Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

Fainu would be a good get as a 6. Madden would be an improvement on Wakeham and still has more upside.

Still need a 50 game plus halfback. SJ would be perfect but has already turned us down. Trindall/Sexton might be the next best options.
Jock Madden is a good Half-back but in NSW CUP only. He is NOT the answer if the Wests Tigers want to ever play finals again. To quote a retired former great Tennis player "Wests Tigers - You cannot be serious".
 
MANLY STAR GIVEN PERMISSION TO LEAVE

Manly have granted boom youngster Latu Fainu permission to negotiate with rival clubs despite being in the middle of the richest deal ever inked by a teenager.

Fainu signed a four-year contract with the Sea Eagles in 2021 just months after his 16th birthday which put the young half on track to earn the most money of any teen in rugby league history.

Despite the fact he is progressing well through Manly’s junior grades, the club has granted Fainu permission to move on at season’s end as the salary cap starts to bite the Sea Eagles.

Fainu’s brother Samuela also has 12 months left on his contract but he too could join Latu out of the club with the pair expressing a desire to play alongside each other long-term.

Wests Tigers have loomed as the frontrunners to land the brothers with the Tigers already having another Fainu on their books. Sione Fainu joined the Tigers midway through last year from Manly with the 21-year-old prop yet to make his NRL debut.

New Tigers head of recruitment Scott Fulton remains close to the Fainu family given his former role at the Sea Eagles.

The Dolphins have also been linked to them.

Latu was due to come into Manly’s top 30 squad next year but with Daly Cherry-Evans, Josh Schuster and Jake Arthur on their books they would struggle to carry another half.

Fainu was part of Manly’s undefeated Harold Matthews premiership winning side in 2021. He has stepped up into Manly’s NSW Cup side in recent weeks.

Samuela made his NRL debut earlier this year and has played five matches following in the footsteps of brother Manase who played 34 games for the Sea Eagles before he was jailed for at least four years and three months after he was last year found guilty of a stabbing outside a Mormon church.

TIGERS HOMECOMING MISSION

The Wests Tigers have reached out to one of their own as they look to solve their halves dilemma heading into next season.

Sport Con understands that incoming Tigers coach Benji Marshall has personally contacted Jock Madden to gauge his interest in a return to the club.

Madden played a handful of first grade games for the Tigers before heading to Brisbane, where he has served as the back-up to Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam.

With his path to first agreed blocked by Mam and Reynolds, the Tigers spotted an opportunity to lure him back to the club to flesh out their playmaking options.

As it stands, the Tigers have only Adam Doueihi under contract for next season and he is likely to be sidelined for the bulk of the year after undergoing knee surgery.

Luke Brooks recently rejected a two year deal from the Tigers worth upwards of $1 million while Brandon Wakeham is off contract.

It leaves the Tigers short on options for next season and it is understood there were some in the club who saw Madden as a viable alternative even though he has another year remaining on his contract.
If they bring back madden that will do it for me , he is 10 times worse than wakeham
 
If they bring back madden that will do it for me , he is 10 times worse than wakeham
The cupboard is pretty bare at the moment though. I assume that it would be immediate. We need someone to partner Wakeham in the halves. It's not going to be pretty, but a specialist half is needed. I'm hoping we haven't totally written '23 off - not saying we can win many games with a Wakeham/Madden pairing, but hopefully enough to offload the spoon!
 
I don’t want Madden back however he isn’t worse than Wakeham.

Madden is at least consistent most part (not at a nrl quality level) so we would know what to expect whereas Wakeham is shocking or adequate. Of late he has been well and truly worse than Madden.
I find these articles amusing. Just because Benji has reached out, doesn't mean we are signing him. Benji has probably reached out to about 10+halfbacks in NRL & SL. Probably just his manager Chris Orr telling that to the journos to entice the Broncos to extend his contract beyond 2024.
 
I find these articles amusing. Just because Benji has reached out, doesn't mean we are signing him. Benji has probably reached out to about 10+halfbacks in NRL & SL. Probably just his manager Chris Orr telling that to the journos to entice the Broncos to extend his contract beyond 2024.
In our current position, I'd be disappointed if Benj hadn't reached out to every single possibility.
 
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