Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Cultured_Bogan]

I wouldn't be getting too excited regarding Widdop for Reynolds.

Somebody posed the question on 'Blog With Hoops' not long ago. Hoops replied that he likes the idea. That is all. That's the source hahahahahah LOL

wait ....what there's a thing called bog with Pooper..

Yeah, should be re-named 'Pooping with Hoops'

Came across it browsing Foxsports interwebs site. Scratching at my eyes reading through it. Now need new eyes

"Poop shoot with Hoops."

 

[JC99]

Widdop is a good player but hasn’t he missed almost two seasons in a row with injury?

 

[Aesopian]

I wouldn't be getting too excited regarding Widdop for Reynolds.

Somebody posed the question on 'Blog With Hoops' not long ago. Hoops replied that he likes the idea. That is all. That's the source hahahahahah LOL

That's disappointing as I was looking forward to Nofoaluma crabbing across field from right to left and Widdop from left to right,

lol and then they collide with each other midfield. Bit like Brooksey the other night going across field looking for a runner but nobody wanted a bar of it hahaha

 

[WT2K]

Widdop is a good player but hasn’t he missed almost two seasons in a row with injury?

Makes for a perfect fit 🙂

 

[JC99]

Widdop is a good player but hasn’t he missed almost two seasons in a row with injury?

Makes for a perfect fit ?

I think he would be a good half to partner brooks, he’s not flashy and plays with control but yeah he’s had some major injuries lately. Hopefully he wouldn’t be on Reynolds money

 

[Lukic]

Ugh Proctor would be such a sideways, if not backwards move. What for? He's an average player, aging and we know who he is. Literally no different to signing McQueen save for the neck injury. Just groom Blore for the spot and go with McIntyre or Garner for the time being.

Widdop would be great but I can't see it happening. I'd try all I could to push Brooks out to England and get Widdop in return. I could live with a Widdop-Reynolds pairing. We'd be nuts to not look into a 1 year deal for Foran/Green/Sezer.

 

[avocadoontoast]

Widdop is a good player but hasn’t he missed almost two seasons in a row with injury?

Makes for a perfect fit ?

I think he would be a good half to partner brooks, he’s not flashy and plays with control but yeah he’s had some major injuries lately. Hopefully he wouldn’t be on Reynolds money

Injuries is the only real concern for Widdop. Really experienced player and a gun goal kicker. If he was healthy would be a big improvement on what we have

 

[Russell]

Who cares if he did a line of coke at 3am on a weekend away when offered while drunk - doesent stop him being a leader

I think it does - when you are nurturing teenagers.

Wouldn't have him within cooeeee! of them myself.

 

[Newtown]

Titans star Ryan James signs with Canberra Raiders on two-year deal
By Ben Glover
an hour ago

The Raiders have added another star forward to their roster for the 2021 season, with the club confirming they've signed Ryan James on a two-year deal.

Once touted for NSW Origin honours, the Titans big man has had an injury-interrupted last few years with the Gold Coast and at 29 he has decided on a move to a club firmly entrenched in a premiership window.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge of heading to Canberra and working with Ricky Stuart and the Raiders squad," James said.
Ryan James (Getty)

"The Titans have been a wonderful club for me, and I'll be forever grateful for what they've done for my career."

James has played 144 matches for the Titans, represented the Indigenous All Stars five times and Country Origin twice.

He'll join a forward pack that already includes topline stars Josh Papalii, Joseph Tapine, Elliott Whitehead and newly signed Kiwis Test star Corey Harawira-Naera.

It's a huge boost for a side that will be without departing English star John Bateman next season.

"We know what Ryan can bring to our club with his football and leadership," Raiders recruitment and high-performance director Peter Mulholland said.

