Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

kade7 said:
apologies if already posted

believe kobe shared with madge that he would like to leave the broncos yesterday, broncos holding firm, see how the hunt saga plays out could work to our favour
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I’m happy to work as a mediator on this deal. We offer Bateman & pay 50% of his freight and Broncos release Hetherington now. Broncos win, Bateman wins & we get our man.
 

I wrote the story that ended Terrell May’s Roosters career … and there’s more to it​

Adrian Proszenko​

Chief Rugby League Reporter
November 7, 2024 — 3.50pm

Apparently, I have blood on my hands.

The Roosters have told Terrell May to move on while the ink is barely dry on his contract extension and recent accounts suggest it’s got nothing to do with the club’s salary cap situation, their need to cover for injured stars Sam Walker and Brandon Smith or the surplus of forwards they have on their books.

No, evidently the reason the Roosters are marching May towards the exit relates to an interview I conducted with him at Kensington’s Bar Lucio in mid-August, and the story that was subsequently published by this masthead on the eve of the finals about a month later.

Over the course of an hour, May offered up his life story. Sharing it was a chance to give the fans a rare insight into why his relationship with rugby league has been a complicated one.
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May initially played football to please his father, then because his siblings Taylan and Tyrone – who both played at NRL level before running into off-field dramas – were good at it. Because football provided a better life to a family that struggled to put food on the table while growing up in housing commission lodgings in Mount Druitt. Because there were teachers who overlooked him for the school footy team and told him he would never amount to anything. Because of the scrutiny the game put on his family. Because there were other things he was also passionate about, like again working in the disability sector. Because he wants to be his own man.
Terrell May is cut from a different cloth to most in rugby league.

Terrell May is cut from a different cloth to most in rugby league.CREDIT: LOUISE KENNERLEY SMH

“I hate getting compared to my brothers, we’re all different,” he told me.

At times, it became too much; on two occasions, at the age of 18 and 20, he walked away from the game, revealing, “I just didn’t want to play any more”.
“It’s a weird feeling. I don’t think many people experience it where one week they love the game and go on the TV screens and the next week they don’t want to be there at all,” May said at the time.

“Sometimes I just feel I could quit, like in a day. It sounds a bit weird, but I get those thoughts sometimes where I’m just like, ‘Is this really for me? I’m very grateful to be where I am and play with the Roosters, but rugby league isn’t the whole of me’.

“Then you just look at the bigger picture. You need to support your family and I couldn’t do it without footy. I have aspirations to take the club to the grand final and to play for NSW.”

Of all of the conversations I’ve had with footballers for over a quarter of a century, this was one of the most candid. Sadly, given the fallout, maybe fans can expect less of it in the future.

May’s sentiments have been seized upon as the reason he has been tapped on the shoulder. There has also been a narrative pushed that there were cultural reasons for the decision, prompting him to post on his Instagram account: “Nothing to do with off-field stuff.”

Neither explanation holds water. There is nothing the Roosters would have read about May that they didn’t know already.

There is no doubt May is different. The 25-year-old has a quirky sense of humour, one the public rarely sees. When Herald photographer Louise Kennerley asked to take a photo of him without his bum bag, he politely declined because he wanted to be seen as his authentic self. He’s also abstained from social media for long periods over concerns about how he will be portrayed.
“That’s just the way I am, all the boys know I just mock everything and I take nothing serious,” he said.

‘I just mock everything and I take nothing serious’
Terrell May
Click to expand...

“I forget there are all these cameras now. It’s hard because I try to be myself on the camera as well, but it just doesn’t work out. It just always gets me in trouble, so just trying to stay away from that stuff.”

Suggestions he’s failed a character test at the Roosters are also off the mark. At a time when the club got heat for handing lifelines to Matt Lodge, Brandon Smith and Michael Jennings – each arrived at Bondi Junction hauling considerable baggage – May has given the club no cause for concern.

Indeed, such has been May’s rise that he played all 27 games for the Roosters this season, including an 80-minute performance at prop. If he wasn’t fully committed to rugby league, he wouldn’t have embarked on an off-season tour to England, to represent Samoa, while his wife was pregnant. He wouldn’t have been crowned the Rugby League Players’ Association inaugural impact player of the year if he wasn’t committed.

RELATED ARTICLE​

Terrell May

Analysis​

NRL 2025​

Terrell May played every game last season. So why are the Roosters showing him the door?​

Further, it makes little sense for the Roosters to be badmouthing a player when they’re trying to get another club to buy him.

