Alex Johnston Contract Discussion

[TigerRabbit]

Hi guys, I haven't posted in a few months but here is what i know of the situation.

I've had multiple people tell me that AJ and his management approached Souths on Wednesday with news he had been offered a three-year contract at the Tigers and I've since had confirmation from inside the Souths club that this WILL happen with release scheduled for today.

Josh Addo-Carr i don't know as much about because he isn't coming from Souths but I've also heard he is a close enough to being done with a return to the Tigers.

Souths are also interested in the Fox but it appears unlikely they'll get him as it's dependant on Dane Gagai leaving and I've heard the Fox's preference is here not there (possibly a money factor, i don't know what's on the table).

In regards to Latrell, he never really considered coming to the Tigers - The Roosters so desperately wanted to offer him to Pascoe as it was damage control in that they would do EVERYTHING possible to avoid Souths getting him but Latrell's heart firmly isn't here.

He's cancelled multiple appointments with Tigers Mgmt and to state the obvious he's had weeks to accept an offer to come to concord and had offers on two seperate occasions which he hasn't responded to (The latter offer was increased from the previous)

He hasn't verbally declined those offers but stalled on them awaiting Souths to make an offer, that's where his heart is - Roosters know it which had them in fight mode to try and offer him to any club possible except Souths and Tigers know it so Pascoe pulled after the latest no-show..

 

[Cairnstigers]

We help Souths to get the Trell by signing AJ for maybe 600g a year. Now even if the Rabbits are kicking in that’s silly money. Our club is being run by madmen it would appear. Even if we can’t make our team stronger...why do we keep giving the other mob a leg up.

I am really over it. It would be nice to have someone explain the game plan, why we continue to give our competitors a leg up. I might be just dumb and don’t get the big picture

Where are you getting the $600k a year figure, supposedly $1 million over 3 years from us, souths kicking in $200k making it $1.2million over 3 years, that is a good win for the club

Yeah, I was against it initially as I estimated he might be around the $500k mark, but if those figures are true, $330k a season is chicken feed really. We are light on depth in that position and he can play FB as well, so agreed...I'd call it a win.

So does that leave us with around $950k - $1 Million to spend on the last 3 spots?


About 1.8 they have 700k set aside for if JAC gets released and the money for latrell.

Ha, the Tigers might yet outmanoeuvre the Rabbits! After AJ, enough cash for JAC and Latrell. You never know what's going on......If we managed to secure the lot we would redefine the perception of the Tigers in one foul swoop! We can dream.

Not only that, we would immediately become a strong top 8 candidate with the injection of speed and attacking spark. Again, we can only dream.....

That would be nice
But if they read this forum it will never happen
All the negativity on here is sure to turn any player away
Everyone we sign should be given a chance to prove themselves
Not every good/great player kicks on at a new club either
Save all your daggers for the other clubs
Don't turn your backs on the Club you are ment to love
I for one will be looking forward with excitement to see how our new signings perform
So pick yourselves up
We are not defeated yet

 

[finnzo]

There is plenty to look forward to and the end of the season we had zero cap space a month after we were chasing 1 of the biggest stars in nrl I didn’t work out but you cannot blame the tigers management for that they tried there hardest drove to Taree to see latrell I’m proud of the club the way they have handled things and I’m looking forward to the future. I’m thinking of chucking about $500 on us to make the 8 just to make the season that much more exciting haha

 

[851]

Hi guys, I haven't posted in a few months but here is what i know of the situation.

I've had multiple people tell me that AJ and his management approached Souths on Wednesday with news he had been offered a three-year contract at the Tigers and I've since had confirmation from inside the Souths club that this WILL happen with release scheduled for today.

Josh Addo-Carr i don't know as much about because he isn't coming from Souths but I've also heard he is a close enough to being done with a return to the Tigers.

Souths are also interested in the Fox but it appears unlikely they'll get him as it's dependant on Dane Gagai leaving and I've heard the Fox's preference is here not there (possibly a money factor, i don't know what's on the table).

In regards to Latrell, he never really considered coming to the Tigers - The Roosters so desperately wanted to offer him to Pascoe as it was damage control in that they would do EVERYTHING possible to avoid Souths getting him but Latrell's heart firmly isn't here.

