Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Tom Shines]

Do you think he would improve our NRL team or do you mean sign him as a depth player ?
Is he a better player than Sukkar or Sol Saukuru ?
He’s probably got a better work rate and a more reliable defender than them, but he’s a lightweight edge forward and I believe Sukkar and Saukuru have much more impact when running the ball due to their extra size.
Saukuru in particular has the size, power, mobility and potential to trouble the very best of defences, his issue is his lack of fitness which can be fixed in an offseason if the desire is there.
It’s much harder for a player such as Hassett to become bigger and more explosive when running the ball, however he’s a solid worker and still only young, so we could do much worse than him as a depth signing.

What about Kamicamica ? Is he good enough for us still ? On his way to the ESL apparently,,,

 

[Vicious]

What about Kamicamica ? Is he good enough for us still ? On his way to the ESL apparently,,,

He doesn’t create a huge impact, but he works hard and is not lazy for a big man, I’d say yes at the right price.
If we’re adding an experienced middle with a bit of size I’d be looking at either him or Jack Hetherington.
Both around 30 years of age, so not too old just yet, both very fit and mobile.
Kamacamica is far more reliable and dependable to get the job done with a minimum of fuss, makes his tackles, makes his metres, doesn’t give away penalties etc
However Hetherington is probably a more athletic and more dangerous ball runner with a better offload in his game, but the downside is his brain explosions and lack of discipline.
You look at it that way and we probably can’t afford any more lack of discipline, so you probably take the safer option in Kamacamica.

 

[Tom Shines]

He doesn’t create a huge impact, but he works hard and is not lazy for a big man, I’d say yes at the right price.

He is on $400k next season and the Storm don’t want to pay that …is that the price ?

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

I agree with most that a tough & hard, take no prisoners style of middle forward leader is something we lack and really need, but I seriously doubt we would get anywhere near their best, or any value out of players approaching 35 years of age such as Josh Papali’i or Tyson Frizell.
Obviously if we could get one of them at a low cost that would not hurt our salary cap then why not, but I would not be spending up around 500k or more on these types of ageing players.
A genuine tough tackling, ball playing 13 would also help.
Not much available in this regard either, but a few people have mentioned Kobe Hetherington or Adam Elliott. Hetherington is more of a ball runner, than a ball player and generally plays better when he starts off the bench, while Elliott has all the traits we are looking for, but has become extremely injury prone and hardly gets on the field these days. I would be happy to offer Elliott a smaller contract as we could not pay him too much and risk it being wasted if he continues to be regularly injured.
We initially bought Jack Bird to do this job, would it not be a good idea to play him more regularly as a ball playing 13 for the rest of this season to see if he still has it in him to solve this problem?
I believe we need a point of difference in our forwards, someone who is athletic and fast and capable of making regular tackle busts and line breaks.
Myself and quite a few others have regularly floated the idea of signing David Fifita and I still think that’s a very good option, however we would be paying up around 900k to have him released from the Titans for 2026 and on that money, he is a big high cost risk.
The player I would be signing for 2027 and beyond and hopefully convincing he and his club to release him early to us for 2026 is Simi Sasagi.
At 24 years of age and with plenty of NSW Cup experience, he is only recently starting to play with the confidence to demonstrate the tackle bust and line break ability at NRL level, that he has shown while playing NSW Cup for the past couple of years.
I believe he’s exactly the versatile, fast, athletic, tackle busting, line breaking forward we are lacking.
The added bonus is he’s also a very capable centre, therefore if Sam Fainu recaptures his best form it would be no issue starting games with Fainu on our left edge and bringing Sasagi into games as an impact player, similar to how Ricky Stuart is mostly using him now.
Why would he consider leaving the Raiders ?
Well I think he would currently only be on a very minimal contract of no more than 200k and when the Raiders are full strength with Hudson Young, Matty Nicholson and Zac Hosking all playing, it’s unlikely there will be room for Sasagi in their top 17, regardless of how well he is playing,
I think he’s ripe for the picking, he’s approaching his prime and realistic chance of being released early to play for us in 2026 if we sign him come November 1 for 2027 and beyond.

The reality is we have plenty of cash and plenty of roster spots.

Dave would be good but we need more, our engine room depth sucks thats why the other 3 names would add value.

We must fill it with 3-4 experienced players who will be in the top 18, with another uplift of 4 players for depth.

I have zero issues bringing in some older players for 1-2 yrs provided they are still delivering now which those you mentioned are.

We need to stop using age as a barrier provided they are performing.

If we want to move off the bottom we need to build in increments, we need a squad not 8 ok players & the market in 27 onwards is only going to become harder so if we don’t perform next year bringing and keeping talent also will become harder.

If it means we pay abit more then fine use the cap it adds nothing to our squad if it isn’t used. Benefit on short deals is it doesn’t tie our cap or roster down which has been a major problem for us years past.

I can’t see a top flight talent dropping from the sky anytime soon.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

I might be missing something, but the style of game and team selection I am seeing from teams such as the Bulldogs is speed, power, athleticism, explosive ball running etc from their edges and mostly workers in the middle.

The interesting thing with Panthers and Bulldogs is they compress and are relentless in the middle which then limits field position and points against them but then provides 3-4 chances to convert and win games.

Storm, Roosters and Dolphins are different again as they have a more speed/dynamic style of game plan.

 

[Vicious]

The reality is we have plenty of cash and plenty of roster spots.

Dave would be good but we need more, our engine room depth sucks thats why the other 3 names would add value.

