ARE WE ON THE NOSE

[supercoach]

Such as who? Which forwards have actually conveyed that was their reason? If so, how are you aware of this?

Two of them one Roosters and one Canberra forward. Both of whom I know pretty well.

It wasn't in those exact words. There were some expletives thrown in but that was the gist.

I am aware of it because I was having the conversation

I know a bloke who is on the one football show and its not blocker and he basically said what Smeg said. Anyway I just worry about the short term future, all the teams out of the eight are really trying to build up for the coming years. Even parra will be a lot more competitive, St George are trying to address their problem area by recruiting Widdop and Williams,Penrith have a plan and are very aggressive in the playing market.

Iam not saying we are doing nothing, but I do worry we are getting left behind and that makes it even harder to recruit players.I know Potter wants to see how they go next year before pulling the cheque book out,but they may have missed the boat

 

[Newtown]

Club and fan stability and a low player injury toll are definitely the keys for a successful Wests Tigers year in 2014.

 

[supercoach]

Club and fan stability and a low player injury toll are definitely the keys for a successful Wests Tigers year in 2014.

I have my doubts a fully fit squad will be competitive against the better sides in 2014\. I could be right off the money,but I still see us a boarder line eight at very best with plenty of luck.

I think most clubs,especially those outside the eight need a major signing to generate interest from their fan base, sponsors and the commercial world. The Tigers are going to have a hard sell for memberships next year

 

[LaT]

Club and fan stability and a low player injury toll are definitely the keys for a successful Wests Tigers year in 2014.

Yep thats what Mayer has signalled, 2014 is a youth policy with retention and development before attacking the market in 2015\. I can deal with another season of ups and down as long as there is light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Chadman_s_Ghost]

The dire need to sign 'big name' players is overstated, particularly when the club has a very strong group of players coming out of the juniors.

This team is in transition from the successful group of 2005 players to the U20's lot that did so well the last few seasons. Instead of spending 'overs' on players from other clubs as they have in the past, the Tigers are obviously trying to build through progression.

Someone questioned the clubs inability to sign 'big name' players like Thurston, Cronk, Smith etc. If that is the definition of 'big name player', then every club's ability to sign 'big name players' has to be questioned because these sorts of players just don't switch clubs.

Personally, I think the Tigers have done a good job of player retention & signing since the beginning of the Sheens era. Just because some players don't go on as hoped, or some others succeed elsewhere doesn't mean the club is bad at signing or keeping players.

 

[happy_tiger]

The dire need to sign 'big name' players is overstated, particularly when the club has a very strong group of players coming out of the juniors.

This team is in transition from the successful group of 2005 players to the U20's lot that did so well the last few seasons. Instead of spending 'overs' on players from other clubs as they have in the past, the Tigers are obviously trying to build through progression.

Someone questioned the clubs inability to sign 'big name' players like Thurston, Cronk, Smith etc. If that is the definition of 'big name player', then every club's ability to sign 'big name players' has to be questioned because these sorts of players just don't switch clubs.

Personally, I think the Tigers have done a good job of player retention & signing since the beginning of the Sheens era. Just because some players don't go on as hoped, or some others succeed elsewhere doesn't mean the club is bad at signing or keeping players.

Great to keep the juniors , but how many go on to play 100 NRL games and stay at the club

Most players don't start to become consistent until they play 50 games ( Woods would be the exception to the rule)

So going off those generally accepted facts we won't be setting the world on fire until late 2015

 

[WestsSupporter]

Re: ESL big names

Gareth Ellis was not a big name when we signed him. Somebody like Sam Tomkins would be considered a big name signing from ESL.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Re: ESL big names

Gareth Ellis was not a big name when we signed him. Somebody like Sam Tomkins would be considered a big name signing from ESL.

With a million dollar price tag though, not sure id consider it a smart signing.

 

[MightyMaggy]

They hardly classify as high profile signings. Most league fans couldn't have told you who Ellis was and Tuqiri was a code hoping old man trying to finish his career somewhere by the time we got him.

Ellis had a decent reputation and was a fantastic signing for us but a big name Marquee he was not.

Yeah similar to those other nuffys like Eleery Hanley and Gary Schofield…......... :crazy

Did i call him a Nuffy? I did nothing but praise him. But what i said is true, most League fans didn't have a clue who he was when he came across.

This conversation is about marquee signings like **Falau of thurston or Smith & the like**, which Ellis wasn't and isn't one of.

And as good a footballer as he was, he shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as Hanley or Schofield.

The problem with signing marquee players is you have to find one, who is available, one you can afford under the salary cap conditions and one playing the position you seek. When you look at Folau, Thurston and Smith's CV's, when they were originally signed you find:-

Cameron Smith
As a youth Cameron Smith was hooker for the Logan Brothers Junior Rugby League Club, Logan City, Queensland. There he attended Marsden State High School. After scoring 188 points for the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup, he moved to the NRL with the Melbourne Storm club.
Smith's first two games for Melbourne were during the 2002 NRL season, both played at half-back. The following year he played as the Storm's hooker

Jonathan Thurston
Johnathan Thurston was born in Brisbane and began playing rugby league at a very young age for Souths Sunnybank Rugby League Football Club in Brisbane's southside. Later during his youth he moved to Toowoomba where he attended St. Mary's College, playing rugby league for his school and the Toowoomba Rugby League's All Whites club. Although a stand-out player at school and club level at 18 years of age, none of the National Rugby League clubs were willing to sign the Queenslander, with many citing his small size as a problem. According to Thurston's manager Sam Ayoub, a number of the clubs were not even willing to take him for free. Only St George Illawarra Dragons coach Nathan Brown was willing to sign him but because he was going to play for nothing his manager negotiated with the Bulldogs to sign him as he had promised Thurston's mother he would keep an eye on him, and Belmore (the Bulldogs' home ground) was closer to where he lived. The Bulldogs agreed and signed Thurston in the 2001 season for 'nil playing fee'.

