Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[PabloX]

My 2c on a few things

Rapana doesn't make sense, he's not the player he once was and would be asking for decent coin. I'd prefer to chase a speedy rookie on lower $. Look at the sharks wingers for example.

There is no way I'd be interested in Tolman. We just signed Tamou and have Packer. I appreciate he may still have something to offer, but we only have space for 30 players. If Packer goes, for sure, I'm interested. 1 year $200k

Blore is not a front rower. Neither is BJ.

I really like the idea of targeting Staines, Burton and Hetherington. Surely there's a few disgruntled Broncos looking to get out. I'd be stoked to pick up any of their young forwards. Riki (?) looks awesome as well as their regulars.

I'm confident in Madge and Hartigan and can't wait to see what our squad looks like next season (more so 2020) Our recruitment has improved significantly...some may not have turned out as hoped, and we missed out on some quality. But I really like what they've done with limited money.

 

[05TIGZZ]

Geez, not long ago Twal was every second WT fans favourite player. How the tables have turned....

Exactly. Recency bias has got a hold of everyone. Fair enough his last couple games weren’t great but let’s not forget he was our second best forward for the first half of the season before injury. Everyone will sing his praises again next year lol

He was my favourite forward last year and I was very disappointed in him this year. I’ll be cheering for him to have an amazing year next year.

 

[Harvey]

More dribble - read headline then last paragraph.
**Top tryscorer was ‘very close’ to signing with Tigers. But the club blew it with a lowball offer**
NRL PREMIERSHIP
Darcie McDonald
September 29, 2020 2:19pm
DARCIE MCDONALD
Source: FOX SPORTS

Fresh off a five-try clinic against the Roosters on Friday, South Sydney flyer Alex Johnston has revealed he was “days” away from inking a deal with the Wests Tigers.
The 25-year-old, who finished the season as the competition’s top tryscorer, re-signed with the Rabbitohs earlier this month after the club backflipped on their decision to let him go.


Johnston was informed by the club in October last year that salary cap space will be tight in 2021 and there may not be room for him. Then in April, South Sydney let Johnston know that they could not make him an offer for 2021 as there was only space for minimum wage contracts. It was heartbreaking news for the local junior who has been nothing but a fantastic ambassador and consistent player for the Bunnies.


Resigned to the fact he wouldn’t be a Rabbitoh next season he began talks with other clubs. During that time, his looming exit came to light and outraged fans began a petition to keep Johnston at Redfern.

There was plenty of interest in the former Kangaroos winger with the Bulldogs, Cowboys, Storm and Tigers all talking to Johnston and his manager. The Storm and Tigers made an offer to Johnston before the Rabbitohs came to the table with a deal as well, which Johnston took despite it being around $100,000 less per year than what Melbourne offered.


Johnston revealed on Tuesday that he was actually “very close” to signing with either the Storm or Tigers. He was keen to reunite with former Bunnies coach Michael Maguire whom he wont the 2014 Grand Final with but the problem with the Tigers though was that they offered him a lowball deal. And for the record he never expected or asked for big money or ‘fullback money,’ contrary to many reports.

“They were the main two (Storm and Tigers). I was very close, and it pretty much came down to a couple of days there where it was 50/50,” he said.

“The other clubs were very good to me, very tempting and I think I’d say 50/50 were the odds at the end of the day.

“It was pretty weird to think about it. I gave myself every chance to try and stay in Sydney and stay with Souths, and I’m just lucky that it came through.

“I don’t want to say too much about what went on, but the Tigers deal was not as high as other clubs.”


It was a tough slog for Johnston who has always wanted to be a one-club man. He described the period as a “rollercoaster” and admitted that he held onto a “a little bit of hope” that Souths could work something out to keep him.

“Mentally it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. A lot of ups and downs – I just tried to use it as motivation the best I could at the start of the year. The longer the season went, the longer it was playing on my mind,” he said.

“I was pretty stoked to have some interest from other clubs and then finally sign the contract, it was a huge relief. I get to stay at Souths and now I think my best footy is coming to fruition.


“I did hold a little bit of hope there when sometimes it didn’t look like it was going to happen. If I kept playing good footy and staying motivated, something might happen and I’m very fortunate that it did.

“Wayne pulled me aside and said he was going to do his best to keep me and to hang in there. Once it came through that there was a contract there, I was pretty stoked and couldn’t wait to put pen to paper.”

