Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[batboy]

cup came dead last, last year & started this year 1/4. richo added external recruits bc he always says you need a strong cup team to have a strong FG side and they have turned that team around. they are at least a chance of finals which hasn’t happened in donkeys years. with the additions of jock & javon that team will be even more competitive

they sacked the flegg coaching staff in may and the team has improved off the back of that, with genuine talent that can’t crack into the cup squad and limited development deals on offer because other talented kids in our pathways have already snapped them up for next year. tino tavana is one of them

just looking at a ladder and saying our pathways are a mess isn’t a correct reflection of how the club is working to strengthen the squads

Hang on, You said it was 'Very Strong' atm (Which is Dogshit)

Now you're saying it's 'Better', Better Than what?
We have NRL players coming through our Pathways - Wow, Do any of the other clubs know?
Surely we're the only ones?

I get all the kids are playing up, I can see that
- But that doesn't mean the pathways are really strong - It means they're desperately out of whack.
And going off the results for as far as I can remember - That's how it's been.

 

[batboy]

But seriously I look at the Canterbury NRL squad and I don’t see where these forty five extra recruitment/talent scouts are making a huge difference. Outside the Penrith guys they are either local juniors or other teams offcuts.

It's all still fairly recent, Is Gus 3 years in or some?
How are their Matts, Ball and 20's doing (Serious Question)

 

[Demps]

Wasn't he their young junior replacement for Reed Mahoney?

Hes a Penrith junior and he's a bit older than you'd expect @ 25.

Thought he's played well when given the chance.

 

[tigahhh]

Hang on, You said it was 'Very Strong' atm (Which is Dogshit)

Now you're saying it's 'Better', Better Than what?
We have NRL players coming through our Pathways - Wow, Do any of the other clubs know?
Surely we're the only ones?

I get all the kids are playing up, I can see that
- But that doesn't mean the pathways are really strong - It means they're desperately out of whack.
And going off the results for as far as I can remember - That's how it's been.

how are they out of whack? all that writing and you didn’t make one actual point there

 

[Bus 2 Terrigal]

It's all still fairly recent, Is Gus 3 years in or some?
How are their Matts, Ball and 20's doing (Serious Question)

Yeah granted they are strong in junior reps, but they’ve always been pretty strong down there. Wests have been fairly strong in recent years too. The Dogs junior reps pick off guys from other pathway systems - Conti, Cooper Toy, Cassius Tia etc. I would suggest you don’t need 45 guys to achieve this.

One Jamie Jones, or Peter O’Sullivan could do that job

 

[weststigers]

But seriously I look at the Canterbury NRL squad and I don’t see where these forty five extra recruitment/talent scouts are making a huge difference. Outside the Penrith guys they are either local juniors or other teams offcuts.

Yeah fair enough mate. Seems like you and the owners of WT align in your assessment.

But seriously, seeing as we're being serious, their squad was put together over about 2 years. They are coming 2nd. Not many juniors are going to be good enough to crack that team right now, but Bailey Hayward is a junior. So is Kiraz. They also poach from other clubs. Jacob Preston for example. They don't necessarily have to come from within your system.

Their junior focus starts at 15/16 years old. It's going to take time to see them come through. Many of their juniors that don't make it also get poached by other clubs. It's not just us that loses juniors believe it or not. The mistake people make is looking at right now without delving into the detail.

If you have the time, this article gives a good summation about what they're doing and you can assess the long-term payoff yourself. But, I'm not going to try to convince you that 7 guys can simply watch way more junior football or make way more contacts to find the next talent than 1 guy.

Meet the young men chasing the NRL dream with the Bulldogs - ABC Pacific

Meet Aisake Manna, who hopes to follow in fellow Fijian and NRL second-rower Viliame Kikau's footsteps; Malachi Filipo from Auckland, who was offered an opportunity with the Under 21s; and recruitment officer Fifita Hala, who is recruiting hopeful future stars.

www.abc.net.au

 

[bptiger 0]

What makes you so sure that we are not talking to forwards?,since Richo arrived the leaks have all but dried up and i have far more faith in his ability to get us the players we need than i have ever had since the JV started.

Iam just saying , that we don’t need half’s right now , but we really need forwards , yet what do they do sign TWO half’s , yes they might be looking ( and I have no doubt they are ) but it always seems that we get the mix all wrong

 

[Tom Shines]

Iam just saying , that we don’t need half’s right now , but we really need forwards , yet what do they do sign TWO half’s , yes they might be looking ( and I have no doubt they are ) but it always seems that we get the mix all wrong

One half is apparently on a development deal next year ..I don’t think that prevents them signing a forward as well

 

[batboy]

Yeah granted they are strong in junior reps, but they’ve always been pretty strong down there. Wests have been fairly strong in recent years too. The Dogs junior reps pick off guys from other pathway systems - Conti, Cooper Toy, Cassius Tia etc. I would suggest you don’t need 45 guys to achieve this.

One Jamie Jones, or Peter O’Sullivan could do that job

I don't think you need 45 - But you certainly need more than one or two.
And to be well connected club with good communication.
I also feel you need more than the CEO and Head Coach overseeing it all.

I would suggest (And experience with it tells me) we don't have any of that.

 

[tigahhh]

Iam just saying , that we don’t need half’s right now , but we really need forwards , yet what do they do sign TWO half’s , yes they might be looking ( and I have no doubt they are ) but it always seems that we get the mix all wrong

large & galvin were back up halves to latu orignally in our squad and we didn’t replace them when they left. javon just replaces them in the depth line, doesn’t mean they aren’t still looking for first grade players.

