Kelma Tuilagi Signs With Manly

Feel like a lot of people are more disappointed than they should be.

At this stage he is nothing more than a reserve player IMO. Sure he showed signs, but nothing to suggest it's as big a blow as some are making.

We'll replace him with someone of the same quality, at the very least.
It’s more the timing with the injury to Blore. Lucy moving on in 2023 and not being able to play long mins effectively.
 
Feel like a lot of people are more disappointed than they should be.

At this stage he is nothing more than a reserve player IMO. Sure he showed signs, but nothing to suggest it's as big a blow as some are making.

We'll replace him with someone of the same quality, at the very least.
Shows where are as a club that so many see this as a big blow.
 
It’s more the timing with the injury to Blore. Lucy moving on in 2023 and not being able to play long mins effectively.
I don’t see what Blore’s injury or Luc has to do with it. Luc and Tuilagi are still here this year and if Blore is gone, we go to the open market If he can’t come back in ‘23.
 
How about BMM? He was always a great potential, but did not show much at the WT, partially because that was the time his friend Mosese Fotuaika died.
Would like to see Ben Murdock M come back.
But I couldn't see him adding to our pack. He would be similar to the players we already have.

Still, would love to see him come back. Just because.
 
Last season is a club option so he can potentially leave next season

Only if we let him.
Atm can’t see that happening as we potentially lose minimum 5 top 17 forwards for us with only 1 nrl experienced replacement locked in.

Breaking down the forwards as a whole who are off contract next year or gone:

Props probable turnover - Mika & Tamou
Backrowers - Garner, Lucy, Tui, 2 of our development contracts.
 
Shows where are as a club that so many see this as a big blow.
Yes and No man, I see much more in Kelma than I've seen in Talau or Blore.
(so have Manly it would seem) and he'd have been good to have around, Not cost you the earth and could do a job on an edge or in the middle....

I think it's a bigger loss than some might think, We'll find out this year I feel.....
 
Yes and No man, I see much more in Kelma than I've seen in Talau or Blore.
(so have Manly it would seem) and he'd have been good to have around, Not cost you the earth and could do a job on an edge or in the middle....

I think it's a bigger loss than some might think, We'll find out this year I feel.....
Same here.

I was surprised Tuki got his debut before Kelma in all honesty….saw some pretty good signs from him in the trials at the start of the year & was a model of consistency in reserve grade.
 
Only if we let him.
Atm can’t see that happening as we potentially lose minimum 5 top 17 forwards for us with only 1 nrl experienced replacement locked in.

Breaking down the forwards as a whole who are off contract next year or gone:

Props probable turnover - Mika & Tamou
Backrowers - Garner, Lucy, Tui, 2 of our development contracts.
The players leaving are highly dispensable. They offer us very little. Mikaele may stay if he has a great year and we give him a good contract, but always the possibility of the Dolphins for him.

Joffa is a backup prop. That's it, given his option is probably at around 500k i don't think we'd see value in that.

Garner is useless and will be cut. Lucy is lazy and is moving on. Kelma from all reports has been offered something like 450-500k a year for 3 seasons. Is he that good? Probably not, totally unproven at this point.

Our dev backrowers will probably be given nrl contracts over the next 6 months, starting with Tumeth. And still more new signings to come for 2023 so really unless he kills it this year i think we'll let joffa walk
 
From what I could tell, he's been training wi
The players leaving are highly dispensable. They offer us very little. Mikaele may stay if he has a great year and we give him a good contract, but always the possibility of the Dolphins for him.

Joffa is a backup prop. That's it, given his option is probably at around 500k i don't think we'd see value in that.

Garner is useless and will be cut. Lucy is lazy and is moving on. Kelma from all reports has been offered something like 450-500k a year for 3 seasons. Is he that good? Probably not, totally unproven at this point.

Our dev backrowers will probably be given nrl contracts over the next 6 months, starting with Tumeth. And still more new signings to come for 2023 so really unless he kills it this year i think we'll let joffa walk
Tumeth and Matamua making future blues.

Matamua just signed for 3 years.

Some promising players coming through.
 
You can scrub Whatsthematterson but would be happy to snag any of the other 4 assuming CHN has learned something from his previous indiscretions.
Why?
"Angus Crichton, Corey Harawira-Naera, Heilum Luki, Ryan Matterson, Briton Nikora,"
I would pay Matterson his old 350k salary. If the price is right, sure.