The Tigers are in the market for a number of positions with Maguire letting go of eight players ahead of the 2021 season.

Storm star Josh Addo-Carr has been linked to a return to the Tigers, his former club, which could be the reason why they weren’t able to offer Johnston a better deal. After missing out on Johnston’s signature, the Tigers are desperate to land Addo-Carr and are also reportedly eyeing Raiders winger Jordan Rapana.

We have already been burned once by overpaying someone that looked good on the end of souths backline.

 

[Cairnstigers]

Top tryscorer was ‘very close’ to signing with Tigers. But the club blew it with a lowball offer

I find the headline very amusing. It's like we were desperate to get him but we were being cheapskates or naive about his true value.

If we did "lowball" AJ it was because we were not that keen to begin with.

I bet we haven't "lowballed" JAC.

It's a pity, imagine a BJ to AJ to AJ backline move.

You would be listening to Tripple J

 

[JC99]

Geez, not long ago Twal was every second WT fans favourite player. How the tables have turned....

Exactly. Recency bias has got a hold of everyone. Fair enough his last couple games weren’t great but let’s not forget he was our second best forward for the first half of the season before injury. Everyone will sing his praises again next year lol

He was my favourite forward last year and I was very disappointed in him this year. I’ll be cheering for him to have an amazing year next year.

He’ll kill it again next year like he did start of this year. No pesky injuries for him I hope

 

[Magpieger]

Melbourne flyer Josh Addo-Carr remains a recruitment priority but it’s understood Canberra’s Jordan Rapana is now also on the club’s radar.

I hope we are not going to target Rapana if we miss out on JAC.

Upgrading our pack should be our priority. Targeting JAC makes sense because he is quality and players of his class don't come on the market very often. But if we miss out on him we should be chasing forwards.

Disagree strongly. Pace us our no 1 priority. We've got Tamou now we need JAC and Staines. Besides Kepaoa and Brooks, our backs are slugs.

I don't agree Paws. We have had no problems scoring points. But we are monstered by most other packs. We just can't contain their momentum and we have trouble getting out of our own half. We need better forwards.

I know we have an issue in the forwards. I have no objection to more forwards so long as existing forwards go so we are not impacting our capacity to recruit fast backs. Perhaps we need to expect more from those we have? You cannot coach pace and as we've witnessed with JAC, pace is critical in shutting down opposition attacks.

unlike some other clubs, apparently, the WT play according to the NRL rules. Ideally, we would buy at least: Papalii, JWH, Taumalolo, Heinrington, Staines, Drinkwater and JAC !
But a limited salary cap says the WT can not, the question then is how to distribute the limited resources.
IMHO the answer is obvious, like many games, year after year, show us - we are too frequently rolled through the middle, and allow too many easy breaks. Also, in the attack, because of the lack of go forward, our 'offensive' kicks are from 40m at best. These issues will not be sold by JAC, we had speedsters Tedesco, Simona, JAC but still suffered from the same issues. IMHO, we need at least one aggressive experienced prop and 2nd rower (e.g. A Paasi, Heinrington), and then think of JAC, Staines, Drinkwater etc.

I think Hetherington would be a great signing and I still can't believe there's been no news about us chasing him. Not sure about Heinrington though, haven't seen enough of him...

no news is good news
Or so they say

And The Pom news...

 

[Magpieger]

I've never been a fan of Tolman at all but I was pretty surprised to see he averaged 140m per game and over 40 tackles. Statistically he would have been our best forward.

He’s always been good for stats problem is whenever he touches the ball the teams entire momentum goes, he slowly goes to the line and takes the tackle rarely offloading. Plays a lot like Gallen In his final few seasons lots of fourth tackle hit ups killing the play lol

Not if Brawlin' Brooksy has a say.

 

[Bob]

More dribble - read headline then last paragraph.
**Top tryscorer was ‘very close’ to signing with Tigers. But the club blew it with a lowball offer**
NRL PREMIERSHIP
Darcie McDonald
September 29, 2020 2:19pm
DARCIE MCDONALD
Source: FOX SPORTS

Fresh off a five-try clinic against the Roosters on Friday, South Sydney flyer Alex Johnston has revealed he was “days” away from inking a deal with the Wests Tigers.
The 25-year-old, who finished the season as the competition’s top tryscorer, re-signed with the Rabbitohs earlier this month after the club backflipped on their decision to let him go.


