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Re: "The Weekly Roar"

By CaptainFarrar89
12/11/2022 5:57 am


PENRITH, NSW - The Lions, between picks, have made some draft pick changes to boost future selections in coming years.

Penrith has traded away the 150th overall pick, due in the fifth round, to Cheesy Philly, in exchange for a future sixth-round selection in the 2025 draft. The trade provides Penrith with a bit more of a break between picks early on in Day 4, whilst also providing an extra pick next season. With the Lions still holding a large selection of picks coming up over the last three days of the draft, the team can reset and continue to discuss and build the roster for the upcoming season.

Speaking to the media, General Manager Todd Carlton talked about the decision to make the trade, and why the Lions have been as active as they have been during this offseason:-

    "We honestly aren't that concerned with what the media really thinks about our trade activity, we are making trades and whatnot to assist our team in rebuilding and to what we want to see from our roster over the coming seasons. We knew that we would be quite active throughout the offseason and even the draft, and we are happy with those decisions. Giving up a pick this year, and getting one back next year, we have capital across both this season and next and we can seriously keep making the choices and decisions that best benefit our team".

Re: "The Weekly Roar"

By CaptainFarrar89
12/11/2022 5:38 pm


PENRITH, NSW - The Lions have made another trade move, this time trading into the third round of the draft.

The team have made a trade again with Reasonable Lengths, this time trading away a future fourth-round selection next year along with the 160th overall pick in exchange for the 84th selection in the draft, allowing the Lions to get back into the third round this year.

Some may think that the Lions have given up a bit too much to get back into the draft, however, speaking with General Manager Todd Carlton, he has said that the team were always looking at moving a few future selections into this year, and with the rebuilding of the team in full swing, a trade like this is just what they are looking for:

    "We like this trade, it gives us what we want, we can move a later-round pick, and a future pick, and jump right back into the draft today. We have a massive rebuild of our roster well underway, our coaching staff are right there with us in the room, making sure that everyone is on board and on the same page with who we draft and where we make our moves this offseason and throughout the draft, and to only give up a fifth-round selection, plus a fourth-round selection next year, which we already have a couple of extras of, it made sense for us and was everything we wanted and I will say that all our trades so far, and into the future in this season and beyond are always going to be done to our standards and to what we want. We stand by our decision to accept trades that benefit us and don't leave us feeling like we have been scammed out of something.

Re: "The Weekly Roar"

By CaptainFarrar89
12/11/2022 7:14 pm


PENRITH, NSW - In another trade move, none of which is now surprising, the Lions have traded away a recently acquired draft pick to move up in the draft order.

The Penrith Lions have traded away the 84th selection in the draft, along with the 97th pick to the two-time defending champions in Stockholm, in exchange for the 68th overall selection as well as a sixth-round selection (Pick #161). The Lions now have moved up to the fourth pick in today's proceedings and now will have a much broader selection of the remaining rookies still left on the board following yesterday's second round.

With the war room in discussions over the draft selection, we spoke with Vice President of Player Development Edward Hutchinson, who quickly spoke to us about the decision to make this trade:-

    "We really liked this trade, it gave us a chance to move up quite some way in the draft, and get a better shot of drafting the player we really want in that position and Stockholm wanted to drop back a little bit, and we felt that it was a good decision to make the trade as it works for us, it works for them and we are both happy with the trade. We have a lot of draft capital, we think, for this draft, so also having to give up a fourth-round choice, we aren't that worried about it. We think like we have what we want from this one and it gives us a good look at whoever is still on the board and take the best possible player".

Re: "The Weekly Roar"

By CaptainFarrar89
12/11/2022 9:00 pm


AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - The Lions have drafted another defensive player to help build the roster for the new season, with returning foundation player Brian Lecyuer announcing the newest Lion player to join the team.

With the 68th overall pick in the 2024 Electrosports Football League draft, the Penrith Lions select Richard Dunn, a cornerback from Arizona State University.

A three-year starter for the Sun Devils, the cornerback was a JUCO transfer from Odessa College, where he played a season. For the Sun Devils, he finishes his college career with 38 tackles and a sack, and made all-conference honourable mention last season, with the Sun Devils having a poor 3-7 season.

Speaking after the day, General Manager Todd Carlton talked about what they see in Dunn, and how this will affect others on the defensive side of the ball with roster positions and even starting jobs when the start of the season comes around:-

    "We are not in the business right now of going "oh, these players are starters so we don't need to draft in that position", that is not how we operate, nor is that the way we are looking and approaching this draft. We are wanting to find the best players that fit our scheme, that fit our plans for this team moving forward, and Richard brings us more competition and brings the others in the room more competition to improve, to get better and fight for each and every spot on our roster. We want 60 players who are ready to compete every day at practice and on the field, and we want to have our decisions when we need to cut down to 53 players the hardest possible decisions".