He's cancelled multiple appointments with Tigers Mgmt and to state the obvious he's had weeks to accept an offer to come to concord and had offers on two seperate occasions which he hasn't responded to (The latter offer was increased from the previous)

He hasn't verbally declined those offers but stalled on them awaiting Souths to make an offer, that's where his heart is - Roosters know it which had them in fight mode to try and offer him to any club possible except Souths and Tigers know it so Pascoe pulled after the latest no-show..

We should try get Arrow to change his mind with Latrell’s money then

 

[TigerRabbit]

The papers are miles behind on Jai Arrow.

A deal was done with Arrow and Souths weeks ago for 2021 but the sticking point was Souths trying to obtain a release for 2020 which i've heard will be granted in exchange for some kind of transfer fee plus possibly a player trade.

As i alluded to earlier Gagai was offered to the Titans (in exchange for Arrow) but Gagai loves it at Souths and will likely not move.

Arrow will be formally announced before Christmas, I'm not sure on the contract start date however as nothing is confirmed until the club releases it.

The fact Titans signed Tino Faasuamaleaui is the writing on the wall and further semi-confirmation that Arrow won't be there in 2021 when Tino's contract starts (I am not sure what's in place for a replacement for Arrow in 2020 if they let him go early)

 

[Russell]

My issue with the club..we let Matterson walk out the door and outside his cap value we got nothing and we made another club stronger. The same with Moses the previous year. Now we could be looking at taking AJ off Souths, who have been trying to offload him for yoinks. Once again we are making another club stronger and it is very debatable if we are going to be better off.

Maybe if we were seen to be hard nosed and ruthless instead of a door mat, we might have a little more luck in the market place. Let’s face it, the Dogs and the Eels never seem to have trouble attracting players even after a few crap seasons.

Just gets me down as it goes on year after year. Been a very long term member, but next season may just buy a LO membership, can’t see myself doing road trips to Parra or Cambo

Mate totally agree me personally I feel let down. I know the club doesn't owe me anything and they try there best it's just getting harder to accept losing and coming off second best. As much as I like Pascoe I think he needs to go.

I'm annoyed about the dumb decisions we continuously make and he has been here when we lost our best players. Recommended Cleary screwed our cap with Farah.

While not directly responsible for some of this I think if we aren't excepting mediocrity any more he needs the boot it's a tight comp and giving other clubs a leg up needs to stop. Also Johnston is not the answer to keep a lot of us happy.

Only thing I agree with is the last line.

Think you are well off the mark myself.

 

[TigerRabbit]

I mentioned last year (or whenever it was) that Musgrove had signed with The Tigers, I can't provide further update on that after the off-field incident took place since he is no longer with the Bunnies.

I read that NRL cleared him for return to footy and I can't recall whether he had officially signed with the Tigers before Musgrove made some mistakes.

So Zane is no longer in my area of specialty but I do really rate him and think he could be one of the top props at the club , he's obviously trained independently the past few months so it shouldn't affect his development too much having that time off.

 

[Spud_Murphy]

Hi guys, I haven't posted in a few months but here is what i know of the situation.

I've had multiple people tell me that AJ and his management approached Souths on Wednesday with news he had been offered a three-year contract at the Tigers and I've since had confirmation from inside the Souths club that this WILL happen with release scheduled for today.

Josh Addo-Carr i don't know as much about because he isn't coming from Souths but I've also heard he is a close enough to being done with a return to the Tigers.

Souths are also interested in the Fox but it appears unlikely they'll get him as it's dependant on Dane Gagai leaving and I've heard the Fox's preference is here not there (possibly a money factor, i don't know what's on the table).

In regards to Latrell, he never really considered coming to the Tigers - The Roosters so desperately wanted to offer him to Pascoe as it was damage control in that they would do EVERYTHING possible to avoid Souths getting him but Latrell's heart firmly isn't here.

He's cancelled multiple appointments with Tigers Mgmt and to state the obvious he's had weeks to accept an offer to come to concord and had offers on two seperate occasions which he hasn't responded to (The latter offer was increased from the previous)

He hasn't verbally declined those offers but stalled on them awaiting Souths to make an offer, that's where his heart is - Roosters know it which had them in fight mode to try and offer him to any club possible except Souths and Tigers know it so Pascoe pulled after the latest no-show..

