Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[2041]

I would absolutely taking Nelson if he was an option.

Ridiculous size, ridiculous amount of tackle breaks per game, ridiculous amount of offloads, tackles at 90% & averages 100m a game off the bench.

Will he play 24 games a season? Probably not. But the impact on the field is something nobody in the club currently offers.

Plus- if we are get bullied....nobody bullies Nelson.

That was two or three years ago at least. He's now perpetually either injured or suspended, and plays shorter and shorter stints during the brief periods when he can get on the field. The Storm are desperate to find some dumb arse club stupid enough to take him off their hands. We only just got out of the Olam contract because he was so broken down he couldn't get near a field - why on earth would we make the same mistake again?

Honestly, there are so many red flags flying around NAS that I'm half expecting Dan Andrews to photobomb him.

 

[Bellend]

I’ve noticed some of our supporters on here bagging the quality of Murray during his limited NRL game time with us.
I am not sure what more anyone was expecting ?
He is a light weight forward, but has demonstrated high energy acceptable standard defence, he has shown willingness and ability to make his 8-10m per carry with his good leg speed ball running, he’s shown a natural ability to play the first receiver link style of 13 players that our team desires and has shown an acceptable standard of service when at dummy half.
I’d say it’s a fair chance he packs on a couple of kilos of muscle over the off season and I could think of much worse players to have on a deal outside of our top 30.
If anything he should probably have a top 30 deal ahead of a few others.
At this point of time he’s comparable in what he can offer us to Jack Bird and at a fraction of the cost.

Yes very under rated player with a willing attitude.

 

[cqtiger]

Agree but comparing players to Reece Walsh isn't really fair, the bloke has unearthly acceleration, like a greyhound.

I’ve lost money on some slow greyhounds

 

[Bellend]

The catchment of Group 6 and Campbelltown has real potential that thankfully after 20 years West Tigers are investing more into the area . But they need to follow the Panther example that all grades reflect the first grade style of playing football. They also need more staff in their Pathways just like the Panthers and Parramatta.

 

[Bellend]

Does anybody rate Brian Kelly from the Titans??

 

[hodgo]

jebus this is has been a hard few pages to read lol.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion for sure, so i will just add my counter to a lot of the speculation on here.

We lack pace
How do we define that? Off the mark, May and Toa are quick; Turuva is also fast to hit stop speed. So acceleration is covered. Bula is lightning, reminds me a little of a Brett Mullins doesn't look fast but is moving at a rapid pace. If pace is the end-all be all everyone would be chasing Khan P but he cant even get a start for the 2nd worst team in the comp.

Our wingers this year have been amazing!!! Apart from a bad stint in the middle of the year from Skelton and a few bad d reads by Turuva, you could argue they have been some of our best performers. I mean, look what happened when Skelton got injured.

Luai has been the leader we have been screaming for. He has absolutely brought a culture that has been critical to our turnaround. Firstly, without him, we don't get Terrel, which means we don't get Tiny . It's also probable that we don't get turuva, although the api connection could have helped.

So leadership check.

His never-quit attitude and his defensive resolve are unquestioned. He is a guy who leads by example when it comes to the 1%ers he never shirks the hard stuff. Has he been our saviour on offence, probably not, but that is one part of a many-faceted game. I would also like to note that we haven't had a consistent spine all year, which also makes offensive performance hard.

And lastly, he must go alright because he is or around the origin squad every year over a fair few people that have been mentioned.

After reading this, it's a bit argumentative apologies

 

[Needaname]

Does anybody rate Brian Kelly from the Titans??

As our first choice back up, yes please!

 

[Wezt]

Does anybody rate Brian Kelly from the Titans??

Toa is a better defender then him

 

[mikey]

Dunno mate I'd give him a miss, from the Australian newspaper below.

STORM’S $860K LIABILITY​

Big Nelson Asofa-Solomona has now been charged 26 times for foul play since joining Melbourne Storm.

You name it, he’s done it - dropping knees, raised elbows, lashing out with his feet, attacking opponents’ heads, punching, crushers, a cannonball tackle and shoulder charges.

The 29-year-old prop is under contract until the end of the 2028 season on big bucks - $860,000-a-year according to the latest NRL Rich 100 list.

This is far too much cash for a serial offender, who, with his latest suspension, will have served 10 games in the last 12 months, missing two straight grand finals.

















NRL: The Melbourne Storm have been dealt a huge blow before finals with Hughes, Papenhuyzen and...
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You can understand if Storm officials now regard him as a liability.

Coach Craig Bellamy and Storm management will wait until the end of the season to make a decision on his future.

We expect the giant forward will be offered the opportunity to look elsewhere.

He’d be a handy heavyweight signing for a club like St George Illawarra if he can ever sort out his disciplinary issues.

Or there is the option to join the breakaway R360 rugby union competition.

Get them to pay most and chip in.
Would be worth it if he was only costing us a 150K a year (which I doubt is possible btw).

