Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[pawsandclaws1]

Michelle Bishop on Sen made a good point last night saying whilst with the signing of Papali coincided with the arrival of Sheens negotiations had been going on for the last few months and his association with Maguire and the NZ team played a big part.
Also that the idea that Maguire is kn the nose with the players is way off the mark and when talk was around of him being sacked 3 seniors players let be known that if Madge went so would they.

Note: Mr Paws.

It was mentioned on this forum that Hartigan had been on this for some time. Note Mr Russell. And is this the same Michelle Bishop that had Brooks to Newcastle?

 

[Elderslie_Tiger]

Despite the signing of Papali'i, Brent Read is reporting the Tigers are still keen on keeping Lucy and is speculating Garner is expendable. No surprises really, but Lucy probably has to think long and hard about how much he's worth compared to the Dally M backrower of the year.

Big loser in Tigers signing coup emerges

Isaiah Papali’i’s surprise deal with the Wests Tigers has more ramifications than first meets the eye, with intriguing situations developing at both the Wests Tigers and Parramatta Eels.

That’s according to News Corp’s Brent Read, who broke it all down on Triple M on Thursday.

Read confirmed that while Papali’i was coming to Wests, the club was still keen on keeping Luciano Leilua, and that it might be a different Tiger on his way out.

“They spoke to his [Leilua’s] management on Monday and made it clear that they still are keen to keep him and those talks are ongoing,” Read said.

“Obviously there’s a restriction on money now because Papali’i is taking up plenty of it. So, Luciano is looking for a big pay packet. It’s obviously going to depend on how much he gets offered elsewhere, and how much he wants, as to whether the Tigers will be able to afford him. But we should make it very clear: it’s not one or the other. The Tigers would be happy to keep both those guys.”

While Leilua is reportedly eyeing a payday in the region of $700k-a-season, Read suggested that figure was unlikely to be met by another club; opening the door to the Tigers partnering up Papali’i and Leilua, with Luke Garner on the outer.

“You would have Luciano playing on one edge, Papali’i on the other, and it probably means that Luke Garner is suddenly expendable,” Read said. “There’s been talk around Luke Garner for a while now. I know Manly were quite keen on him for a while ... so maybe Luke Garner becomes the guy who gets squeezed out of the club.”

While things are starting to look brighter for the Tigers, the situation for the Eels is only getting worse.

“To suggest they’re under the gun, under the barrel, is an understatement,” Read said. “They are under the pump big time. For me now, all the pressure is on them. Sammy Ayoub’s got Reed Mahoney, Clint Gutherson, and Junior Paulo ... and Parramatta’s lost all control of this landscape, because they just need to sign someone.”

That “someone” won’t be Ryan Matterson, though, with Read suggesting the Eels have no interest in retaining the star.

“That back-row for a lot of this year was Niukore, Papali’i and Ryan Matterson. Now, if you listen to the drums, they don’t want Ryan Matterson,” Read added. “They are happy for him to leave. He’s off contract at the end of next year, and as far as I know, I don’t even think they’ve made him an offer.

How surprising that Matterson is on the outa a Parramatta😂😂😂😂😂😂

 

[earl]

While Leilua is reportedly eyeing a payday in the region of $700k-a-season

This kills me. He thinks he is worth considerably more than Papali’i and we've recruited Papali’i from another club. We have players who instead of taking a little under to stay ask for overs to stay. Nofo is similar. At some point you have to walk away from these players and their agents.

I don't think it's just our players. It sounds like the Eels are worse.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

So Luke Garner is expendable now? It's hard to take some of the content of these articles seriously.

 

[avocadoontoast]

While Leilua is reportedly eyeing a payday in the region of $700k-a-season

This kills me. He thinks he is worth considerably more than Papali’i and we've recruited Papali’i from another club. We have players who instead of taking a little under to stay ask for overs to stay. Nofo is similar. At some point you have to walk away from these players and their agents.

I don't think it's just our players. It sounds like the Eels are worse.

Due to his defence I don't think Luc is worth anymore than $400k. And i'd be playing him off the bench, I don't think he's an 80 minute player and I don't think he ever will be.

 

[tiger05premier]

We could offer him 400 a year

We could offer him a 1k per week train trial and just dump him in reggies for a laugh

Would be like getting back with your ex after a long and bitter twisted divorce. No thanks. We are on the way of building something special and don't need guys like Matto at the club.

It was a joke mate

 

[Nelson]

So Luke Garner is expendable now? It's hard to take some of the content of these articles seriously.

Why? He's had a few years to develop and has plateaued/regressed. I can easily see the club preferring Blore, Tuilagi and Leilua leaving Garner a 5th string option in 2023. Seems expendable to me...

 

[pawsandclaws1]

So Luke Garner is expendable now? It's hard to take some of the content of these articles seriously.

Why? He's had a few years to develop and has plateaued/regressed. I can easily see the club preferring Blore, Tuilagi and Leilua leaving Garner a 5th string option in 2023. Seems expendable to me...

I have no doubt if he went to the Eagles he would fire big time and it would be another PR disaster for WTs. You need to ask why? The same with Leilua.

 

[ConePuncher]

So we should hold on to someone who is not in our best 17 because they might come good elsewhere? That's ridiculous.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

So we should hold on to someone who is not in our best 17 because they might come good elsewhere? That's ridiculous.

We need to examine the reason(s) why. Garner is a fine line breaking forward. Most times he receives the ball he makes half breaks and looks dangerous.

 

[2041]

While Leilua is reportedly eyeing a payday in the region of $700k-a-season

This kills me. He thinks he is worth considerably more than Papali’i and we've recruited Papali’i from another club. We have players who instead of taking a little under to stay ask for overs to stay. Nofo is similar. At some point you have to walk away from these players and their agents.

