Jedi_Tiger
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use the spot to go out and agitate st George and Ben Hunt for a release
Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion
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Mighty_Tiger
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It sucks but the truth hurts.
We have been the laughing stock of the league for a while now. We are a losing team and disjointed organization.
Yes we have a good forward pack (based on 9 games) & we have cash but that’s really it. We are still struggling. Any half atm has next to no support around him. No partner, Fullback questionable, average quality in the backline with no real xfactor.
Chasing players like Johnson & Pearce is a desperate play. We are offering them overs both length and $$ to support their retirement fund. They would both finish up in Benji 1st year and he has to start again. Yes they plug a gap and we have nothing else but it also shows no vision or setup forward path.
Hunt I can’t see us getting given he would have to do it on his own and other better teams will have more around him to offer. The way Brooks cops it Hunt if we still kept losing would cop it just as much if not more, at other clubs he won’t.
We would be better off hitting some young kids up and giving them a crack. Low expectations from the fans, Keep the game plan simple and let them grow around an experienced forward pack.
Eitheway we take a punt. Prefer to hit the upside option of a kid than a quick & dirty short term one. It could be a building block with Bula and few others coming through over a few years.
Mighty_Tiger
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Lets see what happens over the next 6mths roster wise. Not confident and right now looks like a dumb move.
Zero idea how the Eels can fit him into the cap.
We have zero inbound for next season let alone 25 atm & have a fair few under performers off contract this season with alot of cap space.
Player managers will know we have cap and roster space + be desperate for some position players.
Good luck to Fulton because he will need it.
Who was Parra realistically going to give up for Ofahengaue? Gutherson, Brown, Moses, Penisini, Sivo and Lane would make it into our team but they're obviously off limits. Arthur maybe? His dad is the coach so not likely.
The fact is Ofahengaue is far more valuable to them than he is to us and there's no one that they could give us that would fit unless it was a really young prospect, which again, doesn't help. On his current contract, he isn't really that much of a positive asset anyway. If Parra are covering his entire salary it's a good move for us to let him go even without someone coming back.
Remember, we extended him when we were at our lowest and he was in great form. He's now our 4th/5th option at prop and is getting starting prop money. No brainer to escape this contract and reallocate resources elsewhere. The extra $450k? a year we're saving could go a long way to bringing in a high quality half which is what our team most desperately needs right now.
The fact is Ofahengaue is far more valuable to them than he is to us and there's no one that they could give us that would fit unless it was a really young prospect, which again, doesn't help. On his current contract, he isn't really that much of a positive asset anyway. If Parra are covering his entire salary it's a good move for us to let him go even without someone coming back.
Remember, we extended him when we were at our lowest and he was in great form. He's now our 4th/5th option at prop and is getting starting prop money. No brainer to escape this contract and reallocate resources elsewhere. The extra $450k? a year we're saving could go a long way to bringing in a high quality half which is what our team most desperately needs right now.
That's fine. If we have cap and roster space we can give free agents 1 year deals with extra cash. I think they're the best kind of deals to give out - keeps them motivated for their next contract so they'll try and perform that season and we have the benefit of being able to walk away if it doesn't work.
All great points, and eloquently put.
finnzo
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There must be more to this you don’t just release a player you just extended for 2 more years if you don’t have to
If he has signed with the Eels, they'll be able to afford him this year as we already paid half his salary.
Would be happy if Eels paid full freight for the reaming years, but if we're paying for him to play somewhere else is a failure of a club.
Not too big of a loss for me, hardly dints the line anymore.
Looking forward to James dinting the line.
Would be happy if Eels paid full freight for the reaming years, but if we're paying for him to play somewhere else is a failure of a club.
Not too big of a loss for me, hardly dints the line anymore.
Looking forward to James dinting the line.
finnzo
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I guess we have a lot of good young forwards who can take over that bench role in years to come
Matamua he can create points
They are ready now. Astasi James is going to kill it. Need the spot for him to be top 30
finnzo
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He’s aloud to play now already as of round 11 you can play players from outside top 30 I was thinking more for next year
weststigerman
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Parra have some very good young halves in Flegg who have their path clearly blocked at Parra. Our young halves are a 3-4 years away.
innsaneink
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watersider
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Interesting the way Parra have handled recruitment the last few years. They've now basically swapped Papalii for Joe O. Joe O is a solid player but that is terrible roster management, given how integral Papalii was to them and how much quality he has.
TopTiger
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Daily Telegraph states that he is poised to sign:
Former Queensland State of Origin forward Joe Ofahengaue is poised to sign a three-year contract to join Parramatta immediately, ending his career at the Wests Tigers.
The Wests Tigers 2022 Player of The Year has agreed in principle to join the Eels after being shopped by the Tigers to rival clubs over the past month.
Ofahengaue is expected to formally sign his new contract with the Eels on Thursday.
It’s likely that the hard-running middle-forward has played his last game for the Tigers and will be withdrawn from their NRL line-up to face Cowboys on Saturday night.
The 161-game player was selected on the Tigers bench for the clash with North Queensland.
The Eels believe the 27-year-old - who has played three Origins for the Maroons and six Tests for Tonga - will add starch and potency to their front-row rotation of Regan Campbell-Gillard and Junior Paulo.
Parramatta recently secured former Eel Andrew Davey in a mid-season switch from Canterbury to aid their edge forward stocks.
The North Queensland Cowboys had also expressed an interest in Ofahengaue, who has endured a disjointed start to the NRL season.
He was dumped to reserve grade after the Tigers’ round 3 loss to Canterbury, but has reclaimed his spot in recent weeks, where he has played off the bench.
Ofahengaue is averaging less than 40 minutes in his third season with the Tigers, having spent the previous six years with the Brisbane Broncos.
The Tigers, meanwhile, are planning to blow the New Zealand Warriors out of the water by offering halfback Shaun Johnson a two-year to join the club from 2024.
The Eels’ forward stocks have taken a hit this season with Campbell-Gillard (groin) and edge back-rower Shaun Lane (hamstring) sidelined with injury.
earl
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Big stuff up for them. They could have kept IP on the same money they are probably paying Joe O. We are though down a quality player.
