Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

BlackWhiteGold said:
Nothing yet. Still unsigned for next season.

If we were to resign Naden, he should only be played as a depth fullback or winger imo. He makes too many poor defensive decisions & misses when he defends at centre.

Personally I would love for Naden to be given a shot as our NSW Cup fullback (or Luke L). He is an elusive ball runner, good under the high ball, is a very good talker when marshalling troops and decent in cover defence.

He played fullback as a junior and I think clubs have missed a trick with Nado not giving him more opportunities at the back (and out of the front line where his weaknesses are exposed).
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Weve all seen what Naden has to offerand hes a very fringe 1st grader at best..,and at 30 next season hes not going to change
LL on the other hand has considerable upside,and if hes a fullback we shld definitely groom him for that position in KOE
See what hes got
 
clontarfkid said:
Weve all seen what Naden has to offerand hes a very fringe 1st grader at best..,and at 30 next season hes not going to change
LL on the other hand has considerable upside,and if hes a fullback we shld definitely groom him for that position in KOE
See what hes got
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Don't disagree @clontarfkid I just think Naden has value in the squad as depth especially when there is such limited experienced depth available to bring in. If we could get him on close to minimum, that would be a good deal.

And as you say, if we did groom Luke as the backup fullback then Naden would be very good as a depth winger for NRL. He's also reportedly very popular amongst the group & a very good mentor. He would also help our NSW Cup side become more successful which is important in my view.
 
The Chad said:
I think the Tigers make the 8 next season.

Richo didn't say 'no more signings'. Just no more 'major' signings.

There really isn't too much in the way of 'major' signings left anyway.

Upgrade the quality of the KOE squad so that guys in that team are pushing the guys in the top squad. Competition will create performance.

Adding KPP strengthens the top squad. Geyer & Roberts adds depth to push the likes of Sukkar & Seyfarth & Charlie Murray etc.

For mine- we need to add body types & attitude. Taller guys, or faster guys, or angry hard men. Add some variety to the squad to change what we throw at the opposition. There's 1 or 2 top spots available & a few KOE spots free. Have to get the right guys filling spots & then develop the guys below them to push those guys.

Pressure creates diamonds.
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I think the Burgers are better at Hungry Jack's!
 
Lestronge said:
Find something else to do then ? It’s not rocket science ! But you just live to wallow …
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LES you must be a STRONGE supporter who has no problem seeing the Tigers hanging around the bottom of the NRL table each year? Come on Les, surely you are over the club missing the finals for 14 years straight? Wingeing is now part of a Wests Tiger supporters DNA.
 
GNR4LIFE said:
It’s only been 15 years mate. We can’t wallow.
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@innsaneink copying you in too.

We all agree that it's been 15 years of hurt and pipedreams of a rebuild.

I think where a few of us are coming from is that under the current administration, it's been less than 2 years. So when we refer to a rebuild, we have to set the start date of 1 Jan 2024...

So I don't think it's fair to attach the 15 years of pain, disappointment and horrible decision making, to the work of new leadership who have had less 2 years.. yes they work for "the tigers".. but they can only work with what they've got in the time they have had ..
 
BlackWhiteGold said:
www.weststigers.com.au

Mielekamp assumes role of General Manager of Football

The Wests Tigers are pleased to confirm the appointment of Shaun Mielekamp as the Club’s General Manager of Football.
www.weststigers.com.au www.weststigers.com.au

Solid! One of Richo's first appointments. Fair chance Richo is grooming Shaun to take over as CEO when he retires in a few years.
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He appears to have a very high ceiling and could possibly be successor to Richo noting his excellent performance with the Mariners.
 
Best thing I heard on the btr podcast was Richo saying we are now starting to promote coaches from the lower grades up. Hopefully that will bring continuity with the coaches and players right through the club. Two decades ago the top clubs would recruit their first grade coaches from their lower grades. Great Richo is starting to try to implement it at the Tigers now.
 
Latu Fainu going for shoulder reconstruction is an obvious blow. I think with AD going back to 7 that’ll fill the void for the time being but also leaves a gap at 13.

I personally think Josh Curran would be an incredible signing for us and very gettable for 2026. He could potentially play lock and have the versatility to fit elsewhere in the squad once Latu returns.

Something I can’t unsee however and not to get my hopes up…. but does anyone else see a lot of Ethan Strange in Latu Fainu?

Ethan’s first year he was pretty quiet and had a breakout year in his second season after a full pre season. Hoping this injury doesn’t set Latu back too far cause I see that kinda trajectory for him injuries aside.

Imo Latu is our ace, if we can get him going next to Api, Luai and Bula then we’ll be a force.
 
teddy23 said:
Latu Fainu going for shoulder reconstruction is an obvious blow. I think with AD going back to 7 that’ll fill the void for the time being but also leaves a gap at 13.

I personally think Josh Curran would be an incredible signing for us and very gettable for 2026. He could potentially play lock and have the versatility to fit elsewhere in the squad once Latu returns.

Something I can’t unsee however and not to get my hopes up…. but does anyone else see a lot of Ethan Strange in Latu Fainu?

Ethan’s first year he was pretty quiet and had a breakout year in his second season after a full pre season. Hoping this injury doesn’t set Latu back too far cause I see that kinda trajectory for him injuries aside.

