Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[TrueTiger]

I have to have a bit of a laugh to myself when I read a lot of these posts about our young players and how much talent and ability they have...how they are going to be the best there is IF they get picked in the top 17...
they have superstar written all over them,they are just what we have needed all these years....
Well thats great and very enthusiastic of people to have the faith in them....me...I have faith in the coaching and development staff...why you might ask ? because they are young,inexperienced in NRL fg,but none of them have had to deal with the constant PRESSURE of the fg NRL arena week in week out..
It takes quality,hard working kids to want to make a career in the NRL,if you look back for say 15/20 years how many talented kids have fallen by the wayside because they may have had all the potential and ability under the sun in their age group,but once up against seasoned players they could not COPE..
I would love for all our young guys to make it,I pray they do,but lets not get ahead of ourselves thinking that some of these guys will be super stars in their own right...time,hard work,good coaching and mental toughness are what will sort the men from the boys..
good luck to each and everyone of them,I hope they all have what it takes,not assumptions from fans that dont really know what goes on in the training arena or coaching quarters...

 

[TrueTiger]

Just on my previous post,I will give you a small example of what Im talking about...
Many years ago back when I was playing,we had a great kid playing in our juniors,he was strong,quick and loved playing rugby league..he went through to being an outstanding young player from u/12 through to u/18s..
Our fg needed a fullback to play for us as ours was out injured,they opted to give him a shot at fg because of how great he was playing..he played well the first week and he was given another chance the following week against the team who were leading the comp,he got hammered a couple of times and played completely opposite than the week before..
He went back to his age group and didnt even do well there...why ? he had his confidence knocked out of him by bigger hardened fgraders and never really recovered...
thats why you dont put all your faith into the young guys until they can prove they can handle the big arena....

 

[JC99]

A lot of people make me laugh on this forum but not like the way @THE_POM makes me laugh

Any more news mate

 

[Spartan117]

I would not trade Billy walters at all. Honest player and if liddle goes down we know he can handle hooker.

I would take the risk.

Hes out for the bulk of 2021.
Hes not required nor will he be staying in 2022
He can rehab close to family

There may be a trade or $$$ advantage in it for us.

 

[JC99]

I would not trade Billy walters at all. Honest player and if liddle goes down we know he can handle hooker.

I would take the risk.

Hes out for the bulk of 2021.
Hes not required nor will he be staying in 2022
He can rehab close to family

There may be a trade or $$$ advantage in it for us.

He won't be out the bulk of 2021. He injured himself at the start of august, ACL takes 6-9 months to recover. Even worst case he should be right for a good portion of the season but he's hoping to be back about a month into the season

In saying that, happy to trade him away if it's for someone better

 

[TigerWest]

I would not trade Billy walters at all. Honest player and if liddle goes down we know he can handle hooker.

I would take the risk.

Hes out for the bulk of 2021.
Hes not required nor will he be staying in 2022
He can rehab close to family

There may be a trade or $$$ advantage in it for us.

I understand we have a cover for him in Docker-Clay?

Walters seems a nice bloke (like his dad) but really not a great requirement for us.

I think we have another 2 to get by the end of this month?

My feeling is, it will be between Fitzgibbon, Robert-Davis or Ty Rodwell?

And one more at end of June.

 

[Ultimate Warrior]

I would not trade Billy walters at all. Honest player and if liddle goes down we know he can handle hooker.

I would take the risk.

Hes out for the bulk of 2021.
Hes not required nor will he be staying in 2022
He can rehab close to family

There may be a trade or $$$ advantage in it for us.

I understand we have a cover for him in Docker-Clay?

Walters seems a nice bloke (like his dad) but really not a great requirement for us.

I think we have another 2 to get by the end of this month?

My feeling is, it will be between Fitzgibbon, Robert-Davis or Ty Rodwell?

And one more at end of June.

Fitzgibbon looks super quick in the clips I’ve seen of him. Like the Fox. Looks the goods.

What about Gabbie (or is it Gebbie) from PNG? Is he here yet?

 

[TigerWest]

I would not trade Billy walters at all. Honest player and if liddle goes down we know he can handle hooker.

I would take the risk.

Hes out for the bulk of 2021.
Hes not required nor will he be staying in 2022
He can rehab close to family

There may be a trade or $$$ advantage in it for us.

I understand we have a cover for him in Docker-Clay?

Walters seems a nice bloke (like his dad) but really not a great requirement for us.

I think we have another 2 to get by the end of this month?

My feeling is, it will be between Fitzgibbon, Robert-Davis or Ty Rodwell?

And one more at end of June.

