Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[gregjm87]

Re Smith/Cheese..

Cmon. With Api and TDS there is no way he is coming here.
What were going to play him out of position in the second row?

IMHO look at Canberra. Their top 30 seems to be about 20 forwards and are very light on backs. Guys like Naden or Starford could be very useful there if Ricky wants to trade.

You keep saying this but they've got plenty of quality backs, just a little short of experienced options. 2 kiwi rep centres, Savage has plenty of speed, Hopoate plenty of hit ups.

Strange looks more a centre that's been playing 6 but is a gun.Then Tamale was probably the best back in NSW cup last year basically leading every running stat. Asomua has had similar work rate the last couple years before his injury.

 

[TurnStyle]

I'm with you TS I thought he was a heaps better kicker then that.

I know... I've been saying for years he would be awesome, but then if he's not the kicker I thought he was then it kind of defeats a big reason to even look at him.

Funny thing is I said Doueihi was a bad kicker and Garrick is only 3% better!

"So you say this team gets 6 tackles...?" 😂

 

[Wildcat777]

I'm sticking by Benji at least for this season but when it's laid out like this there has certainly been some blunders

I agree. The last 3 seasons wooden spoons. Was obvious. Could have have all the coaches and none for the other teams and still would have been the same result. But that’s history. Moving forward. Agree with Richo. Anything less than top 10 in 2025 is a failure and will be time to make changes. With all the player movements can see this happening. And with the last of the dead wood gone after 2025 and with the right replacements we will be top 4 in 2026. Great days ahead!! All the negativity and negative Nigel’s will be silenced! Thankfully.

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

Plenty of people on here saying Benji is a rubbish coach and should be sacked are the same people who predicted us to win the spoon again. They said we had the weakest, youngest and the worst depth squad in the nrl. Anyone who complains about Benji not dropping blokes have zero clue on the fact our Cup side looked worse than the Nrl side and not many players put their hands up to be picked. For multiple weeks the Cup side had to use up to 8 Massey Cup standard players. I just can’t see how anyone can judge Benji on last year. This year is a different story though. From the training sessions I watched last year to the 2 I have seen this year its like a completely different coach, seems more intense when delivering his message. We can all agree the squad this year is far better than last year so lets see what he can do. Before I get howled down I am not saying he shouldn’t be held accountable if results don’t improve of course he should be but I am also not sacking him going off last year. I think Benji learnt plenty from last year. I just want to add that people have the perception that Benji is all about flare and attack but I have heard a few players mention how structured he wants the team to play to allow them to play with flare. Really looking forward to see how this season unfolds.

Great post Tiger hopefully this changes the attitudes of some of the doomsday worshippers.

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

Sorry bloody photo put me out , was saying the drag queens have signed lodge on a train and play , I know many on here hate the bloke but he would have filled our lock problem , big body, runs hard , has good defence and plays big minutes, with a good offload . Would not have been expensive, sometimes u just got to try , would have been better than some of the lazy kids we have got

Lodge would have added more intimidation to the pack yeah I know we need a 2nd rower but nothings falling out of the tree plus it would of only be train and trial deal nothing wrong with bolstering the squad along the way while waiting for your target signing.

 

[Rusty]

Thanks for the intel kade7. I know I have said it before, but if we are looking at Lock/Backrow then we should keep agitating Madge re Kobe Hetherington. Kobe is a no-nonsense 80 minute tackling machine. That's what our team needs. If Kobe can help lock up the middle it gives our more skilled forwards such as Terrell, Hunt, Api, Sam F, and Pole more latitude to utilise their attacking prowess.

Cheese is too hot and cold and would cost a lot more than Kobe. Our backline should have enough points in it to win most games. We need to do something very Un-Wests Tigers and invest in a boring footballer. Every game Kobe is on the bench at the donkeys, Richo should be on the phone to his manager.

At least if Hetherington starts at lock and kills it, it will drive up his asking price. Ponies won't be able to afford him and "if true" that we almost had him, may put us in the box seat for his signature for 2026 and beyond.
Downside, may have to pay more, however, we will know what we are getting.

 

[tigerballs]

I think he's a good player, but just looked it up and am surprised he is only a 77% kicker.

Really thought he was a great kicker, but hard to disagree with you here. Consider my king knocked over.*

* Just to be clear, that's a chess reference! 😂

Don't let the numbers fool you. Great kickers don't necessarily have the best percentages because they kick from all over, sometimes from half way. It's worth a shot at the two points even from a long way out, provided they still kick it dead. It's easy to have a 95% rate if you only kick from right in front. Look at the number of goals he has actually kicked.