Johnston was informed by the club in October last year that salary cap space will be tight in 2021 and there may not be room for him. Then in April, South Sydney let Johnston know that they could not make him an offer for 2021 as there was only space for minimum wage contracts. It was heartbreaking news for the local junior who has been nothing but a fantastic ambassador and consistent player for the Bunnies.


Resigned to the fact he wouldn’t be a Rabbitoh next season he began talks with other clubs. During that time, his looming exit came to light and outraged fans began a petition to keep Johnston at Redfern.

There was plenty of interest in the former Kangaroos winger with the Bulldogs, Cowboys, Storm and Tigers all talking to Johnston and his manager. The Storm and Tigers made an offer to Johnston before the Rabbitohs came to the table with a deal as well, which Johnston took despite it being around $100,000 less per year than what Melbourne offered.


Johnston revealed on Tuesday that he was actually “very close” to signing with either the Storm or Tigers. He was keen to reunite with former Bunnies coach Michael Maguire whom he wont the 2014 Grand Final with but the problem with the Tigers though was that they offered him a lowball deal. And for the record he never expected or asked for big money or ‘fullback money,’ contrary to many reports.

“They were the main two (Storm and Tigers). I was very close, and it pretty much came down to a couple of days there where it was 50/50,” he said.

“The other clubs were very good to me, very tempting and I think I’d say 50/50 were the odds at the end of the day.

“It was pretty weird to think about it. I gave myself every chance to try and stay in Sydney and stay with Souths, and I’m just lucky that it came through.

“I don’t want to say too much about what went on, but the Tigers deal was not as high as other clubs.”


It was a tough slog for Johnston who has always wanted to be a one-club man. He described the period as a “rollercoaster” and admitted that he held onto a “a little bit of hope” that Souths could work something out to keep him.

“Mentally it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. A lot of ups and downs – I just tried to use it as motivation the best I could at the start of the year. The longer the season went, the longer it was playing on my mind,” he said.

“I was pretty stoked to have some interest from other clubs and then finally sign the contract, it was a huge relief. I get to stay at Souths and now I think my best footy is coming to fruition.


“I did hold a little bit of hope there when sometimes it didn’t look like it was going to happen. If I kept playing good footy and staying motivated, something might happen and I’m very fortunate that it did.

“Wayne pulled me aside and said he was going to do his best to keep me and to hang in there. Once it came through that there was a contract there, I was pretty stoked and couldn’t wait to put pen to paper.”

The Tigers are in the market for a number of positions with Maguire letting go of eight players ahead of the 2021 season.

Storm star Josh Addo-Carr has been linked to a return to the Tigers, his former club, which could be the reason why they weren’t able to offer Johnston a better deal. After missing out on Johnston’s signature, the Tigers are desperate to land Addo-Carr and are also reportedly eyeing Raiders winger Jordan Rapana.

Thanks for the heads up. Glad we offered what we did.

I dunno who is in this writer's ear to make her state that it was a lowball offer. Last I knew that was a term of criticism. But...

If the bloke was in demand he'd have been offered better than us by a Sydney club. And he wasn't. Even his own club didn't want to keep him.

Lowball? Sounds more like market value to me.

It’s crazy right!! He signed for 100k less to stay at South’s. why isn’t the headline “AJ stays loyal despite disgraceful lowball offer for club legend. Or even “impending retirement of smith and Bellamy may cause end of era as Storm unable to sign AJ despite offering monster contract”

Why are the tigers a part of this storyline. It’s clear south’s offered the least, storm the most, yet we are the focus of the article, I cannot wrap my head around why!

 

[Chicken_Faced_Killa]

More dribble - read headline then last paragraph.
**Top tryscorer was ‘very close’ to signing with Tigers. But the club blew it with a lowball offer**
NRL PREMIERSHIP
Darcie McDonald
September 29, 2020 2:19pm
DARCIE MCDONALD
Source: FOX SPORTS

Fresh off a five-try clinic against the Roosters on Friday, South Sydney flyer Alex Johnston has revealed he was “days” away from inking a deal with the Wests Tigers.
The 25-year-old, who finished the season as the competition’s top tryscorer, re-signed with the Rabbitohs earlier this month after the club backflipped on their decision to let him go.


