Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Newtown]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry

I think we need a real good back first up, before anyone else.

Everyone except the thick headed club can see that we need a very good back. Why is the club loitering on there type of players?

 

[isaaktigers]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

Without Grant we’d be last.

But seriously, I’d throw 1Milly at Grant. Even 1.1..

The influence and everything he had on the whole of Wests Tigers, I actually never felt or seen that effect a player can do to a team.

 

[hsvjones]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

Without Grant we’d be last.

But seriously, I’d throw 1Milly at Grant. Even 1.1..

The influence and everything he had on the whole of Wests Tigers, I actually never felt or seen that effect a player can do to a team.

Agree 100%.... He is a player you build a team around and others will want to play with him.. It's only 200k more then the flops Reynolds, Packer or Mbye got so worth a shot.

 

[claws1]

Just heard the MMM team talking about how the Parramatta roster really needs improving. What does this say about our organisation, roster & performances compared to theirs. I would say we are doing great! Imagine if we only had 3 or 4 of their players on our team. Like a few sensible contributors have stated previously, a few more established players with the right attitude in the right positions and we will cement ourselves in the finals. We are heading in the right direction. Go Weststigers!

 

[TigerVinnie]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

Without Grant we’d be last.

But seriously, I’d throw 1Milly at Grant. Even 1.1..

The influence and everything he had on the whole of Wests Tigers, I actually never felt or seen that effect a player can do to a team.

Yes I understand he is a quality player and probably does demand that sort of money. But people need to understand how a salary cap works.

We through 1m+ at Grant we have nothing left to 'build around' - our centre issue will remain the same, our second row issue will remain the same, our lock issue will remain the same. We will essentially have the same team as 2020 in which we finished 11th (with Grant).

We at the very minimum need a quality centre (perhaps two, pending how Gildart turns out) and lock before we worry about a marquee hooker.

 

[hsvjones]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

Without Grant we’d be last.

But seriously, I’d throw 1Milly at Grant. Even 1.1..

The influence and everything he had on the whole of Wests Tigers, I actually never felt or seen that effect a player can do to a team.


Yes I understand he is a quality player and probably does demand that sort of money. But people need to understand how a salary cap works.

We through 1m+ at Grant we have nothing left to 'build around' - our centre issue will remain the same, our second row issue will remain the same, our lock issue will remain the same. We will essentially have the same team as 2020 in which we finished 11th (with Grant).

We at the very minimum need a quality centre (perhaps two, pending how Gildart turns out) and lock before we worry about a marquee hooker.

I understand what you are saying but your main 4 positions in a team are 1,6,7,9.. You look at most clubs out there and they have a top line player or 2 and they seem to be able to fill the rest of the spot out without a problem. E.g. Roosters - Teddy, Cleary, Titans - Fifita, Manly - Turbo & DCE, Storm in past had Smith, Slater & Cronk,etc...
So if you can get a guy like Grant who basically runs the team from Dummy half it's a no brainer for me to offer 1 mil and I think you would find they would use a TPA to assist with some of this money..

If we were so somehow get a Grant or Smith our whole organisation changes for the better..

 

[Newtown]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

Without Grant we’d be last.

But seriously, I’d throw 1Milly at Grant. Even 1.1..

The influence and everything he had on the whole of Wests Tigers, I actually never felt or seen that effect a player can do to a team.

What do you do with the two capable hookers we presently have?

 

[boonboon]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

Without Grant we’d be last.

But seriously, I’d throw 1Milly at Grant. Even 1.1..

The influence and everything he had on the whole of Wests Tigers, I actually never felt or seen that effect a player can do to a team.

What do you do with the two capable hookers we presently have?

The 19 yr old nsw cup player or the injury riddled bloke who missed 8 tackles vs the Warriors and left dummy half empty and tjrows a bunch of average passes. You give them to someone else snd take the Origin star

 

[Blacknwhite]

I reckon people saying Lomax might be into something. He played like a West’s Tiger yesterday. Dragons also after Suli.

Might be chucking a M Moses to get the ball rolling.... We need something to go our way for a change

We desperately need players with accountability and character. We need infectious will to succeed, more than our next breath... If he is tanking, we dont want him!

