Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[KCTiger2]

Wouldn’t say non-existent.

8 Pole
9 Api
10 Klemmer
11 Samuela Fainu
12 Bateman/ Seyfarth
13 Latu Fainu/ Bateman

14 Twal
15 Sione Fainu
16
17

Switch Twal and Pole

 

[KCTiger2]

Anyone think Heino repalces Farah as assistant coach
Benji , Morris , Heino
new water boy to be added

No because Heino is already an assistant coach

and is doing a pretty good job at it considering overall our effort areas have improved off the charts

 

[KCTiger2]

Following the advice of people on here I've started to watch Seyfarth off the ball more, and compare his effort in D with other forwards.

Watching all our forwards and how hard they work to control the ruck or as Marker, he is becoming a player I can really appreciate. Since I've been paying attention he's been getting better at slowing the ruck down using without using his hands and giving away less penalties.

Pole has potential but as another poster correctly pointed out to me he is all attack at the moment, and I now agree.

Stefs effort without the ball is pretty poor, I think he's in for a shock in Melbourne. He doesn't work hard to get to Marker, and even Klemmer moves better than him in defence in general.

Twal professional and a good overall effort, really lacks impact in any one area and his play the ball speed is going backwards.

Papalii not as dynamic as he was at parra but I think he's our best forward based on all these little things + the more noticeable stuff (in the middle, re really did seem to cruise on the edge for us). Johannsen intrigues me as a replacement but small sample size and honestly would rather not keep gambling on players stepping up as plan A, B and C.

Sione I think can be just as good, has a bit of Poles footwork, but a better passing game and a little closer in D, still not there yet but improving.

Samuela could be anything.

I hope we work on strength and fitness, I think our pack looks tired at times and it was ridiculous how small and weak the dragons made us look, and they are nothing special.

2 or 3 FG quality forwards and I'll be happy.

Poles defence isn’t the best but it has improved from last year and will keep improving the good thing with Pole is he knows his defence sucks but he is keen to work on it and improve it

Twal has never and will never provide impact that is why he is much better as a starter then a bench prop

 

[Lestronge]

Poles defence isn’t the best but it has improved from last year and will keep improving the good thing with Pole is he knows his defence sucks but he is keen to work on it and improve it

Twal has never and will never provide impact that is why he is much better as a starter then a bench prop

I disagree on twal . He has been coming off the bench and shoring up the middle , and providing more clarity in defence for his outside men .
He may lack spectacular runs , but he makes up for it in pure work ethic and grit .
Sam Fainu also has this grit and work ethic . He is always willing to take that “hiding to nothing “ hit up 20 from our own line after 3 failed runs from the backs .

 

[innsaneink]

Very good summary, I watched the dogs forwards last night , they look so much fitter than us , they move quicker back into defence when they have made a tackle, there little men make more yards, just with quick leg speed , there’s a bit to be learned by backing down other teams strong points

They have exceptional line speed

They must be offside half the time

 

[hank37w]

Why did we rush to re-sign AD before he played a game of NRL this season?

Mind you, this is the second time we have done that with him.

Just plain stupid, like he was in big demand after 3 ACL's.

 

[hank37w]

We got him for near min wage I believe, covers plenty of positions.

Also takes up a top 30 spot that we desperately need.

 

[The Chad]

I disagree on twal . He has been coming off the bench and shoring up the middle , and providing more clarity in defence for his outside men .
He may lack spectacular runs , but he makes up for it in pure work ethic and grit .
Sam Fainu also has this grit and work ethic . He is always willing to take that “hiding to nothing “ hit up 20 from our own line after 3 failed runs from the backs .

Twal actually has good leg drive when in the tackle and is rarely stopped at the point of contact- I think he's better than people suspect, while not being elite. But not all the pack need to be elite, and not all the pack need to be starting quality. If Twal starts & you get 3 really decent impact guys off the bench, that's still a good pack. I think 2 x damaging runners & 1 x damaging defender on the bench, plus that versatile guy, gives you the flexibility needed in the modern NRL.

You need to absorb & endure the initial onslaught, while still having impact (particularly out wide). Twal, Klemmer & Horsburgh in the middle, with Sam Fainu & Seyfarth out wide- then Pole, Sione Fainu & Hetherington along with a versatile guy...that's an effective forward pack.

You just need to have 3-4 guys in KOE pushing to get those bench spots for themselves- then you have the depth to cover injury & form slumps.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Twal actually has good leg drive when in the tackle and is rarely stopped at the point of contact- I think he's better than people suspect, while not being elite. But not all the pack need to be elite, and not all the pack need to be starting quality. If Twal starts & you get 3 really decent impact guys off the bench, that's still a good pack. I think 2 x damaging runners & 1 x damaging defender on the bench, plus that versatile guy, gives you the flexibility needed in the modern NRL.