    "I'm very happy to have been drafted and to come to Penrith, they are a team that is on the up and up and I'm excited to be part of the process, and part of what this team is going to hopefully become over the next few seasons and I am looking forward to meeting my new teammates and getting right down to work and compete for the roster because it is going to be very competitive this season for the roster".

Re: "The Weekly Roar"

By CaptainFarrar89
12/11/2022 9:40 pm


AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - As the final day of the draft gets underway, the Lions look to finish off their draft, with another defensive player joining the roster.

With the 155th overall selection, the Penrith Lions have selected linebacker Robert Reyes, from the University of California, Los Angeles.

As a four-year player for the Bruins, Reyes completed his college career with 99 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and an interception. He was redshirted in his first year following a serious knee injury during an early practice in his freshman year, and while he only played two games the next year, he played all bare 6 games in the following two years as he had a small reoccurrence of the knee injury in the shortened 2020 season, and while the Bruins did not make any postseason bowl games during his stay in Los Angeles, he was named player of the game in the 2021 Victory Bell matchup against USC, which the Bruins won 62-33.

Speaking after the draft, Head Coach James Jennings talked about how drafting Robert will be for the team and what this draft pick means for the team moving forward:-

    "We identified Robert as a solid player that can fit suitably into our scheme, and someone who can provide a solid point of contact on the defensive line. We are quite clear on his injury concerns and have taken our due diligence with the medical staff both here and at UCLA and are confident that the care and surgery he has had will not prevent him in any way from being there with the team and from competing for a roster spot and a starting position on the field this season"

    "I know my career has been hampered in some small ways, but I am confident that it is all behind me and I can be a solid contributor for the Lions, a team that I am very honoured to have been drafted to, they have huge potential and I am looking forward to getting right into the minicamp and OTA's and getting ready for training camp. They will not regret drafting me and taking on the challenge of what this team wants to achieve in the coming seasons".

Re: "The Weekly Roar"

By CaptainFarrar89
12/11/2022 10:14 pm


AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - Only a few picks later, and the Lions have again made another selection in the draft, furthering their offensive picks with another O-Liner.

With the 161st overall pick in the 2024 Electrosports Football League Draft, the Penrith Lions have selected Keith Harkless, an offensive guard from Millerville University in Pennsylvania.

In only the second time that the Lions have selected a D-II player onto the roster (the other being guard Paul Hayze from Truman State), the Lions have taken three-year starter Keith Harkless, who comes to the Lions off the back of playing every game across the three seasons he played, with over 1,440 play blocks, allowing only 7 sacks during his time.

Vice President of Player Scouting George Richardson talked to the media about what this means for the draft moving forward, and also for the Lions, and what this might mean moving forward, with other FCS, D-II and below players getting into the league through the draft rather than through free agency:-

    "Player scouting is not just always about the FBS schools, or the schools that are making bowl games, we have a good team of scouts who go around to a whole lot of schools and a whole lot of games and watch a large number of players, and if they feel that they are worth a further look, or even a detailed scouting assignment, then we will take that cost on and take that onboard. If it works out, and we feel that come draft time that they are on the board and we need to draft in that position, that they are also the best player available for what we want with this team, then the university of whatever that they attended means very little to us, what it means at that moment, is that they are now Penrith Lions players".

    "I wasn't expecting this to happen, I've sat here and watched the last three days of the draft and have been excited to see so many amazing young guys joining the league, getting drafted and having that experience given to them, it comes along only once in a lifetime, and to get that phone call from Coach Jennings, and the other coaches and staff from the Lions, it was something that I will never forget and something that I know has now happened, we will celebrate tonight but tomorrow, or when I get to the facility for the first time, it will all be over and it will be time to get down to work and get down to the actions of proving to myself and to my new team that I am worthy not just of being drafted, but of staying around for a long time".

Re: "The Weekly Roar"

By CaptainFarrar89
12/11/2022 10:43 pm


AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - With only five picks between the two, the Lions have made another draft selection, this time going defensive, and with current defensive star, Andrew Robertson announcing the selection.

With the 166th overall selection in the 2024 draft, the Penrith Lions have selected Maurice Price, a cornerback from Stanford.

