Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

Vicious said:
He’s one of only a few players who can genuinely play at speed and still have the ability to play out the back as a 13 and rough enough defensively in the middle.
We could have signed him for a very minimal contract and chose not to.
That was a another big recruitment mistake on our behalf.
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Lets be real & not get carried away it’s the best 50mins of game time for him in 2-3yrs. Prior to that he wasn’t wanted by the Eels or Roosters on a minimum contract.

Far from a big recruitment mistake as it stands.

I like Brown and wouldn’t have been upset in him coming but he hasn’t been a starting 13 & well we kept Seyfarth instead.
 
Mighty_Tiger said:
Lets be real & not get carried away it’s the best 50mins of game time for him in 2-3yrs. Prior to that he wasn’t wanted by the Eels or Roosters on a minimum contract.

Far from a big recruitment mistake as it stands.

I like Brown and wouldn’t have been upset in him coming but he hasn’t been a starting 13 & well we kept Seyfarth instead.
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Each to their own opinion, but having a player on a near minimum wage who can play the modern day 13 role effectively and open up the play for our halves would have been a huge plus for our attack.
Seyfarth is as close as we have, but passing the ball doesn’t look too natural for him as hard as he tries.
Matamua is the other hope, but he will need to show he’s willing to play with a lot more intent and aggression.
The bottom line is if we continue to play a 13 who has no idea how to engage the opposing defence and play out the back, then our attack will continue to be poor.
 
Vicious said:
Each to their own opinion, but having a player on a near minimum wage who can play the modern day 13 role effectively and open up the play for our halves would have been a huge plus for our attack.
Seyfarth is as close as we have, but passing the ball doesn’t look too natural for him as hard as he tries.
Matamua is the other hope, but he will need to show he’s willing to play with a lot more intent and aggression.
The bottom line is if we continue to play a 13 who has no idea how to engage the opposing defence and play out the back, then our attack will continue to be poor.
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I didn’t disagree with you on above but I just don’t think he was a big recruiting mistake for us.

Also don’t buy into the he would come on next to nothing unless he was guaranteed a starting spot & not to play reggies regardless of form.
 
GNR4LIFE said:
One dimensional seems par for the course for a pack coming off a wooden spoon. Idk how much to expect from Ice until Luai gets here and he has a half that can put him into a hole. Plus, it will be a contract year, so expect a big year from Pap in 25.
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That is assuming Ice does not sign elsewhere between Nov 1, 2024 and the start of the 2025 season. 2025 won’t be a contract year then.
 
crazycat said:
I reckon that's the cost of us picking up Fainu... Reilly seemed almost greater then Feledy and I would have been happy keeping him...

We were almost building to be Eagle Tigers (and the Eagles, Tigerbirds)... A lot of crossover with Manly, which all made sense prior to us signing Luai.

Our problem though is not our recruitment, it's our traning and staff. Players are coming here and NOT improving. I don't care who we have to bring in to the coaching staff, we need:
A tackling coach
Phys conditioning coach
Running coach (partial).

Were way under trained and it shows.
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IMO our recruitment-----talent identification has been very pour in the past.
I think it has turned around in the last couple of tears, but that means we have to wait for them to grow, train hard and toughen up.
I think Melbourne are very good at this with no nursery to dip into.
IMO Bellamy sets out to his talent scouts/recruitment team what he wants in his players ie. speed, height, size etc. GO SEEK. Them interviews them to assess if their attitude fits the club culture before progressing further. A blueprint I hope we are adopting. Just need unbiased, independent talent scouts, recruiters who don't promote their relative's. [I hope Benji has a wish list to pass on to his recruitment team]. I'm a dreamer!
 