 

[weststigers]

It's all still fairly recent, Is Gus 3 years in or some?
How are their Matts, Ball and 20's doing (Serious Question)

Midish table. 6th

 

[mtd#2]

At what other club (System),
Does an 18 year old Kid whos signed for 3+ years request a release before he even Debuts in NRL because he doesn't see a future at the Club?
That's on Development / Pathways - The only place he'd been before the Pre-Season.

Let's clarify what "not seeing a future at the club" means...

I am led to believe that it was all to do with who the tigers had signed and he saw them as threats... Therefore impacting his ability to play in the halves in the future... He also mentioned on an interview with Freddy and Joey a year or two ago that ppl in the club were talking about moving him into the backrow...

Then we add into the mix that influential figures in his life were telling him he is a half and he can get a start at another club - without a plan to move him to the backrow..
It really isn't as bad as it's made out to be .. Many young players "don't see a Future" because there are better players ahead of them... Or the club sees the players future a bit different to how they see it themselves..

 

[Buttface]

Ayyy

I think you'd have to travel a lot and be really tapped in.

Need to be compensated for the effort though.

Im pretty sure a lot do it for the love of football and their club.

 

[weststigers]

Iam just saying , that we don’t need half’s right now , but we really need forwards , yet what do they do sign TWO half’s , yes they might be looking ( and I have no doubt they are ) but it always seems that we get the mix all wrong

We had Galvin, Luai, and Latu before. 3 halves.

Galvin left leaving us short on backup halves as they promoted Latu. Madden is signed so we are back at 3 halves. Javon Andrews will not play NRL and I don't think he is even on a top 30 deal, so it's not detracting from the cap or roster spots.

There is literally no one to play half if Latu or Luai went down if Doueihi doesn't sign on again. We don't even know if Doueihi will sign and even if he does, he only wants one year. We need a half that's played a few first grade games as cover.

Why is this controversial?

 

[bptiger 0]

One half is apparently on a development deal next year ..I don’t think that prevents them signing a forward as well

I get that TOM , just saying we seem to sit back when forwards come available ( may was exception) and let other clubs jump in , and how many forwards have we let go and never replaced one .
Blore
Papa
Bateman
Big joe
Klemmer
Stepo
Garner
Iam sure there is more , but do u see a pattern here ????

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

We definitely need either a bigger body or a hard hittting aggressive defender who can potentially start NRL games and get the job done to allow Api to come on at around the 20th minute mark after the heat of the battle.
That is is problem in us signing Tristan Hope to a top 30 deal.
I like Tristan as a player, but he’s only small and is a similar style of player Api, he doesn’t really offer a point of difference such as hard hitting defence.
Havili is getting on in years, but he could potentially offer this point of difference while seeing if our own much younger, but similar style of player in Josese Lanyon develops well enough to become NRL quality.

I understand the signing of Hope as he provides that experienced full-time dummy half depth in case Api is injured. Hope could slot in and still someone like Havili can come off the bench. Hope is likely just for the 12 months until Haywood moves into the top 30 unless Hope hits it right out of the park next season to get another extension. And yes hopefully Lanyon in future becomes that lock/hooker utility.

 

[PrattenParkMagpie]

It's all still fairly recent, Is Gus 3 years in or some?
How are their Matts, Ball and 20's doing (Serious Question)

Flegg are 6th, Ball finished 7th and Matt's 14th.

 

[Tom Shines]

I get that TOM , just saying we seem to sit back when forwards come available ( may was exception) and let other clubs jump in , and how many forwards have we let go and never replaced one .
Blore
Papa
Bateman
Big joe
Klemmer
Stepo
Garner
Iam sure there is more , but do u see a pattern here ????

No one pushes the need to sign better forwards harder than I have … let’s hope they get a couple more …still time in my opinion

 

[mtd#2]

Iam just saying , that we don’t need half’s right now , but we really need forwards , yet what do they do sign TWO half’s , yes they might be looking ( and I have no doubt they are ) but it always seems that we get the mix all wrong

We need depth across the park. It doesn't matter which signings come first or last, as long as they are here for 26. I'd suggest that it's a coincidence the halves were signed around the same time.. conversations with players in other positions are no doubtedly taking place, it's just a matter of timing (who's available, who's agreed to terms, how far in contract talks they are etc). As long as they are here for 26 it doesn't matter.

 

[weststigers]

I get that TOM , just saying we seem to sit back when forwards come available ( may was exception) and let other clubs jump in , and how many forwards have we let go and never replaced one .
Blore
Papa
Bateman
Big joe
Klemmer
Stepo
Garner
Iam sure there is more , but do u see a pattern here ????

You've gone back like 2-4 years and put the replacements of players we did actually replace.

Like Joe O replaced by Klemmer.

Garner replaced by Bateman/Papalii.

We have promoted Sione Fainu, so I guess that replaced Klemmer.

Royce Hunt was an addition to, as was May.

We are short on 2nd rowers, but I suspect it had more to do with what was available rather than the club ignoring our need for it. We recruited KPP, so I think they are just as aware of the issue as you.

Every position we have been weak in, the club has identified that and recruited well there.

There was a period of tine people were screaming about the club not signing a good centre. Well we have one, but it may not have been on the exact timeline or the order of signing as you might have liked.