Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[851]

i know this sounds weird but our forward pack will be better with the addition of ball running wingers

Not stupid at all, it will be proven correct, there is a certain user on here who kept saying the Storm wingers were the best in the comp, and the Penrith wingers were one dimensional midgets who are no good in todays game.
Well Penrith had the least tries scored against them from kicks this year, and the so called best coach and wingers couldn't score a try against them from kicks in the grand final, maybe old mate was wrong, and the bus driver was right after all.

 

[Nonotmeagain]

Not stupid at all, it will be proven correct, there is a certain user on here who kept saying the Storm wingers were the best in the comp, and the Penrith wingers were one dimensional midgets who are no good in todays game.
Well Penrith had the least tries scored against them from kicks this year, and the so called best coach and wingers couldn't score a try against them from kicks in the grand final, maybe old mate was wrong, and the bus driver was right after all.

The additional feature for Penrith is that they defend so well all over the field their "midgets" can take the ball when not under extreme pressure and make yardage on the return. Height is not the only factor in the game.

 

[Vicious]

Not stupid at all, it will be proven correct, there is a certain user on here who kept saying the Storm wingers were the best in the comp, and the Penrith wingers were one dimensional midgets who are no good in todays game.
Well Penrith had the least tries scored against them from kicks this year, and the so called best coach and wingers couldn't score a try against them from kicks in the grand final, maybe old mate was wrong, and the bus driver was right after all.

Yes but consider it was a Grand Final where the referees put the whistle away and rarely give a nit picking penalty for being slightly offside.
That means the defensive line speed can be better, putting more pressure on the kicker and because of this Jerome Hughes kicking game was terrible.
He did not land a single kick on the Panthers goal line the give his tall athletic wingers a chance to simply catch a high ball drop and score.

 

[Kaito]

Close but no cigar! Patrick Johnson 9.93 legal

Just read he ran 9.88 too, 3m tailwind, I left Oz when
he was around. That 9.93 run was crazy last 20m!

 

[851]

Yes but consider it was a Grand Final where the referees put the whistle away and rarely give a nit picking penalty for being slightly offside.
That means the defensive line speed can be better, putting more pressure on the kicker and because of this Jerome Hughes kicking game was terrible.
He did not land a single kick on the Panthers goal line the give his tall athletic wingers a chance to simply catch a high ball drop and score.

Again I will state, Penrith had the least amount of tries scored against them from kicks this year, so what the ref put the whistle away every Panthers game this year

 

[mtd#2]

First 2 hit ups wingers, then hunt, then maybe pole. Then hopefully bit of space, attacking kick, back rower hitting space, Galvin, Luai. Definitely

problem is the 4th, 5th and 6th set when Hunt is tanked LOL

 

[PabloX]

He was suggesting $700k for next two years …

I think we need to offer him $850 next two years and then go up to $1m for next 3. Do a 5 yr deal at $4.7m….

Don’t think he would say no to that

$850k for a 19 year old?! Hold your horses. He does look good, but $4.7m is ridiculous coin. We need to manage our cap, not blow it.

 

[mtd#2]

He will not re-sign unless we start to show we can at least challenge for the top 8 and that’s the same with Fonua Pole.
The playing roster for 2025 is again stuffed with far too many young, inexperienced players who have not yet shown they are ready for regular NRL, along with far too many over paid and over the hill or injury proned players that adds up to our roster being very unbalanced in way of NRL quality and genuine competition for positions in our NRL top 17.
I feel sorry for the young players contracted.to us as none of them are bad players and with the right coaching and development every one of them is a chance of becoming regular NRL players within the next few seasons, but it’s rugby league suicide having as many that are young, inexperienced and not quite ready for regular NRL as what we currently have.
It would be different is we did not also have so many over paid, over the hill and injury plagued players as what we have.

After the last 3 years and what we've come up with compared to the out look for 2024, how can you be so damn pessimistic? Have we not made some REALLY good signings? Are things not on the up!

 

[happy_tiger]

Close but no cigar! Patrick Johnson 9.93 legal

Yeah in Japan from memory ...good pick up

 

[jadtiger]

Yes but consider it was a Grand Final where the referees put the whistle away and rarely give a nit picking penalty for being slightly offside.
That means the defensive line speed can be better, putting more pressure on the kicker and because of this Jerome Hughes kicking game was terrible.
He did not land a single kick on the Panthers goal line the give his tall athletic wingers a chance to simply catch a high ball drop and score.

Klein is a very poor referee and he often will decide games by the way he does his job and not necessarily by the decisions he makes.With him in charge one side always seems to get a leg up

 

[Needaname]

Well picked up. I'm impressed.

Some teams use the lock in the same scenario and the fullback rushes through to make first contact. Teddy does this a lot.

 

[Needaname]

👏👏👏

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Playing kids in these, but one consistent thing is he has become a tackle busting winger. Is that his spot or would he move to the centres. Reminds me of Murray Talagi.

 

[coivtny]

Some teams use the lock in the same scenario and the fullback rushes through to make first contact. Teddy does this a lot.

Thanks. Gee, you guys must watch your football much more closely than I do.

