Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

BlackWhiteGold said:
Just a bit of a state-of-play post on our roster for 2026 ...
  • We have 20 players contracted in our top 30 for 2026 & beyond.
  • Out of these, I can't see any being released unless sh*t hits the fan with Galvin or perhaps Saukuru is not in Benji's plans moving forward (but I think he'll be given every chance given his talent & size).
  • We will also promote Makasini to top 30 & have a Club Option for Sukkar which I'm anticipating we'll take up so that will make 22.
  • Those out-of-contract this year are Staines, Naden, Feledy, Matamua, Doueihi, Tumeth & Faataape.
  • I reckon only Naden, Doueihi & Faataape are a chance of being extended.
  • No other current development players have a top 30 promotion in their contract except for Makasini.
  • The only development players with a chance of a top 30 deal are Mason & Hope.
  • I don't expect Craig, Lobb or Porter to be offered a dev deal again either.
  • Next year we already have 5 out of max 6 development contracts finalised - Johannssen, Broederlow, Taupau-Moors, Haywood & Godinet.
  • Given all 5 are forwards, fair chance our final dev contract will be a back which I'll get to.
  • We also have Bud Sullivan on contract for next year which takes us to 23 until he is officially released which we all presume will happen.
So for shits'n giggles, let's say Richo is thinking to extend 2 out of 3 of Naden, Doueihi, Faataape (if form & fitness warrants) as depth and promote Mason & Hope (purely as experienced dummyhalf cover), we will be at 27 players (incl Bud) so have the capability now to sign a further 3 players. This is a very good position!

Fair chance priorities will be a middle, backrower & strike outside back with our cap space pretty strong pending a Galvin extension.

And then the 1 development spot up our sleeve likely for a back, I reckon a close eye is being kept on Tino Tavana, Max Taotua, Cam Kanaan, Marc Tannous & Max Liles given they all either trained with NRL or NSW Cup squad in the pre-season & current form is very good.

Thoughts?
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Need a minimum of 3 FG players, 2 forwards (one middle and an edge) and a back (ideally a goal kicking centre, possibly 2 if Naden AND Douehi go). And 3 gods of state cup minimum.

My reasoning here is if you take our top 17 as this week's team, the only decent cover we have is Naden, Latu and possibly Luke L. 20 serviceable players is at least 3 short and as they get older you want pressure on guys like Doueihi, Twal and in a couple of years Seyfarth might be depth. Im guessing you you need 23 guys, pros who can do a decent job in FG, 4 or 5 at the Faatape level for around minimum wage and a small number of kids who you want to reward and invest in. If Sukkar isn't in the top 2 or 3 juniors then I wouldn't take the option but trust the coaches more than me.

I'd think of Naden and Doueihi as maybes for FG depth/gods of state cup - if you can upgrade centre then you only sign one of them. One or the other might surprise me but I don't like it when players are suddenly consistent in a contract year.
 
BlackWhiteGold said:
Just a bit of a state-of-play post on our roster for 2026 ...
  • We have 20 players contracted in our top 30 for 2026 & beyond.
  • Out of these, I can't see any being released unless sh*t hits the fan with Galvin or perhaps Saukuru is not in Benji's plans moving forward (but I think he'll be given every chance given his talent & size).
  • We will also promote Makasini to top 30 & have a Club Option for Sukkar which I'm anticipating we'll take up so that will make 22.
  • Those out-of-contract this year are Staines, Naden, Feledy, Matamua, Doueihi, Tumeth & Faataape.
  • I reckon only Naden, Doueihi & Faataape are a chance of being extended.
  • No other current development players have a top 30 promotion in their contract except for Makasini.
  • The only development players with a chance of a top 30 deal are Mason & Hope.
  • I don't expect Craig, Lobb or Porter to be offered a dev deal again either.
  • Next year we already have 5 out of max 6 development contracts finalised - Johannssen, Broederlow, Taupau-Moors, Haywood & Godinet.
  • Given all 5 are forwards, fair chance our final dev contract will be a back which I'll get to.
  • We also have Bud Sullivan on contract for next year which takes us to 23 until he is officially released which we all presume will happen.
So for shits'n giggles, let's say Richo is thinking to extend 2 out of 3 of Naden, Doueihi, Faataape (if form & fitness warrants) as depth and promote Mason & Hope (purely as experienced dummyhalf cover), we will be at 27 players (incl Bud) so have the capability now to sign a further 3 players. This is a very good position!

Fair chance priorities will be a middle, backrower & strike outside back with our cap space pretty strong pending a Galvin extension.

And then the 1 development spot up our sleeve likely for a back, I reckon a close eye is being kept on Tino Tavana, Max Taotua, Cam Kanaan, Marc Tannous & Max Liles given they all either trained with NRL or NSW Cup squad in the pre-season & current form is very good.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Haven't seen a lot of Mark Tannous but when I did I thought he was very pedestrian [pace wise] and not overly flash across his overall game. Seemed to stifle the attack. A No No for me.
Tino Tavana, Max Taotua, Cam Kanaan would be good prospects, in particular Max Taotua. A centre with size, skills and potential we have lacked.
 
user118245 said:
Wonder where Sammy F would be especially if he didn’t miss 2 rounds
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Don't think Samuela would rate on this years form, last year he could very well have been there, it's obvious that he is not what he was last season and that he has been carrying some injuries this year.

Confirms what a lot of us are thinking, that we have players in all positions that fall into the top 10, some only just, but second row is definitely an area that we definitely need some depth and improvement.

Can't help but notice that neither of our "big name" forwards that we let go currently feature in the top 10 at this stage.
 
PabloX said:
Mate, if he's loving it so much, he can sacrifice some salary to stay
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I was going to write the exact same thing when I posted that though he never kicked rocks always tried and seems like an all round top bloke. I can't blame him for our stupid admin paying him 500k a year he's entitled to it, not his fault.
 
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