Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[pawsandclaws1]

Some crazy claims on both sides around Nofa's ability in this thread. Fact is he is rated at least the 2nd best winger based only on this year's performances. He was also the Tigers best performer according to his team mates. That is also a fact.

No matter how you shape the argument to push an agenda, he is worth a lot to us, and it will be a big coup if we re-sign him long term.

Some crazy claims on both sides around Nofa's ability in this thread. Fact is he is rated at least the 2nd best winger based only on this year's performances. He was also the TigersYo best performer according to his team mates. That is also a fact.

No matter how you shape the argument to push an agenda, he is worth a lot to us, and it will be a big coup if we re-sign him long term.

The NSW SOO squad included 3 wingers. There was also Trbojevic who is injured and Papenhuyzen who could fill in if required. Why is it his value is so overstated at WTs? The squad included 27 players so he was not rated in basically two teams worth of players in NSW. Qld have their own wingers.


There is no getting around the fact better skillets are required in rep football and NSW selectors have spo ken.

 

[carltonleach]

In today’s team game a great NRL hooker should have a skill set including:
- ability to read and manage the game
- spot weakness in posing defence line
- effective ball distribution
- speed and power and
- superior tackling skills.

Who ticks these boxes? I know for One Cam Smith does. But not too many others.
We have two hookers currently in our squad with potential to show us their repertoire.
Let’s leave it at that ..... we need a player like Cheese but he has to be willing to play lock. A position we are desperate to fill.

Why does he have to be willing to play lock? There’s a lot more good forwards than good hookers around and he’s very good at both. It’s not until 2022 so if Liddle doesn’t perform we could easily chase The Cheese. He would be one of our best players for sure

Won’t take him long to find a new home though that’s the problem. If we wait till even mid 2021 he will have signed somewhere else tricky situation really.

 

[TigerWest]

In today’s team game a great NRL hooker should have a skill set including:
- ability to read and manage the game
- spot weakness in posing defence line
- effective ball distribution
- speed and power and
- superior tackling skills.

Who ticks these boxes? I know for One Cam Smith does. But not too many others.
We have two hookers currently in our squad with potential to show us their repertoire.
Let’s leave it at that ..... we need a player like Cheese but he has to be willing to play lock. A position we are desperate to fill.

Why does he have to be willing to play lock? There’s a lot more good forwards than good hookers around and he’s very good at both. It’s not until 2022 so if Liddle doesn’t perform we could easily chase The Cheese. He would be one of our best players for sure

Won’t take him long to find a new home though that’s the problem. If we wait till even mid 2021 he will have signed somewhere else tricky situation really.

Well, message to Adam H, go get him.

 

[JC99]

In today’s team game a great NRL hooker should have a skill set including:
- ability to read and manage the game
- spot weakness in posing defence line
- effective ball distribution
- speed and power and
- superior tackling skills.

Who ticks these boxes? I know for One Cam Smith does. But not too many others.
We have two hookers currently in our squad with potential to show us their repertoire.
Let’s leave it at that ..... we need a player like Cheese but he has to be willing to play lock. A position we are desperate to fill.

Why does he have to be willing to play lock? There’s a lot more good forwards than good hookers around and he’s very good at both. It’s not until 2022 so if Liddle doesn’t perform we could easily chase The Cheese. He would be one of our best players for sure

Won’t take him long to find a new home though that’s the problem. If we wait till even mid 2021 he will have signed somewhere else tricky situation really.

Right now he’s an upgrade on our hooking stocks though. It’s not a risky signing we know how good he is, might as well give it a try. If we don’t get him we have Liddle and Simpkin we could keep and there’s other hookers like McInnes on the market too. We need to try sign the bloke that’s for sure

 

[carltonleach]

In today’s team game a great NRL hooker should have a skill set including:
- ability to read and manage the game
- spot weakness in posing defence line
- effective ball distribution
- speed and power and
- superior tackling skills.

Who ticks these boxes? I know for One Cam Smith does. But not too many others.
We have two hookers currently in our squad with potential to show us their repertoire.
Let’s leave it at that ..... we need a player like Cheese but he has to be willing to play lock. A position we are desperate to fill.

Why does he have to be willing to play lock? There’s a lot more good forwards than good hookers around and he’s very good at both. It’s not until 2022 so if Liddle doesn’t perform we could easily chase The Cheese. He would be one of our best players for sure

Won’t take him long to find a new home though that’s the problem. If we wait till even mid 2021 he will have signed somewhere else tricky situation really.