Happy to pay Crichton to come and I think he has the right attitude and culture and has been a little on the outer at Easts.
Yet Easts, they are doing a Penrith aren't they. Last side that should be doing a Penrith. They have called back Momo, Watson and reformed their original playing group. A bunch of people who came up the ranks together, who like playing with each other.

Which is insane for the flight deck!

Our Club has tried to do the same. James Roberts played with Nofo in the juniors. Yet for some reason, players are signing with Easts who will happily flick people at the drop of a hat.

We need a pack that plays together and likes playing together. If you remember Ellis, Fulton, Heighington, Galloway, Payton... it was a good pack. A bunch of those guys have played 5+ years together. add 2x promising juniors and we go to the finals. I don't know how we get that again.
 
The players leaving are highly dispensable. They offer us very little. Mikaele may stay if he has a great year and we give him a good contract, but always the possibility of the Dolphins for him.

Joffa is a backup prop. That's it, given his option is probably at around 500k i don't think we'd see value in that.

Garner is useless and will be cut. Lucy is lazy and is moving on. Kelma from all reports has been offered something like 450-500k a year for 3 seasons. Is he that good? Probably not, totally unproven at this point.

Our dev backrowers will probably be given nrl contracts over the next 6 months, starting with Tumeth. And still more new signings to come for 2023 so really unless he kills it this year i think we'll let joffa walk

This is the problem - they are all disposable but at the cost of burning out young talent who then have zero chance to develop the right way.

We need old horse especially ones who know what it takes to make it in our side. Joffa might be surplus but every game he is having a dig and leaving it out on the field. If he played like Tamou or Garner wouldn’t hesitate but he doesn’t. I would prefer to hold him for another year unless we can bring in another experienced head to allow us to slowly bring in the younger kids than any of our other off contract forwards currently.

It’s all about roster management over the next 2-3 seasons and we need the right balance of 5-6 players deep for backrow and prop to allow the kids to mature on their own time. Joffa I think is an important one for us this and next season.
 
Why?
"Angus Crichton, Corey Harawira-Naera, Heilum Luki, Ryan Matterson, Briton Nikora,"
I would pay Matterson his old 350k salary. If the price is right, sure.


Happy to pay Crichton to come and I think he has the right attitude and culture and has been a little on the outer at Easts.
Yet Easts, they are doing a Penrith aren't they. Last side that should be doing a Penrith. They have called back Momo, Watson and reformed their original playing group. A bunch of people who came up the ranks together, who like playing with each other.

Which is insane for the flight deck!

Our Club has tried to do the same. James Roberts played with Nofo in the juniors. Yet for some reason, players are signing with Easts who will happily flick people at the drop of a hat.

We need a pack that plays together and likes playing together. If you remember Ellis, Fulton, Heighington, Galloway, Payton... it was a good pack. A bunch of those guys have played 5+ years together. add 2x promising juniors and we go to the finals. I don't know how we get that again.

By some critical signings to lump with these young boys....
Even the guys you mentioned, They all came through behind the few no nonsense work horses already at the club (Skando, O'Neill, Galea, Senter, Sattler - to an extent)

I've said it before, All the talented kids in the world won't amount to anything if we don't have someone to keep them in line, teach them how to work!!
We tried it from 2012-2013... It failed miserably - It will fail if we try it again.

We've got little to none experience in the pack - Especially if we dump Tamou and Ofa after this year...
The Best 18 yr old Back Rowers in the world won't learn the game on and off the park on their own.
 
Why?

We need a pack that plays together and likes playing together.
If you remember Ellis, Fulton, Heighington, Galloway, Payton... it was a good pack. A bunch of those guys have played 5+ years together. add 2x promising juniors and we go to the finals. I don't know how we get that again.



Why? Because we should be building a culture and we can't do that by bringing back someone like Matterson with his disruptive, toxic attitude.

We need a pack that plays together and likes playing together. With someone like Matterson in the team you will never be able to achieve that for the reason I have just stated. I thought it was pretty well documented that Matterson had a falling out with the playing group at the time of his departure from Wests Tigers. Sorry, not wanted at any cost.

I don't know how we get that again. I'm not sure exactly how we go about getting that again either, but having the right kind of players and systems in place would be a good place to start and having a disruptive personality like Matterson on board is not part of the solution.

As previously stated, I would be happy with any of the other 4 players mentioned.
 
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