You need to absorb & endure the initial onslaught, while still having impact (particularly out wide). Twal, Klemmer & Horsburgh in the middle, with Sam Fainu & Seyfarth out wide- then Pole, Sione Fainu & Hetherington along with a versatile guy...that's an effective forward pack.

You just need to have 3-4 guys in KOE pushing to get those bench spots for themselves- then you have the depth to cover injury & form slumps.

Twal is a very good player and you know the performance you will receive when he is on-field. He is very underrated but not by me and many who supports WTs.

 

[TigerSJ]

I think Latu would be happy to play anywhere-seems to so mobile the actual named position would be largely irrelevant.

Good point. Need to think outside the rigid positions and numbers - you can have more ball players on the field as long as they can defend. We can definitely play Galvin, Luai and Latu at the same time. The game is evolving - it started years ago with hookers/dummy halves, then fullbacks, then “edge” players (second rowers), more recently Locks. These positions have changed and require different athleticism and abilities. We need to take advantage of the options we have and develop a style of playing incorporating more ball players and attack coupled with hard working scrambling defense. The latter will come from fitness and attitude coupled with intent and leadership.

 

[The Chad]

As a I love a good stat..

2024-
Utoikamanu - 23 Appearances, 96 tackle breaks, 970 post contact metres, 9.9 avg hit-ups
Oregon Kaufusi- 21 Appearances, 29 tackle breaks, 698 post contact metres, 7 avg hit-ups
NAS- 15 Appearances, 33 tackle breaks, 562.3 post contact metres, 9.1 avg hit-ups
Alex Twal- 17 Appearances, 28 tackle breaks, 549.1 post contact metres, 8.5 avg hit-ups
Daniel Saifiti- 19 Appearances, 27 tackle breaks, 820.5 post contact metres, 8.7 avg hit-ups
Royce Hunt- 13 Appearances, 20 tackle breaks, 392.8 post contact metres, 5.1 avg hit-ups
David Klemmer- 19 Appearances, 15 tackle breaks, 824.9 post contact metres, 9.6 avg hit-ups
Fonua Pole- 22 Appearances, 43 tackle breaks, 961.3 post contact metres, 9 avg hit-ups
Sione Fainu- 11 Appearances, 9 tackle breaks, 338.7 post contact metres, 6 avg hit-ups

Yeah, I know- stats lie, blah, blah.

However- over the course of the season- stats DO tell a story.

We will lose one of, if not the most destructive tackle breaking props next season. Interestingly, Pole has very similar post-contact metres, however. And Klemmer is right in line with Daniel Saifiti for post-contact as well. NAS has significantly less appearances than Pole & Utoikamanu & it could be argued his tackle busts might rival at least Pole if he played more. What I find interesting though is just how close NAS, Oregon Kaufusi & our very own Alex Twal are on overall impact.

There are posters that would jump all over Kaufusi as a signing, but how much better does he perform to Alex Twal?

Also, how far behind in performance is Royce Hunt to a number of our guys already? He's marginally more effective than Sione Fainu over the course of the season.

 

[KCTiger2]

I disagree on twal . He has been coming off the bench and shoring up the middle , and providing more clarity in defence for his outside men .
He may lack spectacular runs , but he makes up for it in pure work ethic and grit .
Sam Fainu also has this grit and work ethic . He is always willing to take that “hiding to nothing “ hit up 20 from our own line after 3 failed runs from the backs .

I agree however Twal starting does his job and does it well and it allows us to bring Klemmer off the bench where the game is slower for him and he can do Twals job

 

[Buttface]

As a I love a good stat..

2024-
Utoikamanu - 23 Appearances, 96 tackle breaks, 970 post contact metres, 9.9 avg hit-ups
Oregon Kaufusi- 21 Appearances, 29 tackle breaks, 698 post contact metres, 7 avg hit-ups
NAS- 15 Appearances, 33 tackle breaks, 562.3 post contact metres, 9.1 avg hit-ups
Alex Twal- 17 Appearances, 28 tackle breaks, 549.1 post contact metres, 8.5 avg hit-ups
Daniel Saifiti- 19 Appearances, 27 tackle breaks, 820.5 post contact metres, 8.7 avg hit-ups
Royce Hunt- 13 Appearances, 20 tackle breaks, 392.8 post contact metres, 5.1 avg hit-ups
David Klemmer- 19 Appearances, 15 tackle breaks, 824.9 post contact metres, 9.6 avg hit-ups
Fonua Pole- 22 Appearances, 43 tackle breaks, 961.3 post contact metres, 9 avg hit-ups
Sione Fainu- 11 Appearances, 9 tackle breaks, 338.7 post contact metres, 6 avg hit-ups

Yeah, I know- stats lie, blah, blah.

However- over the course of the season- stats DO tell a story.

