Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[GNR4LIFE]

Players aren’t going to come within miles of us till the coaching position is clarified. And even then we’ll struggle. Unless we appoint Bennett.

 

[Geo]

Walker and Scott..make use of the 2 dressing rooms

 

[WT2K]

Most likely end up with Tautau Moga

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Most likely end up with Tautau Moga

I know you are probably joking, but that does sound like a signing we’d make.

 

[TillLindemann]

Players aren’t going to come within miles of us till the coaching position is clarified. And even then we’ll struggle. Unless we appoint Bennett.

Yep, whether you want Madge to stay or want him gone, we won't be signing anyone while there is a perception that the coach's position is up in the air.

 

[TheDaBoss]

Most likely end up with Tautau Moga

Qe will release brooks and get matt frawley

 

[Harvey]

Most likely end up with Tautau Moga

I know you are probably joking, but that does sound like a signing we’d make.

Chances increase if he did an ACL for the 4th time recently

 

[GCfan]

Buy
Dylan Walker play him at centre
Tyrone Peachey
play him at lock or utility
Buy Aaron Woods at the right price still goes well and better than Mikaele and Tamou

You have to do better than Walker !

Beggars can’t be choosers Snake.
We’ve tried being choosers and it doesn’t become us. Oh, and we also get rejected.
I’d cop some upgrades on positions of need. Even slight improvements

 

[Tigertragic83]

Surely that is the end of Brooks. That is officially the worst performance of any halfback I've seen. Sadly we can't go to market for a half as there isn't any and madden isn't up to grade. I'd be looking at wing and second row as that seems where we are most short

 

[426Tlgerland]

Woods , Burns , Peachy , Chambers , Napa
This would be an upgrade , not a instant finals fix
Woods , tough and still better than half our guys , point to prove
Burns , solid player , would be very handy
Peachy , smart operator , very handy
Chambers , nasty , we need some nasty
Napa , again Nasty up front , we don’t have nasty up front , we have a very good upcoming leader in Stef , he just needs some help

 

[Eyeofthetiger 0]

Woods , Burns , Peachy , Chambers , Napa
This would be an upgrade , not a instant finals fix
Woods , tough and still better than half our guys , point to prove
Burns , solid player , would be very handy
Peachy , smart operator , very handy
Chambers , nasty , we need some nasty
Napa , again Nasty up front , we don’t have nasty up front , we have a very good upcoming leader in Stef , he just needs some help

Please let’s be patient. No point signing average players to move from 13th to 9th

 

[Eyeofthetiger 0]

Stick to the youth. Sign up the flegg boys with the most potential even if they are 2 years off

 

[Curaeus]

Players aren’t going to come within miles of us till the coaching position is clarified. And even then we’ll struggle. Unless we appoint Bennett.

Doubt he'd be interested but might be worth a phone call if Madge is punted. Maybe a 2 year deal to get the roster sorted and maybe jag a finals spot. He was interested before we signed Madge.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Players aren’t going to come within miles of us till the coaching position is clarified. And even then we’ll struggle. Unless we appoint Bennett.

Doubt he'd be interested but might be worth a phone call if Madge is punted. Maybe a 2 year deal to get the roster sorted and maybe jag a finals spot. He was interested before we signed Madge.

Give him an assistant with a view to take over. Then the new Qld team can come in and he can be on his way to them.

 

[jirskyr]

Tigers have $1.6m to save a sinking ship. A moneyball move could plug the leaks
Mark St John from Fox Sports
The Wests Tigers reportedly have $1.6 million to spend in their salary cap and four spots remaining on their roster for 2022, but it remains to be seen which combination of off-contract recruits can return them to the finals.

The club is in the midst of a brutal review into their failed 2021 campaign after they finished 13th with just eight wins and 16 losses, the last of which was a shock 38-0 hammering by the wooden spooners the Bulldogs in Round 25.

Coach Michael Maguire is feeling the heat after a third straight season in charge without finals football and the club’s management is under fire for overseeing 10 straight seasons of ineptitude.

However the club’s salary cap that has been heavily out of whack in recent seasons due to a series of ridiculous contracts to overpaid and underperforming players is finally starting to look in far better shape.

That has finally given the Tigers the opportunity to create a more well-rounded squad capable of challenging for the top eight next season, should they fill out their roster with the right pieces.

The struggle for the Tigers has always been landing the right sort of players to turn the club around and not paying overs for the wrong type of players.

The club is in the midst of the longest finals drought in the NRL stretching back to 2011 and unless they can use the money they have wisely it may be a case of more of the same in 2022.

The Tigers will offload all or part of some big contracts this off-season in Russell Packer (800,000) to retirement and Moses Mbye ($800,000) to the Dragons with the club to chip in around half of that contract for him to play for their rivals.

The Tigers also have an option in their favour for Joey Leilua ($700,000) who is reportedly out of favour and on his way out of the club.

That leaves them with enough room to attract some fresh blood to the club, but how they spend that $1.6 million will be crucial and they can’t afford to waste it on players that don’t deliver.

There are two schools of thought with how best to use that money. The Tigers can either sign one or two superstars, which can help attract players to the club and improve on-field results or they can spread the money out in a bid to create a more balanced squad with those four vacant roster positions.

The challenge the Tigers have is that superstars have been reluctant to come to the club in recent seasons due to the lack of success on and off the field.

There are also a lack of superstars available for 2022 at this late stage of the season.

The NRL big names that remain unsigned for 2022 are Aaron Woods, Blake Ferguson, Dylan Napa, Will Chambers, Josh Dugan, Tyrone Peachey, Ashley Taylor, Dylan Walker, Edrick Lee and Corey Norman.