Right now he’s an upgrade on our hooking stocks though. It’s not a risky signing we know how good he is, might as well give it a try. If we don’t get him we have Liddle and Simpkin we could keep and there’s other hookers like McInnes on the market too. We need to try sign the bloke that’s for sure

Agreed there mate

 

[Geo]

Wests Tigers allocate 3 roster spots for hooker..2 specialist and a bloke who can play hooker at a pinch..this season it was Liddle, Simpkin and Reynolds..with Reynolds gone on the current roster that now falls to Mbye...

Hooker is a position they are looking at..

So if talking 2022 Brandon Smith is high on the list..

 

[carltonleach]

Wests Tigers allocate 3 roster spots for hooker..2 specialist and a bloke who can play hooker at a pinch..this season it was Liddle, Simpkin and Reynolds..with Reynolds gone on the current roster that now falls to Mbye...

Hooker is a position they are looking at..

So if talking 2022 Brandon Smith is high on the list..

Ahh legend cheers for the info mate

 

[avocadoontoast]

Wests Tigers allocate 3 roster spots for hooker..2 specialist and a bloke who can play hooker at a pinch..this season it was Liddle, Simpkin and Reynolds..with Reynolds gone on the current roster that now falls to Mbye...

Hooker is a position they are looking at..

So if talking 2022 Brandon Smith is high on the list..

Absolute no brainer. Hope they go hard for him.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

I would say the Mansour talk is just trying not to burn bridges incase Nofo deal falls through. I don't think we have any intentions in Mansour once he resigns which most people believe he's close to.

I don’t think one relates to the other

Nofoaluma is a right winger
Mansour is a left winger
Both bring the ball back hard
Both solid wingers
And not a bad combination on our edges
I wouldn't be upset getting Mansour at all for a year or 2 max

We dont really have any world class players in our team and I don't think we should be paying a million dollars for one either
A couple of players on the edge of greatness would be good
If Nofoaluma sticks around, and we get Mansour along with the fullback we signed from Penrith or Mbye, I wouldn't mind going real hard for both Crichton and Staggs
That would have to be close to the best back 5 in the Nrl
Then If Doueihi can kick on in the halves with Brooks, our one to seven could be set
Our Front row looks great on paper
We have two quality Hookers to choose from
Only real weakness would be our back row but I think we could find someone from within
Lj has one spot so really just after one more good back rower as we have a little depth in Garner

Crichton and Staggs would end up being just as good if not better than Gasnier and Cooper
Or Ettinghausen and McGraw

They would form a lethal combination

Mansour would be a retrograde step and all the good work done by the WTs would be undone. We don't need another slow winger who can't tackle. We already have Nofoaluma. We should be working overtime training our best youngsters to ready them for the NRL. Kepaoa. has already demonstrated he can score tries Nofoaluma can't because of his pace. Pace brings a whole new dimens ion to both the attack and defence.

Mate!!!!

Nofo scored 17 tries this year - but he can't score tries.

Give us a break ... I know you don't like him and you want a young bloke in his place .... but really, let's not make things up.

Not everyone can score an 90 metre try, in fact very few.


How many did he let in? The support you give him you would believe him to be the complete winger. Do you believe at 27 it is too much to ask of him to be a competent defender? Don't you want our team to improve? I do not support WTs because Nofoaluma is in the team. Have you ever wondered why he has not played SOO. I note you don't mind putting the boot into JAC . He is far superior to Nofoaluma. That is the reality.

Now hang on a minute, you said and I quote ***"Kepaoa. has already demonstrated he can score tries Nofoaluma can’t because of his pace."***

Doesn't matter if he let in 400 tries in one game, that was not your statement - YOU SAID, he can't score them because of his pace.

I pointed out that he had scored 17 tries this season. I think that is proof he can score tries with/without pace.

Put the boot into JAC - yes because he is screwing us around for the second time - he either wants to play for us or he doesn't. I don't care how fast or slow he is, I don't care if he wants to play FB / Winger or left right out, I don't care if he has family issues, I don't care if he wants to stay in Melbourne, I don't care if he is far superior to Noffo in your eyes.The question is ....Do you want to play for the Tigers JAC? If you do, why did you not sign for 2022 at least.

I don't like guys who play you for a sucker and get away with it - he is just another Latrine.

