Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[TillLindemann]

A little update from the Wigan forum regarding Jackson Hastings. It seems that both he and Bevan French are still in Australia ....


* Hastings refused to come back to England's because Wigan refused to release him from his contract.


* Wigan then reluctantly agreed to let him stay in Aus longer.


* Wigan then informed French he could stay longer in line with Hastings stating longer.


* Thats why there is no talk of French being a dickhead.


* Hastings was supposed to fly home this weekend (Again) and so far has managed again to get out of doing so (third time)

Thats disappointing. All his talk of turning himself around, then he acts like this. If he has a contract he should honour it and only get out with an agreement from both sides.

If he does a runner I don't think he'll be signing with WT. When you have a top lawyer as your president and we've had 2 high profile walk outs, we can't benefit from this behaviour

So we’re hanging him on speculation and guesswork on a forum?

Yeah I wouldn't read too much into it. It seems to be Wigan forum anxiety based entirely on his (but also Bevan French) being given a longer stay in Australia prior to the season start, and Hastings giving an interview where he said he wants to return to the NRL (note that he didn't mention 2021, and he has always said he wants to return to the NRL, it's nothing new).

 

[Russell]

Just caught this YouTube clip of Denan Kemp analysis on Edene Gebbie and some of his Queensland Cup highlights that some might be interested in.

WARNING, it is Kemp, so there may be occasional swearing.

https://youtu.be/myEi1r498is

Thanks for the warning - don't need to listen to him then.

 

[cktiger]

A little update from the Wigan forum regarding Jackson Hastings. It seems that both he and Bevan French are still in Australia ....


* Hastings refused to come back to England's because Wigan refused to release him from his contract.


* Wigan then reluctantly agreed to let him stay in Aus longer.


* Wigan then informed French he could stay longer in line with Hastings stating longer.


* Thats why there is no talk of French being a dickhead.


* Hastings was supposed to fly home this weekend (Again) and so far has managed again to get out of doing so (third time)

Thats disappointing. All his talk of turning himself around, then he acts like this. If he has a contract he should honour it and only get out with an agreement from both sides.

If he does a runner I don't think he'll be signing with WT. When you have a top lawyer as your president and we've had 2 high profile walk outs, we can't benefit from this behaviour

So we’re hanging him on speculation and guesswork on a forum?

Yeah I wouldn't read too much into it. It seems to be Wigan forum anxiety based entirely on his (but also Bevan French) being given a longer stay in Australia prior to the season start, and Hastings giving an interview where he said he wants to return to the NRL (note that he didn't mention 2021, and he has always said he wants to return to the NRL, it's nothing new).

It would be surprising if he didn't have a get out clause if the NRL came knocking.

 

[TIGERPOWER]

I still think we need Hastings. Madden is okay but did nothing in his trials to get anyone excited. If Brooks doesn’t stand up this year , I would rather have Hastings to fall back on then madden.

 

[PJ_]

Souffs are really trying to screw Reynolds. He has earnt a longer deal imo.
We should sneak in under the radar and throw him a deal. Only 31. 3yr deal

 

[cochise]

I was happy to sign Hastings when it looked unlikely Laurie was coming over but i'm not sure he's really all that necessary now.

Also based on Madden looking OK against Manly. Do we want Hastings blocking his progression?

I think it is clear to me that we Do Not Need Hastings based on the Players available.

Best Spine for Tigers
1 - Laurie
6 - AD
7 - Brooks
9 - Liddle

Madden and Simpkin are the next in line and who we could be building our club around for the next 10 years.

Hastings would just be another ego to deal with

Yeah Madden didn’t seem like he did much over the weekend but he played the perfect foil for Brooks and unleashed Lukes potential. It’s the stuff you don’t see on camera that goes unnoticed (obviously)

I thought he was good, Brooks did the majority of the organisational role while they played together and looked great. Madden filled in around him and gave nice early ball to Roberts which is important. Roberts being deep and running onto early ball is one of the most dangerous players in the game.

 

[TigerWest]

Souffs are really trying to screw Reynolds. He has earnt a longer deal imo.
We should sneak in under the radar and throw him a deal. Only 31. 3yr deal

I’d be OK with either Reynolds or Hastings, but I think Reynolds wouldn’t want to wait to see how Brooks is going to pan out?
Hastings may though?

 

[pawsandclaws1]

I'd rather WTs promote a development player or two and perhaps buy a very good young player on the cusp of the NRL in a position of need eg second row. Hastings has a role in ESL.

 

[Speed2burn]

I was happy to sign Hastings when it looked unlikely Laurie was coming over but i'm not sure he's really all that necessary now.

Also based on Madden looking OK against Manly. Do we want Hastings blocking his progression?

I think it is clear to me that we Do Not Need Hastings based on the Players available.