Fitzgibbon looks super quick in the clips I’ve seen of him. Like the Fox. Looks the goods.

What about Gabbie (or is it Gebbie) from PNG? Is he here yet?

Gebbie, haven’t heard about him for a while?

 

[Tim Sheens]

A lot of people make me laugh on this forum but not like the way @THE_POM makes me laugh

Not Smoking Gun hey, okay.

Hard to believe though when it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and again with this post, even writes to read with the attitude of that same duck.

 

[TrueTiger]

I would not trade Billy walters at all. Honest player and if liddle goes down we know he can handle hooker.

I would take the risk.

Hes out for the bulk of 2021.
Hes not required nor will he be staying in 2022
He can rehab close to family

There may be a trade or $$$ advantage in it for us.

I understand we have a cover for him in Docker-Clay?

Walters seems a nice bloke (like his dad) but really not a great requirement for us.

I think we have another 2 to get by the end of this month?

My feeling is, it will be between Fitzgibbon, Robert-Davis or Ty Rodwell?

And one more at end of June.

Fitzgibbon looks super quick in the clips I’ve seen of him. Like the Fox. Looks the goods.

What about Gabbie (or is it Gebbie) from PNG? Is he here yet?

Gebbie, haven’t heard about him for a while?

Last I heard he was back in PNG...Have not heard a thing on him coming back,no idea what is happening with him...

 

[Deleted member 3518]

Just on my previous post,I will give you a small example of what Im talking about...
Many years ago back when I was playing,we had a great kid playing in our juniors,he was strong,quick and loved playing rugby league..he went through to being an outstanding young player from u/12 through to u/18s..
Our fg needed a fullback to play for us as ours was out injured,they opted to give him a shot at fg because of how great he was playing..he played well the first week and he was given another chance the following week against the team who were leading the comp,he got hammered a couple of times and played completely opposite than the week before..
He went back to his age group and didnt even do well there...why ? he had his confidence knocked out of him by bigger hardened fgraders and never really recovered...
thats why you dont put all your faith into the young guys until they can prove they can handle the big arena....

I hear what your saying mate , and in principle I agree to an extent . Where I differ is , these kids are training with the first grade squad in full contact from the moment they get identified as being elite. Look at all the SG ball kids who were there all pre season . Throw in diet , training regimen, off field stuff , like how to deal with media , fans , leeches , their money etc , they just arnt even the same as 10 years ago , let alone 20 .
And even then most teams (not us under previous coaches not named sheens) will still blood them slowly . I think Simpkin will be an impact player. I think Laurie is too small at the moment , and Simpkins needs to hit the gym hard , as he has the natural size , but I would doubt the strength . Blore is ready to go , so is Stefano. I don’t know about Madden. We will see in the trials .
It’s

 

[TrueTiger]

Just on my previous post,I will give you a small example of what Im talking about...
Many years ago back when I was playing,we had a great kid playing in our juniors,he was strong,quick and loved playing rugby league..he went through to being an outstanding young player from u/12 through to u/18s..
Our fg needed a fullback to play for us as ours was out injured,they opted to give him a shot at fg because of how great he was playing..he played well the first week and he was given another chance the following week against the team who were leading the comp,he got hammered a couple of times and played completely opposite than the week before..
He went back to his age group and didnt even do well there...why ? he had his confidence knocked out of him by bigger hardened fgraders and never really recovered...
thats why you dont put all your faith into the young guys until they can prove they can handle the big arena....

I hear what your saying mate , and in principle I agree to an extent . Where I differ is , these kids are training with the first grade squad in full contact from the moment they get identified as being elite. Look at all the SG ball kids who were there all pre season . Throw in diet , training regimen, off field stuff , like how to deal with media , fans , leeches , their money etc , they just arnt even the same as 10 years ago , let alone 20 .
And even then most teams (not us under previous coaches not named sheens) will still blood them slowly . I think Simpkin will be an impact player. I think Laurie is too small at the moment , and Simpkins needs to hit the gym hard , as he has the natural size , but I would doubt the strength . Blore is ready to go , so is Stefano. I don’t know about Madden. We will see in the trials .
It’s

Thanks for your reply strongee and I agree that its much,much more professional for the kids these days and care is given in many areas of their life and not just footy...
My actual point was that some kids are more mentally and physically tough than others at their age,some develop a lot later,and you are right the coaching and development staff have a much more careful eye on them...
I can remember an incident a few years back when we had Matt Groat with us and he showed a lot of potential as a youngster ready for fg,JWH put a shot on him and I dont think Groat was ever the same since...just my take on things and I do appreciate you showing me the difference in my time playing up until now,all I can say is I wish I had the same technical and training staff back then that they have now...cheers mate...