Kepaoa has demonstrated with his pace he can score tries Nofoaluma couldn't or, Nofoaluma couldn't score some of the tries. kepaoa did because he does not have Kepaoa's pace. That is significant normally but amplified as the game becomes faster.

You have overlooked Nofoaluma's defence (again) Not much point as a 27. year old with numerous NRL games scoring 17 if more are scored against you. Someone posted the number earlier in the day.

Once again you have misunderstood - we are talking about Noffo scoring tries. You said he couldn't score tries.

You have then qualified your statement to say "Kepaoa has scored tries Nofo couldn't."

That's a maybe - don't think he has in the NRL - I would also say that some of the tries Noffo scored this year, Kepaoa could not have scored.

We are not talking about defence. That does not come into this discussion.

It's clear what I have written and I have written it more than once on this forum.

Kepaoa has scored tries that Nofoaluma couldn't because he (Nofoaluma) lacks the pace to have done it.

It is useless continuing this discussion - all you can see is "Pace" and "Juniors" to the extreme and against reality.

However, that is ok, it is your opinion. You have stated it a number of times as you have said, I do not agree with your summation of Noffo, his try scoring ability, the contract price he should receive, or his loyalty.

Let's leave it there, shall we Paws.

I like to believe I view players objectively. I understand fans get attached to certain players but the reason most of us are here is to see the team compete in the finals and GF. It is easy to lose sight of that especially when supporting a team which hasn't played in the finals for x number of years. To improve we need better players or players improving. I am a huge believer in players improving incrementally over the years. So I compare Nofoaluma against other wingers even a 35 year old at the Roosters and guess what? Nofoaluma comes up short against him in all areas. It is better to be realistic than live with your head in the sand.

If you think Nofoaluma comes up short against Brett Morris in "all areas" then you aren't being very objective. Also, in your comparison against other wingers, how did the rest of them compare against the "35 year old" last year?

On the contrary, I am objective and both the Morris bros have been very good for a long time. I'm not the only one as well, with NSW selectors and Kangaroo selectors preferring Morris over Nofoaluma for many years. This is a fact regardless of how unpalatable it is to Nofoaluma apologists.

I got to say , I agree with you here paws . I think Nofa is a great footballer , but he’s not as good as the Morris boys . But if last year is anything to go by, IMO he could be . If he has another year like that , there’s no reason why this conversation can’t flip on its head

Posted in error.

 

[finnzo]

Madge will pick the best hooker available at the time he will sit down with Simpkin and liddle and say if you train harder than him and play better than him you will be given the 9 jersey i would assume Madge wants to win and win at all cost he isn’t going to risk that by not playing the best players

 

[Tiger5150]

Im going to put forward an unpopular opinion. I think Brandon Smith would be bad for the Tigers.

He is a great footballer, but as a hooker, I dont seem him as a technician, he is kind of like the Josh Reynolds (except with ability and talent) of hookers in that everthing is about effort and energy, pace. IMO at our stage of play we need a technician at 9. Good service, fast service, run when needed, get players where they need to be.

As a lock/middle forward, again all he has is effort. He is small and will never be elite in this position.

And he would cost us a lot of $$$$

Love the bloke, great player. Not for us IMO.

 

[Deleted member 3518]

Does anyone know how hard we are chasing smith? Or is it just another player who has put himself on the market and we are just saying we are interested and not actually going hard for him?

I think the question was posed to Madge , and he played a straight bat “he’s a relented footballer , every team should look at talented footballers . I coached him at NZ and he’s a great bloke “
What was he going to say “nah he’s a crap dummy half, he can’t pass the ball and in 4 years when concussions ends his career we will will have an albatross around our neck again . Good lock,great bloke , and an absolute menace ,but see previous comment “

The issue is coin. And value .
Is he good value at “500k . Yea probably”.
Is he good value at 300k ? “300k? Where do we sign”.
Is he good value at 800k ? “Smithy your a good bloke mate . Good footballer. Geez we like ya . We are just going to crunch the numbers and get back to you “
**tumbleweeds**
*** more tumbleweeds***
SMITH SIGNS WITH BULLDOGS.
“Damn we missed him”

Yeh I get what ur saying. So that’s all the talks there’s been about it though is what I mean? 800k is pretty crazy, not saying he definitely won’t be worth that in the years to come but atm seems crazy!! Is that what he’s asking or just a number u have thrown in? I’d love to have him at the tigers but as a lock. We would always have a backup hooker on the field if injury was to strike again.

