Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Ecto-1]

The Salad is on a reported 250K I would keep him hate to say it Off load Bud I hate saying that but he is 4 choice now

The Tigers have an option in there favour to keep the SALAD for next year just take it up to have an old head who knows how to win he can help teach the kids and be backup to Jerome


If Jerome goes down we are gone without a halfback

yes 2.2 over 4 years was madness at the time of signing, and even more mad now, i think Sullivan knows he is the odd one out just ho e he im roves or we may or will have to try and move him on. It was a

I reckon he’ll be signed by another club for next year. Dogs might realise they need a halfback or if Hunt does leave the Dragons they might go after him.

 

[Odessa]

Fainu

Could not be worse then Brooks but can the kid handle if for a full season

 

[Camel2281]

(I hear the Titans Calling, They're calling him again)
I have a feeling he might have an option he can trigger, Either way....
It's 1 year at best.

Sullivans contract is the issue for mine...
- And the way it's going, He won't be playing to get any runs on the board to sell him...
There's also Doueihi that will be considered you'd guess....

How it ends up, Who knows....

Douehi doesn't have a contract with us for next year and can't see that changing

 

[Camel2281]

Taree? Ooh…oh no. Bad areas man. Bad areas.

I’m from Forster - where the real OGs are from. Don’t come down to my bowling club. This is what we do to the out of towners.

Just spent Easter in Old Bar. Great part of the world

 

[innsaneink]

Got to say:

I was wrong about Sezer. Totally wrong.
I had thought he would turn up like many returning EPL players. Unable to cope with League, heck I actually liked him when he was here with the Titans etc.
The guy has been outstanding for us. Sure not as good a halfback as say Reynolds/mm/Cleary/DCE... But an actual halfback and a better fit then Hastings and others we have had.

I was dead set right about Justin Olam.
Man the guy is a joy to watch. $450k from Melbourne for a GUN center.
We truly needed an upgrade on our backline and Olam just fits the bill. So good to watch him play.
You see how under-appreciated Api is, giving good ball to all the players around him and so few make use of it.

Api sees Olam -> try time.

Such a difference with these two in our squad

I was wrong on Olam but not on Sezar... With Juzza I was concerned he was broken, that his body had finally copped enough from the high intensity collisions.he plays with... I thought Melb knew this too sending him to Q cup, but just before the trials I jumped on board everyone else that was positive about him though deep inside. I still had the niging doubt

So many here had written Sezar off, I like all of us had no idea how he wod go... All new recruits are a bit of a gamble but I remained positive with him, wanted to see him have a few runs at least. He's been very good for us lately and no doubt we'll have our tough periods and down time where the team, both players or one or the other all struggle and find it tough, toughest comp in the world and it's hard for these guys to remain at their best... All. We can do is support as much as possible and enjoy these good times - they've been so rare in the recent past

 

[balmain boy]

I can see Parra offering Matto for Lomax, which I think dragons would take. Otherwise I think he'll end up at by the roosters given all the backs they're losing.

 

[innsaneink]

I'm just stating my opinion that I'm not a fan of luai, don't like the bloke ,not convinced he'll be a good signing he's won 3 comps most likely 4 by the time he comes here and take our retirement fund, as usual you can't have an opinion on here without personal attacks, would love to meet some of these keyboard cowards up here in taree

We havent seen that with Api or Olam and of the three including Jerome, hed be the last player Id think would pull that stunt...hes too competitive and with guys like Api, Olam, Galvin, Jonneh Bula & co around him...he wont be slackin off

 

[innsaneink]

Waste of a top 30 spot. Especially if Fainu makes the same impression Galvin has, If Sezar still has something to offer, why stick around here being number 4 in the pecking order? There are other clubs who would prioritise him.

He may be happy in the alleged pecking order, may be happy with his coin- happy with the environment, culture, team mates and the style of footy theyre all playing.
Not easy starting all over again at a new gig

 

[finnzo]

BREAKING NEWS
Wests tigers have singed to many good players for next year how will they find room for the 3 Time premierships winning state of origin level halfback tough times ahead for the tigers

Seriously this is pretty much a story nrl journalism these days is a complete joke

 

[loklok]

BREAKING NEWS
Wests tigers have singed to many good players for next year how will they find room for the 3 Time premierships winning state of origin level halfback tough times ahead for the tigers

Seriously this is pretty much a story nrl journalism these days is a complete joke

Absolute rot .if we lose a game they will jump all over us again

 

[Vicious]

In regards to Wests Tigers potentially having good well paid halves playing NSW Cup next season due the depth of talent, we are not the only ones, there are some very good halves currently playing NSW Cup.
I won’t name them all, but Toby Sexton is definitely NRL quality, not many can work out why he’s being left out in favour of Drew Hutchinson at the Bulldogs.
Similar story for Lachlan Illias at the Rabbitohs.
Ethan Sanders at the Eels and Keagan Russell-Smith currently with Storm feeder club the North Sydney Bears are two other young guns who look to be NRL quality within the next season or two.
It’s more the salaries we are paying some players who may not make our NRL squad next season which is the issue due the effect that may have on our Salary Cap.

