Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Nonotmeagain]

Is that one of those trick multiple choice questions?

With no correct answer!

 

[The Chad]

We are middle of the road as a team for run metres FOR. (6th, but played 1 extra game)

We are dead last for run metres AGAINST.

Converesely, the table topping STORM are

3rd in metres AGAINST.
3rd last in metres FOR.

In fact, the top 4 teams for METRES AGAINST are:

Panthers
Bulldogs
Storm
Sharks

But for METRES GAINED
Panthers are 2nd
Sharks are 7th
Bulldogs are 10th
Storm are 15th.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

Fair enough, but I disagree.

In my opinion it is far more important right now for this team to match sides for physical strength in defence than bust metres through the middle (that's why our back 3 need to be better).

We have to hold teams in the middle. The amount of times Utoikamanu, Pole & Sione Fainu in particular arm grab or just get run around through the middle is alarming. Their runs with the ball are exciting, but masks the defensive failings.

Then, when we do tackle, it's 3-4 guys unable to bring a man to the ground & slowly disentangle before moping around the back of the ruck. We need to win the point of attack, when in defence. Stop the momentum. And belting people hard, does that.

Ask the Roosters- the MOST penalised team in the NRL.

I get the physical strengths but those names lose the advantage more than they gain it via Penalties, hold downs, suspensions, missed tackles, limited yardage and reduced minutes.

Corey could give the benefit to might be an off year and Haas might make a dent on both ends with high upside but all Knight is terrible & Hetherington doesn’t have a great record improving forward packs he is apart of - if those 4 are on the roster we will be in a worse spot than we are this year.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Gone to the Panthers I believe

Was he contracted to us or just chose to leave? Some forum members had a high opinion of him.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

I doubt the club will call a press conference to announce Knight. But he gives greater depth to the squad.

Have you watched him play the last 2yrs?
I view it a back step & utter desperation same basket as us banking on BJ and JTJ turning around.

 

[Fish88]

If our next signing announcement is Liam Knight that will do me. He should be nothing more than a NSW Cup deal, not even worthy of announcement.

Re Corey H, the raiders know tough forwards and if he isn’t up to it at the Raiders I have low doubts he can solve any the of our problems here & hope if he did sign on that it’s low rate deal for us.

The raiders pack is stacked. That means that quality forwards struggle to crack the side. He’s def an nrl quality player.

 

[Vicious]

I'm not sure how many times Bula has to run down an opposition speedster before fans realise how quick he is.
Also, as if Staines doesn't have speed.

JAC would be a terrible signing

We need a total overhaul of our wingers and centres.
I would sincerely hope we can medically retire Olam, we will likely offload Naden and we might as well try and offload To’a also as we are getting no value out of him.
Although Staines has some obvious defensive faults that need to be corrected, I think his effort has generally been very good. If we add some better outside backs and he’s not guaranteed an NRL spot if he continues to be an issue defensively, that could potentially bring out the best of him.
As they both have top 30 positions we need to ask the question will Josh Feledy and Solomone Saukuru be ready to be genuine NRL contenders from the start of 2025 ? We know they are both young and both have plenty of upside, but we are desperate for quality of depth to ensure nobody playing NRL can be guaranteed their NRL position if they are not playing well, therefore our fringe players need to be NRL ready.
Here are some players looking for better NRL opportunities who would significantly improve our depth if not forcing their way into our NRL side;
Jeral Skelton- Big, strong and powerful specialist right winger.
Mikaele Ravalawa - Big strong and powerful winger who mainly plays on the left.
Ronald Philitoga - Big, strong and fast emerging prospect from Q-Cup.
Allan Fitzgibbon - Fornerly with us and sacked for off field issues. He looks to have natured and is a much improved and much more complete player since he was with us. Up there with the fastest players in the game, his hit ups and physicality is now very strong and is a try scoring machine.
Jordi Mazzone - I have only seen highlights of him, so unsure of his all round game, but he’s tall, strongly built and lightning fast. Not much possibility of him playing NRL at the Bulldogs, there would be better opportunities for him with Wests Tigers.
Taylan May - It is well documented he cannot be registered to play NRL unless he is found not guilty with his pending court case. IF he gets cleared his playing style is exactly what we need in our centres being strong, fast and aggressive.
Eli Clark - Another one currently at the Bulldogs, they are not regularly running up big scores in NSW Cup for no reason, they have plenty of talent under their NRL squad and he is another one who is strongly built, has good speed and height which makes him equally at home playing centre or wing. He looks to be a very solid and reliable defender and is a very good goal kicker to go with it.
Jordan Samrani - Yet another current Bulldog. Very tall, strongly built, weighs over 100kgs and has good speed to go with it. Very much like a Jacob Kiraz clone, the Bulldogs cannot fit them all in their NRL side or keep them all.
Sam Stonestreet - Very tall and lighting fast, he’s a definite regular NRL winger in waiting. Playing NRL for the Sharks this weekend with Ronaldo being injured and as he is contracted to them for 2025 they will not release him early, but I would be matching him very closely with an eye to pouncing on his signature as of November in regards to 2026 onwards.