Johnston was informed by the club in October last year that salary cap space will be tight in 2021 and there may not be room for him. Then in April, South Sydney let Johnston know that they could not make him an offer for 2021 as there was only space for minimum wage contracts. It was heartbreaking news for the local junior who has been nothing but a fantastic ambassador and consistent player for the Bunnies.


Resigned to the fact he wouldn’t be a Rabbitoh next season he began talks with other clubs. During that time, his looming exit came to light and outraged fans began a petition to keep Johnston at Redfern.

There was plenty of interest in the former Kangaroos winger with the Bulldogs, Cowboys, Storm and Tigers all talking to Johnston and his manager. The Storm and Tigers made an offer to Johnston before the Rabbitohs came to the table with a deal as well, which Johnston took despite it being around $100,000 less per year than what Melbourne offered.


Johnston revealed on Tuesday that he was actually “very close” to signing with either the Storm or Tigers. He was keen to reunite with former Bunnies coach Michael Maguire whom he wont the 2014 Grand Final with but the problem with the Tigers though was that they offered him a lowball deal. And for the record he never expected or asked for big money or ‘fullback money,’ contrary to many reports.

“They were the main two (Storm and Tigers). I was very close, and it pretty much came down to a couple of days there where it was 50/50,” he said.

“The other clubs were very good to me, very tempting and I think I’d say 50/50 were the odds at the end of the day.

“It was pretty weird to think about it. I gave myself every chance to try and stay in Sydney and stay with Souths, and I’m just lucky that it came through.

“I don’t want to say too much about what went on, but the Tigers deal was not as high as other clubs.”


It was a tough slog for Johnston who has always wanted to be a one-club man. He described the period as a “rollercoaster” and admitted that he held onto a “a little bit of hope” that Souths could work something out to keep him.

“Mentally it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. A lot of ups and downs – I just tried to use it as motivation the best I could at the start of the year. The longer the season went, the longer it was playing on my mind,” he said.

“I was pretty stoked to have some interest from other clubs and then finally sign the contract, it was a huge relief. I get to stay at Souths and now I think my best footy is coming to fruition.


“I did hold a little bit of hope there when sometimes it didn’t look like it was going to happen. If I kept playing good footy and staying motivated, something might happen and I’m very fortunate that it did.

“Wayne pulled me aside and said he was going to do his best to keep me and to hang in there. Once it came through that there was a contract there, I was pretty stoked and couldn’t wait to put pen to paper.”

The Tigers are in the market for a number of positions with Maguire letting go of eight players ahead of the 2021 season.

Storm star Josh Addo-Carr has been linked to a return to the Tigers, his former club, which could be the reason why they weren’t able to offer Johnston a better deal. After missing out on Johnston’s signature, the Tigers are desperate to land Addo-Carr and are also reportedly eyeing Raiders winger Jordan Rapana.

Thanks for the heads up. Glad we offered what we did.

I dunno who is in this writer's ear to make her state that it was a lowball offer. Last I knew that was a term of criticism. But...

If the bloke was in demand he'd have been offered better than us by a Sydney club. And he wasn't. Even his own club didn't want to keep him.

Lowball? Sounds more like market value to me.

It’s crazy right!! He signed for 100k less to stay at South’s. why isn’t the headline “AJ stays loyal despite disgraceful lowball offer for club legend. Or even “impending retirement of smith and Bellamy may cause end of era as Storm unable to sign AJ despite offering monster contract”

Why are the tigers a part of this storyline. It’s clear south’s offered the least, storm the most, yet we are the focus of the article, I cannot wrap my head around why!

Come on Bob don’t you know the Tigers are always doing wrong by the players. It’s in our club culture that we do the wrong thing to every player that even thinks of playing here

 

[diedpretty]

More dribble - read headline then last paragraph.
**Top tryscorer was ‘very close’ to signing with Tigers. But the club blew it with a lowball offer**
NRL PREMIERSHIP
Darcie McDonald
September 29, 2020 2:19pm
DARCIE MCDONALD
Source: FOX SPORTS

Fresh off a five-try clinic against the Roosters on Friday, South Sydney flyer Alex Johnston has revealed he was “days” away from inking a deal with the Wests Tigers.
The 25-year-old, who finished the season as the competition’s top tryscorer, re-signed with the Rabbitohs earlier this month after the club backflipped on their decision to let him go.