Best Spine for Tigers
1 - Laurie
6 - AD
7 - Brooks
9 - Liddle

Madden and Simpkin are the next in line and who we could be building our club around for the next 10 years.

Hastings would just be another ego to deal with

Yeah Madden didn’t seem like he did much over the weekend but he played the perfect foil for Brooks and unleashed Lukes potential. It’s the stuff you don’t see on camera that goes unnoticed (obviously)

I thought he was good, Brooks did the majority of the organisational role while they played together and looked great. Madden filled in around him and gave nice early ball to Roberts which is important. Roberts being deep and running onto early ball is one of the most dangerous players in the game.

Yep it was good halves play. Just because he didn’t score 5 tries, kick 10 goals and spear tackle 3 blokes doesn’t necessarily mean he played bad. He got the little things right which got unnoticed, complimented Brooks well IMO

 

[TheDaBoss]

Got a feeling Reynolds will go to wobblers

 

[balmain boy]

I was happy to sign Hastings when it looked unlikely Laurie was coming over but i'm not sure he's really all that necessary now.

Also based on Madden looking OK against Manly. Do we want Hastings blocking his progression?

I think it is clear to me that we Do Not Need Hastings based on the Players available.

Best Spine for Tigers
1 - Laurie
6 - AD
7 - Brooks
9 - Liddle

Madden and Simpkin are the next in line and who we could be building our club around for the next 10 years.

Hastings would just be another ego to deal with

Yeah Madden didn’t seem like he did much over the weekend but he played the perfect foil for Brooks and unleashed Lukes potential. It’s the stuff you don’t see on camera that goes unnoticed (obviously)

I thought he was good, Brooks did the majority of the organisational role while they played together and looked great. Madden filled in around him and gave nice early ball to Roberts which is important. Roberts being deep and running onto early ball is one of the most dangerous players in the game.

Yep it was good halves play. Just because he didn’t score 5 tries, kick 10 goals and spear tackle 3 blokes doesn’t necessarily mean he played bad. He got the little things right which got unnoticed, complimented Brooks well IMO

Exactly, just because he didn't overplay his hand in order to try and stand out showed his maturity. A lot of youngsters try all the flashy plays in trials in order to try show the boss what they're capable of. Madden just did his job as a sidekick to Brooks.

 

[balmain boy]

A little update from the Wigan forum regarding Jackson Hastings. It seems that both he and Bevan French are still in Australia ....


* Hastings refused to come back to England's because Wigan refused to release him from his contract.


* Wigan then reluctantly agreed to let him stay in Aus longer.


* Wigan then informed French he could stay longer in line with Hastings stating longer.


* Thats why there is no talk of French being a dickhead.


* Hastings was supposed to fly home this weekend (Again) and so far has managed again to get out of doing so (third time)

Thats disappointing. All his talk of turning himself around, then he acts like this. If he has a contract he should honour it and only get out with an agreement from both sides.

If he does a runner I don't think he'll be signing with WT. When you have a top lawyer as your president and we've had 2 high profile walk outs, we can't benefit from this behaviour

So we’re hanging him on speculation and guesswork on a forum?

Yeah I wouldn't read too much into it. It seems to be Wigan forum anxiety based entirely on his (but also Bevan French) being given a longer stay in Australia prior to the season start, and Hastings giving an interview where he said he wants to return to the NRL (note that he didn't mention 2021, and he has always said he wants to return to the NRL, it's nothing new).

It would be surprising if he didn't have a get out clause if the NRL came knocking.

Even if there's a clause it probably has an included transfer fee associated with it. Say Wigan want 400k to release him early? He's not worth that kind of investment.

 

[cochise]

I was happy to sign Hastings when it looked unlikely Laurie was coming over but i'm not sure he's really all that necessary now.

Also based on Madden looking OK against Manly. Do we want Hastings blocking his progression?

I think it is clear to me that we Do Not Need Hastings based on the Players available.

Best Spine for Tigers
1 - Laurie
6 - AD
7 - Brooks
9 - Liddle

Madden and Simpkin are the next in line and who we could be building our club around for the next 10 years.

Hastings would just be another ego to deal with

Yeah Madden didn’t seem like he did much over the weekend but he played the perfect foil for Brooks and unleashed Lukes potential. It’s the stuff you don’t see on camera that goes unnoticed (obviously)

I thought he was good, Brooks did the majority of the organisational role while they played together and looked great. Madden filled in around him and gave nice early ball to Roberts which is important. Roberts being deep and running onto early ball is one of the most dangerous players in the game.

Yep it was good halves play. Just because he didn’t score 5 tries, kick 10 goals and spear tackle 3 blokes doesn’t necessarily mean he played bad. He got the little things right which got unnoticed, complimented Brooks well IMO

It was exactly how I would want a young half to play, not trying to over play. Let the guy with 8 years experience run the show and pretty much act as a distrubutor to the outside backs.