Nah just chucking it around to emphasise my point . There’s like invisible lines where a player goes from good to over rated to a big turd on your salary cap.
Moses Mbye , is case in point of this . Played origin last year , was going to play this year , and yet we all still say can we get rid of him ASAP. Is it cause he sux ? No he doesn’t . It’s just he crossed the imaginary line from good to overated. To some he’s already in the turd on our cap range ,(not me personally) .
Smith is a limited dummy half . He’s a ball of energy , that I think would be best served as a victor radley type role . Help out at dummy half , but not your dummy half. In that role he can truely be elite maybe even Dally M elite . If that’s the role we are taking , I think his value changes .
Just my opinion .Maybe I shouldn’t tell the storm how to act , because you know they read my posts on a Wests tigers forum.....

 

[JC99]

Wests Tigers allocate 3 roster spots for hooker..2 specialist and a bloke who can play hooker at a pinch..this season it was Liddle, Simpkin and Reynolds..with Reynolds gone on the current roster that now falls to Mbye...

Hooker is a position they are looking at..

So if talking 2022 Brandon Smith is high on the list..

We would be stupid not to chase him, as would every other club in the league. Madge should make him captain of NZ in the mean time I think 😂

 

[Tigerbuck63]

Does anyone know how hard we are chasing smith? Or is it just another player who has put himself on the market and we are just saying we are interested and not actually going hard for him?

I think the question was posed to Madge , and he played a straight bat “he’s a relented footballer , every team should look at talented footballers . I coached him at NZ and he’s a great bloke “
What was he going to say “nah he’s a crap dummy half, he can’t pass the ball and in 4 years when concussions ends his career we will will have an albatross around our neck again . Good lock,great bloke , and an absolute menace ,but see previous comment “

The issue is coin. And value .
Is he good value at “500k . Yea probably”.
Is he good value at 300k ? “300k? Where do we sign”.
Is he good value at 800k ? “Smithy your a good bloke mate . Good footballer. Geez we like ya . We are just going to crunch the numbers and get back to you “
**tumbleweeds**
*** more tumbleweeds***
SMITH SIGNS WITH BULLDOGS.
“Damn we missed him”

Yeh I get what ur saying. So that’s all the talks there’s been about it though is what I mean? 800k is pretty crazy, not saying he definitely won’t be worth that in the years to come but atm seems crazy!! Is that what he’s asking or just a number u have thrown in? I’d love to have him at the tigers but as a lock. We would always have a backup hooker on the field if injury was to strike again.

Nah just chucking it around to emphasise my point . There’s like invisible lines where a player goes from good to over rated to a big turd on your salary cap.
Moses Mbye , is case in point of this . Played origin last year , was going to play this year , and yet we all still say can we get rid of him ASAP. Is it cause he sux ? No he doesn’t . It’s just he crossed the imaginary line from good to overated. To some he’s already in the turd on our cap range ,(not me personally) .
Smith is a limited dummy half . He’s a ball of energy , that I think would be best served as a victor radley type role . Help out at dummy half , but not your dummy half. In that role he can truely be elite maybe even Dally M elite . If that’s the role we are taking , I think his value changes .
Just my opinion .Maybe I shouldn’t tell the storm how to act , because you know they read my posts on a Wests tigers forum.....

Entitled to your thoughts however Mybe has been a liability with our Cap and as Captain.

How he made Origin (Bench) player was only because of his utility value, did not get much game time and lost series, not selected this year.

Valid point with Good to overrated but my thoughts are that he is over rated because of the $875/$900k when realistically can't hold down a position that he was signed up for.

Has an opportunity this next season to play full back and perform, off season knee operation should give him some confidence, not being captain also ensures he just concentrates making the team each week.

As for Brandon Smith most members happy to take Harry but by the sounds of it storm now rate him higher, in reality we are then taking 2nd best not looking at developing our best.

Dollars on another Hooker unsure if a smart move right now with our roster and besides does nothing to enhance our chances in 2021 as Storm will not release.

Pass hold the $ to upgrade some of our younger players if they perform in 2021 rather than losing to a club like the Storm or Roosters.

 

[JC99]

Im going to put forward an unpopular opinion. I think Brandon Smith would be bad for the Tigers.