So how did we get here?
The truth is that the Roosters roster is forward heavy, as evidenced by young gun Siua Wong struggling to crack first grade for most of last season.

May’s style of play, viewed internally as being less compatible with the team’s future direction, coupled with holes in the roster that need filling, have conspired against him. Unfortunately for May, it has made him the player most dispensable.

On the cusp of Origin selection, May has plenty to offer and will ultimately find he fits in better somewhere else. The next chapter will only add to one of sport’s most intriguing stories. We shouldn’t be discouraging him from telling it.
 
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LeichhardtTiger said:
Well, whoever put this together is either on the grog or an idiot: Turuva and Luke L are listed as Fullbacks, Samuela as a Prop, and Skelton as a Centre! Bud and our multimillion $$ marquee player are both listed as 5/8s. There is no player shown as halfback! How bloody hard is it to get things done right the first time?
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The NRL manages all of this, the club has little say.
 
crazycat said:
Nah

I know people think that. But it's the wrong viewpoint.

You need 1 halfback and 1 player that can play halfback with maybe another at a pinch.

5/8 in the reserve grades can go to a center, fullback or whoever. really you should not care that much in lower grades.
Heck lower grades people should try different positions, even get experience outside their preferred position to understand what the other positions expect. i.e. a good center learns a bit by occasionally playing wing and understanding what being left high and dry on a 2 vs 1 overlap means.
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Nah, that's the wrong viewpoint. If you've got crap halves that can't organise the attack and kick well then the whole team is stuffed. Sure you can rotate outside backs or props and second type to an extent but you need proper halves in the halves. You look at any successful team in any grade and they have good halves.

And you don't just settle for having 1-2 prospects, you needs prospect in every grade.
Look at our halves in cup and flegg last season. Sure you can rotate Naden in, and it may work once or twice, but in the end you've got no real attack, just luck. Having Ryan, Naden, Valevatu, Teaupu etc playing so much just shows how little we value quality. Sure Sullivan should have stood up, but he's a cat.
 
Sione Fainu & Terrell May would be enough, I think, to put the Tigers in a position to be better than last season.

8. May
9. Koroisau
10. Klemmer
11. Sam Fainu
12. Seyfarth
13. Sione Fainu

14. Da Silva
15. Pole
16. Hunt
17. Twal

The club really would need someone to claim that #13 spot. Sione, Pole, Bird, Matamua, Kit Lualili'i... & at the same time, some position flexibility from the likes of Sione Fainu, Kit, Matamua to also play 2nd Row.

I know there will be a few people here that will claim that this would be a weak pack. But Hunt & May add a certain amount of muscle the club lacked last season. Matamua, Kit or Twal could play a role as the generic tackle machine at #13 and be effective- at least something similar to what Kobe Hetherington adds.

For mine, the club improves on the back of the ability to not get physically dominated.

Toby Rudolph, if an extra spot becomes available, could also play that #13 role & again, improves our physicality.

The one option that does not improve the physicality in the middle? Jack Bird.
 
Needaname said:
If Bateman has gone. You can bet your better dollar Bird will be our right side backrower. Talk of playing him at lock is just fantasy.
Click to expand...

Calling it fantasy is a stretch. Its very much a possibility.

It will be interesting to see where he does end up playing. With Hetherington staying at the Broncos it opens the door for him to play lock with Latu off the bench. However, like you have alluded to, our right edge is bare, so we may be forced to play him there.

Personally I would be looking at our most mobile middles and experimenting with them in that edge in the preseason. Fonua Pole would probably be the only mobile middle I wouldnt try, as his arm grabbing in defence would be exposed even more on an edge. Sione would be the most likely to be a success there IMO.
 

NRL 2025: Manly circling again as RLPA called in after latest twist in John Bateman-Wests Tigers feud​

Manly are circling John Bateman once again, as the English forward edges towns the exit door at the Wests Tigers.

This is the untold story of his falling out with coach Benji Marshall.

Dave Riccio and Brent Read

7 min read
November 9, 2024 -

Manly have re-emerged as a potential landing spot for John Bateman after the players union was called in to resolve the latest dispute between the English forward and his NRL club, the Wests Tigers.

The development adds another tense chapterin the previously untold story of Bateman’s falling out with Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall, which has been simmering for months behind the scenes at the Sydney club, and explains why the 31-year-old moved to Warrington midway through last season.

Heralded as a “world class player” by premiership-winning coach Tim Sheens upon his arrival at the Tigers in 2023, Bateman has likely played his last game for the club.

