hank37w
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Would of settled for Chad Townsend the last couple of seasons.
Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion
- Thread starter MacDougall
- Start date
Stef should never wear a starting jersey again, until he watches continually re-runs of Sterlo TRYING to run through an SOO banner in the USA.
He was playing for his country, does he any more motivation. He needs to lift and find a gear or two next year. Run hard son, leaders lead!
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In regards to Stef, he can run hard when he wants to.
Not sure what’s holding him back and proves it’s not a Wests Tigers issue when he’s not doing it when representing his homeland.
Regardless there is not many his size that have a good enough engine to play the minutes per game he’s capable of and he’s one we need to keep long term, just hoping we don’t have to pay a ridiculous price to keep him.
Blore is a must keep as well. We have stood by him through some tough times, he’s now at the stage where he’s maturing as an NRL quality forward and has shown glimpses of the immense talent he possesses both as an edge back rower and as a middle forward.
We realistically need 6 middle forwards in our NRL squad each week, 3 starters and 3 on the bench. Of those 3 on the bench you need at least one of them who can play as a middle forward or on an edge.
We currently have Ice, Blore, Seyfarth and Samuela Fainu who can all play as middles or edge forwards which gives us a nice balance.
A bit concerning is we don’t really have anyone who can play as an edge forward and also in the centres should an injury occur throughout the game. Maybe young Mansfield an option for this type of role as he played in the centres at times with our Flegg side I believe ?
Not sure what’s holding him back and proves it’s not a Wests Tigers issue when he’s not doing it when representing his homeland.
Regardless there is not many his size that have a good enough engine to play the minutes per game he’s capable of and he’s one we need to keep long term, just hoping we don’t have to pay a ridiculous price to keep him.
Blore is a must keep as well. We have stood by him through some tough times, he’s now at the stage where he’s maturing as an NRL quality forward and has shown glimpses of the immense talent he possesses both as an edge back rower and as a middle forward.
We realistically need 6 middle forwards in our NRL squad each week, 3 starters and 3 on the bench. Of those 3 on the bench you need at least one of them who can play as a middle forward or on an edge.
We currently have Ice, Blore, Seyfarth and Samuela Fainu who can all play as middles or edge forwards which gives us a nice balance.
A bit concerning is we don’t really have anyone who can play as an edge forward and also in the centres should an injury occur throughout the game. Maybe young Mansfield an option for this type of role as he played in the centres at times with our Flegg side I believe ?
Todd Packer
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There's a post on Facebook about Aaron Payne being a new assistant coach and coach of the Magpies KOE team.
Is this correct.
It's probably on here somewhere but there's too much of nothing to trawl through.
Is this correct.
It's probably on here somewhere but there's too much of nothing to trawl through.
Tiger_Fanatic3
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The Penrith Panthers have given star playmaker Jarome Luai the green light to test the open market from November 1.Under contract for the 2024 season, Luai is set to become the biggest free agent on November 1 as rival teams can negotiate with him for the 2025 season and beyond.
It has been previously revealed by several publications that the club is likely to offer him between $700,000-$800,000 a season - a price that sees the Samoan international earn way less than his market value.
On Friday, Luai held contract talks with both coach Ivan Cleary and the club's Chief Executive Matt Cameron, in which the Panthers reiterated their position and spending capacity, per the Sydney Morning Herald.Their tight salary cap position comes due to them locking up several of their stars to big-money offers, including Nathan Cleary (estimated at $1.3 million per year), Dylan Edwards ($850,000), James Fisher-Harris ($950,000), Liam Martin ($750,000) and Isaah Yeo ($850,000).As well as re-signing 2023 Grand Finalists Moses Leota (2027), Lindsay Smith (2026), Scott Sorensen (2026) and Brian To'o (2027).