 

[Cairnstigers]

I would not trade Billy walters at all. Honest player and if liddle goes down we know he can handle hooker.

I would take the risk.

Hes out for the bulk of 2021.
Hes not required nor will he be staying in 2022
He can rehab close to family

There may be a trade or $$$ advantage in it for us.

I understand we have a cover for him in Docker-Clay?

Walters seems a nice bloke (like his dad) but really not a great requirement for us.

I think we have another 2 to get by the end of this month?

My feeling is, it will be between Fitzgibbon, Robert-Davis or Ty Rodwell?

And one more at end of June.

Fitzgibbon looks super quick in the clips I’ve seen of him. Like the Fox. Looks the goods.

What about Gabbie (or is it Gebbie) from PNG? Is he here yet?

No Son

 

[TigerWest]

Just on my previous post,I will give you a small example of what Im talking about...
Many years ago back when I was playing,we had a great kid playing in our juniors,he was strong,quick and loved playing rugby league..he went through to being an outstanding young player from u/12 through to u/18s..
Our fg needed a fullback to play for us as ours was out injured,they opted to give him a shot at fg because of how great he was playing..he played well the first week and he was given another chance the following week against the team who were leading the comp,he got hammered a couple of times and played completely opposite than the week before..
He went back to his age group and didnt even do well there...why ? he had his confidence knocked out of him by bigger hardened fgraders and never really recovered...
thats why you dont put all your faith into the young guys until they can prove they can handle the big arena....

I hear what your saying mate , and in principle I agree to an extent . Where I differ is , these kids are training with the first grade squad in full contact from the moment they get identified as being elite. Look at all the SG ball kids who were there all pre season . Throw in diet , training regimen, off field stuff , like how to deal with media , fans , leeches , their money etc , they just arnt even the same as 10 years ago , let alone 20 .
And even then most teams (not us under previous coaches not named sheens) will still blood them slowly . I think Simpkin will be an impact player. I think Laurie is too small at the moment , and Simpkins needs to hit the gym hard , as he has the natural size , but I would doubt the strength . Blore is ready to go , so is Stefano. I don’t know about Madden. We will see in the trials .
It’s

I agree withLaurie comment, but he was targeted by the club and they appeared to be keen to have him this season.

So, I thinking the club knew what they were getting (we’ve had small FB before), he will get a go somewhere this season, then I guess we will know?

 

[JC99]

Just on my previous post,I will give you a small example of what Im talking about...
Many years ago back when I was playing,we had a great kid playing in our juniors,he was strong,quick and loved playing rugby league..he went through to being an outstanding young player from u/12 through to u/18s..
Our fg needed a fullback to play for us as ours was out injured,they opted to give him a shot at fg because of how great he was playing..he played well the first week and he was given another chance the following week against the team who were leading the comp,he got hammered a couple of times and played completely opposite than the week before..
He went back to his age group and didnt even do well there...why ? he had his confidence knocked out of him by bigger hardened fgraders and never really recovered...
thats why you dont put all your faith into the young guys until they can prove they can handle the big arena....

I hear what your saying mate , and in principle I agree to an extent . Where I differ is , these kids are training with the first grade squad in full contact from the moment they get identified as being elite. Look at all the SG ball kids who were there all pre season . Throw in diet , training regimen, off field stuff , like how to deal with media , fans , leeches , their money etc , they just arnt even the same as 10 years ago , let alone 20 .
And even then most teams (not us under previous coaches not named sheens) will still blood them slowly . I think Simpkin will be an impact player. I think Laurie is too small at the moment , and Simpkins needs to hit the gym hard , as he has the natural size , but I would doubt the strength . Blore is ready to go , so is Stefano. I don’t know about Madden. We will see in the trials .
It’s

I agree withLaurie comment, but he was targeted by the club and they appeared to be keen to have him this season.

So, I thinking the club knew what they were getting (we’ve had small FB before), he will get a go somewhere this season, then I guess we will know?

I'm very wary of calling any player 'too small'. There's been so many good players rejected by clubs for being too small only for them to go on to have very good careers in the NRL elsewhere. You can't judge someone on their size

 

[Tigers_Wests]

Just on my previous post,I will give you a small example of what Im talking about...
Many years ago back when I was playing,we had a great kid playing in our juniors,he was strong,quick and loved playing rugby league..he went through to being an outstanding young player from u/12 through to u/18s..
Our fg needed a fullback to play for us as ours was out injured,they opted to give him a shot at fg because of how great he was playing..he played well the first week and he was given another chance the following week against the team who were leading the comp,he got hammered a couple of times and played completely opposite than the week before..
He went back to his age group and didnt even do well there...why ? he had his confidence knocked out of him by bigger hardened fgraders and never really recovered...
thats why you dont put all your faith into the young guys until they can prove they can handle the big arena....

