each other ?

I recall a recent fluff piece about how they kissed and made up and how stick calls him frequently again to chew the fat.

[-PJ-]

I’m hearing Ricky is giving Gus advice on how to treat those bee stings.

[Begbie]

Done deal you’d suspect.
Stick is close with Gould and Barrett and this wouldn’t have leaked to this extent if it wasn’t at dot i’s and cross t’s stage. Great outcome as discussed.
Bailey’s partner is in Sydney and he is there all the time. I’m sure Parra know what they are getting and it works for them, system-of-play wise and cap wise.
Looking forward to having cotric recapture his best in green

I thought Ricky and Gould hated each other ?

I recall a recent fluff piece about how they kissed and made up and how stick calls him frequently again to chew the fat.

They are actually in an active relationship. Apparently both wifes are upset about it but turn a blind eye for the sake of the kids.

[Raiders666]

[sprintman]

Does Cotric himself want to return?

[greeneyed]

Apparently he wants to return rather than going to another Sydney club.

[-PJ-]

Apparently he wants to return rather than going to another Sydney club.

I just rang Nick..

Confirmed.

[Sid]

Apparently he wants to return rather than going to another Sydney club.

I just rang Nick..

Confirmed.

Thanks PJ.

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[-PJ-]

Apparently he wants to return rather than going to another Sydney club.

I just rang Nick..

Confirmed.

Thanks PJ.

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Anytime Sid, cut out the middle man.

[bonehead]

Does Cotric himself want to return?

remember the stories of him being torn on going in the 1st place

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[Mickey_Raider]

Vossy reporting Raiders only have the Cotric cash if Hodgo goes

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How is this possible?

Yeah, I'm no Capologist but I have no idea how.our Cap is so tight. Can anyone explain?

One of two explanations:

1. We're not actually tight on the cap but it benefits us greatly to have it out there publicly that we are tight. From a club perspective, it's far better to negotiation from a stand point of people believing you dont have a fat stack of money waiting to be spent. So explanation 1 is, it's media nonsense that we're getting out there because it benefits us to do so. There is literally no downside to clubs, players and agents THINKING we dont have cap space

OR

2. We've paid too much for players being retained in the last 18 months... you can go through and see who's been re-signed and look at names we're retained and if each of them got that extra 5-10% more than they should have, it adds up pretty quickly to eat up a solid amount of cap space

I believe we're actually in option 1. Stuart has, for all his faults, been pretty good at keeping our cap in good shape since arriving.
But i cant begrudge anyone who thinks it's option 2, because that's the history of the club. That's what we've typically done.

As I've opined elsewhere, I reckon there is also an option 3. Actually it could be categorised as 1A in that we are communicating with clubs that our cap is tight when it isn't; but for different reasons.

Remember how badly we got burnt in 2014 when we aggressively pursued a host of high profile players and came up empty handed?

I think there is strategic thought behind having the "tight cap" excuse in the back pocket so that if we don't sign a player we are interested in we can control the narrative rather than it just being a case of "Another player rejects Canberra."

[Botman]

As I've opined elsewhere, I reckon there is also an option 3. Actually it could be categorised as 1A in that we are communicating with clubs that our cap is tight when it isn't; but for different reasons.

Remember how badly we got burnt in 2014 when we aggressively pursued a host of high profile players and came up empty handed?

I think there is strategic thought behind having the "tight cap" excuse in the back pocket so that if we don't sign a player we are interested in we can control the narrative rather than it just being a case of "Another player rejects Canberra."

Yeah, that could well be it too, definitely it's a part of the reason why you'd want it publicly out there that cap is tight.
As said, there is no downside to us having cap space but managing to convince everyone else that we dont.

That said, without public salaries, we can only speculate and i cant hold it against any one who thinks this is just classic mismanagement and we are in fact very tight on the cap. And i've got no reason to think their wrong and im right, in fact this clubs history would say it's likely the reverse

[Mickey_Raider]

Also, I am firmly in the "get this done" camp.

Simo is inoffensive, but I am not sure inoffensive cuts it.

A backline with some variation of of Savage, CNK, Cotric, Timoko, HSS and Rapana looks a hell of a lot better than a backline with Simo, Semi, Croker and Scott; which is what we were looking at last year.

