@balmain-boy said in [Signing Suggestions & Rumours](/post/1490285) said:@cochise said in [Signing Suggestions & Rumours](/post/1489945) said:@frullens said in [Signing Suggestions & Rumours](/post/1489943) said:@cochise said in [Signing Suggestions & Rumours](/post/1489941) said:@frullens said in [Signing Suggestions & Rumours](/post/1489940) said:@cochise said in [Signing Suggestions & Rumours](/post/1489939) said:@frullens said in [Signing Suggestions & Rumours](/post/1489938) said:@cochise said in [Signing Suggestions & Rumours](/post/1489934) said:@balmain-boy said in [Signing Suggestions & Rumours](/post/1489925) said:@tigerlouis said in [Signing Suggestions & Rumours](/post/1489918) said:William Kei has been promoted to the top 30 for 2022 alongside Ryan Hoffman this was confirmed by email to me by Pascoe.
And those two promotions are huge indictments on our recruitment and retention. Neither are remotely close to first grade standard and are blocking the paths of players who might be.
We're still paying for the mistakes in the past. If we can manage to swap Hoffman, Kei, Garner, and potentially a few others we have the room to revamp the squad with a higher calibre of player.
Kei is a funny one. While some players on top 30 or dev contracts were playing up a grade he was playing down a grade in Flegg. And he didn't stand out in Flegg and didn't make the trip to Queensland despite not being listed as injured. Effectively he's a young Nof. If we let Nof go there could be room for him if he can lift his game.
It is the issue with development contracts, they guarantee promotion into the top 30.
Is that across the board? Or just something that west's tigers have been doing?
Across the board. It makes building your squad hard as for the players you have of contract there is often a development player that needs to be added to fill that spot in the top 30.
Particularly if that development player isn't ready for first grade
Exactly, I have never liked them for this reason.
What's the alternative? Just sign developing players to jersey flegg & KOE cup - and the promote if ready?
That is what used to happen before we had development contracts, I have reached out to get an answer on exactly the mechanism that they work under.
Development contracts do not and have not required an NRL contract. That's just the way we've structured ours. If we believe this is the requirement we need to read the rulebook.
Many clubs have signed players on one year development contracts. If it were required to end in an nrl contract this simply wouldn't be possible. Clubs like the Roosters and Parra have done this.
I guess that's the incentive used for young players whom you rate highly, you gamble that they will develop under NRL training and be ready for first grade and help secure them ahead of stronger clubs that offer no guarantees
I’m curious where this rule book is. I haven’t seen anything regarding this requirement. All I know is that Stefano and Lauri were on Dev contracts the years we signed them however they were also ‘off contract and available to sign.’ Potentially both were going to spend their final year in their clubs as 1st grade contracted players as Stefano got ‘promoted’ rather than released to us and Daine got released yet we swapped him for a first grade contracted player.