Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[jrtiger]

anyone who thinks the club are going to sign a halfback between the ages of 19-23 after this is deluded. they will not block the pathways of the juniors.

with a far better forward pack, an attack-minded coaching staff and his confidence returning I think we’ll see a far improved version of Luke Brooks. IF that goes to plan, he steers the ship for 2-3 more years and then either Conti or Isdale take the seven jersey and partner Large in the halves long term.

the best plan B at this point (if Brooks fails) would be George Williams on a three year deal, but do not expect Ethan Sanders, Jonah Pezet, Lewis Dodd or Thomas Duffy to head to concord if it doesn’t work out when Isdale and Conti (in particular) are tearing up junior reps as we speak. the club won’t allow for another Mitchell Moses to slip through the cracks.

 

[crazycat]

Then there must be some other RTS. Because the guy I watched in his final season was a shadow of that other RTS. The agility. The burst. Just wasn't there.

I do wonder how often Guns hit their peak and cannot come back to past performance.
I mean for every SBW, Cooper Cronk, etc. We have a stack of people like James Roberts, who was a Gun previously.

It's best to buy players in their off year, not their hasbeen year. That's an incredibly hard difference to tell.

 

[Dino]

damn.

I havent watched any of Bateman in SL so i dont know.

My concern is this feels very Ivan Cleary "Get on the bus" feel - where we signed a bunch of representative veterans on 4 year contracts and over paid them , sprouting that they would be good for "culture", our juniors, have a winning attitude etc - and for the first half of Ivan's season all the vibe was great and we did well and then the eventual wheels fell off when you get back to being realistic. Cream always rises to the top.

And the board and Pascoe should have learnt something from Ivan's tenure - but alas - no.... Veterans on 4 year contracts to help with culture and bring through juniors here we come.

It really depends on how much their contracts are worth and if it's backended, frontended or consistent throughout.
Klemmer should be fine for atleast first 3an probably all 4 Batemans more of a mystery but we do have other options at 2nd row so depending on contract not fatal

 

[ovoevo]

damn.

I havent watched any of Bateman in SL so i dont know.

My concern is this feels very Ivan Cleary "Get on the bus" feel - where we signed a bunch of representative veterans on 4 year contracts and over paid them , sprouting that they would be good for "culture", our juniors, have a winning attitude etc - and for the first half of Ivan's season all the vibe was great and we did well and then the eventual wheels fell off when you get back to being realistic. Cream always rises to the top.

And the board and Pascoe should have learnt something from Ivan's tenure - but alas - no.... Veterans on 4 year contracts to help with culture and bring through juniors here we come.

There are about thirty players in the NRL I'd consider handing a four year contract. The Jon Bateman of 2017/2018 would fall into that category. Look, I really like Jon. He's a very honest player who will give absolutely everything. I certainly don't believe he's coming over to the Tigers solely for the money. I just question how much is left in the tank to give. Wigan certainly weren't thinking of offering him a four year deal. As far as I know no one else is SL was considering it either.

 

[Telltails]

Here's the thing - I could perhaps accept that Bateman was suffering from some kind of niggly injury which affected his performance. But the sample size of games is just too large. Any acute injury would either have healed or been corrected via surgery. Which means it's chronic. Which means its manageable rather than fixable. I've no idea what the hell Sheens was thinking. If he wanted a top British back row forward he could have saved the money and paid Wigan a transfer fee for young Morgan Smithies. The type of guy who immediately stiffens up your pack and comes with a real attitude. Guy recorded 70+ tackles in one game before he was twenty. Bigger than Bateman. Younger. Hungrier. But most importantly - fit.

Plenty are sweating on 2019 Bateman, and just as many are concerned those days are gone. Its got a stench of the Josh Reynolds deal about it and if he lasts the four years here I will be very surprised.

