Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Needaname]

I read with interest that Lachlan Lam is looking to come back to the NRL.
I think we should have a real shot at signing him up on a 2 year contract.
This is what the good teams do; lock up their future prospects, I.e Sullivan, Fainu, Galvin on long term contracts whilst also ensuring their top side does not suffer.
A Sezer, Lam halves pairing would be a great way to start the season. Behind that you have Sullivan and Latu running opposition against the first choice halves and building up a combination in reserve grade.
Crazy thought?

 

[Lestronge]

…and a season where we won 9 and also drew one is better than one where we won 4 from 23. Equally simple maths.

Honestly … you have some mental health issues Champ (see what I did there! Pretty condescending huh ? ) . I don’t agree with you . I’ve said it multiple times now . You’re repeating yourself now …

 

[Tucker]

Honestly … you have some mental health issues Champ (see what I did there! Pretty condescending huh ? ) . I don’t agree with you . I’ve said it multiple times now . You’re repeating yourself now …

Haha you keep engaging.
You had a sook this arvo and have backed that up twice since.
Keep coming at me and I’ll come back at you. That how it works son.

 

[hammertime]

I read with interest that Lachlan Lam is looking to come back to the NRL.
I think we should have a real shot at signing him up on a 2 year contract.
This is what the good teams do; lock up their future prospects, I.e Sullivan, Fainu, Galvin on long term contracts whilst also ensuring their top side does not suffer.
A Sezer, Lam halves pairing would be a great way to start the season. Behind that you have Sullivan and Latu running opposition against the first choice halves and building up a combination in reserve grade.
Crazy thought?

I don't think we can have that many halves in the top 30. With AD, Sezer, Sullivan, Fainu, Galvin we're pretty stacked. Large may be there in 25 too. If we could work out something with AD, then maybe. But I can't see space at the moment.

 

[Needaname]

I don't think we can have that many halves in the top 30. With AD, Sezer, Sullivan, Fainu, Galvin we're pretty stacked. Large may be there in 25 too. If we could work out something with AD, then maybe. But I can't see space at the moment.

I did forget about AD for that moment.
Though.
Warriors have 5 registered halves in their top 30 for next year with CHT rejoining them.
Dolphins played out the year with 3 experienced halves and 1 rookie.
Manly with DCE Shuster, Johns and still signed Arthur’s all of whom have first grade experience.
We are relying on 1 experienced half and a sophomore essentially with our backup being 1 half that has played a handful of games in NSWCup and the other that didn’t play anything other than SGBall and schoolboys. Pretty light on, and who knows how long Doueihi will take and how he returns.

 

[hammertime]

I did forget about AD for that moment.
Though.
Warriors have 5 registered halves in their top 30 for next year with CHT rejoining them.
Dolphins played out the year with 3 experienced halves and 1 rookie.
Manly with DCE Shuster, Johns and still signed Arthur’s all of whom have first grade experience.
We are relying on 1 experienced half and a sophomore essentially with our backup being 1 half that has played a handful of games in NSWCup and the other that didn’t play anything other than SGBall and schoolboys. Pretty light on, and who knows how long Doueihi will take and how he returns.

Yeah, I agree we don't necessarily have the right balance in terms of age. We're playing the long game... again.

I'm also not sure we had a choice. We talked to God knows how many experienced halves.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

I'm with you @Vicious we need to develop & recruit with an eye on physical attributes for centre/wing, aerial & ball catching ability, finishing ability & footy smarts as well, all things we have lacked in outside backs.

Centres with slick feet & speed (Farnsworth, Manu, Gagai, Graham type) and/or explosive leg power / acceleration / tackle-busting strength (Staggs, Olam, Best, Koula type) AND wingers with speed, power, aerial ability, at least one with height & finishing.

This is already happening. and Navrin Willett is the best example? Sought after by the Swans and many NRL clubs? He is a multi talented athlete like Bula. I read he was around 6ft 6inches and can play 5/8, centre or fullback. He was a member of the Knights' Pathways system and played country first grade this season with the Taree Bulls. He is a player who appears to have the talent and physicality to play Flegg next year. Frankly I don't care whether he comes from the country, the inner west or southest, he needs to be in the mix for Flegg.

 

[Kelce68]

I read with interest that Lachlan Lam is looking to come back to the NRL.
I think we should have a real shot at signing him up on a 2 year contract.
This is what the good teams do; lock up their future prospects, I.e Sullivan, Fainu, Galvin on long term contracts whilst also ensuring their top side does not suffer.
A Sezer, Lam halves pairing would be a great way to start the season. Behind that you have Sullivan and Latu running opposition against the first choice halves and building up a combination in reserve grade.
Crazy thought?

I actually think you can carry 5 halves and adding Lam would be an excellent addition. It would allow us to possibly move on Simpkin as one of Lam or Sullivan could be 3rd hooker cover if we get desperate, or, as Tallyn hones his craft in Cup, could be the ideal 14. I actually think that's smart business. It adds both half depth and versatility at the same time whilst also buying time for the like of Galvin, Fainu and Large to develop without the pressure of having to step up too early in the case of an injury or two.