It can be revealed that the Tigers would be happy to let Bateman go and would even chip in part of his $750,000 salary to make it happen, such has been the fractious relationship between the player and officials at the club.

Manly have re-emerged as a potential landing spot for John Bateman, after falling out with Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall.


Manly have re-emerged as a potential landing spot for John Bateman, after falling out with Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall.

Chief executive Shane Richardson and the Tigers are backing Marshall to the hilt, making it clear that Bateman must toe the line or spend the season in NSW Cup.

The Sea Eagles could prove the solution to a saga that stretches back to last July, having expressed an interest in the 30-Test forward for 2025, if they can make the deal stack up.

Whether Bateman is part of the Tigers’ future remain unclear. Chances are he will be gone and when he is, it will draw the curtain on a six-month saga that pitted one of the club’s highest-paid players, a ruthless and unapologetic competitor, against a coach and favourite son.

This is a look inside the Bateman saga - how it began, why the club would be happy to part ways with Bateman, and why the Rugby League Players Association became involved.

THE MOMENT

Round 20, 2024: Wests Tigers beaten 42-28 by the Rabbitohs in Gosford.

This was the match that changed everything for Bateman. It would be his final game of the season - possibly ever - for the Wests Tigers.

Trailing South Sydney 10-0 nil after 12-minutes, the Wests Tigers rallied to lead 12-10 after 20-minutes when rookie hooker Tallyn Da Silva went himself to score.

It was a match the Wests Tigers could’ve and should’ve won, playing tit-for-tat football with Souths for the majority of the match.

Yet with 16-minutes remaining the Bunnies led by only six-points.

The final 11-minutes were ordinary from the Tigers with their whopping 17 errors, including a wild back-field pass from fullback Jahream Bula to inexperienced winger Luke Laulilii contributing to the Rabbitohs running away with the match.

The Wests Tigers Round 20 loss to South Sydney may prove to be John Bateman’s final game for the club. Picture: Getty Images


The Wests Tigers Round 20 loss to South Sydney may prove to be John Bateman’s final game for the club. Picture: Getty Images

Inside the dressing rooms after full time, Bateman - the intense competitive character that he is, sat filthy and staring into the abyss. As Marshall spoke to the team, Bateman didn’t like the sound of the head coach’s post-match tone, where the veteran forward felt the responsibility of the loss was being directed at the senior players.

Marshall would suggest as much in the post-match press conference: “I thought the kids were really good today. I think some of our senior players probably can be a bit better.

“But at the end of the day it’s on me.”

So frustrated was Bateman that teammate Adam Doueihi, in just his fifth game back after more than 12-months out, was asked to attend the post-match press conference instead of the English forward.

The late swap slipped under the guard of the awaiting media. The next day, sources with knowledge of the situation, have explained how Bateman spoke to Marshall to further vent his frustration with having to shoulder the load for a young squad that Marshall was intent on blooding.

Benji Marshall and Adam Doueihi front the media after the loss to South Sydney.


Benji Marshall and Adam Doueihi front the media after the loss to South Sydney.
Bateman was also upset with Marshall’s positivity and up-beat review of the side’s loss to the Rabbitohs.

The hard-nosed Englishman was of the belief that the team needed some home truths.

Yet it’s understood Marshall doubled-down on his backing of the rookies, believing the responsibility fell on the senior players - some of whom were among the highest paid in the club - to drag the Tigers out of their quagmire.

Sources with knowledge of the meeting said that Marshall made it clear that Bateman would be playing reserve grade the next week.

And he wouldn’t be the only player dropped either. At least one other senior player was about to be axed, his place in first grade only saved when injury to the intended to be promoted player occurred.

Bateman left that meeting burning with frustration and anger. It was the last meeting he would have with Marshall - that night Warrington coach Sam Burgess called Richardson and offered to take Bateman off his hands for the rest of the season.
Richardson and the Tigers couldn’t say yes quick enough.

Bateman finished the year in England playing for Warrington, after coach Sam Burgess reached out to the Wests Tigers. Picture: Getty Images

Bateman finished the year in England playing for Warrington, after coach Sam Burgess reached out to the Wests Tigers. Picture: Getty Images

SEE NEXT POST
 
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RLPA CALLED TO STEP-IN
Bateman played 10 games for Warrington through last season, his time ending in a sem-final loss to Hull KR six weeks ago.
Once his commitment with Warrington was over, Bateman stayed in England to play in two Test matches against Samoa.

Burgess wanted to keep Bateman at Warrington, but the experienced second-rower was intent on returning to the NRL, particularly due to his wife being Australian and who also boasts a high-flying job.