Johnston was informed by the club in October last year that salary cap space will be tight in 2021 and there may not be room for him. Then in April, South Sydney let Johnston know that they could not make him an offer for 2021 as there was only space for minimum wage contracts. It was heartbreaking news for the local junior who has been nothing but a fantastic ambassador and consistent player for the Bunnies.


Resigned to the fact he wouldn’t be a Rabbitoh next season he began talks with other clubs. During that time, his looming exit came to light and outraged fans began a petition to keep Johnston at Redfern.

There was plenty of interest in the former Kangaroos winger with the Bulldogs, Cowboys, Storm and Tigers all talking to Johnston and his manager. The Storm and Tigers made an offer to Johnston before the Rabbitohs came to the table with a deal as well, which Johnston took despite it being around $100,000 less per year than what Melbourne offered.


Johnston revealed on Tuesday that he was actually “very close” to signing with either the Storm or Tigers. He was keen to reunite with former Bunnies coach Michael Maguire whom he wont the 2014 Grand Final with but the problem with the Tigers though was that they offered him a lowball deal. And for the record he never expected or asked for big money or ‘fullback money,’ contrary to many reports.

“They were the main two (Storm and Tigers). I was very close, and it pretty much came down to a couple of days there where it was 50/50,” he said.

“The other clubs were very good to me, very tempting and I think I’d say 50/50 were the odds at the end of the day.

“It was pretty weird to think about it. I gave myself every chance to try and stay in Sydney and stay with Souths, and I’m just lucky that it came through.

“I don’t want to say too much about what went on, but the Tigers deal was not as high as other clubs.”


It was a tough slog for Johnston who has always wanted to be a one-club man. He described the period as a “rollercoaster” and admitted that he held onto a “a little bit of hope” that Souths could work something out to keep him.

“Mentally it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. A lot of ups and downs – I just tried to use it as motivation the best I could at the start of the year. The longer the season went, the longer it was playing on my mind,” he said.

“I was pretty stoked to have some interest from other clubs and then finally sign the contract, it was a huge relief. I get to stay at Souths and now I think my best footy is coming to fruition.


“I did hold a little bit of hope there when sometimes it didn’t look like it was going to happen. If I kept playing good footy and staying motivated, something might happen and I’m very fortunate that it did.

“Wayne pulled me aside and said he was going to do his best to keep me and to hang in there. Once it came through that there was a contract there, I was pretty stoked and couldn’t wait to put pen to paper.”

The Tigers are in the market for a number of positions with Maguire letting go of eight players ahead of the 2021 season.

Storm star Josh Addo-Carr has been linked to a return to the Tigers, his former club, which could be the reason why they weren’t able to offer Johnston a better deal. After missing out on Johnston’s signature, the Tigers are desperate to land Addo-Carr and are also reportedly eyeing Raiders winger Jordan Rapana.

Still paints us in a bad light, we are panned for offering and paying way overs which is fair enough, and now for offering unders, some at the club need to do their homework in regards to market value. But when the Roosters supposedly offer unders, it is good cap management, we need some good signings to get the media circus of our backs

The stupid thing about the article is he says we low balled him but the he takes 100k less than melbourne offered to stay at souths

 

[jrtiger]

More dribble - read headline then last paragraph.
**Top tryscorer was ‘very close’ to signing with Tigers. But the club blew it with a lowball offer**
NRL PREMIERSHIP
Darcie McDonald
September 29, 2020 2:19pm
DARCIE MCDONALD
Source: FOX SPORTS

Fresh off a five-try clinic against the Roosters on Friday, South Sydney flyer Alex Johnston has revealed he was “days” away from inking a deal with the Wests Tigers.
The 25-year-old, who finished the season as the competition’s top tryscorer, re-signed with the Rabbitohs earlier this month after the club backflipped on their decision to let him go.


Johnston was informed by the club in October last year that salary cap space will be tight in 2021 and there may not be room for him. Then in April, South Sydney let Johnston know that they could not make him an offer for 2021 as there was only space for minimum wage contracts. It was heartbreaking news for the local junior who has been nothing but a fantastic ambassador and consistent player for the Bunnies.


Resigned to the fact he wouldn’t be a Rabbitoh next season he began talks with other clubs. During that time, his looming exit came to light and outraged fans began a petition to keep Johnston at Redfern.

