Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

The Wests Tigers have been locked in talks to tie down teenage centre


Heamasi Makasini and their efforts are set to intensify after his performances for Newington College in recent weeks.


Sport Confidential has obtained footage of a rampaging Makasini toying with his high school opponents in a game against the The King's School, highlighting why the Tigers have tabled a deal to keep him at the club beyond next season.


There are shades of All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu in the way he swats aside opponents (watch the side-by-side video above). Makasini is still only 16 but there are some who believe he is so talented, the Tigers could seek an exemption to have him play at some point before his 18th birthday, ala Sydney Roosters star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.

He has attracted interest from some of the biggest clubs in the NRL but the Tigers are quietly confident that they can convince the teenager that his future lies with them.

Makasini, meanwhile, is set to be a star of the Australian schoolboys carnival to be played in a fortnight at Coffs Harbour.
 
Keeping Naden isn't an issue. If he is your 3rd/4th centre option- he's a great player to have around. But that makes To'a expendable (and easier to move on probably). Or you keep To'a, and shift Naden. Or you keep both if you can afford them.

Doueihi's return means we don't need to buy a centre. Lualili'i & Staines along with Faatappe & Makasini mean we probably don't need to get yet another winger. It also kind of makes Lobb & Alaimalo expendable.

In the end- I'd say 2 of these guys need to be shifted. Lobb looks likely to be one IMO. Alaimalo is likely. If they can shift To'a or Naden, it gives Feledy another shot at sticking around.

We have gone from little depth to a bit of a balancing act in the space of half a season.
 
The Chad said:
Keeping Naden isn't an issue. If he is your 3rd/4th centre option- he's a great player to have around. But that makes To'a expendable (and easier to move on probably). Or you keep To'a, and shift Naden. Or you keep both if you can afford them.

Doueihi's return means we don't need to buy a centre. Lualili'i & Staines along with Faatappe & Makasini mean we probably don't need to get yet another winger. It also kind of makes Lobb & Alaimalo expendable.

In the end- I'd say 2 of these guys need to be shifted. Lobb looks likely to be one IMO. Alaimalo is likely. If they can shift To'a or Naden, it gives Feledy another shot at sticking around.

We have gone from little depth to a bit of a balancing act in the space of half a season.
Click to expand...
Our backline still needs upgrading... I don't think one good game changes things. I remember people at the start of the year were saying we shouldn't of signed Luai just because Sezer had a good start.
 
In the forwards, with Papali'i moving on- there's still not a lot of room to move.

Tumeth looks likely to go. Utoikamanu obviously is a chance & Bateman gets mentioned quite a lot as well.

But with Twal, Klemmer, Pole, Sione Fainu, Sam Fainu, Seyfarth, Koroisau, Da Silva, Miller, Lualili'i, Fa'agutu, Matamua & Sukkar already on the books- again, there's not a whole lot of room for new faces.

I'd imagine Reuben Potter will be kept, and should be.

Before we all claim that the club has to sign this guy or that- let's say we lose Bateman & Utoikamanu.

That gives us, in theory:

13. Matamua
12. Pole
11. Sam Fainu
10. Twal
9. Koroisau
8. Klemmer

14. Sione Fainu
15. Seyfarth
16. Da Silva
17. Kit Lualili'i

This doesn't account for the development of Fa'agutu, Miller, Sukkar & leaves Porter out of the squad. Then you have Broederlow & Johannssen coming throughalong with Tofaeono.

I doubt the club is willing to give up on ANY of these younger guys coming through just yet.

I don't think the club needs to bash down the door for a Utoikamanu replacement. A physical speciman like Peter Hola (Raiders) or a workhorse that can be replaced in time easily (Liam Martin) is probably enough.
 
WesternSuburbsBoy said:
Our backline still needs upgrading... I don't think one good game changes things. I remember people at the start of the year were saying we shouldn't of signed Luai just because Sezer had a good start.
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Signing Luai does lessen the need to buy other superstar players though. He should, in theory, make our team better as a whole.

1. Bula
2. Staines/Lualili'i
3. Doueihi
4. Olam
5. Turuva
6. Galvin
7. Luai

Not a lot of room for new guys to come in. Naden, To'a, Mason, Latu Fainu, Sullivan...not even getting a look in.
 
The Chad said:
Signing Luai does lessen the need to buy other superstar players though. He should, in theory, make our team better as a whole.

1. Bula
2. Staines/Lualili'i
3. Doueihi
4. Olam
5. Turuva
6. Galvin
7. Luai

Not a lot of room for new guys to come in. Naden, To'a, Mason, Latu Fainu, Sullivan...not even getting a look in.
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We are getting carried away with a try scored by young Luke.
If we are being serious, he’s a good 2-3 years away from even being at the same standard as Staines, To’a, Naden and that’s if he gets to their standard at all.
Likewise with Miller and Kit Laulilli, they are young and we need to give them their chance to get to the required standard, but they are not even close to being genuine NRL quality at the moment.
 
The Chad said:
Keeping Naden isn't an issue. If he is your 3rd/4th centre option- he's a great player to have around. But that makes To'a expendable (and easier to move on probably). Or you keep To'a, and shift Naden. Or you keep both if you can afford them.

Doueihi's return means we don't need to buy a centre. Lualili'i & Staines along with Faatappe & Makasini mean we probably don't need to get yet another winger. It also kind of makes Lobb & Alaimalo expendable.

In the end- I'd say 2 of these guys need to be shifted. Lobb looks likely to be one IMO. Alaimalo is likely. If they can shift To'a or Naden, it gives Feledy another shot at sticking around.

We have gone from little depth to a bit of a balancing act in the space of half a season.
Click to expand...
I'd have To'a over Naden.