A four-year starter for the Cardinal, Maurice finished his college playing days with 28 tackles, 3 for a loss and 0.5 sacks, however, he will be remembered as being ejected from seven games in a row in the 2021 season, which resulted in him missing the first four games of 2022 after a self-imposed team suspension and further details were kept quiet from teams during the pro day at Stanford this year. Many wondered if teams would pass completely on Maurice, but the Lions must have seen something in the young man and a location where the focus is on the football, rather than the bright lights of some other locations, it may be what he needs to focus his career and his skills.

When talking to the media, General Manager Todd Carlton was asked about whether or not the team was aware of the incidents that Maurice had faced and been in during his time at Stanford and whether or not they would have drafted him if they had known about it earlier:-

    "It actually happened right after we announced the draft pick, about twenty minutes. I got a call from Head Coach Shaw at Stanford, which ironically was only a few hours before he resigned his position there, and we had quite a long chat about his incidents on and off the field, and I still don't believe it would have changed our minds about drafting him, and I think, after that discussion and now, after the draft, that we've received the details from Stanford as to what they have done with his team suspension and the assistance they have provided him and his family through this whole thing, that we can develop a detailed plan for Maurice and make sure that he has the support he needs while he is on our roster".

We did ask for a comment from Maurice, or someone from his team, however, we were unable to get a comment back before publication.

Re: "The Weekly Roar"

By CaptainFarrar89
12/11/2022 11:28 pm


PENRITH, NSW - The team's final pick in the sixth round, and the Lions head back to draft another offensive target on the board to boost the O-Line for the season.

With the 169th pick in the 2024 draft, the Penrith Lions have selected Harvey Johnson, an offensive tackle from the University of Nevada.

A two-year backup and two-year starter for the Wolfpack, Harvey finished his career at Reno with 954 play blocks, 4 fumble recoveries and 2 tackles, with honourable mentions in both 2020 and 2021 to the All-MWC second team, and played in both the victory in the 2020 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Tulane and the sharp loss to Western Michigan a year later in the Quick Lane Bowl. Johnson was also a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, for the best college player beginning his career as a walk-on.

Speaking after the draft, Vice President of Player Scouting George Richardson talked about how they came around to the decision to draft Johnson and what it means for the roster, with several picks now used on offensive linemen:-
    "We liked what we saw on tape from Harvey, he has a very strong work ethic and his pro day was evidence of that, he took the play from the beginning and made sure that he kept up with his assignment until the end, he forced as much as he could off the line and was able to protect the right side of the ball. We liked what we saw and are very pleased that he was available now, and that he is now on our roster. As for what this makes our draft class look like, that is something we discuss and we don't look at the draft board when its our pick and go "oh, we've been very top heavy on this position or this area of the roster", we look at what we need, where we want to improve and bring in up and coming and new talent, and what we feel is the best available rookies still on the board. If we draft a whole draft class that is just offensive players, so be it. We look forward to seeing Harvey's performances in rookie minicamp and OTA's as well as during training camp. He will be a very welcome addition to the roster and the team as a whole".

Re: "The Weekly Roar"

By CaptainFarrar89
12/12/2022 12:11 am


PENRITH, NSW - As the draft begins to slowly wind down, there are still active teams out there in the trade market, with the Lions being one of them, trading a future pick away for two additional picks coming up in the final two rounds.

The Lions have traded away a future fifth-round selection to the Edlington Anarchy, in exchange for getting a sixth-round and seventh-round selection in this draft, currently picks #172 and pick #207.

The Lions are currently in discussions regarding trades on these two picks, as well as other picks; with the Lions due to pick at least four times in the final round, before the ending of the draft and with everyone heading back to begin rookie minicamps and OTA's as well as training camp.

Head Coach James Jennings talked about the last-minute draft trade and why the Lions didn't just hold out with the picks they already held and get to the end of the draft, and look towards undrafted free agents as a way of boosting the numbers on the roster for training camp:-

    "We aren't afraid to say that we have been quite active and have made a large number of trades this offseason, but honestly, we aren't phased too much. It is what we feel is right for our team and even here in the last couple of rounds, we are still looking at players on the draft board and wanting to draft players that we feel are going to be a good fit for the roster, and we will make the decisions on not just these rookies, but all of our players, across training camp and the preseason before making those tough final cuts before we begin the regular season.

Re: "The Weekly Roar"

By CaptainFarrar89
12/12/2022 12:21 am


PENRITH, NSW - In a corresponding trade move, the Lions have sent a pick received only moments earlier in exchange for a future draft selection.

After receiving a sixth-round selection from Edlington, the Lions have moved quickly to trade that pick on, exchanging it with the Forbidden City Dragons and in return, receiving a sixth-round selection in next year's draft. As the trade happened so quickly and as soon after the previous trade, The Roar was unable to get a comment from anybody in the team.