You forgot this coming email which is sure to join the ones mentioned above:
Tigers lock in young guns long term - Makasini and Large commit long term to the club.
Given how quiet it is on the WT front this week, going to take a different look at our recruitment for '25 & '26.
Currently we have 31 players under contract (in top 30) for next season.
This does not include:
Sione Fainu (off contract), Alaimalo (off contract), Sezer (departed), Faatape (off development contract), iPap (departed), Stefano (departed), Tupou (departed).
Players still under contract rumoured to be on chopping block (last year of contract in brackets):
Naden (25), Tumeth (PO for 25), Sullivan (27), Matamua (25), Staines (25), Bateman (26), Saukuru (26)
Other Top 30 players off contract in '25 with doubt over their future beyond that:
Doueihi (25), Feledy (25), Klemmer (MO for 26), Faagutu (25), Pole* (25 - if he decides to leave)
Pathways players likely to warrant a Top 30 spot in '26:
Mason, Makasini, Large
Summary:
I'm going to suggest that Sione Fainu (for 25) and Mason, Makasini & Large (for 26) have all been ear-marked for top 30 spots aleady thus we'll need 5 roster spots for them out of those on the chopping block (as we're already 1 player over). Currently the top 5 likely to be released or not re-signed over next 2 seasons would be Naden, Tumeth, Staines, Doueihi & Bateman.
So the number of external recruits we bring in from now until '26 will be dependent on how many others we let go. For shits & giggles, I'm going to say Sullivan, Matamua, Klemmer & 1 of Saukuru/Feledy - that's 4.
So expect around 4 more external recruits to be split between incoming '25 & '26. And given how hard it is to find suitors for those under contract, I'm going to say 2 will be for next season.
1 will be a middle (Kobe Hetherington type) & 1 will be an outside back (maybe Montoya unless we can jag To'o).
How dem apples?