 

[Needaname]

Yes but consider it was a Grand Final where the referees put the whistle away and rarely give a nit picking penalty for being slightly offside.
That means the defensive line speed can be better, putting more pressure on the kicker and because of this Jerome Hughes kicking game was terrible.
He did not land a single kick on the Panthers goal line the give his tall athletic wingers a chance to simply catch a high ball drop and score.

Wasn’t there a disallowed try from a take in the in goal and pass back?

 

[king_sirro]

Playing kids in these, but one consistent thing is he has become a tackle busting winger. Is that his spot or would he move to the centres. Reminds me of Murray Talagi.

I've only seen him once but in that game his catch and pass to his winger was done with such ease we could only dream of our NRL centres doing it. So for me, he stays at centre.

 

[gregjm87]

After the last 3 years and what we've come up with compared to the out look for 2024, how can you be so damn pessimistic? Have we not made some REALLY good signings? Are things not on the up!

Cant speak for Vicious but The last 3 years is why I'm pessimistic. It wasn't so long ago that we made the "really good signings" of Api and Papali'i and we were told things were on the up.
I also think that outside of Luai we haven't made any really good signings. I think the rest are certainly an upgrade on what we've got in their respective positions but none are better than average at their position when compared to the rest of the competition. Additionally we still haven't replaced what we've lost.
I'd like to be positive and want to believe good times are ahead. If we can retain a lot of the quality youngsters long term I even believe that in time they will come good. I just can't see that being any time soon.

 

[BAGNF05]

Only re-signing I care about this off-season is Galvin.

He’s on contract for two years and no doubt Moses will use next year to work out whether WT are actually going places.

No re-signing this off-season would be my expectation.

 

[balmain boy]

$850k for a 19 year old?! Hold your horses. He does look good, but $4.7m is ridiculous coin. We need to manage our cap, not blow it.

Well we did give Bula a deal in that ballpark for some bizarre reason. He was good, but not THAT good last year. Galvin has shown more than Bula in their respective first seasons. 4 year extension, 700, 750, 800, 850k. When bonuses get added he'll be earning even more.
Compare that to the measly money he's on now. He won't sign a super long deal just yet as we may be worth well over a million in a few years so 4 years will probably be the max he signs.

 

[king_sirro]

Well we did give Bula a deal in that ballpark for some bizarre reason. He was good, but not THAT good last year. Galvin has shown more than Bula in their respective first seasons. 4 year extension, 700, 750, 800, 850k. When bonuses get added he'll be earning even more.
Compare that to the measly money he's on now. He won't sign a super long deal just yet as we may be worth well over a million in a few years so 4 years will probably be the max he signs.

I'd put my balls on the fact Bula is on nothing like that money.

 

[bptiger 0]

Long way to go but certainly sounds good!!

So you’re telling me in the years to come we’re gonna have a left edge of Luai, Sam Fainu & Makasini? 😤😮‍💨

But it won’t mean jack shit , if we don’t get a MUCH better pack , to look after this backline we have put together, and remember GALVIN hasn’t re-signed yet , and if we don’t get close to the finals next year , he could walk
Everyone has a take, here's mine:

Large is more naturally athletic. He moves effortlessly, think a silkier version of Hamiso, without quite the top-end speed (yet). He's a runner first, but has great vision as a playmaker also. He's also more versatile, could play anywhere from five-eighth to centre to fb.

Except he sees himself as a half, is incomplete in that department and we're just about as flush as you can get with halves for the next two years at least.

Personally, I reckon Makasini is the better specialist. He's a centre who can play wing, or, a wing who can play centre depending on the side (or code). A giant of a lad with decent top-end speed and crazy strength. It'll be interesting to see how his skillset translates into adult footy as often, powerful juniors get a bit of a wakeup call early in their careers against full-grown men. I think the likes of Penisini and Best can attest to that.

Personally, I think we retained the better prospect for us, given our current, and future squad strengths and weaknesses. Had there been no Luai, Galvin and or Latu, Large would've likely been the non-negotiable.

Today is a big day for the club. Obviously getting a solid first grade side is top priority to Richo and the team, but to have one of the top youngsters in the system as well as the country buy into the club is massive. This will have a huge ripple effect in the club's pathways which I can only assume as being positive. Getting 3 wooden spoons is not a selling point by any means but this true showcase of character and is extremely important and is something the tigers will need in the next couple of years. Makasini will be a pioneer for the future young guns coming through to stick with it and get amongst the crocodile roll.

Makasini is a top player and will prove that he is in the coming years. Don't be surprised if he gets a debut next year. Makasini solves a lot of the tigers problems from the past few years.
1. He is a back: Wests tigers haven't had a great winger or centre since Taniela and this changes this dramatically. Whether he plays on the wing or in the centres either way the tigers have been back depleted for years.

2. Goal kickers: This kid topped the point scoring in the Harold Matthews competition and struck them well too.

3. A junior who has committed: Time and time again we see Wests tigers youngsters leave in search of a better future. This kid has said I want to be a part of the crocodile roll and he has bought into that. I love him already

The regular fan might not get to watch him for maybe a couple of years but when he makes his debut tune in. Makasini changes games, his ball playing and running is excellent. His highlights from Newington are something else and he is simply a cut above the rest.
Whether you have been going for the tigers for a year or your whole life you should be extremely excited by this signing. It is a monumental day in the club's history. I truly believe in Heamasi Makasini to be the next best thing...