Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

If I have anything to do with it, it'll be John Morris (very good man manager & bringing out improvement in individuals according to some articles I have read from his time at the Sharks). If not, I'd look into Steve Georgallis & Matt Parish.

A couple of left-field options could be Gareth Ellis (AC at Hull FC since '21) or Brett Hodgson (Defence coach at Wallabies so would probably be unavailable until after RWC ends in Oct).

I doubt Ben Hornby or Josh Hannay would leave their posts for us.
The Pathways at the Sharks has been so successful. Plus the coaches would know him well.
 
Just a Friday vent post about the club's recruitment & retention ...

Ok so we hear we are undertaking an aggressive recruitment & retention drive but since Latu & Samuela Fainu, there has been crickets.

I do like we are keeping our plans in-house until announcement day with all this speculation re Sezer, Sullivan, Best, Moylan et al probably 99% likely coming from their managers.

I do think we are being patient so we land recruits who tick the necessary boxes for Benji and not rushed into low-IQ, overpaid players like the past.

However my vent is why the club cannot announce our retentions (like all other clubs). To me it shows disrespect from the club or a lack of understanding of what gives members/fans joy & hope ... in that we would love to hear that Tallyn DaSilva has agreed to a contract until xxx etc.

We hear that Lachlan Galvin, Da Silva, Laulilii are contracted through Zero Tackle website or hidden away in a club story.

WHY can't the club do a dedicated news story on each! For crying out loud, give us something! We claim to be a development club and these kids are the future, well bloody hell announce when they are extended or promoted to the top 30.

This is more evidence that the club's management need to be reviewed.

We haven't heard anything official about Galvin, Da Silva, Lauliliis, Faagutu, Mansfield, Miller and team mates.

AND why is there such a delay in retaining Charlie Staines & extending Shawn Blore! These two are 'no brainers' for me.

Sorry for the diatribe, just needed to get that off my chest,
The club doesn't want to put pressure on them. Once their name is out there in one of those signing articles it can become overwhelming for young players to deal with. You have to remember that these guys are still driven by teenage hormones.

I'm a fan of the club protecting the young guys who aren't ready yet.
 
He has been our attack and is spotted by the opposition yet still sets a high benchmark. He's one of the best players we have produced in many years together with Pole and I believe Tupou will achieve good things in the NRL.

Sure, just going off now. The rest is speculation. He has gone missing in attack the last couple of games for example.
 
Matt Cooper from the Dragons was a brilliant defensive centre and Steve Rogers was also in ET’s class. Elford did a good job for us in 2005 but was not in the class of the names above.

How good was Matt Cooper in his day. Meet him once at a Pub and he was a very nice and knowledgeable guy.

Great defensive Centre but also could attack as well. In 244 games for Dragons he crossed for 125 tries so great scoring rate. Also played 13 games for NSW and 7 for Australia,

Would love to find a player of his ability to play for WT.
 
That would be Lee
Yep, or possibly Fulton thinking he needs to keep talking to the boys.
...

No one in Tigers should be talking with Braith Anasta.

Honestly how can that guy even mention our team with his performance here. I mean sure at the Dogs and Easts Anasta really performed. Yet every Bulldog supporter rue's kicking Thurston out instead of Anasta.
 
How good was Matt Cooper in his day. Meet him once at a Pub and he was a very nice and knowledgeable guy.

Great defensive Centre but also could attack as well. In 244 games for Dragons he crossed for 125 tries so great scoring rate. Also played 13 games for NSW and 7 for Australia,

Would love to find a player of his ability to play for WT.
Matt Cooper was a gun at club level.
Totally outclassed at Origin level and clearly not up to that level that GI or others.

Ofcourse not being up to GI's level shows that you are a pretty damn good player.

I reckon we got to stop focusing on the halfes for a second and get 2x centers who can defend. Sort out our backline defense and not concede 4 tries a game. Then we can get an attack going, but one that doesn't have to score 5 tries to win a game.
 
He has been our attack and is spotted by the opposition yet still sets a high benchmark. He's one of the best players we have produced in many years together with Pole and I believe Tupou will achieve good things in the NRL.

I agree but we have to wait and see how they develop. To'a is another guy with a lot of potential.

I stated Stef needs to become more consistent as well.

We need our junior star players to become senior star players.

You look at a guys like Reece Walsh or Tabuai-Fidow. These guys are 21 and some of the elite players in the game already.
 
Last edited:
Matt Cooper was a gun at club level.
Totally outclassed at Origin level and clearly not up to that level that GI or others.

Ofcourse not being up to GI's level shows that you are a pretty damn good player.

I reckon we got to stop focusing on the halfes for a second and get 2x centers who can defend. Sort out our backline defense and not concede 4 tries a game. Then we can get an attack going, but one that doesn't have to score 5 tries to win a game.
Whose we? Not you. Not me. You are thinking outside the box. Well said.
 
I agree but we have to wait and see how they develop. To'a is another guy with a lot of potential.

I stated Stef needs to become more consistent as well.

We need our junior start players to become senior star players.

You look at a guys like Reece Walsh or Tabuai-Fidow. These guys are 21 and some of the elite players in the game already.
Consistency comes with experience. I view Utoikamanu as our future captain. Even at such a young age for a front row forward, he has the ability to dominate a game whereas more experienced props will never have that talent. Also with our juniors, to debut in a struggling team is a test of both physical and psychological stamina. It is much easier imo for a junior to debut in a strong team so when we make comparisons this needs to be factored in. In the long run, this baptism of fire will serve them well.

If there was one player available to lead the culture at the club I would chose Luke Lewis. We missed out on him not by much but I consider he would have changed completely the mentality of the club.
 
Last edited:
Question on the Aggressive Recruitment Drive

Little Man Lee has been in hiding does that mean we have signed up some players of quality or that we have sign no one and out of sight out of mind is a better place to hide ?


Still waiting for the good news
 
Back
Top