 

[ovoevo]

I do wonder how often Guns hit their peak and cannot come back to past performance.
I mean for every SBW, Cooper Cronk, etc. We have a stack of people like James Roberts, who was a Gun previously.

It's best to buy players in their off year, not their hasbeen year. That's an incredibly hard difference to tell.

There's an old saying in Boxing which is pertinent: "They never come back".

 

[Dino]

Plenty are sweating on 2019 Bateman, and just as many are concerned those days are gone. Its got a stench of the Josh Reynolds deal about it and if he lasts the four years here I will be very surprised.

Do we know how much he is on because that can change things dramatically, if he's on 500-600 grand and flops that bad but if he's on 800-900 grand and flops that's a Cleary signing

 

[momo_amp_medo]

There's an old saying in Boxing which is pertinent: "They never come back".

I watched reasonable amount of super league last couple of years and it’s true his form was well down on what he showed at the Raiders.

However I think Sheens (and his signing has Sheens all over it) saw through his few 2022 World Cup performances for England that he had bit more in the tank on the field but also more importantly what he could bring to the side in terms of experience, aggression and leadership all of which we were sadly lacking last season.

So it’s a risk I agree but here’s hoping!

I somewhat disagree with your thoughts about boxing come backs …. Champions do.

 

[ovoevo]

Do we know how much he is on because that can change things dramatically, if he's on 500-600 grand and flops that bad but if he's on 800-900 grand and flops that's a Cleary signing

I think I saw a report in the British press which said somewhere in the region of 600k. I think.

 

[ovoevo]

I watched reasonable amount of super league last couple of years and it’s true his form was well down on what he showed at the Raiders.

However I think Sheens (and his signing has Sheens all over it) saw through his few 2022 World Cup performances for England that he had bit more in the tank on the field but also more importantly what he could bring to the side in terms of experience, aggression and leadership all of which we were sadly lacking last season.

So it’s a risk I agree but here’s hoping!

I thought Bateman played pretty well in the World Cup. Better than his form for Wigan. Probably benefitting from better players. Look, I really hope it works out for both the Tigers and Jon. Because a fit Jon Bateman is the kind of guy others will gladly follow into battle. A real lead-by-example type of player. I mean, he gave Kikau all he could handle and more besides despite giving away god knows how many kilos. At his peak he was a nightmare both in attack and defence. One of the toughest men I've seen on a rugby pitch. Niggly. In an entertaining kind of way. And he's a good fella. Strong character with a moral compass. At the very least he should set an example for younger players to follow. Beyond that .... I dunno.

 

[Dino]

I think I saw a report in the British press which said somewhere in the region of 600k. I think.

That's not too bad then while I would perfer him not to be a flop the real worry would be crippling our cap but 600k is an amount that we can cop especially with the increase of the cap, unless you mean in pounds cause if so we're screwed

 

[ovoevo]

That's not too bad then while I would perfer him not to be a flop the real worry would be crippling our cap but 600k is an amount that we can cop especially with the increase of the cap, unless you mean in pounds cause if so we're screwed

LOL - you guys are crazy. But I don't think you are that crazy. If you are I'll happily sign a 150k contract to bring on the water bottles or the kicking tee. Could do with a bit of sun ...

 

[ovoevo]

anyone who thinks the club are going to sign a halfback between the ages of 19-23 after this is deluded. they will not block the pathways of the juniors.

with a far better forward pack, an attack-minded coaching staff and his confidence returning I think we’ll see a far improved version of Luke Brooks. IF that goes to plan, he steers the ship for 2-3 more years and then either Conti or Isdale take the seven jersey and partner Large in the halves long term.

the best plan B at this point (if Brooks fails) would be George Williams on a three year deal, but do not expect Ethan Sanders, Jonah Pezet, Lewis Dodd or Thomas Duffy to head to concord if it doesn’t work out when Isdale and Conti (in particular) are tearing up junior reps as we speak. the club won’t allow for another Mitchell Moses to slip through the cracks.