You could then move Sezer on for 2025 and still have some experience there in Lam, with Sullivan, Fainu and Galvin all a year older and more experienced themselves to fill the other halves spot.

Meanwhile, you spend the next 2/3 years looking to make a kill in the market with a marquee (or marquee adjacent) half for '26. Lam is then filtered out, or, possibly, he makes a great fist of it and can re-sign.

I think the puzzle of Sullivan, Fainu, Galvin and Large longer term is not actually that difficult to navigate. Large, the furthest away, will likely possess the skillset to play centre quite easily, Galvin possibly also, but most likely second-row bound, leaving Sullivan and Fainu in the halves. In the (somewhat unlikely) case of finding a big signing in the halves that we can't see now (a Hughes, Moses, Munster, Reynolds, Hynes calibre player), Sullivan could even transition into the 14 with Tal the starting hooker, meaning you can fit everyone in quite easily.

Obviously very speculative, but off the back of the Lam suggestion, I think roadmaps or future sequential scenarios like this are what should be commonplace in recruitment/retention.

 

[tiger_scott]

I actually think you can carry 5 halves and adding Lam would be an excellent addition. It would allow us to possibly move on Simpkin as one of Lam or Sullivan could be 3rd hooker cover if we get desperate, or, as Tallyn hones his craft in Cup, could be the ideal 14. I actually think that's smart business. It adds both half depth and versatility at the same time whilst also buying time for the like of Galvin, Fainu and Large to develop without the pressure of having to step up too early in the case of an injury or two.

You could then move Sezer on for 2025 and still have some experience there in Lam, with Sullivan, Fainu and Galvin all a year older and more experienced themselves to fill the other halves spot.

Meanwhile, you spend the next 2/3 years looking to make a kill in the market with a marquee (or marquee adjacent) half for '26. Lam is then filtered out, or, possibly, he makes a great fist of it and can re-sign.

I think the puzzle of Sullivan, Fainu, Galvin and Large longer term is not actually that difficult to navigate. Large, the furthest away, will likely possess the skillset to play centre quite easily, Galvin possibly also, but most likely second-row bound, leaving Sullivan and Fainu in the halves. In the (somewhat unlikely) case of finding a big signing in the halves that we can't see now (a Hughes, Moses, Munster, Reynolds, Hynes calibre player), Sullivan could even transition into the 14 with Tal the starting hooker, meaning you can fit everyone in quite easily.

Obviously very speculative, but off the back of the Lam suggestion, I think roadmaps or future sequential scenarios like this are what should be commonplace in recruitment/retention.

A well thought out and reasoned response. Thanks. I also think we need to 'pencil' AD in as a centre in the breakdown of the 30, as well - I see you did not mention him in your planning. I think if we do that, the number of halves would be okay, with Lam being added. Did Lam play hooker at all in his time at the Roosters or o/s? Be nice if he could cover hooker, if our long term halves come on quicker than expected.

 

[hammertime]

A well thought out and reasoned response. Thanks. I also think we need to 'pencil' AD in as a centre in the breakdown of the 30, as well - I see you did not mention him in your planning. I think if we do that, the number of halves would be okay, with Lam being added. Did Lam play hooker at all in his time at the Roosters or o/s? Be nice if he could cover hooker, if our long term halves come on quicker than expected.

Agree on AD as centre.

I think you might automatically solve the top 30 problem by bringing Lam in. Didn't Galvin already threaten to walk when all the other halves were signed?

 

[Kelce68]

A well thought out and reasoned response. Thanks. I also think we need to 'pencil' AD in as a centre in the breakdown of the 30, as well - I see you did not mention him in your planning. I think if we do that, the number of halves would be okay, with Lam being added. Did Lam play hooker at all in his time at the Roosters or o/s? Be nice if he could cover hooker, if our long term halves come on quicker than expected.

As far as I can remember he played primarily 14 for the Roosters and was backup halves/hooker.

 

[tiger_scott]

As far as I can remember he played primarily 14 for the Roosters and was backup halves/hooker.

Perfect then. Hopefully someone in power reads your succession planning above. I liked Wakeham, but he was asked to do too much this year. I wouldn't want something like that to occur again. For the coin he was on he more than delivered, but we, as a team, needed more. I can't believe we ran with Brooks and AD as our starting halves thinking that they would play anywhere near the full year as a pair.

 

[tiger_scott]

Agree on AD as centre.

I think you might automatically solve the top 30 problem by bringing Lam in. Didn't Galvin already threaten to walk when all the other halves were signed?

Maybe the other halves, being young and highly regarded, were more of a threat to him than an older half due to retire about the time he is in first grade (hopefully), though? Could also be the manager doing his job, being vocal to remind WT and the other teams of his client's existence as a half in halves-needy market?

 

[Needaname]

I actually think you can carry 5 halves and adding Lam would be an excellent addition. It would allow us to possibly move on Simpkin as one of Lam or Sullivan could be 3rd hooker cover if we get desperate, or, as Tallyn hones his craft in Cup, could be the ideal 14. I actually think that's smart business. It adds both half depth and versatility at the same time whilst also buying time for the like of Galvin, Fainu and Large to develop without the pressure of having to step up too early in the case of an injury or two.