 

[Newtown]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

Without Grant we’d be last.

But seriously, I’d throw 1Milly at Grant. Even 1.1..

The influence and everything he had on the whole of Wests Tigers, I actually never felt or seen that effect a player can do to a team.

What do you do with the two capable hookers we presently have?

The 19 yr old nsw cup player or the injury riddled bloke who missed 8 tackles vs the Warriors and left dummy half empty and tjrows a bunch of average passes. You give them to someone else snd take the Origin star

Too bad the tigers have re-signed Liddle.

 

[hsvjones]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

Without Grant we’d be last.

But seriously, I’d throw 1Milly at Grant. Even 1.1..

The influence and everything he had on the whole of Wests Tigers, I actually never felt or seen that effect a player can do to a team.

What do you do with the two capable hookers we presently have?

The 19 yr old nsw cup player or the injury riddled bloke who missed 8 tackles vs the Warriors and left dummy half empty and tjrows a bunch of average passes. You give them to someone else snd take the Origin star

Too bad the tigers have re-signed Liddle.

Only for 2 years and Grant would not leave the Storm until 2023 anyway.
You could offload Liddle pretty easy I reason and Simpkin could be a super sub / back up.

 

[colinbh]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry

I think we need a real good back first up, before anyone else.

Everyone except the thick headed club can see that we need a very good back. Why is the club loitering on there type of players?

Not much about

 

[Blacknwhite]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

Without Grant we’d be last.

But seriously, I’d throw 1Milly at Grant. Even 1.1..

The influence and everything he had on the whole of Wests Tigers, I actually never felt or seen that effect a player can do to a team.

What do you do with the two capable hookers we presently have?

The 19 yr old nsw cup player or the injury riddled bloke who missed 8 tackles vs the Warriors and left dummy half empty and tjrows a bunch of average passes. You give them to someone else snd take the Origin star

Not doubting Harrys heart, I would say it makes up 95% of his body weight, but I see a player with a short career riding alot of pine due to injuries.

He is a marvellous talent, but plays a style that I dont see his body holding up to. I dont think you could put marquee money on him unfortunately because of it.

 

[Blacknwhite]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

I don't care if it's a hooker, centre or second rower but if we land the right marquee signature that strengthens both the team and our ability to further attract players we're doing nothing impractical IMO.

The Grant statement is a little flawed as if we keep buying mid-tier players, we're unable to go to the next level.
Madge's biggest issue in trying to create the right culture for the team, is that there's not enough ruthless players to drive the standards we all want to see. The bar is low because of this and to persist (without trying) would be incompetent and ineffective management.
How can we possibly become a competitive side without building up the roster?

outstanding summation... our predicament in a nutshell!

unfortunately we need to learn how to bake a decent cake before we go looking for cherries...

 

[TigerVinnie]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

Without Grant we’d be last.

But seriously, I’d throw 1Milly at Grant. Even 1.1..

The influence and everything he had on the whole of Wests Tigers, I actually never felt or seen that effect a player can do to a team.


Yes I understand he is a quality player and probably does demand that sort of money. But people need to understand how a salary cap works.

We through 1m+ at Grant we have nothing left to 'build around' - our centre issue will remain the same, our second row issue will remain the same, our lock issue will remain the same. We will essentially have the same team as 2020 in which we finished 11th (with Grant).

We at the very minimum need a quality centre (perhaps two, pending how Gildart turns out) and lock before we worry about a marquee hooker.

I understand what you are saying but your main 4 positions in a team are 1,6,7,9.. You look at most clubs out there and they have a top line player or 2 and they seem to be able to fill the rest of the spot out without a problem. E.g. Roosters - Teddy, Cleary, Titans - Fifita, Manly - Turbo & DCE, Storm in past had Smith, Slater & Cronk,etc...
So if you can get a guy like Grant who basically runs the team from Dummy half it's a no brainer for me to offer 1 mil and I think you would find they would use a TPA to assist with some of this money..

If we were so somehow get a Grant or Smith our whole organisation changes for the better..

