Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

ill keep saying it
brandon smith could be at 13 next year

Brandon Smith has had a major injury and won’t be on the field until mid season at the earliest… let’s see how he looks first ..
Also interesting to see how many voices here have changed their tune on Klemmer now he has one foot out of the door. Solid pro but its not 2014 anymore and he's not going to make the difference we're looking for in 2025. I understand paying overs to get him here in 2023, but times have changed and we're WAAAAY more solid when we go to market now. So if its a back rower, or getting some juniors sorted longer term get it done Richo 😀

I recalll about a third of the way into last season being critical of Klemmer and Bateman’s form, and that they were signed to reasonable money for years to come … there were guys here abusing me and defending them like they were Haas and Liam Martin … now collectively everyone seems happy they are both gone .. ( or seemingly with Klemmer) .., lot of good company men here .. always agreeing with the clubs actions …

I’m happy they are gone now instead of for the 2027 season … the retirement village days have got to be in the past ..
 
Klemmer out, Spencer Leniu in, in an immediate switch. Lock it in.

Leniu wants out of the Roosters, wanted to go back to the panthers but they don't have the cap space. Thanks to Luai, Api and Turuva getting in his ear, we've landed him.

Take it to the bank.

Thanks Klemmer!

Is this a gee up?
 
Sione Fainu is not short, so Rahme must be bigger than I thought.
That’s our hope, every season each club have a few players that become NRL players unexpectedly to most outside of the inner sanctum.
I thought Rahme played better than Sukkar in the last trial. On the day, but didn't see any replays.
 
We need more.
Those players combined are too small, no idea where you are getting the wraps on Kit, he has not even played one better than average reserve grade game yet.
As soon as we get an injury or two, our middle forwards will get bullied by rival forward packs and our yardage and field position will suffer because of it.
size doesn't matter in the middle anymore, it's about legspeed and drive and strong contact on both sides of the ball. that's why the archetypal prop these days looks like Leo Thompson or Spencer Leniu and players like Reuben Cotter have come to the fore.

we can't keep loading up on props. you have too look at it from the perspective of how many roster spots we're dedicating to them. there are areas of much higher priority. one is at back row, the other is at lock.
 
Klemmer out, Spencer Leniu in, in an immediate switch. Lock it in.

Leniu wants out of the Roosters, wanted to go back to the panthers but they don't have the cap space. Thanks to Luai, Api and Turuva getting in his ear, we've landed him.

Take it to the bank.

Thanks Klemmer!
Is this just ur take or have u heard it somewhere else , would be a gun signing , but I really can’t see the rooooters letting two leave to us . But I love ur thinking
 
Just checked - the sky is still in place!

Given the sky has not fallen, and Klemmer is probably as good as gone, even though the club is silent, where does it leave us?

Klem and Twal are similar players. Klem produced more PCM than Twal over the last two season and was behind Twally in all of the other key stats in 2024. For the last two years his output has been complained about by many on here and the big cry was that we can't afford to carry both him and Twal, and Twal was better value for money. So the Forum's wish has been granted, yet still we complain?

We have plenty of off contract players in 2026, but Klemmer was going to tie up a significant chunk of change to plug a hole in the middle. An opportunity has presented itself so Richo has acted to get us in a much better position cap wise for no real loss of output. Sure we are carrying more risk due to less depth in the middle; but it is an unrealised risk. It may occur, it may not, and we have a reserve grade team where we are developing players.

The imbalance in our roster has been well known for months and if you scratched the surface a little you would know that our cap was also out of kilter for 2026. So the 2026 cap now looks OK and we still have some low hanging fruit we could cull if a 2025 recruiting opportunity presents.

Klem's departure is simply smart footy business; opportunity presents, assess the risk, act. Sure it would be great to have a player of Klems reliability for depth - but not at $700-800K. The real (maybe perceived) 2025 issue is not Klemmer; it is our edge depth.

We are in transition from being perpetually shit with plans changing every time the wind does. Now we have stability, and a plan. I think we can stop jumping at shadows looking for every negative and start to focus on opportunities and climbing the ladder!
A positive and realistic narrative. Straight from Richo's notebook.
Wish a few others could grasp the big picture--------take a deep breath-----before hitting the keyboard.
 