Tiger Stripes said:
IMO our recruitment-----talent identification has been very pour in the past.
I think it has turned around in the last couple of tears, but that means we have to wait for them to grow, train hard and toughen up.
I think Melbourne are very good at this with no nursery to dip into.
IMO Bellamy sets out to his talent scouts/recruitment team what he wants in his players ie. speed, height, size etc. GO SEEK. Them interviews them to assess if their attitude fits the club culture before progressing further. A blueprint I hope we are adopting. Just need unbiased, independent talent scouts, recruiters who don't promote their relative's. [I hope Benji has a wish list to pass on to his recruitment team]. I'm a dreamer!
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There is no doubt Latu Fainu based on what he’s shown so far in his young career, has the potential to be a superstar of the game.
Obviously there is a lot of water the pass under the bridge before it is confirmed whether or not he reaches that potential and/or how quickly it happens.
Lachie Galvin has already shown us a glimpse of what he’s capable of and the sky is the limit for him also.
BUT much like Brooks and Moses when they were with us, they need a capable side around them to allow them to flourish.
 
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Vicious said:
There is no doubt Latu Fainu based on what he’s shown so far in his young career, has the potential to be a superstar of the game.
Obviously there is a lot of water the pass under the bridge before it is confirmed whether or not he reaches that potential and/or how quickly it happens.
Lachie Galvin has already shown us a glimpse of what he’s capable of and the sky is the limit for him also.
BUT much like Brooks and Moses when they were with us, they need a capable side around them to allow them to flourish.
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Think it's gonna be exactly like BROOKS AND moses..2 19 yo s running the team without experience won't work.
Fortunately Luai changes that next year..but one will be surplus in the halves
 
clontarfkid said:
Think it's gonna be exactly like BROOKS AND moses..2 19 yo s running the team without experience won't work.
Fortunately Luai changes that next year..but one will be surplus in the halves
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Based on the trial, seems Galvin capable of slotting into centre, backrow or half so there's a world in which we see either Fainu or Galvin as starting 6. Galvin can in effect be that backrow/centre cover on the bench we've seen covered by the likes of Chee Kam and Kepoa more recently. I thnk Fainu also played a bit of dummy half for Tonga last year against England so I feel there's room for all of them for the next year or two. Come 2026 potentially one wants to leave but you'd think we'd be able to get the best of the two in that scenario.
 
Tiger Stripes said:
IMO our recruitment-----talent identification has been very pour in the past.
I think it has turned around in the last couple of tears, but that means we have to wait for them to grow, train hard and toughen up.
I think Melbourne are very good at this with no nursery to dip into.
IMO Bellamy sets out to his talent scouts/recruitment team what he wants in his players ie. speed, height, size etc. GO SEEK. Them interviews them to assess if their attitude fits the club culture before progressing further. A blueprint I hope we are adopting. Just need unbiased, independent talent scouts, recruiters who don't promote their relative's. [I hope Benji has a wish list to pass on to his recruitment team]. I'm a dreamer!
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This is the wrong thinking...
Sure Bellamy scouts them down, but it is the other half which we are doing wrong.

First 3 weeks at Melbourne, they send the 'new recruit' to a construction site. Usually to work the Gravel for a cement mixer. It's a HORRIBLE job.

Clint Newton arrives at Melbourne to see a winger and a center step into a cage to have a serious boxing fight.

It's not Recruitment that were doing poorly, now. It's the training and the hardening of players.
 
BirchgroveTigers said:
Based on the trial, seems Galvin capable of slotting into centre, backrow or half so there's a world in which we see either Fainu or Galvin as starting 6. Galvin can in effect be that backrow/centre cover on the bench we've seen covered by the likes of Chee Kam and Kepoa more recently. I thnk Fainu also played a bit of dummy half for Tonga last year against England so I feel there's room for all of them for the next year or two. Come 2026 potentially one wants to leave but you'd think we'd be able to get the best of the two in that scenario.
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Look Galvin can slot in at Center.

No we should not be putting him in the backrow. Yes a Toyota Echo can get you from Sydney to Perth, no it will not be a good experience.
 
Mighty_Tiger said:
I didn’t disagree with you on above but I just don’t think he was a big recruiting mistake for us.

Also don’t buy into the he would come on next to nothing unless he was guaranteed a starting spot & not to play reggies regardless of form.
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Didn't he sign with Manly on a train and trial contract, and that is very low money
 
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