 

[Oldman]

I’d do both. Have Mapalangi, Tavana & Tui’tupou on T&Ts plus just think we need a ready-made NRL depth centre if May and/or To’a go down.

Look at the value that Marion Seve, Delouise Hoeter, Mawene Hiroti, Max Feagai etc, these types provide when called upon 3 or 4 times a season.

Maybe AD will be this player, maybe Bird will be trained at centre in the pre-season or maybe Naden will be extended. But if not, Corey Allen come on down lol

BWG
I hope your way of the mark with AD playing in the Centre again his best is in the middle somewhere,
And
Bird and Naden please let’s say good bye to them and wish them well.

 

[magpies forever]

I am so looking forward to not seeing Tumeth in the WT squad for 2026. Interesting that the club farewells have not yet been announced whereas many other clubs have already done so. I suppose that means there is some negotiations happening with ongoing contracted players to move on eg Bird, Matamua,

 

[tigahhh]

I am so looking forward to not seeing Tumeth in the WT squad for 2026. Interesting that the club farewells have not yet been announced whereas many other clubs have already done so. I suppose that means there is some negotiations happening with ongoing contracted players to move on eg Bird, Matamua,

do they usually do farewells? can’t remember if we’ve done them in the past or not

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

do they usually do farewells? can’t remember if we’ve done them in the past or not

We didn't do them until the Awards Night last year and then I think it was only announced at the function not on socials or website. I may be wrong. Our club doesn't seem to follow the system of other clubs with team comms.

 

[magpies forever]

Suppose so, but i thought it was NRL requirement?

 

[Buttface]

Apart from his poor defence, Pole makes some very bad mistakes. Just in the last 3 weeks;
Double movement vs Cows
Dropped ball over line vs Raiders
Unnecessarily touched the ball on the Titans last tackle when they were going nowhere giving them 6 more.

I’m still not over that double movement, that has gotta be one of the dumbest DM in the history of the game. He even patted himself on the head like a post op lobotomy patient. And then the following week he botched it again, knowing he was gunna fall short, instead of taking the tackle and getting a QPTB away he hogs it by stretching out and knocks-on.
Maybe his pecker is only a little fella and he’s shy about the nudie run.

 

[tigahhh]

We didn't do them until the Awards Night last year and then I think it was only announced at the function not on socials or website. I may be wrong. Our club doesn't seem to follow the system of other clubs with team comms.

probably do it on purpose to avoid giving the media cheap talking points

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

BWG
I hope your way of the mark with AD playing in the Centre again his best is in the middle somewhere,
And
Bird and Naden please let’s say good bye to them and wish them well.

Let's hope so @Oldman .

I only mentioned AD as potential depth if we desperately need him at right centre if To'a goes down.

What the game against the Titans reinforced to me is we need to recruit someone as depth for right centre who is strong defensively. It will help having KPP on that side with Latu Fainu but both Turuva & Skelton (whoever plays right wing) are not the best defenders outside the right centre.

AD showed this year how much he improved his defence at centre with good decisions & tackles. We don't have anyone even through pathways who stands out as a very good defensive right centre (Max Taotua is ok but still prone to poor decisions).

So maybe an Albert Hopoate or Corey Allan could fill this role at decent $$$ unless Benji can pull a rabit from his hat.

 

[tigahhh]

Let's hope so @Oldman .

I only mentioned AD as potential depth if we desperately need him at right centre if To'a goes down.

What the game against the Titans reinforced to me is we need to recruit someone as depth for right centre who is strong defensively. It will help having KPP on that side with Latu Fainu but both Turuva & Skelton (whoever plays right wing) are not the best defenders outside the right centre.

AD showed this year how much he improved his defence at centre with good decisions & tackles. We don't have anyone even through pathways who stands out as a very good defensive right centre (Max Taotua is ok but still prone to poor decisions).

So maybe an Albert Hopoate or Corey Allan could fill this role at decent $$$ unless Benji can pull a rabit from his hat.

yea to’a is the weak link, latu covers for him massively defensively and that’s why when latu has come off injured twice that edge gets torn apart. turuva is a good defender but it’s obvious he doesn’t trust his inside man

 

[magpies forever]

yea to’a is the weak link, latu covers for him massively defensively and that’s why when latu has come off injured twice that edge gets torn apart. turuva is a good defender but it’s obvious he doesn’t trust his inside man

I don't know why we re-signed Toa. He is good depth and has a good game in him but consistency and defensive issues will always bring him down in the order. Maybe as a replacement for Naden & Staines but I suspect he is being paid much more than that level.

 

[boonboon]

We need more and better depth in the backs.

Next year at the moment our outside backs past the starting 5 are - Makasini, Laulii, Mason

This year we needed
Mason - 7 games
Naden - 8 games
Faatape - 2 games
Staines- 7 games
Luke L- 4 games
Tuitupo - 1 games
Makasini - 1 game
Bird- 1 starting, numerous off the bench

That's 30 games where those played in the backs plus whatever Bird played off the bench in the backline and we dont have enough depth.

Its not our top 17 for me its the next 10 we need to improve because those have often been the weak links