Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[OzLuke]

So we miss another target, this is getting to be a major issue

It’s been an issue for years. And there’s no sign it’s changing. Despite all the talk and bluster. Our current top 17 is very very average.

Whilst I agree the squad is average, Zac also knocked back the Raiders not just us.

Difference is the Raiders wouldn't have offered him fullback and we would have...


Did we though ? The only player who we for sure offered a set position is Latrell. Also 6 years 3 mil , is ... a huge gamble . How many players have flashed potential , got paid and never amounted to anything . Karl Filiga says hi . Also Daniel Mortimer as well . Good luck to the dragons . I genuinely hope he turns out to be awesome and I’m glad he stayed loyal .

I agree. While it's disappointing to miss out on him, because he is a talent, it's good to see players staying loyal to their clubs. But having said that it's a long time and a lot of cash.....

 

[finnzo]

I don’t think Dufty is an upgrade On Thompson. Thompson try’s his absolute heart out id much rather him then Dufty

 

[TheDaBoss]

I don’t think Dufty is an upgrade On Thompson. Thompson try’s his absolute heart out id much rather him then Dufty

thompson looks abosolutely jacked atm as well

 

[Spud_Murphy]

I am not as worried as others regarding our inability to sign players. I suspect it’s a timing issue with our pursuit (and reported tentative agreement) with LM, we probably were too late for Lomax, Drinkwater etc. Their negotiations would have started some time ago and we obviously thought we had our target - alas we have missed the boat.

So in the absence of anything better, I would look to front end so see contracts so our war chest next year is massive.

The key to this 'war chest' is making the 8 in 2020. Atm, no one wants to come here because of inability to play finals football. We need to make the 8 as of next year and this is critical for us attracting the right players when all this $$ becomes available.

No offence meant to you in particular Tcat, but I'm sick of hearing that nobody wants to come to WT because we rarely make the 8 etc. Mate, I've seen players willingly sign with clubs that regularly finish below us on the ladder and perform far worse than us most years, so I really don't think us not making the 8 is an issue.

We are on the cusp of making the finals nearly every year, we never finish out of contention or dead last. Perhaps if just one or two of these 'top' players came to play with us they could actually help us to become a regular top 8 team and real Premiership threat! You would think that it would be an incentive and a challenge to be part of a team that is on the verge of lifting itself to become one of the better teams in the comp, but they seem to have absolutely no foresight at all.

 

[PJ_]

Maybe all these rumoured targets are waiting for our COE.

 

[Red88_Tiger]

Reading this thread is like waiting for the drought to break. Keep looking at weather site and sceptical of any forcast. Got to work on the fact we are one day closer than yesterday

 

[Newtown]

I hadn't even contemplated Dufty before but is there any likelihood Madge could change his turnstile ways in defence? Has a lot of attacking ability and speed.

How would he go as a winger in our current low speed backline?

 

[05wt05]

All of this discussion about not being able to attract players got me thinking. Firstly im glad Lomax stayed at the dragons im all for players remaining loyal. Good on him. Thats our problem we needed our guy's to remain loyal and they just turned out to be mercinaries. Tedesco, Woods, Moses. We have never been a glamour club to attract premium established talent. Our strength lies in our junior catchment and internal development. We put our eggs into the junior basket and our "golden generation" left us high and dry. Weve pretty much been coasting along season to season ever since. We really need to do something about building our own club culture that attracts players who want to be a part of it. Heres the problem as i see it were only a very young club compared to the comp, in order to build a culture it can take generations of players and juniors it has been ingrained into, it also requires legacy players which we really dont have many of Marshall and Farah, Rowdy eventually. We can then start moving the club forward with our own identity that opposition players can buy into. Another major problem is this constant media rubbish of a wests tigers legend Benny Elias or Siro or Blocker or who ever else they keep using for a sound byte. The club really need to start to be proactive in distancing themselves from this kind of thing. We are the Wests Tigers these past players played for former clubs not us. We need to build our own identity or how do we explain ourselves to potential players? who do we say we are ? What do we have in the four walls of our organisation that they will never find anywhere else. Workout what you want in thise four walls that noone else can offer and you have discovered the club culture you are striving for and the main reason talent will sign. Without it the club will remain soulless and have to wait for the next crop of juniors we develop to come through and hope noone poaches them the next time. Sorry for the long post its a huge issue for us fans and the club and one that has many needs inorder to be met.

 

[Curaeus]

Dufty is several notches down from the likes of Mitchell but he does possess raw speed (something we've lacked since JAC left) and he does have a kind of "x-factor lite" so might be an OK pickup at the right price.

 

[NT_Tiger]

While I am no fan of Moses Woods or Tedesco given the way they left WT, I think it is a bit unfair to label them mercenaries. In retrospect, I can't really blame them for leaving with the coaching fiasco we were going through and the way the Farah departure was handled. If they were here today they might just stay as I think the club has begun the turnaround. Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda.

 

[Tim Sheens]

Sorry for the long post its a huge issue for us fans and the club and one that has many needs inorder to be met.

No problem with the length, but hard to read with the lack of paragraphs.

