Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[hank37w]

We had enough Cap Room spare to offer Moses $1.3, what does releasing Ofahengaue achieve?

Gives us $1.9m in next years cap to offer to players who won't come here.

 

[hank37w]

Feel this all happened very quickly.

I agree freeing up his money is a good thing, but we need his experience and off field value at least for the rest of this year.

Just not a fan of mid-season releases with nothing in return.

Lets release a couple more so we can guarantee getting the spoon, it worked last year.

 

[Kelce68]

We've been doing this for years and still can't spend our money. This is the last resort on the planet kind of option.
Not spending our cap every year is why we won the spoon last year, and why we're coming last this year. Other teams have quality players, we don't.

No other mitigating factors, eh?

(I would argue that Koroisau, Klemmer, Papali'i and Bateman are most definitely quality, even if they're not out and out superstars)

Look, I get it; the 'all this money all the time and no-one to spend it on' argument. And it's true. But that money hasn't been spent not due to a lack of chasing quality players, but, so far, an ability to regularly land big names, which is primarily due to a sustained lack of success over a long period of time, coupled with errors in the negotiation process.

But we will continue to chase the best players available in the positions we need moving forward and you need cap space in order to do that. You also need cap space in order to retain your best juniors, which, along with an inability to land a big fish, has been something that has bit us massively over the last 10 years.

All clubs lose players, the difference is that those with cap space may chose who they lose, whereas those who redline their cap will have players begrudgingly squeezed out. Obviously, the powers that be had decided that Joffa was surplus to requirements, particularly considering his upcoming salary and felt that they could better balance the squad moving forward by seeing if they could find a suitor.

 

[Odessa]

We had enough Cap Room spare to offer Moses $1.3, what does releasing Ofahengaue achieve?

We can offer Shawn 1.9 to play half

 

[tigermate]

If we could get rid of joffa AD and brooks the high profile clean out would be complete

Saving over $2M per year

For garbage

Joffa is rubbish

90% of the time he gets tackled he has a slow play the ball bc he gets up and looks at the ref and shakes his head for not getting a penalty … just play the ball dude

 

[Todd Packer]

Yep. The "freeing up cap space" argument is ridiculous. Cap space is not our issue. We just can't sign quality players at the moment. Joffa is a quality player and person and he will be a loss.

The argument about freeing up a top 30 spot falls down too, because we are now able to select outside top 30.

The only argument with some weight is that he is blocking the pathways of some of our young forwards. Problem with that is, you need one or 2 injuries in the pack to experienced forwards and then we will be crying out for someone like Joffa. Just can't understand it.

No we can't sign a player from ANOTHER club if we don't have a top 30 spot. A decent player isn't coming over on a train and trial contract.
You're talking about promoting from within which is totally different.

 

[earl]

Joffa is rubbish

90% of the time he gets tackled he has a slow play the ball bc he gets up and looks at the ref and shakes his head for not getting a penalty … just play the ball dude

He was our best player last year. He hasn't had an impact this year and we can probably spend the money (if we can spend it) elsewhere but he also had a poor pre-season and you would think he will regain form at some point.

 

[bptiger 0]

My post was a load of crap?

Thanks.

Is that what you got from my entire post? Plenty of other posters have laid out the numerous ways this situation will help us, I suggest you have a read of these perspectives.

I'm not suggesting we have to wait for anything, I'm saying that smart operators, if there's a dearth of options available in the present, will store resources patiently for a time in the future where they can responsibly and deliberately spend that money.

The alternative is spend millions on what is around now, regardless of what quality is available, i.e. the Ivan approach. If you'd like to go back to Packer, Reynolds, McQueen and Matulino, then best of luck.

NO , I am saying dumping players like joffa is a really dum idea , yes we have good numbers in the forwards, but it only takes a couple of injuries and ur putting kids in who are not ready , and for gods sake what are we getting out of it , we have over a million in cap and there will be more dead wood dumped at the end of the season, so unless we get a player that we can use tell these clubs to Pisa off

 

[Eternal Tiger]

Wot.

In a market where no-one of note is available, what exactly do you propose? Teams can only work with what is available at the time. If somebody becomes agitated or unwanted/underutilised, but is under contract, they become an option too. This is how we got Klemmer, this is how the Eels have gotten Joffa.

I really like Joffa, but a reported $600k for our 4/5th choice prop (which is what he's become this year) in the rotation who is playing 30/40 minutes off the bench is bad business. Our forward pack has quickly become our strength and likely greatest depth, therefore, we've got some toys that we can trade in to hopefully strengthen other areas of the squad that are glaringly in need of an upgrade. How is freeing up that cash and a roster spot a bad thing?

Unless of course you're suggesting that we keep paying him $600k to play off the bench for the next 2.5 years.

Wot.

In a market where no-one of note is available, what exactly do you propose? Teams can only work with what is available at the time. If somebody becomes agitated or unwanted/underutilised, but is under contract, they become an option too. This is how we got Klemmer, this is how the Eels have gotten Joffa.

I really like Joffa, but a reported $600k for our 4/5th choice prop (which is what he's become this year) in the rotation who is playing 30/40 minutes off the bench is bad business. Our forward pack has quickly become our strength and likely greatest depth, therefore, we've got some toys that we can trade in to hopefully strengthen other areas of the squad that are glaringly in need of an upgrade. How is freeing up that cash and a roster spot a bad thing?

Unless of course you're suggesting that we keep paying him $600k to play off the bench for the next 2.5 years.

It's a shit contract that this Club designed for him only 6 months ago. Why offer it in the first place?
We are $1m under the Cap for 2023 BEFORE the release of Ofahengaue.
Why don't we spend to our Cap?
Parra are desperate for him, did we leverage anything for his immediate release?
Just like Matterson, Aloiai, Leilua etc etc we let them go for no compensation. Shit Club run by Muppets.