 

[JB9918]

Was he contracted to us or just chose to leave? Some forum members had a high opinion of him.

We had a development deal but I think Panthers offered a top 30 maybe? Tbh they could have offered a development deal as well. Kid has chosen to go to the Panthers, can't really blame him.

You would assume every development deal would have a get out clause for greater opportunities.

 

[The Chad]

I get the physical strengths but those names lose the advantage more than they gain it via Penalties, hold downs, suspensions, missed tackles, limited yardage and reduced minutes.

Corey could give the benefit to might be an off year and Haas might make a dent on both ends with high upside but all Knight is terrible & Hetherington doesn’t have a great record improving forward packs he is apart of - if those 4 are on the roster we will be in a worse spot than we are this year.

They are not as penalised as you might think.

They are known for SENSATIONAL penalties though. But then, so is JWH & Radley.

We are at the bottom of the pile & need to build our way up. We lack physical/mental characteristics, in my opinion. While Hetherington & Knight might not have fit perfectly in all the teams they go to, they follow a similar pattern- go to rebuilding clubs, starting at the bottom, and get REPLACED by better players in a year or two. I'm not advocating 10 year deals. Get them for a couple of years until the Tim Johhannsen's are filled out enough to take their spot.

But in the meantime- don't let the opposition bully us off the park & keep us uncompetitive as a result.

 

[bptiger 0]

I see horsburgh has ask for a release, gee I really hope we are in for him , he’s as mad as a meat cleaver , but he is just what we need

 

[Roar_Power]

I see horsburgh has ask for a release, gee I really hope we are in for him , he’s as mad as a meat cleaver , but he is just what we need

With our sinbin/ send off record this season, need to be careful with this bloke..

 

[hank37w]

I couldn't stand JAC's constant laughter at any question put to him...Bra is a no for me.

We are already a laughing stock, the last thing we need is a laughing JAC Ass.

 

[FrodoTBaggin]

With our sinbin/ send off record this season, need to be careful with this bloke..

Everyone: We are ridiculously ill disciplined and need to ship a few of our idiots out.
Also Everyone: HORSBURGH NEEDS TO BE OUR FIRST PURCHASE.

 

[Vicious]

With Dylan Walker asking for a release to head back to Australia, I think he’s a must signing.
His wage is reportedly around 600k which is a bit high, but with the playing style of Luai and Galvin I think he would be perfect as our middle link man.
I have also read we might be looking at Latu Fainu for this role next season, but there is no way he will be ready to play anywhere near 80mins in the middle, so sharing the role and learning from Dylan Walker would be ideal.

 

[jrtiger]

We need a total overhaul of our wingers and centres.
I would sincerely hope we can medically retire Olam, we will likely offload Naden and we might as well try and offload To’a also as we are getting no value out of him.
Although Staines has some obvious defensive faults that need to be corrected, I think his effort has generally been very good. If we add some better outside backs and he’s not guaranteed an NRL spot if he continues to be an issue defensively, that could potentially bring out the best of him.
As they both have top 30 positions we need to ask the question will Josh Feledy and Solomone Saukuru be ready to be genuine NRL contenders from the start of 2025 ? We know they are both young and both have plenty of upside, but we are desperate for quality of depth to ensure nobody playing NRL can be guaranteed their NRL position if they are not playing well, therefore our fringe players need to be NRL ready.
Here are some players looking for better NRL opportunities who would significantly improve our depth if not forcing their way into our NRL side;
Jeral Skelton- Big, strong and powerful specialist right winger.
Mikaele Ravalawa - Big strong and powerful winger who mainly plays on the left.
Ronald Philitoga - Big, strong and fast emerging prospect from Q-Cup.
Allan Fitzgibbon - Fornerly with us and sacked for off field issues. He looks to have natured and is a much improved and much more complete player since he was with us. Up there with the fastest players in the game, his hit ups and physicality is now very strong and is a try scoring machine.
Jordi Mazzone - I have only seen highlights of him, so unsure of his all round game, but he’s tall, strongly built and lightning fast. Not much possibility of him playing NRL at the Bulldogs, there would be better opportunities for him with Wests Tigers.
Taylan May - It is well documented he cannot be registered to play NRL unless he is found not guilty with his pending court case. IF he gets cleared his playing style is exactly what we need in our centres being strong, fast and aggressive.
Eli Clark - Another one currently at the Bulldogs, they are not regularly running up big scores in NSW Cup for no reason, they have plenty of talent under their NRL squad and he is another one who is strongly built, has good speed and height which makes him equally at home playing centre or wing. He looks to be a very solid and reliable defender and is a very good goal kicker to go with it.
Jordan Samrani - Yet another current Bulldog. Very tall, strongly built, weighs over 100kgs and has good speed to go with it. Very much like a Jacob Kiraz clone, the Bulldogs cannot fit them all in their NRL side or keep them all.
Sam Stonestreet - Very tall and lighting fast, he’s a definite regular NRL winger in waiting. Playing NRL for the Sharks this weekend with Ronaldo being injured and as he is contracted to them for 2025 they will not release him early, but I would be matching him very closely with an eye to pouncing on his signature as of November in regards to 2026 onwards.

let’s at least be realistic Vicious. Samrani and Clark are reserve graders. Phillitoga is still playing local a grade when he’s not playing Q Cup. Mazzone is a completely unknown commodity who you have suggested because you saw a video of him last week in Cup. Fitzgibbon doesn’t know how to tackle.

