Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

hank37w said:
Do we still have that cardboard cut out of Matterson?

Keeping that would be the better option, has more character, a much better personality and doesn't use up a top 30 spot.
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You can knock Matterson's character sure, but nobody can knock how he performed for us. He's the mythical unicorn that played all his best football at the Tigers. Even when he wanted out due to the serial player wrecker playing him busted he still put in huge efforts.
 
Lebanese_Coach_aspiration said:
Those two are genuine marquees, it isnt about race.
There is nothing wrong with pacific islanders, let me be clear about that.
I said it bluntly in that post that having polys are good, but you cannot have TOO MUCH of that style of player.
Let me say it in a PC way, you cannot have 5 prime Dave Taylors in your pack, but for sure you can have 1, maybe 2. You do need Max Kings and Mark Nicholls.

Teams that overload on polynesians struggle. This is fact.
How many times have you hard over the years 'The Warriors need more Australian players to be successful'.
Think to yourself what they actually meant by that. Like... really think.

Look at recipes, pick any real dish. You need the balance right.

But we have learnt that in 2024, a team of wily hard headed hard workers beats the power players. I'll die on this hill.

Why did England beat Tonga 3-0? Quite easily mind you.

I only mention poly's because they are the power players in the game.
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Of course you need a side with balance and the right mix of players. That is obvious. I can also take your point that some polynesians typically play a powerful brand of football.

My pushback is your point that the Tigers have overloaded on Polynesian players. Which players are you referring to out of our top 17? Out of those that play a "power game" I see Pole, maybe Stef and maybe Ice. I just don't think overloading on power players is even slightly an issue at the Tigers. Our list of issues is much, much longer than that.

I do disagree that teams who overload on polynesians struggle. By my count peak Penrith has 10/13 starting players with polynesian and/or maori heritage, Storm 2020 had 8/13 players with polynesian heritage (if you count Olam). So your statement is objectively not true.
 
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Todd Packer said:
I think you are deliberately misrepresenting what he said.
Unfortunately it's the expected knee jerk reaction that now makes constructive conversation difficult in our fantastic new world.
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Incorrect.

There is nothing constructive with labelling all of a particular ethnic group as anything. And it's got nothing to do with a 'new world', it is a pure, cold, hard truth.

All polynesian players do not rely on a power game, just as much as all 'insert ethnicity here' do not ubiquitously share any other rugby league strength or weakness.

You are wrong. And moreover, to view the world this way is so basic it borders on infantile.
 
Todd Packer said:
You can knock Matterson's character sure, but nobody can knock how he performed for us. He's the mythical unicorn that played all his best football at the Tigers. Even when he wanted out due to the serial player wrecker playing him busted he still put in huge efforts.
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Yep definitely. The guy is a dick, thats not contested.
However he played really well for us and was a massive favourite on here (I remember certain forum members even stating they would turn gay for him!)
 
Todd Packer said:
And I'm not talking about race, I'm talking about body type.
The moment I saw Samuela play junior Origin I knew we had a winner. He's leaner and will only improve once he packs on more muscle.
Enough with the fat kids already!
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Yep. I also commented in that junior origin game last year, when everyone was waxing lyrical about Latu that the better game was played by his brother.
I am not surprised how Sam has gone this year. He has a great body shape, is aggro and passionate. I dont particularly like his personality, but dont have to. He is turning into a special talent and needs careful cultivation. Theres a bit of Boyd Cordner mixed with Keegan Hipgrave in his playing style.
 
Todd Packer said:
And I'm not talking about race, I'm talking about body type.
The moment I saw Samuela play junior Origin I knew we had a winner. He's leaner and will only improve once he packs on more muscle.
Enough with the fat kids already!
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The original poster was making a pretty specific point about race to be fair. Samuela is a good example of the exact kind of player we need. I am looking through our current best 17 and I am struggling to see where the problems are the original poster was referring to. Pole? Stef? Our list of problems extend way beyond those players imo.
 
Wearyfan22 said:
The original poster was making a pretty specific point about race to be fair. Samuela is a good example of the exact kind of player we need. I am looking through our current best 17 and I am struggling to see where the problems are the original poster was referring to. Pole? Stef? Our list of problems extend way beyond those players imo.
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Pole is the poster boy for what we need to avoid.
He'll have good moments in a game but he'll have game losing periods of laziness and lack of concentration.
 
Todd Packer said:
Pole is the poster boy for what we need to avoid.
He'll have good moments in a game but he'll have game losing periods of laziness and lack of concentration.
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There's room for Pole as a role player off the bench imo. Lots of upside and to me he looks like the only one who remotely provides any impact. Only 21 so I would hope the mistakes and lapses are coached (not holding my breath) out of his game. I think he will have a solid first grade career at the Tigers or elsewhere.