Imo Latu is our ace, if we can get him going next to Api, Luai and Bula then we’ll be a force.
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Until Latu can prove that he can get through a season injury free, it doesn’t matter who you want to compare him to. I know he’s still young, but the amount of injuries are getting frustrating. Kind of player who would do a knee getting out of bed.
 
clontarfkid said:
Its a like for ;like replacement. Lawnmowing prowess tbd!
Were not close to the 8 without forward reinforcements..I dont know what Richo is thinking
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Ur 100% right no new forwards we will see us in the bottom half again , there has been good forwards that we could have got , but have gone to other clubs who have got better packs , makes no sense
 
teddy23 said:
Latu Fainu going for shoulder reconstruction is an obvious blow. I think with AD going back to 7 that’ll fill the void for the time being but also leaves a gap at 13.

I personally think Josh Curran would be an incredible signing for us and very gettable for 2026. He could potentially play lock and have the versatility to fit elsewhere in the squad once Latu returns.

Something I can’t unsee however and not to get my hopes up…. but does anyone else see a lot of Ethan Strange in Latu Fainu?

Ethan’s first year he was pretty quiet and had a breakout year in his second season after a full pre season. Hoping this injury doesn’t set Latu back too far cause I see that kinda trajectory for him injuries aside.

Imo Latu is our ace, if we can get him going next to Api, Luai and Bula then we’ll be a force.
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We should have signed Josh Curran when he was available from the Warriors a couple of seasons back and I agree he would add desperately needed leg speed and mongrel to our forward pack.
 
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GNR4LIFE said:
Until Latu can prove that he can get through a season injury free, it doesn’t matter who you want to compare him to. I know he’s still young, but the amount of injuries are getting frustrating. Kind of player who would do a knee getting out of bed.
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His tackle technique is where all of his injuries have come from bar the hamstring issues.

Needs to fix that and looks like he won’t get the opportunity in the off season now.
 
bptiger 0 said:
Ur 100% right no new forwards we will see us in the bottom half again , there has been good forwards that we could have got , but have gone to other clubs who have got better packs , makes no sense
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You know what, I thought the same..then I went through and looked at the ages of a few key players:

Samuela Fainu: 21
- When Jarome moved to 6 and Taylan jumped into the centres, he went up another gear. This guy will be playing for the blues soon - he's much better than Hudson young at the same age.

Sione Fainu: 24
- He has improved year on year. I see him kicking on in 2026

Terrell May: 26
- Benji has big expectations for him next year and you can tell Terrell respects him. We see Terrell lift to another level next year.

Fanua Pole: 23
- For anyone questioning his ability, he and Terrell were right up there with the best front row combinations at the start of this year. He had some issues after the injury, but I am confident he lifts another level next year.

Then we have some of the older lads:

Alex Twal - 29
- With some luck, he will be playing in the middle rotation this year. Keep it simple and make hit ups. Whilst he isn't a ball playing front row, we need some meat heads. Twaly leads by example in this regard.

Royce Hunt - 30
- If he digs in during the pre-season, there is a high ceiling for hunty boy. Imagine him fit playing 20 minute stints?

Admittedly, I'm high from the vibes from the mayday podcast. The talk between Benji and Terrell was genuine. I can see the vision - its a 2-3 year strategy.
 
mtd#2 said:
You know what, I thought the same..then I went through and looked at the ages of a few key players:

Samuela Fainu: 21
- When Jarome moved to 6 and Taylan jumped into the centres, he went up another gear. This guy will be playing for the blues soon - he's much better than Hudson young at the same age.

Sione Fainu: 24
- He has improved year on year. I see him kicking on in 2026

Terrell May: 26
- Benji has big expectations for him next year and you can tell Terrell respects him. We see Terrell lift to another level next year.

Fanua Pole: 23
- For anyone questioning his ability, he and Terrell were right up there with the best front row combinations at the start of this year. He had some issues after the injury, but I am confident he lifts another level next year.

Then we have some of the older lads:

Alex Twal - 29
- With some luck, he will be playing in the middle rotation this year. Keep it simple and make hit ups. Whilst he isn't a ball playing front row, we need some meat heads. Twaly leads by example in this regard.

Royce Hunt - 30
- If he digs in during the pre-season, there is a high ceiling for hunty boy. Imagine him fit playing 20 minute stints?

Admittedly, I'm high from the vibes from the mayday podcast. The talk between Benji and Terrell was genuine. I can see the vision - it’s a 2-3 year strategy.
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One thing , if hunt couldn’t get fit for this season , what will change for next year .
We have a pretty good base in the forwards department, we just don’t have the quality on the bench or in nsw cup to push for a 1st grade spot , get another mongrel prop and a decent lock and we would be a top 8 spot
 
bptiger 0 said:
One thing , if hunt couldn’t get fit for this season , what will change for next year .
We have a pretty good base in the forwards department, we just don’t have the quality on the bench or in nsw cup to push for a 1st grade spot , get another mongrel prop and a decent lock and we would be a top 8 spot
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Alot has changed within the squad since last pre season and this one.. a year together.. belief... being dropped to KOE and knowing what's expected..
 
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