Amongst all the speculation and innuendo of the past two months, this seems like the most reasonable account of all that has been, and is, happening behind the scenes, especially in regards to Mitchell. Anyone with half a brain could see he only had eyes for Souths and this is why the Roosters arced up so much and used us as bait to lure him away from going to Souths because we had money to spend. And here were some people on the forum thinking old uncle Nick had gone soft and was helping us out lol. Not on your Nellie, there was always an ulterior motive to him calling Lee and trying to get Mitchell to come here.

Oh well their schemes will probably all come to naught if/when Mitchell signs with Souths for love rather than top money 😂 The heart will always win out.

All I hope is that your third paragraph about JAC coming back here comes true. Signing him, alongside Johnston would make this whole frustrating hoo ha mess of the past two months worthwhile. And we will have actually signed a truly elite player, for the first time in a looong time! Please God make it happen!

 

[innsaneink]

Not many shopping days to Christmas...today's the day huh...

Early next week 😒

 

[Russell]

There’s a reason Johnston has been shopped around for nearly 18 months, and there’s also a reason why no one else has taken him in that time.....


Please tell

Cause clubs don’t want him.... obvs don’t rate him well enough

By the same logic, no club has taken Latrell...


The reason clubs have not taken AJ is clear actually...

AJ wants FB

Most clubs think he is a winger and only a winger.


And only we’re dumb enough to give him that fullback role if this is supposedly true, I don’t think I’ve ever been so frustrated idk why I was really confident about getting Latrell but now this idk how much more I can take


To be fair, he has played some good games at FB.

And is better than Cory IMO.

But, yes, three coaches in a row have moved him from FB to wing after deciding he was not a FB...

So what does that tell you?

That three coaches don't know anything or...

AJ is not a full backs bootlace.

Think it is the latter myself.

You may not think Thommo is a better FB but I do. Maybe that bar is not that high but you don't need to lower the bar by getting AJ.

 

[Russell]

If this is the best the club can do it is a sad day , players are rushing to a basket case Titans club . What a pathetic out come talk about desperation just to get a signing..Johnston is a pathetic fullback come on down another plodder to the long list !

Why does it have to be 'the best the club can do'? It's a decent signing that leaves plenty of cap spaces for other signings. Just like Big Lucy was a decent signing.

Like who ? We’ve missed out on pretty much every major or even middle of the park signing this season so far because of this latrell fiasco and majority of the big names for 2021 have already finalised their futures.

According to the journalists - in reality...not so many.

 

[boonboon]

There’s a reason Johnston has been shopped around for nearly 18 months, and there’s also a reason why no one else has taken him in that time.....


Please tell

Cause clubs don’t want him.... obvs don’t rate him well enough

By the same logic, no club has taken Latrell...


The reason clubs have not taken AJ is clear actually...

AJ wants FB

Most clubs think he is a winger and only a winger.


And only we’re dumb enough to give him that fullback role if this is supposedly true, I don’t think I’ve ever been so frustrated idk why I was really confident about getting Latrell but now this idk how much more I can take


To be fair, he has played some good games at FB.

And is better than Cory IMO.

But, yes, three coaches in a row have moved him from FB to wing after deciding he was not a FB...

So what does that tell you?

That three coaches don't know anything or...

AJ is not a full backs bootlace.

Think it is the latter myself.

You may not think Thommo is a better FB but I do. Maybe that bar is not that high but you don't need to lower the bar by getting AJ.

Thommo is all heart but AJ is a much better fullback - sets up a lot more attack then Thommo who is just a runner, makes half as many errors in doing it - the gap is significant as well as AJ being 5 yrs younger with significantly more experience

 

[Tim Sheens]

I think everyone forgets jennings had a disjointed preseason last year and it showed he will be better this year and is also only young

I truly hope that is the main reason, as he is barely the shell of the player I saw as a youngster.

 

[Russell]

650k per year for 3 years is the rumour.

$6.50 I can believe.

Maybe the contract is $6.50 for 100 years. Lol

 

[momo_amp_medo]

Proof in next seasons pudding. Hold your fire until you see the results people.
Better than the overweight unmotivated overpaid LM and his entourage of hangers.

