Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[user118245]

Apparently they acknowledged Ice, Stefano, Sezer, Tupou and Alaimalo for their efforts this year.

There will surely be more movement, but nothing must be officially sorted as of yet.

nothing on faatape? He’s off contract I believe

 

[Tom Shines]

nothing on faatape? He’s off contract I believe

He isnt on a Top 30 dea….so will probably be brought back on that basis

 

[TSP]

Like that, for the most part, the players we have recruited for 2025 are competitive.

Luai ✅️
Turuva ✅️
Skelton ✅️
Bird ✅️

These guys really have a crack.
Hunt, I'm sure he's a goer too, with hopefully another gear... 8 minutes and done for the game isn't going to cut it.

These are the traits we need, moving forward. Moving away from the turn and get paid types we've seen in the past.

Hunt is a good player, ✅

A lot of sharks fans wanted to keep him.


19 stone monster, aged 29 peak physical strength, Samoan international which I’d suggest would wipe the floor with Penrith in an exhibition match.

 

[Tucker]

He isnt on a Top 30 dea….so will probably be brought back on that basis

We put a lot of work into his development last season, surely he remains in the plans for now?

 

[Nadz4483]

I actually don't mind faatape.... He has some skills, def can get better...

 

[innsaneink]

Does the author of this article really think Hunt is still an exciting signing, would imagine Sam Walker or someone else would be bigger news. I guess Hunt news sells papers...

Walker re=signed I thought i heard
Hunt is a big name in the game, despite him being rocks and diamonds at times

 

[Needaname]

Hunt is a good player, ✅

A lot of sharks fans wanted to keep him.

View attachment 16447
19 stone monster, aged 29 peak physical strength, Samoan international which I’d suggest would wipe the floor with Penrith in an exhibition match.

Interesting that he isn’t playing for Samoa in the England tests. What’s the reason?
But also a good thing as Benji can get him sorted out from the beginning of pre-season.

 

[crazycat]

The 2025 squad is certainly an improvement.

We are on the up.

Now we need the hard work to be fitter than previous years.

We are better then 2024.

But it's not all round better. I think our halves are Stronger but unproven. I don't know if Galvin will combine with Luai and we should be ready to punt Galvin if this fails (I know controversial opinion). Hopefully Luai + Galvin works but it may take a few rounds to get it right.

Our backs will be stronger, still huge issues and if we can't tackle and form a defensive line we will be spooners again. I am optimistic, would be really good to see Olam at full flight, Turuva who can cross the line and Staines combining with Luai again. Backline will be stronger and hopefully we can get some defensive structure.

The forwards, well were going backwards. Hunt is a good addition with limited minutes... we have lost Paps and Stef, that's huge. I feel like it's our 2022 squad again and that isn't a good thing.

Really hoping that Richo and Benji are planning to snipe a top level forward. Happy to wait for the right talent but if we don't upgrade the forward pack, then I see us bottom 4 again for 2025*.

*for a very different reason to 2023/2024. More like 2022 where we just get run over each game.

 

[TSP]

Interesting that he isn’t playing for Samoa in the England tests. What’s the reason?
But also a good thing as Benji can get him sorted out from the beginning of pre-season.

I’m not sure why he was left out, but hopefully we can turn that into a positive for him and us.

We will run all those tests on him to see where he is up to physically and hopefully assess his mindset and how he is going there.

I think in the broad, we are much more passionate about our players than the sharks fans are because our situation is more desperate and he’ll enjoy a bit more celebrity.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

Maybe Storm still need to make room for Stef, on the NRL site signings which usually only adds them when they are official still doesn't list Stefano as a Melbourne signing.

Looking back at the Storm announcement it wasn't the usual signing announcement fanfare but rather just a statement that Stef would be at their club in 2025 after Stef himself had already come out and announced it himself.

So possible the Stef contract isn't yet officially lodged with NRL.

It’s registered.

 

[JB9918]

Interesting they didn't thank Faataape & Sione. Would be happy to keep both.

Faataape over Naden & Toa as back up centres.

 

[TSP]

We put a lot of work into his development last season, surely he remains in the plans for now?

I’ve never seen the red carpet vacuumed so many times for a young hustler.

I think Benji had him in mind when he was rattling off his “effort” praise.

It wasn’t always pretty but I wouldn’t accuse him of taking too many holidays.

From the vision, he was pretty hard on himself when he made a mistake. I liked that. That’s what we need, self reflection instead of entitled mindset ( aka stef).

By the unwritten laws of footy, his days in the sun should increase not decrease.

Still a work in progress.

One of the other players Benji did a good job with this year is Sam and I was thrilled with his recent recognition.

He drips with promise, could well emerge as a marquee forward in the future, heading that way.

 

[The Chad]

I still think our most likely avenue for improvement will be through the development of guys already in the club.

Pole to take over from Utoikamanu
Sione Fainu to develop into a regular 1st grade player
Kit Lualili'i or Fa'agutu or Matamua to win the #13 spot.
Johannssen to develop further into a 1st team squad player.
Miller to develop as the club expects him to.

Other than Sione, these guys are already in the framework. Much simpler to strengthen from within than sign players to fit the style.

