Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Kelce68]

There should be an annual Wests Tigers Forum award for the most over-hyped reserve grader of the off-season

2021 - Allan Fitzgibbon
2022 - Oliver Gildart/William Kei
2023 - Triston Reilly
2024 - Alex Lobb
2025 - Tim Johannssen (pending)

Any other nominations from years gone by?

Matamua worth a mention.

 

[momo_amp_medo]

I will put it out now if we don’t get another backrower or a lock I think we will struggle again next season , our depth is really poor , and even if Bateman stays

Tend to agree. I think we a still a quality back rower, a centre and a lock forward away from being a serious threat to challenge for a top eight next year.
We have only marginally improved our roster and I can only see that we are again going to struggle against stronger opposition.

 

[Merlot]

Matamua worth a mention.

He is certainly not worth the contract he is on, just needs to bide his time learning,? if the club runs thru his veins he may get there,i dont see a nrl player in him

 

[Kelce68]

He is certainly not worth the contract he is on, just needs to bide his time learning,? if the club runs thru his veins he may get there,i dont see a nrl player in him

There's plenty there, conditioning and desire seem his biggest challenges.

 

[Merlot]

There's plenty there, conditioning and desire seem his biggest challenges.

Every 1 of us has potential

 

[LeichhardtTiger]

2025 is a year of redemption. Nothing else should be tolerated.
We are not rebuilding. We need to win games of football using the large amount of imported players we have brought here in the way we expected them to perform when signing them.
As I said last week, enough is enough. Enough of the bloated puff pieces from club administration, players and members waxing lyrical about cultutre shifts and progression and green shoots and all that stuff. Weve been hearing that shit ever since Brooksy tore St George to pieces back in August 2013. Enough of the hero talk during the pre season only to then play like softcocks in round 1. Enough of the media setting us up to fail with editorials about how weve turned the corner only to resume kicking us in the head once the true colours of our football are revealed. Enough of missing simple tackles, having abysmal discipline and failing to convert gifted field position. Enough of fking losing all the damned time.

Anything from 12th position and under will be an utter failure.
Anything between 11th and 8th should be treated on its merits...i.e. serious injury to stars preventing finals berths can be seen favourably. Having a go for most of the year but clocking off half a dozen times during the year and losing games we shouldnt...is a failure.
We need to make the 8. We need to be competitive for the title in 2026 and be a favourite to win it in 2027.
2025 is a year of restitution and there's no excuses this time.

I reckon Losing Gibbs and Ellis from the side around the same time killed our attitude in D,
We've never had a bloke that lead it since.
We've never had a hard man in D, But those blokes where about as good as we've ever had.

And losing Simon Dywer didn't help. Seeing him in the recent intern 2025 Draw video was cool!

 

[lathami]

People acting like it’s a done deal. The guy is a dead shit. The fact he was happy to risk throwing his career in the toilet while being apart of the best side of the modern era should be a huge red flag. No question of his talent. The guy is an absolute beast. But all the talent in the world is pretty useless if you are a maniac off the field.

Even if he gets off his chargers, it doesn’t mean he is not guilty. Partners and wives work out pretty quick u don’t receive money from someone in jail. But a first grade footballer, well….

 

[lathami]

Rubbish Reynolds will mis more games than he does d last year , hunt is a year older , if the nrl are fare dinking, Ezra should not see football for at least 4-6 months

How are u expecting the NRL to be fare, when the red necked QLD government can’t be?!? What the chargers fir him a light by any stretch, no charge for accident causing grievous bodily harm, say what!!!

 

[hank37w]

I'd let go of Starford for a cardboard cut out of Taylan May

Have we still got that cardboard cut out of Whats the Matter Son, maybe we can use that as well. 🤣

 

[hank37w]

So a NSW Cup player who has never played backrow at any level in his juniors or seniors is suppose to turn into an NRL backrower in the space of a singular off season...

Wasn't Samuela Fainu considered to be a prop up until he came to the Wests Tigers?

I may be wrong but I thought that was where he played all his football before coming to us.

If that was the case, then it seems like he made a pretty quick transformation after arriving at Concord.

 

[hank37w]

The poor man’s Damien Cook. Whose about to be replaced by Damien Cook.

I thought Cook was going to play lock and Liddle looks like staying at #9.