[GreenMachine]

Cotric in, Simo out is a no brainer...
You take this any day of the week ending in 'day'.

[Billy Walker]

Cotric in, Simo out is a no brainer...
You take this any day of the week ending in 'day'.

I suspect this will get done but I don’t agree it is a no brainer. The question “is Cotric a better player than Simo” - yep sure that is a no brainer, most if not all would agree he is.

The question of whether we are appropriately allocating our cap to the positions we need to get us into premiership contention is less clear.

I think it will get done, I think Nick is an upgrade on Simo, but whether this is the right move for us - not so sure. You tend not to rebuild a team by locking in your wing positions.

[papabear]

The Raiders are being sensible in expecting more than $150,000 in freight on a $650,000 deal. Cotric presently not worth more than $450,000. Makes sense to release Simonsson, Cotric would still be a worthwhile upgrade.

I think this cant be understated enough.

Regardless of what we do with simonsson, cotric still isnt playing at a level worth 450-500k. With vlandysball leaning more towards speed then size as well, I am not sure he goes back to being an elite edge player.

I mean its not the end of the world either way, but if I am the club, I keep my powder dry until its a price you are happy to pay him...

[Andymachine]

I'd draw it out a bit and wait until after Christmas to get Cotric in regardless. Every month he stays with the dogs they're paying him $55k on their cap. If he comes on board mid way through Jan after players come back from leave then we've saved ~$125k already and if the dogs take on another $75k of it then there's our $450k player. If the dogs will only pay $150k freight for 2023 then I'm fine with it. Swapping a $600k Scott with a $450-500k Cotric for the next 2 years would be a great result.

[GreenMachine]

Cotric in, Simo out is a no brainer...
You take this any day of the week ending in 'day'.

I suspect this will get done but I don’t agree it is a no brainer. The question “is Cotric a better player than Simo” - yep sure that is a no brainer, most if not all would agree he is.

The question of whether we are appropriately allocating our cap to the positions we need to get us into premiership contention is less clear.

I think it will get done, I think Nick is an upgrade on Simo, but whether this is the right move for us - not so sure. You tend not to rebuild a team by locking in your wing positions.

Tackle breaks on kick returns are a foundation for successful teams ...they allow you to build momentum early in the set.
Cotric will be 1000% better than Simmo in this area...
Don't forget we were willing to pay $500K to keep him...anything around that mark is fine by me...under's would be welcomed off course.

[GreenMachine]

I'd draw it out a bit and wait until after Christmas to get Cotric in regardless. Every month he stays with the dogs they're paying him $55k on their cap. If he comes on board mid way through Jan after players come back from leave then we've saved ~$125k already and if the dogs take on another $75k of it then there's our $450k player. If the dogs will only pay $150k freight for 2023 then I'm fine with it. Swapping a $600k Scott with a $450-500k Cotric for the next 2 years would be a great result.

Exactly, well said.

[benda]

For anyone doubting how good it would be to get Cotric back have forgotten just how solid he was for us!
Brings ball back with interest, knows how to finish and overall id like to think holds himself to a high standard. To date no off field incidents.

He has also been to Sydney (which i predicted many years would happen) so that should be now flushed out of his system.

Get the deal done asap and the rightful owner for the Canberra "2" jersery.

[Seiffert82]

There is no question in my mind that a backline containing Cotric, Savage, CNK and a fit Rapana **** on most of the dross we served up in 2021. I don't care who you add in the centres with them, as long as it's not a broken Croker.

Rapa was the only one in that lot who played an entire season and he was by far our best back in 2021.

Anyone suggesting Simonsson is anywhere near a line breaking, game breaking talent is watching a different sport to me. One good game against the Broncos doesn't move the needle.

[Raiders_Pat]

For anyone doubting how good it would be to get Cotric back have forgotten just how solid he was for us!
Brings ball back with interest, knows how to finish and overall id like to think holds himself to a high standard. To date no off field incidents.

He has also been to Sydney (which i predicted many years would happen) so that should be now flushed out of his system.

Get the deal done asap and the rightful owner for the Canberra "2" jersery.

I think it's less about forgetting how good he was for us and more about remembering how ordinary he was for the Bulldogs this year. I wouldn't knock it back at $450k though... but if it's any more, I think it's very reasonable to be questioning the value for money.