Yes agree with your spine being the main focus, but if you look at all those teams you listed (bar maybe Gold Coast - who have a consistency problem). They all had very solid players in the other positions, they may have not all been marquees but still considered very good players.

Roosters: Boyd, Manu, Morris, ect
Melbourne: Welch, Bromich, JAC, ect
Manly: Jake Troj., Walker, Tapau ect

Our issue is our team hasn't got those consistent solid players. We have a bunch of talented young forwards, but our outside backs are all terrible and extremely inconsistent. If we had a few more solid players, hypothetically like a Lomax and a good lock then I would 100% be all for throwing everything into our spine.

EDIT: disclaimer: I love Harry grant, loved him when he played for us and would love to have him back. But taking the rose coloured glasses off I think we are about 2-3 players behind before we should be targeting that type of player.

 

[JayT]

I think Tigers fans have a talent for convincing ourselves that buying OKish players is better than getting stars like Latrell, JAC, Fenucane, Grant Smith. Not having a go just an observation

 

[TigerVinnie]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

I don't care if it's a hooker, centre or second rower but if we land the right marquee signature that strengthens both the team and our ability to further attract players we're doing nothing impractical IMO.

The Grant statement is a little flawed as if we keep buying mid-tier players, we're unable to go to the next level.
Madge's biggest issue in trying to create the right culture for the team, is that there's not enough ruthless players to drive the standards we all want to see. The bar is low because of this and to persist (without trying) would be incompetent and ineffective management.
How can we possibly become a competitive side without building up the roster?

I have no problem at all throwing a lot of money at a marquee player for that exact reason, I have an issue at that marque player being in a position we have already covered.

A lot of people use Newcastle and Ponga as an example of the 'circuit breaker' signing. In reality they got him at about 700 and still had over a million left to get Pearce and Klemmer. So they were able to cover 3 key areas in one recruitment drive. Our issue is we throw 1-1.1m at Grant thats pretty much majority of our cap space we have spent 3 years clearing up on one player. If I am wrong about $ amounts happy to be corrected but I just don't see other players coming for massive unders to us (which they would need to as we couldn't offer larger contracts) even if we had Grant. We throw marque money at a few centres and I honestly think our team go to the next level - and that is what will drive more players here.

 

[hsvjones]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

Without Grant we’d be last.

But seriously, I’d throw 1Milly at Grant. Even 1.1..

The influence and everything he had on the whole of Wests Tigers, I actually never felt or seen that effect a player can do to a team.


Yes I understand he is a quality player and probably does demand that sort of money. But people need to understand how a salary cap works.

We through 1m+ at Grant we have nothing left to 'build around' - our centre issue will remain the same, our second row issue will remain the same, our lock issue will remain the same. We will essentially have the same team as 2020 in which we finished 11th (with Grant).

We at the very minimum need a quality centre (perhaps two, pending how Gildart turns out) and lock before we worry about a marquee hooker.

I understand what you are saying but your main 4 positions in a team are 1,6,7,9.. You look at most clubs out there and they have a top line player or 2 and they seem to be able to fill the rest of the spot out without a problem. E.g. Roosters - Teddy, Cleary, Titans - Fifita, Manly - Turbo & DCE, Storm in past had Smith, Slater & Cronk,etc...
So if you can get a guy like Grant who basically runs the team from Dummy half it's a no brainer for me to offer 1 mil and I think you would find they would use a TPA to assist with some of this money..

If we were so somehow get a Grant or Smith our whole organisation changes for the better..


Yes agree with your spine being the main focus, but if you look at all those teams you listed (bar maybe Gold Coast - who have a consistency problem). They all had very solid players in the other positions, they may have not all been marquees but still considered very good players.

Roosters: Boyd, Manu, Morris, ect
Melbourne: Welch, Bromich, JAC, ect
Manly: Jake Troj., Walker, Tapau ect

Our issue is our team hasn't got those consistent solid players. We have a bunch of talented young forwards, but our outside backs are all terrible and extremely inconsistent. If we had a few more solid players, hypothetically like a Lomax and a good lock then I would 100% be all for throwing everything into our spine.