“The club and Jarome have met,” Cameron told the Herald.“Jarome is aware of the club's capacity moving forward. The club's main concern and priority is his health and recovery with him set to have surgery on Monday. Jarome is contracted until the end of the 2024 season, so we feel like there is no rush at this point in time.“
Jarome is a three-time premiership player who will obviously command interest on the open market and we have no problem with him investigating all his options if he needs to after the first of November.”A three-time premiership player, Luai has been a key part of the Panthers' success, accompanying Nathan Cleary in the halves. He has also shown his usefulness at the representative level for the NSW Blues and Samoa - leading the latter to the Rugby League World Cup Final last year against Australia.It is understood that Luai has been unable to sign with a new player agent for the past 90 days since terminating his contract with SFX.
However, the termination ends on the weekend, with the five-eighth able to appoint a new agent from Sunday.Sports agency Black Money has emerged as the frontrunner for his signature - a company that also looks after the likes of Latrell Mitchell, Jack Wighton, Cody Walker and Bradman Best.
The Herald has reported that if Luai signs a deal worth $800,000, handling it himself, he would save an estimated $192,000 over a four-year period.In the past, coach Ivan Cleary has declared that Luai 'belongs with Penrith' and hopes that the jumping-and-skipping five-eighth stays put."He belongs with us, we belong with him – it's a good fit," Cleary told the Sydney Morning Herald."It's like a lot of our boys: if he really wanted to get as much money as he wanted to, he would probably get it."But I think we can come up with something that's very good for him.
It's a good fit."On the other hand, News Corp journalist Michael Carayannis believes the difference between what the Panthers are able to offer under a tight salary cap against that of another club could reach $300,000 per season.“His situation at Penrith is that he could get $300k more on the open market per year... He could demand in excess of $1 million a year at another club,” Carayannis said on SEN Radio.“It's a lot of money to leave on the table so Jarome will have the most interesting conversation around his future.“
There is that stigma around Jarome in that if you take him out of that Penrith system, how good does he look? That's the same for a lot of those Penrith players but I still think he would easily get over $1 million on the open market.”The market for off-contract quality halves is skinny, with a number of them re-signing with their current clubs in the last 12 months, including Ben Hunt, Cameron Munster and Mitchell Moses, which could well push Luai's value into seven figures. (DT)
It has been previously revealed by several publications that the club is likely to offer him between $700,000-$800,000 a season - a price that sees the Samoan international earn way less than his market value.
On Friday, Luai held contract talks with both coach Ivan Cleary and the club's Chief Executive Matt Cameron, in which the Panthers reiterated their position and spending capacity, per the Sydney Morning Herald.Their tight salary cap position comes due to them locking up several of their stars to big-money offers, including Nathan Cleary (estimated at $1.3 million per year), Dylan Edwards ($850,000), James Fisher-Harris ($950,000), Liam Martin ($750,000) and Isaah Yeo ($850,000).As well as re-signing 2023 Grand Finalists Moses Leota (2027), Lindsay Smith (2026), Scott Sorensen (2026) and Brian To'o (2027).
“The club and Jarome have met,” Cameron told the Herald.“Jarome is aware of the club's capacity moving forward. The club's main concern and priority is his health and recovery with him set to have surgery on Monday. Jarome is contracted until the end of the 2024 season, so we feel like there is no rush at this point in time.“
Jarome is a three-time premiership player who will obviously command interest on the open market and we have no problem with him investigating all his options if he needs to after the first of November.”A three-time premiership player, Luai has been a key part of the Panthers' success, accompanying Nathan Cleary in the halves. He has also shown his usefulness at the representative level for the NSW Blues and Samoa - leading the latter to the Rugby League World Cup Final last year against Australia.It is understood that Luai has been unable to sign with a new player agent for the past 90 days since terminating his contract with SFX.
However, the termination ends on the weekend, with the five-eighth able to appoint a new agent from Sunday.Sports agency Black Money has emerged as the frontrunner for his signature - a company that also looks after the likes of Latrell Mitchell, Jack Wighton, Cody Walker and Bradman Best.