I'm always more inclined to stick with the youngsters. Without a genuine pathway into the first team based on performance rather than reputation you're fighting an uphill battle. That said - the old saying of "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" has a lot of weight. Halfback is the toughest position on the pitch. You bear most of responsibility and very often you're one of the smallest players on the pitch. Constantly being targeted by big men. You can see why they get paid the high salaries. It's one thing to make a judgement call on whether you think a young centre or prop will make the grade. But it's a million times more difficult making the call on a halfback. It's the thinking time. Or lack of it. I've lost count of the number of kids who look like prime Wally Lewis in junior rugby only to turn into Lachlan Lewis in the first team. Producing a Cooper Cronk or an Allan Langer - it's just very, very difficult. If you really do KNOW this kid is the business - stick with him. But if you aren't 100% ... steal one from somebody else.

 

[hammertime]

For the Brooks bashers out there, who are you suggesting we replace him with?

I think a 2 year extension is great. You don't throw away quality players who love the club.

 

[Tom Shines]

The Pom mentioned 2 years. That isn't that bad. I'd like to see us tie up Doueihi for that time or longer as well.

The issue is there is no one to target. We can try for juniors or guys that are good in reserves but it's hit and miss.

What’s the rush with Douehi? We just extended him for a year… let’s see how he plays this year…

Im not keen on extending Brooks … what if you extend him now and he stinks it up again this year and you are stuck with him?

At least see how he goes the first 2-3 months here with a better team around him…

 

[Tom Shines]

For the Brooks bashers out there, who are you suggesting we replace him with?

I think a 2 year extension is great. You don't throw away quality players who love the club.

Quality player? Based on what?

Certainly not his play the last 2 years…

 

[Donjer]

Ive posted it a few times and every week there is some dickhead on here complaining about Brooks kicking dead. There are plenty of reasons to not be happy with Brooks. Game management is poor. Kicking game lacks variation. Can drop off tackles. Is on massive overs. All genuine complaints but we get the same false narrative of kicking dead repeated over and over again.


And although ive just listed a bunch of issues with Brooks, i think the other side of the argument is valid. Halves cant perform behind a beaten pack, gets shit service from his 9. the positions outside him get chopped and change every couple weeks. he produces attacking stats at a rate that is well above what all other Tigers stats suggest he should be capable of. Shouldn't move him on without a better option.

I hear you. Even when you use the data, they still try to argue with you. Brooks didn't have his best season last year, but you're right, we were dominated up front. Here's a few stats I found from last year:

Run metres
1st Penrith 41 184m Average per game 1548m
15th Wests 31 027m Average per game 1292m

Wests also had the 2nd worst metres per carry at 8.49m compared to Penrith at over 9m.
Source: Foxsports

We've made the right moves by getting metre makers such as Papali'i and Klemmer, and getting Api to get the rest of the forwards to poke their nose through the line. I'm looking forward to an improved showing this year. Hopefully everyone can get on board rather than bagging our players.

 

[cktiger]

For the Brooks bashers out there, who are you suggesting we replace him with?

I think a 2 year extension is great. You don't throw away quality players who love the club.

Really?
Robbie Farah says hello. 🤣

 

[Camel2281]

For the Brooks bashers out there, who are you suggesting we replace him with?

I think a 2 year extension is great. You don't throw away quality players who love the club.

I'd replace him with Lewis Dodd, George Williams, Troy Pezet. Hell I'd rather have Mitchell Pearce have a one year contract as a stop gap than sign Luke Brooks to a two year deal without him having played a game this year. He deserves nothing from the Tigers. He's taken us for a ride this four year contract and unless he can deliver some worthwhile output then he should not be offered an extension

 

[pawsandclaws1]

For the Brooks bashers out there, who are you suggesting we replace him with?

I think a 2 year extension is great. You don't throw away quality players who love the club.

Mate quality and correct posts like yours have no place on this forum.