 

[Todd Packer]

It's a shit contract that this Club designed for him only 6 months ago. Why offer it in the first place?
We are $1m under the Cap for 2023 BEFORE the release of Ofahengaue.
Why don't we spend to our Cap?
Parra are desperate for him, did we leverage anything for his immediate release?
Just like Matterson, Aloiai, Leilua etc etc we let them go for no compensation. Shit Club run by Muppets.

We can't leverage a player leaving when it was us shopping him to other clubs to unload him .
Parra did us a favour taking a player who isn't NRL standard because they're in a desperate injury situation.

 

[Kelce68]

NO , I am saying dumping players like joffa is a really dum idea , yes we have good numbers in the forwards, but it only takes a couple of injuries and ur putting kids in who are not ready , and for gods sake what are we getting out of it , we have over a million in cap and there will be more dead wood dumped at the end of the season, so unless we get a player that we can use tell these clubs to Pisa off

Yeh, if we go down three props suddenly to injury after transferring him out, then that'll suck. I like joffa. He's just being outplayed and is now, and for the next two years too, overpaid for his contribution.

But I guess that's the (albeit small) risk you take with any player movement discussion and if there's a position that we can fill best in that situation across our squad, it's probably prop.

Stef, Klemmer, papali'i, Blore, twal, pole, seyfarth can all play in the middle if needs be, not to mention possible reserves options. But you don't make these kinds of decisions based upon possible catastrophic injury tolls in the future.

 

[innsaneink]

I'm sure his replacement.. If there is one... Will be underwhelming

Hopefully Fulton surprises us all and lands a bign'

 

[Kelce68]

It's a shit contract that this Club designed for him only 6 months ago. Why offer it in the first place?
We are $1m under the Cap for 2023 BEFORE the release of Ofahengaue.
Why don't we spend to our Cap?
Parra are desperate for him, did we leverage anything for his immediate release?
Just like Matterson, Aloiai, Leilua etc etc we let them go for no compensation. Shit Club run by Muppets.

Good, then you agree that it's a shit contract and we've just managed to erase it and make it Parra's problem now.

In the last 6 months we've had papali'i confirm he was coming afterall, Klemmer sign on and Bateman sign on. So would it be fair to say that the landscape in our forward stocks may have changed since he signed that contract do you think?

1 million under you say? Do you know this for sure?

If you're saying why don't we spend to our cap, can you demonstrate what you mean by that, as in, right now, how would you spend the money?

Parramatta are desperate? They're in need of middle, certainly, but by all reports it is us who have been shopping him around. Which, to me, indicates that the club too, see that he is now expensive for his role in the squad.

 

[liltiger]

Hunt said he doesn’t have the time to go through the changes of having a new coach, so if he moves, it will be to a club where he has played well under an existing coach. Dolphins?

I agree I reckon he will be the marquee signing the Dolphins have been trying to sign for ages

 

[bathursttiger1]

I'm sure his replacement.. If there is one... Will be underwhelming

Hopefully Fulton surprises us all and lands a bign'

Jack Buchanan!

 

[Tucker]

An extra roster spot for a back that we need and unloading an overpriced player to a club that's desperate enough to want him.

That is not enough of a win.
Getting rid of an experienced player who was highly rated in the NRL only last year is foolish.

 

[jadtiger]

Jack Buchanan!

It will be worse than that,it will probably be a 85kg journeyman 28 year old backrow forward from another club that "tinkerbell" Sheens will try and turn into a prop.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

We have to have someone lined up, whether from eels or not. We have so much cash to splash and now even more

My guess is Schuster.

I would be surprised by that.
Manly is struggling on the creative side and called him back into starting this week.
With SOO period coming they will be hammered with DCE and Jake at least gone.

 

[Tucker]

.

I really like Joffa, but a reported $600k for our 4/5th choice prop (which is what he's become this year) in the rotation who is playing 30/40 minutes off the bench is bad business. Our forward pack has quickly become our strength and likely greatest depth, therefore, we've got some toys that we can trade in to hopefully strengthen other areas of the squad that are glaringly in need of an upgrade. How is freeing up that cash and a roster spot a bad thing?

Joffa was our best last year. He ranked highly NRL wide in a team full of try yards and soft players. The coaching staff must shoulder the blame for his current form. They have made decisions that haven’t worked out and when that happened, they trade him off with no notice.
It’s bad for culture, it’s bad for morale.
Who will want to come to a club that apart from being utterly incompetent for decades, treats its players like shit?

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

It's a shit contract that this Club designed for him only 6 months ago. Why offer it in the first place?
We are $1m under the Cap for 2023 BEFORE the release of Ofahengaue.
Why don't we spend to our Cap?
Parra are desperate for him, did we leverage anything for his immediate release?
Just like Matterson, Aloiai, Leilua etc etc we let them go for no compensation. Shit Club run by Muppets.

We didn’t have Klemmer or Bateman here let alone the crap going on with Papa mixed with everything else.

Joffa was hands down our best player last year he was the only leader on the park & deserved his extension at the time. The kids all listen and follow him. It was an obvious no brainer decision to extend him at the time.

Off season he was injured and carried injury into this year limiting his training.

I called out when we signed Klem having both Joffa and Klem won’t work if we also want to keep Stef/Pole and other’s transition into starting roles. Joffa needs minutes and has an engine that’s his strength is durability & reliability.

I have no issues letting him go if we have more value option in, time will tell but I’m not hopeful & right now we definitely don’t have better.

We are coming last Parra are 1 win infront of us. Seems strange to strengthen a team at the bottom competing with us for the spoon.