I hear what your saying mate , and in principle I agree to an extent . Where I differ is , these kids are training with the first grade squad in full contact from the moment they get identified as being elite. Look at all the SG ball kids who were there all pre season . Throw in diet , training regimen, off field stuff , like how to deal with media , fans , leeches , their money etc , they just arnt even the same as 10 years ago , let alone 20 .
And even then most teams (not us under previous coaches not named sheens) will still blood them slowly . I think Simpkin will be an impact player. I think Laurie is too small at the moment , and Simpkins needs to hit the gym hard , as he has the natural size , but I would doubt the strength . Blore is ready to go , so is Stefano. I don’t know about Madden. We will see in the trials .
It’s

I agree withLaurie comment, but he was targeted by the club and they appeared to be keen to have him this season.

So, I thinking the club knew what they were getting (we’ve had small FB before), he will get a go somewhere this season, then I guess we will know?

I'm very wary of calling any player 'too small'. There's been so many good players rejected by clubs for being too small only for them to go on to have very good careers in the NRL elsewhere. You can't judge someone on their size

I feel like the rule changes that started last year and continuing on in 2021 will benefit the "smaller" players who are quick and agile. If Laurie has the talent and skill level, his size might help pick apart tiring defences rather than pose a problem.

 

[Deleted member 3518]

Just on my previous post,I will give you a small example of what Im talking about...
Many years ago back when I was playing,we had a great kid playing in our juniors,he was strong,quick and loved playing rugby league..he went through to being an outstanding young player from u/12 through to u/18s..
Our fg needed a fullback to play for us as ours was out injured,they opted to give him a shot at fg because of how great he was playing..he played well the first week and he was given another chance the following week against the team who were leading the comp,he got hammered a couple of times and played completely opposite than the week before..
He went back to his age group and didnt even do well there...why ? he had his confidence knocked out of him by bigger hardened fgraders and never really recovered...
thats why you dont put all your faith into the young guys until they can prove they can handle the big arena....

I hear what your saying mate , and in principle I agree to an extent . Where I differ is , these kids are training with the first grade squad in full contact from the moment they get identified as being elite. Look at all the SG ball kids who were there all pre season . Throw in diet , training regimen, off field stuff , like how to deal with media , fans , leeches , their money etc , they just arnt even the same as 10 years ago , let alone 20 .
And even then most teams (not us under previous coaches not named sheens) will still blood them slowly . I think Simpkin will be an impact player. I think Laurie is too small at the moment , and Simpkins needs to hit the gym hard , as he has the natural size , but I would doubt the strength . Blore is ready to go , so is Stefano. I don’t know about Madden. We will see in the trials .
It’s

I agree withLaurie comment, but he was targeted by the club and they appeared to be keen to have him this season.

So, I thinking the club knew what they were getting (we’ve had small FB before), he will get a go somewhere this season, then I guess we will know?

Maybe , or the lack of depth in the club at fullback meant we had to get him. I would suggest he will be blooded slowly , but his talent is undeniable , so it’s a case when not if .

 

[Deleted member 3518]

Just on my previous post,I will give you a small example of what Im talking about...
Many years ago back when I was playing,we had a great kid playing in our juniors,he was strong,quick and loved playing rugby league..he went through to being an outstanding young player from u/12 through to u/18s..
Our fg needed a fullback to play for us as ours was out injured,they opted to give him a shot at fg because of how great he was playing..he played well the first week and he was given another chance the following week against the team who were leading the comp,he got hammered a couple of times and played completely opposite than the week before..
He went back to his age group and didnt even do well there...why ? he had his confidence knocked out of him by bigger hardened fgraders and never really recovered...
thats why you dont put all your faith into the young guys until they can prove they can handle the big arena....