I guess we will see as the season progresses.

 

[crazycat]

Wasn't Samuela Fainu considered to be a prop up until he came to the Wests Tigers?

I may be wrong but I thought that was where he played all his football before coming to us.

If that was the case, then it seems like he made a pretty quick transformation after arriving at Concord.

Lets not bank on a player playing 1 position in reserve grade, coming here and playing way above in a different position. Yes Samuela F you are awesome.

Most of the time we try this, we get egg in our face.

 

[TigerSkins05]

Why is everyone talking about a bloke who's played 3-4 games in the top grade like he's about to turn into prime Gaz Ellis and drag us into the top 4 🤣

I only brought up several months ago .. that I like what I see in Tim J .. he has potential .. his body shape and size .. and that we may have a diamond in the rough within him .. !! Never said that he was that good already .. just make an assessment on what I have seen in him so far. There is still lots of work done by the club and by him .. but there is good shape and design in him. Fingers crossed .. !!

 

[TigerSkins05]

There should be an annual Wests Tigers Forum award for the most over-hyped reserve grader of the off-season

2021 - Allan Fitzgibbon
2022 - Oliver Gildart/William Kei
2023 - Triston Reilly
2024 - Alex Lobb
2025 - Tim Johannssen (pending)

Any other nominations from years gone by?

Yep .. 2013-2023 - Luke Brooks

 

[Tigerwould]

Wasn't Samuela Fainu considered to be a prop up until he came to the Wests Tigers?

I may be wrong but I thought that was where he played all his football before coming to us.

If that was the case, then it seems like he made a pretty quick transformation after arriving at Concord.

Luke Lewis started on the wing and became a rep 2nd rower.
Yep. Samuela was a middle.I’Pap and Bateman were the second rowers. lots of people were surprised when S. Fainu made the switch to the edge and killed it. Don’t know if Tim J can make it as a second rower or not but due to our lack of depth it would be worth seeing him train there. Even if he makes the 17 at some stage and has to fill in at 2nd row.

 

[Buttface]

And losing Simon Dywer didn't help. Seeing him in the recent intern 2025 Draw video was cool!

Yeah , I reckon he was about to go to the next level. I was a fan.

 

[Lestronge]

Yeah , I reckon he was about to go to the next level. I was a fan.

He was already in origin conversations at the time . Played city v country and was widely considered to be not a matter of if but when .
His and Tuiakis injuries absolutely crueled us .
That and Mosese Fotuiaeika and his tragedy .
Those 3 events , and the checking out of Benji , and the alienating of Farah, and incorrectly handing the keys to Aaron Woods , really shows a timeline of how we got into this situation.
To be fair , the fact we didn’t crumble until really the last 3 years is probably a testament to how people will anything to save thier own skin.

 

[old_man_tiger]

There should be an annual Wests Tigers Forum award for the most over-hyped reserve grader of the off-season

2021 - Allan Fitzgibbon
2022 - Oliver Gildart/William Kei
2023 - Triston Reilly
2024 - Alex Lobb
2025 - Tim Johannssen (pending)

Any other nominations from years gone by?

Can we go back to the Russian bloke sheens signed? And we had some gems like Blake Lazarus who the forum knew would make it (including me I'm sure). My memory isn't good enough but someone could basically build a squad picking one player from each year.

On Timmy, I wanted to see him on an edge months ago but it's important we start to look like a real club. I.e. promote on performance and not from desperation and a lack of options.

 

[Rusty]

The poor man’s Damien Cook. Whose about to be replaced by Damien Cook.

Apparently, Flanagan playing Cook at 13 type role.

 

[batboy]

Call me old fashioned but I’m still a believer that the proper way to Firsts is to absolutely bash the door down in reserve grade. Melbourne is still going about it that way - star reserve grade players like Grant, Pezet, Faalongo who had to do a proper apprenticeship.

Can’t for the life of me see how anyone in our reserves earned a first grade opportunity in the last few years.

We’re obviously in a building phase, hopefully to a point where first grade jerseys are harder to earn.

Hasn't been like that since around 2010-2012 I reckon,
Remember blokes Like David Gower absolutely blitzing Ressies and
couldn't even get Full Time Training...
Been dishing them up to anyones ever since.