 

[avocadoontoast]

While I am no fan of Moses Woods or Tedesco given the way they left WT, I think it is a bit unfair to label them mercenaries. In retrospect, I can't really blame them for leaving with the coaching fiasco we were going through and the way the Farah departure was handled. If they were here today they might just stay as I think the club has begun the turnaround. Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda.

Woods made a terrible decision. Was captain and a rep player when here. Since then his career has gone down the toilet. I don’t think Tedesco or Moses would have any regrets though.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Dufty is several notches down from the likes of Mitchell but he does possess raw speed (something we've lacked since JAC left) and he does have a kind of "x-factor lite" so might be an OK pickup at the right price.

If we can pick him up at a reasonable price, he is good value. Under Maguire's tutelage, I have no doubt he will improve significantly both in attitude and defence. With the re-signing of Lomax, the Steelers may be looking for some salary cap relief.

And on Lomax, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest Lomax lacks pace for fullback (much like Moylan). Dufty has plenty of pace and teaching him how to improve his defence is easier than attempting to increase pace!

 

[2041]

I am not as worried as others regarding our inability to sign players. I suspect it’s a timing issue with our pursuit (and reported tentative agreement) with LM, we probably were too late for Lomax, Drinkwater etc. Their negotiations would have started some time ago and we obviously thought we had our target - alas we have missed the boat.

So in the absence of anything better, I would look to front end so see contracts so our war chest next year is massive.

The key to this 'war chest' is making the 8 in 2020. Atm, no one wants to come here because of inability to play finals football. We need to make the 8 as of next year and this is critical for us attracting the right players when all this $$ becomes available.


No offence meant to you in particular Tcat, but I'm sick of hearing that nobody wants to come to WT because we rarely make the 8 etc. Mate, I've seen players willingly sign with clubs that regularly finish below us on the ladder and perform far worse than us most years, so I really don't think us not making the 8 is an issue.

We are on the cusp of making the finals nearly every year, we never finish out of contention or dead last. Perhaps if just one or two of these 'top' players came to play with us they could actually help us to become a regular top 8 team and real Premiership threat! You would think that it would be an incentive and a challenge to be part of a team that is on the verge of lifting itself to become one of the better teams in the comp, but they seem to have absolutely no foresight at all.

Couldn’t agree more. The people who say “no-one will sign for us because we haven’t been playing finals” don’t seem to be aware of any other clubs. Not playing finals didn’t stop Klemmer and Ponga signing for Newcastle, or RTS for the Warriors, or Valentine Holmes for the Cowboys. Wanna guess Souths’ last three finishes before they signed Inglis? 14th, 10th, 9th. Mitchell himself might end up at the Titans FFS.

If a club doesn’t seem like a total basket case and offers the best deal, players will go there. It’s as simple as that.

 

[NT_Tiger]

While I am no fan of Moses Woods or Tedesco given the way they left WT, I think it is a bit unfair to label them mercenaries. In retrospect, I can't really blame them for leaving with the coaching fiasco we were going through and the way the Farah departure was handled. If they were here today they might just stay as I think the club has begun the turnaround. Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda.

Woods made a terrible decision. Was captain and a rep player when here. Since then his career has gone down the toilet. I don’t think Tedesco or Moses would have any regrets though.

Yes, probably true. The fact that Woods joined the mutineers indicates the sad state of the club at that time.

 

[barra]

Flanagan cant coach dragons this year, even if Mary goes first week.

NRL are kidding themself if they think Flanagan won't coach them this year. He'll talk like a coach, look like a coach, act like a coach, just Dragons'll call him something else, and call McGregor the coach instead.

Absolutely 100%
As far as signings go, Flanagan is easily the best signature for the Dragons in some time.
There's no doubt his style will be stamped on the team and improve them, it's just a matter of how long that takes. It could even have had an influence on Lomax re-committing to the club.

 

[OzLuke]

A lot of people seem keen to stick the boot into Thompson.....and sure he's not a tedesco calibre fullback, but name other players in our team who go out every week and belt themselves and slog their guts out like he does......
Sure he's not the best fullback going around, but he has certainly done enough to get a bit of recognition around the place.

 

[NT_Tiger]

A lot of people seem keen to stick the boot into Thompson.....and sure he's not a tedesco calibre fullback, but name other players in our team who go out every week and belt themselves and slog their guts out like he does......
Sure he's not the best fullback going around, but he has certainly done enough to get a bit of recognition around the place.

The one thing you know when Thompson is on the field is he wont let the team down by lack of effort.

 

[avocadoontoast]

The one thing you know when Thompson is on the field is he wont let the team down by lack of effort.

No one would deny this. But effort only gets you so far and we’re going to struggle to make the 8 with him in the position. I like the guy and I think he’s a really capable winger, but he’s not a fullback and he never will be.

Going into 2020 with CT at fullback and no specialist hooker will really hurt us imo.

 

[4jtigers]

Until that perception is changed we’re going to continue to struggle.

What perception would that be? some of my friends who follow another team have the Tigers as their second team so I don't know what you mean - it is a great club and the WT is a great brand! :+1: (biased opinion I know)

by the way - The NRL has cleared Zane Musgrove to return to training with the Wests Tigers, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald - from Zero Tackle