You could then move Sezer on for 2025 and still have some experience there in Lam, with Sullivan, Fainu and Galvin all a year older and more experienced themselves to fill the other halves spot.

Meanwhile, you spend the next 2/3 years looking to make a kill in the market with a marquee (or marquee adjacent) half for '26. Lam is then filtered out, or, possibly, he makes a great fist of it and can re-sign.

I think the puzzle of Sullivan, Fainu, Galvin and Large longer term is not actually that difficult to navigate. Large, the furthest away, will likely possess the skillset to play centre quite easily, Galvin possibly also, but most likely second-row bound, leaving Sullivan and Fainu in the halves. In the (somewhat unlikely) case of finding a big signing in the halves that we can't see now (a Hughes, Moses, Munster, Reynolds, Hynes calibre player), Sullivan could even transition into the 14 with Tal the starting hooker, meaning you can fit everyone in quite easily.

Obviously very speculative, but off the back of the Lam suggestion, I think roadmaps or future sequential scenarios like this are what should be commonplace in recruitment/retention.

There’s many examples where a junior 5/8 has tried to move into the halves in first grade but to the benefit of the team they are better suited in another position.
Typically in alot of those cases the 5/8 role they played as a kid was focused around an extremely strong running game. To be fair to both of our young prospective halves Galvin appears to have the mindset required to play in the halves where as Large seems to be more effective as a ball runner with a very strong running game.
Case in point is Staggs and Dylan Walker. Sure they have the skills to play 5/8 but their running game is far more effective 1 on 1 out wide. I can see Large benefiting from something similar.

 

[Kelce68]

There’s many examples where a junior 5/8 has tried to move into the halves in first grade but to the benefit of the team they are better suited in another position.
Typically in alot of those cases the 5/8 role they played as a kid was focused around an extremely strong running game. To be fair to both of our young prospective halves Galvin appears to have the mindset required to play in the halves where as Large seems to be more effective as a ball runner with a very strong running game.
Case in point is Staggs and Dylan Walker. Sure they have the skills to play 5/8 but their running game is far more effective 1 on 1 out wide. I can see Large benefiting from something similar.

All great points.

 

[tiger_scott]

There’s many examples where a junior 5/8 has tried to move into the halves in first grade but to the benefit of the team they are better suited in another position.
Typically in alot of those cases the 5/8 role they played as a kid was focused around an extremely strong running game. To be fair to both of our young prospective halves Galvin appears to have the mindset required to play in the halves where as Large seems to be more effective as a ball runner with a very strong running game.
Case in point is Staggs and Dylan Walker. Sure they have the skills to play 5/8 but their running game is far more effective 1 on 1 out wide. I can see Large benefiting from something similar.

Son of Sirro x at least 1. Were both sons 5/8s? Tommy Talau. That's just at WT.
Shuster

 

[jojo]

While its all good and well for us to decide where best each player suits the team, player power and a dearth of halves in the NRL in general will likely mean if they aren't given a pathway/opportunity in the halves another club will offer it and they will leave. As Hamertime mentioned Glavin's agent has already asked for a release given we have bought players in front of him and told him he will be utilised and developed outside the halves. I wouldn't be surprised if it is the same with Large, consider also the disparity in wages between halves and other positions if a club will pay them half money and we only commit to them as an outside back/back row it's more than likely they will leave.

 

[Betterdays22]

Marika Koribete... yes please. Been one of the best in an all be it poor wallabies team for years. Even more suited to the modern game than when he debuted.

I think coming to the Tigers would be a hard sell though. He'd probably prefer to play out of the spotlight in the south of France or Japan for the same money or more while not having to make a tackle and only touching the ball 3 times a game rather than play how the best modern league wingers play.

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

While its all good and well for us to decide where best each player suits the team, player power and a dearth of halves in the NRL in general will likely mean if they aren't given a pathway/opportunity in the halves another club will offer it and they will leave. As Hamertime mentioned Glavin's agent has already asked for a release given we have bought players in front of him and told him he will be utilised and developed outside the halves. I wouldn't be surprised if it is the same with Large, consider also the disparity in wages between halves and other positions if a club will pay them half money and we only commit to them as an outside back/back row it's more than likely they will leave.

I think it was only an assumption we made that it was Galvin's manager asking for a release (stemming right back to a Buzz article). It may well be Alex Conti as there have been posts on Twitter in the past 24 hours saying he is off to the Dogs training with the NRL squad over summer.

 

[weststigers]

I don't think we can have that many halves in the top 30. With AD, Sezer, Sullivan, Fainu, Galvin we're pretty stacked. Large may be there in 25 too. If we could work out something with AD, then maybe. But I can't see space at the moment.

We only have 3 halves + Doueihi who may not even get on the park next year.

Galvin is still very young and we can’t expect he’ll slot into first grade.

Another half for backup wouldn’t be a bad thing.