As good as Naden "can" be he's a hot head, he also likes to throw out the odd lazy arm for a head high or lift in the tackle above the horizontal way too much for my liking. He's much more likely to get suspended for something stupid than Starford.

Starford also has more of a footy brain than Naden as well in my humble opinion and can read the play much better. As for speed? Another important factor these days, that I don't know, but I'd really like to know who is the faster of the two. I'd like us to hold on to Staines, he's quick, he's a great defender and if he could get more quality ball he'd suprise a few people..... especially his knockers.
 
Vicious said:
We are getting carried away with a try scored by young Luke.
If we are being serious, he’s a good 2-3 years away from even being at the same standard as Staines, To’a, Naden and that’s if he gets to their standard at all.
Likewise with Miller and Kit Laulilli, they are young and we need to give them their chance to get to the required standard, but they are not even close to being genuine NRL quality at the moment.
Click to expand...
Luke had a great debut and didn’t get targeted like he probably should have

But to say that he is a good 2-3 years away from being on the same level as Staines is crazy
 
The Chad said:
Keeping Naden isn't an issue. If he is your 3rd/4th centre option- he's a great player to have around. But that makes To'a expendable (and easier to move on probably). Or you keep To'a, and shift Naden. Or you keep both if you can afford them.

Doueihi's return means we don't need to buy a centre. Lualili'i & Staines along with Faatappe & Makasini mean we probably don't need to get yet another winger. It also kind of makes Lobb & Alaimalo expendable.

In the end- I'd say 2 of these guys need to be shifted. Lobb looks likely to be one IMO. Alaimalo is likely. If they can shift To'a or Naden, it gives Feledy another shot at sticking around.

We have gone from little depth to a bit of a balancing act in the space of half a season.
Click to expand...
Yea, I want to keep all the peep's but that leads to cap bloat.

Between Naden/Toa/Staines, I say we punt Toa. Only because I think a Penrith reunion with Luai may change Staines/Naden's form. All said, we need A LOT LESS DEPTH a LOT MORE QUALITY!

Faatappe seems more center then Wing. I kinda would like to see what becomes of him.. That said, Punt punt punt.

We need 2x wing's Turuva/Lualili, 2x Centers Olam + <yet to be decided> + 2x reserves TOPS.
Punt the rest unless they are min value contracts.
 
Tigerdazz2 said:
I'd have To'a over Naden.

As good as Naden "can" be he's a hot head, he also likes to throw out the odd lazy arm for a head high or lift in the tackle above the horizontal way too much for my liking. He's much more likely to get suspended for something stupid than Starford.

Starford also has more of a footy brain than Naden as well in my humble opinion and can read the play much better. As for speed? Another important factor these days, that I don't know, but I'd really like to know who is the faster of the two. I'd like us to hold on to Staines, he's quick, he's a great defender and if he could get more quality ball he'd suprise a few people..... especially his knockers.
Click to expand...
I'd love Staines to surprise me, Dazz. Just doubt he will.Staines & Toa give us nothing. Charlie tries hard at least, but Toa's a proven waste of roster space.
 
The Chad said:
In the forwards, with Papali'i moving on- there's still not a lot of room to move.

Tumeth looks likely to go. Utoikamanu obviously is a chance & Bateman gets mentioned quite a lot as well.

But with Twal, Klemmer, Pole, Sione Fainu, Sam Fainu, Seyfarth, Koroisau, Da Silva, Miller, Lualili'i, Fa'agutu, Matamua & Sukkar already on the books- again, there's not a whole lot of room for new faces.

I'd imagine Reuben Potter will be kept, and should be.

Before we all claim that the club has to sign this guy or that- let's say we lose Bateman & Utoikamanu.

That gives us, in theory:

13. Matamua
12. Pole
11. Sam Fainu
10. Twal
9. Koroisau
8. Klemmer

14. Sione Fainu
15. Seyfarth
16. Da Silva
17. Kit Lualili'i

This doesn't account for the development of Fa'agutu, Miller, Sukkar & leaves Porter out of the squad. Then you have Broederlow & Johannssen coming throughalong with Tofaeono.

I doubt the club is willing to give up on ANY of these younger guys coming through just yet.

I don't think the club needs to bash down the door for a Utoikamanu replacement. A physical speciman like Peter Hola (Raiders) or a workhorse that can be replaced in time easily (Liam Martin) is probably enough.
Click to expand...
Can't agree on Pole in your backrow, Chad. Still getting shown up in defence as a middle. Would be targeted mercilessly as a backrower.
 
Todd Packer said:
It's professional sport not an inclusion festival.
If he doesn't even have the discipline to look after the tool of his trade I have no hope for him.
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Agree. Sure, he might knuckle down & make the sacrifices to become a 1st grader at some point. My concern is his weight/shape has been a talking point for the last couple of pre-seasons.
 
KCTiger2 said:
Luke had a great debut and didn’t get targeted like he probably should have

But to say that he is a good 2-3 years away from being on the same level as Staines is crazy
Click to expand...
He’s a head shorter than Staines, not confident under the high ball and about 30m slower over 100 metres.
Sure he runs the ball hard, but being small and slow is not a good combination for an outside back.
 
Buttface said:
Seems to me he’s been tarred with that brush over the Tallis, Potter can’t coach and the JT debacle when he was the reigning origin hooker, (that was just wrong).
Even so, I don’t see why he can’t then make a good assistant coach?
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Simple example. On the day a major signing joined our club when Farah was capt Robbie walked straight past him, head down, didn’t even greet or acknowledge him. Such a minor thing, but those naturally good with people just don’t do this.

Farah is a legend. He would die for the club. The above sounds slanderous, it’s not meant to be. People are who they are. Some are suited to some jobs some aren’t.

My impression from 1000 miles away Robbie should play to his strengths and pursue impact that is naturally suited to him
 
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