I hear what your saying mate , and in principle I agree to an extent . Where I differ is , these kids are training with the first grade squad in full contact from the moment they get identified as being elite. Look at all the SG ball kids who were there all pre season . Throw in diet , training regimen, off field stuff , like how to deal with media , fans , leeches , their money etc , they just arnt even the same as 10 years ago , let alone 20 .
And even then most teams (not us under previous coaches not named sheens) will still blood them slowly . I think Simpkin will be an impact player. I think Laurie is too small at the moment , and Simpkins needs to hit the gym hard , as he has the natural size , but I would doubt the strength . Blore is ready to go , so is Stefano. I don’t know about Madden. We will see in the trials .
It’s

Thanks for your reply strongee and I agree that its much,much more professional for the kids these days and care is given in many areas of their life and not just footy...
My actual point was that some kids are more mentally and physically tough than others at their age,some develop a lot later,and you are right the coaching and development staff have a much more careful eye on them...
I can remember an incident a few years back when we had Matt Groat with us and he showed a lot of potential as a youngster ready for fg,JWH put a shot on him and I dont think Groat was ever the same since...just my take on things and I do appreciate you showing me the difference in my time playing up until now,all I can say is I wish I had the same technical and training staff back then that they have now...cheers mate...

Yea . Totally agree with you . I just think that’s identified way earlier . Mate I played with a 28 year old who , stepped out of the way when this big bopper was charging back at us . Made me look real stupid as I was next to him , and he went clean through. And if I’m honest , the reason I missed as well , was I was deciding how I was going to tackle him, instead of just tackling him .So age isn’t really a thing. If they don’t have it they don’t have it . I don’t think thier confidence is going to be ruined in first grade in today’s game . They do full contact mid week in 2021. And it’s pretty intense .

 

[Russell]

Another thing with simpkin is that he hasnt played footy in a long time...harry came off a year of CC

He's barely even played reserve grade. People want to throw him in early and will be disappointed and attack him when he's not an instant star. Gotta let him play against men in reserves for a few weeks at least before putting him in top grade there's no rush

People can't expect Harry Grant 2.0. Harry is just on another level, can't remember a rookie season that good for a long long time

Maybe not talent wise but I see a lot of the Tyson Gamble scenario in what people want to do with Simpkin.

Gamble was touted to be a real good prospect whilst playing in QLD, came to Tigers, played cc for a little while and then they shoved him into the NRL (not much of a team at the time) side to play Canberra in the Capital.

Our team was pathetic and was thrashed; Gamble had no experience of NRL and was crucified by all and sundry.

Never played NRL for us again, was let go - selected in the NRL again (for Donkeys I think) - injured before the game and still has not played another NRL game.

Keep pushing for Simpkin to play NRL too soon boys. Makes it all the easier for our No. 1 DH to permanently seal his spot.

Go get 'em Jake.

Yeah Gamble got a lot of unwarranted hate that night. Don't think it has to be a battle of Liddle vs Simpkin both can play a role in our team we just don't need to have mega expectations of a kid who's barely played reserves.

Got to disagree . His defence and lack of shoulder when tackling was exposed by of all people , 1 legged Kieren Foran . In fact that was the knock on him the whole time through the grades, his defence was benji Marshall level poor. Except benji could give you the points to make up for it.
Simpkin , has been the best 9 prospect to come through qld in a while . His name came up in passing convo , like 4 years ago. He has a barge arse , which means power and strength , plus acceleration . His game is predicated on power , and at 18 he was running over 30 year olds. The kid is special .
To me Tyson gamble , was a late first round early second round draft pick . His flaws , are so bad , you can’t take him higher in the draft , but if he could figure it out , he could be a handy role player.
Jake Simpkin , is a potential number 1 draft pick . He’s strong , has a decent passing game , and can find a line break, in a key position .

Gamble had his flaws, what I meant was people seemingly blamed him and him alone for our loss - despite getting absolutely spanked by Canberra that night as we always do.

And that was it - one go, never to be picked again. Even Lovett and Jennings had more than one go.


Well he played 2 games for the Broncos last year. If he is any good and it was our error, he will kick on somewhere else surely?

Well 1 really...

"In round 19 of the 2020 NRL season, he made his first start for Brisbane after appearing before off the bench. In the first sixty seconds of the game, Gamble was knocked unconcious after attempting to tackle Parramatta player Maika Sivo. Gamble played no further part in the match which ended in a 26-12 defeat at Bankwest Stadium."

The point I was making was that all we gave him was 1 game - which was one of our worst performances ever - not all down to him.
I think he deserved more than one go WITH US. I don't care what he did after he left.

 

[happy_tiger]

Bellamy in talks with Sharks to be a coaching director from 2022 onwards.... hope we are having a chat to him too!

Who takes over at Melbourne ? They’ve been blessed with coaches . Anderson ,Bellamy , even Graham Murray was a great coach .

I don't remember Graham Murray there, i guess Bellamy seems to have been there forever.

Murray never coached Storm

That explains it. Just googled it, Mark Murray did.

Underrated footballer ...coach .....next