Stonestreet is the dream, but contracted to the Sharks for 2025 and they won’t entertain releasing him. Taylan May is a chance but there’s a lot more to him signing than just “getting cleared”. Ravalawa would be like signing Joey Leilua all over again.

Skelton and Reimis Smith are the two best options on the market. start there.

 

[bptiger 0]

Horsburgh
Hunt or Williams from sharks
Curran
With them and maybe one more are pack becomes competitive
We are looking for a centre , the broncos have a bloke playing in qld cup can remember his name but he has filled in for staggs a few times , he looks good . Think his name starts with A , long funny name

 

[pawsandclaws1]

The Sharks won't let anyone go under contract. Fitzgibbon likes to keep the squad together. Their young prop, Jesse Colquhoun, is a good young forward. Injured now and trying to get him away from the Sharks would be challenging. I shudder at some of the names mentioned in this thread.

 

[Tom Shines]

Everyone: We are ridiculously ill disciplined and need to ship a few of our idiots out.
Also Everyone: HORSBURGH NEEDS TO BE OUR FIRST PURCHASE.

it’s laughable isn’t it ?

I gotta feeling he won’t be on Richo’s shopping list

 

[Tom Shines]

We need a total overhaul of our wingers and centres.
I would sincerely hope we can medically retire Olam, we will likely offload Naden and we might as well try and offload To’a also as we are getting no value out of him.
Although Staines has some obvious defensive faults that need to be corrected, I think his effort has generally been very good. If we add some better outside backs and he’s not guaranteed an NRL spot if he continues to be an issue defensively, that could potentially bring out the best of him.
As they both have top 30 positions we need to ask the question will Josh Feledy and Solomone Saukuru be ready to be genuine NRL contenders from the start of 2025 ? We know they are both young and both have plenty of upside, but we are desperate for quality of depth to ensure nobody playing NRL can be guaranteed their NRL position if they are not playing well, therefore our fringe players need to be NRL ready.
Here are some players looking for better NRL opportunities who would significantly improve our depth if not forcing their way into our NRL side;
Jeral Skelton- Big, strong and powerful specialist right winger.
Mikaele Ravalawa - Big strong and powerful winger who mainly plays on the left.
Ronald Philitoga - Big, strong and fast emerging prospect from Q-Cup.
Allan Fitzgibbon - Fornerly with us and sacked for off field issues. He looks to have natured and is a much improved and much more complete player since he was with us. Up there with the fastest players in the game, his hit ups and physicality is now very strong and is a try scoring machine.
Jordi Mazzone - I have only seen highlights of him, so unsure of his all round game, but he’s tall, strongly built and lightning fast. Not much possibility of him playing NRL at the Bulldogs, there would be better opportunities for him with Wests Tigers.
Taylan May - It is well documented he cannot be registered to play NRL unless he is found not guilty with his pending court case. IF he gets cleared his playing style is exactly what we need in our centres being strong, fast and aggressive.
Eli Clark - Another one currently at the Bulldogs, they are not regularly running up big scores in NSW Cup for no reason, they have plenty of talent under their NRL squad and he is another one who is strongly built, has good speed and height which makes him equally at home playing centre or wing. He looks to be a very solid and reliable defender and is a very good goal kicker to go with it.
Jordan Samrani - Yet another current Bulldog. Very tall, strongly built, weighs over 100kgs and has good speed to go with it. Very much like a Jacob Kiraz clone, the Bulldogs cannot fit them all in their NRL side or keep them all.
Sam Stonestreet - Very tall and lighting fast, he’s a definite regular NRL winger in waiting. Playing NRL for the Sharks this weekend with Ronaldo being injured and as he is contracted to them for 2025 they will not release him early, but I would be matching him very closely with an eye to pouncing on his signature as of November in regards to 2026 onwards.

Your list is growing ..although at least you have reached acceptance that NAS won’t be coming..

 

[hank37w]

I have also read we might be looking at Latu Fainu for this role next season, but there is no way he will be ready to play anywhere near 80mins in the middle, so sharing the role and learning from Dylan Walker would be ideal.

I'd like to see Latu play half a game anywhere on the field without injury at some stage before I would even dream of him playing 80 minutes in the middle.

I'm beginning to think that his mother was not joking about him always being injured.