Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Kelce68]

Because he’s not a better player. At all, Ice was the victim last year of being in a poorly coached team.

Not mutually exclusive.

Ice was the victim of being in a poorly coached team last season.

AND Addin Fonua-Blake is a better player.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Not mutually exclusive.

Ice was the victim of being in a poorly coached team last season.

AND Addin Fonua-Blake is a better player.

Easy to say given the year both are coming off. The previous two years, Papali’i was an absolute monster.

 

[Kelce68]

Never know what the future holds....

I think he could really find a home at the Tigers.
We got the Fainu bros who is close with.... and I'm sure he'd get along with the rest of the lads.


3 year deal with us, with the vision and the plan to push us from the bottom to the top... playing under Benji. There's a lot to like.

People underestimate what playing alongside such close bonds can do.

Shoulder to shoulder with your 'brothers' can transform a player, particularly when you are the older influence to those boys.

If we managed to land AFB, I'd not be surprised if he went up another gear again.

 

[Kelce68]

Easy to say given the year both are coming off. The previous two years, Papali’i was an absolute monster.

No argument there, I agree.

You can only judge a person on their recent output. 'You're only as good as your last game' as they say.

Josh Reynolds and Chris McQueen had both played several Origins before they arrived.... How far back do we go?

Isaiah would need a big '24 to argue that he's still the player he was at Parra.

So, as of right now, AFB is head and shoulders in front.

 

[jrtiger]

Knights poach gun Panthers junior
The Knights have scored a coup by signing a player rated among the best teenage centres in the game from Penrith.

Wilson De Courcey, a former Australian Schoolboy, was signed to the Panthers for next season but the Knights managed to secure his release.

The 18-year-old from renowned league nursery Patrician Brothers, Blacktown, was a standout for the Panthers in the junior representative season this year and the Knights are delighted to gain his services.

Source; the mole.

Is that someone we should have targeted?

not particularly. prioritising a player out of the pathways over guys like Feledy, Craig, Makasini and potentially Large is the wrong way to go about things. De Courcey's a good player but we have players at a similar level, if not better.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

No argument there, I agree.

You can only judge a person on their recent output. 'You're only as good as your last game' as they say.

Josh Reynolds and Chris McQueen had both played several Origins before they arrived.... How far back do we go?

Isaiah would need a big '24 to argue that he's still the player he was at Parra.

So, as of right now, AFB is head and shoulders in front.

What’s changed in a year? Papali’i is only 25, it’s not like he’s past his prime. When he was tearing it up at the Eels, I doubt anyone would have thought he could be trade bait after one season here. I’d love to get AFB here, but if a player Papali’i can flounder at our club, so can he.

 

[Tcat]

We should be spending more energy trying to trade guys like Nofa, who have been a thorn in the teams side for way too long. Keep Ice, work on signing Luai and AFB, get rid of guys like Nof and Simpkin if we can. Hard to convince anyone to take on a spoon teams slops tho.

 

[Curly_Tiger]

We should be spending more energy trying to trade guys like Nofa, who have been a thorn in the teams side for way too long. Keep Ice, work on signing Luai and AFB, get rid of guys like Nof and Simpkin if we can. Hard to convince anyone to take on a spoon teams slops tho.

I mostly agree
Simpkin definitely seems a player who should attract interest, plus we have Api and DaSilva and even Latu as a third 9 option
Klemmer would have interest surely but only if it created space for AFB
Every non-regular starter is always for sale I'd reckon but as with all things, depends ......
Wouldn't think moving our 23 signings is wise in most cases though

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I mostly agree
Simpkin definitely seems a player who should attract interest, plus we have Api and DaSilva and even Latu as a third 9 option
Klemmer would have interest surely but only if it created space for AFB
Every non-regular starter is always for sale I'd reckon but as with all things, depends ......
Wouldn't think moving our 23 signings is wise in most cases though

I think Simpkin is the only player in our squad that is surplus to us, yet could be of value to another club.

 

[Tucker]

I mostly agree
Simpkin definitely seems a player who should attract interest, plus we have Api and DaSilva and even Latu as a third 9 option
Klemmer would have interest surely but only if it created space for AFB
Every non-regular starter is always for sale I'd reckon but as with all things, depends ......
Wouldn't think moving our 23 signings is wise in most cases though

Getting rid of Klemmer to bring in AFB only marginally improves our position. Moving other players to bring in AFB and have him work with Klemmer, makes us way stronger.
Steph is the one. Id let him go. He does not appear to have a big ceiling.