Klemmer out, Spencer Leniu in, in an immediate switch. Lock it in.

Leniu wants out of the Roosters, wanted to go back to the panthers but they don't have the cap space. Thanks to Luai, Api and Turuva getting in his ear, we've landed him.

Take it to the bank.

Thanks Klemmer!
Spencer doesnt fit in at the Roosters - he isnt one of their people. I thought their defence of him on the trumped up racisim charge was as weak as piss. It doesnt surprise me if he wanted away.
He would fit in with us and would likely feel empowered being around some of his mates.
 
Is this just ur take or have u heard it somewhere else , would be a gun signing , but I really can’t see the rooooters letting two leave to us . But I love ur thinking
Roosters are in all sorts of cap trouble because they had counted on getting Smith out the door but he's dug his heels in. Despite the PR, behind the scenes the relationship between Leniu and the club never recovered from Monkey-gate.
This wasn't a cunning plan from the Tigers it was just fortuitous that Leniu wanting out coincided with Klemmer chucking a tanty.
 
That is true, but way before that thinking we desperately need to ensure season 2025 is a successful season in regards to on field performances and finishing position.
If we neglect the depth surrounding our 2025 playing roster and a few injuries occur which is generally unavoidable, there is a real possibility we could end up with another wooden spoon or very close to it.
We have a good top 17 on paper, but not one that are good enough to carry team mates that are passengers when called upon.
If we do finish with another wooden spoon or close to it, imagine the carnage with many looking to jump off the sinking ship.
2025 was always going to be about managing risk. We have recruited well but weren't able to cover all of our deficiencies. Every year players emerge from the woodwork through a change in footy maturity, opportunity and hard work. The coaching staff have to work with what they have and trust that we will identify one or two of those players.

We now have two vacant roster spots and probably Tumeth's if we want to push him out. These are opportunities for us; we don't need to rush out and make a purchase; although I expect we are probably well advanced in the identification of the talent we are after. I think, right now, we can afford to be selective and purchase in what we need, if/when we need it. I trust that it is someone blocked at another club that we can work with immediately.

We are the ones with the position and the $ to act - not a bad spot to be in I would think.
 
Well I hope u can give them ur support when we are at the bottom half again , I think we have a VERY solid backline , the half’s are the best we have had in ages , but letting go forwards without adding much needed forwards really worries me , the half’s need a pack to go forward and defend or it will all end the same as the last 3 years
They have my full support. I share your concern, but remember we must add 2 players to the top 30 this year. We should at least wait to see who those players will be.
 
Roosters are in all sorts of cap trouble because they had counted on getting Smith out the door but he's dug his heels in. Despite the PR, behind the scenes the relationship between Leniu and the club never recovered from Monkey-gate.
This wasn't a cunning plan from the Tigers it was just fortuitous that Leniu wanting out coincided with Klemmer chucking a tanty.
I can’t see them having cap problems with the players that have left , but him wanting maybe cheers and thanks for the post
 
Su

Surely Kit and Matamua have to play at least one or two standout games in NSW Cup before they can be considered NRL ready ?
I’m ok with releasing Klemmer if we replace him with someone else of proven NRL quality, but not for him to be replaced by players within our squad who have shown and proven nothing.
You don't think Kit made a good showing in the trial?

Matamua is for the scrap heap. We should not persist.
 
Define first 3 though …. Prop rotation of May , Pole , Twal , Hunt , Fainu , seyfarth . With bird as well at lock .
You want someone like Kit to be pushing for first grade . Same with Johannson. That’s litterally the money you want to be giving roster spots 21-25 . You do not want to be paying a guy 675k to be in that position .
Youre totally looking at this wrong .
Yes...exactly. How many injuries do people want to prepare for? To have 8 first grade standard middles, you need to spend your cap on guys who will play reserve grade most of the season.

If you get hit with 4 or 5 injuries in the same position at the same time, you are simply unlucky.
 
Roosters are in all sorts of cap trouble because they had counted on getting Smith out the door but he's dug his heels in. Despite the PR, behind the scenes the relationship between Leniu and the club never recovered from Monkey-gate.
This wasn't a cunning plan from the Tigers it was just fortuitous that Leniu wanting out coincided with Klemmer chucking a tanty.
If this comes to fruition I will feel it down in my plums
 
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