Fortunately for the Tigers none of those players would command top dollar and the right combination of those players could help turn the club’s on-field fortunes around.

Woods is a former club captain who has been in good form for the Sharks and he has unfinished business at the Tigers. He also hasn’t had a lot of interest from rivals.

There are not many representative standard forwards on the market and the Tigers’ middle defence is in desperate need of some starch.

Therefore signing Woods could be in both club and player’s interest and they wouldn’t have to overpay to lure their former captain home.

Ferguson has not been at his best so far this season, but he is a proven winner who has tasted premiership success with the Roosters in 2018 and he has been a part of turning the Eels into a top four team albeit without much finals success

Ferguson is great for team culture and he is a player that helps drive results both on the field and at training.

The veteran winger fell out of favour with Brad Arthur this year and clubs haven’t exactly been banging on his door, so they Tigers could land him below market value given the lack of interest elsewhere.

Peachey is a player every team would love to have because he is so versatile and can cover the back row, halves and centres with ease.

Adam Doueihi’s long-term injury would make Peachey a shrewd signing given he can cover five-eighth and then he can move to lock or the bench utility role later in the year.

Peachey’s family are in Sydney so a return to the city would have appeal for the former Panthers player and surprisingly there hasn’t been a lot of interest in his services.

Napa is still young at 28 and has a point to prove, but it remains to be seen if he can return to the form that saw him represent the Maroons in seven Origins.

However given his off-field issues at the Bulldogs he is not in a position of power when it comes to the negotiation table and the club may be able to land him on the cheap provided they think they can get him back to somewhere near his best.

The Tigers also don’t want to fall into the trap of throwing good money after bad as they have done in the past. Bloated contracts for Packer, Mbye and Josh Reynolds failed to produce consistent on-field results.

That is why they may be better served looking for bargain buys that they believe are the right fit to help turn around the club and balance their squad overall.

Off-contract players with the potential to take their games to greater heights with increased opportunities are Braidon Burns, Tyrone May, Matt Ikuvalu, Shane Wright, Joey Lussick, Phoenix Crossland and Tevita Funa to name a few.

Souths centre Burns is an excellent prospect provided he can put his injury troubles behind him and he would be a strong replacement for Leilua.

Wayne Bennett rates Burns highly and he could help shore up the Tigers’ leaky edge defence.

May is odds on to stay at Penrith, but the Tigers could do with someone of his versatility given Mbye’s departure and he could even blossom into a starter if given the opportunity.

Ikuvalu is a consistent finisher who has scored 22 tries in just 35 games for the Roosters since his debut in 2018.

Ikuvalu is down the pecking order at the Roosters when everyone is fit and could blossom with a consistent starting role at the Tigers.

The best thing about these players is they are off-contract and motivated to take their next opportunities, while the club won’t have to break the bank to bring them to the club.

Of the players off-contract in 2021 that remain unsigned for 2022 there is no name that will automatically take the Tigers back to the finals on his own.

More likely it will be a combination of shrewd signings which can create a more balanced roster that will give the Tigers the best chance of competing for the top eight in 2022.

It is a bit of a chicken and the egg scenario. A marquee signing has the potential to attract more big names to the club, but the Tigers won’t get a marquee player until they prove that they are not a basket case club and that they are capable of producing consistent on-field results.

If the Tigers can lure a combination of motivated players with a point to prove like Woods, Ferguson, Peachey and Burns to the club with the $1.6 million they have at their disposal that may just be enough to return them to finals contenders.

But the club also need to keep enough room in their salary cap to pounce on a marquee signing next year for the 2023 season.

Returning to the finals is one thing, but competing for premierships requires stars and there are plenty coming off-contract next season.

However after 10 long years of no finals football it is baby steps for the Tigers and making the top eight next year has to be the priority to appease their long-suffering fans.

Not a bad article and tells you everything you need to know about how lean the player market is right now. Woods and Ferguson... the comments made are not without merit, but very uninspiring options.

 

[Eyeofthetiger 0]

Players aren’t going to come within miles of us till the coaching position is clarified. And even then we’ll struggle. Unless we appoint Bennett.

Doubt he'd be interested but might be worth a phone call if Madge is punted. Maybe a 2 year deal to get the roster sorted and maybe jag a finals spot. He was interested before we signed Madge.

Give him 2 million a year or whatever it takes. Get Harry T involved if we can legally. As I said, if Bennett can’t fix us no one can

 

[Curaeus]

Players aren’t going to come within miles of us till the coaching position is clarified. And even then we’ll struggle. Unless we appoint Bennett.

Doubt he'd be interested but might be worth a phone call if Madge is punted. Maybe a 2 year deal to get the roster sorted and maybe jag a finals spot. He was interested before we signed Madge.

Give him an assistant with a view to take over. Then the new Qld team can come in and he can be on his way to them.

Good idea!

 

[colinbh]

Woods , Burns , Peachy , Chambers , Napa
This would be an upgrade , not a instant finals fix
Woods , tough and still better than half our guys , point to prove
Burns , solid player , would be very handy
Peachy , smart operator , very handy
Chambers , nasty , we need some nasty
Napa , again Nasty up front , we don’t have nasty up front , we have a very good upcoming leader in Stef , he just needs some help

None of the above. You must be joking.

 

[avocadoontoast]

I think the suggestion of signing Bennett for 2 years and have a succession plan is a very good idea.

 

[aturkey]

The only one I would consider is Peach and that's still bottom of the barrel. Unfortunately, we don't have many options. Hopefully Sheens has some connections to talent in England, and we continue plucking youth from other teams (Laurie, Stefano), and hope that we have some good youth coming through cause the current crop is really dissapointing (Talau, Pauga, Cini, Liddle, I'm legit struggling to think of others). No more BJ/Roberts signings.