 

[Canadian Club]

Don't let the numbers fool you. Great kickers don't necessarily have the best percentages because they kick from all over, sometimes from half way. It's worth a shot at the two points even from a long way out, provided they still kick it dead. It's easy to have a 95% rate if you only kick from right in front. Look at the number of goals he has actually kicked.

Yep, and Manly score more long range tries than any team in the comp which means Garrick has more attempts in front of the posts than almost every other kicker.

There was a breakdown somewhere on the internet about a year ago which showed which kickers attempt the most kicks from the sideline and who is actually the best kicker based on kick position and difficulty.

 

[batboy]

smiths agent has had an initial chat with the club
tigers would be interested having cheese at the club only as a forward not as a hooker

believe cheese has given his agent 5 clubs of interest and tigers are one of them

Generous of him 😂😂😂
Wants to stay in Sydney,

There's 9 Clubs - He's already been walked from 1 of them,
No chance at 13 or 9 at the Panthers so count them out,
Now he's giving 5 of the remaining 7 the chance to secure his 'services'.

He'll talk to whoever he can
- He's just looked at the cap of most of the clubs and realised there's no money.
Good player on his day, Haven't seen one of those days for a long while now....
Couldn't do it at the Roosters, Best to leave him where he is.

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

Thanks for the intel kade7. I know I have said it before, but if we are looking at Lock/Backrow then we should keep agitating Madge re Kobe Hetherington. Kobe is a no-nonsense 80 minute tackling machine. That's what our team needs. If Kobe can help lock up the middle it gives our more skilled forwards such as Terrell, Hunt, Api, Sam F, and Pole more latitude to utilise their attacking prowess.

Cheese is too hot and cold and would cost a lot more than Kobe. Our backline should have enough points in it to win most games. We need to do something very Un-Wests Tigers and invest in a boring footballer. Every game Kobe is on the bench at the donkeys, Richo should be on the phone to his manager.

I know it's known we've publicly shown interest in Hetherington but I would much rather us target Ethan Bullemore. Also off-contract, backrow is his primary position, has just as good if not better tackle efficiency as Hetherington, has greater leg power to break the line in attack and oozes energy & effort.

He could walk into our right backrow position (unless Seyfarth brains it) whereas has more of a fight at Manly for a starting spot. I've mentioned before a potential stumbling block is his manager Isaac Moses but worth a crack for a similar $$$ amount as we were contemplating for Kobe.

 

[crazycat]

It’s a balance.

But talking of a NRL 1-13, only one post ago you let the best young footballer we’ve had debut since Teddy walk?

Well a raw truth, when Teddy was in our side we did not come last.

Two different problems:
The Tigers normally spend heavily on 'Depth' that doesn't even meet most sides first grade.
We sign overpriced players for super long contracts, then we don't have the cap space to make a real team...

Look I want to resign Galvin, yes he is going to be a damn good player. Just the way people talk about him they mention him like he will be a Tedesco or Cleary. Honestly, he isn't THAT good. We have Luai on 1M, we are still paying for Bateman and Bud. 700k no question, I would resign Galvin... but I suspect that bidding could go stupidly high.

We may loose the Galvin bidding war OR say goodbye to Bula and the Fainu's. I feel one of these players are gone and I would decide on the contracts and deals presented.


One thing that really, REALLY hurts us in these bidding wars is our DEPTH signing overpayments. Those fringe grade NRL signings that gobble up spare cap space. When we are paying so much of our cap into spaces 20-30, we don't stand a chance of keeping our stars. That's why I say we need to get a good 1-13, and were close.

I rant against DEPTH because it locks up our money in signing a good 1-13.... Likewise, Galvin may be a future player for our club to build on, he isn't "The Future".

 

[batboy]

Well a raw truth, when Teddy was in our side we did not come last.

Two different problems:
The Tigers normally spend heavily on 'Depth' that doesn't even meet most sides first grade.
We sign overpriced players for super long contracts, then we don't have the cap space to make a real team...

Look I want to resign Galvin, yes he is going to be a damn good player. Just the way people talk about him they mention him like he will be a Tedesco or Cleary. Honestly, he isn't THAT good. We have Luai on 1M, we are still paying for Bateman and Bud. 700k no question, I would resign Galvin... but I suspect that bidding could go stupidly high.

We may loose the Galvin bidding war OR say goodbye to Bula and the Fainu's. I feel one of these players are gone and I would decide on the contracts and deals presented.


One thing that really, REALLY hurts us in these bidding wars is our DEPTH signing overpayments. Those fringe grade NRL signings that gobble up spare cap space. When we are paying so much of our cap into spaces 20-30, we don't stand a chance of keeping our stars. That's why I say we need to get a good 1-13, and were close.