There was plenty of interest in the former Kangaroos winger with the Bulldogs, Cowboys, Storm and Tigers all talking to Johnston and his manager. The Storm and Tigers made an offer to Johnston before the Rabbitohs came to the table with a deal as well, which Johnston took despite it being around $100,000 less per year than what Melbourne offered.


Johnston revealed on Tuesday that he was actually “very close” to signing with either the Storm or Tigers. He was keen to reunite with former Bunnies coach Michael Maguire whom he wont the 2014 Grand Final with but the problem with the Tigers though was that they offered him a lowball deal. And for the record he never expected or asked for big money or ‘fullback money,’ contrary to many reports.

“They were the main two (Storm and Tigers). I was very close, and it pretty much came down to a couple of days there where it was 50/50,” he said.

“The other clubs were very good to me, very tempting and I think I’d say 50/50 were the odds at the end of the day.

“It was pretty weird to think about it. I gave myself every chance to try and stay in Sydney and stay with Souths, and I’m just lucky that it came through.

“I don’t want to say too much about what went on, but the Tigers deal was not as high as other clubs.”


It was a tough slog for Johnston who has always wanted to be a one-club man. He described the period as a “rollercoaster” and admitted that he held onto a “a little bit of hope” that Souths could work something out to keep him.

“Mentally it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. A lot of ups and downs – I just tried to use it as motivation the best I could at the start of the year. The longer the season went, the longer it was playing on my mind,” he said.

“I was pretty stoked to have some interest from other clubs and then finally sign the contract, it was a huge relief. I get to stay at Souths and now I think my best footy is coming to fruition.


“I did hold a little bit of hope there when sometimes it didn’t look like it was going to happen. If I kept playing good footy and staying motivated, something might happen and I’m very fortunate that it did.

“Wayne pulled me aside and said he was going to do his best to keep me and to hang in there. Once it came through that there was a contract there, I was pretty stoked and couldn’t wait to put pen to paper.”

The Tigers are in the market for a number of positions with Maguire letting go of eight players ahead of the 2021 season.

Storm star Josh Addo-Carr has been linked to a return to the Tigers, his former club, which could be the reason why they weren’t able to offer Johnston a better deal. After missing out on Johnston’s signature, the Tigers are desperate to land Addo-Carr and are also reportedly eyeing Raiders winger Jordan Rapana.

Still paints us in a bad light, we are panned for offering and paying way overs which is fair enough, and now for offering unders, some at the club need to do their homework in regards to market value. But when the Roosters supposedly offer unders, it is good cap management, we need some good signings to get the media circus of our backs

The stupid thing about the article is he says we low balled him but the he takes 100k less than melbourne offered to stay at souths

way I see it is that we knew he'd be reluctant to relocate to Melbourne and with Souths not looking to offer him a contract of any kind we thought we'd be able to get him for a bargain. don't see the issue there, that's good negotiating tactics. he probably would've taken it too if Souths didn't come back to the party.

 

[diedpretty]

More dribble - read headline then last paragraph.
**Top tryscorer was ‘very close’ to signing with Tigers. But the club blew it with a lowball offer**
NRL PREMIERSHIP
Darcie McDonald
September 29, 2020 2:19pm
DARCIE MCDONALD
Source: FOX SPORTS

Fresh off a five-try clinic against the Roosters on Friday, South Sydney flyer Alex Johnston has revealed he was “days” away from inking a deal with the Wests Tigers.
The 25-year-old, who finished the season as the competition’s top tryscorer, re-signed with the Rabbitohs earlier this month after the club backflipped on their decision to let him go.


Johnston was informed by the club in October last year that salary cap space will be tight in 2021 and there may not be room for him. Then in April, South Sydney let Johnston know that they could not make him an offer for 2021 as there was only space for minimum wage contracts. It was heartbreaking news for the local junior who has been nothing but a fantastic ambassador and consistent player for the Bunnies.


Resigned to the fact he wouldn’t be a Rabbitoh next season he began talks with other clubs. During that time, his looming exit came to light and outraged fans began a petition to keep Johnston at Redfern.

