Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

What pisses me off .. and probably most of us on here is that right from the start we all knew that MM was playing us .. then delaying the decision again and again was only a RED flag to us all which only confirmed our doubt from the start .. except the club who were confident that we would land him .. !! MM played all along only to get the most money out .. yes $1.25 is less than our $1.4 .. but there is a lot of third-party money going on in the background with the Parra deal.

What worries me know is .. how asleep have the recruiting management team been during this pull the wool over their eyes trick by MM .. from the start they always said not to worry that they had a plan "B" .. well it's only 2 weeks out from the season start .. so what is this plan "B".. ??

Why is 2 weeks out from season start important?

Reality is we have drawn out an extra $1m from the Eels cap/3rd party so it hasn’t been a total loss in some aspects. If he played us well we ended up playing the Eels and him basically as well cause now they can’t but a quality player because of his hike.

Re plan B, the biggest issue is quality on the market. The cupboard is bare so we will either have to take a punt, go with what we know or target a current contracted player. We could also flip the cash into another position to grab a quality player not a half.

Will be interesting how the next talks unfold and with whom over the next few months.
 
Exactly. Which is why it would be ludicrous to give Brooks a two year extension without him setting foot on the field to show he's capable of being an NRL level halfback. Which he hasn't done since 2018. If after 8 weeks he's doing his job, then by all means offer away but we'd be absolute mugs to resign him based on nothing
I'm the exact opposite of you in that I am a Brooks supporter and have always believed that under the right conditions he would come good, but I agree with you 100% on this.

Why the hell would you sign Luke up for another 2 years before he has even played a game this year.

In actual fact he hasn't played a game in months and you would have to ask if he has an injury that is going to affect him long term.

I mean the guy has shown that he is pretty durable over a long period of time, but is his body starting to show signs of wear and tear?

Have to agree with those that are suggesting that there is no rush to re-sign him unless he has agreed to a bargain basement price on his next contract, but I highly doubt it.

Let's see how he goes this year before signing on the dotted line and that's coming from someone that is a Brooks supporter.
 
Why is 2 weeks out from season start important?

Reality is we have drawn out an extra $1m from the Eels cap/3rd party so it hasn’t been a total loss in some aspects. If he played us well we ended up playing the Eels and him basically as well cause now they can’t but a quality player because of his hike.

Re plan B, the biggest issue is quality on the market. The cupboard is bare so we will either have to take a punt, go with what we know or target a current contracted player. We could also flip the cash into another position to grab a quality player not a half.

Will be interesting how the next talks unfold and with whom over the next few months.
It really is a Plan B when so few quality halves are on the market. No fault of the Tigers to be so close to a signature; personally I am relieved we didn't get the chance to spend so much money on a bloke I detest.

Some people think you can game these players when it's extremely clear that Moses held all the cards - he was in hot demand, the salary cap was just increased and two struggling clubs were in search of a halfback. The new contract doesn't start until November 2023.

The incumbent club has the advantage in negotiations 95% of the time. Eels just had to come up with the right money and duration of contract to win out, which they eventually they did.

So really - Moses gamed the Eels more than anyone, extracting an allegedly huge salary from them and well beyond the alleged first offer. Consider he was already at the Eels for 6 years and he spent the entire Summer negotiating with rivals to drive the Eels price up to maximum.
 
It really is a Plan B when so few quality halves are on the market. No fault of the Tigers to be so close to a signature; personally I am relieved we didn't get the chance to spend so much money on a bloke I detest.

Some people think you can game these players when it's extremely clear that Moses held all the cards - he was in hot demand, the salary cap was just increased and two struggling clubs were in search of a halfback. The new contract doesn't start until November 2023.

The incumbent club has the advantage in negotiations 95% of the time. Eels just had to come up with the right money and duration of contract to win out, which they eventually they did.

So really - Moses gamed the Eels more than anyone, extracting an allegedly huge salary from them and well beyond the alleged first offer. Consider he was already at the Eels for 6 years and he spent the entire Summer negotiating with rivals to drive the Eels price up to maximum.
Also saw a comment that they wanted 3+ years for Brooks and we wouldn’t do it
 
Parra have locked in big money in their halves and fullback and, while they're all good players, I don't think they're better than Penrith, Melbourne, Souths, Roosters, cowboys, Sharks and maybe Manly in those positions. Even Broncos might have better players there with cobbo emerging. So I'm not sure how far that gets them. They look like a solid top 8 side but hard to see them going beyond other teams mentioned.

I came around to idea of Moses after being very against it, but that contract would come with lots of pressure and would be awkward seeing him back. I think it's good for him and Parra that he stayed. Not really fussed that we didn't get him.
Moses didn't get to see the promised land and neither will Mitchel with the Eels
 
He would have made us better, but he was always a long shot of leaving Parra if they got close. He gave them all the time in the world to get there.

Money would have been the only reason why he would have come here in the first instance.

I don't know any Tigers fans cutting their wrists over not getting him.
 
Laurie was way better than Staines at FB against Canberra

In general play, sure, but Laurie let's the ball hit the turf way too often.

Whilst I didn't see that part of the match, reading about it in the live thread was very disappointing. It's okay to drop the occasional one, but not to watch them bounce and Daine has poor form in this important area of fullback play.
 
Just me but wasn’t overly impressed with his confidence under the high ball (Laurie).

Think can summarise as prob did good things that don't get picked up on TV and did not do anything spectacular.


He doesn't talk. Not sure about stronger. He got poleaxed the other day haha
Yeh true, potential there tho.

The position he was in hulk hogan would of got smashed too
 
Time to move on. Most of us agree that he probably was never going to come and that Moses and his manager were playing the Tigers in order to jack up his salary at the Eels. Let's close the book and hope that the Tigers team collectively smash him when the two teams next meet!

Now, next topic, are we a realistic chance of securing Wellsby because, as I suggested way back, he is all class and is (to use an MLB term) a multi-tool player!
 
Time to move on. Most of us agree that he probably was never going to come and that Moses and his manager were playing the Tigers in order to jack up his salary at the Eels. Let's close the book and hope that the Tigers team collectively smash him when the two teams next meet!

Now, next topic, are we a realistic chance of securing Wellsby because, as I suggested way back, he is all class and is (to use an MLB term) a multi-tool player!
I think Lewis Dodd should be a higher priority than Welsby. Both fantastic players though
 
Laurie was busy, but high ball shy. The first game will tell us, because if it was obvious at the trial, and last years games, it will be obvious to the opposition. Love his heart but better suited to the halves.
One thing I noticed he was very vocal at the back directing our defensive line. That’s what coaches love to see
 
Why is 2 weeks out from season start important?

Reality is we have drawn out an extra $1m from the Eels cap/3rd party so it hasn’t been a total loss in some aspects. If he played us well we ended up playing the Eels and him basically as well cause now they can’t but a quality player because of his hike.

Re plan B, the biggest issue is quality on the market. The cupboard is bare so we will either have to take a punt, go with what we know or target a current contracted player. We could also flip the cash into another position to grab a quality player not a half.

Will be interesting how the next talks unfold and with whom over the next few months.
I guess the biggest problem was I hope Plan B wasn't forgotten about while Plan MM was going down
 
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