“I’ll be spending my time with my family but after Christmas I’ll be back there,” Bateman told NRL.com from England last month.
That wasn’t the end of the drama. The Tigers initially told Bateman he was due back at training before Christmas, on December 21.

Bateman had other ideas - he was of the belief he should be off until December 28, which would have been when the Tigers were on their Christmas break, meaning he wouldn’t return to training until the new year.

The RLPA was forced to intervene after the latest spat between the England international and the Wests Tigers. Picture: Getty Images

The RLPA was forced to intervene after the latest spat between the England international and the Wests Tigers. Picture: Getty Images

It is understood Bateman provided a letter from Warrington supporting his claim that he should be given extra time off.

The parties were once again at loggerheads, leading to the intervention of the Rugby League Players Association to resolve another stalemate between the club and one of their highest-paid players.

With the paperwork in front of them, the RLPA sided with Bateman, delaying his return to a club where he is not necessarily welcome.

NO APOLOGIES
Richardson and the Tigers are making no apologies for cleaning house.

The club has been in a decade-long firestorm that has frustrated fans and resulted in an extreme turnover of leadership, structures, coaches, players and staff.

“Players have to live up to what the standards are of a team that’s going to be successful,” Richardson said.

“There’s no stone unturned about the discipline the club requires to be successful. I’ve got to say overall, I’ve had no major pushback on that.”

What can also be revealed is that Bateman won’t be the only departure.

The club is locked in a legal battle with young prop Jordan Miller after sacking him over disciplinary issues.

Other changes are afoot, the most significant the expected departure of half Jayden Sullivan, who was offered for virtually nothing to return to his former club the Dragons.

The Tigers are expected to part ways with half Jayden Sullivan. Picture: NRL Photos

The Tigers are expected to part ways with half Jayden Sullivan. Picture: NRL Photos

Saints weren’t interested. The concern with Sullivan isn’t related to discipline or team harmony. Officials at the club like Sullivan and have no concerns with his work ethic or personality.

The issue is that the club is overloaded in the halves and Sullivan is on a fat contract that means their salary cap and squad are out of sync.

There is also a focus on bringing in the right senior figures to lead the way. The hope is that Penrith premiership winner Jarome Luai can be their talisman in that regard.

“People say to me all the time, how do you get clubs out of the mire,” Richardson said.

“It’s three things - people, people and people. You’ve got to have the right people in place and the right players in place to be able to change the culture the way you want to be and the right disciplines in place.

“It’s not unusual. It’s actually what every decent club does. The good clubs - the senior players lead by example. It’s as simple as that.”

CULTURE CLUB
Richardson is coming up to his one-year anniversary in the job and makes it very clear there will be no cutting corners when it comes to the culture at the club.

The Tigers have won three wooden spoons in succession. They have gone a decade without playing finals football and the club has made a series of poor recruitment calls that have left them in a hole.

The hope is that the emergence of young players like Lachlan Galvin and the arrival of Luai will address some of the issues.

Bateman isn’t alone in the belief that Marshall has handed too much power, too soon, to the club’s most talented rookies led by Galvin - a storyline that will develop as the 2025 season unfolds.

Until then, discipline has become a focus of the offseason and no doubt played a part in the decision to distance themselves from Bateman.

Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson is coming up on his one-year anniversary in the top job and has made it clear there is no room for cutting corners. Picture: David Swift

Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson is coming up on his one-year anniversary in the top job and has made it clear there is no room for cutting corners. Picture: David Swift

Richardson has made it eminently clear that Marshall has his unmitigated support. It’s Benji’s way or the highway.

“It doesn’t matter whether it is John Bateman or anybody else in the club, we have to create discipline and a support mechanism behind the head coach,” Richardson said.

“And I support that 100 percent. So the players have got to understand that Benji’s way is the way. It’s as simple as that.

“And if they want to play first grade at the club, they have to understand it is under what Benji’s rules are. It’s got nothing to do with between young players and older players.

“You’re paying the older players more money and they should be well aware of what their responsibilities are now.

“We have won three straight wooden spoons. We are just not not going to accept anything that is not absolutely of the higher standards for culture and for training and everything else.

“So it’s not just about John Bateman, it’s about everybody.”
 
BlackWhiteGold said:
RLPA CALLED TO STEP-IN
Bateman played 10 games for Warrington through last season, his time ending in a sem-final loss to Hull KR six weeks ago.
Once his commitment with Warrington was over, Bateman stayed in England to play in two Test matches against Samoa.