 

[Tim Sheens]

My cousin is a mad Souths supporter and member. She lives it. Christmas is always fun!! I remember her absolutely exploding about how bad Johnston was at fullback so I took a keener interest. What I remember seeing was not impressive. He seemed slow to the loose ball and was caught out in defence. I can’t remember any more particulars but I do remember thinking he was not a fullback.

She was probably at the game at ANZ a few years back when Marty T made him look like a z grader, and he dropped bombs and just a budget of a game. A bad game shouldn't define your career but he had a shocker.

Like the one Corey had this year.

 

[momo_amp_medo]

Hi guys, I haven't posted in a few months but here is what i know of the situation.

I've had multiple people tell me that AJ and his management approached Souths on Wednesday with news he had been offered a three-year contract at the Tigers and I've since had confirmation from inside the Souths club that this WILL happen with release scheduled for today.

Josh Addo-Carr i don't know as much about because he isn't coming from Souths but I've also heard he is a close enough to being done with a return to the Tigers.

Souths are also interested in the Fox but it appears unlikely they'll get him as it's dependant on Dane Gagai leaving and I've heard the Fox's preference is here not there (possibly a money factor, i don't know what's on the table).

In regards to Latrell, he never really considered coming to the Tigers - The Roosters so desperately wanted to offer him to Pascoe as it was damage control in that they would do EVERYTHING possible to avoid Souths getting him but Latrell's heart firmly isn't here.

He's cancelled multiple appointments with Tigers Mgmt and to state the obvious he's had weeks to accept an offer to come to concord and had offers on two seperate occasions which he hasn't responded to (The latter offer was increased from the previous)

He hasn't verbally declined those offers but stalled on them awaiting Souths to make an offer, that's where his heart is - Roosters know it which had them in fight mode to try and offer him to any club possible except Souths and Tigers know it so Pascoe pulled after the latest no-show..


Amongst all the speculation and innuendo of the past two months, this seems like the most reasonable account of all that has been, and is, happening behind the scenes, especially in regards to Mitchell. Anyone with half a brain could see he only had eyes for Souths and this is why the Roosters arced up so much and used us as bait to lure him away from going to Souths because we had money to spend. And here were some people on the forum thinking old uncle Nick had gone soft and was helping us out lol. Not on your Nellie, there was always an ulterior motive to him calling Lee and trying to get Mitchell to come here.

Oh well their schemes will probably all come to naught if/when Mitchell signs with Souths for love rather than top money ? The heart will always win out.

All I hope is that your third paragraph about JAC coming back here comes true. Signing him, alongside Johnston would make this whole frustrating hoo ha mess of the past two months worthwhile. And we will have actually signed a truly elite player, for the first time in a looong time! Please God make it happen!


 

[Dyloh]

@boonboon Corey Thompson is only a runner but AJ is a play making savant? C'mon man

 

[Tim Sheens]

We help Souths to get the Trell by signing AJ for maybe 600g a year. Now even if the Rabbits are kicking in that’s silly money. Our club is being run by madmen it would appear. Even if we can’t make our team stronger...why do we keep giving the other mob a leg up.

I am really over it. It would be nice to have someone explain the game plan, why we continue to give our competitors a leg up. I might be just dumb and don’t get the big picture

Where are you getting the $600k a year figure, supposedly $1 million over 3 years from us, souths kicking in $200k making it $1.2million over 3 years, that is a good win for the club

Yeah, I was against it initially as I estimated he might be around the $500k mark, but if those figures are true, $330k a season is chicken feed really. We are light on depth in that position and he can play FB as well, so agreed...I'd call it a win.

So does that leave us with around $950k - $1 Million to spend on the last 3 spots?


About 1.8 they have 700k set aside for if JAC gets released and the money for latrell.

Hard to believe those figures, especially so with the $340k odd Robbie debacle still missing from our cap, but geez I would like it to be correct.

 

[Spartan117]

I think everyone forgets jennings had a disjointed preseason last year and it showed he will be better this year and is also only young

I really hope this is the case.

I know the backline we have isnt the same as souths, but how do u go from 19 odd tries to almost 0 the following season.

We need him to get the ball in better position and to run with intent.