I'd definitely be looking for upgrades in depth. Guys that either need to be beaten out for a spot by the young players, or guys put into KOE to push them to play at a higher level or be replaced.

Attitude & physical strength are the 2 things I'd be looking to add from outside the organisation. Unless a star player can fall into our laps.

Weirdly, if To'o or JAC became available to add, it strengthens the depth of our forwards by basically forcing Bird into that #13 role. Skelton or Turuva push into the centres then.

I don't think the club has a skill problem. We can't get dominated out wide defensively (hopefully upgrading through Skelton, Turuva & Bird fixes that). And we can't lose the physical fight in the middle (Hunt for whatever his worth, is strong. Pole & Sione Fainu development, plus whoever ends up at #13 are crucial here). We get those 2 areas upgraded, and the club takes large steps in the right direction.

 

[TSP]

I still think our most likely avenue for improvement will be through the development of guys already in the club.

Pole to take over from Utoikamanu
Sione Fainu to develop into a regular 1st grade player
Kit Lualili'i or Fa'agutu or Matamua to win the #13 spot.
Johannssen to develop further into a 1st team squad player.
Miller to develop as the club expects him to.

Other than Sione, these guys are already in the framework. Much simpler to strengthen from within than sign players to fit the style.

I'd definitely be looking for upgrades in depth. Guys that either need to be beaten out for a spot by the young players, or guys put into KOE to push them to play at a higher level or be replaced.

Attitude & physical strength are the 2 things I'd be looking to add from outside the organisation. Unless a star player can fall into our laps.

Weirdly, if To'o or JAC became available to add, it strengthens the depth of our forwards by basically forcing Bird into that #13 role. Skelton or Turuva push into the centres then.

I don't think the club has a skill problem. We can't get dominated out wide defensively (hopefully upgrading through Skelton, Turuva & Bird fixes that). And we can't lose the physical fight in the middle (Hunt for whatever his worth, is strong. Pole & Sione Fainu development, plus whoever ends up at #13 are crucial here). We get those 2 areas upgraded, and the club takes large steps in the right direction.

I still think we need some imports for the pack, but I agree we need to secure the good kids.


Well done Sam and Sarah.

When I met the womens side, one of the ladies was in awe of Sarah and her physicality.

There have been a few women who have met and exceeded us guys on our own turf. Susie Maroney a case in point.

 

[Fish88]

Any updates of panthers thanked / leaving? Sorry if posted earlier

 

[Tigers_Wests]

I’ve been reading this here for months now … it’s not inevitable that anyone with a contract for next year will actually move on … They have been trying for about 4 months now to move on Naden and Sullivan for example… and nothing

I can't see Tumeth being here next year (we would pay out his minimum wage contract if we had to). That would give Sione a spot.
Matamua is another I can see moving on and other clubs would take a punt on.

Sullivan I actually think will stay and start the season with us at least.

Few others in the ranks (Naden, To'a, Douiehi, juniors) that I wouldn't be surprised to see exit the club before round 1. There's usually still plenty of player movement from here up until mid January as clubs get their rosters sorted.

I saw they have released the NRL 2025 calendars already. There is always someone on there that you can guarantee will move on! Haha

 

[Tigers_Wests]

nothing on faatape? He’s off contract I believe

Would assume a development contract coming his way again. I am happy with that. He still hasn't had a full NRL pre-season, so would be good to see if that furthers his game at all.

 

[Kelce68]

Interesting they didn't thank Faataape & Sione. Would be happy to keep both.

Faataape over Naden & Toa as back up centres.

As much flak as To'a cops on here, he still runs rings around Faataape in defence for now.

 

[upthetigers]

Quite a few comments about them wishing they kept skelton over montoya

Not surprised dogs fans would be basing their opinion on his past dogs form and not how he is currently playing

 

[ezybro]

Leo Thompson:

Knights enforcer Leo Thompson has informed the club that he will head to November 1 and test his value on the open market.

The Daily Telegraph reported Thompson wants to explore his options after turning down an upgraded extension offer from the Knights.

Newcastle have tabled an extension offer, but the New Zealand native is keen to gauge interest from NRL rivals before making a decision on his future.

Thompson’s current deal expires at the end of 2025 and is worth a reported $350,000 which is well below his market value.

Knights recruitment boss Peter O’Sullivan only joined the club mid-season and has made re-signing Thompson one of his priorities to build a title contender in the coming seasons.

O’Sullivan has reportedly offered Thompson an upgrade for 2025 and an extension, but Thompson will wait to see what else is out there.

Thompson’s brother Tyrone joins the Knights next season from New Zealand rugby union and he still may opt to stay loyal to the club.

However, there are a number of clubs interested in Thompson’s services which could drive up his asking price if the Knights want to keep him.

The club is desperate to hold onto Thompson after letting Daniel Saifiti leave to join the Dolphins on a three-year deal to free up $800,000 on their salary cap annually.

Thompson is likely to wait until after his commitments with the New Zealand team in the Pacific Championships to make a call on his future after November 1.

Come on down to the Tiger's young fellow, we've got a starting spot for ya .. !! ;-)

Sounds to me like he just wants to use the market to upgrade his contract, his brother is coming to knights next year aswell. Would love to grab him tho if he really was keen