 

[851]

chatting to a family friend who is connected with wigan he seems pretty confident about Widdop coming back to australia,

I hope it is to us then, solves our halves issue and goal kicking issue, that would be a real coup for us, plus it might attract some other talent that would normally pass on us

 

[Newtown]

chatting to a family friend who is connected with wigan he seems pretty confident about Widdop coming back to australia,

I hope it to us then, solves our halves issue and goal kicking issue, that would be a real coup for us, plus it might attract some other talent he would normally pass on us

I read that Widdop had an obligation in his contract with St.George to return to [play with St. George. worth checking up if correct.

 

[851]

chatting to a family friend who is connected with wigan he seems pretty confident about Widdop coming back to australia,

I hope it to us then, solves our halves issue and goal kicking issue, that would be a real coup for us, plus it might attract some other talent he would normally pass on us

I read that Widdop had an obligation in his contract with St.George to return to [play with St. George. worth checking up if correct.

Saints tried to swap Norman, that deal was rejected, saints can't fit him in to the cap, it is out of their hands according to FOX, so Widdop is free to go wherever he wants

 

[JC99]

chatting to a family friend who is connected with wigan he seems pretty confident about Widdop coming back to australia,

I hope it to us then, solves our halves issue and goal kicking issue, that would be a real coup for us, plus it might attract some other talent he would normally pass on us

I read that Widdop had an obligation in his contract with St.George to return to [play with St. George. worth checking up if correct.

They get first crack at him but they can’t afford him at the moment. They have too much money tied up in their current halves

 

[Needaname]

A story on NRL.com that Proctor wants to stay on at the Titans, Holbrook praised him, he is the captain, so we are not on his radar I would think

Manager probably trying to get him a better deal to offset.
I said that the other day when watching the Titans game. Proctor was playing like a guy that was enjoying his football and his surroundings.
We have Buckley’s chance If the titans are keen to keep him.

 

[Russell]

I know we all get to speculate on this thread with little hope of it manifesting into a reality but here are my two cents worth in line with that hopeful hopelessness 🙂

If I was running the organisation (don't we all wish we could) based on our current squad I would only keep the following players;
- Nofa
- Lulu brothers
- Aloai
- McIntyre
-Mikaele
-Musgrove
- Talau
- Liddle

Out of the remaining players I would keep one of the following ; either
- Packer , Twal, Eiso, - they basically all contribute as a substitute middle forward
- Mbye, Reynolds, Benji, Brooks - they are all halves, regardless of how we play them at the moment, we should free up the funds and bring in a better half with some X factor who knows how to win, and use whichever we keep as the other #6.
- Lawrence, MCK, Garner, - they are all substitute second rowers or add positional flexibility

Douehi is not a premiership winning fullback. Ideally we wouldn't have signed him because unfortunately he is another Mbye. No best position, not fast, but safe. Despite what others think he is not a #6, have you seen his passes? only 2/5 are any good, he would only be a good #6 if he can just be a strong running #6 with a creative #7, #9 and #1 around him. Otherwise keep him as a #14 on the bench.

Get rid of everyone else and keep juniors and some cheap veterans for depth.

That leaves us needing a good
- prop
- second rower
-lock
- hooker ( I still think if Liddle stays injury free he has shown glimpses of creativity) but to be safe we should strive for a top one. Harry has shown us that we are a two try better side when he is playing in the team.
- halfback
- fullback (out of the spine if we just got 2/3 of these new recruits right it should be enough if the other recruit was solid without being spectacular)
- center
- winger (center being the priority if we had to choose)

That's the reality of what we face to have a good enough squad to compete for a premiership.

I think Madge should be given an extra two years to fulfill this as long as it looks like we are moving in this direction. If a better coach comes along great but I dont think we would have the budget nor get someone with his credentials and when recruiting juniors and senior players I think having someone who has won two premierships helps, the issue for recruitment stems more broadly that we are not a desirable location when compared to other strong sydney teams ( I know Madge has a stigma to him but I think positives outweigh negatives) which is why targeting juniors with the odd recruit should see us competitive in 2022.

Anything less than this and we are going round in circles and in five years we will be in the same boat.