I rant against DEPTH because it locks up our money in signing a good 1-13.... Likewise, Galvin may be a future player for our club to build on, he isn't "The Future".

Galvin may not be a superstar (yet)
but make no mistake

- He's a Franchise player...

 

[SeanT]

Thanks for the intel kade7. I know I have said it before, but if we are looking at Lock/Backrow then we should keep agitating Madge re Kobe Hetherington. Kobe is a no-nonsense 80 minute tackling machine. That's what our team needs. If Kobe can help lock up the middle it gives our more skilled forwards such as Terrell, Hunt, Api, Sam F, and Pole more latitude to utilise their attacking prowess.

Cheese is too hot and cold and would cost a lot more than Kobe. Our backline should have enough points in it to win most games. We need to do something very Un-Wests Tigers and invest in a boring footballer. Every game Kobe is on the bench at the donkeys, Richo should be on the phone to his manager.

Yeah agreed. Kobe for lock. He can play 80 minutes or close too. Helps our rotation. Smiths best position would be lock.

Unfortunately I think Madge will put. Kobe at lock and Carrington in the front row. If Walters. Stayed at the Broncos a little longer I think WWE could of signed him. Really bad timing.


If we added Kobe and a decent 2nd rower we would be a top 8 side.

 

[SeanT]

So if Klemmer doesn't stay next year and wee gett ridd off a few more we will have plenty off cash to splash.

Hopefully Bud stays in 2026. Will help our team with an extra spot.

 

[Odessa]

Lets be realistic...
If 2025 changes, it's because of Luai. Not Galvin.
Sure the guy seems to be a good footballer. Maybe a future SOO rep.

But he isn't that fantastic I would be going too much over 1m to renew him.

Don't get me wrong, I would like to keep him. Not going to open the bank account wide to do so.
Luai + Latu at the halves actually isn't a bad pairing.

Galvin at most is a 450-500K player he's done nothing just alot of promise and 500K is way overs but he's at the Tigers

 

[Tiger Stripes]

I know it's known we've publicly shown interest in Hetherington but I would much rather us target Ethan Bullemore. Also off-contract, backrow is his primary position, has just as good if not better tackle efficiency as Hetherington, has greater leg power to break the line in attack and oozes energy & effort.

He could walk into our right backrow position (unless Seyfarth brains it) whereas has more of a fight at Manly for a starting spot. I've mentioned before a potential stumbling block is his manager Isaac Moses but worth a crack for a similar $$$ amount as we were contemplating for Kobe.

Totally agree.
Haven't seen Hetherington play, but have seen Bullemore and was impressed.
Big solid guy and if similar tackle efficiency and if available 2026 I'm in.

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

I know it's known we've publicly shown interest in Hetherington but I would much rather us target Ethan Bullemore. Also off-contract, backrow is his primary position, has just as good if not better tackle efficiency as Hetherington, has greater leg power to break the line in attack and oozes energy & effort.

He could walk into our right backrow position (unless Seyfarth brains it) whereas has more of a fight at Manly for a starting spot. I've mentioned before a potential stumbling block is his manager Isaac Moses but worth a crack for a similar $$$ amount as we were contemplating for Kobe.

Just had a look at his manly profile 110kg and 24yo 2nd rower just what we need for the right side off contract 26?

 

[Odessa]

Totally agree.
Haven't seen Hetherington play, but have seen Bullemore and was impressed.
Big solid guy and if similar tackle efficiency and if available 2026 I'm in.

He gave up the game around 18 months ago to stay in real estate then had an about face

When he was coming through at the Broncos he was the next big thing played some prop as well

 

[TurnStyle]

Don't let the numbers fool you. Great kickers don't necessarily have the best percentages because they kick from all over, sometimes from half way. It's worth a shot at the two points even from a long way out, provided they still kick it dead. It's easy to have a 95% rate if you only kick from right in front. Look at the number of goals he has actually kicked.

I did give AD the benefit of the doubt and ironically (hypocritically?!) said in an earlier post you can't just look at numbers.

So, was actually less forgiving to Garrick, as being a very good kicker was half the reason I thought he'd be good.

I will confess that I was tempted to say he takes half of his attempts on that cow paddock they call a field at Brookvale; I know the ball is on a tee, but footing can't be the best there.

I could also be wrong about the surface...may be better now, but it will forever be burnt into my memory as a poor surface.

 

[JB9918]

Anyone got the latest Saint, Sinner, Shoosh article? Please & thank you.