Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[boonboon]

For the last few weeks I have thought that the gaps in our roster were that we needed 3 positions
Wing
Lock
Prop

The other question for me is still halfback and in particular kicking game for the partner of Laui

Last night again I think those are the 3 places in the roster where we must improve. Now it may be that we can fill 1 or 2 of those internally but not all 3.

I've seen a lot of positive this year and think we are closer then others suggest and the improvement this year has been significant.

 

[Vicious]

Why do people keep talking about signing backs, all recruitment at this stage needs to be directed at getting some speed, size and muscle into the pack. Once we overhaul the pack, than sure look at the backs, but for now we need to be shaking all the trees in hope a few quality forwards will fall into our laps. Without a major forward overhaul next year will be just another bomb out

Of course we need improvement in this area, but have a look at the list of off contract players for 2026 and 2027 and who is going to help make us a much more formidable force in the forwards?
The cupboard is virtually bare.

 

[Vicious]

For the last few weeks I have thought that the gaps in our roster were that we needed 3 positions
Wing
Lock
Prop

The other question for me is still halfback and in particular kicking game for the partner of Laui

Last night again I think those are the 3 places in the roster where we must improve. Now it may be that we can fill 1 or 2 of those internally but not all 3.

I've seen a lot of positive this year and think we are closer then others suggest and the improvement this year has been significant.

Absolutely, our lack of creativity and lack of kicking game in the halves is now just as big a problem as our other problem areas,
I’ve said this before, the Luai and Fainu combination has not looked like working and with no long kicking game between them, it is not likely to work.

 

[Tom Shines]

Of course we need improvement in this area, but have a look at the list of off contract players for 2026 and 2027 and who is going to help make us a much more formidable force in the forwards?
The cupboard is virtually bare.

There will be players currently under contract that get moved on …happens every offseason …we even signed Madden 48 hrs ago who was under contract next season …

if the forwards don’t improve , then it doesn’t matter much who they are picking in the backs …Sukkar , Seyfarth, Bird , Twal can’t be in out best 17 next year …KPP and Sam to come in …still leaves 2 more minimum

 

[Tom Shines]

Absolutely, our lack of creativity and lack of kicking game in the halves is now just as big a problem as our other problem areas,
I’ve said this before, the Luai and Fainu combination has not looked like working and with no long kicking game between them, it is not likely to work.

I actually thought Luai’s kicking game was too long yesterday ! He has a longer boot than I thought … but seems to overreach on the bombs ..

 

[Vicious]

There will be players currently under contract that get moved on …happens every offseason …we even signed Madden 48 hrs ago who was under contract next season …

if the forwards don’t improve , then it doesn’t matter much who they are picking in the backs …Sukkar , Seyfarth, Bird can’t be in out best 17 next year …

I agree, but who are we moving on and who are we replacing them with to ensure we are a much better team.
Keep in mind as poor as some of us think Twal and Seyfarth are, I don’t think we would have much trouble offloading them to another club at full freight if that’s the plan to make us better.
But we need better replacements ts and I’m not seeing much availability or much that is likely to become available.

 

[Vicious]

I actually thought Luai’s kicking game was too long yesterday ! He has a longer boot than I thought … but seems to overreach on the bombs ..

Either way our overall kicking game long and short along with our kick chase is currently 17th in the NRL by a long way.
Benji press conference mentioned it and then stated Luai needs help with the kicking, but then said Latu will be selected at 7 again next week ?
What is going to change in a week ?

 

[Buttface]

Why do people keep talking about signing backs, all recruitment at this stage needs to be directed at getting some speed, size and muscle into the pack. Once we overhaul the pack, than sure look at the backs, but for now we need to be shaking all the trees in hope a few quality forwards will fall into our laps. Without a major forward overhaul next year will be just another bomb out

Some of us have been saying it all year, and every time there’ll be a dozen who reckon zoo animals are cute.
Players like the Baby Giraffe and the giant sloth have been ok, one is a jr and the other never misses a tackle, but they are reserves, full-ins, depth players, and the one certainty is they should have been stepping stones to better players, and we should have upgraded them a year or two ago.

 

[Tom Shines]

I agree, but who are we moving on and who are we replacing them with to ensure we are a much better team.
Keep in mind as poor as some of us think Twal and Seyfarth are, I don’t think we would have much trouble offloading them to another club at full freight if that’s the plan to make us better.
But we need better replacements ts and I’m not seeing much availability or much that is likely to become available.

I don’t know mate …. Isn’t one of Richo’s main functions to find them ? You can’t say that contracted players won’t become available ,,,they are made available every offseason

I added Twal to the list … the 4 I mentioned need to be down the depth chart and out of the Best 17 ,, I don’t think they need to be “moved on” … we have KPP and Sam to come in…. Leaves 2 more spots at a minimum to be filled …

 

[Vicious]

I don’t know mate …. Isn’t one of Richo’s main functions to find them ? You can’t say that contracted players won’t become available ,,,they are made available every offseason

I added Twal to the list … the 4 I mentioned need to be down the depth chart and out of the Best 17 ,, I don’t think they need to be “moved on” … we have KPP and Sam to come in…. Leaves 2 more spots at a minimum to be filled …

Keep in mind Terrell May wasn’t any better than Twal last night.
Not entirely his fault, it’s been obvious since round 4 he’s playing too many minutes and it’s effecting his impact, but his half paced ball csrries were no more effective than Twal or Seyfarth last night,

 

[hank37w]

Certainly looks that way. I think he's also making it more difficult by not replacing like for like. Fullback for fullback, winger for winger, not musical chairs every Tuesday and three times during the game

Benji was tutored by the Sheenius.