 

[watersider]

If we were looking for a destination to send Bud you'd think Gus would be available every day of the week to take that call at the Dogs.

Bud, to me, seems like a perfect fit at the Bulldogs, they need that livewire exciting sort of player in the halves. They'd probably need to offload a player to take him on but they have signed a range of average NRL utilities and I'm sure one of them would suit the needs of our squad.

I thought the signing of Bud was good. Easy with hindsight to say it wasn't. But we had absolutely no halves at the time. Galvin hadn't yet had his offseason and his start to 1st grade and we hadn't signed luai. The only dubious aspect is the 4 year length. There just seems no benefit for that for a player trying to prove himself. But even now I think he's a player and a contract who could be moved on given the shortage of quality halves.

 

[tigerbenji]

Agree that surplus halves is definitely not an issue in the current halves (or lack of) market. Offers great depth (especially with a few young halves who will have ups and downs in form and miss games to injury). Offers terrific leverage for trades as there will always be clubs looking for change in the halves.

I see no reason to panic and make a call on who might be surplus. Let Fainu, Bud and Galvin all play some games to better judge where they fit. It blocks other teams who are desperate for new halves and then we can cherry pick a trade for a vital other position (back row, prop, wing, centre) as we identify upgrade options elsewhere in our 13.

Heck, if the players like the direction the club is going in and want to play with each other there is also every chance they will be willing to play in their non preferred positions to make the overall lineup stronger. Think players like Manu at Easts who would prefer fullback or 5/8 but has played centre for the overall team fit. The good clubs have players bide their time and work their way up through positions (eg: come into grade on the wing and work your way up over a few years). No reason why we shouldn’t be aiming for this team first culture.

Would love Sezer to stay on next year, too. Would imagine his salary would be very reasonable and he offers mentoring for the KOE team and our young gun halves, a great figure around training, and a perfect fill in at NRL if required.

Great post, when we signed Sezer it was reported we paid him $200,000 - $250,000 but who knows.

 

[tigermate]

At the start of the year before a ball was kicked I said we should sell sullivan and everyone jumped on me here.

Bc as I said - if bud has a bad game he’s a dud.

After we signed Luai the only way he could stay here is if he was like dally M killing it bc we would block our juniors.

Now we’re pretty much fffffd.

He’s worth $250-$300k today.

We paid him $550k for 4 yrs for someone the dragons didn’t even want lol!

We basically have to wait until a coach gets sooooo desperate that he needs a creative spark and might take a punt on him.

With the comp pretty close tho not sure we’re going to see that for a while unless the titans keep losing.

They’re probably the only hope we have rn.

Hope he kills it next two weeks or his value going to go lower

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Fainu is a gun. Manly fans were spewing when he left.

Good post. He is an outstanding acquisition for our club and I am looking forward to his debut for our team. His brother has been a revelation for our forwards and I believe Latu will have the same impact.

 

[Tigerwould]

NRL 360 said even though Galvin is signed for a couple more years.. the WTs will look to upgrade and extend his contract this year. I would be keeping Galvin at 5/8 for the next few years.
The Fainu brothers look like keepers. Latu can cover hooker, halves, short stint in the middle. He should be looked at as the 14 going forward.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

In regards to Wests Tigers potentially having good well paid halves playing NSW Cup next season due the depth of talent, we are not the only ones, there are some very good halves currently playing NSW Cup.
I won’t name them all, but Toby Sexton is definitely NRL quality, not many can work out why he’s being left out in favour of Drew Hutchinson at the Bulldogs.
Similar story for Lachlan Illias at the Rabbitohs.
Ethan Sanders at the Eels and Keagan Russell-Smith currently with Storm feeder club the North Sydney Bears are two other young guns who look to be NRL quality within the next season or two.
It’s more the salaries we are paying some players who may not make our NRL squad next season which is the issue due the effect that may have on our Salary Cap.

There is a lot of pressure on young halves which highlights Galvin's talents and how well he has performed. Fainu although a different player to Galvin has that same level of confidence in his ability plus he is a good size, has excellent pace and is a strong defender. Sanders played in the same NSW U19 as Fainu's but in that game I recall Fainu subtle passing which put players into space plus he is a threat to the defence with his pace. Sanders apparently is going to the Raiders but I am unsure as to whether he has the pace which makes Fainu such a threat? Perhaps you can advise? Sexton was at the GC previously but was let go to the Dogs.

 

[Milky]

NRL 360 said even though Galvin is signed for a couple more years.. the WTs will look to upgrade and extend his contract this year. I would be keeping Galvin at 5/8 for the next few years.
The Fainu brothers look like keepers. Latu can cover hooker, halves, short stint in the middle. He should be looked at as the 14 going forward.

Agree re Latu and transition him into halfback in last year of Luai’s contract

If we are doing well, he will bide his time. Different story if we are losing

 

[Hbom]

Too early to be writing Bud off in my opinion. I agree he looks down the pecking order, but surely too early to call it.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Too early to be writing Bud off in my opinion. I agree he looks down the pecking order, but surely too early to call it.

It's part of having depth and players having to compete for positions.