He is a great footballer, but as a hooker, I dont seem him as a technician, he is kind of like the Josh Reynolds (except with ability and talent) of hookers in that everthing is about effort and energy, pace. IMO at our stage of play we need a technician at 9. Good service, fast service, run when needed, get players where they need to be.

As a lock/middle forward, again all he has is effort. He is small and will never be elite in this position.

And he would cost us a lot of $$$$

Love the bloke, great player. Not for us IMO.

He would be our best player or close to it. We had an energetic hooker in Grant and he absolutely carved up. It will all depend on how are halves are doing anyway, if they aren’t smashing it then having a hooker who can create opportunities and do a lot of work will improve us greatly. If they’re going well then smith is still a fantastic hooker who’s a great defender can run the ball well and is 100% energy, don’t see how that’s a downside at all. He would improve our team no matter what I feel

 

[jrtiger]

Wests Tigers allocate 3 roster spots for hooker..2 specialist and a bloke who can play hooker at a pinch..this season it was Liddle, Simpkin and Reynolds..with Reynolds gone on the current roster that now falls to Mbye...

Hooker is a position they are looking at..

So if talking 2022 Brandon Smith is high on the list..

Billy Walters? or do they see him as a 6 only these days?

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

I get the Smith talk but geez it’s for 2022 at best probably 2023 given Storm want something in return.

He would be 26-28 during the season we would get him.

I would be having genuine interest conversations but wouldn’t be throwing the kitchen sink at him just yet unless Melbourne grant a release.

 

[carltonleach]

Does anyone know how hard we are chasing smith? Or is it just another player who has put himself on the market and we are just saying we are interested and not actually going hard for him?

I think the question was posed to Madge , and he played a straight bat “he’s a relented footballer , every team should look at talented footballers . I coached him at NZ and he’s a great bloke “
What was he going to say “nah he’s a crap dummy half, he can’t pass the ball and in 4 years when concussions ends his career we will will have an albatross around our neck again . Good lock,great bloke , and an absolute menace ,but see previous comment “

The issue is coin. And value .
Is he good value at “500k . Yea probably”.
Is he good value at 300k ? “300k? Where do we sign”.
Is he good value at 800k ? “Smithy your a good bloke mate . Good footballer. Geez we like ya . We are just going to crunch the numbers and get back to you “
**tumbleweeds**
*** more tumbleweeds***
SMITH SIGNS WITH BULLDOGS.
“Damn we missed him”

Yeh I get what ur saying. So that’s all the talks there’s been about it though is what I mean? 800k is pretty crazy, not saying he definitely won’t be worth that in the years to come but atm seems crazy!! Is that what he’s asking or just a number u have thrown in? I’d love to have him at the tigers but as a lock. We would always have a backup hooker on the field if injury was to strike again.

Nah just chucking it around to emphasise my point . There’s like invisible lines where a player goes from good to over rated to a big turd on your salary cap.
Moses Mbye , is case in point of this . Played origin last year , was going to play this year , and yet we all still say can we get rid of him ASAP. Is it cause he sux ? No he doesn’t . It’s just he crossed the imaginary line from good to overated. To some he’s already in the turd on our cap range ,(not me personally) .
Smith is a limited dummy half . He’s a ball of energy , that I think would be best served as a victor radley type role . Help out at dummy half , but not your dummy half. In that role he can truely be elite maybe even Dally M elite . If that’s the role we are taking , I think his value changes .
Just my opinion .Maybe I shouldn’t tell the storm how to act , because you know they read my posts on a Wests tigers forum.....

Oh ok, yeh 100% agree with you mate ay I truly believe he is a lock and would really excel if he just wanted to play lock!! Hahaha can u tell them to give us smith and pay 85% of his wage for the next few years lol

 

[Tim Sheens]

Cheese, the cheese, block of cheese, sick of reading about cheese. On Brandon Smith, he would be a good addition at the right dollars, sure, though I want better service from my dummy half and feel that Liddle is much superior at this, matching all others in that aspect and with Simpkin supposedly the next big thing would look elsewhere.

Similarly at lock, expecting that big Joe was brought to fill that role, but maybe upon Maguire shifting Harry there for cameo stints, maybe he is thinking that he no longer wants a prop like lock. As this is a discussion for a couple of seasons ahead, at this stage unless a big money option is a quality second rower, fullback or half, my interest is mild.

 

[Cairnstigers]

Can someone refresh my memory and tell me why Smith is called "The Cheese"