 

[Odessa]

He's been trying to instill it all year.

A conservative first 20, then stick in the game and win late.

It's a shithouse game plan and it hasn't been adapted at all over the course of the season.

It doesn't play to our strengths and there appears to be no effort put into the 1%ers that make that game plan successful.

Basic shit like line speed, ball runners receiving the ball at the advantage line, kick pressure, competing on kicks, passes out in front, operating at speed, etc, just isn't there.

Penrith did everything 10% better last night and it blew the game wide open.

Benji can recruit and can get the dressing room showing up for him. But the cookie-cutter, generic game plans that look like they've been torn out of the play book that Melbourne donated to Vinnies in 2019 is some of the most amateur shit I've seen.

They've actually started to build a squad and have actual threats on the park, but they don't use any of them.

Latu and Luai's running games have disappeared. What exactly has the Doueihi experiment achieved? Wingers shifting sides. Poor, predictable selections. No competing on high kicks even in the opposition half. No protection for the kickers. Everything at half pace.

The biggest challenge in this rebuild was the squad. That has finally started to improve.

The next will be the actual coaching.

I hope for the love of God that Richo has told Benji behind closed doors that he has a free swing the back end of this year to get combinations right long term ahead of 26, because, if not, these crack-addict selections and positional switches and redundant, derivative, half-assed plays are a ticket to nowhere.

These are all rookie coach mistakes you can learn along the way in Reggie's

 

[Tom Shines]

Keep in mind Terrell May wasn’t any better than Twal last night.
Not entirely his fault, it’s been obvious since round 4 he’s playing too many minutes and it’s effecting his impact, but his half paced ball csrries were no more effective than Twal or Seyfarth last night,

I think that’s debatable , but beside the point …. Terrell is at worst an above average NRL player …

I got nothing against Twal apart from the fact he seems to end up with the ball in his hands too often in the attacking 20 where he offers little …. On the flip side he is a good defender and doesn’t make a lot of errors … I got nothing against Twal being depth ..you are suggesting to move him on right ?

 

[Odessa]

Yep, this should have been obvious when let 4 forwards leave early at the end of 24 and replaced them with only Terrell, Hunt and Bird.

Bird is not a forward

 

[Bellend]

We need hard heads and players with a tone setting attitude, go and mend the bridges burnt with Ray Stone. Get a hard head in like Josh Kerr, bring in Siliva Havili from Souths who just rips in,
Davy Moale and Viliami Fifita 24 year props who are aggressive runners looking to play more minutes.

 

[Kelce68]

That might be why he can't defend his Edge?

Is he a one man band out there?

They obviously don't need to contest high balls in 7's Either - Because he couldn't bother with that either?

How many did he take cleanly last night?

I would've have thought they'd need some speed in Rugby 7's - but he missed that boat also.

What? You think every player has the same skill set? You think every winger is peak Addo Carr? I know your view of rugby league is hilariously one dimensional, but this is impressive, even for you.

You're obviously right though, He just needs time... Like all the other Rugby 7's players that went on to successful top flight NRL Careers.

Yes, he needs time. Like every other player who has played less than 20 nrl games.

😂 You don't even realise you're arguing against yourself.

He came late?

Yes. He came in his mid 20s.

Like Mark N from the Roosters - He's not a reserve grader, and funnily enough not playing reserve grade.

What? What's the comparison here? That they both played rugby? They're completely different players and everyone, commentators, fans and players alike have been blown away by Mark's transitions. He's a freak.

Is that the automatic bar we set for every rugby convert?

He's been playing NRL for 3 years now,
And he's still a reserve grader.

😂 "3 years"

And has he had the full time equivalent of 3 years game time in that time?

Or did you mean to say, he's been back in rugby league for 2.5 years now, most of which has been spent relearning his trade and playing reserves.

He's played 18 first grade games. That represents just over 3/4 of one season of top flight footy.

.... You're right, he should be the complete article, absolutely perfect in all facets, in a three-time wooden spoon team that lacks go forward and has a different halves/backline combination most weeks.

Seriously, what is your ACTUAL expectation with these critiques?

You hang onto that Bible though...

What even is this reference? Genuinely...

 

[Kelce68]

These are all rookie coach mistakes you can learn along the way in Reggie's

Normally the way, yeh.

 

[426Tlgerland]

I actually thought Luai’s kicking game was too long yesterday ! He has a longer boot than I thought … but seems to overreach on the bombs ..

Problem was we were miles out from their try line so big bomb straight to Edward’s with no tigers to challenge , we don’t get close enough to then do a high kick giving chasers some time to get there to compete , we need go forward

 

[Tom Shines]

Problem was we were miles out from their try line so big bomb straight to Edward’s with no tigers to challenge , we don’t get close enough to then do a high kick giving chasers some time to get there to compete , we need go forward

Yes .. they were too far away to be landing the ball on the try line … couldn’t the bombs be coming down 10-20 m out ?

 

[Vicious]

I think that’s debatable , but beside the point …. Terrell is at worst an above average NRL player …

I got nothing against Twal apart from the fact he seems to end up with the ball in his hands too often in the attacking 20 where he offers little …. On the flip side he is a good defender and doesn’t make a lot of errors … I got nothing against Twal being depth ..you are suggesting to move him on right ?

No I don’t believe Twal or Seyfarth are our major problems if used right.
Neither should be starting props, Seyfarth should not be playing edge back row unless we have Liam Martin on the other edge, which we do not. However we are very limited in our back row options, so with Samuela injured, what other choice do we have other than to play Seyfarth on an edge ? Not his fault that he’s playing out of his best position because of our playing roster stuff ups.