The Herald has reported that if Luai signs a deal worth $800,000, handling it himself, he would save an estimated $192,000 over a four-year period.In the past, coach Ivan Cleary has declared that Luai 'belongs with Penrith' and hopes that the jumping-and-skipping five-eighth stays put."He belongs with us, we belong with him – it's a good fit," Cleary told the Sydney Morning Herald."It's like a lot of our boys: if he really wanted to get as much money as he wanted to, he would probably get it."But I think we can come up with something that's very good for him.
It's a good fit."On the other hand, News Corp journalist Michael Carayannis believes the difference between what the Panthers are able to offer under a tight salary cap against that of another club could reach $300,000 per season.“His situation at Penrith is that he could get $300k more on the open market per year... He could demand in excess of $1 million a year at another club,” Carayannis said on SEN Radio.“It's a lot of money to leave on the table so Jarome will have the most interesting conversation around his future.“
There is that stigma around Jarome in that if you take him out of that Penrith system, how good does he look? That's the same for a lot of those Penrith players but I still think he would easily get over $1 million on the open market.”The market for off-contract quality halves is skinny, with a number of them re-signing with their current clubs in the last 12 months, including Ben Hunt, Cameron Munster and Mitchell Moses, which could well push Luai's value into seven figures. (DT)
Yes now confirmed I believe.
Sounds good ti me, he was a tough uncompromising player and coming from North Queensland he should be able to assist in giving us a different perspective on the playing talent/player recruitment etc
It’s really only the 3 bottom clubs from 2023 that could afford to pay him 1 million per season or more.
It’s pretty clear the Bulldogs and the Dragons like us have a big question mark on whether or not he would come with the right attitude and desire and whether or not he can be the dominant playmaker they require to make them a much better team that his big price tag would command.
I believe the Dragons will bite the bullet and sign him as their replacement t for Ben Hunt, meaning they will have Kyle Flanagan at halfback and Jerome Luai at 5/8.
Mighty_Tiger
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No it isn’t.
Mighty_Tiger
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For 25 onwards multiple teams including some high profile ones could if they mix in 3rd party agreements. It wouldn’t surprise me if he ends up at the Roosters or Souths. His cap hit might be 800k-1mil but 3rd party /longer term benefits will add considerably ontop especially with who is coming off the books at both during next 2 seasons.
teddy23
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Myself - Finefeuiaki is still being monitored very closely, however there’s also roughly 5 other NRL teams making enquires. He’s hot property.
innsaneink
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Act like a flog. =. Drop down the pecking order
Tigers_Wests
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You would think that something has to give at the Cowboys with Finefeuiaki, Luciano, Nanai and Luki all fighting for 2nd row spots. I reckon one of Finefeuiaki or Luki leave and we should be ready to pounce on whichever one goes. There is a pathway for them at the Tigers to take over long term from Bateman.
It would be more attractive to these types of players if they could take over straight away, send Bateman back to the UK
Hell, I would've settled for Chad Morgan!!!
Tigers_Wests
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Wouldn't be until 2025 anyway. Potentially share minutes with Bateman that year and then take over in 2026 ( Batemans last year he could leave or play as backup if the signed player is ready to go 80 )
Look at both players in their prime, and I would be astounded if anyone would pick Townsend over Benji.
But everyone has their own opinions.
GNR4LIFE
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That was never suggested.
Buttface
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At a better club he probably would not have played nrl yet, he’d be honing his skills in reggies. Playing full games against men all year last season may have been better for his development.
If he goes back to reggies he can play nrl after about rnd 10 I think anyway? That’s 10 games to hone his skills and get use to playing 80mins then nrl if he’s going good? But who knows what the club has planned, if they do actually plan? Do they plan out a development pathway for each individual player, sometimes I wonder?
Tito Santana
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I can’t believe there are people on here that wouldn’t trade Blore for Olam. You’re talking about a player with potential vs an established gun. Smh
tigertragic
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An established gun playing Reggie’s for some reason 🤔
