Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

I think to this point Richo has done a great job and the club seems headed in the right direction. On field we could be higher but the organisation as a whole has seemed to forgotten how to win, which hurts everyone I'm sure, and hopefully this can be addressed ASAP! The thing I am a bit disappointed about in recent times is the lack of communication from Richo. As soon as the other dopes were moved on and Richo came on board, I signed on as a member and I have been happy with my decision to do so. However we really need to hear from him soon, whether it's with good news (another quality signing) or just to let us all know what the heck is happening with losing these good kids. I'm happy to believe there are sufficient reasons for what's going on but it would be good to know a little more about it. The silence is what's worrying and frustrating.
 
Moh said:
I get the TDS thing, he wants more game time and we're not willing. Fine.

But please explain how it is a good idea and helpful in anyway for us to let him go now as opposed to the END OF THE SEASON?

It's just dumb.
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It would only make sense if we are using his contract money towards signing sone top quality players.
I’m not holding my breath waiting for that to happen, but it’s the only reason that would make any sense.
 
Tom Shines said:
Yeah …I agree with that..

Watching games like last night ,,.they are levels from that standard ..
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They can do it sporadically. Their effort v Cronulla is proof that they can bang with the big boys. They also hung with Warriors, Souths, Penrith and Canberra but just didnt have that final couple of percent to get them.Consistency takes time. Add 3 more established NRL players and the balance of results will tilt.

My question though is if we keep losing these juniors, is it sustainable enough to build a premiership winning squad?
 
Vicious said:
Did you notice the Bulldogs regularly play from edge to edge and all 4 edge players run the ball hard and are a handful for the opposing defence if they are not making line breaks or offloads.
Then their fullback is also constantly available to hit holes and gets to TOP SPEED very quickly and a great last line defender.
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It’s not solely an issue of talent …

Some of those players , and the fullback were nobodies a year or two back …they have obviously been well coached and know their place in the system on both sides of the ball …

The WT style is much more off the cuff …which can mean running around like a chicken with their heads cut off a lot of the time
 
Oldman said:
It’s a NO from me,
Hasn’t seen regular first grade since he got seriously injured at the bunnies, that’s 2 teams now that don’t think he is up to that level week in week out.
Which I tend to agree with.
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Fair enough, but one thing I would mention is that Wayne Bennett wanted to convert him to a number 9.
At the time Ilias was not keen as he still saw himself as a halfback or 5/8, but in light of it not working out for him as a halve at the Dragons, I’d guess there is a chance he may now be open to playing hooker/lock with the occasional fill in game in the halves should an NRL club want him for this type of role such as a 14.
 
Tucker said:
They can do it sporadically. Their effort v Cronulla is proof that they can bang with the big boys. They also hung with Warriors, Souths, Penrith and Canberra but just didnt have that final couple of percent to get them.Consistency takes time. Add 3 more established NRL players and the balance of results will tilt.

My question though is if we keep losing these juniors, is it sustainable enough to build a premiership winning squad?
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They were very lucky to win against the Sharks …needed about half a dozen things to bounce their way so they could hang on … when was the last time they really put together an 80 minute performance and put a team away convincingly?
 
Tom Shines said:
It’s not solely an issue of talent …

Some of those players , and the fullback were nobodies a year or two back …they have obviously been well coached and know their place in the system on both sides of the ball …

The WT style is much more off the cuff …which can mean running around like a chicken with their heads cut off a lot of the time
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I agree the coaching looks worlds apart and that’s probably the biggest reason why the Bulldogs are sitting where they are and we are sitting where we are, but I don’t think our current 4 edge players have the same size, speed and athleticism as what their Bulldogs counterparts do.
I’m adamant that if we fix that we become a much easier team to coach.
Of course you need to players capable of playing that hard running, constant threat edge role and if we don’t have the players capable of it, we need to recruit.
I know many will disagree, but I’d guess Connor Tracey would be on a contact of around 300k and I don’t believe Jahream Bula is capable of having the same effect on a game even though we are paying him more than double that, soon to be triple.
 
Tom Shines said:
I agree that around the league we see that dozens of players are moved on early from their contracts, yet it is extremely rare that any player swap is ever negotiated..

It does seem to me though that several times now we have seen these stories around WT players that have been initially leaked to the media for public consumption, that there is often talk of a player swap, which of course never eventuates ,,,if one was a cynic you could imagine that this is a tactic to help soften the initial blow of the player leaving, and get some media and fan attention focused on the possible player coming back …and when it doesn’t invariably happen, the club gets to say ..”at least we tried”…
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It is a strange one TS.

Richo will come out and yet again say "we only want players in for the crocodile roll" which is fair enough we do.

But fans will ask, at what point is a contract a contract at our club and why is another star junior wanting to leave. Which are fair questions that have frustrated a fan base that is scarred from decades of roster mismanagement.

I guess we have to trust Benji & Richo as they know 100% what is going on that we are not privy too.

Yes TDS is a very good talent but is he the second coming, probably not and still has a long way to go IMO to become a top tier NRL starter especially in decision making, passing, defence & fitness.

We could have banked on him to be ready by 2027 & most likely lost Api to the Perth Bears in 2027. But how would that affect Api & the playing squad now with Api their spiritual leader and culture driver. I think that's what it came down to with Benji.

Plus @cochise had some interesting mail on the WT Podcast Forum podcast this week that the club were only 50/50 on extending him prior to the season. So the coaching staff had obvious concerns about something or elements to his game.

Anyway I am very confident about Jared Haywood's ability to one day take over from Api.

And certainly we'll lose juniors like Galvin, TDS, Cooper Clarke, Large brothers etc but we'll also retain exciting talents too like Makasini, Godinet, Haywood, Taupau-Moors, Laulilii bros, Mason and recruit exciting junior talent from elsewhere such as the Latu, Samuela, Pole, Bula & the like.

The rollercoaster of the Wests Tigers!
 
Tom Shines said:
They were very lucky win against the Sharks …needed about half a dozen things to bounce their way so they could hang on … when was the last time they really put together an 80 minute performance and put a team away convincingly?
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Shit .. that’s very harsh. I thought they played tough. Sharks from memory scored 2 freakish tries one before half time and one while we had Pole in the bin off a questionable high tackle

I also thought we were better team in the Penrith and Raiders game, just couldn’t get the W.
 
Vicious said:
Did you notice the Bulldogs regularly play from edge to edge and all 4 edge players run the ball hard and are a handful for the opposing defence if they are not making line breaks or offloads.
Then their fullback is also constantly available to hit holes, gets to TOP SPEED very quickly and a great last line defender.
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One thing that stood out to me last night was how strong the dogs players looked when running the ball. It was reminiscent of the 21/22 Panthers who people accused of being on enhancements as they just appeared faster and stronger out of nowhere.
FTR Im not accusing anyone of cheating, more so impressed with whatever they are doing at training that gets these results. Ciraldo has brought it with him and its working.
 
Speed2burn said:
Shit .. that’s very harsh. I thought they played tough. Sharks from memory scored 2 freakish tries one before half time and one while we had Pole in the bin off a questionable high tackle
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They played tough for sure…doesn’t mean they weren’t lucky to win …
There was a lot going their way ,,,field goal off the post in regular time , Galvin pulling off a miracle try saver on the line in the final few minutes against one of their forwards …. Even getting the match winning penalty in front of the posts running into a gale in extra time was fortunate as they were unlikely to be able to advance the ball into an attacking position otherwise…

Hey ..I’m not saying they don’t deserve some luck from time to time …just saying that’s not a performance I’m necessarily pointing to as proof of anything
 
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