We will lose one of, if not the most destructive tackle breaking props next season. Interestingly, Pole has very similar post-contact metres, however. And Klemmer is right in line with Daniel Saifiti for post-contact as well. NAS has significantly less appearances than Pole & Utoikamanu & it could be argued his tackle busts might rival at least Pole if he played more. What I find interesting though is just how close NAS, Oregon Kaufusi & our very own Alex Twal are on overall impact.

There are posters that would jump all over Kaufusi as a signing, but how much better does he perform to Alex Twal?

Also, how far behind in performance is Royce Hunt to a number of our guys already? He's marginally more effective than Sione Fainu over the course of the season.

I think everyone is well aware what mighty boy can do and that is why we get a little annoyed when he gets dominated so easily and now signs elsewhere. His best and worst are way too far apart, it’s obvious if he pulls his finger out he will be one of the best props in the game.
Every team needs one Twally.

 

[TigerSJ]

At the moment Pole seems to look better coming off the bench rather than starting. We need an aggressive hard running starting prop to work with either Klemmer or Twal in the rotation. We need to find a scary edge runner who can play decent minutes and defend well. We can manufacture a lock from within. Buy a proper NRL centre - that makes 3 new guys for 2025. That’s all we need next season and build further on that in 2026. Shore up coaching staff with experience.
I believe the right guys for us are out there on the market and also believe we can make this happen.

 

[Vicious]

As a I love a good stat..

2024-
Utoikamanu - 23 Appearances, 96 tackle breaks, 970 post contact metres, 9.9 avg hit-ups
Oregon Kaufusi- 21 Appearances, 29 tackle breaks, 698 post contact metres, 7 avg hit-ups
NAS- 15 Appearances, 33 tackle breaks, 562.3 post contact metres, 9.1 avg hit-ups
Alex Twal- 17 Appearances, 28 tackle breaks, 549.1 post contact metres, 8.5 avg hit-ups
Daniel Saifiti- 19 Appearances, 27 tackle breaks, 820.5 post contact metres, 8.7 avg hit-ups
Royce Hunt- 13 Appearances, 20 tackle breaks, 392.8 post contact metres, 5.1 avg hit-ups
David Klemmer- 19 Appearances, 15 tackle breaks, 824.9 post contact metres, 9.6 avg hit-ups
Fonua Pole- 22 Appearances, 43 tackle breaks, 961.3 post contact metres, 9 avg hit-ups
Sione Fainu- 11 Appearances, 9 tackle breaks, 338.7 post contact metres, 6 avg hit-ups

Yeah, I know- stats lie, blah, blah.

However- over the course of the season- stats DO tell a story.

We will lose one of, if not the most destructive tackle breaking props next season. Interestingly, Pole has very similar post-contact metres, however. And Klemmer is right in line with Daniel Saifiti for post-contact as well. NAS has significantly less appearances than Pole & Utoikamanu & it could be argued his tackle busts might rival at least Pole if he played more. What I find interesting though is just how close NAS, Oregon Kaufusi & our very own Alex Twal are on overall impact.

There are posters that would jump all over Kaufusi as a signing, but how much better does he perform to Alex Twal?

Also, how far behind in performance is Royce Hunt to a number of our guys already? He's marginally more effective than Sione Fainu over the course of the season.

Very interesting.
However when watching them all play on a weekly basis, I believe Daniel Saifiti has had an under rated season and would be the pick of the props available to recruit for a number of reasons, however it’s rumoured he’s already agreed to sign with the Dolphins.
I hope not and think he’d be a great signing for us to fill the void left by Stefano.

 

[Telltails]

I can see why people want to tie up Pole but really think he gets a bit of a free ride in rating his performances compared to some of the blokes around him.

 

[Tom Shines]

I can see why people want to tie up Pole but really think he gets a bit of a free ride in rating his performances compared to some of the blokes around him.

Bit average of late …

They are looking thin in the middle though for next year …I suspect that’s behind it …

 

[bptiger 0]

Wouldn’t say non-existent.

8 Pole
9 Api
10 Klemmer
11 Samuela Fainu
12 Bateman/ Seyfarth
13 Latu Fainu/ Bateman

14 Twal
15 Sione Fainu
16
17

And where has that pack taken us , also lose 2 others , I think ur been very nice to a poor pack

 

[hammertime]

We also have to spend the cap. The forwards is our obvious weak spot with the 2025 additions to the backline

 

[The Chad]

I can see why people want to tie up Pole but really think he gets a bit of a free ride in rating his performances compared to some of the blokes around him.

Pole's attack has been great. He's a different type of middle to Utoikamanu, but his subtle footwork combined with his leg speed is very effective.

Unfortunately, he misses on the little 1% plays too often. As such, he's probably a step below being an obvious replacement for Utoikamanu.