Burgess wanted to keep Bateman at Warrington, but the experienced second-rower was intent on returning to the NRL, particularly due to his wife being Australian and who also boasts a high-flying job.

“I’ll be spending my time with my family but after Christmas I’ll be back there,” Bateman told NRL.com from England last month.
That wasn’t the end of the drama. The Tigers initially told Bateman he was due back at training before Christmas, on December 21.

Bateman had other ideas - he was of the belief he should be off until December 28, which would have been when the Tigers were on their Christmas break, meaning he wouldn’t return to training until the new year.

The RLPA was forced to intervene after the latest spat between the England international and the Wests Tigers. Picture: Getty Images

The RLPA was forced to intervene after the latest spat between the England international and the Wests Tigers. Picture: Getty Images

It is understood Bateman provided a letter from Warrington supporting his claim that he should be given extra time off.

The parties were once again at loggerheads, leading to the intervention of the Rugby League Players Association to resolve another stalemate between the club and one of their highest-paid players.

With the paperwork in front of them, the RLPA sided with Bateman, delaying his return to a club where he is not necessarily welcome.

NO APOLOGIES
Richardson and the Tigers are making no apologies for cleaning house.

The club has been in a decade-long firestorm that has frustrated fans and resulted in an extreme turnover of leadership, structures, coaches, players and staff.

“Players have to live up to what the standards are of a team that’s going to be successful,” Richardson said.

“There’s no stone unturned about the discipline the club requires to be successful. I’ve got to say overall, I’ve had no major pushback on that.”

What can also be revealed is that Bateman won’t be the only departure.

The club is locked in a legal battle with young prop Jordan Miller after sacking him over disciplinary issues.

Other changes are afoot, the most significant the expected departure of half Jayden Sullivan, who was offered for virtually nothing to return to his former club the Dragons.

The Tigers are expected to part ways with half Jayden Sullivan. Picture: NRL Photos

The Tigers are expected to part ways with half Jayden Sullivan. Picture: NRL Photos

Saints weren’t interested. The concern with Sullivan isn’t related to discipline or team harmony. Officials at the club like Sullivan and have no concerns with his work ethic or personality.

The issue is that the club is overloaded in the halves and Sullivan is on a fat contract that means their salary cap and squad are out of sync.

There is also a focus on bringing in the right senior figures to lead the way. The hope is that Penrith premiership winner Jarome Luai can be their talisman in that regard.

“People say to me all the time, how do you get clubs out of the mire,” Richardson said.

“It’s three things - people, people and people. You’ve got to have the right people in place and the right players in place to be able to change the culture the way you want to be and the right disciplines in place.

“It’s not unusual. It’s actually what every decent club does. The good clubs - the senior players lead by example. It’s as simple as that.”

CULTURE CLUB
Richardson is coming up to his one-year anniversary in the job and makes it very clear there will be no cutting corners when it comes to the culture at the club.

The Tigers have won three wooden spoons in succession. They have gone a decade without playing finals football and the club has made a series of poor recruitment calls that have left them in a hole.

The hope is that the emergence of young players like Lachlan Galvin and the arrival of Luai will address some of the issues.

Bateman isn’t alone in the belief that Marshall has handed too much power, too soon, to the club’s most talented rookies led by Galvin - a storyline that will develop as the 2025 season unfolds.

Until then, discipline has become a focus of the offseason and no doubt played a part in the decision to distance themselves from Bateman.

Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson is coming up on his one-year anniversary in the top job and has made it clear there is no room for cutting corners. Picture: David Swift

Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson is coming up on his one-year anniversary in the top job and has made it clear there is no room for cutting corners. Picture: David Swift

Richardson has made it eminently clear that Marshall has his unmitigated support. It’s Benji’s way or the highway.

“It doesn’t matter whether it is John Bateman or anybody else in the club, we have to create discipline and a support mechanism behind the head coach,” Richardson said.

“And I support that 100 percent. So the players have got to understand that Benji’s way is the way. It’s as simple as that.

“And if they want to play first grade at the club, they have to understand it is under what Benji’s rules are. It’s got nothing to do with between young players and older players.

“You’re paying the older players more money and they should be well aware of what their responsibilities are now.

“We have won three straight wooden spoons. We are just not not going to accept anything that is not absolutely of the higher standards for culture and for training and everything else.

“So it’s not just about John Bateman, it’s about everybody.”
Click to expand...
This bloke compared to what lee produced is insane

Lee would be talking about how unlucky we were the last 3 years and how next we year we are going to win the comp
 
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