Israel Folau
Folau was born in Minto, New South Wales to parents of Tongan descent. He attended Lurnea Public School and Westfield Sports High School before his family moved to Brisbane in 2004\. In Brisbane Folau attended Marsden State High School from where he was selected for the Queensland Schoolboys squad in the Australian Under-15 Championships. Folau also played several seasons of junior rugby league at the Goodna Eagles in Goodna.
At the Australian championships, Folau was spotted by a Melbourne Storm scout and was invited to play his junior football with the Storm's feeder club at the time, Queensland Cup team, the Norths Devils. He won a premiership while playing with Norths

So, these three players were hardly **'marquee players'**, when they were first signed by an NRL club.

 

[stevetiger]

I have known several quality forwards who have been approached by WT over the years who have not been willing to play with Marshall or under Sheens. They felt it detrimental to their careers.

These perceptions take time to shift even after we move people along

\

It wasn't in those exact words. There were some expletives thrown in but that was the gist.

You should get a job with the Telegraph. They didn't actually state it but I'm pretty sure they meant it.

We can sign players - Blair/Ellis/Tuqiri. You just need to get the right money on the table compared to what they are being offered wherever they are playing at that time.

There are also very few players on the market at this time that are really worth the effort of us considering.

 

[stevetiger]

So, these three players were hardly **'marquee players'**, when they were first signed by an NRL club.

It rarely happens and when it does there is usually some reason behind it. Inglis leaving Melbourne for instance was because they were cheating the cap.

 

[happy_tiger]

We could of had Thurston , But we decided he was too small

Great call that was

 

[WestsSupporter]

We could of had Thurston , But we decided he was too small

Great call that was

Every club made that judgement, even the Bulldogs. It is said his initial contract was for nil fee.

Also I remember hearing that Parra had first dibs on Lockyer but they decided against it.

 

[Fade_To_Black]

We could of had Thurston , But we decided he was too small

Great call that was

Is that fact or opinion? Heard there was a few clubs that decided he was too small so if we were one of them we weren't alone. The Bulldogs obviously didn't try too hard to keep him when he was on their books, so maybe it was more than just his talent that was in question. There were probably a few teams back in the ARL days that would of thought Langer was too small as well. You win some and you lose some.

 

[851]

We could of had Thurston , But we decided he was too small

Great call that was

Every club made that judgement, even the Bulldogs. It is said his initial contract was for nil fee.

Also I remember hearing that Parra had first dibs on Lockyer but they decided against it.

Gallen was a parra junior who they cut loose because he was too small,same as Halatau,every club does it,Parra do it more than most though.

 

[happy_tiger]

We could of had Thurston , But we decided he was too small

Great call that was

Is that fact or opinion? Heard there was a few clubs that decided he was too small so if we were one of them we weren't alone. The Bulldogs obviously didn't try too hard to keep him when he was on their books, so maybe it was more than just his talent that was in question. There were probably a few teams back in the ARL days that would of thought Langer was too small as well. You win some and you lose some.

Fact according to Thurston

He did those interviews on Fox and mentioned it

 

[boonboon]

So the players from origin starting sides who had changed clubs and why
Josh Dugan -alcohol problems
Michael Jennings - behaviour problems
Josh Morris- Wayne Bennett
James Maloney -wanted to come back to oz
Luke Lewis - club issues and we almost signed
Greg Bird -alcohol and violence issues
Diaries Boyd - Wayne Bennett
Justin hodges -behavioural problems
Brent Tate - actual normal change
Nate Myles - behavioural problems
Ashley Harrison - has played for 5 clubs

So most clubs struggle to sign a star player and the best way clearly is to pick up players who have had behavioural or alcohol problems because that is almost the only reasons players leave when they are already stars

 

[Fade_To_Black]

So the players from origin starting sides who had changed clubs and why
Josh Dugan -alcohol problems
Michael Jennings - behaviour problems
Josh Morris- Wayne Bennett
James Maloney -wanted to come back to oz
Luke Lewis - club issues and we almost signed
Greg Bird -alcohol and violence issues
**Diaries Boyd - Wayne Bennett**
Justin hodges -behavioural problems
Brent Tate - actual normal change
Nate Myles - behavioural problems
Ashley Harrison - has played for 5 clubs

So most clubs struggle to sign a star player and the best way clearly is to pick up players who have had behavioural or alcohol problems because that is almost the only reasons players leave when they are already stars

That is hilarious :laughing:
He should be nicknamed "Wayne's haemorrhoid" coz wherever Bennett goes he follows like a lovestruck teenager, it is quite sickening to watch TBH. Hate the bloke, biggest tool in the game by a street.

 

[Knuckles]

The answer to the question is yes of course we are on the nose. Why would an international and professional athlete come to an unprofessional organisation ? One day , when we have an independent board and the fossils have moved on, then we may be a more viable proposition. Clearly having the board we have, playing home games all over the place and treating professional people unethically is reason enough not to come near the place.

 

[stevetiger]

So most clubs struggle to sign a star player and the best way clearly is to pick up players who have had behavioural or alcohol problems because that is almost the only reasons players leave when they are already stars

This is correct. Marquee players sign with other clubs very rarely. Think of the marquee players that we have lost. Prince who left because his wife wanted to move away from Sydney, Benji who appears to have been pushed a little or at the very least we were not prepared to pay him a ridiculous amount and Fifita who was pushed and wasn't really a marquee player at the time.

We are not on the nose. As per every other club it is hard to sign marquee players.