Bigger problem is Klemmer imo
 
As an earlier poster wrote, there are more than 1or 2 individuals that are the problem. In virtually every area of the game we are just off the pace.
When it comes to our pack, the simplistic answers are run harder and tackle harder. As individuals they rarely bend the line, look to offload, get fast ptbs- and in D our first contact is way too soft. We need to move up and smash guys, play with aggression, but we don’t. We hang back, allowing the opposition to gather momentum and get their roll on. Line speed stops the opposing momentum.
Again, it’s just one part of the game, but an important foundation and we just don’t show the necessary intent.
 
Todd Packer said:
Pole is the poster boy for what we need to avoid.
He'll have good moments in a game but he'll have game losing periods of laziness and lack of concentration.
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I think we have 29 or 30 of them in the top squad..... Even Api.. .Jerome Luai next year will take.pressure off Api hopefully and be able to keep these guys minds on the job for the entire 80 mins
 
Vicious said:
Out of all our current players who are earning more than 500k per season, not many of them are earning their pay cheques, are they ?
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My understanding is that they are paid in accordance with the total Cap, or at least 95% of it. If the club contracts a team of nuffies they are paid the same as a team of stars.
 
Tucker said:
Klem has run out of petrol.
He has bashed his body for 12 years in the toughest position on the field playing 229 NRL games, 5 SOO series in a row, and 19 Test matches. That puts him over 270 top level games when you add finals and city/country etc...
I know other props have done more but they are also better players.
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He's had a great career, achieved more than 99.9% of other players. Seems like a very decent person too who would be great to have around the team.

Unfortunately this year he is not providing any value. His role and some could easily be filled by Twal, or just about any other mid-low tier prop.
 
My apologies up front: this is going to be a long post.

I have been pondering the solution to our poor performace for more than a decade and I am a firm believer that our poor performances have been directly realted to our ability to control a game. This doesn't have anything to do with skill with ball in hand this is related to football IQ. I am a card carrying Brooks basher - not because of his skills - but because he has never had the football IQ required to lead a team. He is great at playing a role. It was not his fault - he was a round peg forced into a square hole at WT.

But he's gone and we aren't performing significanly better. Why?

A good footy team has a balance - different body shapes, different playing styles and different levels of footballing smarts. We have a reasonable mix across the board - sure we could do with some upgrades and we lack discipline at times; but, we have shown plenty of skill and plenty of grit at different times of the season so far and more often than not in different parts of each game we play.

What we don't have is the ability to control the game so that it happens at our pace. How do we develop this and who do we target to be the Wests Tiger's "Cooper Cronk/Matty Johns"?

Our problem is the football smarts of our halves. When we control of the pill we control the game. I think that we have been so fixated in playing the up tempo game the NRL wants that we have forgotten that what really wins football games is control.

Our focus has to be on developing the ability to control the pace of the game; to develop a plan to make what we have work. We aren't Penrith, Melbourne or Brisbane with strike weapons across the park. While Api can do a little bit as Captain and from hooker the pace/momentum can only really be controlled by the halves.

How do we address this problem? We need to stop trying to play to the NRL playsheet of fast open football. This will be hard because that is how kids are taught to play through the grades. Benji needs to educate our halves and stop telling them to simply play what they see. This is a great strategy when we need to up the tempo; the problem is there are times where we have really needed to slow the game down to break the opposition's rhythm or simply get some gas back into the tank of our guys.

Our halves need to understand the game and the needs of the team and then apply the play what you see lens over that.
  • If we are gassed; kick to the sideline and start from a set play - get some air and start with a set defensive line.
  • If we are stuggling to go forward but aren't gassed a 40/20 is a great tool - Api from dummy half, Sezer at half or find a specialist 40/20 kicker and develop a play (maybe Naden can be useful?). Make it a Tigers trademark.
  • If we have energy and a bit of freedom let the ball sing - we only tend to do this chasing points when it is too late. At times we look good doing this - Sullivan and Galvin suit this style of play and FFS Staines could even come in handy instead of using him as a first tackle option 10 out from our own line.
Who is that guy for us? I don't know - but that is the skill set that we are missing. Sezer definitely has the experience to execute that role. Perhaps if Latu can get fit he can do that job. Galvin and Sullivan appear to be more heads up players and need somone else to control the tempo.

What we don't have to be is pretty - just effective. This is on the coaching staff; they have to develop our halves to understand what the team needs, at what time of the game, and to provide them with the plays to really control our fortunes on the park.
 
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851 said:
I said when we signed him he was an edge forward not a middle, but the noise from the club was he was a middle, glad he is getting a fair crack at an edge, even if it was due to injury and suspension
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What gave you that impression?
Was it the fact that Manly played him in that position for 12 first grade games last season?
 
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