I don't think it's just our players. It sounds like the Eels are worse.

He's entitled to ask for whatever he wants, and he's "worth" whatever someone will pay him. The suggestion seems to be that no-one is biting on this 700k thing so why do we keep going on about it? All that's happened is his manager has overestimated the market and made his client look daft.

At the end of the day the Tigers will make him an offer, and if it's the best one on the table or he's particularly keen to stay at the club he'll take it. What he may or may not think he's "worth" is largely irrelevant.

 

[Nelson]

While Leilua is reportedly eyeing a payday in the region of $700k-a-season

This kills me. He thinks he is worth considerably more than Papali’i and we've recruited Papali’i from another club. We have players who instead of taking a little under to stay ask for overs to stay. Nofo is similar. At some point you have to walk away from these players and their agents.

I don't think it's just our players. It sounds like the Eels are worse.

Due to his defence I don't think Luc is worth anymore than $400k. And i'd be playing him off the bench, I don't think he's an 80 minute player and I don't think he ever will be.

I dunno if he needs to come off the bench (that depends on how the rest of the squad is made up) but I agree that we should be looking at him playing somewhere in the 45-60 minute range rather than 80 mins. That alone would probably improve his defence. He's a genuine handful on the edge and has some good ball skills, so 400-450K is probably fair. I imagine there would be a 450K offer out there somewhere for him given his skills.

 

[avocadoontoast]

While Leilua is reportedly eyeing a payday in the region of $700k-a-season

This kills me. He thinks he is worth considerably more than Papali’i and we've recruited Papali’i from another club. We have players who instead of taking a little under to stay ask for overs to stay. Nofo is similar. At some point you have to walk away from these players and their agents.

I don't think it's just our players. It sounds like the Eels are worse.

Due to his defence I don't think Luc is worth anymore than $400k. And i'd be playing him off the bench, I don't think he's an 80 minute player and I don't think he ever will be.

I dunno if he needs to come off the bench (that depends on how the rest of the squad is made up) but I agree that we should be looking at him playing somewhere in the 45-60 minute range rather than 80 mins. That alone would probably improve his defence. He's a genuine handful on the edge and has some good ball skills, so 400-450K is probably fair. I imagine there would be a 450K offer out there somewhere for him given his skills.

yeah I agree, I think he's a far more damaging player in spurts. Hopefully he can improve his defence over the offseason.

 

[Nelson]

So we should hold on to someone who is not in our best 17 because they might come good elsewhere? That's ridiculous.

We need to examine the reason(s) why. Garner is a fine line breaking forward. Most times he receives the ball he makes half breaks and looks dangerous.

I feel like you have a different definition of "most" than most (my definition) other people...The high point of his game is running good lines off Brooks which he does from time to time. The low point is planting his feet in the defensive line and creating problems either side of him.

 

[2041]

So we should hold on to someone who is not in our best 17 because they might come good elsewhere? That's ridiculous.

We need to examine the reason(s) why. Garner is a fine line breaking forward. Most times he receives the ball he makes half breaks and looks dangerous.

He's ok but he's hardly worth losing our minds over. He's decent in attack but he's never going to be amazing, and he's prone to defensive lapses. Could he be better in another club/system? I mean, yeah, maybe a bit. But I can't bring myself to get too excited about it.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

So we should hold on to someone who is not in our best 17 because they might come good elsewhere? That's ridiculous.

We need to examine the reason(s) why. Garner is a fine line breaking forward. Most times he receives the ball he makes half breaks and looks dangerous.

I feel like you have a different definition of "most" than most (my definition) other people...The high point of his game is running good lines off Brooks which he does from time to time. The low point is planting his feet in the defensive line and creating problems either side of him.

There is no issue with his attack. He is a great attacking forward, as is Leilua. The issue is the way they are being utilised.

 

[Newtown]

So Luke Garner is expendable now? It's hard to take some of the content of these articles seriously.

These journalists are so lazy. They just read the applicable forum and quote it with doing any other research themselves.

 

[Newtown]

So we should hold on to someone who is not in our best 17 because they might come good elsewhere? That's ridiculous.

We need to examine the reason(s) why. Garner is a fine line breaking forward. Most times he receives the ball he makes half breaks and looks dangerous.

He played centre when he arrived at Wests tigers,

 

[pawsandclaws1]

So we should hold on to someone who is not in our best 17 because they might come good elsewhere? That's ridiculous.

We need to examine the reason(s) why. Garner is a fine line breaking forward. Most times he receives the ball he makes half breaks and looks dangerous.

He's ok but he's hardly worth losing our minds over. He's decent in attack but he's never going to be amazing, and he's prone to defensive lapses. Could he be better in another club/system? I mean, yeah, maybe a bit. But I can't bring myself to get too excited about it.

Garner and Leilua you either accept them for the players they are or move them on. Both are attacking forwards who can create opportunities. Both are never going to be workhorses. When required to do that, missed tackles will occur due to fatigue. But there is a place for them from the interchange where they can be injected into the game for impact, which is what you need from interchange players.

 

[Kelce68]

Papalii is as good a second rower signed by anyone this year. Better than tpj and Fifita in terms of all round player. Really pleased to have him for less than 700k. That's just a bit surprising really. Whether it works out or not, it was an absolute quality get by the club.

Even anticipating he doesn't quite get to the supreme heights of this year (when he was the best second rower in the league) he should do a lot to solidify one of our biggest weaknesses (edge defense) and he's an attacking threat as well.

Also changes the narrative around the club and recruitment.

Well done, tigers.

Quality summation.