There was plenty of interest in the former Kangaroos winger with the Bulldogs, Cowboys, Storm and Tigers all talking to Johnston and his manager. The Storm and Tigers made an offer to Johnston before the Rabbitohs came to the table with a deal as well, which Johnston took despite it being around $100,000 less per year than what Melbourne offered.


Johnston revealed on Tuesday that he was actually “very close” to signing with either the Storm or Tigers. He was keen to reunite with former Bunnies coach Michael Maguire whom he wont the 2014 Grand Final with but the problem with the Tigers though was that they offered him a lowball deal. And for the record he never expected or asked for big money or ‘fullback money,’ contrary to many reports.

“They were the main two (Storm and Tigers). I was very close, and it pretty much came down to a couple of days there where it was 50/50,” he said.

“The other clubs were very good to me, very tempting and I think I’d say 50/50 were the odds at the end of the day.

“It was pretty weird to think about it. I gave myself every chance to try and stay in Sydney and stay with Souths, and I’m just lucky that it came through.

“I don’t want to say too much about what went on, but the Tigers deal was not as high as other clubs.”


It was a tough slog for Johnston who has always wanted to be a one-club man. He described the period as a “rollercoaster” and admitted that he held onto a “a little bit of hope” that Souths could work something out to keep him.

“Mentally it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. A lot of ups and downs – I just tried to use it as motivation the best I could at the start of the year. The longer the season went, the longer it was playing on my mind,” he said.

“I was pretty stoked to have some interest from other clubs and then finally sign the contract, it was a huge relief. I get to stay at Souths and now I think my best footy is coming to fruition.


“I did hold a little bit of hope there when sometimes it didn’t look like it was going to happen. If I kept playing good footy and staying motivated, something might happen and I’m very fortunate that it did.

“Wayne pulled me aside and said he was going to do his best to keep me and to hang in there. Once it came through that there was a contract there, I was pretty stoked and couldn’t wait to put pen to paper.”

The Tigers are in the market for a number of positions with Maguire letting go of eight players ahead of the 2021 season.

Storm star Josh Addo-Carr has been linked to a return to the Tigers, his former club, which could be the reason why they weren’t able to offer Johnston a better deal. After missing out on Johnston’s signature, the Tigers are desperate to land Addo-Carr and are also reportedly eyeing Raiders winger Jordan Rapana.

Still paints us in a bad light, we are panned for offering and paying way overs which is fair enough, and now for offering unders, some at the club need to do their homework in regards to market value. But when the Roosters supposedly offer unders, it is good cap management, we need some good signings to get the media circus of our backs

The stupid thing about the article is he says we low balled him but the he takes 100k less than melbourne offered to stay at souths

way I see it is that we knew he'd be reluctant to relocate to Melbourne and with Souths not looking to offer him a contract of any kind we thought we'd be able to get him for a bargain. don't see the issue there, that's good negotiating tactics. he probably would've taken it too if Souths didn't come back to the party.

i'd say you are spot on.

 

[Needaname]

More dribble - read headline then last paragraph.
**Top tryscorer was ‘very close’ to signing with Tigers. But the club blew it with a lowball offer**
NRL PREMIERSHIP
Darcie McDonald
September 29, 2020 2:19pm
DARCIE MCDONALD
Source: FOX SPORTS

Fresh off a five-try clinic against the Roosters on Friday, South Sydney flyer Alex Johnston has revealed he was “days” away from inking a deal with the Wests Tigers.
The 25-year-old, who finished the season as the competition’s top tryscorer, re-signed with the Rabbitohs earlier this month after the club backflipped on their decision to let him go.


Johnston was informed by the club in October last year that salary cap space will be tight in 2021 and there may not be room for him. Then in April, South Sydney let Johnston know that they could not make him an offer for 2021 as there was only space for minimum wage contracts. It was heartbreaking news for the local junior who has been nothing but a fantastic ambassador and consistent player for the Bunnies.


Resigned to the fact he wouldn’t be a Rabbitoh next season he began talks with other clubs. During that time, his looming exit came to light and outraged fans began a petition to keep Johnston at Redfern.

There was plenty of interest in the former Kangaroos winger with the Bulldogs, Cowboys, Storm and Tigers all talking to Johnston and his manager. The Storm and Tigers made an offer to Johnston before the Rabbitohs came to the table with a deal as well, which Johnston took despite it being around $100,000 less per year than what Melbourne offered.