Its like a catch 22... you need to have the solid players in your team but need some big name ones too that will deliver consistently and help attract others. But you look at Manly as they have quite a few good players there but as soon at they lose Turbo and/or DCE they are back with the rest of us.
Lets be honest we really don't have a good team on paper and most of them are young ones that we hope will grow into quality players. Last year when Grant was here (his 1st year as well) we did a pretty good job with what we had so you add Grant to our team and the funds available after offloading Mbye, Packer etc we are looking up. I would take Grant or Smith but at the end of the day if they leave I think Roosters will come in and swoop..

We can all agree on 1 point and that is we all want the club to be successful so fingers crossed.

 

[TigerVinnie]

Interesting to note that not only is Brandon Smith off contract at the end of 2022 but Harry Grant actually has a Mutuak option for 2023 so if effectively off contract at the end of 2022 at this stage as well. I say go all in for Harry


last year showed having Grant in our team isn't priority and I would extend that to Smith as well.

We had Grant and still missed the finals terribly, we have far more important areas to fill before throwing marquee money at Hooker.

Without Grant we’d be last.

But seriously, I’d throw 1Milly at Grant. Even 1.1..

The influence and everything he had on the whole of Wests Tigers, I actually never felt or seen that effect a player can do to a team.


Yes I understand he is a quality player and probably does demand that sort of money. But people need to understand how a salary cap works.

We through 1m+ at Grant we have nothing left to 'build around' - our centre issue will remain the same, our second row issue will remain the same, our lock issue will remain the same. We will essentially have the same team as 2020 in which we finished 11th (with Grant).

We at the very minimum need a quality centre (perhaps two, pending how Gildart turns out) and lock before we worry about a marquee hooker.

I understand what you are saying but your main 4 positions in a team are 1,6,7,9.. You look at most clubs out there and they have a top line player or 2 and they seem to be able to fill the rest of the spot out without a problem. E.g. Roosters - Teddy, Cleary, Titans - Fifita, Manly - Turbo & DCE, Storm in past had Smith, Slater & Cronk,etc...
So if you can get a guy like Grant who basically runs the team from Dummy half it's a no brainer for me to offer 1 mil and I think you would find they would use a TPA to assist with some of this money..

If we were so somehow get a Grant or Smith our whole organisation changes for the better..


Yes agree with your spine being the main focus, but if you look at all those teams you listed (bar maybe Gold Coast - who have a consistency problem). They all had very solid players in the other positions, they may have not all been marquees but still considered very good players.

Roosters: Boyd, Manu, Morris, ect
Melbourne: Welch, Bromich, JAC, ect
Manly: Jake Troj., Walker, Tapau ect

Our issue is our team hasn't got those consistent solid players. We have a bunch of talented young forwards, but our outside backs are all terrible and extremely inconsistent. If we had a few more solid players, hypothetically like a Lomax and a good lock then I would 100% be all for throwing everything into our spine.

Its like a catch 22... you need to have the solid players in your team but need some big name ones too that will deliver consistently and help attract others. But you look at Manly as they have quite a few good players there but as soon at they lose Turbo and/or DCE they are back with the rest of us.
Lets be honest we really don't have a good team on paper and most of them are young ones that we hope will grow into quality players. Last year when Grant was here (his 1st year as well) we did a pretty good job with what we had so you add Grant to our team and the funds available after offloading Mbye, Packer etc we are looking up. I would take Grant or Smith but at the end of the day if they leave I think Roosters will come in and swoop..

We can all agree on 1 point and that is we all want the club to be successful so fingers crossed.

100% mate and look I could be completely wrong and someone like Grant could turn the tide..but it's just my option

like you said...we all want this club to be successful whatever the club does I hope its the right decision for all our sakes!

 

[cqtiger]

I think Tigers fans have a talent for convincing ourselves that buying OKish players is better than getting stars like Latrell, JAC, Fenucane, Grant Smith. Not having a go just an observation

Because our fans know that stars just don’t come here. So we keep getting OK-ish players. Some would argue that OK-ish players don’t want to come here either.