We must fill it with 3-4 experienced players who will be in the top 18, with another uplift of 4 players for depth.

I have zero issues bringing in some older players for 1-2 yrs provided they are still delivering now which those you mentioned are.

We need to stop using age as a barrier provided they are performing.

If we want to move off the bottom we need to build in increments, we need a squad not 8 ok players & the market in 27 onwards is only going to become harder so if we don’t perform next year bringing and keeping talent also will become harder.

If it means we pay abit more then fine use the cap it adds nothing to our squad if it isn’t used. Benefit on short deals is it doesn’t tie our cap or roster down which has been a major problem for us years past.

I can’t see a top flight talent dropping from the sky anytime soon.

Whether we like it or not age is a barrier.
When players get older they find it much more difficult to keep their weight down, much more difficult to keep their energy levels high, they slow down, their line speed when defending reduces, the quality of their ball running reduces and they become much more injury prone.
Josh Papali’i has been a great player and thoroughly deserves his recall to the Qld SOO team, but he’s currently being ably assisted by by a team of young, hungry and enthusiastic players, he is simply chipping in and working off the back of them, he is no longer capable of lifting them when they are doing plenty of tacking and under pressure.
I don’t think he will be interested in playing against the Raiders and will go to the UK Super League for that reason,

 

[Vicious]

The interesting thing with Panthers and Bulldogs is they compress and are relentless in the middle which then limits field position and points against them but then provides 3-4 chances to convert and win games.

Storm, Roosters and Dolphins are different again as they have a more speed/dynamic style of game plan.

The speed, power and strike on the edges is key to all the teams that are currently successful.
Whatever way we look at it, we are a clear 17th when it comes to speed, power and strike on our edges, so realistically we are not going to improve until we focus on and improve our quality of player in these positions (back row and centres).

 

[Tom Shines]

Whether we like it or not age is a barrier.
When players get older they find it much more difficult to keep their weight down, much more difficult to keep their energy levels high, they slow down, their line speed when defending reduces, the quality of their ball running reduces and they become much more injury prone.
Josh Papali’i has been a great player and thoroughly deserves his recall to the Qld SOO team, but he’s currently being ably assisted by by a team of young, hungry and enthusiastic players, he is simply chipping in and working off the back of them, he is no longer capable of lifting them when they are doing plenty of tacking and under pressure.
I don’t think he will be interested in playing against the Raiders and will go to the UK Super League for that reason,

Each case needs to be assessed on its own merits ..

Kamicamica is 31, but has only played 130 games and is extremely fit ..

 

[Tom Shines]

The speed, power and strike on the edges is key to all the teams that are currently successful.
Whatever way we look at it, we are a clear 17th when it comes to speed, power and strike on our edges, so realistically we are not going to improve until we focus on and improve our quality of player in these positions (back row and centres).

Yes ..I think everyone will agree Seyfarth doesnt cut it…

Sam F was our player of the year last year ..he is fine

 

[Tigerstigerstigers]

I might be missing something, but the style of game and team selection I am seeing from teams such as the Bulldogs is speed, power, athleticism, explosive ball running etc from their edges and mostly workers in the middle.

And line speed in defense . Which we need to add to that of Romey

 

[Vicious]

Yes ..I think everyone will agree Seyfarth doesnt cut it…

Sam F was our player of the year last year ..he is fine

Seyfarth is a much better middle and usually does a decent job adding enthusiasm as a middle off the bench.
Not his fault he had to play on an edge this season as we had nobody else.

 

[Tom Shines]

Seyfarth is a much better middle and usually does a decent job adding enthusiasm as a middle off the bench.
Not his fault he had to play on an edge this season as we had nobody else.

I hope KPP is an improvement… well wait and see how consistent he is

 

[weststigerman]

Harrison Hassett get it done Richo covers lock,second row,centre

Why is he on the bench in NSW Cup and not getting a run in firsts when Panthers origin players are out?

 

[Vicious]

Each case needs to be assessed on its own merits ..

Kamicamica is 31, but has only played 130 games and is extremely fit ..

I agree, he’s far less chance of being a failure.

 

[BAGNF05]

I might be missing something, but the style of game and team selection I am seeing from teams such as the Bulldogs is speed, power, athleticism, explosive ball running etc from their edges and mostly workers in the middle.

You gotta play to your strengths and the Dogs edges are world class.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

The Storm purchased the prop from the Titans, Josiah Pahulu, so Kamicamica is out of there. We should be purchasing the Pauhulu's and not the Kamicamica's if we want to improve.

 

[Tom Shines]

The Storm purchased the prop from the Titans, Josiah Pahulu, so Kamicamica is out of there. We should be purchasing the Pauhulu's and not the Kamicamica's if we want to improve.

We can buy K for a year at least at $400… Benji is all about the short term anyway

 

[GNR4LIFE]

You gotta play to your strengths and the Dogs edges are world class.

If only we could develop a player like Preston.

 

[tigahhh]

Anyone know how Tristan Sailor is going in the super league? He's definitely good enough for the NRL. I'd happily offer him a contact for next season. Much better depth than we currently have.

He’s killing it. He’s playing 5/8 though not fb like he did here.

 

[Speed2burn]

Teddy at the Raiders. Just can’t picture it.

Considering raiders got within a bees of winning a premiership in 2019, I reckon raiders win a comp with him at fullback

But agree, there is no way someone like Teddy ends up anywhere else but the roosters