Johnston revealed on Tuesday that he was actually “very close” to signing with either the Storm or Tigers. He was keen to reunite with former Bunnies coach Michael Maguire whom he wont the 2014 Grand Final with but the problem with the Tigers though was that they offered him a lowball deal. And for the record he never expected or asked for big money or ‘fullback money,’ contrary to many reports.

“They were the main two (Storm and Tigers). I was very close, and it pretty much came down to a couple of days there where it was 50/50,” he said.

“The other clubs were very good to me, very tempting and I think I’d say 50/50 were the odds at the end of the day.

“It was pretty weird to think about it. I gave myself every chance to try and stay in Sydney and stay with Souths, and I’m just lucky that it came through.

“I don’t want to say too much about what went on, but the Tigers deal was not as high as other clubs.”


It was a tough slog for Johnston who has always wanted to be a one-club man. He described the period as a “rollercoaster” and admitted that he held onto a “a little bit of hope” that Souths could work something out to keep him.

“Mentally it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. A lot of ups and downs – I just tried to use it as motivation the best I could at the start of the year. The longer the season went, the longer it was playing on my mind,” he said.

“I was pretty stoked to have some interest from other clubs and then finally sign the contract, it was a huge relief. I get to stay at Souths and now I think my best footy is coming to fruition.


“I did hold a little bit of hope there when sometimes it didn’t look like it was going to happen. If I kept playing good footy and staying motivated, something might happen and I’m very fortunate that it did.

“Wayne pulled me aside and said he was going to do his best to keep me and to hang in there. Once it came through that there was a contract there, I was pretty stoked and couldn’t wait to put pen to paper.”

The Tigers are in the market for a number of positions with Maguire letting go of eight players ahead of the 2021 season.

Storm star Josh Addo-Carr has been linked to a return to the Tigers, his former club, which could be the reason why they weren’t able to offer Johnston a better deal. After missing out on Johnston’s signature, the Tigers are desperate to land Addo-Carr and are also reportedly eyeing Raiders winger Jordan Rapana.

Still paints us in a bad light, we are panned for offering and paying way overs which is fair enough, and now for offering unders, some at the club need to do their homework in regards to market value. But when the Roosters supposedly offer unders, it is good cap management, we need some good signings to get the media circus of our backs

The stupid thing about the article is he says we low balled him but the he takes 100k less than melbourne offered to stay at souths

Doesn’t necessarily mean our offer wasn’t lower than Souths offer. He didn’t want to go to Melbourne.
But who cares, good business why not take a stab at a desperate player with a low offer. I’m sure we’ve suggested the same to Rapana. Even JAC we’d be stupid to offer more than another club for given that we have the added incentive of playing fullback.

 

[hsvjones]

I hope we are not going to target Rapana if we miss out on JAC.
Upgrading our pack should be our priority. Targeting JAC makes sense because he is quality and players of his class don’t come on the market very often. But if we miss out on him we should be chasing forwards.

Rapana makes sense on a one year deal if we have already signed JAC for 2022 and are still working on a release for 2021. A lot of people seem very confident that JAC is coming to the Tigers.

I'm not until it is announced .... Be let down before and not just once.

 

[boonboon]

How good is the Johnston thing. We not only offered the right money but we also kept it quiet. 2 wins from 2 - very proud of the club

 

[tony soprano]

Twal should stay in the team as a bench prop. We need better than him for core pack to be competitive. He definitely shouldn't play lock

Twal would make starting prop For the state of ploddering League

 

[Tim Sheens]

“I don’t want to say too much about what went on, but the Tigers deal was not as high as other clubs.”

Cannot recall another player talking crap like this.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

“I don’t want to say too much about what went on, but the Tigers deal was not as high as other clubs.”

Cannot recall another player talking crap like this.

And then he reportedly took a $200k pay cut to stay at Souths.

 

[Curly_Tiger]

Defence was our biggest problem, I guess Garner & Huth are considered tackle missers. Harry was one of our best defenders and Jacob isn't that sort of tackler. I guess Twal is our Tolman but we need another of those and maybe it's Tamou. Our young forwards are sometimes lazy as can Tommy T, even Moses and of course BJ. Douehi at 6 will plug a hole
I think we need a bit of experience in the centres but doesn't seem to be on the radar and we definitely need a fullback who can catch, position themselves and direct the defence
JAC will be great but we need more