 

[WestsEffTheRest]

Getting rid of Klemmer to bring in AFB only marginally improves our position. Moving other players to bring in AFB and have him work with Klemmer, makes us way stronger.
Steph is the one. Id let him go. He does not appear to have a big ceiling.

We need to keep guys who actually want to be at our club & Stef is one of those guys. He has aspirations of captaining this club one day & he's not someone we should even consider letting go.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

We need to keep guys who actually want to be at our club & Stef is one of those guys. He has aspirations of captaining this club one day & he's not someone we should even consider letting go.

You wouldn’t know he played Origin this year.

 

[WestsEffTheRest]

You wouldn’t know he played Origin this year.

I'll be the first to admit he didn't have the greatest season but tell me other then Api, Klem & Jahream which players did? Everyone keeps talking about trading Ice when he was the best back rower in the comp in 21/22

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I'll be the first to admit he didn't have the greatest season but tell me other then Api, Klem & Jahream which players did? Everyone keeps talking about trading Ice when he was the best back rower in the comp in 21/22

It’s ridiculous. If it was two poor years, maybe, but he was the most damaging forward in the game in those two years. That’s a fact.

 

[magpies forever]

What’s changed in a year? Papali’i is only 25, it’s not like he’s past his prime. When he was tearing it up at the Eels, I doubt anyone would have thought he could be trade bait after one season here. I’d love to get AFB here, but if a player Papali’i can flounder at our club, so can he.

I still reckon the underperformance of many of our players last year got down to the reality of WT having abysmal halves unable to set up plays nor give crucial passes for gap runners. Hopefully addressed with our new halves for 24 season- fingers crossed.

 

[balmain boy]

Wrong once again..

The anonymous person said he was speculating…

And did you miss the part where I said player agents and clubs leak this info to juornos all the time ?

Not sure they leak it to anonymous guys on the Wests Tigers forum…

Your “logic” is speculation about a guy speculating …

Agents and other randoms leak all sorts of crap to the media all the time, sure, but most of it is utter crap designed to make their client look better/more valuable at the expense of anything and anyone else.

 

[balmain boy]

Knights poach gun Panthers junior
The Knights have scored a coup by signing a player rated among the best teenage centres in the game from Penrith.

Wilson De Courcey, a former Australian Schoolboy, was signed to the Panthers for next season but the Knights managed to secure his release.

The 18-year-old from renowned league nursery Patrician Brothers, Blacktown, was a standout for the Panthers in the junior representative season this year and the Knights are delighted to gain his services.

Source; the mole.

Is that someone we should have targeted?

Couldn't have hurt, we are very light on outside backs and more depth is never a bad thing

 

[tigertragic]

Ice can maybe be the best backrower in the game....
I see this comment often,
No one mentions his other 5 seasons though - Only the 2 at Parra.

Before he went to Parra, Barely anyone knew his name
- So much so, He cost them like 150k

Unfortunately you always look better getting good ball from a quality half. I think that’s the answer to the change, as Chris Lawrence found out always running on to a pass into a brick wall.

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

We should be spending more energy trying to trade guys like Nofa, who have been a thorn in the teams side for way too long. Keep Ice, work on signing Luai and AFB, get rid of guys like Nof and Simpkin if we can. Hard to convince anyone to take on a spoon teams slops tho.

I think the club has been trying with Nofa, Simpkin & AJ but nothing has eventuated of mutual benefit.

The big one with Nofa is what another club will pay out of his reported $500k. With Simpkin & AJ, the benefit has to be what we can get in return.

We have to remember that we need to cut about 5 players at the end of next season due to the promotion of Faagutu, Kit, Sukkar, Solo Saukuru & Luke Laulilii to the top 30.

So Fulton & co are probably thinking of using Simpkin, AJ, AD & possibly Nofa then to create space.

 

[Tigersmurf]

Easy to say given the year both are coming off. The previous two years, Papali’i was an absolute monster.

Was he?? I watched a parra game late in the season before he came to us, and it could have even been a semi final, and he missed a tackle in every try the opposition scored.

So was he a monster or were his deficiencies being overshadowed by a more dominant attacking team? We seem to blame our halves for the season he had, and our halves were very poor, but I think he should also bear some of the responsibility for his season (and I think he does).