Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion
- Thread starter MacDougall
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weststigerman
Well-known member
Brian Kelly would be an improvement on Talau at left centre. Looks like he's off contract. Experienced and knows how to pass the ball.
I think it's too early to bank on Feledy there.
I think it's too early to bank on Feledy there.
weststigerman
Well-known member
He signed a monster contract when he was pencilled in as their long term fullback.
I think he lasted about 3 games at fullback.
hammertime
Well-known member
Yep, took it back on the game thread. Should go.
BlackWhiteGold
Well-known member
If Latu Fainu is likely to be ready for NRL next season (according to Fulton quotes in SMH today) and Aiden Sezer is our halfback, we are likely looking for a 5/8 utility that can be used in conjunction with Fainu through the season and also be that #14 bench utility or play another position.
Blake Taafe
Connor Tracey
Te Maire Martin
Connor Watson
Question, are we better retaining Daine Laurie for this role unless his heart is set on Penrith?
A left-field option is Zac Lomax to be recruited as a 5/8, centre. Post-game on Nine last night, they were talking how Lomax could transition to a very goods running 5/8.
Blake Taafe
Connor Tracey
Te Maire Martin
Connor Watson
Question, are we better retaining Daine Laurie for this role unless his heart is set on Penrith?
A left-field option is Zac Lomax to be recruited as a 5/8, centre. Post-game on Nine last night, they were talking how Lomax could transition to a very goods running 5/8.
Tom Shines
Well-known member
You are always thinking and scheming man 👍…
Probably more than the guys at the club who are getting paid to do it..
BlackWhiteGold
Well-known member
‘When they come good, it will be cheap for the club’: Can the Fainu brothers save Wests Tigers?
There are some players you hear about before you see them play. That’s the case with the Tigers’ latest signings, Latu and Samuela Fainu.
www.smh.com.au
‘When they come good, it will be cheap for the club’: Can the Fainu brothers save Wests Tigers?
There are some players you hear about before you see them play. That’s the case with the Tigers’ latest signings, Latu and Samuela Fainu.
Wests Tigers recruiter Scott Fulton, himself a member of a league clan of some repute, reckons the investment the club has made into the Fainu family will soon begin paying dividends.
“Easily,” Fulton replied when asked if Latu Fainu, an 18-year-old five-eighth, would be ready to make the step-up to the NRL in round one of next year.
“He would stand up to first grade, no problems whatsoever. There’s a bit of [New Zealand legend] Olsen Filipaina about him because he’s such a strong bugger.
“He’s got the skill that Josh Schuster possessed at that age in terms of passing and the like, but he’s got defence like Andrew Johns. He’s got that head-on defence, he can lift them, like Johnsy used to.”
Fulton fired his first shot as Tigers recruiter in nabbing Latu and older brother Samuela, a 19-year-old forward who has already made five first-grade appearances, from his former club Manly. Wayne Bennett wooed their pair, but they turned down the legendary mentor to ink lucrative four-year deals with the Tigers.
“When they come good, it will be very cheap for the club, contrary to what some so-called experts say,” Fulton said.
So who is the most talented member of the Fainu family? The answer depends on who you ask.
“I always tipped Samuela as the best one as a kid,” said Tigers assistant Wayne Lambkin, who has coached all four brothers during their time at Westfield Sports High School. “The parents used to laugh at me and say ‘What do you mean, Samuela?’ I was saying they all got it wrong, that he would be the best of the lot.
“He’s very football-aware for a young forward. He’s got a good offload, a good pass, a halfback in a big body in many ways with his football intelligence. He’s got very tall and lean since he left school, I’ve always been a big fan of Sammy’s.
“Some of the things he did in that under-19s game I cringed at, how he was carrying on and it’s something that needs to be managed in his game. With the right people around him, they will break that out of his game and get him concentrating on footy.”
The Tigers have gambled on youth in their quest to climb off the bottom of the ladder. A rookie coach, in the form of club legend Benji Marshall, will be at the helm just as a crop of promising juniors are expected to progress into first grade.
The Fainus have further bolstered a youthful roster and the trio hold an ambition of playing in the NRL together, potentially as soon as next year.
“In due course you will see the three of them playing first grade,” Fulton said. “That would be a fairytale story, the family and the club would be over the moon with that. It would see the fulfilment of the investment in the boys.”
Tiger Stripes
Well-known member
The other winger - Jordan Hill
BlackWhiteGold
Well-known member
I'd love to be on their recruitment & retention committee even to smack some sense in a few of them at times lol
weststigerman
Well-known member
Where are the Fulton quotes?
Above
teddy23
Well-known member
If you read the article carefully it gives itself away - with terminology like "will likely increase to" and "could earn up to".have a read
Zac Lomax contract: Will the Dragons star leave under Shane Flanagan? | Sporting News Australia
Shane Flanagan has swiftly moved to shut down rumours surrounding Zac Lomax, denying any potential move away from the Dragons for the star centre.www.sportingnews.com
Lomax signed a 5 year deal on just under $3 million.
Lomax market right now is around 650k... if you ask me for a goal kicking centre with his skillset I'd pay that easily especially given our lack of class on the outside.
hank37w
Well-known member
Lomax spins and breaks free out of a really poor attempt at a tackle to beat 2 or 3 other defenders who are there right on the spot and gets a fluky pass away, forget about all those other shitty flick passes of his that go over the sideline most other times, the ball is caught miraculously by a winger who is playing on one leg and still manages to score beating 2 or 3 other defenders to put St.George in front and win them the game.
To really rub it in, Lomax who in past seasons has been kicking goals at around the 80% mark, is only kicking at closer to 60% this season, against us he kicks 3 out of 3 for a 100% record for the night.
There is no disputing that Wests Tigers are able to play just about anyone into top form, but having said all that, the only way Lomax could ever remotely look like justifying an $800k price tag would be if he had a highlights reel where the only team he ever played was the Wests Tigers.
teddy23
Well-known member
He's nearly as bad as Talau defensively.
teddy23
Well-known member
The game before he was the best player on the field against a top 4 team in the Raiders - people really underestimate Lomax's game imo. Ever since Hook's sacking you could argue he's been their best player.
hank37w
Well-known member
Probably Blacktown 2nd division.
BlackWhiteGold
Well-known member
You are doing a good sell on Lomax @teddy23 👍 I’m pretty much sold lol
It’ll just come down to price if he does want to leave which if higher than $550k may be a sticking point.
What about Isaiah Tass?
earl
Well-known member
I think we should give him a reserve grade contract.
Saturnalia
Well-known member
I just got PTSD remembering krisnan Inu
If we are being serious, Lomax is one of the best players not currently playing rep football and he’d be worth every cent we pay for him if there was any chance we could get him,
Tass not in the same class as Lomax.
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