Cheerio boys, I know we all have differing opinions but at the end of the day just want a great football team so we are all aligned.

Get your frustration and respect your opinion but....

So you are getting rid of 17 players, except "a few juniors and some cheap veterans for depth."

I am trying to understand your whole concept - Who are the juniors and cheap veterans for depth?

You are keeping Nofa, Joey, Lucy, Aloai, McIntyre, Mikaele, Musgrove, Talau and Liddle.

"Out of the remaining players you would keep one of the following in each group:

Packer, Twal, Eiso.
Mbye, Reynolds, Benji, Brooks.
Lawrence, MCK, Garner.

+ Doueihi

You have not mentioned Kepaoa, Walters, Smith, Madden, Hoffman, Cini, Jennings, Seyfarth, McQueen, Taylor, Simpkin, Bradley, Blore, Clark,

Grant will be returned (for argument sake)

There are only 10 players off contract Oliver Clark, Matthew Eisenhuth, Robert Jennings, Chris Lawrence, Benji Marshall, Sam McIntyre,
Chris McQueen, Alex Seyfarth, Dylan Smith, Elijah Taylor.

Where are you getting the money to buy 20 (less juniors and veterans, whoever they are) new players?

Doesn;t make sense, please help me out?

 

[Russell]

We need a pack leader, an experienced head in the forwards that can inspire the others. Proctor has the years, does he have the inspirational presence? Wasn't he also busted for doing coke?

He was captain of Titans a good while. I think he has good leadership qualities which is something Madge is very big on. He also has big game experience

I don't rate him myself. I respect your opinion, Josh, but I don't see him making a huge difference to this side.
A mongrel prop, on the other hand that consistently runs for over 100m a game would certainly make a difference, however. I wonder where we can get one of those.

We’ve got Aloiai who’s been doing that consistently. Sign Christian Welch to partner him who can do the same. Then we’ve got Stefano who should be capable of that given the minutes, then we’ve got Twal and Mikaele who are solid too.

If we had halves who could better control a game, keep us in possession and get us good field position our pack would go better too.

We do need a second rower though. For a good price proctor is an upgrade on Lawrence and a good leader for our pack. He won’t make a huge impact on the field but he will help lead and build the culture. Needs to be cheap though

We all thought (me included) our forward pack was coming along nicely. The last couple of weeks have really found us out. Stefano might be good but he's probably a year or two away from being ready (from the limited game time i've seen).

I think our immediate recruitment requirements are two new front rowers, a second rower, a five eighth, a halfback and a winger (or two). We can deal with the other problems later lol

We know what we need Avo.

Where are you getting the dough from to buy players that aren't Nuffies?

Might be able to afford one or two, but the other three would then have to wait until 2022.

There in lies the problem - we have to wait unfortunately.

So you're saying it's not time to get excited?

Get excited whenever you like. just not over....Lol

 

[gallagher]

I'd take Woods back and even **make him captain**. I'm confident he could cover the 30m that Packer contributed last night.

Bro what you smoking, can I have some of that? If you thought Moses "Mute" Mbye was a bad captain, oh boy, Sharon is another kettle of fish. Everything seems good until you find out he is trying to shop himself along with the club's best players to other clubs.

I don't really care what supposedly happened a few years ago. He's miles ahead of any forwards we got our anyone capable of being a captain. Not that he's the answer but thats how crap we are right now.

Why should we sign anyone who is "not the answer"

"Not the answer" on the field and scumbag who tries to take players with him when he leaves off the field.

Not one of your better suggestions Gall.

probably not my worst though:grinning:

 

[fibrodreaming]

The POM just upvoted my previous post about Reynolds for Widdop

Madge upvoted your post as well. Looking good.

 

[TheDaBoss]

Jwh would be The perfect signing

Taukeiaho would be better imo.

Goslkcikrr as well

 

[weststigerman]

Wait why is Proctor too old and Widdop is not?