 

[TigerWest]

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2021-manly-sea-eagles-wooden-spoon-peter-peters-des-hasler-round-1-roosters-vs-sea-eagles/news-story/cd47256675461291861f58961b36baff

I see Manly don't have a hooker to start the season? I wonder if there is anyone we could trade with them?

e.g. We take Tommy Turbo for say Mbye (who can play both 9 & 1) if required:joy: :joy: :joy:

 

[PJ_]

Souffs are really trying to screw Reynolds. He has earnt a longer deal imo.
We should sneak in under the radar and throw him a deal. Only 31. 3yr deal

I’d be OK with either Reynolds or Hastings, but I think Reynolds wouldn’t want to wait to see how Brooks is going to pan out?
Hastings may though?

I'd play Reynolds at 7 and Brooks at 6.

 

[jirskyr]

A little update from the Wigan forum regarding Jackson Hastings. It seems that both he and Bevan French are still in Australia ....


* Hastings refused to come back to England's because Wigan refused to release him from his contract.


* Wigan then reluctantly agreed to let him stay in Aus longer.


* Wigan then informed French he could stay longer in line with Hastings stating longer.


* Thats why there is no talk of French being a dickhead.


* Hastings was supposed to fly home this weekend (Again) and so far has managed again to get out of doing so (third time)

Thats disappointing. All his talk of turning himself around, then he acts like this. If he has a contract he should honour it and only get out with an agreement from both sides.

If he does a runner I don't think he'll be signing with WT. When you have a top lawyer as your president and we've had 2 high profile walk outs, we can't benefit from this behaviour

If this story is true then signing Hastings would be a mistake

I agree. There's one potential mindset of "winning at all costs" and that may involve singing up bad eggs for the sole purpose of winning matches.

However Tigers in particular have been burnt several times by personal-brand footballers who are just looking for that next big score. Whilst I can recognise that any individual will look to do what is best for themselves, when you are developing any business, you need to anchor your team with a bulk of long-term team contributors.

If you only sign folks looking for top dollar or highest personal convenience, you are almost guaranteed they'll chase that top dollar again when their contract is next up, which in rugby league terms will be 2-4 seasons. And it may be naive to hope to find team-minded footballers in 2021, but you won't find sustained success without it.

This is particularly true for WT who don't quite have the deep pockets or private sponsorship capacity (at least not that we are aware of) of other clubs. And even a huge selling point for players - sustained success - puts you at a different disadvantage where you might no longer be able to pay the total money the players are demanding. So again it's in your interests to have footballers who are club-minded as well as personally-minded.

All that being a big rant from me, the behaviours of a player at their current club are a very good predictor of their future behaviour. It would be naive to think they'll change their stripes (pun intended) because your club is "different" to them. It may end up that way, but don't bet on it.

If Hastings is trying to wriggle out of his Wigan contract, even for the benefit of Wests Tigers, I am absolutely against it as a predictor of his future with us, a mid-tier success-starved club. And why I most respect any player, even potentially a Storm or Roosters player (when it's a much easier decision), who chooses to remain and develop their club when more money is on offer elsewhere.

How do you view a club that turfs out a player who still has a contract or he’s on big money is that ok

No such thing? Can't turf out a player on contract. Every player on a contract gets paid out in full, 100% of the time, unless they act in a manner which permits their employer to terminate their contract without compensation.

It is not possible for a club to "worm" their way out of a contract. The club cannot sulk, lie, send in false representation, claim mental illness, homesickness. There is no club-level equivalent to a player like Matterson or Aloiai demanding a release.

Or: make it a free-for-all. Let any player or club terminate their contract with a notice period (say 3 months), at the sole discretion of either party. You won't find a player alive who signs up to such a contract.

 

[hank37w]

Souffs are really trying to screw Reynolds. He has earnt a longer deal imo.

Not only are Souffs toothless, they are also ruthless.

 

[jirskyr]

Just caught this YouTube clip of Denan Kemp analysis on Edene Gebbie and some of his Queensland Cup highlights that some might be interested in.

WARNING, it is Kemp, so there may be occasional swearing.

Oh please oh please let's not start posting "reaction" videos. Blight on humanity.

 

[hank37w]

Not a bad looking highlights package, just need to look at it with the sound muted.

 

[jirskyr]

Souffs are really trying to screw Reynolds. He has earnt a longer deal imo.
We should sneak in under the radar and throw him a deal. Only 31. 3yr deal

He'll do a deal with Souths, can't see any other outcome. It's just posturing for a "best possible" career-end deal. I don't believe Souths have a ready-made replacement in the juniors or identified from another club.

Also his kids are named Nakylah and Aaliyah, what's the story there?